The Indigenous Cultures of the Amazon have been gradually blending into the invading western cultures, and their knowledge of the plants and animals, as well as their philosophy of who we are and how we should live, is in grave danger of being lost to the false hope of technological materialism.  One of the oldest medical traditions in the world may soon be replaced by pharmaceutical capitalism.  Many communities have already lost their local healers, and the spiritual aspects of healing are not being taught to the younger generations.

Ayahuasca is a sacred medicine used to provide access to other dimensions to communicate with spirits and understand our true nature.  This medicine represents the roots of plant spirit medicine, the foundation of ancient wisdom in the Amazon.  Thanks to a group of dedicated healers, these roots have supported the jungle communities for thousands of years. These healers, called curanderos, have protected and preserved this wisdom as it passed from generation to generation, in cultures with no written language.  Will the next generation still follow the path of the curandero, or be tempted by the lures of modern society?

We at the Ayahuasca Foundation realize that while fewer and fewer people are making the sacrifices necessary to become a curandero here in the Amazon Rainforest, there are a growing number of people throughout the world who are hearing the call, and are ready and willing to do what it takes to fulfill their destinies.  So we are working to facilitate future healers as they search for their path, and we are helping the communities to remember the wisdom of their ancestors, and finding ways to demonstrate how the preservation of their cultural heritage can benefit them and the human race.

Awareness is the key to unlocking our true potential as human beings. The time has come for us to realize our destinies and to move forward to a new reality. In fact, this new reality is actually an ancient reality that we have unfortunately forgotten. Thankfully, not everyone has forgotten. There are still a small number of wise teachers read to share. We must again become aware with this ancient truth, for it will truly set us free.

The Ayahuasca Foundation was conceived in the spring of 2008 by Carlos Tanner, an american and long-time student of curanderismo. The Foundation is the culmination of four years research and experimentation into how best to spread the ancient wisdom of Plant Spirit Medicine. Carlos has led healing retreats since 2004 and has assisted with the teaching of his six-week Ayahuasca Initiation Course since the first course in 2006. He recently directed the Amazon Curandero Seminar in April 2008. In the organization of this special event, he met with and drank ayahuasca in ceremony with numerous curanderos, and in February 2008 he was given the honor of manifesting the Ayahuasca Foundation into a reality. He quickly set out to acquire the proper certification to be a recognized non-profit organization in both Peru and the United States, to secure the funding for the prelimenary stages of the project, and continued to let the concepts and ideas flow into the project.
The right people have arrived at the right time, and the project has advanced miraculously in a very short time. We have all arrived at the right time, for we all have a role in the events that are about to unfold. Ayahuasca can help us understand our individual roles, as it has and continues to help Carlos and the dedicated Ayahuasca Foundation staff.

Contact Carlos Tanner in Iquitos, PERU
Cell Phone (from US): 011-51-65-965-94-0687
(from Europe): 00-51-65-965-94-0687
email: carlos@ayahuascafoundation.org

It is our strong desire to educate as many people as possible as to the potential of the human spirit, and the inter-connectedness of all spiritual beings. We hope that you will contribute to this education effort, even if it is simply informing your friends and family about ayahuasca and encouraging others to visit this site or do their own investigations into the science of plant spirit medicine. Humanity has many challenges ahead, with global warming drastically altering our environments, war and violence destroying our communities, power and greed decaying our life philosophies and the lives of our children, and many people feeling overwhelmed with despair, but by again finding our spirits and reconnecting with nature, we will remember that love truly does conquer all. With our spirits guiding us, peace will prevail over the earth, and the spiritual traditions of ayahuasca and plant spirit medicine will show us the way back to our spirits, back to health, and back to harmony with all beings.

Muchas Gracias!

Scientific Name : banisteriopsis caapi
Common Names in the Amazon: ayahuasca; ayahuasca negro; ayahuasca blanco; ayahuasca trueno, cielo ayahuasca; yagé; bejuco; caapi; nucnu huasca; shimbaya huasca; ayawasca; nishi; oni; népe; xono; datém; kamarampi; pindé; natema; iona; mii; nixi; shillinto; nepi.

Over 70 different indigenous tribes in the Amazon Rainforest possess a detailed common knowledge of ayahuasca and its use. This number becomes even more impressive when one considers the fact that many of these tribes live thousands of miles apart and would appear to have never had contact with each other. Within the philosophy of each tribe, one point remains consistent through them all, which is that they originally learned about ayahuasca and the science of plant spirit medicine from the plants themselves.

Both the plant and the medicine prepared from it are called ‘ayahuasca’

An old Ayahuasca vine reaches for the Canopy

What is Ayahuasca?
The word “Ayahuasca” refers to a medicinal brew with the main ingredient being the ayahuasca vine (banisteriopsis caapi). The vine is cooked, usually in combination with a variety of other admixture plants, to produce a brown liquid that is consumed in healing ceremonies led by Amazon healers, called ayahuasqueros, (curanderos). The effects of the brew vary greatly depending on which admixture plants are used in its preparation and how the curandero runs the healing ceremony.

The admixture plants most often used are the leaves of chacruna (Psychotria viridis) and yagé; also known as chalipanga, chagraponga, and huambisa (Diplopterys cabrerana). Ayahuasca is known and used throughout Perú, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, and western Brazil. The use of ayahuasca is rapidly gaining awareness and acceptance throughout the world thanks to retreat programs and organized religious movements such as Santo Daime and the União do Vegetal (UDV), who recently won a supreme court decision for the right of members to use the sacred medicine in ceremonies in the United States.

Ayahuasca has been used in the Peruvian Amazon for millenia, long before the Spanish came to Peru, before the Incan Empire was formed, before history. The oldest known object related to the use of ayahuasca is a ceremonial cup which dates to a culture that ended in the year 50 A.D. Hewn out of stone with engraved ornamentation, it was discovered in Ecuador and currently rests at the Ethnological Museum of the Central University (Quito, Ecuador). In the Peruvian Amazon, its use dates back much further.

The medicine usually contains both beta-carboline and tryptamine alkaloids.  However, some indigenous Amazonian cultures, like the Yahua, prepare their ceremonial brew using only the ayahuasca vine. The ayahuasca vine contains the beta-carbolines (harmine, harmaline, and tetrahydroharmine).  Harmine and harmaline are visionary at high levels, but at a modest dosage typically produce mainly tranquility and nausea.  Tetrahydroharmine is present in significant levels in ayahuasca, which may be responsible for some of its more profound effects.

The ratio of the harmala alkaloids in the ayahuasca vine varies greatly from one geographical area to another. Even though all ayahuasca vines are botanically classified as Banisteriopsis caapi, the curanderos classify them further, in reference to their effects. An example is cielo ayahuasca, which means sky or heaven ayahuasca, implying that its effect is of bringing one to celestial realms. Negra ayahuasca, or black ayahuasca, would be used to work specifically with black magic, and so on…

Harmala alkaloids have an the unique effect of temporarily reducing levels of monoamine oxidase in the body. Monoamine oxidase is an enzyme that normally breaks down tryptamine alkaloids, among others. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) thus make tryptamines orally active. Therefore, the ayahuasca plays an essential role in the brew, opening the door for a host of powerful alkoloids to reach the brain before eventually being broken down by other means.

The principal tryptamine found in ayahuasca is DiMethyltryptamine, or DMT. This naturally-occurring biochemical substance is secreted by the human brain in the pineal gland, especially when dreaming.  Rick Strassman, author of ‘DMT Spirit Molecule’ found that 49 days into the development of the human embryo, the pineal gland produces a much larger amount of DiMethyltriptamine than normal.  The only other time this occurs is at the moment of our death.  Therefore, Strassman concludes that the production of DMT is a chemical expression of a spiritual event, namely the entering and exiting of the spirit from the physical body.  DiMethyltriptamine can be found in countless plant and animal species throuhout the world.  It can produce very powerful visionary effects when smoked in its pure form or taken orally in Ayahuasca or with another MAOI.

While some scientists might describe the Ayahuasca experience as merely an oral DMT experience activated by a beta carboline MAO inhibitor, this description is not accurate, for the healing processes at work within the medicine are far more complex, unquestionably due to the ayahuasca vine which is responsible for the transformative power of the Ayahuasca experience. One could easily point to the name of the medicine to know that it is the vine that gives the brew its power, and this idea is supported by nearly every culture that uses ayahuasca in the Amazon Rainforest.  Another aspect of ayahuasca’s effects that is often overlooked is the role of the curandero, who uses his/her experience with the sacred medicine to increase, decrease, and guide the visionary effects.

Here is a quote from Richard Evans Shultes, one of the earliest pioneers in ayahuasca research, describing merely the effects of the vine alone:
“To this day, the natives of the north-west Amazon in Brazil and Colombia use the Banisteriopsis drink for prophetic and divinatory purposes and also to fortify the bravery of male adolescents about to undergo the severely painful yurupari ceremony for initiation into manhood. The narcosis amongst these peoples, with whom I have taken caapi on many occasions, is usually pleasant, characterized by visual hallucinations in color, which initially is very often a shade of blue or purple. In excessive doses, it is said to bring on frighteningly nightmarish visions and a feeling of extremely reckless abandon, although consciousness is not lost nor is use of the limbs unduly affected”.

EFFECTS OF AYAHUASCA
For millenia, a science of healing has been evolving in the Amazon, passed on orally from generation to generation, and through the plants themselves. The sacred medicine is primarily used to heal, and patients often feel the following effects:

HEALING THE BODY
Nearly everyone describes a physical cleansing or purification process, using involving vomiting or purging. Another name for the brew is ‘la purga’ because of its powerful purgative effects. It is not necessary to throw up, however, and the curandero rarely throws up when leading a ceremony.

HEALING THE MIND
It is not uncommon to experience a regression back to the situation or source of a problem or trauma. To relive the experience is to gain new understanding and insights enabling resolution or closure. Dream-like scenes where personal messages from spirits are received cause ceremony participants re-evaluate on their life course with a deeper understanding of why they are here, and what it is they need to do to fulfill their purpose.

HEALING THE SOUL
Most people who experience Ayahuasca report some sort of spiritual experience. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to describe the spiritual effects due to the lack of spirit in our language. Western culture is simply ignorant of the science of spirit that is still practiced today in the Amazon Rainforest.

The quintessential Ayahuasca experience cannot be fully realized outside the natural and cultural environment of the Amazon.  The reason is simple… all the inherently natural organic and cultural links are present. Here the spiritual connection between the plants and human culture which brought the unique brew into existence is strongest and most profound. That the Amazonian plants exist in a spiritual dimension in their natural habitat is evident to those who have experienced ayahuasca both in and out of the Amazon rainforest.  This is not to say, of course, that highly beneficial personal results cannot be achieved using Ayahuasca in other areas of the world.

Retreats begin in Iquitos, the world’s largest jungle city, inaccessible by roads due to its location deep within the Amazon Rainforest.  Your guide from the Ayahuasca Foundation will meet you at the airport in Iquitos and together you will travel deeper into the forest to a camp in the jungle.  You will be accompanied by an authentic indigenous healer, called a curandero, who will treat your ailments and help you navigate the spiritual dimensions accessible in ayahuasca healing ceremonies.  The science of plant spirit medicine, curanderismo, is one of the oldest medical traditions in the world, capable of curing every disease and bringing us back to a state of harmony in our lives.

Once retreat participants reach the jungle camp, they’ll settle in to their comfortable accommodations and get ready for their first ayahuasca ceremony.  This will allow the curandero to make an accurate diagnosis of each participant so that treatment can begin as soon as possible.  The retreat guide will translate for the participants and will assist in preparing them for the ceremony and help them through what can sometimes be a very powerful experience.

During the following eleven days, participants will receive whatever treatment is needed to heal their afflictions.  This may involve taking medicinal plant remedies, bathing in plant preparations, vapor baths, massage therapy, or counseling.  The guide will explain everything so that participants understand how they can take part in their own healing.  The ayahuasca ceremonies will provide the ultimate opportunity to do just that, as well as give the curandero the assistance of the plant spirits, angels and saints, and God.  Ultimately, it is not the curandero who heals, it is the love of God working through the curandero, the plants, and the holy spirit.

After twelve days in the jungle and six traditional ayahuasca ceremonies, participants return to Iquitos with a new lease on life, having turned the corner on their problems and found the path leading to their complete health and happiness.  It may take more time to achieve this, so more medicine will be available to bring back home and continue treatment.  Once participants return to Iquitos, they will have two days to decompress and process their experiences in the jungle, and to enjoy the beauty and culture of the Amazon Rainforest.

Cost of the Two Week Healing Retreat: US$1150

Here is an example of the Itinerary for the Two Week Retreat:
WEEK ONE
SUNDAY – Arrive and move in to hotel for one night. Meet the other students and relax.
MONDAY - Head out to the Jungle Camp. Ceremony preparation. CEREMONY #1
TUESDAY – Private consultations with don Enrique. Ceremony review and discussion.
WEDNESDAY – Plant treatments begin for each participant. Rest. CEREMONY #2
THURSDAY – Receive plant medicines to heal and strengthen. Vision navigation discussion.
FRIDAY – Plant treatments continue. Discussion with don Enrique.  CEREMONY #3
SATURDAY – Continue with plant treatments and diets. Review ceremony with Carlos.

WEEK TWO
SUNDAY – Hike in the jungle with Mishana Guide. Rest and relax. CEREMONY #4
MONDAY – Ceremony discussion. Tarot readings. Swimming in the river.
TUESDAY – Continue treatments. Ceremony preparation and rest. CEREMONY #5
WEDNESDAY – Spend time in the Mishana community and the rainforest.
THURSDAY – Finish the plant treatments. Treatment review. CEREMONY #6
FRIDAY – End diet. Head back to Iquitos and have lunch. Spend the last night in hotel.
SATURDAY – After breakfast, say goodbyes and prepare to leave…

You must fill out the registration form below to sign up for the retreat. After we receive your registration form, you will receive an email letting you know if there is space for you.  If the course is not full, then you will also receive payment instructions for paying the required deposit. A non-refundable deposit of $450 is required to confirm your spot. Once we receive your deposit, you will receive a detailed itinerary as well as a list of suggested items to bring and some tips on traveling in the Amazon Rainforest.  To start the process, please fill out the form below:

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The three week ayahuasca retreat is a journey into healing the body, mind, and spirit.  Participants spend 19 days at the Ayahuasca Foundation’s jungle camp, partaking in 9 traditional ayahuasca ceremonies led by the shipibo curandero don Enrique.  In addition to the ayahuasca ceremonies, participants will also receive plant treatments specific to their afflictions.  This retreat is not just for healing physical, mental, and emotional problems, it is also a great way to explore the self and understand the true nature of reality.

The ayahuasca ceremonies allow each participant to take greater control of their lives, their thoughts, their actions, and their overall health.  The visions that are possible within ayahuasca ceremonies provide participants with the opportunity to play an active role in the healing process, confronting their negativity, past traumas, or possible roots of their illnesses.  The plant treatments further enhance this process, working to boost the immune system, balance the digestive system, purify the nervous system, cleanse the circulatory system, and heal the emotional body.  The treatment is complete and total, effecting positive changes on all levels and allowing the participants to realize the path to their health and happiness.

Accompanying the treatment and enhancing the healing process is a strict diet.  Some participants may need to follow an even stricter diet than the others due to their particular issues, like no eggs or fish, for example.  The diet is a necessary element of the treatment but it is not a difficult sacrifice, thanks to the wonderful cooks we have at the Ayahuasca Foundation Camp.  The basic restrictions of the diet are no salt, no sugar, no oil, and no spices.  A typical breakfast is oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, and rice with steamed vegetables.  A typical lunch is a root vegetable soup with rice or quinoa and a light salad, and dinner is usually similar to lunch.

The plant remedies are typically ingested before meals, but also include plant baths and may include special purgatives to help clean out the system.  Fasting one or two days may also be prescribed if necessary.  The plant baths are very helpful when dealing with afflictions that have roots in the spirit, like traumas or lack of self-love, or if a participant is not having visions in the ayahuasca ceremonies.  Vapor baths may also be used so that participants can absorb the plant medicines in all manner possible.  The purgatives may be difficult treatments, for they require vomiting and diarrhea, but the effects are very positive afterward.

The first week of the retreat is often spent getting to know the curandero, don Enrique and the guide, Carlos Tanner, as well as getting accustomed to the ayahuasca ceremonies and plant treatment.  This first week is often when strong emotions begin to come out and the participants begin to discover the root causes of their afflictions.  Faith is built during this time and the following week and a half is spent delving deeper into these causes, understanding these roots and working to pull them up in the ayahuasca ceremonies.  The curandero works hard to help each participant find the solution to their issues and realize their total and complete healing of any and all afflictions.

The Total Cost of the Three Week Retreat: US$1650

Here is an example of the Itinerary for the Three Week Retreat:
WEEK ONE
SUNDAY – Arrive and move in to hotel for one night. Meet the other students and relax.
MONDAY - Head out to the Jungle Camp. Ceremony preparation. CEREMONY #1
TUESDAY – Private consultations with don Enrique. Ceremony review and discussion.
WEDNESDAY – Plant treatments begin for each participant. Rest. CEREMONY #2
THURSDAY – Receive plant medicines to heal and strengthen. Vision navigation discussion.
FRIDAY – Plant treatments continue. Discussion with don Enrique.  CEREMONY #3
SATURDAY – Continue with plant treatments and diets. Review ceremony with Carlos.

WEEK TWO
SUNDAY – Guided meditation with Carlos. Treatments. Rest and prepare. CEREMONY #4
MONDAY – Ceremony review. Hike in the jungle with don Enrique. Tarot readings.
TUESDAY – Spend the day in silent contemplation. Ceremony preparation. CEREMONY #5
WEDNESDAY – Review ceremony with Carlos. Enjoy the Mishana Community and jungle.
THURSDAY – Continue the plant treatments. Ceremony discussion. CEREMONY #6
FRIDAY – Visit the Mishana Community. Swim in the river. Relax and enjoy the jungle.
SATURDAY – Meditation, discussion, treatment, concentration. Rest. CEREMONY #7

WEEK THREE
SUNDAY – Ceremony review. Hike in the jungle with Mishana Guide. Rest and relax.
MONDAY – Ceremony preparation. Just two ceremonies left. Rest. CEREMONY #8
TUESDAY – Private consultations with don Enrique about future paths and health.
WEDNESDAY – Putting it all into the last ceremony. Rest and prepare. CEREMONY #9
THURSDAY – Finish the plant treatments. Final ceremony and treatment review .
FRIDAY – End diet. Head back to Iquitos and have lunch. Spend the last night in hotel.
SATURDAY – After breakfast, say goodbyes and prepare to leave…

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This course is intended for people who want to take their study of the Amazon healing more seriously.  Students will spend 38 days straight with the shipibo curandero don Enrique at a remote jungle camp, drinking up to 18 times.  We will be following true plant diets with two sacred and powerful plants in solitude.

Students will be following a traditional, authentic shipibo initiation, except that the accommodations in the jungle have modern amenities like running water and a gas stove.  The food will be prepared by the curandero don Enrique’s wife, Wilma, who is also a healer and has studied the science of curanderismo for many years.  Students will receive initiate’s clothing made by Wilma, according to the shipibo tradition.  The curandero don Enrique leads this course with total attention to the students and to the teachings of the science of healing so that everyone sees, hears, experiences, and understands plant spirit medicine to the most profound level possible in their 38 days in the Amazon Rainforest.

The Students of the 2010 Winter Course

The course consists of doing plant diets, vapor baths, and taking plant remedies, learning icaros, remedy preparation and administration, massage therapy, soplaying, chupando, prayer, and ceremony procedure.  Students take part in making the ayahuasca used during the course, as well as other plant remedies.  In just six weeks students learn enough to begin treating patients and holding ceremonies

The Total Cost of the Initiation Course: US$3250

Here is the itinerary for the Initiation Course:

WEEK ONE
SUNDAY – Arrive and move in to hotel for two nights. Meet the other students and curandero.
MONDAY – Visit the Belen market for any supplies and tour an indigenous culture museum.
TUESDAY – Go to the jungle camp and settle in. Ceremony discussion.  CEREMONY #1
WEDNESDAY – Begin the first plant diet with the tree ayahuma by fasting for three days.
THURSDAY – Have your hands painted to signify you’re in the diet.  CEREMONY #2
FRIDAY – Tobacco and soplaying workshop with your new pipes. Vapor baths of ayahuma.
SATURDAY – Continue vapor baths with ayahuma. Learn the first icaro.  CEREMONY #3

WEEK TWO
SUNDAY – Continue Vapor baths until every student has received them.
MONDAY – Vapor baths. Plant medicine baths. Begin meditation.  CEREMONY #4
TUESDAY – Vapor baths finish. Medicinal plant treatments and discussions continue…
WEDNESDAY – Learn second icaro. Make chacapas, important healing tools.
THURSDAY – Agua florida workshop. Learn the ‘chupe’ technique.  CEREMONY #5
FRIDAY – Vision discussions. Meditations continue. Practice the icaros with the chacapa.
SATURDAY – Medicinal plant remedy preparation and administration.  CEREMONY #6

WEEK THREE
SUNDAY – Jungle walk to learn about plant identification and medicinal properties.
MONDAY – Another medicinal plant preparation workshop.  CEREMONY #7
TUESDAY – Rest and relax for a day. Practice soplaying and singing the icaros.
WEDNESDAY – Medicinal plant discussion, connecting with the spirits.  CEREMONY #8
THURSDAY – The Ayahuma diet ends. For two days we eat food with a little salt and oil.
FRIDAY – First ceremony led by a student with Enrique’s guidance. CEREMONY #9
SATURDAY – Take part in the preparation of the sacred brew ayahuasca.

WEEK FOUR
SUNDAY – Begin diet with Eucalyptus, starting with a two day fast.  CEREMONY #10
MONDAY – The 2nd half of the course features curandero-guided student-led ceremonies.
TUESDAY – Fast ends. Learn third icaro. Vapor baths with eucalyptus. CEREMONY #11
WEDNESDAY – Prayers to open and close the ceremonies. Science of healing discussion.
THURSDAY – Prepare ayahuasca. Receive ayahuasca vapor baths. CEREMONY #12
FRIDAY – Practice the icaros. Continue meditations. The student led ceremonies continue…
SATURDAY – Medicinal plant remedy preparation and administration.  CEREMONY #13

WEEK FIVE
SUNDAY – Bone and joint alignment and therapeutic massage workshop. Learn fourth icaro.
MONDAY – Student led ceremonies continue. Vision discussion.  CEREMONY #14
TUESDAY – Walk in the jungle to learn more about the plants and the medicinal properties.
WEDNESDAY – Practice the icaros and the dances for the end of the diet. CEREMONY #15
THURSDAY – Continue to practice, going over any questions with don Enrique and Wilma.
FRIDAY – Study the icaros and practice the dance as a group. CEREMONY #16
SATURDAY – Final questions about the students future as healers in their home countries.

WEEK SIX
SUNDAY – The final student led ceremony. Continue to practice.  CEREMONY #17
MONDAY – Final discussion about healing. Questions and answers. Dress rehearsal.
TUESDAY – Diet ends with a sacred ceremony. Enjoy delicious food. CEREMONY #18
WEDNESDAY – Final day in the jungle. Celebrate with the jungle community nearby.
THURSDAY – Head back to town and spend two nights in Iquitos. Internet, laundry, etc.
FRIDAY – Visit a butterfly conservatory and an indigenous tribe. Dinner with don Enrique.
SATURDAY – Receive course certificates and get gifts or medicines. Say your goodbyes…

YOU MUST FILL OUT THE APPLICATION BELOW TO APPLY FOR A COURSE:

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The Curandero Seminar is an amazing event where participants have the opportunity to spend over 24 hours listening to and learning from authentic curanderos and curanderas from the Peruvian Amazon, as they lead intimate workshops on numerous aspects of plant spirit medicine and healing traditions with ayahuasca. Drink ayahuasca in three ceremonies during this nine day event, taking place in Iquitos, Peru.

The Schedule for the Curandero Seminar

The First Seminar Was a Big Success and we feel very confident that the next event will be even more special. It was such a true honor and pleasure to work with the amazing curanderos and curanderas that participated in the nine day seminar that took place last year, and it was an incredible group of people who made their way down to the Amazon for an educational adventure that left them happy, healthy, and whole.

The seminar format provides an amazing opportunity to listen to the true maestros and maestras of the Amazon answer your deepest questions. The learning that takes place during this short period of time is unfathomable.  Much of it sinks in later, as you begin to process it all, and see the effects of those events, those visions, those messages, those realizations. Reality changes as fast as we do, and turning towards the light can reveal a great deal. The Curandero Seminar helps us turn the corner, and change our realities by healing ourselves.

The Seminar features five four-hour workshops, each led by a different curandero, as well as five hours of presentations by those curanderos.  In addition to the workshops and presentations, there will also be three traditional ayahuasca ceremonies, each led by a different curandero, and a trip to the local zoo to connect with the animals of the Amazon Rainforest and enjoy some down time.

To complete the powerful itinerary, there is a visit from an authentic indigenous tribe, who will discuss aspects of their culture and demonstrate their songs and dances.

There will also be presentations from people working with curanderismo in more modern ways, and a film will be shown featuring one of the presenting curanderos healing a cancer patient, among others.

The Total Cost of the Curandero Seminar: $1250.00 US

Includes 8 nights Accomodations, Meals, Three Ceremonies, Five Workshops, Presentations, Transportation...

A deposit of $450 must be paid to confirm your reservation. Reservations may be made at any time and deposits are due no later than June 1st, 2011. Deposits may be paid with cash, traveler’s checks, wire transfer, or credit card. The remaining amount will be paid in Iquitos, upon registration the first day of the seminar.

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CLICK HERE to visit the Ayahuasca Foundation’s YouTube page

The Mishana Community is a small group of people who have lived together on the bank of the Nanay river for over eighty years.  Three generations of community members have lived in this remote jungle location, which is now part of the Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve.  The total number of members is just over one hundred, and the population is not increasing.  The lure of a better life making money in Iquitos or giving their children more opportunities has caused a slow decrease in population but for the most part, the number has stayed close to the same.  The Mishanas who have stayed have no interest in living in Iquitos, where everyone seems to be rushing around all the time, trying to get somewhere as fast as they can and making their environment filthy with trash, their air filled with smog and noise, and their bodies filled with toxic food and stress.

If you’ve ever been to Iquitos, it is a far cry from a modern city like New York, where people’s stress levels are significantly higher, as is pollution and unhealthy living.  But even though it is not as harsh as a modern city, Iquitos is still a city, and with motorcars, cars, motorcycles, buses, and trucks driving around everywhere, it is considered a dangerous place by the Mishana, who prefer the peace and calm of the Amazon Rainforest.  Looking out onto a grey city street is certainly not as pleasant as looking out onto the jungle and the Nanay river.

Daily life in the Mishana community is slow paced and laid back.  Some might say it is easy going, but few city dwellers could survive the manual labor aspects every day living in the jungle.  It may not be stressful, but it is by no means easy. A typical day begins with collecting water from the well, fishing, or walking into the jungle to visit a private lot of cultivated land called a chacra.  Every family has at least one chacra that provides them with the majority of their food.  Some bulk items like rice, oil, sugar, and salt are brought in from a village that has road access to Iquitos, which is a two hour boat ride away from the Mishana Community.

While the Mishanas may not know how to use a computer or send an email, they know how to live off the land.  With no electricity in the community, these strong and intelligent people manage to take care of all their needs with very little dependence on anything but their own hands and feet, and a machete or ax.  The children are given responsibilities at a young age and while they do not have many toys, if any, they have no problem finding a way to have fun.

During the Ayahuasca Foundation’s retreats and courses, the Mishanas help out in many different ways.  Hunters provide wild jungle meat from the surrounding area.  Fisherman provide freshly caught fish from the river or nearby lakes.  Plantains, yucca, and a variety of fruit are provided from the chacras, and whatever they can do to help out is always done without hesitation and usually with a smile.  It is such a pleasure to meet these people and to get to know them, for it is the dream and fantasy of most people to live the way they do, without being dependent on corporations for survival.

The knowledge of spiritual dimensions and beings has been scientifically removed from our belief system. Only through the study of other, much older cultures have we been reminded of what our ancestors knew, that we are all spirits in a dream. The spirit within each of us is capable of much more than we could ever imagine, and by believing in it and learning what it is, who we are, we can begin to expand the boundaries of our true potential, so far as to gain the power to heal ourselves and bring back balance to our environment.

Many afflictions and diseases have roots in the spirit and cannot be healed by treating the physical body.  Unfortunately, capitalism has all but ruined the field of medicine, and tactics to increase profits have gotten to the point where the Modern Medical Industry supports the degradation of health in our society because more sick people means more customers, and more profits. Luckily, the curanderos of the Amazon are not corrupted by the greed that capitalism nurtures in the name of competition. They work for a much greater reward, that no amount of money could afford, for they receive a blessed life, filled with amazing joy and happiness. This joy is due to an intimate spiritual awareness and connection to the spiritual dimensions, to God. Curanderos heal using the love of God, expressed in many ways and in many beings sent to help. The roots of plant spirit medicine are God and the spirits of all beings. What grew from these roots was thousands of years of medicinal plant use by the maestros and maestras of the Amazon Rainforest.

Spiritual ignorance has infected nearly every culture of the world by now, and there are few people left who intimately know the spiritual dimensions and the powers of the human spirit. The movement to retain the ancient wisdom of the spirit is growing quickly but it is a race to gather information about the earth before it is destroyed. The Amazon Rainforest is one of the last places that has not been destroyed… yet. Humans are not the only ones with spirits. Everything has a spirit, and ancient forests contain a spiritual wisdom that should humble us all. It is a teacher far wiser than any human will ever be.

The science of Curanderismo is the ancient knowledge of communicating with spirits for the purpose of survival.  The spirits of plants, animals, our ancestors, angels, extraterrestrials, and other beings all become available for contact under the influence of ayahuasca.  The majority of information received involves the preparation of plants and natural remedies.  Therefore, in addition to spiritual wisdom is a botanical knowledge of plants and technical experience with medicinal plant preparation and administration.  Indigenous wisdom still proves to be far wiser than western science in its knowledge of plant use, due to its well developed traditions of communication with the spirits of the plants and elements of their environment.

The Ayahuasca Healing Retreat is an adventure into the Amazon Rainforest of Peru. The power of this ancient place helps to reconnect each person to the whole, to the earth, to nature, to themselves, to god. By venturing deep into the jungle and feeling the tranquility and peace of this vast paradise, one’s vibrations begin to harmonize with the flow of nature, slowing the mind down to a level of subtle observation. The rainforest is old and wise, beyond human comprehension, and it contains the answers to questions that humans cannot ascertain by themselves.

A visit with a Peruvian shaman, called a curandero, is an opportunity to discover the answers to many of the personal questions each person has. Through the use of medicinal plant preparations, teas, and by attending ayahuasca ceremonies, retreat participants are freed from the causes of their illness or sorrow and begin to heal their afflictions. With the help of the spirits of the Amazon, the curandero guides each person towards a state of total health, at peace in the body, mind, and spirit.

The Ayahuasca Foundation offers different ayahuasca retreats with the curanderos don Enrique, don Lucho, and dona Othelia.  The ayahuasca retreats are either two or three weeks long and feature either four, six, or nine ceremonies, depending on the specific retreat.  All of the curanderos are authentic indigenous healers that come from a long line of shamanic practitioners in their respective ancestral traditions.  Their styles are different, and each of the specific ayahuasca retreats was developed around their particular specialties and methods.

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