Year: 2010

Ayahuasca Weaving Destinies

Summary: Ayahuasca (or yajé), the sacred plant remedy of the Amazon, has been the subject of academic studies, travel narratives and documentaries but rarely do they tell the inside story. This novel lifts shamanism out of the category of anthropology or self-help to reveal how the mysterious powers of yajé highlight the debilities of those who seek enlightenment from it. Ayahuasca Weaving Destinies is the parable of the sorcerer´s apprentice in a post-industrial context. Taita Franciscano of the Putumayo, “last of the traditional healers”, knew the risks his culture would face when, defying the taboo, he invited white men to his rituals to win Western recognition for his tribe´s medicinal heritage. The irreverent sage may even have welcomed the opportunity to play with fire. But not even his visionary gifts foresaw what would happen when a cast of conflictive characters were drawn into his dream of founding a botanical garden. Among them are the ambitious anthropologist who “discovered” yajé, the autobiographical narrator, a militant indigenous leader, a “revolutionary” poet, several legendary shamans, including the still-living …

Bloodletting with Peter Gorman – Interview and Book Review

In the words of Dennis McKenna; Peter Gorman has “been way, way beyond the chrysanthemum on many a dark jungle night.” Gorman’s long awaited book Ayahuasca in My Blood: 25 Years of Medicine Dreaming tells the story of his long, deep relationship with ayahuasca. This book review, and an interview with the author, sets up camp to explore the edges of an astonishing journey.

By Yvonne McGillivray

Entheogens & Existential Intelligence: The Use of “Plant Teachers” as Cognitive Tools

The use of entheogens such as ayahuasca is exemplary of the long and ongoing tradition in many cultures to employ psychoactives as tools that stimulate foundational types of understanding. That such substances are capable of stimulating profoundly transcendent experiences is evident from both the academic literature and anecdotal reports. This article attempts to present these concepts in such a way that the possibility of using entheogens as tools is taken seriously by those with an interest in new and transformative ideas in education.

Ayahuasca and Transformation

Steve Beyer talks about ayahuasca and transformative experiences, in a clip from the film project From Neurons to Nirvana: Psychedelic Science in the 21st Century, produced and directed by Vancouver-based filmmaker, writer, and media artist Oliver Hockenhull.

Lost on the Fearless Plain

What happens to the rest of us in that great, sweating, moaning throng who have drawn the coach these centuries? What will remain for us on ruined plains of collapse?

Here is what I believe will remain. Reality and the truth, and the opportunity for spiritual evolution, which, in the end, I think will include most people.

South America- Roads Under Construction

The name of the game is INFRASTRUCTURE FOR DEEPER INTEGRATION IN SOUTH AMERICA. Also known as IIRSA. “The Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA) is a bold effort by the governments of South America to construct a new infrastructure network for the continent, including roads, waterways, ports, and energy and communications interconnections.Many of the projects seek to provide road and river outlets to ocean ports, with the goal of providing incentives to increase exports of primary materials such as soybeans and other grains, timber, and minerals. ” (from http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/latin-america/iirsa) Roads and rivers would be used to facilitate easier trade. Dr. Pitou van Dijck, is stating in his article: “The rise of China, however, not only contributes to Brazil’s export potential but may also jeopardize Brazil’s aspirations of becoming a platform for automobile assembly for the international market. Indeed, IIRSA’s plans for the construction of several transcontinental roads, linking the Atlantic side of the region with the Pacific, the so-called bioceánicas, not only facilitates Latin America’s export drive but may also …

Eyes of Gaia

Yasuni National Park has been deemed by 50 of the worlds top scientists as the most biodiverse area on Earth. Knowing about the incredible abundance of species who make Yasuni their home we must do all that we can to help protect this area. The Ecuadorean government has agreed to leave the oil in the ground if the international community pay half the value. This is the real Avatar. Now is the time for the world to come together to protect the most precious place we have left on Earth.