Ayahuasca: Hallucinogens, Consciousness, and the Spirit of Nature
Ayahuasca is a tea made from two plants found, until recently, only in the Amazon basin. Indigenous people of the region have used it for medicinal and shamanic purposes since time immemorial. In the last century, it has been ceremonially incorporated by polyglot Christian/goddess religions springing up in Brazil and by seekers on the margins of consciousness exploration. In this book, Metzner, a hallucinogenic and mystical experience researcher for over 35 years, has compiled essays and journal-type writings from a wide assortment of people who have experienced its divinity-evoking effects--28 scientists, psychologists, chemists, curious laypeople, and practitioners of these religions. While uneven in literary ability, each contributor provides an insightful peek behind the curtain of an experience that until now has been shrouded in tribal secrecy and cult ritual--truly an adventure into the Amazon of the mind.--Randall Cohan