​Born in Spain to a Welsh mother and Spanish father, Gabriela had an unusual childhood raised in movement. She is a polyglot speaking English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, basic Arabic, Farsi and Serbian.
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Gabriela studied the Middle East with a focus on Anthropology, Islamic Mysticism and Sufi poetry at SOAS University, London. From 2009-2012 she worked as a human right's defender in Ghana, Palestine, Bolivia and with Tibetan ex-political prisoners in the Himalayas. In 2012 she lived and studied with renunciant Jain nuns in the Rajasthani desert. She then trained extensively with shamans in Bolivia, Peru and the UK before completing a master’s degree with a first-class thesis in the Poetics of Imagination with mythologist Dr. Martin Shaw and poet Alice Oswald. Her poetry has been published by Clarion Poetry Magazine and her first book will be published by Shambhala Publications.
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Following fifteen years of academic study and rigorous spiritual trainings with shamans and renunciants, she developed her own healing modalities, rites and teachings that revive ancient wisdom. Much of her research and writing can be found on her bestselling Substack publication Under a Fig Tree and her online classes and lectures provide a regular gathering space for wisdom-seekers worldwide.​
WHAT QUALIFIES ME TO TEACH?​
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​Over the years I have been deepening my work on myth, folklore, ritual and the history of religion with an MA in the Poetics of Imagination, along with courses at Oxford University and Pacifica Graduate Institute. Below is a full list of my credentials.
I am now a full-time writer, self-publishing weekly Sunday essays on my Substack. I hold monthly online rituals, and teach courses in both online and in person settings.
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ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
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Bilingual International Baccalaureate, United Nations International School, New York City, 2009. Specialisation in Anthropology, Theatre and French Philosophy.
Anthropology and Liberal Arts, The New School for Social Research, New York City, 2010.
BA Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic, SOAS University, London, 2013. Specialisation in Anthropology, Mysticism in the Great Traditions and Sufi Poetry.
MA with Distinction, The Poetics of Imagination, Dartington Arts School, Devon, 2022. Thesis: ‘The Bee Cult in Greek Myth and Ancient History.’
Ritual and Religion in Prehistory, Department of Continuing Education, Oxford University, 2023.
Advanced Training Certificate in Applied Mythology, Pacifica Graduate Institute, Santa Barbara, CA, 2024.