Featured Speakers

BOSNIA

Dr. Semir “Sam” Osmanagich is one of the leading pyramid researcher in the World, Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, professor at the American University in Bosnia and discoverer of the ancient Bosnian pyramid complex. He has investigated pyramids in China, Mauritius, Honduras, Egypt, Canary Islands, Mexico, El Salvador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru and other parts of the world. He has discovered Bosnian pyramids in Visoko, after which he has been admitted to the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. He is currently the youngest member of this institution, which includes dozens of Nobel Prize winners. After Egyptian experts confirmed the existence of pyramids in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Dr. Osmanagich was accepted to the prestigious Archaeological Society of Alexandria. Through his lectures and through the promotion of archaeological tourism, he is changing the image of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the better. He is the founder of the non-profit Foundation “Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun” registered for archaeological research and protection of cultural heritage on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Rev. Marta Thomas has been coordinating transformative journeys to sacred sites throughout the world for more than two decades. She is an event planner, spiritual counsellor, Mayan energy practitioner, crystal skull guardian and sacred site essence maker. She is a member of the board of directors of the Children of the Sun Foundation and the Sacred Site Foundation of South Africa.

EGYPT

John Anthony West – author, lecturer, and guide, John delivered a seismic shock to archaeology in the early 1990′s when he and Boston University geologist Robert Schoch revealed that the Great Sphinx of Giza, Egypt, showed evidence of rainfall erosion. Such erosion could only mean that the Sphinx was carved during or before the rains that marked the transition of northern Africa from the last Ice Age to the present interglacial epoch, a transition that occurred in the millennia from 10,000 to 5000 BC. According to John, “Egyptian civilization was not a development, it was a legacy“. In his book, “Serpent in the Sky”, John explains his theories and the purpose of Egyptian culture.

Stephen S. Mehler, M.A. is an author and Independent Egyptologist. In 1992, Stephen Mehler met Egyptologist and indigenous wisdom keeper Abd’El Hakim Awyan in Egypt. After further trips to Egypt to work in the field with Hakim in 1997, 1998 and twice in 1999, Stephen wrote his first book, The Land Of Osiris, published in 2001. Stephen and Hakim have redefined the field as Khemitology, not Egyptology. Further work with Hakim in Egypt in 2003 and 2004 have resulted in Stephen’s latest book, From Light Into Darkness: The Evolution Of Religion In Ancient Egypt, published by Adventures Unlimited Press. Stephen is currently Director of Research for the Great Pyramid of Giza Research Association.

Ms. Vivian Zaki, PhD, Egyptologist/Tour Guide, has worked with Body Mind Spirit Journeys for several years. Our groups have found her to be extremely knowledgeable, very professional, and also very warm and friendly. Vivian has a degree in Archaeology and Tourism, with over 15 years experience guiding groups in Egypt. Ashraf William has also worked with Body Mind Spirit Journeys for several years as our Tour Director. He is very supportive of our special needs and makes “magic” happen to get us in to the temples for our meditations and ceremonies, often with private time.

Special Guest Shahrzad Awyan is the daughter of the late Abd’El Hakim Awyan and has been chosen by her Father to receive the teachings of the indigenous Wisdom Keepers, to teach them to those that are ready to receive them. She grew up in the village of Nazlet el-Samman, located near the Giza Plateau. At age 6 she went into the King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid and spontaneously started toning ancient sounds. Today she uses this sound healing technique in her healing sessions. Shahrzad lived on the Big Island of Hawaii for several years. She returned home to Egypt to find that the hands-on healing techniques she had learned while living there had their origins in ancient Egypt. When she told Hakim about the work she was doing, he took her to Sakkara and showed her scenes on the walls of some of the tombs and temples, showing the Egyptian people using the same healing techniques! Shahrzad will share these ancient healing techniques with those on this tour.

ENGLAND

Koko Newport is a Priestess of Avalon who lives in Glastonbury. Our group will be staying at her charming and warm Bed and Breakfast, a few minutes walk from the heart of town. She is also a mother, grandmother, teacher, healer, shaman and manifester of dreams, has studied with many spiritual teachers including Victor Sanchez, Sandra Ingerman and Kathy Jones, in search of balance and wholeness. She says: “When I first came to Glastonbury, many years ago, I had little idea of how transformative it would be for me. I came simply because my heart was often drawn to its mysteries and the unknown secrets of its energy and dynamic healing flows. I was drawn to live here and give to the world by providing a safe and homely place for travelers to experience it by. I opened a Bed and Breakfast. Once at home here, I then integrated into the energies and studied the teachings of the Goddess with inner reflections and outer journeys on the land. So came many insights and the unfolding of the older ancient secrets and the sense of oneness with the land and the ancestors. In so doing, I also became a priestess of Avalon and teacher. I am passionate about sharing with you the wonders of the major sites of Stonehenge and Avebury, as well as the secret gentle places of Avalon. As you walk through their transforming landscapes, following the ancestral footpaths, your life’s journey may be made more whole and at ease.”

INDIA

Lisa Tully and Lama Buga Tire Lisa Tully began hosting tours to the Dharamsala area of northern India after a life-changing experience. A planned trip with friends to a posh beach resort in south India somehow was transformed into a solo journey to McLeod Ganj, where she attended public teachings by His Holiness the 14^th Dalai Lama, and formed a bond with Lama Buga Tire. She now helps free her Western brothers and sisters from spiritual poverty via tours and meditation retreats in India that are immersed in the Tibetan Buddhist lifestyle.

Lama Buga Tire was born in Tibet and has lived most of his life in exile in India. He became a Buddhist monk at the Gyumed Tantric Monastery in South India at the age of six. He spent two years at the Buddhist meditation center in McLeod Ganj that has become a part of Lisa’s programs. His Tibetan heritage makes him an authentic local team member.

Padma, Marla Stewart B.Sc. is a certified teacher of Advanced Yogic Sciences and Meditation (Senior Level) and Hatha Yoga (1000-hour Senior Level) by the International Meditation Institute of India. She is a unique educator specializing in a holistic approach to mental, physical, and spiritual wellness. Padma is respected as one of Canada’s senior teachers and is highly regarded for her extensive studies and vast knowledge of meditation and classical yogic studies. Her western science and philosophical studies inform her exceptional education in eastern practices. She is a unique bridge between the two worlds of wisdom and speaks with eloquence of their oneness.

Padma has hosted, written, and produced four nationally-syndicated television series: Padma Yoga: Blissful Living, Modern Meditations, The Elemental Series and Living Yoga with Padma. She has produced two educational DVDs and hosted a 12-part series on CBC radio. Her guided meditation recordings, Freedom from Flight Anxiety, are heard on Air Canada flights. Padma is often featured in other national media, such as in the television series Remedy Me and in Chatelaine magazine, December, 2009, Reader’s Digest and others.

IRELAND

Amantha Murphy is a Shamanic Healer & Teacher who follows the path of the Goddess. She started her work professionally thirty-three years ago as a clairvoyant and moved into trance mediumship and healing within three years. Since then she has worked with, and continues to work with, groups and individuals. Her passion is the Land and returning to HER story – working through the Grandmothers and the “shining ones” the Tuatha de Danann. She has been running Sacred Pilgrimages successfully in Ireland since 1992 and returned full time to her roots in Co Kerry, Ireland in 1997. Amantha also works with the sacred ceremonies around the Celtic Wheel and is available as a Dula. Amantha’s teachings come from her Spirit and ancestral teachers.

ISRAEL

Michael Boruch holds a B.A. and Master of Science degrees in Jewish Studies. His area of concentration is Kabbalah. He is a Reiki healer as well as the Ayurvedic bodywork practitioner. He is well-versed in matters spiritual and esoteric including the ancient civilizations of Lemuria and Atlantis, dowsing, ley lines, megalithic monuments, near-death-experiences, UFOs, UFO abductions and Yoga. Michael has studied Sefer Yetzirah, Heikhalot Rabbati, Zohar and other Kabbalistic texts in their original language. He has also written extensively on Kabbalah.

ITALY

Dr. Bruce Davis & Ruth Davis, movement therapist, have conducted spiritual retreats in Assisi for over 25 years, Their Assisi Retreat Center has been listed as one of the world’s top ten retreat centers by Travel & Leisure magazine. Bruce and Ruth will give you the opportunity to find your own simplicity and inner peace. Bruce guides you into the inner life with prayers and meditation. Ruth offers a “Sacred Movement Ritual” which is prayer through gentle movement. Bruce began his career as retreat leader studying with an Eskimo Shaman, and Philippine Psychic Healers and with A Course in Miracles. He is the author of The Magical Child Within You, Monastery Without Walls, The Calling of Joy, Simple Peace, as well as other books. During a five-night retreat, Bruce and Ruth will share the jewels of contemplative spirituality from both the East and West, while allowing lots of free time to be with and receive God’s presence.

MONGOLIA, CHINA & TIBET

Glenn H. Mullin is a Tibetologist, Buddhist writer, translator ofclassical Tibetan literature, and teacher of Tantric Buddhist meditation. He divides his time between writing, teaching, meditating, and leading tour groups to the power places of Nepal and Tibet. Glenn lived in the Indian Himalayas between 1972 and 1984, where he studied philosophy, literature, meditation, yoga, and the enlightenment culture under thirty-five of the greatest living masters of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism. His two principal tantric gurus were the late great masters Kyabje Ling Dorjechang and Kyabje Trijang Dorjechang, who were best known as Yongdzin Che Chung, the two main gurus of the present Dalai Lama. The list of Glenn’s other teachers and initiation masters includes the Dalai Lama, Sakya Trizin Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche, Ngakpa Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, Tai Situ Rinpoche, Khenchen Konchok Gyaltsen, Geshe Ngawang Dargyey, Geshey Rabten, and Gongsar Tulku. Glenn is the author of over 20 books on Tibetan Buddhism. Many of these (published by Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, NY) focus on the lives and works of the early Dalai Lamas. After returning from India in 1984 Glenn founded and directed The Mystical Arts of Tibet, an association of Dharma friends that was instrumental in bringing the first tours of Tibetan monks to North America to perform sacred Temple music and dance, as well as create mandala sand paintings. He gave this to Drepung Loseling Monastery in 1994, and it continues to bring Tibetan spiritual culture on tours around the world. As well as leading tour groups to the Buddhist power places of Nepal and Tibet, Glenn acts as consultant and advisor to independent groups wanting to travel safely and meaningfully through these sacred sites.

PERU

Jorge Luis Delgado, born in the highlands near Lake Titicaca, Peru, is of Aymara Incan heritage. His mother is from a family of herders and his father was a teacher. Growing up in a large family in Puno, Peru, Jorge Luis began carrying bags for people in Puno to earn extra money for the family. After he graduated with superior grades from high school, Jorge Luis continued in this tradition and chose to be a tour guide. Early in his career, he concentrated on being very scientific as he worked in the area of the Sacred Valley, including Machu Picchu, and the area surrounding Lake Titicaca. Today, Jorge Luis is known around the world as a knowledgeable guide of the Sacred Valley and the High Plateau of the Andes. His knowledge spans the culture, the traditions, and the spiritual heritage of his vibrant Inca world. Jorge Luis now has his own tour company, Kontiki Tours, and is currently building his third Taypikala Hotel. Most important, Jorge Luis is a “chacaruna,” a bridge person, who assists people in connecting to their spiritual self within their own traditions. Jorge Luis lives in Puno with his wife and three children. Anthropologists recognize the Quero for still speaking the original language of the ancient Incas and for carrying on the ancient customs and beliefs. Jorge Luis is an indigenous Inca with a brilliant mind, who is able to express the knowledge and experiences of his spiritual heritage in practical terms that are as alive and viable in today’s modern cities, as they were in the ancient mountaintop city of Machu Picchu. Jorge Luis is known around the world as a knowledgeable guide of the Sacred Valley and the High Plateau of the Andes.

Carolina Hehenkamp is an author, spiritual counselor, trainer and travel guide. After a fashion career she started her spiritual work studying with a Peruvian Shaman 24 years ago, followed by Aura-Soma color Therapy. Since then she has been working ongoing with groups and individuals leading them into the Sacred Space of the Heart, creating a healing space so the manifesting of dreams becomes reality. In 1997 she started to travel with groups to the pyramids of Mexico, Guatemala, Egypt and swim with the whales and dolphins in Maui. She is an expert on the “Indigo Phenomenon,” and wrote four books for this new generation and those guiding and educating them. Now she divides her time between leading tour groups to power places in the South Pacific & Chilean Andes, writing and training people to find inner peace, healing and the power to follow their dream. She lived in Rapa Nui/Easter Island for four years and can share powerful indigenous teachings. She believes it is important to gather at ancient power spots, so all our cell memories can be activated, while Mother Earth can feel we love her.

SEDONA

Sedona guide Clint Frakes Clint Frakes has guided over 10,000 pilgrims and visitors through Sedona, the Grand Canyon and the greater Southwest. He has worked extensively learning traditions, lore and culture of America’s indigenous people, and practices them in his daily life.

Clint believes believes that human visitation to sacred sites with reverence, prayer and contemplation helps sustain a crucial balance in the greater consciousness and subtle energetic metabolism of the earth, and that we each receive personal blessings and improved health when we engage this relationship. Clint is also interested in worldwide spiritual traditions and attended Naropa University, North America’s first Buddhist-founded college. He has made pilgrimages to dozens of sacred sites in India and Japan and has taught the Medicine Wheel throughout America and abroad.

Clint received his Ph.D. in creative writing from the University of Hawaii in 2006 and is an award-winning poet and teacher of creative writing who weaves his artistry and craft of tongue into his tours and sacred journeys. His reservoir of knowledge has been reviewed as “encyclopedic”. He explains and synthesizes aspects of deep ecology, natural history elemental and metaphysical forces within the context of the special sites you will visit. You will feel your creative juices and love of the timeless earth stir as you walk the land with him.

SOUTH AFRICA

Dean Liprini is a Sacred Site Researcher and Geomancer, who grew up and was born on the Lower Slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town South Africa. He has more than 18 years of full time, hands on experience in this field, has authored a book entitled “Pathways of the Sun – Unveiling the Mysteries of Table Mountain and Beyond” Published 2006 and recently compiled a DVD “Pathways of the Sun – An Awakening”

Dean is one of the first to unveil many of the Sacred Sites of South Africa – which weave together many layers of Ancient History- Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Energies, also adding his deep insight and knowledge of the Metaphysical Healing Properties that surround and enshrine these Sacred Places. He personally co-creates each journey and experience with and for various Spiritual groups and individuals.

U.K. and IRELAND

Jamie George – Born and raised in Scotland, Jamie George is a co-director, with his partner Frances Howard-Gordon, of Gothic Image bookstore and publishing house in Glastonbury. Jamie has organised tours for such groups as the American Society of Dowsers in Vermont, the Omega Institute and the Fellowship of the Spirit in New York, USA.

He played a major part in the inspiration for the late Marion Zimmer Bradley to write her best selling novel The Mists of Avalon which is set in Glastonbury. He has appeared on many television programmes – including, most recently, The Quest For the Holy Grail – Pioneer productions.