Lawrence Archuleta AKA Lench Archuleta & Wind Spirit Teachings

[Somekind]

Does anyone know if this man is who he claims to be?

[educatedindian]

Much of what he claims is vague, some of it slightly exagerrated, a little bit of it not good.

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http://www.spiritedjourney.com/Pages/Resources/LenchMore.htm
Lench's background includes work with numerous Native American Nations, as well as 15 years as an advisor for the Department of Defense on Ethnic and Human Relations with an emphasis on Native American traditions and philosophies.

He has worked as a counselor and teacher for over 20 years and lectures throughout the United States. Some of his work has been in cooperation with Dr. Lewis Mehl-Medrona, the author of Coyote Medicine....Dr. Mehl-Medrona has been referring patients to Lench since 1980.

In the fall of 2000, Lench represented the Native American Peoples at the World Mission Conference....
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Work with nations is so vague. As for the Dept of Defense, apparently he was in Human Resources. Being in personnel hardly qualifies you as a healer.

His main recommender is Mehl-Madrona, who uses his academis credentials to promote numerous frauds like Maria Naylin. Madrona was himself asked to resign from a hospital for unethical practices, is listed on Quackwatch, and faced protests by AIM members at the Univ of AZ for selling ceremonies.

World Mission Conference is a gathering of Baptist missionaries, so no idea why that'd be a recommendation of his work. What he does is so vague, I'm not sure he does much besides make his clients feel better about themselves.

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http://www.spiritedjourney.com/Pages/Resources/LenchNewsArticle.htm
He's not a doctor, but doctors send him clients. He's not a medicine man, although he uses stories and traditions learned from his Yaqui grandfather. His clients describe him as a friend, a teacher, a facilitator, a spiritual guide.

If you ask Lench Archuleta what he does, he'll tell you he takes people into the desert and helps them journey within to understand and unlock parts of the self.

"Many people feel very, very detached from life," he said. "And they don't know how to find their way back.

"In 20 years of doing this work, I have noticed one common denominator," he added. "People come to a time and point in their lives when they begin to ask questions about their personal spirituality: 'What is spirit about? What is my destiny? What is my direction?'

"Wise men and wise women and sages and mystics all come to this point in their lives. And a lot have been drawn to the desert - Jesus, Moses, many others."

There is a special energy felt only in the desert, he said.

"And it helps us get in touch with who we are. Through the silence we feel the profoundness of our creation. Because we are never alone. We are in constant communication with creation in various ways. Animals, plants, events, weather - wind, rain - all speak to us and can be revealing."

....Mehl-Madrona said via e-mail."I don't send him people who aren't motivated and who wouldn't benefit. But seriously, what person wouldn't benefit from sitting in the desert with Lench and connecting with the earth?"

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Again, this doesn't seem harmful to me. It's just taking people on retreats in the desert to be meditative. It seems potentially helpful, pyschologically and thus perhaps for physical ailments. I don't doubt him when he says some are cured by these retreats, though some may just be coincidence and others may have just been helped by this in addition to other treatments. I haven't seen any study done of his supposed cures, and if Madrona were more serious of an academic, he'd do one to back up his claims.

Whether what Archuleta does is specifically Yaqui, or whether Archuleta himself is, I'm not sure. One would have to ask around all of the many Yaqui communities in Arizona. It doesn't resemble what I know of Yaqui traditions. The Yaqui talk a lot about their seven sacred towns, deer dances, and the Bow Hunters Society, all of which are mixed together with Catholicism. They revere Mary and the Saints, esp St Francis who they depict as a Yaqui warrior. I don't see any of that even mentioned by Archuleta.

But I certainly wouldn't call him (or Madrona for that matter) a fraud or exploiter on the same level of most of those we investigate. Perhaps he exagerrates or has never proven what he claims, but he doesn't seem to be trying to abuse anyone. One thing I don't see any mention of is what he charges.

[NDN_Outlaw]

I've checked with my Yaqui sources and no one seems to know this man. He advertises workshops and spiritual teachings. He is attracting a following and has been endorsed by fraud Dr. Lewis Mehl Madronna. His web site offers workshops and lecturers but makes no mention of costs.

http://windspiritteaching.com/index.html

[educatedindian]

Merged threads.

His facebook page. Obviously not a fullblood. If I had to guess I'd think he's one of many Mexicans with family stories of a Yaqui ancestor. That's as common for Mexicans to claim as it is for white southerners to claim to be Cherokee.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Lench-Archuleta/1328707304

A university music professor was naive enough to invite him to speak at her institution.
http://www.hartwick.edu/x26863.xml

[Defend the Sacred]

Looking over Mehl-Madrona's website http://www.healing-arts.org/mehl-madrona/ and http://www.healing-arts.org/mehl-madrona/mmhealing.htm

It looks like he's still selling ceremony. I'm thinking Mehl-Madrona needs his own thread.

[amorYcohetes]

This is how I originally came across your site, by researching Lewis Mehl-Medrona because I was looking at continuing ed for massage therapists in Massachusetts and saw he was advertised as a teacher at a local yoga center.  I liked some of what he had to say in his interview "Stories That Heal" but there's other stuff about his approach that doesn't resonate with me.  I've never actually taken any of these courses so this is the only knowledge I have of him:

http://www.kripalu.org/presenter/V0000627/lewis_mehl_madrona
http://www.kripalu.org/article/401

[educatedindian]

Madrona has his own thread here.
http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=2364.0

[Defend the Sacred]

Thanks. Our search function really is not working very well.

[educatedindian]

Got a request about him. Most of what he once taught seems like generic meditation, harmless and perhaps helpful as meditation can sometimes be.

Some of his claims are clearly false. His work for DOD was simply as an HR rep. His claim of representing "all Native peoples" to meet the Pope is ludicrous, and there's no evidence of any such meeting other than his claim.

The brochure below shows some obvious influence from Carlos Castaneda, the debunked hoaxer behind the Don Juan books. He's also clearly selling what he claims are Yaqui ceremonies, which is offensive, unethical, and untraditional. And there's some generic medicine wheel stuff. Moved to Frauds.

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"don" Lorenzo  Wind Spirit Teachings PO Box 1183 Arizona City, AZ 85123520-705-6440windspirit1@mac.comwindspiritteaching.com

We do a lot of inner-personal work and you will learn extensively about Native Wisdom, Teachings, and Philosophy with emphasis on the "Nagual" Teachings of the Yaqui, my tradition. [Actually that's from Castaneda's fraud.]

.... To learn Native, Indigenous, and Yaqui Native Traditions
To gain Insight into the Language of "Energy"                                           
....Possible visit to a Sacred desert location 
....Half-Day Introduction Fee  $150.00

FULL DAY INTENSIVE...Morning & evening Native Rituals • Creation Stories and Story Telling • Daily exchange of Sacred and Ancient Wisdoms • The creation of various Sacred ceremonial objects   • Medicine Bags, Ceremonial Rattle, Personal Shield, etc....Closing ceremony on Sacred Mountain your final morning
FULL DAY INTENSIVES FEE $375.00 A DAY INCLUDES  GUEST HOUSE ACCOMMODATION

3 Day Intensive....Working with the Yaqui teachings passed on by " Los Viehos " - "The Old Ones"
....You  will  be  prepared  for  a specific "Sacred Ceremony" which will be conducted on Sacred Mountain on the last day of your intensive. Days vary with a Combination of Indoor and Outdoor Desert Experiences, Journaling, Native Crafting - Rattles  and  Medicine  bags,  and  as  needed  Sacred  Tools.  There  will  be  Daily Hands On work and Wisdom Teachings.   

7 Day Intensive...Developing the "Impeccability" of the Spirit is the Emphasis of these extra two days. [That's obviously Castaneda's fraud again.]
....Days vary with a combination of Indoor and Outdoor Experiences with visits to several Sacred Lands in nature and Medicine Wheel. You will be Creating Sacred ceremonial objects and participating in hands on Wisdom Teachings. During your Intensive you will also be making a Medicine Bag and a Ceremonial Rattle,!the significance of which will be explained in detail. You  will  be  using  all  of  these  Sacred  Items  for  'your'  Ceremony  on  Sacred Mountain (in the 5 / 7 Day Intensives) on the last day of your Intensive.  This is profound Ceremony of Great Significance, which you will also see.

[Piff]

Lawrence J Archuleta incorporated his Arizona company Wind Spirit Teachings, LLC in 2008.  The company is still active.

In his nephew's obituary he is listed as "Shaman Lawrence 'Lench' Archuleta" http://www.greeleytribune.com/news/obituaries/tributes-for-dec-13-5/