Light of the Andes is an intense journey to the sacred mountain, Apu Ausangate, to discover the true secret of the Andes. As taught by indigenous shamans, Ayni is the original instructions that teach us how to live in harmony with ourselves, and all things. While ascending to the rooftop of the world with his mentor, the Q’ero shaman Sebastian reveals the requirements needed to survive the ordeal of contact with the Apu. In the luminous shamanic tradition, J. E. Williams recounts how he came to the heart of the mountain and returned with a transformational message for our times.

In 2008, the author of The Andean Codex, Dr. J. E. Williams, returned to Peru to give us an unforgettable account of the sacred way of the Q'ero. He takes the reader on a journey to the highest mountain and deep into the labyrinth of the heartland of the gods themselves. There, he learns from his mentor, Sebastian, a traditional Q'ero shaman, a beautiful, inexorable value system that dates to a time before the Incas. Beyond the physical journey of high altitude trekking, Sebastian prepares him to meet the spirit deity of the most powerful of all Andean mountains, Apu Ausangate. In his intense initiation process, Williams ascends to the roof of the world where he unravels a dilemma of planetary consequences, and comes back to share the teachings of the Apus, the true secret of the Andes, and to give us a golden compass for our times. His personal spiritual pilgrimage is an authentic journey of the heart, and an extraordinary adventure of discovery and transformation.

In daily life, I'm a clinician practicing integrative medicine with more than 100,000 patient visits. I also teach at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, NOVA Southeastern University, and Emperor's College in Los Angeles. In my creative life, I write and photograph. Traveling and living abroad is important to me. Places I know well are Cuba, Peru, Mexico, and I lived a year in Costa Rica in 1969!In the last ten years, I've spent most of my time in the Andes and Amazon among indigenous peoples. I also live in Alaska. I'm more at home in the wilderness than I am in a city, but have become adapted to both. My vision as a writer is to tell a good tale, write it well, and add meaningful ideas to the reader's life.