FORT HALL — Dr. Larry Murillo will be the featured local native author at the Meet the Author Night on Monday, April 13. His most recent book, “I See a Soul”, has just been released.

Murillo is the owner and director of Tribal Illumine, an organization that provides culture-based public health consultations, workshops, retreats, training and program development assistance for agencies, health providers, Indian communities and individuals that want to know more about being healthy.

Using his doctoral degree in public health, he specializes in organizing traditional American Indian cultural health gatherings and interpreting information of Indian healing and traditional health practices. For the academic world he also gathers how the Indian culture can contribute to science and organizes community participation research.

Murillos’ first book, “Conversations with Elders”, offers practical tips for young adults seeking life guidance through the honored native resource of tribal elders. By learning from those that have lived long, he explains how the youth can build solid self-confidence.

Next Murillo wrote “Inner Child Healing”, a book about living with more joy through overcoming self-doubt, emotional triggers and strained relationships. He explains how increased confidence, reduced anxiety and a life of joy can be found in this approach to healing.

Now he is turning to teaching communities about living to 100 through the often-missed advantage of cultural practices. “I See a Soul” taps directly into the Elders’ interpretation that illness is a teacher that we can learn from. Elders, in their wisdom, encourage people to ask deep questions about difficult hardships, losses or changes — both for the lessons within the pain and for any way your experience can help others.

Murillo says, “Emotions are the language of the soul, and unresolved pain, grief or imbalance can manifest in the body.”

He maintains that healing comes in stages of awareness, responsibility, greater balance and gaining wisdom. This isn’t a quick fix route — rather Murillo explains that healing comes by adding cultural, spiritual and relational insights to biological approaches and that can take time to listen and ask questions within.

The book, written for all ages, invites everyone, “to listen, reflect and view life, health and healing with greater compassion, responsibility and spiritual awareness.”

Murillo will be speaking at 6 p.m. at the Shoshone-Bannock Hotel and Event Center in the Chief Tendoy Room.