TSHISIMANE SLIDESHOWS

SANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGE CONTINUING EDUCATION DIVISION/OMEGA PROGRAM

Surgeon, author, shaman David M. Cumes, M.D. who completes nine years of offerings for the Omega Program this Fall term of '07, is a popular presenter in everything from prostate and bladder health (his medical and surgical specialty) to Spirit of Healing/Healing of Spirit topics.

Omega Program director Maryellen Kelley says "Dave is profoundly into the spirituality and healing connection, not just in medicine but as the essence of our wholeness. This is the prevailing theme of his three major books with particular focus on Nature as the big healer, the wisdom & historic traditions of native peoples and holistic practices that transcend space and time.

"Of universal appeal are his interactive classes in 'The Ongoing Dream Reality' (how to access and interpret this powerful potential for guidance in our everyday lives) and 'Death: The Final Curtain or a New Address?' (a joyously profound perception of life's continuance)

"A well-respected allopathic physician (a diplomat of the American Board of Urology and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Royal Academy of Surgeons and the South African College of Surgeons), Dr. Cumes has taught at Stanford, and has had a practice in Santa Barbara since 1981. Several years ago he established an integrative healing, education and cultural center in South Africa for purposes of bridging the ancient wisdom and ways of indigenous people with modern Western technology to improve, enhance and envision contemporary life in both societies. An honored sangoma (shaman) in his native South Africa, he recently was a featured speaker at the International Jungian Conference in Capetown.

"The multi-faceted body/mind/spirit scope of his interests and expertise have greatly enriched and expanded Omega's mission," Kelley adds. "He's led many in-service retreats for our instructors who are crazy about him. He's so darn erudite yet very modest, having an authentic gentility with a dollop of the playful rascal. We surely see him as being in tune with the universe and possessed of some of its happiest and richest secrets which he generously shares."