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Helena Passanha
Helena was born in Lisbon. She grew up in the Baixo Alentejo southern region of Portugal and attended school in Lisbon. At age 19 she left her parents home to spent 2 years in northern Mozambique. It was in Mozambique that she experienced feelings of compassion and fraternity that she considers important in her following spiritual journey.
In November of 1977 she embarked on a journey of learning and self-knowlage which took her to zen buddhist communities in Ithaca, NY and Virginia in the USA .
January 1978 she went to the anti nuclear festival in Caldas da Rainha "For the Life and Anti Nuclear - Pela Vida e Contra o Nuclear".
Helena lived in Lisbon and practiced Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga on a regular basis. She frequented weekend meetings in Sintra and practiced methods of Lanza del Vasto, from a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi.
In November 1978 she returned to the USA. While there, she acquire more knowledge in natural foods, organic gardening, and natural remedies in the several spiritual/alternatives communities she visited awhile she lived over there until March 1981.
January 1982 Helena went to India for a four and a half month Inner journey and Self knowledge.
Back to Portugal, in Lisbon she practice meditation and Hatha Yoga at Universal White Brotherhood Center and she also studied Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov teachings. She also frequented classes of hand weaving traditional looms.
In March 1983 she left the big city of Lisbon and decided to settle down in the South of Portugal, Monchique, in the Fóia Mountain region. There she had had several important revelations. She was lived in a little farm surrounded by citrus orchards and cork forest. For a while, she practiced hand weaving, organic gardening and family life living in a very basic basis without electric power.
In 1991 she receives back the land in the Alentejo region donated to her by her parents. This land was occupied 15 years by the local countryside people after the carnation revolution of April 1974.
The farm is "Monte João Pais de Cima". Since then she practices organic farming and foresting.
In 1994 Helena and her family went to Brazil to the south of Minas Gerais region and stayed one year in a spiritual and alternative project in Mantiqueira mountains.
1998 - 2001 - Helena studied and completed the course of UNIPAZ - The International University of Peace - Portugal Campus - Class I , Lisbon. Two stages in Findhorn Foundation.
July 1998 - a visit to Findhorn Foundation, Scotland, as participant in "Experience Week" program.
April 1999 - another visit to Findhorn Foundation, Scotland as participant in Peace Conference " A Call to Peace - Pathways to a Holistic Future".
In November 1999 Helena opened the holistic center named Jampaias on her farm Monte João Pais de Cima, with Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa (18 Medical Health Exercises) intensive course retreat with teacher Ricardo Luíz Silva from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Helena did this training and also 6 days course Lian Gong Shi Ba Fa in Lisbon in a following week.
April 2007 - She went again to Findhorn Foundation, Scotland, for the "Sacred Dance Teachers Training" with Katharina Kroeber and Peter Vallance.
In March 2008 - She went to Carlingford, Ireland, to complete the training of Bach Flower Dance with Martine Winnington.
July 2009 - She went to Yvonand, Switzerland, to Martine's summer retreat, learning more deeply the Nature Dances and the basics of Jin Shin Jyutsu.
Helena resides in Monte João Pais de Cima
She focalizes and teaches circle dance to groups either in the "Pais de Cima Center" or elsewhere on request.
Her spiritual journey continues and will require and receive occasional updates .
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