Hollow Bone Ranch is a Shamanic center located in West Virginia’s Appalachia, and was created to be a finger pointing to truth.
The physical space is meant to be a sanctuary for deep self-inquiry, with various offerings tailored to different stages of the (re)discovery of who and what you really are — including plant medicine ceremonies, vision quests, silent retreats, solitude, and 1-on-1 guidance. All in an intimate setting. The intentionally simple and scaled-back accommodations will bring one into direct contact with nature, eliminate external distractions, and allow the truth of being to come front and center.
Hollow Bone Ranch also offers online 1-on-1 support to those unable to make the trek.
A Note About Shamanism
The word “shaman” translates to “one who knows”. Shamanism, contrary to common western ideas, is not a mystical practice that bestows magical powers, but rather an ancient, tribal path to truth (God) and awakening. A Shaman is one who has come to see and sense reality clearly by deconstructing the veil of identity which obscures it. True Shamans are not “special” beings or gatekeepers, but rather the embodiment of a “hollow bone”, which is completely empty of all content, like a glass bowl which will hold whatever contents are placed into it without discrimination or resistance.
Hollow Bone Ranch’s approach is different: it’s not to heal you, to save you, to convert you, to reinforce your stories of who you think you are, or even to awaken you. It exists, rather, to point you back to the ground of being and wholeness that you truly are and have always already been.
The invitation isn’t to take us at our word, it’s to come and see for yourself who you really are.
ABOUT HOLLOW BONE RANCH
JENNIFER ALDORETTA (“BIRD”), Founder
It admittedly feels strange writing anything resembling a bio these days, because honestly there’s not much to say anymore. Hollow Bone Ranch is a byproduct of my own desperate search for freedom and an end to my life of suffering. When Shamanism came into my life, I took the phrase “hollow bone” — a term long used to describe the “empty” quality of a Shaman — brought it into myself, and unknowingly turned it into a method of self inquiry.
In the process, Jennifer ceased to exist, and freedom and peace were found. I now practice Shamanism not to heal or to wake anybody up, but simply for the natural, authentic joy of it. Shamanism unknowingly began as a self-motivated practice to make Jennifer better, and eventually consumed Jennifer and revealed the wholeness and perfection of life itself.
Hollow Bone Ranch is simply a finger pointing you back to the truth of your innate being. The physical location in West Virginia’s Appalachia is where the person I once believed myself to be died, and where freedom was revealed. Perhaps it may act as a catalyst for others in the same way. I feel intuitively that it will blossom in a way Jennifer never could have imagined or planned.
