The 4th International Amazonian Shamanism Conference: Magic, Myths, and Miracles will be held in Iquitos, Peru from July 19 through 27, 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.

Also 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 children’s near death experiences as well as his research on Myths, the renowned Dr. John Alexander (invited but not yet confirmed) 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.

The list of shamans (curanderos) is coming next and they are the most powerful we can find. There will be approximately 15 different curanderos/shamans giving presentations (all are translated into English).During the Conference Presentations you will have ample opportunities to hear the many shamans speaking alone as well as in panel discussions. It is during this time that you will get a sense of which healer you would like to be in Ceremony with, especially during the question and answer times.

There are three evenings set aside for you to be in Ceremony with the shaman - curandero or your choice. All Ceremonies are held outside of Iquitos, either up or downriver or way out on the Iquitos to Nauta highway and then a short 15 minute walk into the various Compounds. Transport is provided both to the location and returning to Iquitos the following morning.

For those that have never been in Ceremony before, a workshop will be held by Dr. Richard Grossman and Alan Shoemaker so that all of your questions can be adequately answered. The Ceremonies offered are completely voluntary and not in any way a prerequisite of attending the Conference.

Pre-Conference Tune-Up. Those wishing a program for a week before the Conference can come to the Pre-Conference Tune-Up. This is for more experienced Ceremonial persons. It begins one week before the Conference and will be held at the Soga Del Alma compound just outside of Iquitos. You will be able to make your own medicina and hold your own Ceremony without a curandero being present. Total price: $200 USDs This includes everything from the time you arrive at the maloca/compound.

Howard G. Charing, is an international workshop leader on shamanism. He has worked some of the most respected and extraordinary shamans & healers in the Andes, the Amazon Rainforest. With Peter Cloudsley he organises specialist retreats to the Amazon Rainforest.

Visit the website for info about our Andean & Amazon Ayahuasca Yoga Retreats

Pallamary, the son of a beautiful acrobat and her codeine-addicted musician husband, opens his story with a portrait of his often violent childhood. After his father nearly kills his family with his unstable and abusive behavior and winds up incarcerated, the author and his family must move into a blue-collar Boston ghetto where Pallamary quickly earns street cred through thievery and fighting.

“Early on I decided on two major goals in life,” he recalls. “To try everything I could at least once, and to be a successful criminal, as successful criminals were idolized in my neighborhood.”

Despite being raised in a Catholic household, Pallamary is not impinged on by a specific doctrine. “I kept my belief in God, but my hazy conception of a divine being didn’t fit in with the God of organized religion,” he says.

The blend of his loose belief system and a willingness to try anything lead him to a turning point. At the age of 21, Pallamary has a profound mystical experience that he says transformed the core of his being. After ingesting the seeds of a psychoactive plant, Pallamary says his “perceptions opened like unfolding blossoms.”

“My whole being expanded, making me highly aware of the magic, complexity and connectedness of everything both through me and in me,” he explains. “In a flash, all of the pieces snapped into place.”

As a result of his brush with his inner cosmos, Pallamary begins researching shamanism and the ancient concept of visionary plants as spiritual tools. In an attempt to approach hallucinogens from a perspective of respect and learning – rather than as a seeker of mindless, chaotic thrills – Pallamary again experiments with psychoactive plants. However this time the experience is filled with despair and Pallamary must be pulled from the brink of suicide by his mother.

Resolved to breakthrough the barriers of circumstance, the author continues his research into mysticism. He reads about a substance known as Ayahuasca, which has been used by indigenous South American tribes as a magical healing potion since prehistoric times. Determined to try the revered plant, Pallamary tracks down a Peruvian shaman who allows the author to try the plant in a formal healing circle. The experience is rapturous, and serves to bolster Pallamary’s now sacred enterprise. Soon, the author is invited to spend 10 days with shamans deep in the Amazon jungle, where he will partake in an intensive Ayahuasca diet.

While in the jungle, Pallamary reaches a point where the line between waking and dreaming blurs. His lucid dreaming heightens his awareness and understanding, connecting his personal experiences with his spiritual journey, and tightens his once loose grasp on God, the universe, even his family. Readers will be inspired how Pallamary’s travels – both physical and metaphysical – forever change his sense of reality.

“Spirit touches us in every moment of our existence; only most of us are caught up in the dramas that we have created in our lives, blinding us to a reality far greater than anything we can imagine with our rational minds,” says Pallamary. “It is simply a matter of awareness.”

Pallamary’s other books include The Small Dark Room Of The Soul, A Short Walk To The Other Side, and Land Without Evil.

For more information go to www.mattpallamary.com.

Psychic Readings UK - Find the Right Psychic is your source for Psychic Readings, with specialist Psychics providing expert readings by telephone

Newspapers across the world today are publishing headlines such as “Moses was high on drugs when he received the Ten Commandments” because of an article published by a professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Professor Benny Shannon’s theory was published in Time and Mind, an international journal of philosophy. In it he states that many colorful events written in the Old Testament were based on visions induced by hallucinogenic concoctions.

“In the southern regions of the Holy Land and in the Sinai Peninsula,” he wrote, “there grow two plants containing the molecules that together constitute the key ingredients of one of the most powerful psychedelic substances in existence.” He was referring to ayahuasca.

Several events in the life of Moses, Professor Shannon believes, were hallucinogenic visions, including the burning bush and the receipt of the Ten Commandments from God.

Of course, this idea is not really new. It’s an idea that Graham Phillips published in “The Moses Legacy” several years ago.

A report of the article, published by Reuters Africa, is available at: http://africa.reuters.com/odd/news/usnL04178076.html

Ms. Alexander says that she has been visiting the Amazon in Peru for more than seven years, and there she has been participating in ayahuasca ceremonies. She says The Spiderwick Chronicles is “the most accurate portrayal of an ayahuasca experience for public consumption dressed up as a children’s fairy tale.”

Ms. Alexander is going to be one of the speakers at the fourth annual International Amazonian Shamanism Conference: Magic Myths & Miracles” held in Iquitos, Peru this coming July 19 through 27, 2008. Details are online at http://www.soga-del-alma.org/ConferenceSite/.

Here is a link to the Hollywood News review .

“Shamanism as a science of the spirit and nature provides a bridge through which we can reconnect with the natural world and with our heritage as spiritual beings,” says Carlos Tanner, long-time student and apprentice to the Peruvian shaman and healer don Juan Tangoa.

“In a modern world facing widespread political and economic instability and major environmental crises, the age-old practice of shamanism and especially the remarkable healing and therapeutic properties of ayahuasca (the sacred plant medicine utilised for millennia by the traditional healers of the Amazon) is receiving increasing attention. However a common question for those individuals who wish to experience or study Amazon shamanism in a traditional context is, “How do I begin?”

For many, the prospect of leaving home and traveling thousands of miles to the Amazon jungle in order to find a shaman can be daunting. Even putting aside the questions of creature comforts and language barriers, other more serious questions arise: “Which shaman do I choose to study with from the seeming hundreds or even thousands?” Questions of trust, ethics, safety and integrity also become paramount.

The Amazon Curandero Seminar comes as an answer to these questions as well as to the ever-growing collective attraction of these ancient traditions. Its aim is to provide a solid hands-on introduction and training in Amazon shamanism and ayahuasca-healing in a traditional context all the while under expert guidance and supervision within a supportive group environment.

The focus is on direct participation and experience. At the core of the Seminar are six experiential workshops which cover the main topics central to the practice of curanderismo. The topics include:

1) Ayahuasca: Its traditional role, use, purpose and preparation.
2) Healing Tools: The chakapa, incenses & baths.
3) Medicinal Plants and Plant Spirits
4) Icaros: The sacred healing songs
5) Animal Spirits and Power Animals
6) Mapachos & Perfumes

For a personal and intimate learning experience, seminar participants will be divided into small groups and rotate through the workshops. Each workshop will be led by one of the six Curanderos who make up the core faculty of the Amazon Curandero Seminar, each of whom is a recognised expert or specialist in a different technique.

The Seminar faculty itself is comprised of the most highly respected and dedicated healers in Iquitos, all of whom demonstrate a strong desire and passion to share their wisdom.

Detailed information on each workshop and biographies of the curanderos can be found at their website, http://www.curanderoseminar.com.

In addition to the core workshops, participants will have the option of participating in three ayahuasca ceremonies with a curandero of their choice from the Seminar faculty. In these ceremonies participants will be able to apply the skills and knowledge taught during workshops, while under the supervision of their shaman.

The Amazon Curandero Seminar will be held at the Hotel Sol del Oriente in Iquitos, Peru. This new hotel has all the furnishings and amenities you would expect to find in any cosmopolitan city, including air-conditioned rooms, gourmet restaurant, swimming pool, exotic gardens, and even a small zoological park.

During the conference the hotel will be transformed into a live-in community. As well as the central curriculum of workshops and ceremonies, other activities will be available including morning yoga & meditation programs, aromatherapy and massage as well as an expressive arts room and a mini-theatre where films on related topics will be screened. In addition, an arts and crafts tent will be erected where talented local artisans will have their works on display.

Reservations for the seminar are required, and early registration is recommended. Due to the intimate nature of this event, the Seminar space is only available for a maximum of sixty participants. Places will thus be filled on a first come first served basis.

As a prelude to the Amazon Curandero Seminar Carlos Tanner will be co-hosting a series of eight teleseminars which will discuss in depth the topics related to the study and practice of Amazon shamanism. The teleseminars will include as guests the curanderos and healers from the Seminar faculty and a full running translation will be provided. These teleseminars are free and listeners will also have the opportunity to submit questions to the curanderos before and during these events. For more information and to register for these free teleseminars please see the Amazon Curandero website, http://www.curanderoseminar.com.

About Carlos Tanner: A graduate of Philosophy and Art from the University of Massachusetts, he is a student and apprentice to the Peruvian shaman and healer don Juan Tangoa. In 2004 Carlos together with his teacher co-founded Ayahuayra (Spirit of the Wind) an organization dedicated to the study and practice of curanderismo and plant spirit medicine.

In this interview Javier discusses his involvement with the shamanic Plant medicines of the Amazon, and Ayahuasca in particular.

Healing is at the centre of the Ayahuasca experience. Ayahuasca not only has a powerful and profound effect on the mind and spirit, but also on the physical body. This kind of purification of the body, mind, and spirit in a Ayahuasca ceremony can be the beginning of a process of profound personal and spiritual discovery. This process can continue indefinitely even if one never drinks Ayahuasca again.

Ayahuasca is the jungle medicine of the upper Amazon. It is made from the ayahuasca vine ( Banisteriopsis Caapi) and the leaf of the Chacruna plant (Psychotria Viridis). The two make a potent medicine which opens the doors to experiencing the energetic world which underlies the world of everyday. The vine is an inhibitor which contains harmala and harmaline among other alkaloids, and the leaf contains vision inducing alkaloids. As with all natural medicines, it is a mixture of many alkaloids that makes their unique properties

Ayahuasca is a name derived from two Quechua words: Aya means spirit, ancestor, deceased person, and Huasca means vine or rope, hence it is known as vine of the dead or vine of the soul. It is also known by many other local names including yaje, caapi, natema, pinde, daime, mihi, & dapa. It plays a central role in the spiritual, religious and cultural traditions of the Indigenous and Mestizo (mixed blood) poeples of the upper Amazon, Orinoco plains and the Pacific coast of Colombia and Equador.

Our view is that by seriously looking at the way Ayahuasca is used we can improve our life experience and benefit more from this medicine.

Since the late 1990’s we have worked extensively with Javier Arevalo and we had many discussions on the role of the Amazonian shaman and the use of ayahuasca. Javier comes from Nuevo Progreso, a community of 50 families on the Rio Napo, Department of Loreto, Peru. Several generations of his family before him have been shamans and already at the age of 17, he knew this would be his future. However it was not until he was 20 when his father died from a ‘virote’ (a poisoned dart in the spiritual world) sent by a jealous brujo, (sorcerer) that he felt compelled to follow the arduous five-year apprenticeship to be a shaman.

Javier, what is the role of a shaman?

He learns everything about the rain forest and uses that knowledge to heal his people since they do not have money for Western style doctors. He uses Ayahuasca to discover in his visions, which plants will be effective for which illnesses.

How do you perceive this?

The sprits or plant doctors tell us. As they are pure, they are made happy when we are too, so we must diet in order to attract them. That means we should not eat salt, sugar or alcohol, and abstain from sex. The spirits come and say, for example they will cure in two months if the patient takes a particular plant. Then the shaman goes out to look for the plant.

It is said that every environments has the necessary plants to heal the people?

Yes, every plant has a spirit, the shaman goes into the forest as part of his apprenticeship and spends two years taking plants and roots. He takes Ayahuasca too and the spirit tells him what it cures. Then the shaman tries another plant, each time remembering which ailment is cured by what.

Javier was interviewed by Howard G Charing and Peter Cloudsley in the Peru, Amazon Rainforest 2000.

Howard G. Charing, is an accomplished international workshop leader on shamanism. He has worked some of the most respected and extraordinary shamans & healers in the Andes, the Amazon Rainforest, and the Philippines. He organises specialist retreats to the Amazon Rainforest at the dedicated centre located in the Mishana nature reserve. He is the author of the best selling book, Plant Spirit Shamanism (Destiny Books USA), and has published numerous articles about plant medicines. He was baptised into the Shipibo tribe of the Upper Amazon, and initiated into the lineage of the shamans of the Rio Napo. Howard is also an artist who’s paintings have featured in major exhibitions in London and elsewhere. His artwork has also been featured on book covers.

His website: http://www.shamanism.co.uk
email contact: eagleswing@shamanism.co.uk

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Howard_G_Charing
http://EzineArticles.com/?Interview-with-Ayahuasca-Mestizo-Shaman-Javier-Arevalo-in-the-Amazon-Rainforest—Part-1&id=937051

Central and South American tribes, including the Shipibo, Tukanos and Kofan, have been using it in their spiritual practices for hundreds of years or more. Today, spiritual pilgrims travel to Peru, Ecuador and Brazil, where ayahuasca is legal, to partake in ceremonial experiences.

It was the beat writers Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs who introduced ayahuasca tea to North American popular culture in the early 1960s in their publication “The Yage Letters.”

Ms. Piccalo reported that for years ayahuasca was a “largely underground phenomenon … like peyote and psilocybin mushrooms” attracting “academics, journalists, psychiatrists and other soul-searching intellectuals.” It was partly because of a Supreme Court runing in 2006 that enabled ayahuasca to become more widely popular to the point that the ingredients to brew ayahuasca tea are now readily available on the internet, and it is being used by people from all walks of life, from lawyers, doctors and celebrities to working class folks.

“Some scientific studies,” she said, “suggest that ayahuasca has legitimate uses as an alternative psychotropic medicine that can abolish depression, cure addiction and improve brain function..”

One of this writer’s favourite authors, Graham Hancock, wrote a fascinating book called “Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind.” Its thesis is that ayahuasca and other hallucinogenic plants inspired ancient, primitive people to decorate the walls of their caves with patterns based on psychedelic visions. Hancock, who has taken it 26 times, says ayahuasca improved his life. “It is extremely powerful,” he says. “Its effects can be deeply disturbing, and there may be some short-term trauma, almost like a post-traumatic shock disorder, with coming to terms with very disturbing insights about yourself.” But he also said that because of ayahuasca, “I’m a better husband and father. My behavior is much more examined.”

The entire article, “Ayahuasca: A Strange Brew” is available online at http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/la-tm-ayahuasca.02feb3,1,6118145.story?ctrack=3&cset=true

A magical journey to Peru to work with San Pedro, the legendary
Cactus of Vision.

We are delighted to offer you this opportunity to experience
authentic Andean shamanism, using the methods, plants, and
approaches that have been practiced in this region for thousands
of years.

Our accommodation is close to the heart of Cusco - the “centre
of the world” - so you can enjoy Peru and its culture as well
as its magic and medicine.

We provide English-speaking seminars on Plant Spirit Shamanism
to deepen your knowledge of this tradition, as well as rituals
and healings with Andean shamans, all included in the price.

The programme includes authentic ceremonies with the legendary
Cactus of Vision, plus:

Limpia: an Andean healing method where the shaman divines areas
of unbalanced energy within a patient’s body. These are then
rebalanced and any unhelpful energies are removed.

Pago: an offering to the spirits of the land and a blessing for
those who take part.

Coca Divination: using the leaves of the sacred coca plant to
produce a picture of a person’s life ??” and sometimes
past lives. Each divination is unique and sometimes followed by
a ‘correctional healing’ to change the future and produce an
outcome more favourable to your needs or desires.

Seminars and circle meetings: are held with Ross Heaven, author
of Plant Spirit Shamanism, to discuss your San Pedro insights,
and provide you with background to Andean shamanism to enhance
your understanding of this healing tradition.

Email ross@thefourgates.com for a free Information Pack.

If you’d like to combine your visit to Cusco with a journey to
the Amazon, also ask about our Magical Earth programme, where we
work with ayahuasca, the legendary vine of souls. This two-week
Amazon adventure is available as a prelude to the Cactus of
Vision journey or can be booked as an extraordinary experience
in its own right.

Email ross@thefourgates.com for a free Information Pack.

About the author:
Ross Heaven is a therapist, workshop leader, and the author of
several books on shamanism and healing, including Darkness
Visible, the best-selling Plant Spirit Shamanism, The Way of The
Lover, The Journey to You, and Love’s Simple Truths. His
website is http://www.thefourgates.com where you can also read
how to join his Sacred Journeys to the plant spirit shamans and
healers of the Amazon and Andes.

There are about 35,000 Shipibo living deep in the Amazon basin, along with 13 other indigenous tribes. Included in the film is a segment about their shamans, mostly females, who receive healing songs from plants and animals after taking ayahuasca. This healing music is interpreted into colors and patterns which are then woven into cloth, as well as recorded on potteries. Other Shipibo can read the patterns and sing them back.

The movie portrays how the Shipibo are struggling to preserve their traditions and pass them along to the next generation.

The director of “Woven Songs of the Amazon” is Anna Stevens, whose credits also include “Green Medicine: On the Path of Herbal Remedies.” She is now in production of “Keepers of the Rainforest”, so we look forward to Ms. Stevens and her future films that may also educate people about the benefits of ayahuasca and how it may be used to gain both inspiration and knowledge of healing.

by Howard G Charing

A dedicated program in the Andes and the Amazon rainforest, which is focussed on an inner and deep self-exploration and encounter with the spiritual power of the land. This is an adventure into the magical world of the Andes, the Rainforest, and a transformative experience of the ancient mystical rituals of the plant spirit medicines.The Amazon (Ayahuasca) section of this programme will take place in the Mishana Private Retreat Centre where we have 57 Hectares (140 acres) of land with a lodge in the Allpahuayo Mishana Nature reserve.

Dates In 2008 we will be holding two Retreat programmes, our dates are;

Retreat Programme 1. March 8th - 14th incl. - San Pedro, Coca , and the Spiritual Traditions of the Andes. March 15th - 29th incl. - Amazon Retreat, Ayahuasca, and Plant Spirit Medicines.

Retreat Programme 2. July 19th - August 2nd incl. - Amazon Retreat, Ayahuasca, and Plant Spirit Medicines. August 3rd - 9th incl. - Optional Extension week.

Retreat Programme 1. March 8th - 14th incl. As a prologue to the Amazon retreat this optional week expands on our work with the shamanic tradition of the Andes. Working with San Pedro Maestro Shaman Juan Navarro, and Coca Leaf Diviner & traditional Healer Doris Rivera Lenz. This is an opportunity to experience the rich and powerful spiritual legacy of the Andean civilization which is only now being properly recognised after 500 years of obscurity

The Andean Venue: Santa Eulalia

Santa Eulalia is a tranquil valley lying one hour inland from Lima at around 800 meters. Although surrounded by very dry hills, irrigation enables lush gardens to flourish all the year round and there is usually sun and pleasant temperatures. The valley is 50 Km North of Lima and is regarded as the gateway to the central Andes. The valley is home to many species of birds including endemic varieties, and the area is a highlight for bird-watching tours.

Our Lodge consists of about a dozen bungalows with cooking facilities (so we can make our own teas and coffees etc) set in attractive gardens where we can conduct our meetings and ceremonies. Food is good and largely vegetarian. There are also excursions to visit local caves, and ruins.

The Maestros we will be working with at our Andean Retreat

DORIS RIVERA LENZ

Doris has lived in Cusco for many years conducting ofrendas and reading coca leaves for dozens of people every week - both local as well as from far flung places. She has worked with many of our Eagles Wing groups on Peru journeys so far.

The coca leaf has been sacred to Andean people since the dawn of pre-Colombian civilization. When asked about the source of the information she divines from them, she says:

“They give me such a powerful awareness it is as though an energy comes into me from just touching them. I invoke Mother Nature and the spirit of the coca, and with just seven leaves, the answer comes, as though through an open doorway.”

Healing diagnosis An ancient method of diagnosing illness, still common in Peru, is to rub an egg over the body of the patient. Doris is gifted in this tradition and will prescribe remedies which include medicinal herbs.

The ofrenda After preparation we will take part in a dawn ‘ofrenda’ which is the most important ceremony used by Andean Indians to relate with Mother Earth. There will be talk and discussion about such ideas as Pachacuti (the Andean concept of time), Andean myths, and healing methods, also practical healing and divinatory sessions plus the opportunity of private sessions with Doris.

JUAN NAVARRO

We will work again with maestro Juan Navarro to meet the spirit of San Pedro, a gentle and powerful healing medicine, which was of central importance to early pre-Colombian civilizations, such as the Chavin, 800BC, and the Mochica, 500AD. To these primordial people the cactus itself was considered the God Achuma.

Juan Navarro was born in the highland village of Somate, department of Piura. He is a descendant of a long lineage of healers and shamans working with the magical powers of Las Huaringas. These Sacred Lakes stand at 3,500 meters and have been revered since earliest Peruvian civilization.

During the all-night sessions Juan works untiringly with his two sons in an intricate sequence of processes, including invocation, diagnosis, divination, and healing with natural objects, or artes. The artes are initially placed on the maestro’s altar or mesa, and are an astonishing and beautiful array of shells, swords, magnets, quartzes, objects resembling sexual organs, rocks which spark when struck together, and stones from animals’ stomachs, which they have swallowed to aid digestion!

The Amazon - Ayahuasca, Plant Spirit Shamanism, and Yoga Retreat

Our lodge is located directly on the river which is part of a 58,070 hectare nature reserve. Due to a combination of geological factors and diverse soil types, the reserve supports a unique community of plant and animal species. It is the ‘jewel’ in the crown for bird-watchers and contains dozens of species which are unique to this area. The Reserve contains one of the highest biodiversities known in the Amazon basin. The Lodge is located directly on the Rio Nanay which is a tributary of the Amazon River. Our lodge is situated in-between two bends of the river giving an amazing panoramic view . We have our own boat so trips can be made to some interesting, and extraordinarily beautiful places along the river.

The lodge is a 2 hour river journey from Iquitos by power boat. We have the dedicated services of maestro shaman Artidoro Aro Cardenas. Included in the program are individual personal healing or consultative sessions based upon your personal needs by our shaman. The maestro will also provide experiential teachings about the fascinating medicinal and psycho-spiritual properties of the local plants. Participants can choose their plant medicine which will be made fresh for them. Our accommodation is in comfortable traditional cabins or tambos (dieting huts), a leaf roof supported by poles and with open sides (the most intimate way to sleep in the jungle). The beds benefit from a comfortable mattress and fly nets when necessary. The tambos are spread out to assure privacy and minimum disturbance from others.

Participants have a choice of using either the cabins in the ‘Casa Grande’ annex or tambos for their retreat. During the day when there are no activities, there will be hammocks to relax in, and you can read, or wander into the forest, or swim in the river (there is a small sandy beach). Our ceremonies and meeting will be held in either the Casa Grande with an open platform on stilts directly on the river with a magnificent view of the rainforest and star filled sky. or our maloca (ceremonial temple), a large circular tambo made of natural materials and shaped like a womb. We will eat our meals in the lodge, the traditional meeting place, where food is cooked on a wood fire.

Single Accommodation One of the unique characteristics of this programme is that we offer single accommodation throughout both in the hotels in Lima, Iquitos, and at our Centre in Mishana. This ensures that participants can obtain the maximum benefit from their encounter with the plants. The Diet really needs to be taken in solitude and personal retreat without distractions. This is a defining characteristic of this programme. Typically other programmes do not offer this and dormitory / shared accommodation is usually the rule. Our Tambos (individual accommodation huts) are all different and are spread out, some with more isolation than others and we also have individual accommodation rooms in the wing of our Casa Grande for those who would prefer being close to the main facilities.

There are photos on the web or I can send pictures on request. Our intention in this journey is to provide the conditions and orientation to enable participants to follow a proper diet, and for it to be as near as possible to what indigenous people have done for thousands of years, (although we can avoid unnecessary hardship, in any case a diet is not a trial of endurance). The diet is a journey of self-exploration and the maestro is there to give support, It is more important that the shaman is an evolved and impeccable person, who will guide us to learn for ourselves and benefit from our experiences in safety.

Participants will undertake to ‘diet’ a plant for a full six to eight days, selecting their plant from a range of options which will be explained by the maestro and depend on individual requirements. Some plants are good for specific ailments as, for example Chuchahuasi for arthritis and other bone conditions, although there is always a magical world opened up by the plant spirit. Other plants have specific spiritual benefits. Chirisanango and Ushpahuasanango, for example, open up the heart and are healing to emotions. Guayusa works very curiously on one’s dreams, affording an experience of being conscious while in fact asleep or dreaming.

The plants used will all be compatible with Ayahuasca so that we can benefit from the plant diet during Ayahuasca ceremonies. There will be a programme of talks, exercises, individual sessions and group meetings without prejudicing the spirit of the diet. This is a way to learn from observation and intimate contact with nature, practical artistic exercises using local materials. We will participate in the gathering and preparation of Ayahuasca, a prolonged ritual in which power is invoked from the planta maestra. We will learn about healing plants and how to find them.

The Shamans We are very delighted to have secured the services of some of the most experienced shamans in the region, during our Retreats we will work with one of the following shamans;, Artidoro Aro Cardenas, Javier Arevalo and Leoncio Garcia.

Artidoro Aro Cardenas We have worked with Maestro Artidoro on our previous Amazon Retreat, and again we were greatly impressed with his knowledge of medicinal and power plants, and his compassion and support for the participants. Although Artidoro is Mestizo he has lived amongst the Ashaninka Indians for many years, and has learned their languages which result in that many of his chants come from a variety of indigenous groups including the Ashaninka, Cashibo, and Capanaua .He has started his own centre near Iquitos.

Javier Arevalo We have worked with Javier many times on our Retreats, we also brought him to the UK for a special Amazonian Medicine camp in 2002. We are greatly impressed and moved by his dedication, and his commitment to the demanding rigours of an Amazonian shaman.It is fair to say that everybody who has worked with Javier has been touched by his kindness, compassion , humour, and spirit

Leoncio Garcia The Shipibo maestro is now in his mid 70’s with the appearance of a man in his 50’s. He was born in the Shipibo community of San Francisco by Yarina Cocha (an oxbow lake near Pucullpa). On a number of occasions he has worked with medical doctors in various cities in Peru. Don Leoncio also founded a healing centre near Nina Rumi on the Rio Nanay.

Benjamin Ochavano Is a traditional Shipibo (elder shaman). He is in his late seventies. His chants (icaros) sung in the Shipibo language are extraordinary, beautiful and powerful.

About the author: Howard G. Charing, is an international workshop leader on shamanism. He has worked some of the most respected and extraordinary shamans & healers in the Andes, the Amazon Rainforest, and the Philippines. He organises specialist retreats to the Amazon Rainforest. He is the author of the best selling book, Plant Spirit Shamanism. Visit www.shamanism.co.uk for more details about our Retreats