Ayahuasca in the New World with Stephan Beyer

“In indigenous cultures, shamans heal because they are in a personal and mutual relationship with the healing spirits,” explains our guest, Stephan Beyer, professor, peacemaker, and author of Singing to the Plants: A Guide to Mestizo Shamanism in the Upper Amazon. “In this view, the sacred plants are autonomous others who are not means to our ends, but rather ends in themselves.” Join us this week as we welcome Stephan back and explore the reciprocal obligation inherent in a working relationship with plant spirits, the current tends in medicalization of the sacred plants, the decontextualization of ceremony, the dismissal of the healer’s personal relationship with the plants, and the potential for trading a repressive political regime for a repressive medical one. Stephan joins us for the next show in the Society of Shamanic Practitioners sponsored interview series. In this series we explore how contemporary shamans are meeting the challenge of their world where the relations of things are profoundly out of balance. It is the ancient role of the shaman in all cultures to tend the balance of things. How are we to meet this extraordinary need in the New World?

Listen to the show (just click the Play arrow):

or download (right-click the link) the Ayahuasca in the New World with Stephan Beyer .mp3 audio file

About Christina Pratt…

Shamanic teacher and author, Christina is a skilled shamanic healer who weaves her authentic shamanic experience, extensive training, and experience with shamans from Ecuador, Nepal, Tibet, and Africa into her contemporary practice. She has been in practice for 20 years, specializing in soul retrieval healings, soul part integration, and ancestral healing. She is the director of the Last Mask Center for Shamanic Healing in Portland, Oregon.

Comments Off on Ayahuasca in the New World with Stephan Beyer Original post date: Thursday, March 14th, 2013