Meet Sergey Baranov
Sergey is the founder of Huachuma Wasi, a healing center in the heart of the Sacred Valley, which is open all year round to receive guests and spiritual seekers from around the world. Sergey’s work with Huachuma is an intimate and personal encounter with an ancient stream of healing energies, as opposed to mass-market “mystical’’ tourism. Here you may find what you have been seeking and perhaps even more.
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Sergey Baranov is also the author of five books PATH: Seeking Truth in a World of Lies, The Mescaline Confession: Breaking through the Walls of Delusion, The Cactus of Sanity: Huachuma in a Time of Chaos, Dancing in Hell with Eyes Wide Open: How to Survive the New World Order. His latest book UNPLUGGED: Psychedelics, Farming and Crypto the Three Pillars of Freedom was published on April 15th, 2024, and is available on Amazon. All of Sergey’s books are the result of a lifelong spiritual search and nearly two decades of ongoing shamanic practice.
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Living in various countries and growing up in different cultures, Sergey gained an understanding of the essential core of human experience that lies beneath the differences to be found in every culture. By walking different paths and seeing through their limitations, Sergey found shamanism as a unifying path for all people regardless of their cultural background.
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Working with the sacred Huachuma cactus, he uncovered an ancient way of celebrating the gift of life through a deep connection to the natural environment and the cosmos. The expanded state of consciousness experienced in Huachuma medicine is a conduit to deep spiritual healing, otherwise known as awakening. Refreshed and recharged, grounded and connected, you return home to your life but with another perspective, which now becomes your inner Guide.
Dedicated to healing and expansion of consciousness.
In essence, our work with Huachuma is to remind you that what you are looking for is already inside of you, but you have to experience this to know it to be true. Knowing is a feeling, not a word.
― Sergey Baranov
What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? This is the most important of all voyages of discovery, and without it, all the rest are not only useless, but disastrous.
― Thomas Merton
Sergey’s spiritual path has become his livelihood. Doing what he loves, he introduces people to an ancient healing sacrament that grows naturally in the high Andean environment that he has made his home.
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Huachuma shamanism can be practiced in different forms. Sergey’s orientation comes from receiving inspiration from an ancient cultural stream whose center is at the enigmatic temple of Chavin de Huantar. Sergey’s work with Huachuma acts as an anchor into this profound ancient mystery that lies beneath the veneer of modern Peru.
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Although Sergey's work is deeply connected with the ancient shamanic traditions of Peru, he believes that the true shamanic experience has nothing to do with appearances. Although he respects the traditional shamanic dress that fits well on the native people, being a Westerner, he prefers to facilitate ceremonies in a more down-to-earth manner so as to remove unnecessary barriers with participants.
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Sergey's passion for serving Huachuma is driven by the belief that this is the most beautiful experience we can have in our lives. It's also the key to clarity, sanity, self-confidence, inner peace, and joy that we're all searching for. His purpose is to share this medicine with all those who seek magic in their life - that which was lost in their childhood.
Sergey is happily married to Mercedes with whom they have two beautiful daughters. Although Sergey is the one who is conducting Huachuma ceremonies, he is always supported by the quiet presence of his wife, whose native wisdom is always felt and loved.
If you want to learn about loyalty, get a dog.
If you want to know yourself, drink Huachuma.
- Sergey Baranov
What do I feel when I look at these mountains? I feel Eternity. Here I am, a mortal human being, whose life is nothing but a moment in it, burdened by human encumbrance and yet, gifted with Love to balance the pain of living. What would my life be if 13 years ago I would not answer my calling to move to Peru and serve Huachuma, while making a lifelong commitment to it? To find true joy in life, one must learn to move through fear of the unknown, that very step that holds you back is the step to be taken. And then, when you make that step, a new horizon opens up and you can see further into your path, as you see the valley from the pick of a mountain. Your life is a reflection of who you are. You can see yourself in it like in a mirror. But it’s not a static image. You can change it by changing yourself. The secret is simple and nothing is hidden if you know where to look.
- Sergey Baranov
