Ross Heaven's interest in plants, healing and spirituality started early in life when his family moved from the city where he was born to a strange and timeless village on the borders of Wales. There he met and was informally apprenticed to a sin eater - a spiritual herbalist and "devourer of human sin" whose job was to restore balance to the soul. Ross spent 10 years with this healer learning the folklore and wisdom of the plants and immersing himself in the spiritual practices of an almost extinct tradition of Celtic shamanism, a story told in his book The Sin Eater's Last Confessions.
His interest piqued, Ross took his degree at a university now recognised as a World Centre for Excellence in transpersonal psychology. His decision to study there was based on a whim, a synchronicity, or on "following the whispers of spirit" but it turned out to be one of the best decisions of his life, enabling him to combine psychology, anthropology, philosophy and religious studies to create what he has come to regard as a "DIY course in shamanism".
After graduating Ross became an international marketing consultant to pharmaceutical companies such as Roche and Chiron. He was very successful at it - but every day his soul rebelled a little more.
To counter his feelings of aimlessness and dissatisfaction he threw himself more deeply into the study of spirituality and the healing traditions, training in imagework, herbalism, massage, yoga, tai chi, the Eastern philosophies and becoming a senior in five different martial arts.
Some of this provided temporary relief and distraction but at an AIDS conference in Vancouver in 1998 the shallowness, cynicism and money orientation of the pharmaceutical business finally became too much for him and he gave back the BMW, the Gucci suits and the house in the country to head for the jungles of Peru in search of answers and new direction.
It is a cliché, of course, but drinking ayahuasca and San Pedro really did help him to "find himself" and in fact the solution was simple: to return to his first love, the plants, and become a fulltime healer. He trusted the universe and did as he had been shown and has now helped hundreds of people to heal and trained hundreds of others in traditional soul-healing methods through his workshops and books such as Plant Spirit Shamanism: Traditional Techniques for Healing the Soul, Plant Spirit Wisdom and The Hummingbird's Journey to God, the first to be written about healing with San Pedro, the "cactus of vision".
Ross conducts ceremonies throughout Europe and facilitates group journeys to the Amazon and Andes for people who wish to experience ayahuasca and San Pedro themselves on his Magical Earth and Cactus of Vision programmes. Increasingly, he is fascinated by the healing potential of San Pedro and has witnessed many "miracles" in those who have drunk it, including recoveries from trauma, abuse, addiction and conditions such as diabetes, paralysis and cancer. Some of these healings are recorded in his book and in articles and interviews such as this: http://www.realitysandwich.com/flight_hummingbird.
Ross divides his time between Europe and Peru where his retreat Centres offer healing and training to others: The Hummingbird in Spain and El Colibri, a beautiful new medicine Centre close to Iquitos.
His website is www.thefourgates.com or you can email him for more information on courses, trips and events at <!-- var prefix = 'ma' + 'il' + 'to'; var path = 'hr' + 'ef' + '='; var addy52264 = 'ross' + '@'; addy52264 = addy52264 + 'thefourgates' + '.' + 'com'; document.write( '<a ' + path + '\'' + prefix + ':' + addy52264 + '\'>' ); document.write( addy52264 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n
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BOOK TITLES
The Hummingbird's Journey to God: Perspectives on San Pedro, the Cactus of Vision
Plant Spirit Shamanism: Traditional Techniques for Healing the Soul
Plant Spirit Wisdom: Sin Eaters and Shamans: The Power of Nature in Celtic Methods for Healing the Soul
The Sin Eater's Last Confessions: Lost Traditions of Shamanism
Walking with the Sin Eater: A Celtic Pilgrimage on the Dragon Path
FREE ARTICLES
'Heaven and the Hummingbird': An interview with Ross about the healing power of San Pedro.
'San Pedro the Miracle Healer': An interview by Ross with an Andean San Pedro healer.
'Plant Medicines and Shamanic Healing': An article on the healing rituals of ayahuasca.
