About Solomon
*Korin Meni means ‘Bringer of Gold’ in the language of the Shipibo indigenous people of the Peruvian Amazon.
Hello and welcome to my website. I am Solomon Russell (also known as Koin Koin and Korin Meni by my Shipibo medicine family). In 2017, I began training to become an onanya in the tradition of my medicine master Don Pedro Sinuiri. I have been living in Peru ever since.
That’s me pictured on the left, with master Pedro and my good colleague Ruben. In the Shipibo language onanya means someone ‘with knowledge’, also known in Spanish as a curandero, or in English as a healer. Although many western people serve Ayahuasca and have undertaken dietas to connect with master plants, there are very few who have attained the level of onanya in the Shipibo tradition.
Korin Meni means ‘Bringer of Gold’ and is the name bestowed upon me by Pedro’s wife Anita – the name of her own father who in his day was a great healer.
You can find out more about Don Pedro, dieta and the Shipibos on the website raokaibo.org.
My journey
My interest in spiritual and personal development began in 1996 when I joined my first Zen retreat while living in Japan. Later on, I practised Vipassana meditation (in the S.N.Goenka tradition) for some years, before entering ten years of intensive psychoanalysis. Some years after this ended, my search for answers brought me to the jungles of Peru to experiment with plant medicine and Ayahuasca. This quickly led to radical changes in my perception of worldly reality and eventually to the long and often arduous training necessary to become an onanya in the Shipibo tradition.
My Master and my training are rare. Ayahuasca tourism is big business and fashionable these days. There are many Westerners who are involved in the world and business of Ayahuasca, offering ceremonies and retreats. But there are very few who have come to understand how deep this medicine goes and to develop the skills and qualities necessary to put it into authentic practice. After so many years, I can say I know something – just enough to know how little I know!
For those who are truly ready and instinctively called, plant medicine is an almost limitless tool for self-investigation and purification when applied responsibly. On the flip side, when not understood and used without integrity, it can be extremely risky, so please be warned!
Coming home to myself
The healing power of many master plants lives inside me owing to my years of dedication to traditional Shipibo plant dieta. But ultimately, for all beings, spiritual growth is based in integrity and personal sovereignty. All practices and wisdom paths must bring one to true self-knowledge if they are to serve their purpose.
Even after so much work, I still felt something was missing. To this end, I looked again outside the medicine world to receive guidance from one who I intuitively recognised was living from true insight into the nature of reality. Enlightenment. The work we did together led me to question my self-concept.
I was thirsty and ready, and paradigm shifts came rapidly one after the other, to uproot and purify my perception of the world. There is no need to chase exotic spiritual highs – many fall into this trap, and I did too – but true, consistent contentment is available in the every day, when you take up your space in the world and let life itself be your teacher. Being grateful, engaged and self-sovereign, in humble confidence, are prerequisites!
My (ongoing) journey has helped me discover my own gifts to lead, inspire and point those who are ready to wake up more and more to the truth of who they are. And if you are ready and willing to activate your own unique contribution, click below to see if my offers of service resonate with you.