Up to Date Summer 2006 Health and Well Being Report .TXT / .RTF
 Jaiaen Beck, June 2006, "I wanted to give you the latest update, as health and healing is taking a front row seat. The well-being of the people in all aspects of life is of paramount importance. Absolutely everything we are doing, and have been doing, is related to our Health and Well-Being Program in some way."

Where & who are we?
 Ancient Ways is located in Oregon 's mid-Willamette Valley, and is based in Lacomb, a rural area in the foothills of the Cascades. The organization, as a community, is an ever-changing organism. The local people who have created this network extend east to Sweet Home, south to Lebanon and Eugene , west to Albany , Philomath, and Corvallis and north to Monmouth, Stayton and Salem . This includes those who have been brought together by sharing the sweet sounds of Zimbabwean music, as well as those who find connection in the heart of Ancient Ways as a center for healing of both our planet and ourselves.

Purpose
Ancient Ways was established as a non-profit 501(c)3 organization in 1994.   The Ancient Ways' mission is to learn from and preserve the traditional ways of indigenous peoples around the world, and throughout time, by exploring their art, music, and cosmology, so that we can educate and encourage people today to develop ways to live which are more environmentally and socially sustainable.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

    President: Clarence John Pare Jr
    Secretary: Vickie Stevens
    Treasurer: Mary Ann Tarr
    Member: Jan Six
    Member: Helen Six
    Member: Brady Howe

OTHER DIRECTORS not on the Board

    Executive Director and founder:  Jaiaen Beck

    Project Director in Zimbabwe, Nhimbe for Progress (a Community Development Project in Mhondoro, began in 1999):  Cosmas Magaya

    Project Directors in Zimbabwe, Jangano (a Community Development Project in Dambatsoko area, began in 2005):  Fradreck Mujuru and Fungai Mujuru

What are we up to?
    We support the world community in remembering its connection to, and reverence for, their spirituality, each other's diversity, and the earth, as well as encourage individuals to remember why they are here on the planet. We look to indigenous peoples everywhere to learn about lifestyle choices and how these choices affect the environment, our community as a whole, and ourselves. Historically, we have studied with Native Americans (from North and South America) and friends and teachers from Zimbabwe .

    We are not a religious or political organization - we endeavor to learn, educate, and serve the community from a broad and aware cultural view. We work to change the future for the better through the arts, reverence for nature, and respect for each other.

About the Founder
    Ancient Ways was founded in 1993 by Jaiaen Beck. After more than 20 years of exploring healing traditions of cultures around the world, she began creating space for people to learn together. Studying healing with various teachers; Michael Harner, Sandra Ingerman, Leslie Conton, Tom Cowan, Don Alejandro, Don Ramon and Joshua Magaya have helped to shape her perspective of a cosmic worldview.

    Following a lecture about Shona spirituality by Dr. Dumisani Maraire at the Kutsinhira Center in Eugene , Oregon , in 1990, Zimbabwean music, culture, and their healing traditions became a passionate interest. Very soon after, Ancient Ways was born out of a need to develop deeper community connections both here and abroad.

    Ancient Ways would not have been possible without the ongoing support and commitment of our family and friends who have seen see and participate in the vision.