Through his study with indigenous shamans, Daniel Stone established The Centre of the Conscious Dream in 2000. In addition to leading retreats, he is an author, musician, and international artist.
MOREJoin Daniel Stone on an incredible walking journey through the Bolivian Andes to explore the immense power of the breath as you learn to become a human channel for change.
The first part of this journey is a 10-day tour of La Paz, Tiwanaku, Lake Titikaka, and the Island of the Sun. We will walk, explore different forms of breathing, participate in seminars and ceremonies of the Inca culture, and meditate. The walks are paced gradually to acclimatise to the altitude and we will ask for the help of the indigenous culture on the way. The second part is a more challenging trek from Pelechugo to Charazani – we will further focus on our breath and participate in ceremonies and herbal medicine consultations with the indigenous Kallawaya. READ MORE
Through his study with indigenous shamans, Daniel Stone established The Centre of the Conscious Dream in 2000. In addition to leading retreats, he is an author, musician, and international artist.
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Silvia Paz Soliz Ochoa is a native Aymara Bolivian who has extensively studied the historical indigenous identity of Bolivian culture, and leads seminars and ceremonies about Bolivian indigenous traditions.
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I had a wonderful journey – it was such an amazing combination of experiences, and each of the places we went was exceptionally pretty and spiritual.Catherine Salah, Sausalito, CA
TESTIMONIALS
Tour Description
Our intent is to show that through the simplicity of breathing and walking, the human can be a channel of change – a self-healer, planetary healer, a healer of consciousness. The human body and the planetary body find fluid movement so that both can dance.
The high altitude of the Andes presents an immediate problem – how to breathe? You can’t simply arrive and move around how you did before. You would end up panting, tired and frustrated. Even if on the first day you want to walk down a small road and walk up again, you have to learn to breathe differently, and to do this you have to think differently.
How to breathe? What energy is being taken in and what energy is going out with each breath? If we want to walk around the lake, up the hill, then we need energy. We learn how to enhance the energy that we take in with our breath through a simple opening of thought, utilising the energies that are around us, above us, and below us.
We explore different forms of breathing – the masculine breath, the feminine breath; breath of the earth and breath of the sun, breath of the lake and of the mountain. Breath of the universe. We do this in a spectacular landscape of mountains and the highest navigable lake in the world.
We will ask for the help of the indigenous culture, learning how to access the breath of the earth and of the sky through their traditional ways. Particularly at solstice on the Island of the Sun, we open to learn how to receive the mystical texture of “time”, and through managing the “breath of time” open up possibilities in our personal and planetary futures that would not have been perceived before. On the island of the sun we partake in the most important ceremony of the Aymara calendar – the receiving of the new sun. We witness the traditional dances that only take place at this time of year, and experience the traditional music and dress that is part of a culture that has not died. On the contrary, a culture that now lives recognised in the new Bolivian constitution.
There are two parts of this journey. The first part is a 10-day journey to La Paz, Tiwanaku, Lake Titikaka and the Island of the Sun. This is suitable for people with generally good health. The walks are paced gradually to acclimatise to the altitude and the walks are not difficult. The second part, “The Kallawaya Trek”, which has an additional intent described below, is a trek from Pelechugo to Charazani, and is more challenging.
Our intent in this second part of the journey is to remember the uninterrupted conscious breath in which the human is a channel of spirit movement, an avenue of real time in which trapped energies can be released. In this crystalline clear breath, the human can experience the planet earth in fluid communication with other planets and stars. In this breath we connect tribes, times, dimensions; we connect different parts of the whole so we are no longer held in the illusion of their separate independent existence. The planet is in communication with planets; the human tribe is in communication with other tribes in the universe.
The high mountains are undisturbed uncluttered portals. You can hear the earth being breathed through the mountains. The human being becomes a time avenue through which the earth gives birth to itself. We consciously are able to witness and experience the evolution of the planet Earth and understand and be in the useful human role for the evolution of both human and planetary consciousness.
We have a lot of help to do this. We will be trekking over the most stunning scenery in the Andes. The word – breathtaking – is perfect. Our breath is taken. Offered. Given. We are initiated into another level of who we really are.
When I first did this trek I was 51 and not exactly at the peak of fitness, but I did have a lot of determination! We will be building for this trek in the first week and I would say that if you are reasonably fit and don’t have any obvious injuries or heart condition, then you could do it. You would need to consider the following:
~ Daniel Stone
In addition to Daniel Stone and Silvia Paz Soliz Ochoa, other Aymara indigenous curanderos will be giving ceremonies during this journey. In the second part of the journey (Extension), indigenous Kayawalla curanderos give the ceremonies.
Our first day is in La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. Our first walk is down the road, and then up the road. On the first day, this in itself is an event. How do you breathe when you are out of breath? We become babies again. We re-learn how to breathe. The baby does not think, and this is what we have to remember. Breathing without thinking.
We enter today into the Aymara culture. Our guide is Silvia Paz, an expert in Aymara traditions and practices. Silvia will give us a seminar in which the bases of Inca culture are explained so that when it comes to the ceremonies you will understand them. She will explain the Apptaphi banquet, the Illias power objects, Akulli coca leaf ceremony, the table offerings to Pachamama and the Acachllas, permissions of the sacred mountains.
We then partake in our first Aymara ceremony, which is the Apptaphi, the traditional banquet, a ceremony of giving and receiving.
(Overnight in La Paz at the Hotel Diamante or similar)
Note: Please arrive by June 16. The night of June 16 at Rosario Hotel is included in the tour package price.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Russland345)
The word meditation here is used to describe breathing consciously. The work is to listen to the breath and be aware that we are breathing whilst we are breathing. This simple act in itself will open our minds so that we are more able to receive.
Tiwanaku is the most important sacred site around the great lake Titikaka. In its simplest form, it is the place where the human “received the Gods”. Its sacred geometry and energetic alignments are still in place and we can experience here our relation with our own inner creative forces. Silvia will guide us through the traditional context of the site and with her indigenous curanderos we will make our first “mesa” – offerings to Pachamama.
(Overnight in La Paz at the Hotel Diamante or similar)
Lake Titikaka is the highest navigable lake in the world. For the Inca cultures it is sacred for giving life, on all levels. It gives water and food, and on another level the mythical landscape reminds them of their connection with their Gods. Whatever your inner beliefs are, a sense of other worldliness is palpable in this land.
In our first walk around the lake, we open to the coordination of breath and movement. The lake is an opening, and we open to the feminine breath – the breath of receptivity. We look and feel our sensitivity to pace and rhythm and how these reflect our thought patterns and feeling patterns. Deep listening.
We can hear the old tapes that dominate the mind and the heart and our inner journey is to the place where we are able to create an opening for all these repeating energies to find their real homes.
(Overnight in Copacabana at Ecolodge del lago or similar)
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Pedro Szekely)
The Island of the Sun, located towards the south end of Lake Titicaca, is home to a small community of families who still farm and fish using traditional methods. This island in the lake is where the sun was born for the Incas. It is a stunning natural temple and it feels like one is living between worlds. There are no vehicles on this island!
On our walk on the island we open to the masculine breath – breath of projection. Having liberated the energies held in our hearts and minds, we open to the new birth, the projection of new thought forms into our future.
(Overnight on the Island of the Sun at Palla Khasa or similar)
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Steve Bennett)
This is the most important ceremony in the Aymara calendar – the greeting of the new sun. It is the transition from death into life. We can witness the traditional dances and the major ceremonies on the island. This is the time of year where the indigenous culture finds its fullest expression. The ceremonies and dances are spectacular as the old is allowed to die and the new is received. We find the same rhythm and pattern in our personal journey. We also look at the nature of sacrifice. Sacrifice is important in all shamanic traditions. We connect ceremonial and world religious contexts to daily truths. In a sense we demystify sacrifice and demonstrate that we actually make sacrifices every day in order to achieve what we are here to do. We look at conscious and unconscious sacrifices in our lives.
(Overnight on the Island of the Sun at Palla Khasa or similar)
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Jerrye and Roy Klotz MD)
In this meditation on the Island of the Sun we open up the breath to the deeper crystal clarity which connects the human being to the planetary being. Through deepening our conscious breathing we open to the breath in the earth and the breath in the sun. This deep breathing opens our conscious connection with other levels of our intelligence. We are able to listen to and channel the Earth wisdom through our own breathing human bodies.
(Overnight on the Island of the Sun at Palla Khasa or similar)
Today we will be lead in a traditional Inca ceremony with indigenous curanderos. We make our personal offerings to the land and receive personal information through the Akulli coca leaf ceremony. We also make our own personal Illias to focus our attention on our real path on this planet. All these ceremonies are like forms of entrance into a deeper understanding of how you breathe the earth… and how the earth breathes you.
(Overnight in Copacabana at Ecolodge del lago or similar)
This walk up to the sacred mountain is our walk which connects time with timelessness. Through listening deeply to our breath and our movements, we being to understand the breath of time. Time becomes a texture through which we move, and we look to the wisdom of the condor that teaches how to fly effortlessly through time. As the rhythm of our steps takes us deeper into the consciousness of the earth, we find ourselves at the same time going deeper into the sky. We reach the place where the sky meets the earth and the mysteries behind the illusion of separation are revealed.
(Overnight in Copacabana at Ecolodge del Lago or similar)
We take this day to deepen into this new sense of reality where time opens possibilities and impossibilities. Giving ourselves permission to fly, even for short moments free of our conditioning, we glimpse a deeper connexion with what you may call God, Great Spirit, Dharmakaya, Goddess, the Divine, Unity Consciousness or any other words that express your sense of your highest intelligence.
(Overnight in Copacabama at Ecolodge del Lago or similar)
Today we return to La Paz and make a bridge between the experiences we have had in Bolivia and our daily lives. What is useful? What can be taken home? Was this just a vacation or did real change take place? How does the movement affect the life that you lead?
(Overnight in La Paz at the Rosario Hotel or similar)
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Alhen)
For those not continuing on the Kallawaya trek, you will depart La Paz today for flights home.
(B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner)
Note: This itinerary is subject to change due to conditions beyond our control.
Today we say farewell to friends flying back home, and journey on to Pelechugo as we prepare for the start of our trek tomorrow. This extraordinary trek is of awesome and stunning beauty. The altitude ranges from 3500 to 5300 meters. We do it gradually, 6 hours a day only, with plenty of time to breathe in pure wonder. A lot of the trek is made in silence with a different focus of the breath each day as we develop more profoundly the techniques we learned on the first week and open also to the focus of the medicine wheel as we spiral into the centre of our personal and planetary mandala. Very experienced and informative native guides lead us, animals carry your packs and food, cooks also walk with us guiding the animals.
(Overnight in Pelechugo at a community-run hostel or similar)
This is a walking vision quest to the great mountain spirit Akamani. The Kallawayas also refer to Akamani simply as – padre (father). In this trek you receive gradual profound lessons on how to listen to this great ancestral wisdom. Each day we move our attention through the elements:
Day 12. North. Opening to the element of Air. Opening the mind.
Day 13. East. Opening to the element of fire. Opening the spirit.
Day 14. South. Opening to the element of earth. Opening the body.
Day 15. West. Opening to the element of water. Opening the emotions.
Day 16. Opening to the centre. The heart. This is the place where we open to the unfettered uninterrupted breath.
We work also with the high spring waters. Each stream has its flavour and its energy. Water is the medium through which the new thought forms arrive. We meditate with the waters and listen to their clear messages as they pass through our bodies. Drinking seeds of change. Rich in minerals and rich in wisdom!
By the time we reach the sacred mountain Akamani, we will be clear enough to breathe it through our bodies and to fulfil the personal and planetary healing intents of our journey. *Tents, sleeping bags and mats are not included. They can be rented from your guide, however due to quality issues, we suggest bringing your own.
(Overnight in tents in the Valley of the Mountains)
The indigenous people of these mountains have a very rich living tradition of herbal medicine and ceremony. Today we share food with them and we receive their ceremony on one of the power points on the mountains. These ceremonies and the indigenous wisdom will help to make sense of some of the huge realisations that have taken place on the walk, and will begin to help you to sense the new pathways from the fresh perceptions. This is a great blessing for all of us as these people are only just opening up to share their wisdom with the outside world.
(Overnight at an Indigenous Lodge or similar)
The mountain valleys are living pharmacies. We go on a walk to learn about some of the plants with native Kallawaya herbalists. We visit traditional healers and each person receives a consultation for any physical or psychological issues they wish to deal with.
In particular what we look for here is the mental, emotional, physical wounds that prevent you embracing the new visions you have received. The herbalist then spends a day collecting the herbs and you receive them in the evening. There would be enough herbs for up to a month’s treatment.
(Overnight at an Indigenous Lodge or similar)
Today we journey back to La Paz. In the evening we go for a well-earned sauna and swim in the best spa in town at the Hotel Europa!
(Overnight in La Paz at the Rosario Hotel or similar)
On this day we focus on grounding our experience and preparing for the journey back to our homes. We intend to bring what we have learned to our work, relationships, living situation. How do we make the link between dreams?
(Overnight in La Paz at the Rosario Hotel or similar)
We depart La Paz today for our flights home.
(B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner)
Note: This itinerary is subject to change due to conditions beyond our control.
