On February 1, 2022, Taita Alberto (formally known as Don Alberto Taxo) departed this life—to continue walking his path. He often said, “We are not our bodies. We are that which gives life to the body. That which we truly are does not die. Our essence continues walking.” He also emphasized that no one leaves their body by accident or before the right timing—that the soul knows its timing and when it has completed what it was here to do, then the soul departs the body in preparation for another life. He encouraged those who love him to celebrate his leaving, saying, “We are going to a very beautiful place. When we leave our bodies, we enter a very great Beauty. So, it is a time for celebration.”
–Written by Martha Travers, one of Taita Alberto’s students
Don Alberto Taxo was a master Iachak of the Atis (Kichwa) people from the Cotopaxi region of Ecuador. He was given the highest honor of Master Iachak by the Shamanic Council of South America. He generously shared ancient Andean wisdom and practices with people who sought happiness, balance and fulfillment. In his book, Friendship with the Elements: Opening the Channels of Communication, Don Alberto invited us to connect with the elements of nature—Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and the 5th balancing element known as the Ushai. Through simple habits and practices in daily life, he reminded us to feel the sacredness of each moment and every place.
Don Alberto taught that each person can experience for themselves the truth and practical applications of the ancient Andean wisdom which he offered. He shared this wisdom for many years throughout South and North America and Europe. He was given this responsibility in 1989 at a great gathering of Andean Elders.
This coming together of cultures marks the fulfilling of a five hundred year-old prophecy. The prophecy foretold the coming together of two great powers of life: the power of the Eagle (the power of the mind as exemplified in the industrialized nations of the North) and the power of the Condor (the power of the heart and connection with nature as exemplified in the natives of South America).
The prophecy says that there will come a time when the Eagle and the Condor will fly together in the same sky in harmony. The time for the fulfillment of this prophecy is now. And the harmony which this prophecy refers to lies within each person through the balance of heart and mind—as well as in the world at large.
Don Alberto spoke at schools and universities, at international conferences, political rallies, and native celebrations. During a strike that paralyzed Ecuador, he performed an integral role in negotiating a settlement that respected the basic rights of indigenous people. He spoke to audiences as diverse as South American natives and North American medical professionals, on topics ranging from “Preparing for Globalization” to “Ancient Andean Practices and their Application to Western Medicine.”
Don Alberto's teachings live on in the hearts of his many students, as well as in the books and recordings he created.
”I invite you to start creating new habits in your lives. These are habits of connecting, so we can open the channels of communication. It’s necessary for us to create a culture of habits that help us clean and open these channels, a culture that leads us step by step to harmony. We need to open the channels of intimate friendship with the elements, with all of Life.”-Don Alberto Taxo, from Friendship with the Elements
