The Snake and the Four Winds explores the ancient tribal traditions, ritual, ceremonies and mind of the ancient tribal Jews called Ivrim. Dr. Berger shares with the reader a new way of understanding Judaism as a tribal tradition. Resourcing the Kabbalah, Torah, Talmud and the teachings of the ancient shamans Illana brings a new vision to the Jewish tradition.The book takes you into the world of Ancestors, ancient meditation practices, Jewish shamanic practices, Jewish healing and a process of remembering that is quite profound.The vision for this book is to revive the traditional tribal ways of the ancient Jewish culture and to re-awaken the balance of the masculine and feminine aspects of wisdom, knowledge, and Divinity inherent in Jewish traditional ways of life. It is intended to affect and stimulate the healing of the soul through a process of remembering the old ways of being/knowing embraced by ancient Jewish people. It is designed to inspire the cultural and ancestral memory of readers to become conscious of their connection to the living world just as their ancient ancestors did and begin to cultivate this consciousness and awareness in their daily lives.The Snake and the Four Winds is a book also a personal story that contextualizes the author's life and the changes that have transpired during the course of her life within the shamanic tribal tradition of the Jewish culture. These narratives also chronicle the lives of her Ancestors . Using indigenous science and methods for remembering her indigenous mind, Illana discovered a deep and profound healing in her own life. This book carries the stories of her journey, the teachings of her ancestors, elders, mentors, guides, G-ds, and G-ddesses and embodies the story of her own healing, from colonization, within the healing paradigm of her ancient Ancestral tradition.
About the Author: Illana Berger, Ph.D. is a spiritual healer and counselor in private practice in San Francisco, Oakland & Santa Cruz, California. She teaches an enlightened approach to relationship, divorce and separation. She inspires the transformation of her client's lives from devastation to renewal. Illana has trained with healers and medicine people from around the world including Africa, Hawaii, Mexico, The Americas, Bali, Canada, Norway, and the Middle East. She facilitates adult and adolescent rite of passage and Vision Quest and has supported individuals in personal life questing and initiation for almost 20 years. Her work has taken her to Zimbabwe, Africa where she has connected with her tribal Jewish ancestors, the Lemba and where she underwent initiation in the Water Spirits within the Shona tradition. Illana is a practitioner of Jewish Shamanic Healing, Indigenous Ritual, Jewish Indigenous Wisdom, Women's Wisdom, Healing, and Ceremony. She has devoted much of her life to working with individuals seeking to heal their lives, their hearts and their minds. Using initiation, celebrations, meditation, journaling, and rituals she guides people through the transitions of life. She served as a Board Director for Journey to the Heart and coordinated the 2005 Gathering of Healers, Shamans and Wisdom Keepers of indigenous cultures from around the world. She was the Global Program Director for the Bali Institute for Global Renewal and Coordinator for "Awakening Global Action: Leadership, Indigenous Wisdom and Dialogue for a Transforming World," taking place in Ubud, Bali in August, 2007 & 2008.