Seven years ago I was upside down, dangling by my feet from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun in the amazing ancient city of Teotihuacán, Mexico. It was not your average dangling – I had a morbid fear of heights and barely made it to the top of the massive structure that day. Never did I believe I would trust someone to hang me by my feet off the side of such a high structure! But in the end I did, and let go of my fear of heights and a few other fears in the bargain too. My gratitude for this experience was beyond measure, since this miracle was not what I had expected when I signed up for this adventure. To be honest, the things I experienced I could have never imagined – even in my wildest dreams!

Just to clarify things, this was my first power journey with Toltec master don Miguel Ruiz and climbing the Pyramid was the culmination of my five day voyage to this incredible city. But even more importantly, as I stood on the top of the Pyramid merging with the sun, I experienced the true presence of my inner spirit and my heart for the first time in my life.

The magnificent ruins of the ancient Toltec city of Teotihuacán are approximately 40 minutes northeast of Mexico City and one mile high in altitude. The Toltec were not a religious or racial group, but instead humans who practiced a certain philosophy of life.

Teotihuacán was a huge university dedicated to the transcendence of humanity. The layout of the city was modeled on the image of a long double headed snake; one head on each end of its body. The apprentice would progress down the Avenue of the Dead or the body of the snake, section by section after entering the first plaza. Though this process, the snake digested all the student’s lies and beliefs that were limiting the full expression of their Spirit.

As a result, they died to everything they believed about themselves and their world. Lifetimes were spent letting go of all the boundaries man has put upon himself through the domestication of his mind. When there was finally nothing left of the student’s personality, ego and domestication they became what they really were; the divine expression of Love or Spirit. After finally exiting the body of the snake, the apprentice would climb the Pyramid of the Sun and using the energy of the structure, would merge and become one with the light. Under the tutelage of masters, these apprentices would pass through the different sections of the snake until they had completed their training and transcended their physical bodies and earthly dream.

For years, don Miguel and the apprentices he personally trained, myself included, have taken thousands of seekers to this wonderful city. I have watched hundreds of people come on these journeys stressed, confused and wishing for something more in their lives, hoping to find what is missing. By the end of the journey their faces are glowing, they are relaxed and they have clarity about the direction they are going in life. Even more importantly, they have a glimpse of the divinity that they truly are and the wonderment of that.

It is a miracle to see people recognize themselves as the magical beings that they are and to take full responsibility for what they have created in their lives. Upon leaving the journey they choose to use their magic to create beauty, love and joy in their world rather than anger, frustration, fear and drama.

When we journey to Teotihuacán we do not travel as tourists to take pictures of the ruins, look at and climb the Pyramids. No, we go to experience the dream of the city as it was thousands of years ago and to connect with the intent of the place itself. Teotihuacán was built with the intent to transform the dream of the humans from one of fear to one of love and to assist us in detaching from the beliefs we have that do not serve our higher good.

Our ceremonies, rituals and activities on the grounds of the city are designed to access this energy directly. Because of this, our transformational process work is made more intense but also easier as a result. Truly, miracles occur here if your heart and mind are open to receive what the universe has available for you.

You are probably wondering, what possessed me to go on this journey in the first place? Just like so many of you, I had reached a point in my life where I was so unhappy I felt like I could not go on another day. Feeling dead, like a robot repeating its boring daily activities, I could not believe this was my life. I had many moments of happiness of course, but I could not say that I was happy inside. Systematically I kept changing my outer circumstances thinking that would fix things, never realizing what needed to be fixed was me!

At the time I was a practicing Podiatrist of 16 years and director of a surgical residency program. I had a wonderful home, career, car and friends. But I did not have a healthy relationship with a partner, nor did I have a healthy relationship with myself! Upon reading don Miguel’s book The Four Agreements, I decided to give the Toltec path a chance. Teotihuacán is where I discovered that nothing outside of me was ever the problem in my life.

What was preventing me from enjoying my life was my programming and all my limiting beliefs about myself and my world. From that point on I started to dismantle those beliefs and started living my life according to my heart and my integrity, instead of what I had been taught in my domestication.

As a result I sold my home, my belongings, and my practice, broke up with my boyfriend and traveled west to apprentice with don Miguel. It has been a challenging process to be sure, but one I would not have traded for anything in the world. Of course, you do not need to sell your home and travel to do accomplish this; you can do it wherever you are, no matter what your circumstances may be. And believe me; if I could change my life you can too! No written description can substitute for your own magical experience of this place. I invite each of you to come and feel the energy of Teotihuacán for yourselves.

Come and gain the tools of awareness needed to make the necessary changes in your life. Create a dream of love rather than one of fear. Take a chance and transform your life, discover the light within you and expand your ideas about who you are and what you can be. Please consider joining us on our next power journey to Teotihuacán or any of our sacred journeys!

Blessings, Dr Sheri Rosenthal

Although most people associate Peru with the famous Inkan Empire, they were only one of many incredible civilizations who existed over time. What makes Peru so fascinating is not only the culture, but the physical beauty and diversity of the land. From the Peruvian Andes in the highlands, to the Amazonian rainforest and everywhere in between, you can find one of the most incredible collection of birds, exotic plants, interesting animals and most famously – the condor. If you didn’t know, the condor is the largest flying bird in the world and is a sight to behold.

You can travel from sea-level to almost 20,000 feet in the Cordillera Blanca (famous for trekking and mountaineering) to Lake Titicaca which at 12,500 feet is the highest navigable lake in the world! Needless to say, even with a bit of a stay in Cusco and Machu Picchu first, I did experience an incredible headache and nausea that even the striking beauty of the lake area did not ameliorate.

Cusco, is an adventure in and of itself and is known as our continent’s oldest continuously inhabited city. The famous Inkan, Manco Capac (who was the son of the sun) founded the city around the 12th century.

To do this he drove a golden rod into the earth, and from that point foward the city was called “the navel of the earth” or in Quechua, the native language, “qosqo”.

Archeologists believe that the Wari Indians may have been the actual earliest inhabitants of this area, but research is still ongoing. Although Cusco has a long and complex history, but what is most fascinating to me is the general layout of the city which resembles a puma, with the fortress of Sacsayhuaman as the head, the plaza of Huacaypata as navel, and the converging Huatanay and Tullumayo rivers as the tail.

In the Cusco area, and in Machu Picchu you can observe the remarkable Inka building and stone work. How they cut these massive pieces of stone (of up to 300 tons, mind you) to fit so perfectly that mortar was not needed, is still unknown to date. You cannot get a hair between these stones – which are still standing despite earthquakes and other disasters.

Speaking of Machu Picchu, it was discovered in 1911 by historian Hiram Bingham, who actually was looking for one city and ended up finding it by accident. Thankfully it was never discovered by the Spanish conquistadors and remained untouched until Bingham’s work there. No words can express the beauty and wonderment of this place. Here is a city built on top of a high mesa, in the middle of jungle, made of stones weighing tons – and we still do not understand how they accomplished this feat. Only by visiting this sacred site can you begin to appreciate the significance of its presence – archeologically, spiritually and astronomically.

I invite you to join us in Peru where we will be using the mythology of this unique culture to explore our divine nature and spirituality. Truly you will experience the magic and mystery of this ancient place and open your heart to these beautiful people. I look forward to seeing you on our next spiritual journey to Peru!

Blessings, Dr Sheri Rosenthal
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Many people have never heard of Bhutan, the country that values Gross National Happiness over Gross National Product! Bhutan is a landlocked little country roughly the size of Switzerland. It is bounded on the north and northwest by Tibet, with India touching its remaining borders and Nepal a bit to the west. Virtually the entire country is mountainous, peaking at 24,777ft. North to south it features three geographic regions; the high Himalaya of the north, the hills and valleys of the center, and the foothills and plains of the south.

For centuries Bhutan has remained isolated from the rest of the world. Since its doors were opened in 1974, visitors have been mesmerized by the beautiful and pristine country and the hospitable and charming people. The best time to visit is October and November and during major festivals which of course is when we will be visiting there. The climate is best in autumn, from late September to late November, when skies are clear and the high mountain peaks are visible. It’s not unusual to experience rain no matter what the season, but we avoid the monsoon season, June-August, when buckets of rain come down.

Buddhism was probably introduced in Bhutan around the 2nd century although traditionally its introduction is credited to the first visit of Guru Rinpoche in the 8th century. Before that the people followed a shamanistic tradition called Bon that still exists today, merged with their Buddhist traditions.

Guru Rinpoche is the most important figure in Bhutan’s history, regarded as the second Buddha. His miraculous powers included the ability to subdue demons and evil spirits, and he preserved his teachings and wisdom by concealing them in the form of terma (hidden treasures) to be found later by enlightened treasure discoverers known as tertons. One of the best known of these tertons was Pema Lingpa; the texts and artefacts he found, the religious dances he composed, and the art he produced, are vital parts of Bhutan’s living heritage.

The largest and most colorful festivals (tsechus) take place at Bhutan’s dzongs and monasteries once a year, in honor of Guru Rinpoche. Tsechus consist of up to five days of spectacular pageantry, masked dances and religious allegorical plays. These festivals play a large part in the Buddhist teachings and are also social gatherings. The Bhutanese revel and rejoice together, dressed in their finest clothes and jewelry, in an infectiously convivial atmosphere where humor and devotion go hand in hand. For us these festivals provide an ideal opportunity to appreciate the essence of the Bhutanese character. The temple of Jampa Lhakhang hosts one of the kingdom’s most spectacular festivals, the Jampa Lhakhang Drup, in October – just one of many throughout the year.

Because Bhutan has no domestic air service, possesses no helicopters, and does not include an inch of railway track, the only way to see the place is by foot or by road. This journey will definitely be an adventure! We will also be meeting with some of the temple monks so we can learn more about their traditions and ask them questions. This country is stunning magnificent – and pictures do not do it justice. Please consider joining us this year for our Bhutan journey – it will open your heart in ways you could not imagine!

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