The highly anticipated documentary The Spirit Molecule, is now available on DVD through Amazon. It is an absolute must-see for anyone interested in DMT or ayahuasca. The film features comprensive information about dimethyltryptamine, but also highlights the ayahuasca ritual and the differences between a ayahuasca experience and DMT experience.




December 14, 2010 - Ayahuasca legality debated in Brazil

A piece on Erowid describes the current situation in Brazil, where the legality of ayahuasca is under pressure. Brazilian Congressman Paes de Lira filed draft legislation to overturn Resolution No. 01, the most important document governing the use of ayahuasca in Brazil.

While the discussion as referred to took place several months ago, it has now been translated into English.

Click here to the full article on Erowid




November 18, 2010 - Taita Juan released

We are happy to report that Colombian ayahuascero Taita Juan, who was recently arrested at a US airport for importing ayahuasca medicine, has been released.

At some point within the next couple of days, the court will begin the process of transferring Taita Juan out of prison and into the immigration authorities who will make arrangements for his return to Colombia.

According to a report from Caracol Radio, one of the main radio networks in Colombia,"a Federal Court ruled his release when his attorney showed that Yage (ayahuasca) is a medicinal plant used by indigenous as traditional medicine, and does not generate dependency".

Support came from around the world as many people came to Juan's side, both physically and spiritually, including reports that Colombian embassy officials visited Juan last week, reportedly offering their support. Indigenous rights groups, human rights organizations and networks of the vast ayahuasca community are also among those who came to his aid.

More than €1800 gathered from fundraising initiatives in Europe has been presented to Juan's family who are "overwhelmed with joy". The Free Taita Juan campaign raised over $14,000 for his legal defense.

Read more on RealitySandwich.




November 1, 2010 - Colombian ayahuascero arrested in the US

On Tuesday, October 19, 2010 while en route to leading traditional Ayahuasca ceremonies in Oregon, indigenous Colombian healer Juan Agreda Chindoy was detained in the Houston International Airport. He was formally arrested by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) for possession of his traditional medicine Ayahuasca. He is now being charged as a federal criminal and is facing up to 20 years in federal prison.

Taita Juan is certified by his community and by the Colombian ministry of health as a traditional healer. He is one of the few remaining indigenous spiritual leaders in the world that holds the ancestral medicinal knowledge of an ecosystem that is rapidly disappearing. Taita Juan is a father, a husband and a godfather to more than 20 children. With more than 3000 supporters from several countries in the world, his life and work have touched many.

Due to an outpouring of support, the strongest legal team possible has been developed to effectively defend Taita Juan’s rights.

Please help at this critical juncture by donating whatever you can by visiting the website: FreeTaitaJuan.org





October 1, 2010 - Mind Altering Science conference - October 23-24, Amsterdam

On October 24-24, Dutch Foundation Stichting Open is organizing a conference on psychedelic research. Several lectures will be held on the subject of ayahuasca. A summary:

Jordi Riba - "Clinical Research on Ayahuasca: from Basic Physiology to Neuroimaging"
Dr Jordi Riba received his PhD in Pharmacology in 2003, at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, with a thesis on the human pharmacology of ayahuasca. He is currently Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Associate Researcher at the Drug Research Center of the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona, where he has conducted a series of clinical studies involving the administration of ayahuasca to experienced psychedelic/entheogen users.

Bia Labate - "The Expansion of the Uses of Ayahuasca around the Globe"
Bia Labate is author, co-author and co-editor of seven books on the topic of ayahuasca in Portuguese, one book in Spanish (in press) and one journal special edition in English. She is also a member of the Collaborative Research Center (SFB 619) “Ritual Dynamics - Socio-Cultural Processes from a Historical and Culturally Comparative Perspective."

Adèle van der Plas - "Ayahuasca under national and international law: the Dutch Santo Daime cases”
Adèle G. van der Plas (1950) lectured in criminology and criminal law at the University of Leiden and the Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law in Utrecht. She also defended the Dutch Santo Daime churches in two criminal procedures and handled many so-called ‘magic mushrooms’ cases.

For tickets and more information on the conference, visit MindAlteringScience.com.




September 22, 2010 - La Experiencia: Taking Ayahuasca in the Amazon
Freelance writer John Meils wrote a piece on ayahuasca for Livinginperu, in which he describes his own experience with the spirit vine. An excerpt:

Thirty minutes later and nothing. Sixty minutes later and I was starting to feel a tingling—nerves, a buzz behind my eyes, looseness, flashes of color in my vision forming geometric shapes when I blinked. Lucho’s assistant began singing. His voice was astounding, deep and strong, emanating from his chest, his style a fierce staccato. I looked over his head and through a giant opening in the wall. The foliage in the trees formed a series of terrifying faces: skulls first, then scowls on old, worn faces, ever-changing. Each successive one got bigger as it moved into the room towards me, threatening to swallow me up. I sat still and absorbed them, searching for meaning but finding none.

Read the full article here.




August 25, 2010 - Ayahuasca in the news
The Washington Post published a piece titled ‘Peruvian hallucinogen ayahuasca draws tourists seeking transforming experience’and although it does not go very in-depth, it provides a good overview of why some people use the brew (for spiritual purposes instead of recreational use) and how the ayahuasca tourism contributes to a Peruvian village.

The folks over at RS posted an excerpt from the new book ‘Fishers of Men: The Gospel of an Ayahuasca Vision Quest’. In this book, author Elenbaas describes his experiences with ayahuasca, and the impact it has on his life in the years that follow. Click here to read more.




July 13, 2010 - CelebStoner reviews ‘Ayahuasca in my Blood’
Stoner website ‘CelebStoner’ put up a review of Peter Gorman’s book ‘Ayahuasca in My Blood’. An excerpt:

Ayahuasca in My Blood is a long, strange trip. Gorman repeatedly gulps the brew as he searches for answers to problems in his life. How can he make Chepa love him again? Can he help save his mother-in-law, who has cancer? What can he do about his alcohol habit?

Under the influence, Gorman transforms into a snake and explores. He flies from place to place and period to period in his life like he's in a time machine. All the while Julio gently guides him and the others during their psychedelic voyages. Gorman's descriptions are vivid. You fly right along with him as he searches for answers and fights off demons and evil spirits. Finally, he passes one of Julio's big tests and becomes a shaman himself.

A 68-page preview of 'Ayahuasca in My Blood' is available on Google Books. For more books related to ayahuasca, see our Books section.

July 8, 2010
Release date set for The Spirit Molecule documentary
After being in production for five years, the (rough) release date for DMT: The Spirit Molecule documentary has now been announced. In October 2010 it will premiere and simulatenously be released on DVD. The producers are also hoping to have a live stream from the premiere. We’ve been looking forward to this documentary for quite some time, and after watching the latest trailer, the expectations are high.

Read more on blog.thespiritmolecule.com

June 10, 2010
Michael Wiese (The Shaman and Ayahuasca) interview
Reality Sandwich published a fascinating talk with filmmaker Michael Wiese. His latest film, The Shaman & Ayahuasca:
Journeys to Sacred Realms, documents the shamanic work and ayahuasca ceremonies of Don Jose Campos and includes the last filmed interview with internationally renowned visionary painter and former shaman Pablo Amaringo. Shot in various locations around Peru, the film explores the role of this powerful plant medicine in Amazonian culture through a series of vignettes and intimate interviews with Don Jose and several of his close associates.

Watch the trailer:



May 17, 2010
Changa: The Evolution of Ayahuasca
The conscious folks over at Reality Sandwich published a very interesting piece on Changa, a smoking mixture containing the same (but often more) ingredients to ayahuasca. According to many, there are pronounced differences between these two DMT-containing psychoactives.

An excerpt:

'The tea (ayahuasca) is drunk and enzymes begin to be inhibited in the stomach, then the effect spreads throughout the body. Changa -- who's route of administration is smoking -- works very differently. The pyrolyzed smoking blend is inhaled, adsorbing into the lungs and going directly to the brain. In the brain the alkaliods inhibit enzymes directly, adding the unique effects of harmala alkaliods to the synergistic effects of the tryptamine harmala pharmacological relationship. The effects are faster, clearer headed, and more centering according to Changaleros (those who practice the way of smoke), with less to no nausea unless one is working with it to physically purge.'

Read the full article here. More information on Changa can be found on the wiki page of deoxy.

April 2, 2010
Submit your ayahuasca experience and win an Ayahuasca Songs CD!

We are are holding a contest to give away ten CD’s of Peruvian ayahuasquero Luis Panduro Vasquez. The CD was recorded live in the Peruvian Amazon jungle and includes 10 indigenous ayahuasca songs, totaling one hour and ten minutes of continuous singing. It takes the listener on a magical journey into the spirit of Peruvian Ayahuasca Shamanism.

To participate, send your report describing (one of) your ayahuasca experience(s) to aya [at] ayahuasca-info.com. The authors of the ten best stories will receive an Ayahuasca Songs CD! In addition, all submitted reports will be placed under our experience section. Please send in your report before May 15!

March 24, 2010
Ayahuasca research underway
Extensive research on the pharmaceutical potential of ayahuasca is currently underway and is led by Dr. Charles Grob, a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the UCLA School of Medicine. He will investigate and analyse the drink and its medicinal properties. Grob says science confirms that the ayahuasca brew is a potent medication. "It's a very sophisticated form of pharmacology, which somehow the native peoples of the Amazon region have figured out.

Read the full article on the website of Voice of America.

March 4, 2010
Ayahuasca Tales: Tripping through the jungle
We stumbled across a post on a blog on Picassodreams where ‘KAT’ beautifully describes some of her ayahuasca trips and the impact of these sessions on her daily life. Well worth the read! Read the story here.

February 10, 2010
Brazil legalizes ayahuasca
After years of discussion, the Brazilian government has legalized the use of ayahuasca in religious ceremonies. Only the use is legal, selling it remains prohibited.
The two major religious movements that make use of ayahuasca in their ceremonies are Sando Daime and UDV.

Read more on Dosenation, or see the original news item (in Portugese).

January 8, 2010
Avatar and Ayahausca
In an article on his website, Erik Davis' points out some strong ayahuasca references in 3D Blockbuster Avatar. A quote:

"For while Avatar features nothing like the South American shaman lore and stupendous aya visuals that litter the otherwise very bad 2004 Western released here as Renegade, the film does suggest that the bitter jungle brew, and ideas of ecological wisdom now attached to it, is having a trickle-down effect. The banisteriopsis caapi vine that gives ayahuasca its name (though not its most hallucinogenic alkaloids) is also known as the “Vine of Souls,” which echoes the Na’vi’s Tree of Souls. And when Sigourney Weaver attempts to establish the efficacy of the Trees through a neurological discourse of electrical connection, the corporate tool Parker asks what she’s been smoking—a backhanded way of acknowledging how much Avatar’s visionary take on ecological consciousness is grounded in psychoactive consciousness."

Read the full article here.

Davis is not the only one who sees resemblances between the film and the jungle brew.


November 16, 2009
Don Pablo Amaringo - 1934-2009
On November 16, after several weeks of illness, visionary artist Don Pablo Amaringo passed away. With his beautiful artwork and his wisdom he inspired thousands of people all over the world. He will be missed, but certainly not forgotten.

Rest in peace, Pablo.

November 17, 2009
Two Arrested For “Ayahuasca Ritual” In Chile
WRITTEN BY PAMELA MORALES
TUESDAY, 17 NOVEMBER 2009
Psychologist Danae Sáenz Razis (37) and her therapist boyfriend, César Ahumada Lira (39), were charged with drug trafficking for distributing the illegal hallucinogenic ayahuasca in workshops designed to improve spiritual health.

According to police, the workshop attendees, mainly professionals from Santiago, paid the equivalent of US$80 to participate in the “ayahuasca rituals” held every other weekend on the couples’ land south of Santiago. Each participant received five millimeters of a liquid made from the plant.

An anonymous tip prompted a three-and-a-half month police investigation during which the couples´ trips and phone calls were monitored. The two were arrested after an undercover officer infiltrated the group posing as an attendee this past Saturday and identified Sáenz and Ahumada as the leaders.

Sáenz provided attendees a receipt for a psychotherapy session so that they could have the money they paid reimbursed by their medical insurer. This may prompt additional charges from the Public Health Ministry.

Police say Sáenz brought the ayahuasca into Chile from the Peruvian Amazon. More than 10 liters of the substance, worth USD$32,000, and 61 grams of marijuana were confiscated from the couples’ home.

Ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic used by Amazonian shamans and whose main ingredient is dimethyltryptamine (DMT), is illegal in Chile. Though there are a number of studies into the drug’s effect on depression and drug addiction, the district attorney in the case, Jaime Retamal, said ayahuasca “has no known therapeutic or medical use . . . and clearly presents risks to those who use it.”

Sáenz and Ahumada were charged and released pending trial. Their attorney says they are cooperating with authorities. They could receive up to five years in prison if convicted.

SOURCES: LA TERCERA, EL MERCURIO, COOPERATIVA.CL
By Pamela Morales ( editor@santiagotimes.cl )

From: http://www.santiagotimes.cl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17631:two-arrested-for-ayahuasca-ritual-in-chile-&catid=1:other&Itemid=38

November 9, 2009
Robert Tindall on Ayahuasca Tourism
Robert Tindall, author of 'The Jaguar that Roams the Mind', (interview) wrote an interesting piece about modern day ayahuasca pilgrimage. An excerpt from the article:

"Yet as I became aware of the issue, I struggled over whether to publish The Jaguar at all. Did I want to open the floodgates of ayahuasca tourism further? I even began to wonder, had I been an unknowing participant in this form of psychedelic narcissism myself?"

More on Reality Sandwich.


September 29, 2009
Ayahuasca in the news
The latest issue of South American Explorer Magazine features an interesting article on Peruvian jungle shamanism. The article is titled ‘Peru: The Shaman of Nueve de Octubre’. Read more.

A short documentary about the Santo Daime movement in Oregon is now available for viewing on YouTube. Pastor Jonathon Goldman talks about what they do at the church and their legal battle with the Government.




September 4, 2009
UDV seeks to build temple, neighbors express concern over safety
The Church of UDV encounters resistance in their plans to build a 11,000 square feet of structures on 2,5 acres in the town of Arroyo Rondo, California.
Neighbors are concerned about the use of ‘a hallucinogenic tea’ on the property and fear it might negatively impact property values in the affluent neighborhood.
UDV members argue that the amount of ayahuasca taken during services is so small that hallucinations do not result, and merely lead to a state of increased concentration.

Read the full article here


August 25, 2009
Ayahuasca and the realm of spirits
We came across a very interesting article on the use and effects of ayahuasca. An excerpt from the article, specifically about the active component DMT:
"DMT’s consciousness-altering experience has been sampled by William Burroughs, Allen Ginsburg, Terence McKenna and Timothy Leary. They all attest to DMT’s potent launching of the subject into a sometimes frightening plane of reality. But they all agree it is a powerful psychoactive experience. The 'trip' itself seems (in a distillation of several accounts) to break down into specific stages:
Firstly, geometric patterns appear in the subject’s vision. They grow in intensity and complexity. They are not static, but mobile, and constantly changing into higher orders of shapes and size. The second stage is the movement of the experimenter through a metaphorical transitional structure; this could be a huge tunnel, encountering a 'membrane' of light, beyond which dim figures can be seen, or entering a vast hall or chamber, where the topmost dome or ceiling opens up to whatever the individual is then about to experience. And this next part is where it gets tricky.
Depending on whom you talk to, this next stage ranges from traumatic to awe-inspiring. Various animals may be seen. Most encounter the 'machine elves.' In some experiences, they’re literally wearing elf-garb, down to pointy hats. In other instances, they may have an insectoid appearance."
Read the entire article here: The DMT molecule: A tryst with spirits, elves and aliens


July 28, 2009
New book on Amazonian shamanism
Steve Beyer, a former professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and California, Berkeley, author of several books on Tibetan Buddhism, and longtime researcher of entheogenic plants, has written a new book on ayahuasca shamanism, sorcery, and plant medicine — Singing to the Plants: A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper Amazon — which will be published in October by the University of New Mexico Press. Singing to the Plants sets forth, in accessible form, just what this shamanism is about — what happens at an ayahuasca healing ceremony, how the apprentice shaman forms a spiritual relationship with the healing plant spirits, how sorcerers inflict the harm that the shaman heals, and the ways that plants are used in healing, love magic, and sorcery.
The website for the book is at www.singingtotheplants.com and incorporates the entire earlier Singing to the Plants blog. There is also a Facebook group.


July 14, 2009
A Quest to Heal HIV with Ayahuasca Shamanism
Author Robert Tindall and his wife Susana Bustos have just returned from another journey to the Amazon, where he met Rolf, a man who was on a quest to heal HIV through dieting, purging and the use of visionary plant mixtures like ayahuasca. Robert has written a blog about his encounter with Rolf, in which he explains the difference between curing and healing, and the essential differences between Western medicine and the ancient shamanic methods of holistic healing. You can read the article on: www.roamingthemind.com


June 25, 2009
Erowid review: Ayahuasca Religions: A Comprehensive Bibliography & Critical Essays
Erowid has published a review of the book 'Ayahuasca Religions: A Comprehensive Bibliography & Critical Essays'.


June 22, 2009
Ayahuasca documentary Metamorphosis wins ‘Best Cinematography’ award
Filmmaker Keith Aronowitz has won the Best Cinematography award for his film ‘Metamorphosis’ at the Breckenridge Festival of Film. The film will also exclusively screen at the 5th international amazonian shamanism conference, in Iquitos, Peru. Aronowitz will be doing a presentation as well. The Metamorphosis DVD (2 Disc Edition) is now available for purchase on the Metamorphosis website.


june 17, 2009
Aya: a shamanic odyssey
Gonzo journalist Rak Razam recently came out with a new book. In 'Aya: a shamanic odyssey' Rak takes the reader to the tropical rainforests of Peru and explores and experiences both traditional and more commercially aimed Ayahuasca ceremonies. The author meets and interviews several ayahuasceros and Western seekers that have travelled there to experience the force of this intruiging forest plant medicine.
The book is available at Amazon. Extensive background information, as well as photos and an excerpt can be found at ayathebook.com.
For more ayahuasca related books, check out our book section.


June 5, 2009
'DMT: The Spirit Molecule' trailer online
The first trailer for this much anticipated film has been released. It can be found under 'Media' on the official website.


May 15, 2009
Independent film maker talks about his soon-to-be-released documentary
Keith Aronowitz, maker of Ayahuasca documentary ‘Metamorphosis’ wrote an interesting article about his project – it was published on livinginperu.com. Aronowitz is currently in the process of submitting his film to festivals and is working on self-distribution for the DVD release.


April 20, 2009
Down the Amazon in Search of Ayahuasca
TIME recently ran this piece on Ayahuasca: "Word of ayahuasca's healing properties has brought a growing number of New Age tourists from the U.S. and Europe, some of whom pay thousands of dollars to stay at jungle lodges where Indian medicine men guide them through all-night ayahuasca rituals. Sting and Tori Amos have admitted sampling it in Latin America, where it is legal, as has Paul Simon, who chronicled the experience in his song "Spirit Voices."
More in this article: Down the Amazon in Search of Ayahuasca


April 19, 2009
The Black Smoke of Ayahuasca
A battle with cancer led Margaret De Wys to Ecuador for traditional ayahuasca ceremonies. After miraculous healings Margaret started an apprenticeship and began a life-altering romantic relationship with the shaman who healed her. Adam Elenbaas interviewed author Margaret De Wys about her memoir: The Black Smoke of Ayahuasca: A Cancer Patient Finds a Cure and Love in Ecuador.


April 18, 2009
Ayahuasca, Panacea or Epidemic?
This week’s guest at Gnostic Media is Dr. Marlene Dobkin de Rios, a medical anthropologist and licensed psychotherapist. She conducted anthropological fieldwork on traditional folk healing in the Peruvian Amazon and coast, studying the plant hallucinogen, ayahuasca, in the treatment of emotional and psychological disorders. In this podcast she and author Jan Irvin discuss ayahuasca tourism, neo-shamanism, and the future of entheogenic studies. What impact do the tourists to South America in seek of ayahausca have on the cultures there? Are "drug tourists" hurting themselves and the indigenous cultures? What dangers do ayahuasca tourists place themselves in?
Gnostic Media Podcast #27 - Ayahuasca, Panacea or Epidemic? An Interview with Prof. Em. Marlene Dobkin de Rios (mp3)


March 24, 2009
The Spirit Molecule movie
The people working on the documentary, DMT: The Spirit Molecule, have uploaded 42 short clips from 42 different interviews. You can watch them here at Facebook or at YouTube (the videos at Facebook have a higher resolution). You'll hear Stan Grof, Dennis McKenna, Allyson and Alex Grey, Kathleen Harrison, Ralph Metzner, Dale Pendell, Charles Grob, several DMT volunteers and many others speak about their experiences.


March 20, 2009
Santo Daime Wins Court Decision
On March 18, 2009, a U.S. District Court judge, Owen Panner, found that the U.S. Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) protects the Santo Daime's use of DMT-containing ayahuasca as part of their sincere religious practices.
This U.S. District Court (the lowest type of U.S. federal court) based its decision on a U.S. Supreme Court decision from February 2006 in a case where the UDV (another ayahuasca-using church) sought a preliminary injunction to stop the DEA from seizing the ayahuasca they import into the United States. The Supreme Court granted that preliminary injunction in favor of the UDV.
Judge Panner writes, "Guided by the unanimous decision of the United States Supreme Court in a very similar case, Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao de Vegetal, 546 U.S. 418 (2006), I conclude that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000bb to 2000bb-4, requires that plaintiffs be allowed to import and drink Daime tea for their religious ceremonies, subject to reasonable restrictions."
"Plaintiffs have established their prima facie claim by more than a preponderance of the evidence. Plaintiffs have established that they are sincere in their religious beliefs, and that the ceremonial use of the Daime tea is essential to their religion. It is obvious that prohibiting the use of Daime tea would substantially burden the exercise of plaintiffs' religion."
"The government has failed to show that outright prohibition of the Daime tea is the least restrictive means of furthering its interests."
"Plaintiffs are entitled to relief under RFRA. Judgment will be entered for plaintiffs in accordance with this opinion."
Unless a higher court overturns this decision in the future, this ruling allows the Santo Daime church to legally import and use ayahuasca tea in their religious practices without being in violation of federal law.
Source: Erowid


March 10, 2009
Metamorphosis...a journey of transformation
Metamorphosis is a documentary that follows several westerners as they undergo five ayahuasca ceremonies and experience the gamut of emotions - from utter fear to outright ecstasy. It also explores the shamans who work with the medicine as well as all the key elements of an Ayahuasca ceremony.
The film also tells the story of Hamilton Souther, who earlier in life had no belief of and in spirit. After having a spiritual awakening, Hamilton is led to the amazon where he apprentices as an Ayahuascero, or person who practices medicine with Ayahuasca. Hamilton and Maestro Don Alberto (an indigenous master shaman for over thirty years that practices with Hamilton) take us through the ceremonies as well as explain the meaning behind them.
As the film progresses , we follow the journey that the participants take through the plant medicine. The difficulties of the experience are revealed as well as why each of the participants has come. Integral elements of the ceremony, such as the icaros (songs sung in ceremony) and the "purge" are explored further.
Finally, we get to see the transformations people have undergone, from physical to emotional to spiritual, after having spent more than a week with ayahuasca. They reflect on their experiences and share what they have learned, leaving changed from when they first arrived.
You can see some film clips and find additional information here: METAMORPHOSIS


March 3, 2009
"The Tiger Meets The Jaguar"
Psychoactivity will organize two seminars in Nepal. This year the theme is "The Tiger Meets The Jaguar", because it will be the first intercultural meeting of shamanic traditions from both the Himalayas and the Amazon Basin.
November 29 – December 5
December 8 - December 14
The seminars will take place in the Dhulikhel Mountain Resort, a first class hotel 34 kilometers east of Kathmandu. The seminar fee includes three meals daily.
Both seminar weeks are dedicated to the world-wide shamanic heritage. The colombian shaman Kajuyali Tsamani and his son will be representing the jaguar of the Amazon, exchanging sacred knowledge with the sherpa, kirati and tamang shamans from Nepal. All shamans will be joining in eachother's ceremonies. Among the presenters there will also be Christian Raetch, Claudia Mueller-Ebeling, Arno Adelaars, and Mohan Rai, the founder of the Shamanic Studies and Research Centre in Kathmandu.
Kajuyali Tsamani will conduct one Ayahuasca ceremony each seminar. He will also focus on his 30-year connection with the Kogi people from the Sierra Nevada. The message the Kogi have for the world resembles to a certain extent the viewpoint of Nepalese Shamans.
If you register before March 31 the fee for one seminar is 1500 euro. After that the registration fee will be 1800 euro. You can register here and find more information at www.psychoactivity.eu.


February 26, 2009
Oregon church wants Ayahuasca legalized
Oregon members of a Christian church based in Brazil are asking a federal judge to allow the use of a hallucinogenic tea during religious services.
They believe that the only way to have a direct experience with Jesus is through the use of Ayahuasca. They have taken their complaint to federal court, arguing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
In 1999 government investigators found and seized a large amount of the substance, and they claim that the amount found is more than the church could ever need for their small membership.
The entire article can be found here.


January 13, 2009
Spanish police seize 40,000 doses of ayahuasca
Spanish police have raided a house in a Madrid suburb, arrested two people and seized 40,000 doses of the psychoactive substance traditionally used by South American shamans. Investigators were alerted to its suspected distribution by an organization in the Las Rozas suburb, the Interior Ministry said in a statement Monday. Three minors were among 21 people taking part in a ceremony when police raided the house in late December. The agency said the estimated value of the seized drug was $1.63 million.
Read the entire article here.


January 6, 2009
Three new articles by Izmar Verhage
Recently Izmar, who wrote most of the material on Ayahuasca-info.com, published a couple of articles, including interviews he did with visionary painter Pablo Amaringo and filmmaker Jan Kounen. Pablo is a shaman from Peru whose amazing paintings have been published in Ayahuasca Visions. Jan Kounen is best known for his documentary Other Worlds, as well as the motion picture Blueberry. You can find these interviews in the lower left corner of his website www.izmarmusic.com.


November 15, 2008
Ayahuasca tourism?
In this short article Robert Tindall discusses some of the dangers and challenges created by the growing interest of westerners in ayahuasca and the Amazon basin. "I confess, when I first began my pilgrimages to the Amazon, the concept of an ayahuasca tourist hadn’t even occurred to me, nor did I know the truly damaging effect of this sham industry on indigenous culture," writes Tindall. "Yet when I became aware of the issue, I struggled over whether to publish The Jaguar at all. Did I want to open the floodgates of ayahuasca tourism further? I even began to wonder, had I been an unknowing participant in this form of psychedelic narcissism myself?"
Read the entire article on Robert's blog: Ayahuasca Pilgrimage?


October 27, 2008
New interview on www.ayahuasca-info.com!
We interviewed Robert Tindall, author of The Jaguar that Roams the Mind about his new book. You can read the interview here.


October 21, 2008
Proof of ancient entheogen usage
A new study led by North Carolina State University's Dr. Scott Fitzpatrick is the first to show physical evidence that the people who colonized the Caribbean from South America brought with them heirloom drug paraphernalia that had been passed down from generation to generation as the colonists traveled through the islands. Archeologists found plates and pipes with which primitive people inhaled psychedelic drugs such as Cohoba (a snuff made from Yopo, or Anadenathera peregrina), and the ayahuasca beverage source of DMT).
The research team dated the items to between roughly 400 and 100 B.C. These dates are well before Carriacou was colonized in approximately A.D. 400.
Heirlooms are portable objects that are inherited by family members and kept in circulation for generations, Fitzpatrick says, and are frequently part of important rituals. The objects tested for this study are ceramic inhaling bowls that were likely used for the ingestion of hallucinogenic substances. On the science website Eurekalert.com Fitzpatrick says that the artifacts "appear to have been transported to Carriacou when it was colonized – possibly hundreds of years after they were made."
It's not the first time researchers have found clues pointing towards prehistoric drug use. For example, at several European excavation sites cannabis seeds have been found, and numerous "trippy" paintings in caves also seemed to indicate that prehistoric man was quite familiar with the psychedelic experience. The recent findings in the Caribbean however provide physical evidence for this theory.
Source: Proof of ancient drug use


September 28, 2008
New book: "The Jaguar that Roams the Mind"
Dear friends and colleagues,
Robert and I are happy to announce that the long anticipated moment has arrived! His book, "The Jaguar that Roams the Mind" is available as of today on Amazon.com!
As the mid-October date for The Jaguar's release in bookstores rapidly approaches, we wish to request your help in the promotion of the book among your e-lists of interested people. Please spread the word by forwarding on this email to your like-minded contacts! We are now working on updating our website to post events such as book readings and radio programs happening in the next months. Check it out at www.roamingthemind.com
Many of you know that Robert worked for 4 years on this project about our year-long stay in the Peruvian jungle, spurred on by our love for the peoples of the rainforest and their vanishing tradition of curanderismo. Susana has also contributed an appendix on the healing power of the icaros.
Please, follow this link to the Inner Traditions' website to see the whole book description and Robert Tindall's bio.
Besides the poignant introduction, written by the acclaimed ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin from the Amazon Conservation Team, specialists on plant medicines comment on the book. Luis Eduardo Luna, author of Ayahuasca Visions, writes:"Like the twists and turns of ayahuasca, the sacred vine of the Amazon, this wonderful narrative of love and self-discovery connects vast inner worlds of dream and vision, power and magic, with a passionate pilgrimage in time and space. A joy to read." Dale Pendell, author of Pharmako/Gnosis, writes: "If you want to know what vegetalismo is really like, you could go to Amazon, or you could read this book."
Most of all, this book is an engaged attempt to bridge the depths and sacredness of the vegetalismo cosmology and practices to our Western minds. May the higher intention that made this book come to birth reach the minds and hearts of its readers in good ways, shed light in their own paths, and support the healing work of our elders in these times of transformation.
Thanks to you all, and "luz en el caminito"!
Susana and Robert


September 25, 2008
UK AYAHUASCA CEREMONY & WORKSHOP with SHIPIBO SHAMAN Guillermo Arevalo
Venue: The Compass Centre, Bunwell Road, Besthorpe, Attleborough , NR17 2NZ (2hrs from London)
Dates : There are two workshop opportunities: October 22nd-25th and October 25th-28th, 2008
Price: Please get in touch for pricing and further information
A true first in the UK, Shipibo shaman Guillermo Arevalo will perform and guide ayahuasca ceremonies at this idyllic Norfolk retreat, sharing the healing and visionary power of arguably the world's greatest teacher plant, Ayahuasca.
The Shipibo are revered throughout the Amazon as "the masters of ayahuasca" and Guillermo Arevalo is regarded by his peers as "the master's master": the highest authority on ayahuasca. Among his people, the Shipibo, he is known as Ketsembetsa, 'Echo of the Universe'. Filmmaker Jan Kounen's feature film Renegade/Blueberry and documentary 'Other Worlds' are inspired by Guillermo.
For more information and pricing please get in touch.
pr@voidfilm.net


September 23, 2008
We are organizing a seminar in Europe with the master healer Guillermo Arevalo Kestembetsa, who is the spiritual leader of the Shipibo people. Kestembetsa is probably one of the greatest contemporary masters accessible. His intent to spread the knowledge of his people brought him to build several centers in peru and to travel all over the world.
He will be holding healing ceremonies in several European cities this coming October. In this occasion we wonder if you can be so kind as to assist us to spread the word, or let us know if there is somewhere to post this message, so that as many people as possible will have the chance to come to the seminars. It would mean a great deal for us to share this with as many as possible.
If you wish to receive more information about our work and projects, please contact us at: metsavima@yahoo.it.
Thank you.


August 27, 2008
4th International Amazonian Shamanism Conference: FREE Mp3 downloads
For those of you who unfortunately could not attend the fourth annual Amazonian Shamanism Conference in Iquitos Peru this summer, we have some good news to share with you. A number of presentations were recorded and are available online. These include talks and presentations by many shamans & curanderos, Dennis McKenna, Robert Forte, Frank Echenhofer, Pablo Amaringo, Dr. Richard Grossman, Jimmy Weiskopf, and many other luminaries of this field. Enjoy!
Download the complete Mp3 collection (right click and save as):
4th_International_Amazonian_Shamanism_Conference_vbr_mp3.zip [1GB Zip file]
To download individual talks, go here.


July 21 2008
Peruvian government recognizes ayahuasca as national heritage
The Institute of National Culture has declared the knowledge and traditional uses of ayahuasca as national cultural heritage, in order to guarantee their cultural continuation within native Amazonian communities. This resolution was published on July 12 in the law bulletin of the national daily El Peruano. It states that ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis caapi) is a plant specimen with an extraordinary cultural history due to its psychotropic qualities that are to be experienced when combined in a brew containing the plant known as chacruna. B. caapi is in the indigenous world known as a 'master' plant which teaches to its initiates the very foundations of the world and its components.
Peruvian government declares ayahuasca as national heritage (English)
Cronicaviva (Español)
Altino Machado (Portuguese)


June 12, 2008
"The upcoming 'Convergence' in Peru will be a true retreat where we will create a community for nine days (July 10-18). Not only will we explore the teachings, use and practices of Ayahuasca and Master Teacher Plants, but we will learn more about entheogens, other visionary plants, non-ordinary states, shamanic practices from around the world and deep ecology."
Visit the Amazon Convergence website for details.


May 15, 2008
Visionairy artist Alex Grey talks about an ayahuasca experience he had in Brazil. Another video was uploaded by the Psychonaut Channel yesterday, featuring antropologist and author Jeremy Narby giving a short talk on the relationship between science and shamanism.


May 8, 2008
Another ayahuasca-themed lecture by Jeremy Narby, author of The cosmic serpent, is on YouTube. In his book Jeremy investigates the connections between shamanism and molecular biology. He hypothesizes that shamans may be able to access information at the molecular level through the ingestion of entheogens, specifically ayahuasca. He and three molecular biologists revisited the Peruvian Amazon to try to test the hypothesis, and their work was featured in the documentary film, Night of the Liana (2002).
Watch the lecture Ayahuasca and antropology, which was organized by Stichting Open in December 2007.


April 21, 2008
The Psychonaut Channel has uploaded a new lecture by Jonathan Ott on Ayahuasca Analogues. Jonathan describes his own experiences with different MAO-inhibitors and DMT-containing plants, in ayahuasca-like beverages and snuffs. Recorded March 23, 2008 at the World Psychedelic Forum in Basel, Switzerland.


April 14, 2008
Reality Sandwich, CoSM and Souldish proudly present... The 2nd Annual "Ayahuasca Monologues: Tales of the Spirit Vine"
"Following on last year's successful event, we are pleased to present five new visionary stories about ayahuasca, the renowned sacred brew of the Amazon. For centuries, shamans have drunk this powerful concoction to heal illness, obtain mystical insights, contact spirit guides, and explore magical worlds. Hear of experiences both miraculous and terrifying when Westerners access ayahuasca's incredible gifts. Music, dancing, and mingling will follow performance."
For more information visit Reality Sandwich


April 8, 2008
The Scientific Investigation of Ayahuasca - A Review of Past and Current Research
by Dennis McKenna, PhD
"With its complex botanical, chemical, and pharmacological characteristics, and its position of prime importance in the ethnomedical and magico-religious practices of indigenous Amazonian peoples, the investigation of ayahuasca in its many aspects has been an impetus to the furtherence of our scientific understanding of the brain/mind interface, and of the role that psychoactive plant alkaloids have played, and continue to play, in the quest of the human spirit to discover and to understand its own trancendent nature. Now, the process which has unfolded in Western culture since Richard Spruce first reported on ayahuasca use among the Indians of the Norwthwest Amazon in 1855 has reached a new stage. Ayahuasca has emerged from the Amazonian jungles where it has remained cloaked in obscurity for thousands of years, to become the sacramental vehicle for new syncretic religious movements that are now diffusing from their center of origin in Brasil to Europe, the United States, and throughout the world."
Read the entire article at www.ayahuasca.com


April 7, 2008
The Times published an article on the Santo Daime church: Santo Daime: the drug-fuelled religion


April 2, 2008
New video on the Psychonaut Channel
The Psychonaut Channel recorded over 20 hours of lectures and interviews at the World Psychedelic Forum in Basel, Switzerland. Among these were some extremely interesting talks on ayahuasca and DMT by Dennis McKenna, Kathleen Harrison, Jonathan Ott, Jeremy Narby and many others. Currently they are very busy editing and uploading the video's, but they have already managed to make nine video's available for us. The first gives a general impression of the symposium, and the second is a short talk by ethnobotanist and artist Kathleen Harrison on "Botanical Dimensions". The most recent video features etnobotanist Den

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