Rating: Not rated
Tags: Anthropology, Lang:en
Summary
“This is the medicine of the future, the big answer to
what ails us in the West. For millennia the doctor and the
medicine man were one and the same person. Dr. Tafur takes us
into the heart of the Amazon and shows us how spirit can heal
the body, how love can repair the soul, and how awakening to
our higher purpose and mission in life can open the doors to
health and long life. Brilliant!” Alberto Villoldo, PhD, bestselling author of Shaman, Healer,
Sage and One Spirit Medicine “Dr. Tafur's timely book takes us on an enchanted
adventure through the emerging world of Amazonian shamanism.
All along the way, he engages the reader with personal
stories that illuminate his exciting and evolving philosophy of
medicine and healing.” Andrew Weil, MD, bestselling author of Spontaneous
Healing and 8 Weeks to Optimum Health "Much has been written in recent years about ayahuasca, the
Amazonian brew that evokes visions and insights. Less has been
written about its healing potentials, but Joe Tafur, M.D., has
filled the void with his remarkable book. Dr. Tafur provides an
authoritative explanation for ayahuasca's cures by drawing on
data from neuroscience, psychology, and what is known about
mind/body interactions. He also candidly points out the brew's
dangers and limitations, noting that ayahuasca is no panacea.
The importance of this book cannot be underestimated; the
suggestions given for medicine, psychotherapy, and spiritual
awakening could transform institutions and societies as well as
individuals and their families." Stanley Krippner, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Saybrook
University.
Western medicine has not been particularly successful at
getting people relief from conditions like depression, chronic
pain, migraine headaches, addiction, and PTSD. Dr. Tafur helps
us to understand why. I have watched people spend years in frustration and
thousands of dollars consulting an army of specialists, without
getting real relief from their problem. Because these and
others are diseases deeply connected with the state of our
emotional bodies. Too often, the Western medical approach fails
to address the emotional dimension of illness. This is where
traditional plant medicines, with their ability to alter
consciousness and open channels of communication to our
emotions, offer so much promise. The stories shared here demonstrate the
astonishing—mystical, colorful,
metaphysical—effects of ayahuasca and Traditional
Amazonian Plant Medicine. Follow Dr. Tafur through the Amazon
jungle as he develops a breakthrough understanding of how
psychoactive plants interact with the complex network that
connects our minds and hearts to our physical anatomy. What Dr.
Tafur presents here is nothing short of a paradigm shift for
modern medicine, where sacred plants, used properly in
ceremony, take their place as important tools in the
doctor’s medicine chest, offering the missing elements of
emotional and spiritual healing that have eluded us for so
long. ** “This is the medicine of the future, the big answer to
what ails us in the West. For millennia the doctor and the
medicine man were one and the same person. Dr. Tafur takes us
into the heart of the Amazon and shows us how spirit can heal
the body, how love can repair the soul, and how awakening to
our higher purpose and mission in life can open the doors to
health and long life. Brilliant!”
“Dr. Tafur's timely book takes us on an enchanted
adventure through the emerging world of Amazonian shamanism.
All along the way, he engages the reader with personal stories
that illuminate his exciting and evolving philosophy of
medicine and healing.”
“A medical doctor’s fascinating account of his
exploration of Amazonian medicine. This book bridges two
worlds, science and shamanism, and assesses the healing
potential of Amazonian plants and techniques for conditions
such as depression, PTSD, psoriasis, emotional trauma, migraine
and Crohn’s disease. The writing is clear, and the tone
is humble and frank”. Jeremy Narby, PhD author of
The Cosmic Serpent and
Intelligence in Nature
“This book makes a strong case for the synergetic
fusion of modern and traditional medicine to create a newer,
more powerful paradigm that recognizes the primacy of the human
mind in healing. This partnership of the two, he shows, is
especially powerful in the treatment of conditions long
considered to be beyond the reach of conventional
medicine.”
“Joe Tafur offers a long awaited sensitive and honest
demystification of the importance of considering alternative
therapies in healing and in particular ayahuasca’s
powerful medicine. He does not romanticize its properties or
the practice, giving the medicine a solid foundation in its
rightful place amongst healing alternatives. Alongside careful
scientific research, he offers solutions to real-life
issues.”
"Much has been written in recent years about ayahuasca, the
Amazonian
Stanley Krippner, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Saybrook
University.
Dr. Joe Tafur is a Colombian-American family physician
raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Throughout his medical career he
has been an integrative medicine activist. As part of his
exploration into holistic healthcare, he spent two years in
academic research at the University of California, San Diego,
department of psychiatry in a lab focused on mind-body
medicine. After his research fellowship, over a period of six years,
he lived and worked in the Peruvian Amazon at the traditional
healing center Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual. There he worked
closely with master Shipibo shaman Ricardo Amaringo and trained
in Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine. At the center, Dr.
Tafur completed traditional apprenticeship in ayahuasca
shamanism. During those years at Nihue Rao, he assisted
hundreds of individuals from all over the world as they went
through traditional healing with Amazonian plant medicines and
ayahuasca ceremony. He is both doctor and shaman. Dr. Tafur is committed to healing work and to education. He
is passionate about bridging the worlds of medical science and
spiritual healing, and hopes to promote this work through
lectures and educational programs. With his brother Mario and
friends, he has founded the non-profit organization Modern
Spirit, which focuses on demonstrating the value of spiritual
healing in modern healthcare through, among other avenues,
educational programs for healthcare practitioners. If you are
interested in supporting this work or having Dr. Tafur consult
with your organization, please visit their website
modernspirit.org. Dr. Tafur’s independent work is further
described at his personal website drjoetafur.com.
Co-author Demystifying Shamans And Their WorldReview
Alberto Villoldo, PhD, bestselling author of
Shaman, Healer, Sage and * One Spirit Medicine*
Andrew Weil, MD, bestselling author of
Spontaneous Healing and * 8 Weeks to Optimum
Health*
Dennis J. McKenna, PhD Assistant Professor, Center for
Spirituality & Healing, University of Minnesota author of
The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss: My Life with
Terence McKenna
Mbali Marais, traditional healer, and founder of Return to
Origin (www.returntoorigin.org.za)
brew that evokes visions and insights. Less has been written
about its
healing potentials, but Joe Tafur, M.D., has filled the void
with his
remarkable book. Dr. Tafur provides an authoritative
explanation for
ayahuasca's cures by drawing on data from neuroscience,
psychology,
and what is known about mind/body interactions. He also
candidly
points out the brew's dangers and limitations, noting that
ayahuasca
is no panacea. The importance of this book cannot be
underestimated;
the suggestions given for medicine, psychotherapy, and
spiritual
awakening could transform institutions and societies as well as
individuals and their families."
Co-author Demystifying Shamans And Their WorldAbout the Author