In Honor Of Our
Lineage, Teachers & Guides
Our Lineage
The lineage of my teachers, mentors, and guides forms a rich tapestry of diverse spiritual, multicultural paths and belief systems.
The warrior’s path was forged into my body and nervous system through more than twenty five years of training and teaching Hapkido Blend. I earned three black belts under Sensei Fariborz Azhakh, whose own lineage and influences include Benny “The Jet” Urquidez and Korean Hapkido Master Ji Han Jae. My introduction to embodiment work was ignited through my longtime friend John Wineland, whose background includes deep study with yogic intimacy teacher David Deida, as well as extensive immersion in Vajrayana, Tantra, and Kundalini Yoga. For the past five years, I have been devoted to the path of Deity and Shunya Yoga under the guidance of Shri Amir Mourad, whose lineage traces back to Sri Madan Bali. For decades, I have also worked intimately with men such as Phil Rowland, whose reflections during my early years of seeking laid the foundation upon which I built my entire spiritual landscape. Along the way, I have encountered soul guides whose work and presence helped refine my calling and clarify my purpose.
These humble men and women are conduits for the Great Mother, G d, or however one chooses to name Her. They never made their teachings ego centric. They are individuals who, like you and I, awakened to their purpose and humbly devoted their lives to carrying it forward. I have been fortunate to empty my cup and receive transmission from them. I honor and celebrate them, for they are the ones quietly changing lives behind the scenes, guiding souls toward their evolution with great impact and humility. I endeavor to do the same in honoring them.
Amir Khalighi
Founder, EmbodiedMasculine.com
Shri Amir Mourad - Deity & Shunya Yoga
Shri Amir Mourad is an Egyptian-Canadian yogi, mystic, and spiritual teacher. Having faced severe depression, an overwhelming fear of death, along with increasing awareness of the realities of human suffering, he began his search for enlightenment in hopes of finding a new way of being. He began by studying various traditions such as Advaita Vedanta, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Taoism, ancient Egyptian religion, as well as Western philosophy. Having found that with this increase of knowledge this did not dispel his uncertainties but only added to his confusion, he eventually discovered that the gathering of theoretical knowledge is insufficient for man’s liberation, nor can there be freedom or morality without true self-knowledge. Hungry for spiritual knowledge, he became initiated into an esoteric mystery school of the Golden Dawn. After having risen through the grades of the Order, he became dissatisfied with the teachings, feeling that they were too enamored with superstitious thinking. He later abandoned the society and continued his search. He then sought the guidance of yoga master Sri Madan Bali who initiated him into methods of yoga and offered him a firm foundation of discipline, knowledge, and spiritual practice. Having learned much that he could from Sri Madan Bali, he eventually also found himself discontented as the teachings did not provide the liberation that he was seeking. He then decided to continue down his path living as a hermit to continue deepening his practice. Find out more at ShunyaYoga.com
Sue Holmes - Shamanic Practitioner, Teacher & Founder of The Modern Shaman Academy
Sue Holmes is a shamanic practitioner and the founder of The Modern Shaman Academy, whose path grew from a lifelong connection to nature and animals and expanded through decades of cross cultural travel, study, and initiation. Her early encounters with ceremony in India and with the Kalash tribe in Pakistan opened a devotion to learning from wisdom carriers and participating in healing work within sacred space. Her training weaves together shamanic healing, sound and energy work, plant and animal spirit medicine, Tibetan spiritual practices, and embodied modalities, grounded in her own deep journey as a wounded healer who transformed trauma, shadow, and long held patterns into clarity, creativity, and purpose.
She has participated in hundreds of healing circles, ceremonies, and rituals with indigenous and spiritual traditions across Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas, including Nordic Seidr, Tibetan Chöd, Amazonian and Andean lineages, African tribal initiations, Taoist and Hindu temple practices, and Moon Dance ceremonies. These experiences awakened her tribal soul and refined her capacity to work with trance states, healing, and ceremony. The Modern Shaman Academy reflects this integrative approach, not following a single tradition, but honoring all paths that connect earth, heart, and spirit.
Sue Holmes
Find out more at: https://themodernshamanacademy.com/
Fariborz Azhakh - Way of the Sword
Fariborz Azhakh (b. 1962) was born in Tehran, Iran. When he was sixteen years old he moved to California, where he began his martial arts journey in the art of Hapkido as a student of Master Steve Sexton. In 1982, he opened his school, Team Karate Centers. Over the years, he built on the foundations of Hapkido to develop a system of multicultural martial arts based on usefulness; one that draws upon principles from a variety of fighting styles and ranges, including kickboxing, grappling, trapping, weapons, joint locks, and meditation. "Hapkido Blend," as a he named it, allows all students to cultivate their own individual art within the traditions of Hapkido. Throughout his journey, he repeatedly cites his teachers and heroes as his greatest inspirations, among them: Benny Urquidez, Ji Han Jae, Ron Balicki, Stuart Quan, and Simon and Phillip Rhee. Azakh's legacy to the martial arts community is well-documented. In 1982 and 2010, he starred in two separate video series produced by Century Martial Arts to present the evolving art of Hapkido Blend. Likewise, he has authored a number of books on martial arts pedagogy and curriculum. Through all this, he has changed the way martial arts is taught and learned by leading the introduction of online technology to the industry: He is the creator of MartialInfo.com, the world's only online martial arts information center. In 2025, Team Karate Centers celebrates its 45th anniversary. Find out more at: TeamKarateCenter.com
Kadea Metara - Soul Guide
Kadea Metara is a Spiritual Mentor, Intuitive Counselor, Alchemist and “Catalyst for Change.” She lectures, teaches, and counsels worldwide. Since 1987 she has been offering life-changing private sessions and workshops that specialize in the “Great Work” of liberating the human soul from the bondages of the past and the awakening and birthing of it’s True Divine Nature. As the result of a profound “near-death’ experience in 1975, Kadea “reads” the blueprint of your soul and provides valuable insight concerning your soul’s intentions, higher purpose and life lessons. Kadea “sees” the imprints, blocks, challenges and hurdles you must overcome to create positive and permanent life changes. She then works with you to clear these blocks at the mental, emotional, physical and cellular level using leading-edge multi-dimensional healing techniques. The result being, you have a greater ability to make wise soul choices and effect positive and permanent changes in your life. Kadea lives in Sacramento, California where she enjoys being close to her three children and their families - including five amazing grandchildren and many grand-animals.
Phil Rowland - Mentor
Phil Rowland has quietly lead many men in uncovering and removing inner obstacles "fancied or real" and inspiring them to make contact with their deepest selves. He has done his work quietly and honorably for over 28 years. He is a loving, devoted father and a kick-ass drummer.
Spiritual Influences
Anthony De Mello
Jesuit priest and psychotherapist
“You see persons and things not as they are but as you are."
— Anthony De Mello
Sri Aurobindo
Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist
“True knowledge is not attained by thinking. It is what you are; it is what you become."
— Sri Aurobindo
Robert Bly
Poet, essayist, activist and leader of the mythopoetic men's movement of Love
“It’s all right if you grow your wings on the way down."
— Robert Bly
Anandamayi Ma
Indian Saint
“When by the flood of your tears
the inner and the outer have fused into one,
you will find Her whom you
sought with such anguish,
nearer than the nearest,
the very breath of life,
the very core of every heart."
— Anandamayi Ma
Francis Israel Regardie
Occultist, ceremonial magician, and writer
“Within every man and woman is a force that directs and controls the entire course of life. Properly used, it can heal every affliction and ailment we may have."
— Francis Israel Regardie
Mirra Alfassa
French-Indian spiritual guide, occultist yoga teacher, and collaborator of Sri Aurobindo
“It is the Divine Presence that gives value to life. This Presence is the source of all peace, all joy, all security. Find this Presence in yourself and all your difficulties will disappear.”
— Mirra Alfassa