Plants and Religion

Steve Beyer has posted a new article over at Singing to the Plants. Steve is a compelling writer and extremely thorough scholar, and the new article raises some truly fascinating points in the discussion surrounding the origin of the ayahuasca brew. Whatever side one comes down on in the debate, the article is highly recommended!

Our friend Bia Labate sent this along, asking if we would post it.  Anyone who’s involved in this kind of research, I know they’d love to have more people show up.  Take a look, it should be an interesting gathering! —– Phillipe Lucas, Research Affiliate at the Center for Addictions Research of British Colombia, Brian [...]

Our friend Bia Labate has sent this letter out, and we wanted to include it here for anyone who may not have gotten a chance to see it.  The letter includes a review of the recent book edited by both Bia and Edward MacRae on Ayahuasca religions in Brazil.  It’s easily one of the best [...]

Our friend Bia Labate sent us this, so we’re cross-posting it here: I am pleased to announce the publication of an article of mine, ‘Consumption of Ayahuasca by Children and Pregnant Women: Medical Controversies and Religious Perspectives’, published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 43: 1, 2011, pp. 27-35.   Summary:   In 2010, the [...]

As received from Bia Labate: Dear Friends, We have just published a thesis about ayahuasca and depression in our NEIP site. Reference: Palladino, Lisa. Vine of Soul: A Phenomenological Study of Ayahuasca and its Effect on Depression. PhD in Clinical Psychology. Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2009. Summary: This dissertation investigated the impact of ayahuasca on 6 [...]

It was recently brought to the attention of the Foundation by a few of our students that a Sibundoy shaman has been arrested in Texas, reportedly for carrying yage (ayahuasca). One of the students tells us that: Taita Juan Bautista Agreda Chindoy, identified with Cédula de Ciudadanía N° 97´471.136 from Sibundoy Putumayo, son of Taita [...]

Reference: The Psychedelic Journey of Marlene Dobkin de  Rios. 45 Years with Shamans, Ayahuasqueros, and Ethnobotanists.Inner Traditions. 2009. Summary: With regard to ayahuasca, the plant hallucinogen is indigenous to South Ameerica and employed by shamans for millennia as a spirit drug for divinatory and healing purposes. The late Harvard ethnobotanist Richard Evans Schultes was credited [...]

Our friend Bia Labate, internationally known scholar on ayahuasca shamanism, has sent us this message that we’d like to share with you: Dear Friends, I am pleased to announce the publication of the first PhD thesis I know of about the phenomenon of Ayahuasca Tourism. What are the boundaries between experimentation,    initiation and service [...]