John Perkins Interview

Part of my interview with author/environmentalist John Perkins appeared this month in Conscious Choice and its sister publications. Some Q&A did not fit in the magazine. The magazine part is here: http://consciouschoice.com/2007/08/conversations0708.html

Introduction:
I caught up with John Perkins, trained shaman, environmentalist and former “economic hit man,” at the Chicago Green Festival on Earth Day. After leading trips to the Amazon and Andes to work with indigenous peoples for 15 years, Perkins now travels to meet with world leaders - and shakers.

Through books and lectures, Perkins shares shamanic techniques and stories - with five books under his belt on these subjects. In recent books, he exposes the inner workings of the modern American empire. His latest book, Secrets of the American Empire, followed his best-selling Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.

Q: Do you miss the trips and visits with indigenous people?

I miss doing trips very much. I still go to Latin America a lot. I spent New Years Eve 2007 with Eva Morales, the President of Bolivia. I was just in Nicaragua with President Ortega’s people and I’m going to Ecuador and meet with President Correa. I’m still very involved in Latin America but Confessions of an Economic Hit Man opened up a new arena. My roots are still very much with the indigenous people and indigenous people have played a major role in the Bolivian politics and Ecuadorian politics.

So it’s been natural for me to move into this arena along with them. The shamanic work I started in the 60’s was when shamanism was pretty ‘out there.’ Even in Ecuador and Bolivia, shamans were outside the mainstream economy and mainstream politics. Since then, both they and I moved into looking at a global picture: the political picture and the governmental picture. I think there is a certain synchronicity and magic in that shamanism believes in the power to transform, to shape-shift individuals and cultures, which is really what we need to do now, shape-shift culture.

To read more, go to my other blog: http://chicagocatalyst.blogspot.com/2007/08/john-perkins-q-continued.html