In the Upper Amazon, mestizos are the Spanish-speaking descendants of Hispanic colonizers and the indigenous peoples of the jungle. Some mestizos have migrated to Amazon towns and cities, such as Iquitos and Pucallpa; most remain in small villages. They have retained features of a folk Catholicism and traditional Hispanic medicine, and have incorporated much of the religious tradition of the Amazon, especially its healing, sorcery, shamanism, and the use of potent plant hallucinogens, incl...

"Is evil only a natural defect, an imperfection disappearing by itself with the growth of good, or is it a real power, ruling our world by means of temptations, so that, to fight it successfully, assistance must be found in another sphere of being? This vital question can be fully examined and solved only in a complete system of metaphysics." -- Vladimir Solovyov (preface)In this prophetic, millennial w...

Practices for openhearted speaking and devout listening to restore harmony in families, relationships, schools, workplaces, and communities• Details how to approach life with a listening heart and create a sacred space for communication• Offers exercises for new peacemaking circles, ceremonial ways to begin each circle, and peacemaker tools to unmask the needs and feelings behind conflict• Explains how to apply this practice in multiple ways, with groups large and s...

A story of awakening to remarkable shamanic powers, teachings, and techniques• Describes the author’s work with plant spirits, entheogens such as ayahuasca, and indigenous shamans during his 20 years of fieldwork in the Peruvian Amazon• Explores the practice of soul retrieval and shamanic work with feathers, stones, and sound• Includes techniques for exploring non-ordinary reality, exercises for expanding sensory perception, and practices to open your creative artis...

Psychedelic Shamanism presents the spiritual and shamanic properties of psychotropic plants and discusses how they can be used to understand the structure of human consciousness. Author Jim DeKorne offers authoritative information about the cultivation, processing, and correct dosages for various psychotropic plant substances including the belladonna alkaloids, d-lysergic acid amide, botanical analogues of LSD, mescaline, ayahuasca, DMT, and psilocybin.Opening with vivid d...

An exploration of the chemical, biological, psychological, and experiential dimensions of ayahuasca• Details the scientific discovery of ayahuasca’s sophisticated psychoactive delivery system in the brain and body and its potential applications in medicine and psychology• Includes contributions from Dennis J. McKenna, Ph.D., J. C. Callaway, Ph.D., and Charles S. Grob, M.D., on the ethnopharmacology, psychology, phytochemistry, and neuropharmacology of ayahuasca• Pro...

The history of San Pedro and its uses for healing, creativity, and conscious evolution• Includes interviews with practicing San Pedro shamans on their rituals, cactus preparations, and teachings on how San Pedro heals the mind and body• Contains accounts from people who have been healed by San Pedro• Includes chapters by Eve Bruce, M.D., and David Luke, Ph.D., on San Pedro’s effects on psychic abilities and its similarities to and differences from ayahuascaS...

Chronicling the practices, legends, and wisdom of the vanishing traditions of the upper Amazon, this book reveals the area's indigenous peoples' approach to living in harmony with the natural world. Rainforest Medicine features in-depth essays on plant-based medicine and indigenous science from four distinct Amazonian societies: deep forest and urban, lowland rainforest and mountain.The book is illustrated with unique botanical and cultural drawings by Secoya elder and tra...

A distinguished anthropologist–who is also an initiated shaman–reveals the long-hidden female roots of the world’s oldest form of religion and medicine. Here is a fascinating expedition into this ancient tradition, from its prehistoric beginnings to the work of women shamans across the globe today.Shamanism was not only humankind’s first spiritual and healing practice, it was originally the domain of women. This is the claim of Barbara Tedlock’s provocative and myth-shattering book...

Used for thousands of years by indigenous tribes of the Amazon rain forest, the mystical brew ayahuasca is now becoming increasingly popular in the West. Psychologist Rachel Harris here shares her own healing experiences and draws on her original research (the largest study of ayahuasca use in North America) into the powerful medicine’s effects on depression, addiction, PTSD, and anxiety. In this wide-ranging and personal exploration, Harris details ayahuasca’s risks and benefits, helping ...

The Ayahuasca Reader: Encounters with the Amazon’s Sacred Vine, is a panorama of texts translated from nearly a dozen languages on the ayahuasca experience. These include indigenous mythic narratives, testimonies, and religious hymns, as well as stories related by Western travelers, scientists, and writers who have had contact with ayahuasca in different contexts.In addition to contributions from Wade Davis, Dennis McKenna, Gerardo Reichel-Dolmotoff and Richard Spruce, the...

This carefully crafted ebook: "The Spiritual Works of Leo Tolstoy: A Confession, The Kingdom of God is Within You, What I Believe, Christianity and Patriotism, Reason and Religion, The Gospel in Brief and more" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. In the 1870s Tolstoy experienced a profound moral crisis, followed by what he regarded as an equally profound spiritual awakening, as outlined in his non-fiction work A Confession. His literal interpreta...