Spirit

Survey Suggests Psychedelics are Linked to Neo-Shamanistic Beliefs

A recent survey about life-changing psychedelic experiences put out by Johns Hopkins confirmed something that many psychonauts have come to believe – that plants and the rest of the natural word are trying to tell us something.

The Faux Shamanism of Jake “Angeli” Chansley

The “QAnon Shaman,” who offered to testify against Trump at this week’s impeachment hearings, fancies himself a shamanic trickster. But shamanic authorities and practitioners like Dennis McKenna see him as a huckster and a clown.

What the Psychedelic Renaissance Could Learn from Amazonian Shamans

Ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin hosts Colombian shaman Don Fernando for a discussion at UC Berkeley on the explosion of traditional plant medicines into Western society, and concerns around the inclusion of indigenous voices.

Indigenous Healers Fundraise To Combat Cultural Destruction

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads through the Amazon basin, indigenous communities are at risk of losing older generations who are the repositories of knowledge for traditional spiritual and medicinal practices.

Can Indigenous and Decrim Perspectives Align on Peyote?

The Native American Church and Decriminalize Nature issued opposing positions regarding the decriminalization of peyote. What is the path forward?

Scientists Study How Psilocybin Makes You Feel One with Everything

Scientists may be closer to understanding what happens in the brain when we experience ego loss.

Paranormal Psychedelic Experiences Surveyed in Comprehensive Study

The paper proposes a framework for classifying and analyzing strange sensory phenomena induced by psychedelics.

Iquitos Ayahuasca Communities Hit Hard by Covid-19

Emily Sinclair, an anthropologist based in Iquitos, shares how the hub for ayahuasca is being affected by Covid-19, and what’s being done to help, in this exclusive video interview.

New Report Reveals Consensus Around Benevolent Entity Encounters on DMT

Participants described entities they saw on DMT in different ways, revealing a larger variety of encounters that haven’t been “adequately defined or described,” according to the paper’s lead researcher.