OMTimes Radio Archives

Aired Sunday, 2 April 2017, 2:00 PM ET

Sister Jaguar’s Journey with Sandra Morse

I have the pleasure to bring to you to you the dynamic duo of sister Jaguar and Sandra Morse to share how synchronicity brought them together to share a amazing lifetime experience.

About Sister Judy Bisignano:

Sister Judy Bisignano, a Dominican nun, spent sixty-eight years looking for God in all the wrong places. A lifetime of prayer and public service as a fierce and renowned educator in Tucson, Arizona failed to bring her the peace and divine connection she had always sought.

SISTER JAGUAR’S JOURNEY (the film and the book) tells the story of her difficult childhood, and her attempt to avoid family life, marriage and motherhood by entering the convent, where she was met with an even more abusive situation. Ever the survivor, she worked with children and teenagers and founded two schools, yet when the school she started for the Mexican-American community in South Tucson was closed, she was forced to confront the devastating affects of her lifelong anger on her life, her work, and those around her.

Divine intervention presented herself in the form of Sandra Morse, a friend and professional communication philosopher, who with a simple invitation to visit the Achuar community in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest, forever changed Sister Judy’s life. Launching her onto a path toward reconciliation with her turbulent, abusive, angry past, she eventually found peace and forgiveness through plant medicine in the Amazon rainforest. Yes, a Dominican nun drinking ayahuasca – and it changed everything. It was here in this moment, in this place, with these special people, that she found God, healing and forgiveness.

While sitting in a canoe on the Pastaza River, Sister Judy witnessed a black jaguar devour a white bird. To date, she is the only visitor “from the north” to encounter a black jaguar in the Achuar region. According to the local shaman, seeing the black jaguar was a good omen, one that empowered Sister Judy to experience a series of cultural, environmental and spiritual shifts that ultimately transformed her life.

Sister Jaguar’s Journey is the story of one nun’s transformational passage from self-rejection to self-acceptance; from self-blame to self-love. Perhaps it is also the journey of each of us as we search for peace in this life and beyond. The Achuar call her “Hermana Otorango – Sister Jaguar,” and so will you.

Website: http://www.sisterjaguarsjourney.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SisterJaguarsJourney

About Sandra Morse:

Sandra Morse and her eleven siblings were raised in Yuma, Arizona. She is a communications philosopher and has a private practice in Tucson, Arizona. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and communication and is a certified mediator. Sandra is the co-author of Sister Jaguar’s Journey and the Executive Producer of the film Sister Jaguar’s Journey. She and her husband, Michael, have two adult children (Sophie and Elliott) and a teenage son (Oren) at home in Tucson.

Sandra conducts eco-retreats into Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest. She has conducted 14 trips over the past several years. She has developed close, meaningful relationships with many Achuar (ACH-war) in various villages. Word spreads via short-wave radio among the villages that “Sandra is here to see us. It is time to gather and celebrate.”

On a recent visit, Achuar elders of the Wayusentsa (y-u-SENT-sa) and Kusutkau (ka-SUIT-ka) villages publicly thanked and honored Sandra as “one of them.” They specifically asked that she work on their behalf to organize programs whereby community members from seven Achuar villages work to improve their lives through education, reforestation and health programs. All profits from Sister Jaguar’s Journey—The Book and Film are used to make their request a reality.