Download or read book The Ayahuasca Experience written by Ralph Metzner and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-03-02 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 • Provides 24 firsthand accounts of ayahuasca experiences and resulting life changes Widely recognized by anthropologists as the most powerful and widespread shamanic hallucinogen, ayahuasca has been used by native Indian and mestizo shamans in Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador for healing and divination for thousands of years. Made from the Amazonian vine Banisteriopsis caapi and the DMT-laden leaf of Psychotria viridis, ayahuasca is regarded as the embodiment of intelligent plant beings who can offer spiritual teachings and healing knowledge to those who respectfully engage with them. Many Western-trained physicians and psychologists now acknowledge that ayahuasca allows access to spiritual dimensions of consciousness, otherworldly realms and beings, and visionary experiences indistinguishable from classic religious mysticism. With contributions from leading psychoactive scholars Dennis J. McKenna, Ph.D., Charles S. Grob, M.D., and J. C. Calloway, Ph.D., on the ethnopharmacology, psychology, phytochemistry, and neuropharmacology of ayahuasca, Ralph Metzner provides a comprehensive exploration of the chemical, biological, psychological, and experiential dimensions of this Amazonian hallucinogen. He includes more than 20 firsthand accounts from people who have participated in ayahuasca rituals and experienced major life changes as a result. He details the scientific discovery of ayahuasca’s sophisticated psychoactive delivery system in the brain and body as well as the deep psychological impact of this potent entheogen. He concludes with his own findings on ayahuasca, including its applications in medicine and psychology, and compares the worldview revealed by ayahuasca visions to that of modern cultures.

Download or read book Plant Teachers written by Jeremy Narby and published by New World Library. This book was released on 2021-08-31 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A trailblazing anthropologist and an indigenous Amazonian healer explore the convergence of science and shamanism “The dose makes the poison,” says an old adage, reminding us that substances have the potential to heal or to harm, depending on their use. Although Western medicine treats tobacco as a harmful addictive drug, it is considered medicinal by indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest. In its unadulterated form, it holds a central place in their repertoire of traditional medicines. Along with ayahuasca, tobacco forms a part of treatments designed to heal the body, stimulate the mind, and inspire the soul with visions. In Plant Teachers, anthropologist Jeremy Narby and traditional healer Rafael Chanchari Pizuri hold a cross-cultural dialogue that explores the similarities between ayahuasca and tobacco, the role of these plants in indigenous cultures, and the hidden truths they reveal about nature. Juxtaposing and synthesizing two worldviews, Plant Teachers invites readers on a wide-ranging journey through anthropology, botany, and biochemistry, while raising tantalizing questions about the relationship between science and other ways of knowing.

Download or read book Listening to Ayahuasca written by Rachel Harris, PhD and published by New World Library. This book was released on 2017-02-14 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 readers clarify their intentions and giving psychotherapists a template for transformative care and healing.

Download or read book DMT Entity Encounters written by David Luke and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-10-26 with total page 469 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: • Includes contributions from the late Ralph Metzner, Chris Bache, Whitley Strieber, Jeffrey Kripal, Angela Voss, Bill Richards, Chris Timmermann, Michael Winkelman, Luis Eduardo Luna, Anton Bilton, Bernard Carr, Daniel Pinchbeck, Dennis McKenna, Ede Frecska, and David Luke • Explores DMT beings, alien abduction, plant sentience, neuroscientific DMT research, the connections between LSD and DMT entities, and the nature of mind and reality Found throughout the plant and animal kingdom, DMT (dimethyltryptamine) is also naturally occurring in humans, and may be released during near-death and actual death experiences, earning it the title “the spirit molecule.” When taken as a psychedelic, either via ayahuasca or in pure form, DMT is experientially considered to be one of the strongest and strangest of all entheogens. The majority of high-dose users report visions of unknown yet curiously familiar alien worlds and encounters with sentient nonhuman presences. At a four-day symposium at Tyringham Hall in England in 2017, twenty of the world’s psychedelic luminaries gathered to discuss entheogenic entity encounters, consciousness expansion, visionary experiences, and the future of research in this field. Contributors to the talks and discussions include many leading thinkers, including the late Ralph Metzner, Chris Bache, Whitley Strieber, Je rey Kripal, Angela Voss, Bill Richards, Chris Timmermann, Michael Winkelman, Luis Eduardo Luna, Anton Bilton, Bernard Carr, Daniel Pinchbeck, Dennis McKenna, Ede Frecska, and David Luke. This book distills the potent exchange of ideas that occurred at Tyringham Hall, including discussions about DMT beings, encounter experiences, alien abduction, plant sentience, the shamanic use of ayahuasca, neuroscientifi c DMT research, the connections between LSD and DMT entities, and the nature of mind and reality.

Download or read book DMT Dialogues written by David Luke and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-08-14 with total page 436 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cutting-edge explorations and discussions of DMT experiences and plant sentience from leading luminaries in the field of psychedelic research • Includes contributions from Rupert Sheldrake, Rick Strassman, Dennis McKenna, Graham Hancock, Jeremy Narby, Erik Davis, Peter Meyer, David Luke, and many others • Explores DMT beings, plant sentience, interspecies communication, discarnate consciousness, dialoguing with the divine, the pineal gland, the Amazonian shamanic perspective on Invisible Entities, and the science behind hallucinations Encounters with apparently sentient beings are reported by half of all first time users of the naturally occurring psychedelic DMT, yet the question of DMT beings and plant sentience, interspecies communication, discarnate consciousness, and perhaps even dialoguing with the divine has never been systematically explored. In September 2015, ten of the world’s leading luminaries noted for exploring the mysterious compound DMT (dimethyltryptamine) gathered with other researchers at Tyringham Hall in England to discuss the subject. Over three days, they pooled their expertise from a wide range of subjects--archaeology, anthropology, religious studies, psychology, neuroscience, chemistry, and psychopharmacology, to name a few--to explore the notion of “entheogenic plant sentience” and the role of DMT as a conduit between Spirit and Matter. Offering cutting-edge insights into this visionary domain, this book distills the potent exchange of ideas that occurred at Tyringham Hall, including presentations and discussions on DMT entities, the pineal gland, the possibility of DMT as a chemical messenger from an extraterrestrial civilization, the Amazonian shamanic perspective on Invisible Entities, morphic resonance, and the science behind hallucinations. Contributors to the talks and discussions include many leading thinkers in this field, including Rupert Sheldrake, Rick Strassman, Dennis McKenna, Graham Hancock, Jeremy Narby, Erik Davis, Ede Frecska, Luis Eduardo Luna, Bernard Carr, Robin Carhart-Harris, Graham St. John, David Luke, Andrew Gallimore, Peter Meyer, Jill Purce, William Rowlandson, Anton Bilton, Vimal Darpan, Santha Faiia, and Cosmo Feilding Mellen.

Download or read book Grandmother Ayahuasca written by Christian Funder and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-06-29 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: • Examines how ayahuasca affects the brain from a neuroscientific perspective and how its effects on consciousness relate to ancient esoteric texts • Shares interviews with people who have experienced ayahuasca’s powerful “spirit doctor” effects and the author’s own ayahuasca journey from suicidal depression to a soul at peace • Investigates how ayahuasca is interwoven with the ancient practices of Amazonian shamanism Brewed from a combination of two plants--the leaves of Psychotria viridis and the vine stalks of Banisteriopsis caapi--ayahuasca has been used for millennia by indigenous tribes throughout the Upper Amazon for healing and spiritual exploration. The shamans of the Peruvian Amazon call the plant spirit within the vine Abuela Ayahuasca, Grandmother Ayahuasca. Exploring the history, lore, traditional use, psychoactive effects, and current scientific studies, Christian Funder reveals how Grandmother Ayahuasca is a profound healer, wise teacher, and life-changing guide. Examining ayahuasca from a neuroscientific perspective, the author looks at recent research on the effects of DMT--one of the psychoactive compounds in ayahuasca--as well as fMRI studies of brain activity during altered states. He explores these fi ndings as they relate to the teachings on unified states of consciousness in ancient esoteric texts and to Aldous Huxley’s theory of psychedelics inhibiting the “reducing valve” mechanism of the brain. Sharing interviews with people who have experienced ayahuasca’s powerful “spirit doctor” effects, Funder also details his own revolutionary ayahuasca healing journey from suicidal depression to a soul at peace. He explores ayahuasca’s relationship to indigenous Amazonian shamanism, including an inside look at the Shipibo tribe and the healing songs known as icaros. Offering a holistic picture of ayahuasca--from science to spirit--the author shows that this venerated hallucinogenic tea has immense therapeutic potential and just might be the long-lost shamanic connection to the sacred Gaian mind.

Download or read book Ayahuasca Wisdom written by Jules Henry Rivers and published by . This book was released on 2020-10-15 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A science-based proposition about how to achieve spiritual healing using a proposed quantum model of the psyche. Fascinating chapters on quantum psychology covering the abstractions of the ego and subconscious, and how subpersonalities and entities control our lives. Find step by step advice to re-program the subconscious using techniques while immersed in your ayahuasca experience. By using simple quantum concepts, ayahuasca spiritual advisors, psychedelic-assisted therapists, and advanced ayahuasca practitioners will be able to adopt a common language with their clients and patients to effectively communicate and enroll them in their own healing processes. Richly illustrated with diagrams and images, this book explains with remarkable simplicity, quantum physics concepts as they relate to the proposed model of the psyche, and its practical applications for ayahuasca integration work, coaching, and spiritual healing. Bonus section containing nine intriguing stories describing in uncanny detail, the emotional breakthroughs experienced by some of the authors' ayahuasca session participants.

Download or read book Psychedelic Marine written by Alex Seymour and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-08-15 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A vivid portrait of both the traumas of war and the shamanic healing ceremonies of ayahuasca • Explains how our culture lacks rites of passage and how shamanic ritual can fill this gap • Reveals how ayahuasca frees your consciousness from inherited beliefs, fears, and traumatic experience, allowing healing from PTSD, enabling genuine growth, and offering an enlightening path out of the malaise, discontent, and dissatisfaction that life in a modern world often brings • Details the author’s experiences in Afghanistan, sailing on the Amazon river with a shaman, and the many ayahuasca ceremonies he experienced in the jungle After returning from a tour of duty during the war in Afghanistan, Alex Seymour needed a way to cope with the extremes he experienced as a member of the Royal Marine Commandos, losing 7 men in his unit, and having his best friend critically injured by a Taliban bomb. Drawing upon his pre-deployment experiences, Alex knew that entheogens could help him release his fears and traumas. But he also knew that simply taking psychedelics wasn’t enough--he needed ceremony, something sacred to draw meaning from his experiences, to help him reassess not only the war and his role in it, but his entire life. So he set out for the Amazon in search of the hallucinogenic brew known as ayahuasca and a shaman to guide him. The result is a crazy, page-turning adventure where he journeys deep into the jungle and himself. Alex soon finds himself deep within the jungle on an incredible adventure, sailing on the Amazon river with an ayahuasca shaman and his troop of 8 female shamanas, whose ethereal songs help guide participants during the nightly ayahuasca ceremonies. Accompanied by others seeking wisdom and a redemptive experience from their First World professional lives, Alex finds his core beliefs fundamentally challenged, replaced by the power of direct experience of the sacred, which allows him to release his fears from the war and set an inspiring path for the future. Painting a vivid portrait of both the anguish of war and the transcendent world of shamanic ritual, the author shows how young people often enlist in the military to satisfy our human need for a rite of passage into adulthood, a ritual sorely missing in our culture. He explores how ayahuasca can offer a way to help soldiers prepare for war and help combat veterans heal from war and overcome PTSD--as well as alcoholism and addiction. From Afghanistan to the Amazon, the author shows how ayahuasca frees your consciousness from inherited beliefs and fears, offering a truly transformative rite of passage.

Download or read book Ayahuasca written by Michael Sanders and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-23 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Deep in the Amazon jungle, Ayahuasca: An Executive's Enlightenment chronicles a young man's self-transcendence to become one with the Mother of the Rainforest and the creator of the universe. A successful advertising executive, Michael Sanders travels to Peru on a quest for clarity and enlightenment. He partakes in three shamanistic ceremonies with the psychedelic plant medicine known as Ayahuasca. What Michael experiences shatters the paradigm of reality in which he formerly operated, and opens him to new ways of thinking about life and the universe. He returns from the rainforest with an undeniable clarity and the determination to make as big of a positive impact on the world as he can. Ayahuasca: An Executive's Enlightenment reveals what it's like to experience Ayahuasca, and inspires readers to unlock their potential and find enlightenment.

Download or read book Consciousness Volume II written by Dr. J.L. Harter and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2016-09-03 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a publication of the online Journal of Metaphysics and Connected Consciousness. This is the Journal's second annual publication: Volume II - Consciousness

Download or read book The Time Is Now written by Isa Mea and published by Archway Publishing. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ABOUT THE BOOK Author Isa Mea shares with us her personal journey, navigating altered states of consciousness through working with the sacred plant medicine Ayahuasca and other teacher plants of the Amazon rainforest for over a decade. She explains the relevance and importance of plant dietas as a means of establishing connections with guides and teachers from other realities. These plant spirits teach us about ourselves, our place in the world and how to heal our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wounds. The potentials of these plants were discovered by Indigenous cultures, as they developed the practices of communicating and learning from other realities. By the principles of giving and receiving, the time has come for all cultures to unite and afford indigenous peoples the recognition and respect they deserve for their knowledge, their right to self-determination and the protection of their environment. Only then can we fully appreciate and understand the true meaning and importance of their knowledge. United as one human family, evolving through wisdom and understanding of the interconnectedness of all things, we may finally reach harmonious ways of living, enabling us to grow and expand the life force of the planet.

Download or read book Interreligious Dialogue Models written by Alwani Ghazali and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-12-07 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How did the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) converse and engage with other religious believers? Did he start off with prejudice and mistrust? Or was he convivial and open-minded? This book analyses six models of the dealings in the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), specifically, but not restricted, to the siblings of Abrahamic religious believers. The six models of dialogue analysed in the book are dialogue with Ashamah, Najashi of Abyssinia, delegation of Najran Christians, different Jews of Yathrib, and emperors of Byzantine and Sassanid. The analysis applies Ibn Khaldun’s (d.1406) historical approach which the author termed as Khaldunian Hermeneutics due to the similarity between his ideas to that of Johann Gustav Droysen (d. 1884), a German philosopher, in historical hermeneutics. As such, the analysis goes beyond the dialogue content, taking into consideration the immediate and larger contextual settings, and changes of the contexts due to the passage of time. It critically considers the suitability of each model due to the difference in times and contexts. The book serves as a reference for Muslim dialogue advocates and practitioners, to provide substantial evidence of the dialogue application by the role model of Muslims – the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) whom they hold very dear to their hearts.

Download or read book Manifesting Minds written by Rick Doblin, Ph.D. and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2014-01-07 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring essays and interviews with Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley, Ram Dass, Albert Hofmann, Alexander (Sasha) Shulgin, Daniel Pinchbeck, Tim Robbins, Arne Naess, and electronic musician Simon Posford, as well as groundbreaking research and personal accounts, this one-of-a-kind anthology is a "best of" collection of articles and essays published by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Topics include the healing use of marijuana and psychedelics--including MDMA, ibogaine, LSD, and ayahuasca--for PTSD, anxiety, depression, and drug addiction, as well as positive effects of these substances in the realm of the arts, family, spirituality, ecology, and technology. Among many other thought-provoking and mind-opening pieces are the following: • "On Leary and Drugs at the End," by Carol Rosen and Vicki Marshall • "Psychedelic Rites of Passage," by Ram Dass • "To Be Read at the Funeral," by Albert Hofmann • "Another Green World: Psychedelics and Ecology," by Daniel Pinchbeck • "Psychedelics and Species Connectedness," by Stanley Krippner, PhD • "Huxley on Drugs and Creativity," by Aldous Huxley • "Psychedelics and the Deep Ecology Movement: A Conversation with Arne Naess," by Mark A. Schroll, PhD, and David Rothenberg • "Psychedelic Sensibility," by Tom Robbins • "Electronic Music and Psychedelics: An Interview with Simon Posford of Shpongle," by David Jay Brown • "How Psychedelics Informed My Sex Life and Sex Work," by Annie Sprinkle • "Consideration of Ayahuasca for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder," by Jessica Nielson, PhD, and Julie Megler, MSN, NP-BC • "Psychedelics and Extreme Sports," by James Oroc • "Youth and Entheogens: A Modern Rite of Passage?," by Andrei Foldes with Amba, Eric Johnson, et al. • "Diary of an MDMA Subject," by Anonymous • "Dimethyltryptamine: Possible Endogenous Ligand of the Sigma-1 Receptor?," by Adam L. Halberstadt • "Lessons from Psychedelic Therapy," by Richard Yensen, PhD • "Psychosomatic Medicine, Psychoneuroimmunology, and Psychedelics," by Ana Maqueda • "Talking with Ann and Sasha Shulgin about the Existence of God and the Pleasures of Sex and Drugs," by Jon Hanna and Silvia Thyssen

Download or read book Philosophies of Difference written by Ryan S. Gustafsson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-04-28 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philosophies of Difference engages with the concept of difference in relation to a number of fundamental philosophical and political problems. Insisting on the inseparability of ontology, ethics and politics, the essays and interview in this volume offer original and timely approaches to thinking nature, sexuate difference, racism, and decoloniality. The collection draws on a range of sources, including Latin American Indigenous ontologies and philosophers such as Henri Bergson, Jacques Derrida, Luce Irigaray, Immanuel Kant, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Charles Mills, and Eduardo Viveiros de Castro. The contributors think embodiment and life by bringing continental philosophy into generative dialogue with fields including plant studies, animal studies, decoloniality, feminist theory, philosophy of race, and law. Affirming the importance of interdisciplinarity, Philosophies of Difference contributes to a creative and critical intervention into established norms, limits, and categories. Invoking a conception of difference as both constitutive and generative, this collection offers new and important insights into how a rethinking of difference may ground new and more ethical modes of being and being-with. Philosophies of Difference unearths the constructive possibilities of difference for an ethics of relationality, and for elaborating non-anthropocentric sociality. The chapters in this book were originally published in a special issue in Australian Feminist Law Journal.

Download or read book DMT The Spirit Molecule written by Rick Strassman and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2000-12-01 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A clinical psychiatrist explores the effects of DMT, one of the most powerful psychedelics known. • A behind-the-scenes look at the cutting edge of psychedelic research. • Provides a unique scientific explanation for the phenomenon of alien abduction experiences. From 1990 to 1995 Dr. Rick Strassman conducted U.S. Government-approved and funded clinical research at the University of New Mexico in which he injected sixty volunteers with DMT, one of the most powerful psychedelics known. His detailed account of those sessions is an extraordinarily riveting inquiry into the nature of the human mind and the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. DMT, a plant-derived chemical found in the psychedelic Amazon brew, ayahuasca, is also manufactured by the human brain. In Strassman's volunteers, it consistently produced near-death and mystical experiences. Many reported convincing encounters with intelligent nonhuman presences, aliens, angels, and spirits. Nearly all felt that the sessions were among the most profound experiences of their lives. Strassman's research connects DMT with the pineal gland, considered by Hindus to be the site of the seventh chakra and by Rene Descartes to be the seat of the soul. DMT: The Spirit Molecule makes the bold case that DMT, naturally released by the pineal gland, facilitates the soul's movement in and out of the body and is an integral part of the birth and death experiences, as well as the highest states of meditation and even sexual transcendence. Strassman also believes that "alien abduction experiences" are brought on by accidental releases of DMT. If used wisely, DMT could trigger a period of remarkable progress in the scientific exploration of the most mystical regions of the human mind and soul.

Download or read book The Teachings of Don Juan written by Carlos Castaneda and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2016-05-03 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1968 University of California Press published an unusual manuscript by an anthropology student named Carlos Castaneda.ÊThe Teachings of Don Juan enthralled a generation of seekers dissatisfied with the limitations of the Western worldview. Castaneda's now classic book remains controversial for the alternative way of seeing that it presents and the revolution in cognition it demands. Whether read as ethnographic fact or creative fiction, it is the story of a remarkable journey that has left an indelible impression on the life of more than a million readers around the world.

Download or read book Plant Medicines Healing and Psychedelic Science written by Beatriz Caiuby Labate and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-04-28 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a book about the intersections of three dimensions. The first is the way social scientists and historians treat the history of psychiatry and healing, especially as it intersects with psychedelics. The second encompasses a reflection on the substances themselves and their effects on bodies. The third addresses traditional healing, as it circles back to our understanding of drugs and psychiatry. The chapters explore how these dimensions are distinct, but deeply intertwined, themes that offer important insights into contemporary healing practices. The intended audience of the volume is large and diverse: neuroscientists, biologists, medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists; mental health professionals interested in the therapeutic application of psychedelic substances, or who work with substance abuse, depression, anxiety, and PTSD; patients and practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine; ethnobotanists and ethnopharmacologists; lawyers, criminologists, and other specialists in international law working on matters related to drug policy and human rights, as well as scholars of religious studies, anthropologists, sociologists, and historians; social scientists concerned both with the history of science, medicine, and technology, and concepts of health, illness, and healing. It has a potentially large international audience, especially considering the increasing interest in “psychedelic science” and the growing spread of the use of traditional psychoactives in the West.