Adrián Villaseñor Galarza, PhD
I’m passionate about human transformation in service of the living Earth and the the unfolding of our deep, regenerative potentials.
I’m an Associate Professor in the East West Psychology Department at the California Institute of Integral Studies and Adjunct Professor at Naropa University and Antioch University, and founder of the Bioalchemy Institute and The Work That Reconnects Latin America. A recognized voice in Latin America and the Spanish-speaking world in the fields of Ecopsychology and Earth-based Spirituality, I work as a transpersonal ecopsychologist, contemplative teacher, author, ritualist, and international facilitator.
For over two decades, my work has explored the confluence of Eastern and Western teachings of liberation, transpersonal and depth psychologies, Earth-based wisdom, and contemplative and ancestral traditions, and has been made available to both academic and lay audiences. At its heart, this work has been informed by an inquiry into how we might more fully inhabit our human potential while restoring our participation in the living Earth.
Alongside my academic teaching and educational work, I offer individual sessions through a contemplative, eco-systemic, animistic, and transpersonal perspective. I have authored and co-authored several books and articles and translated into Spanish Joanna Macy’s Coming Back to Life, a foundational work in the fields of ecopsychology, eco-spirituality, group work, and engaged Buddhism.
Roots & Inspiration
I was born and raised in México, though I’ve travelled and lived in different places. Moving between cultures, landscapes, and traditions has nurtured an integrative approach to the complex cultural, spiritual, and ecological issues of our time.
Above all, the lineages of beauty, wisdom, and compassion I’ve honored since my teens serve as the guiding force behind my yearning for personal transformation and socio-ecological flourishing. These include Mexican animistic traditions, Tibetan Buddhism & Yoga, Native American teachings, Taoism, and Central and South American plant shamanisms and ritual. I’m also a Reiki master and longtime practitioner of contemplative disciplines, with studies and formative experiences in México, USA, Perú, India, Spain, Colombia, and China.
My blood ancestors come primarily from the Iberian Peninsula and from the Nahua, Purépecha, and Nahua-Otomí peoples of pre-colonial México. This heritage has continually invited a deepening and integration of both old and new, above and below, North and South.
Research Interests
My academic and professional work has developed at the confluence of ecopsychology, transpersonal and depth psychologies, contemplative studies, and Earth-based and ancestral traditions. Rather than treating these as separate domains, I understand them as mutually illuminating pathways toward self-discovery, healing, expanded awareness, and regenerative participation in the living world. My doctoral research explored the foundations of an Integral Ecopsychology, seeking a more comprehensive understanding of the human psyche in relation to nature, culture, and the sacred. Over the years, this inquiry has evolved through teaching, research, contemplative practice, ritual, and direct engagement with the living Earth.
My current research interests center on three developments. The first centers on transpersonal ecopsychology, including the development of an expanded understanding of psyche through the interrelated dimensions of Spirit, Nature, Body, and Culture. Closely connected with this inquiry is my exploration of an “Earth’s Dharma,” particularly the ways contemplative practice and spiritual traditions can bring us closer to the living Earth and our true nature. A third area centers on ritual and ancestral traditions, with a focus on belonging, healing, transition, and direct connection with the spiritual dimensions of human and more-than-human worlds.
Transpersonal Ecopsychology
Informed by Ecopsychology, Deep Ecology and the Work That Reconnects, Depth and Transpersonal Psychology.
Contemplative & Spiritual Traditions
Including Eastern liberation teachings (Yoga, Tibetan Buddhism, Taoism), Contemplative Psychoterapy, and Western Wisdom Traditons that center on the import of direct experience.
Ancestral Healing & Ritual
Particularly the animistic traditions of the Americas, the use of ritual for transformation and healing, Family Constellations, and the therapeutic value of non-ordinary states of consciousness.
Approach
How do we call forth and live into the wakeful dimensions of who we are?
This question has animated my work for years. I understand human transformation not as an isolated or purely individual endeavor, but as an unfolding within a web of relationships: with our bodies and inner lives, with one another and our ancestors, with the living Earth, and with the Great Mystery that nurtures everything from within.
Like a seed containing within the vital information needed to unfold into a vibrant tree, so too our human seedling awaits the ripe conditions to bloom into its fullness. Our path calls us deeper into our roots in body, ancestry, community, and Earth, and outward, branching into awareness, spirit, creativity, and compassionate participation in the world. My approach therefore seeks to cultivate conditions for remembering, healing, and transformation rather than prescribing a single path toward them.
The heart of my approach is enlivened by a set of queries: How might we develop a kinder and more wholesome relationship with ourselves and one another? How might we recover our intimacy with the living Earth and learn from its wisdom? And how might we open ourselves more fully to the healing Mystery at the heart of things? These questions orient my work toward an embodied and relational form of transformation—one that nurtures self-discovery and healing while deepening our capacity to participate consciously, compassionately, and regeneratively in the world.
Projects & Initiatives
Over the years, some of the threads of my work have taken form through collaborative educational and community initiatives, particularly Instituto Bioalkimia and The Work That Reconnects Latin America.
I founded Instituto Bioalkimia as a space for exploring transformative approaches to the human–Earth relationship, with early offerings and collaborations dating back over 20 years. Its development has been nurtured by many people, relationships, and collaborations along the way. Today, the institute develops educational and community-based work primarily in the Spanish-speaking world, with its Transpersonal Ecopsychology Certificate at the heart of its educational offerings.
I initiated The Work That Reconnects Latin America (TQR Latino) to support the development and dissemination of Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects throughout Latin America and the Spanish-speaking world. Over the years, it has grown into a collaborative network offering educational programs, facilitator development, community practice, and resources in Spanish.