Last year I had the opportunity to go to Peru with a group of alternative medical practitioners called Healer2Healer. Healer2Healer is an international organization based in New York City that brings volunteer alternative medicine practitioners – such as acupuncturists, Reiki practitioners, and medical massage therapists – to rural indigenous communities.

Before I went to Peru, I shared about what I was going to experience. Here is the gist:

In addition to five days of Community Clinic in Cauhide where H2H participants will work with Western and alternative practitioners in triage to treat the expected 2,500 to 4,000 patients from the local area, we will:
·       Take part in indigenous ceremonies,
·       participate in perma-culture activities,
·       stay at and learn about The Paititi Institute for the Preservation for the Amazonian Rainforest and Indigenous Culture,
·       experience lectures about healing on many levels and modalities,
·       and study indigenous traditions and natural medicine.

This will be an opportunity for me to aid and learn from a population that is un(der)-represented and often marginalized. I will also have the chance to learn and deepen my own healing practice and skills, and evolve as a human/spiritual being.

To this day, I am still experiencing the reverberations from that trip. It was a mind-body-and-spirit-blowing experience! I had no idea what to expect—I could not imagine the Amazon Jungle or the Amazon River, it just was not my reality. (I have spent most of my life living in NYC, and the last 5 years in the desert of AZ). Since this trip I have been contemplating my role as a reiki practitioner and teacher, an artist, and basically what it is to be a being on this planet (let alone a being in this city/region/country).

If any of you who read this are reiki practitioners, massage therapists, or acupuncturists who want to give in an extraordinary way, I highly recommend contacting Healer2Healer. Their work around the world is ever-expanding, and you may get to experience cultures that are changing faster than you can imagine. Not to mention, you will make some amazing friends.

Below are links to posts and videos of my journey.

Last Day of Clinic in Cauhide – Interview with Sergio
Sergio, a Healer2Healer patient who was in his 80s, is featured in this video with some of his family members . . .

No Politics, No Religion, Just Compassion
Reflections on the 3rd World and an interview with reiki practitioner and visual artist, Lynda D’amico

patient sees improvement with alternative treatment — H2H Clinic, Cuahide, Peru
This man came to our Healer2Healer clinic three times, and saw improvement through treatment. He received auricular acupuncture, reiki, acupuncture and massage.

“Siblings – Peru” Handprinted linocut
More reflections and artwork I made after the journey . . .

Looking Back to Peru
Interview with Acupuncture student Sarah Swanberg at the clinic in Cuahide.

Kristin Reed Discusses her experience in Healer2Healer Clinic
Kristin Reed, artist, photogrpaher, Reiki Master and H2H veteran discusses her experience with Healer2Healer.