The Ayahuasca Experience: A Sourcebook on the Sacred Vine of Spirits

An exploration of the chemical, biological, psychological, and experiential dimensions of ayahuasca

- Details the scientific discovery of ayahuasca's sophisticated psychoactive delivery system in the brain and body and its potential applications in medicine and psychology

- Includes contributions from Dennis J. McKenna, Ph.D., J. C. Callaway, Ph.D., and Charles S. Grob, M.D., on the ethnopharmacology, psychology, phytochemistry, and neuropharmacology of ayahuasca

- Provides 24 firsthand accounts of ayahuasca experiences and resulting life changes

Widely recognized by anthropologists as the most powerful and widespread shamanic hallucinogen, ayahuasca has been used by native Indian and mestizo shamans in Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador for healing and divination for thousands of years. Made from the Amazonian vine Banisteriopsis caapi and the DMT-laden leaf of Psychotria viridis, ayahuasca is regarded as the embodiment of intelligent plant beings who can offer spiritual teachings and healing knowledge to those who respectfully engage with them. Many Western-trained physicians and psychologists now acknowledge that ayahuasca allows access to spiritual dimensions of consciousness, otherworldly realms and beings, and visionary experiences indistinguishable from classic religious mysticism.

With contributions from leading psychoactive scholars Dennis J. McKenna, Ph.D., Charles S. Grob, M.D., and J. C. Calloway, Ph.D., on the ethnopharmacology, psychology, phytochemistry, and neuropharmacology of ayahuasca, Ralph Metzner provides a comprehensive exploration of the chemical, biological, psychological, and experiential dimensions of this Amazonian hallucinogen. He includes more than 20 firsthand accounts from people who have participated in ayahuasca rituals and experienced major life changes as a result. He details the scientific discovery of ayahuasca's sophisticated psychoactive delivery system in the brain and body as well as the deep psychological impact of this potent entheogen. He concludes with his own findings on ayahuasca, including its applications in medicine and psychology, and compares the worldview revealed by ayahuasca visions to that of modern cultures.

Author: Ralph Metzner
Publisher: Park Street Press
Published: 03/02/2014
Pages: 272
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.80d
ISBN13: 9781620552629
ISBN10: 1620552620
BISAC Categories:
- Body, Mind & Spirit | Entheogens & Visionary Substances
- Body, Mind & Spirit | Shamanism
- Body, Mind & Spirit | Mysticism

About the Author
Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist and professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. He studied psychology and psychopharmacology at Harvard University and was part of the Psilocybin Research Project with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (later Ram Dass). He is the author of Green Psychology, coauthor of The Psychedelic Experience, and editor of Sacred Mushroom of Visions: Teonanácatl. He lives in Sonoma, California.