The Fourth International Amazonian Shamanism Conference

Iquitos- July 19th - 27th 2008

This 4th Amazonian Shamanism Conference will be opened by the illustrious visionary scientist, Dr.Dennis Mckenna. Other Presenters (with more confirming soon are - That master of sound healing- Dr. Richard Grossman, the brilliant entheo-scientist and lecturer, Ananda, the Indiana Jones of  Amazon Shamanism and noted journalist - Peter Gorman, the most excellent scientfic researcher on brain states while taking ayahuasca- Dr. Frank Echenhofer, the Amazon’s most famous visionary painter- Pablo Amaringo, the filmmaker and director Jan Kounen who brought us the documentary Other Worlds about ayahuasca and the Shipibo tribes and Renegade (Blueberry), specialist in Entheo-Religion and compiler of the book: Entheogens and the Future of Religion – Robert Forte, the intrepid Victoria Alexander speaking on her research of Medieval Mysticism and Its Empirical Kinship to Ayahuasca, the very profound Melvin Morse (invited but not yet confirmed) and his research into childrens near death experiences as well as his research on Myths, the renowned Dr. John Alexander and his years of training and research on Remote Viewing, one of the Director’s of Eagle’s Wing and author Howard G  Charing, Conference Organizer Alan Shoemaker speaking on 15 years in shamanism, the visionary artists Robert Venosa and Martina Hoffman two curanderas specializing in Huachuma (San Pedro) Wendy Luckey and Mary Ann Endowes Presenting as well as holding ceremonies, Elisa  Vargas Fernandez, the Shipibo curandera who works magic with her incredible icaros, and many more to be confirmed.

Visit the Conference website

The Shipibo and their beautiful Art and Crafts

The Shipibo people of the Upper Amazon in Peru, have a unique and complex form of visionary art. Underlying the intricate geometric patterns of great complexity displayed in the art of the Shipibo people is a concept of an all pervading magical reality which can challenge the Western linguistic heritage and rational mind.

To view a photo gallery of their beautiful art;

To read an article about the Shipibo:

Albert Hoffman, the scientist who discovered LSD, dies at age 102

Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who discovered the hallucinogenic drug LSD, has died of a heart attack at his home in Basel at the age of 102.

“I think that in human evolution it has never been as necessary to have this substance LSD,” he said at a symposium in 2006, marking the centennial of his birth. “It is just a tool to turn us into what we are supposed to be.”

Albert Hofmann was a synthetic chemist with Sandoz Laboratories, now Novartis, in Switzerland when in 1943 he stumbled on the hallucinatory effects of LSD. After it became seen by Harvard’s Timothy Leary and others in the ’60s as a pathway to spiritual enlightenment, and then as a major recreational drug, “Instead of a ‘wonder child,’ LSD suddenly became my ‘problem child,’ ” Hofmann said.

His accidental experience of ‘an extremely stimulated imagination’ caused by the drug led to a lifetime of experiments and initiated the psychedelic generation.

LSD and the other psychoactive drugs “changed my life, insofar as they provided me with a new concept about what reality is,” he said. “Before, I had believed there was only one reality: the reality of everyday life.

“Under LSD, however, I entered into realities which were as real and even more real than the one of everyday.” He also “became aware of the wonder of creation, the magnificence of nature and of the plant and animal kingdom. I became very sensitive to what will happen to all this and all of us.”

After dozens of acid trips, Hofmann finally gave up psychedelics. “I know LSD; I don’t need to take it anymore,” he said.

Hofmann is survived by his wife, Anita; two daughters; a son;eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

By Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 30, 2008

“Through my LSD experience and my new picture of reality, I became aware of the wonder of creation, the magnificence of nature and of the animal and plant kingdom,” Dr. Hofmann told the psychiatrist Stanislav Grof during an interview in 1984. “I became very sensitive to what will happen to all this and all of us.”

Dr. Hofmann became an impassioned advocate for the environment and argued that LSD, could be used to awaken a deeper awareness of mankind’s place in nature and help curb society’s ultimately self-destructive degradation of the natural world.

But he was also disturbed by the cavalier use of LSD as a drug for entertainment, arguing that it should be treated in the way that primitive societies treat psychoactive sacred plants, which are ingested with care and spiritual intent.

After his discovery of LSD’s properties, Dr. Hofmann spent years researching sacred plants. With his friend R. Gordon Wasson, he participated in psychedelic rituals with Mazatec shamans in southern Mexico. He succeeded in synthesizing the active compounds in the Psilocybe mexicana mushroom, which he named psilocybin and psilocin. He also isolated the active compound in morning glory seeds, which the Mazatec also used as an intoxicant, and found that its chemical structure was close to that of LSD.

Some links on the story including video clips;

NY Times

BBC World News

LA Times

Soul Companions - Video

Karen Sawyer the author of;

Soul Companions, Conversations with Contemporary Wisdom Keepers - A collection of Encounters with Spirit

Has posted a very nice video on YouTube, here it is;

Shamanism Retreat - San Pedro Shamans and Curandera

A photo gallery from our March 2008 Andean Shamanism Retreat in Peru.

Shamanism Retreat with San Pedro Shamans and Coca Leaf Diviner and Curandera

Ayahuasca Retreats - by the River at our Retreat Centre

Taking it nice and easy on the deck of Mishana Retreat Centre looking at some boats on Rio Nanay. Mishana is in a national reserve. Video from Eagle’s Wing Ayahuasca Retreat.

Visit our website for info on our Ayahuasca and Yoga Retreats in the Amazon

Shipibo Traditional Painting - Video

Shipibo craftswoman Teresa, showing traditional painting. In this video Teresa starts with a blank piece of cotton and within an hour and a half completes a fascinating example of the traditional art of the Shipibo people of the Upper Amazon in Peru.

Click for a detailed article on the world of the Shipibo;

Ayahuasca Shipibo Shaman - Medicinal Plants of the Amazon Part 4

Ayahuasca Shipibo Shaman, Enrique Lopez talks with our group about Amazonian shamanism, medicinal, and the spiritual properties of plants. Video taken at Eagle’s Wing Ayahuasca Retreatat Mishana in Peru, March 2008.

Visit our website for info on our Ayahuasca and Yoga Retreats in Peru

Ayahuasca Shipibo Shaman - Medicinal Plants of the Amazon Part 3

Ayahuasca Shipibo Shaman, Enrique Lopez talks with our group about Amazonian shamanism, medicinal, and the spiritual properties of plants. Video taken at Eagle’s Wing Ayahuasca Retreat at Mishana in Peru, March 2008.

Visit our website for info on our Ayahuasca and Yoga Retreats in Peru

Booking internal Flights in Peru - Caution

I’m currently in Peru, and the other day I wanted to book a flight from Pucallpa to Lima. As it was raining (a lot) so avoiding a hike into town, I logged on to the LAN Peru website (www.lan.com), and discovered when I tried using my UK credit card, the price was UK Pounds 88, looking at what it would cost using a US$ credit card the price was $88. So the UK price was DOUBLE….I could also assume that it would be similar for the Euro Zone……so Caveat emptor!

So if you are planning to book internal flights before you arrive in Peru, you would save a heap of money by doing that when you get to Peru.

Good Luck

Howard

For Information about our Ayahuasca and Yoga Retreats in Peru.