It was a delight being a participant receiving the great teachings of Peru right here in southern Utah.

Summer prompts many of us to travel to forests, lakes, and beaches for renewal. Time in natural settings help us to connect with ourselves and experience the sacredness of life. In the West, many people look to traditional cultures such as the Q’ero people to serve as models for connection to the cosmos.

Recently more than 20 people gathered near Utah’s Zion National Park to experience and explore the Andean cosmovision through simple meditations that serve as portals to another way of experiencing reality. Oakley Gordon, PhD, has studied for decades with teachers in Peru and is the author of The Andean Cosmovision. During the workshop, Gordon guided participants through a number of Andean meditations that serve as portals to another way of experiencing reality.

We found the weekend to be heart opening, intimate, and bonding.

Native Q’ero people in the Andes Mountains of Peru inspire many people with their relationship of stewardship with the natural world which shapes every aspect of their daily lives. Sacredness of life is integral to every aspect of their daily living: planting crops, scooping water from lakes, washing clothes in rivers, and building homes of rock and grass. We in the West don’t have to trek into those remote regions, however, to experience sacred relationship with the cosmos. We can take their techniques into our own relationship with the nature around us, wherever we happen to be.

A majority of the workshop’s proceeds was donated to Heart Walk Foundation in order to support projects in Q’ero villages. Because the recent workshop filled to capacity so quickly, Oakley has agreed to repeat the workshop on October 22 and 23, 2016, in Springdale, Utah.  An optional introduction will be offered the evening of October 21. Contact us if you would like to participate.

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What Participants Said

The workshop was great! Oakley Gordon was a wonder messenger of the Andean Cosmovision shared in his unique and humble way. He skillfully shared his knowledge and experience while creating a safe container for each participant to have their own personal experiences with the Pachamama, mother earth. I have spent the last 20 years guiding others in Nature and it was a delight being a participant receiving the great teachings of Peru right here in southern Utah. I would recommend this workshop to anyone who is on a spiritual path and who wants to connect more deeply with the Great Mother. This is so important for our Western society consciousness.    – Rev. Hannah Rothlin

We appreciated Oakley’s teaching style along with his understanding and love for the Q’ero people. The meditative experiences were the first I (Teresa) have had in “feeling” energy. We experienced the energy of different people, trees, the Earth, the River, and the Sun. We found the weekend to be heart opening, intimate, and bonding. We would be interested in taking the class again in the fall.   – Bruce and Teresa Cunningham