Christine Breese, University of Metaphysical Sciences, Gaia Sagrada Retreat Ctr

[Pono Aloha]

Other than Christine Breese, don't see on their website who the shamans are leading the ceremonies and ayahuasca journeys.

Dear UMS Friends and Family!

Guess what! University of Metaphysical Sciences has a treat for you at our new center in Ecuador, Gaia Sagrada Eco- Community & Retreat Center! We had a couple of test runs in the past year, and now we are ready to go!

Ayahuasca and San Pedro Shamanic Ceremony Retreats utilizing ancient medicinal teas are among the first retreats we are offering, starting January 18 - 29, 2014, with several others scheduled throughout the year. Come join us for a wonderful adventure going within to your deepest self and discover the universe inside you! This is a 12 day Shamanic Ceremony adventure in Ecuador, South America that is priced at cost, no commercial profit!

Work with wonderful shamans who are skilled in guiding you in your journey. Drink ancient medicinal teas from both the jungles and the high desert mountains that have been used for millennium among the indigenous of Ecuador. Experience the healing that comes from deep within yourself through these ancient traditions. Come to the magical Andes Mountains in your quest for self discovery!

If you have ever wanted to experience South America's sacred shamanic medicines in a safe, beautiful paradise, Gaia Sagrada in Ecuador is a wonderful choice!   

Visit Gaia Sagrada for more information.   http://gaiasagrada.com/

For more info,  http://gaiasagrada.com/shamanic-ayahuasca-san-pedro-ceremonies-retreat/12-day-ayahuasca-ceremony-san-pedro-ceremony-retreats-daily-schedule/

Hope to see you there!

Namaste,

UMS Angels!

[educatedindian]

The UMS is not a university. They're unaccredited, and apparently you can get a "PhD" in under a year there.

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http://skepacabra.wordpress.com/2009/06/15/university-of-metaphysical-sciences/
How much does it cost? Tuition is a low, low $2000. It’s even cheaper than it sounds, because they assure us that most students can complete a full Ph.D. program in only a year — it’s so quick and easy, they even recommend that you get two doctoral degrees! I’m feeling slow and inadequate now…it took me five years to get just one.

What’s particularly amusing is that PZ points out the school has. . .

. . .accreditation from the American Alternative Medical Association and the American Association Of Drugless Practitioners. That really should count as just one, though: their webpages look identical, only the names, fonts and backgrounds have been changed, and they all trace back to the same small town outfit in Gilmer, Texas. They seem to be in the business of selling certificates to hang on a wall (only $285, they accept both Visa and MasterCard), so at least they seem to be UMS’s peer institutions!

Go on. Click the 2 links above in PZ’s quote. I dare you to look at the 2 sites and not reach the conclusion that they’re the same organization. That’s the worst part of this, I think. They’re not even good hucksters.

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The training's pretty useless, courses like channeling. A master's thesis is only 20 pages, a Phd dissertation only 40. That's not even a quarter of what's expected in a genuine program.
http://themagicalbuffet.com/blog1/2007/11/30/profile-university-of-metaphysical-sciences/

[Epiphany]

The University of Metaphysical Sciences is a non-profit organization under
Wisdom Of The Heart Church 501(c)3 which is registered as a non-profit corporation in both states,
California and Minnesota, US

A http://umsonline.org/501%28c%293.htm

Entity Name:   WISDOM OF THE HEART CHURCH
Entity Number:   C2564211
Date Filed:   11/12/2003
Status:   ACTIVE
Jurisdiction:   CALIFORNIA
Entity Address:   P.O. BOX 4505
Entity City, State, Zip:   ARCATA CA 95518
Agent for Service of Process:   CHRISTINE CAROLE BREESE
Agent Address:   4779 VALLEY EAST BLVD. SUITE 2
Agent City, State, Zip:   ARCATA CA 95521

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 Minnesota Business Name
Wisdom Of The Heart Church

Business Type
    Nonprofit Corporation (Foreign)
MN Statute
    303
File Number
    2109570-2
Home Jurisdiction
    California
Filing Date
    11/27/2006
Status
    Active / In Good Standing
Registered Office Address
    100 S 5th Str #1075
    Mpls MN 55402
    USA
Registered Agent(s)
    C T Corporation System Inc

[Epiphany]

Gotta love how the very first thing Christine Breese says in this video is "Don't trust the mind. The mind is not to be trusted." as she shakes her head. She says the mind is the great trickster, the coyote.

if we don't trust our minds, then we will believe everything she says, and give her money for bogus degrees.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD_m_S1sZfQ&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL8D5268D24EBB87E9

[educatedindian]

So far haven't found any mention of who else is at her retreat besides her and her husband Bill. She announced it at this site. One person volunteered to work there and was told they'd still charge almost $400 a month, plus work. Keep in mind one can find a good hotel room in rural Ecuador for a third of that, and rent an apartment or even a house for still less.
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?50385-An-Opportunity-to-Live-in-Ecuador

WOTH Church
http://www.ucmeta.org/

In addition to being a degree mill, they ordain people as reverends. This guy lists himself as one.
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rev-leo-labertew-ph-d/41/15a/203

[CathyButler]

I was at the January retreat and it was wonderful! The work exchange is for discounts on the retreat, not a free stay. They operate at a non-profit level, so they can't just house a bunch of people for free. Can you pay for everyone's living costs? Food costs money, utilities cost money, the shamans at the retreats cost money, insurance and permits cost money, the maintenance guys, gardeners, farmers cost money, it's not just an apartment in the noisy city.

If being on your own with nothing to do is your thing, then rent an apt in the city then. If you are looking for an actual retreat with hot tubs, sauna, yoga, activities, workshops, someone cooking your food for you and doing your dishes, etc, well, that costs more than just sitting alone in an apt poking around on the internet and not doing anything.

This is a really amazing experience if you are looking for a retreat and I think the prices are good. I had a life changing, transformative experience, and if that isn't what you're looking for, then don't go! I did the work exchange AND paid the balance of the money that work exchange doesn't cover, and I feel like I got the better end of the deal.

If you didn't see the shamans and staff, you didn't look hard enough. Here it is http://gaiasagrada.com/shamans-at-gaia-sagrada-photos-bios/  There's a lot more than what's listed on the site though. I saw about 15 people living and working there.

As for the university, I have 2 friends that go to the school and that's how I heard about the retreat center in Ecuador. My friends say the school is awesome and they really like the meditations that go with the courses. It's a religious school so Title IV accreditation isn't for spiritual schools that don't teach chemistry, math, english comp, etc. Accreditation is only for transferring those kinds of courses from one school to another, but that isn't what they are doing. They are teaching spiritual stuff, not secular stuff, so accreditation doesn't apply. That's only for secular schools. People really don't understand accreditation.

All I can say is that I loved being at the retreat center, the most beautiful place I went to in Ecuador, and my friends say the university is the best education they did, felt really helped by it. The people working there made me feel really welcome and I am going back again! I am going to also enroll in the school since my 2 friends are getting so much out of it. I have seen the changes for the better in them as they have gone through the school. I see the changes for the better in me after I just did a retreat, so they are doing something that people appreciate, even though there are naysayers like yourself out there.

To each his own, I say. If meditation and spiritual study is not your thing, then again, to each his own. If people want to go to a retreat in Ecuador, why not? If people want to study at a spiritual school, then why not? Why do you have to shoot it down just because it isn't your thing?

Everyone has their opinions, but if you have never been to the retreat center, or to the school, then you don't know much about it then do you? An EDUCATED opinion is one where you have gone there and checked it out yourself and THEN your opinion is more grounded in reality rather than just talking about something you don't know anything about.

Well, just a thought. You guys will probably get all up in arms because someone likes what they are doing and had a good experience with them but you are missing the point. I wish you well and hope you find your way to a positive outcome in life! For those of us who like this stuff and get something out of it, like I said, to each his own. They do a great job at being a school and a retreat center, in my opinion! They keep the prices low enough so that an ordinary person like me can afford it, even giving us a chance to work some of it off if we want to, and I really respect that. They aren't really making much money off this stuff. They certainly didn't make any money off me after the work exchange, but at least they were able to pay the bills while giving us a chance to partake of something amazing!

[CathyButler]

Oh, and one other thing, Christine was a total angel! She is the funniest and sweetest person I have met in a long time! She's truly sincere about what she is doing and is in it to help people. She works her butt off making everyone happy at the retreats, making sure everyone has what they need, and does more than the call of duty. I was impressed. Say what you will, but a person's heart is true if they are doing what they are meant to be doing, and I believe she is truly serving people in a wonderful way. I have no complaints!

[Epiphany]

Cathy, are you Christine yourself? Are you her publicist? Because your writing style is very similar, what with the exclamation points and reference to angels.

[earthw7]

why would people do this it just does not make sense
Why don't they see this is as culture thieves

[educatedindian]

"Cathy" has an IP address from Ecuador. It's pretty obvious this is Christine or one of the other white staff members at her retreat. The writing, in addition to sounding coincidentally just like Christine, doesn't remotely sound like someone who has Spanish as a first language.

Christine, you really don't help yourself with your clumsy attempts at impersonation. It would be much better had you defended yourself using your own name.

No, what you do is not even remotely like a non profit. Non profits are charities. You run a spiritual tourism business, one which charges triple or more what other tourist sites in Ecuador do.

I did see the link of so called "shamans" you have. And it's obvious none of them even remotely are:

"Miguel Alvarez was born in Cuenca...
He then went to the jungle to study with the Shuar shamans and learn about the spirit of the jungle with the grandmother medicine Ayahuasca. Miguel now facilitates San Pedro ceremonies and Ayahuasca ceremonies in and ceremonies in Quito, Mindo, Machala, Guayaquil, Cuenca, Zaraguro, Ambato, Riobamba, Zamora and Chinchipe.
In 2008 Miguel met a great shaman of Bolivia who gave him the blessing of knowing the Mother of all medicines, Wilka, the sacred medicine of the Incas. Very few people know about the sacred Wilka medicine, which is extremely powerful. He introduces many to the Wilka medicine. Miquel is a shaman with all three, Ayahuasca, San Pedro and Wilka plant teachers, Ayahuascero, Huachumero (San Pedro), and Wilkero.
What we love about Miguel is that he is so compassionate, kind, loving, humorous, and does amazing limpias (cleansings) for our retreat participants..."

It's pretty obvious he's a curandero. He's mestizo, wasn't raised in an NDN culture, went to Shuar and unnamed medicine people to learn.
He also does limpias, and that is a curandero practice.

"Santiago Ayala
Born in Quito, 1966, Santiago has been in contact with the indigenous world since his early life in the rainforest of Ecuador. He has lived with the Kichwa, Secoya, Cofan and Huaorani tribes.
....He has worked in indigenous communities all over Ecuador and Europe with different power plants. He works with the Andean American tradition, and with magical plants from our earth, focusing upon the different subtle planes of matter and consciousness. He is a maestro of the San Pedro cactus, as well as Guardian of the sacred instruments in the old American ancient tradition.
Goldsmith by profession..."

His photo makes it obvious he's not Native. Perhaps mestizo. A goldsmith as your shaman? One whose expertise is living among tribes? And the whole hokey "guardian of the sacred instruments" bit.

"Alejandro Valdiveso
Alejandro is a master of the temezcal (sweat lodge) and mixes both Ayahuasca and San Pedro for a most interesting experience in ceremonies...."

His photo makes it even more obvious he's not Native. Looks to be entirely Spanish ancestry.
Temezcal is the sweatlodge as done in Mexico. You can't tell Mexican from South American? Is he Mexican or an Ecuadoran who claims to have learned from Mexican Natives?
It may be just poorly worded, but it sounds like people are taking ayahuasca in a sweatlodge, which would be extremely dangerous.

That you thought three non-Native (though possibly with ancestry) people, one a curandero and two other outsiders saying they were trained by Indians to be Indian shamans doesn't speak well of you. 

And then there's you.

"Christine Breese
...Shamans in Ecuador must be approved by certain organizations and be highly qualified to practice their trade."

Everybody else listed at that link is just staff.

So if every shaman must be approved and highly qualified, who approved you, Ms. Breece?

I also want to ask about your "university" with it's 20 page theses and a supposed PhD in under a year, and your lack of accreditation.

[CathyButler]

Yes, I am still in Ecuador, still traveling and staying in hostels as I go to different places. And no, I am not Christine's publicist, and I don't think she has one. I'm just a person that really appreciates the ceremonies and retreats she made possible for people.

As for the shamans, all I can say is that I experienced them as very skilled, amazing and quite good at what they do. All I can do is go by my experience. I don't believe people have to be living in a loin cloth all their lives to be allowed to be a shaman by those who approve them. Every human has a magical side. Where's yours?

I see that you guys are just naysayers at everything, can't appreciate anything people do in the world that is good, and you just want to troll everything people do even if there are a lot of people other than yourself who get something good out of it.

The more I look on your site I just see a lot of blathering about stuff you know nothing about. So carry on, have your fun, feel all-powerful with your trolling, and have a great life. Nothing anyone says will make any difference to you. Good luck with life since you have such a negative focus. There is nothing anyone can do for someone who just wants to stay in negativity. Some people just can't be helped. Good luck.

[Freija]

I don't believe people have to be living in a loin cloth all their lives to be allowed to be a shaman by those who approve them.

   

[educatedindian]

Wow. We're left with two possibilities. One is that Ms. Breese is a stunningly clueless racist. The other, not much better option, is that her retreats attract stunningly clueless racists. She thinks Native=living in the past and poor, white=civilized.

You do realize NDNs can wear jeans? Even use a computer to tell you you're being a clueless racist making a fool of herself for all to see.

After three posts that are little more than cheerleading and avoiding the questions, Ms. Breese also shows her hypocrisy and lack of understanding of what a troll is.

I've traveled in Latin America dozens of times and have never seen a hostel. There's no need for them down there. I routinely found fairly nice modest hotels in Mexico, Peru, etc for as little as $5.

"Cathy," if you really were not Ms. Breese, you certainly seemed very casual about being ripped off. Here you were just informed that Breese runs a useless degree mill, and it doesn't seem to bother you.

We are clearly having an effect on how Ms. Breese runs her spiritual tourism business. She has prominently posted claims that her business is not run for profit. There are also some very strongly worded health warnings. I think the last deserves praise.

Ms. Breese, if you want to be truly ethical about your degree mill, change the silly false claim of being a university to calling it workshops or seminars, and don't pretend these are anything close to degrees. Call them certificates, and post disclaimers making it clear they are not accepted as actual university credits.

So I don't agree with you that there are some people who can't be helped. We've clearly helped you to be a slightly more ethical person. Let's see if you can do more of the right things.

Helping people, even exploiters like you, is a pretty positive thing. Unlike running a degree mill or spiritual tourism.

[educatedindian]

Most of the faculty at that "university" is not qualified to teach driver's ed at a strip mall.

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Christine Breese, D.D., Ph.D....holds her Doctor Of Divinity Degree in Metaphysical Sciences, as well as her Ph.D. in Metaphysical Counseling. Christine Breese also holds an Associates Degree in Film And Video Production, and another in Audio Engineering.

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Those two "Phds" don't exist, except at degree mills. She has two 2-year degrees in film and audio. And her faculty?

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Devon Love, C.F.T.... offers sessions in multi-dimensional intuitive healing.

Nicole Yalsovac...a B.A. in Sociology...

Dominic Daley...Associate of Arts (A.A.) Degree in early childhood development...Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree in Waldorf Education from Rudolf Steiner College

Nova Love is an educator...B.A. in Elementary Education in 2011.

Genevieve Marie Trimarco has written poetry and short stories...

Jamie Kessler is a religious studies major....

Sharose Niedelman has over two decades of experience as a resource specialist....[whatever that is]

Daniel Barnhart has written for many media avenues, including screenplays and stage....

Rev. Bill Timm CMA,CPM is a teacher and practitioner of Falun Gong [the cult]

Carmel A. P. Reyes...has been drawing, painting, singing, and dancing....

David Bradley...practiced Geotechnical Engineering in California, and has been a Urantia Book reader....

Carolyn Hoppe...taught Elementary School for 14 years....

Dominique Doubek, CMP...taught volleyball to middle school...She is a certified massage practitioner...

Susan Vaughn, M.A., MFTI....has a Masters Degree in Marriage and Family therapy and spent numerous years working with....the channeled being Lazaris

Laurel Sherer...Bachelor's studies in Spanish...

Tristan Anderson....Bachelors Degree in Religious Studies.

Tina Ball lives...has been a student of spiritual and healing arts for twenty years....

Nicole Rieth...a B.A. in French....conducts her Ayurvedic massage practice.

David Mitchell....enrolled in the Community College of Denver and spent two and a half years studying various styles of massage....

Frank Milelzcik...has two college degrees in Art and Forestry [associates?]

Kathryne DeLorme has Masters Degrees in Transpersonal Psychology and Counseling Psychology....
[sounds impressive until you read this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpersonal_psychology#Criticism]

Katy Wilson, M.D. is a public sector psychiatrist who has been practicing psychiatry for over 10 years....had several teaching positions including affiliation with the Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency and Assistant Professorship at UC Davis in the Department of Psychiatry....

Gerry Blue has a Master’s degree in Psychology...

Julie Achterhoff is a midwife...currently studying nursing...

Brother Zohar...Mazdian, Essene, and sibling Kabbalistic Traditions, Tantra Yoga, Biogenic Nutrition, and Natural Healing modalities, in honor of Inner and Outer Alchemy. At age 15 he received a revelation of the Essene Tree of Life...

Sheranda Tay...artist and writer...teaches silk painting...

Roslyn Imrie...studied creative writing...

Meenal Chaudhari has a Master’s in Clinical Psychology and a M.Phil. in Psychology of Education, from highly reputable universities in India....

Jill Semonin, PhD - CHt...took cosmetology in high school and achieved her license...She bought a beauty salon...In 2005, she found UMS.... 

Machele Kindle, M.S. (Master Fire) received a Masters degree in Physics in 1997 from East Carolina University...

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Almost all of them are extremely unimpressive. I don't know of any legit schools that would hire most of them. You've got masseuses, beauty salon operators, volleyball teachers, professional students, and a prophet in his own mind claiming to be able to hand out PhDs. The exceptions are Wilson, Blue, and perhaps Chaudhari. If we knew his schools then we could say. Some overseas schools are outstanding, some not so much.

The last one was a puzzle. Why would this school hire a physicist? But you search for her name and find these maybe NSFW links.
http://www.mshouseholdregistry.com/Master_Fire/House_of_Fire_main.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Creation-Defining-Structure-Household/dp/1887895817
She's a female "master" describing how to manage your female "slaves." Whatever you do in your own life...Consenting adults and all that etc.
But she does claim it to be a spiritual practice. So is that what she teaches there? S & M and bondage and so on?
Her book did get some bad reviews by others into the bondage lifestyle, saying it was mostly bad advice from a newcomer.