The L.I.F.E. Vision

Dear Caravan,

I am writing you all to share with you a more detailed vision of the organization that I and my wife, Natalie, have founded. I first received the inspiration for L.I.F.E. after my 2nd visit to the Riviera Maya of Mexico in fall of 2004. It had taken nearly 6 years for the incubation stages to complete but as you may or may not already know we have officially launched the organization. I first met Natalie, my soul mate, in this lieftime back in 2008 while vacationing on Siesta Key, Florida. We recently married in private, a simple spiritual ceremony, but intend to do so again in public for those of you who are family and close friends. The truth is that L.I.F.E. is both of our vision, although at the time I thought up the name and basic idea our paths had not yet crossed in the physical.

We dedicate this organization in the name of LIFE. Our main mission is to open and operate fully sustainable healing centers and eco-lodges in beautiful and energetically powerful spots throughout the world. We recently have been offered a beautiful portion of jungle property located off the Mariñon River, near San Regis, Peru. The land encompasses more than 6 hectares of virgin rainforest, and is surround on all sides by 1000 of hectares wild jungle. We will open the Tortuga Blanco Center for Curanderismo/Hollistic Medicine and Eco-Lodge later this year. It is a short boat ride from San Regis, which is the oldest town in Loreto (280 years). From the main port city of Iquitos it is several hours in boat, or taxi to the city of Nauta and then boat. We estimate that there are 1000 or so Tortuga Blanco medicinal trees on the land and since our Logo is the Cosmic Turtle, or Tortuga Mama, we believe that this tree is the guardian of this place. Within the property and the surrounding forest there are 1000´s more medicial trees and plants along with a plethora of animal life. From one of the 2 natural ports the land rises up a densely wooded hill until it reaches a maximum heoght of about 100 meters before leveling out. This spot truly was a gift from the divine and we are very thankful for receiving and for the healing and spiritual work that will soon commence there. We are both Curandero Apprentices and have studied various other holistic healing modalities.

The lodge will include but is not limited to the main ceremonial maloca, the center for healing with private rooms for healing sessions, a restaurant and leisure area, tambos for visitors and as well as for staff that wish to live on site as we will. If you are interested in learning more about us please write, or if you yourself are a healer wishing to work in the beautiful Amazon Rainforest. We also are accepting donations to help secure the property and if you wish to donate please do so to joeyjaguar13@gmail.com via paypal. And special thanks to all of you who have already made generous contributions! We wish you the best and hope to ''see you'' in the near future.

Peace, Love and Light,
Joey and Natalie

All That's Left

Love is All That's Left... this is the true human being state that we are can experience after some time working with the sacred Ayahuasca medicine. Ayahuasca is love.... god is love... life is love, no more, no less. Nature is PERFECT! The mistakes our ours. I perhaps failed to demonstrate effectively in the past what Ayahuasca shamanism is all about, and for that I apologize. Just know that it is a return to your true self... to your childhood innocence, and to your highest wisdom and light. I am truly blessed in every facet of my existence. I have found love again. I have wonderful friends and neighbors. I am grateful for my family and the upbringing I had, despite the rocky road that we had trod for nearly 12 years. All of that is history... 'His Story' I will be making the rainforest of Peru my home, at least in part time capacity from now on. The jungle is alive... it is pure magic. And magic, yet again, is love.

Please tune in again soon, Caravaners, as I plan to go in more depth about my doings here. I realize there has been much space in between my posts, but it took another month plus of drinking the medicine to get in the correct frame of mind, er spirit, to share my experiences with you. I now have a beautiful pice of land to build a small and cozy house for the months while I am apprenticing, and I am also finally looking into purchasing property with an hacienda to open La Tortuga Cosmica Lodge (The Cosmic Turtle) which will be our L.I.F.E. organizations 1st undertaking, a fully sustainable hacienda for travelers, and spiritual seekers and finders.. I need only to procure 1000 US for a deposit before I leave here end of May. Money is currently tights acould be, as I sacrificed 9 months of my life working like a dog just so I could return here to continue walking my true path again. I will be now accepeting donations to the organization to go towards charities (TBA) and also to secure the land and homestead. Normally, if I were working the US I would be in position to earn this money easily, but due to my circumstances my hands are tied. So if you feel it in your heart to contribute a portion to L.I.F.E. I can guarantee you free lodging based upon you donation when you decide to visit. The hacienda has an artesenal cistern for water, public electricity, although we will change over to solar panels ASAP, many fruit bearing trees including plaintain, softball sized limes, bowling bowl sized coconuts, and more. There is a swimminh lagoon 2 minutes walk from the back of the property, which is roughly 250 sq m. There is so much more, so I will have to post some photos soon for you all to see. We plan on ading an organic food garden, feng shui garden, and much much more. If you are interested in donating please contact me and i will send our paypal link. Anything at all will help. After all, L.I.F.E. (love-intellect-fitness-ecology) is not just for me, but for us all to share!

Much love, peace, and light.
Joey

Hey there caravaners,

It has been a little while since my last post. Things have finally begun to stabilize in Lima. I have 2 more weeks to the day here, before I will hop a red eye flight back to Philadelphia. That would put this journey at right around 4 months. Since I have basically been doing nothing but going in circles here in Lima, and struggling, far away from the plant medicines of the jungle it seems wise for me to return to the US to regroup. I had planned to do this anyways, just that I had hoped it would not be on such dire terms for leaving. At any rate, I am happy and content to go back. In the states I will have the opportunity to seriously save money and plan for my next trip to Peru. I intend to get my organization's website going proper, and when I return to Iquitos a year from now more or less I have some business opportunities that I can finally begin. I intend to make my apprenticeship of a very high priority, but of the highest, and this trip has taught me this, is to make sure I have long-term lodging. Even my own apartment or house looks promising due to the extrememly low costs down there. Once I know where I am going to be living, I am looking to open up either a backpacker´s Inn/hostel in Iquitos and offer excursions into the jungle and shamanic experiences, or a small retreat center directly in the jungle and offer the same things. The ultimate goal is to have the fully sustainable retreat center and community, the Wheel of L.I.F.E., but I believe learning the ropes in Iquitos before I take on that huge venture is a good idea. One of the positives during my Lima detour is I made friends with an Iquitos native who shares a similar vision. His father owns some jungle property an hour boat ride on the Amazon river from Iquitos. I also have been put into contact with a reputable Shaman in Iquitos by a facebook friend, actually the author of a book I read a while back, Plant Spirit Shamanism. This particular shaman has been known to take on long-term apprentices which, at this point, I am. I am beyond visiting the jungle for 2 week Ayahuasca retreats and now am ready to begin the years long work of becoming a true shaman and healer. We have begun email correspondence and perhaps he and I will form a teacher/apprentice relationship and who knows, maybe he will factor into the business ideas ;)

So in 2 weeks I will be back on US soil. I am glad that spring will be in full swing by then. The nights have begun to get chilly here in Lima. Keep an eye out for a wrap up of my trip that I will do before I return home. Be well.

Love and Light,
Joey

The Dreaming Tree Has Died

I said it before, and I will say it again... Iquitos may lie in the rainforest, but Lima is the real jungle. I am going back to Iquitos ASAP. There is nothing here for me in Lima except for contamination. I felt very much like I was being held prisoner here, and my circumstances did in fact do that, but the clouds are parting and I am going to go back to the jungle. From there I can stay as long as I need before my trip back to the states. I gave it a valiant effort here in the city, but it is not for me...

There´s No Easy Way Out.... There´s No Short-Cut Home.

7 Chuen

(Uuc is the number seven in the Mayan Sacred Calendar. It represents Reflection, the Source of Creation, and the Flow of Divine Will.

Chuen is the 11th day sign of the Uinal. It means ´Monkey´ and carries a colorful Western energy. In the middle of the 20 signs, this day often brims with creativity and exercises a great variety of talents and skills. Known to the Maya as the the weaver of time, monkey can hold and manipulate many different threads at once, intertwining new ideas, patterns or inventions into the fabric of our reality and changing our lives with the products of their innocent curiosity.)

Hi Caravaners,

Hope everyone is feeling well and happy. I myself have had a 3 day respite to finally sleep and recuperate from all the traveling and walking i have been doing lately. I have been fortunate enough to find a host family here in Lima to live with for a while. This is truly a blessing because I was so worn out. Now i have a safe place to rest my head everynight, and also to store what little stuff I have left!

You know, I have been thinking alot about making my return trip to the states sooner than I had said in my last blog. Part of me sees this as throwing in the towel, but if you have been following from the beginning you will see that I just need the resources of the US to regroup and accomplish what I need to before i relocate down here to begin building the Gaian Wheel of L.I.F.E.

So anyways, I will keep this one short. The deal is I am safe and secure for a while, and am going to focus my intention on manifesting a way back to the States for the summer and fall at the least, and possibly the holidays. I have resolved within myself the issue of throwing in the towel... perhaps you will get the symbolism between this saying and the title of this blog... it is a song from a famous soundtrack.... think boxing...

Hasta Pronto,
Joey

A Sort of Homecoming

2 Cimi
(Ka is the number 2 in the Mayan Calendar and it represents duality and balance between opposing, yet complementary elements. Cimi is the 6th day sign of the uinal. It means `Death` and carries a powerful northern energy. This is the sign of the cycle of Life , Death, and Rebirth. The Maya saw death as the creator of life, and contact with their ancestors served to activate inherent psychic abilities. This day sign is particulalry gift with these abilities.)

Dear Caravaners,

Today marks day ten of waiting for the arrival of my new ATM card. So far no dice, but what I have gotten now seems so much more. I have been attempting to process what it was exactly the had drawn me here to Lima and kept me as if a prisoner. A prisoner free to leave if he wishes, yet kept in waiting for something that would certainly help out along the journey.

With that said I have begun to formulate a 6 month plan or thereabouts. I am choosing to seek out a job here in Lima... in fact, one offer literally fell into my lap in the form of an add for an inside sales job with a US company that wants native English speakers here in Lima. Another potential option is English teaching, which may be a bit more rewarding but with less potential for earning. I will weight out all the options. The goal is to save up enough money to begin the next grand leg of my journey. I have come to the conclusion that I must return to the states for some months to fund raise for my organization, get the website going, record my album, sell artwork, spend time with loved ones, etc etc. So instead of taking the funds I earn in Lima to purchase a plane ticket back to Philly, I will instead begin a trek from South America up through Central America, Mexico, Florida and up the East Coast of the US. I plan to do this on foot, by boat, train and by automobiles. I will most likely leave room for longer stops in Guetamala to further my research and experience of Mayan Culture, hike the tallest peak in Costa Rica through the cloud forests and have a view of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans simultaneously, and then when I reach Tulum, Mexico, set up home base and hopefully spend time learning special massage techniques from Mayan Shaman Daniel Pol Pech at the Maya Spa. Once I am through in the Yucatan I can boat or take a short flight to Sarasota to visit one of my mentor/friends on Siesta Key, then take the train to Philadelphia. I don`t have a rigid time table but I would like to be back in the states by mid-october to see the leaves change color.

Once again, as I have so many times on this trip, I feel such a profound sense of gratitude for beaing alive. What seemed a major hassle and trial, the theft of my wallet, has opened up a door to accomplish all the things I have wished to accomplish this year-- as many and as impossible they may seem to complete. I must thank my friend Gina for having a dream about me going on walk-about because that opened my mind to the idea of both the trek, and earlier today I realized that it would be OK to stay in Lima and work. I had been torn between going back to Iquitos and staying here in Lima. I felt as though I would be foolishly turning my back a bit from my aoprenticeship if I should remain here for too long, but now I can see that I can have my cake and eat it, too.

So sports fans, stay tuned for my updates about my new job and a journey of several thousand miles through up to 12 countries!

Love and Light,
Joey Jaguar

El Puesto Del Sol

I just witnessed my first setting of the sun over the Pacific Ocean. I believe it will burn an imprint in my heart and mind for the rest of my life. I was sitting atop a garden wall, with 3 or 4 terraces of cobble stones and flowers and trees running along the cliffside below me to my left as the sun began to drift closer to the horizon. The coast of Lima curled to my right north and out to sea like a crescent. What I had previously thought was a mountainous portion of the coast that jutted out into the sea reavelead itself as a mountain island just offshore to the northwest. The sky was a soft peach color with hues of pink and violet and the ocean a pastel green with slate blue. The waves rolled in from the sea in large ripples, mimicking the effect of a pepple thrown into a pool of water. There were hazy wispy clouds just above horizon that changed in color as the sun passed through them. As the sun was about to meet the horizon a humming bird joined me for the show and a drink in the rose bushes below before flittering away. A single sailboat appeared in my field of vision and headed out towards the now large, brilliant magenta sun. When the sun finally nestled beyone the horizon I felt in my heart that this view was worth all the difficulties I had experienced in Lima over the past 2 weeks, and any and all difficulties I have ever had endure. These are the moments that make life beautiful.