Unraveling the Mystery of the Origin of Ayahuasca
For decades, researchers have puzzled over the mystery of the origin of Ayahuasca, especially the question of how the synergy was discovered between the the two components of the brew: the vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) with a monoamine oxidase inhibiting (MAOI) action and the leaf (Psychotria viridis or Diplopterys cabrerana), which requires that MAOI action to make their dimethyltryptamine (DMT) orally active.
Information & Discussion
Aya: Awakenings VOD
The groundbreaking shamanic documentary Aya: Awakenings is now available for viewing on Vimeo on Demand: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/ayaawakenings . Featuring the artwork of Pablo Amaringo, Andy Debernardi and more; written by Rak Razam and directed by Tim Parish, video editing by Verb Studios, soundscapes by Lulu Madill and music by Shpongle, Tipper, Darpan, Lulacruza, Maneesh de [...]
Read More
Codes of Ethics
Discussion about ethics and ayahuasca, primarily The Plantaforma Code of Ethics (also known as the Code of Ethics for Organizations which Use Ayahuasca in Spain)
Read MoreResponses to the Statement Critiquing the Ethnobotanical Stewardship Council
A group of more then 60 academics and other experts reject the Ethnobotanical Stewardship Council’s (ESC) “When I resigned from my (very brief) tenure at ESC, it was out of utter disbelief with how wrong-headed, fatuous, and fundamentally corrupt the ESC idea really is.”
Statement Critiquing the Ethnobotanical Stewardship Council (ESC)
A group of academics and others have published a letter expressing severe criticism of the methods and aims of the Ethnobotanical Stewardship Council (ESC), an NGO which has assumed the mission of ensuring the safety and sustainability of ayahausca and other entheogens. The letter is reproduced below. The debate continues… Statement Critiquing the Ethnobotanical Stewardship [...]
Profit vs Reciprocity
Amazonian indigenous societies in my experience — and certainly all Andean indigenous societies — are fundamentally based upon reciprocity. Not profit. Profit and reciprocity are fundamentally different values.
The ESC and the Amazon: different thoughts are different worlds
To me it is very clear that the first objective of the ESC is power. And they don’t know very well where they are stepping. But I could say that of most of the organizations, regional, national or international, that work in the Amazon. Two different thoughts are two different worlds; and the Amazon world-thought and the Western world-thought, simply don’t match.
Colonialism, Capitalism and Ayahuasca: When Things Go Rotten in the Heat of the Jungle
Once again is illuminated one of the most rotten characteristics of our species — the Colonial, Paternalistic, Missionary zeal that plagues human history and permeates our modern moment. Purge and let’s get real.
A collection of items from around the Web on the subject of ayahuasca – by Steve Beyer
-
Here is a parody of current hip ayahuasca use by the always funny JP Sears. There is a lot of criticism in the comments -- be sure to check them out -- by what seem likely to be the objects of his humor. It is, in my view, about time someone poked some fun at the ayahuasca scene.
