A few months back I bought myself a paperback copy of the book "Breaking open the head" by Daniel Pinchback. I started reading it and while it's mainly a recollection of his experiences while consuming several psychedelic substances, it also brings quite a lot of philosophical background and reasoning as to why psychedelics are banned from the modern Western world.

The book itself is a pleasant read and got me interested in contemporary shamanism. More specifically: training to be a modern shaman, a mix between the old world knowledge and modern scientific evidence. Not by providing every single soul on this planet their fix of psychedelics but by providing them the necessary tools and space to work with those tools. Yes, these tools are indeed psychedelic substances, but as a shaman you do more than just feed someone a handful of mushrooms. You help them prepare, begin, experience and later learn from their experiences. I believe that the shaman doesn't necessarily do the 'healing', but he provides everything so the person that has come to him has the chance and room to heal themselves by guiding them through the process.

In the past I've had a very strong interest in psychology and a bit sociology. I've had a coaching training in which I was taught how to guide people through though mental processes and help them grow. While I am by far not a psychologist/sociologist, past experiences showed me that I can help people calm down during a bad trip and provide enough guiding help so that they can overcome mental hurdles. I plan on taking a refresher on my coaching skills coming summer and keep doing so over the coming years.

I took my first step by actually growing my own mushrooms a few months back. Instead of buying truffles(legal here) from a smartshop here I bought myself a small growkit and grew the mushrooms. The intentions were to have the kit fully develop, flourish and eventually die and from there on purchase only the required materials and spores and then learn about the process of making the actual cake myself and cultivate those into adulthood. Once those mushrooms reaching full maturity, I'd pick one of them and use their spores to grow my own second generation. And from there on, purely grow all mushrooms from my own culture. The gradual build up from standard grow-kit to slightly more advanced to fully self sustaining is to be able to get acquainted with the various steps and understand what happens in them. It also reduces the error factors and therefore allows more learning.

I understand that this process will take years. It will probably be sooner to a decade than to a year. Not only does it mean that I'll have to experience the various psychedelics, I will also have to learn their characteristics, when which plants will be helpful and how to process the various plants.

My question to my fellow Nexians is: what would you recommend in my readings and studying?

My goal for the coming year(2012) will be this:
- Get back into growing mushrooms. Currently not growing because I live with other people and I don't want to put them at risk by growing
- Try Peyote/San Pedro and do a mescaline extraction
- Process some Calea Zachatechichi into a tincture or extract
- Have my own personal rite of passage on my birthday. The goal is to take my 3 or 4 best friends into a forest and consume Iboga while they watch over me. Doing just 1 friend in that setting sounds risky

As one last note: I have no intentions of promoting myself as a modern shaman or use this skill set to make a living out(or money in any way) of activities that the law forbid. I want to gain this knowledge so that I can help others in need and help the world into a better understanding of psychedelics. My goal is to approach this through a scientific way with understand of the process that are going on.

What do my fellow Nexians think?

I think you should explore as much as you feel like and only after you feel like you've gained "something" you can see if you can use it for benefit of the others. I think this easily takes a long time.

If you're looking to learn more about shamanism from a scientific perspective, you may wanna try reading Psychedelic Information Theory by James Kent. One of the things he proposes in regards to shamans actually facilitating healing in the session is that the shaman's icaros are "non-linear periodic drivers" that the shamans use to target resonant frequencies that accompany phase transitions. In other words the shaman is using the vibrations and frequencies produced by sound in order to entrain the patient's brain, thus allowing him control over the experience. Anyone who has any kind of experience with DMT or ayahuasca using music can confirm that sound can have a radical effect in regards to altering and controlling the content of the experience.

You may also want to give "Ayahuasca in my Blood" by Peter Gorman a read. It's quite a fun read, and you can get the perspective of a westerner (Peter Gorman) in the shaman's shoes.

I think I'll give that book a wee read... I'm very interested in shamanism

I would invite you to make use of the information on www.a-course-in-shamanism.com. A lot there is free, and the suggestion is to focus on the actual non-ordinary experiences, and not the drugs some use to get there. In fact, using the technology provided in A Course In Shamanism, provides the energy and intention to walk through all the doors necessary to reach non-ordinary experiences, and more importantly to usefully use them for the summoning of more awareness and Divine Love. It is Divine Love, the experience of total awe, that allows more awareness to occur in the first place. Hope this helps. Love and Light, Tom Wright.

Ayahuasca in my blood is easily one of the top 5 books i've ever read period. Utterly mind blowing. I was taking a lot of ayahuasca during the weeks i read it in and the syncronicities between what i was reading and experiencing was hilarious

I agree, it was very captivating and well written. I was not regularly taking ayahuasca while reading it, but I wish I was

I'll pick up Ayahuasca in my blood and Psychedelic Information Theory then. Got some book coupons laying around. Let's put them to work.

And while the course in shamanism probably is interesting, it does not fit within my views of a scientific approach to shamanism. To me it is all psychological and not mystical. Tripping on hallucinogenics is traveling within yourself, exploring your mind through psychedelic experiences. Nothing to do with energies as far as I'm concerned. But thank you very much for the link.

Sounds like you have a predefined concept of what you think shamanism is....

Since your just starting out on your journey, i recommend instead of going into the journey with the intrests of confirming your pre-concieved notions, just keep an open mind about it and take things as they come.

mystical is just a word, and so is psychological. That said in all my journeys ive encountered spirit energies and there is no doubt in my mind that we are working with forces outside ourselves, and there is conciousness to them.

Happy travels friend, my only advice is keep an open mind

well...spend the next couple of years drinking ayahausca or eating mushrooms 2 times a week..eat lots of large doses while doing diets to cleanse your body and learn how to sing. If you cant audio drive in that space you are hopeless and lost in that space..hope that you dont go insane cus when you get close you know you are where you need to be...now live in a world of like 50% hallucination for a while and learn to navigate it. When the spirits pull you away into the other world even when you have not taken anything learn to accept it becasue this is how it is going to be..you need to keep your whitts up..

Yeah..that sounds like a decent approximation of what these people go through durring innitiations..sound fun?

I dont really think anyone can do this stuff occasionally and be anything like a real shaman or currandero. These people do this stuff over and over and over, sometimes drinking ayahuasca every day for a year or more. Usually this becomes the main focus in their life and I think you have to be challenged over and over with very difficult experiences etc..

"shaman" is an easy word to say, probably alot harder to live up to. These people are relentless I think. When you think you have had too much of the medicine, that is most likely when you need more if you really want to live up to that title..becasue these are the ones who lead other people down that road..and personally if I was to hire a guide I would want someone who had lived comfortbaly on that block for some time..not somebody who likes to peak around the corner here and there.

One site to check out is http://deoxy.org/shaman.htm If anything, it's a very interesting read with some good links.

Myself having set upon the path to Shamanic initiation, I'd recommend that you read "Shamanism" by Mircea Eliade. It's a conscise study of archaic techniques of ecstasy, free from philosophical and anecdotal agenda that many modern authors on the subject convey in their books. You're going to need to have your body ripped apart and reassembled if you're serious in your pursuit. The utilization of many baneful herbs will be necessary to your successful initiation. Many people steer clear from the methods of ecstasy a shaman must partake in. A few who do attempt this don't survive. Shamanism is as dangerous as it is helpful. Becoming fully initiated will require some big sacrifices. It's wonderful you want to go down this path, but having the personal experience I do in this field, I cannot condone it. Paradoxically, I both recommend and discourage you to undergo a Vision Quest before proceeding any further. Learn how to prepare Wysoccan and flying ointment. Again, the plant allies utilized for this are HIGHLY DANGEROUS. If you're unable to do so then you need to wait. Shamanism takes dedication and you must be ready to wallow in a baneful plane for days. Even I haven't undergone the Vision Quest yet, due to the reckless squandering of my resources.

I cannot reiterate enough how essential it is to be able to dedicate 100% of your time to becoming a shaman. You won't lose anything by waiting a few years until you're absolutely ready. This isn't to say that you can't become a psychedelic healer. To go that route, the journey is entirely up to you and your ultimate efficacy will be the sum of whatever you put into it. Just remember, Shamanism is in an entirely different realm. More than a practice, it's a way of life.

It sounds like you are interested in providing a service; that is great!



I will have to check this out. Thank you.



Yes, learning from forces that transcend the human ego.



One becomes a shaman or shamanic practitioner through experience. Some of the things you are saying are true; yet, for the purposes of healing and empowering individual, Western people can learn to facilitate an ayahuasca ceremony that employ the principles of core shamanism. This is happening all over with great success. You just have to be open to it.



Yes, if a person is interested in becoming a shamanic practitioner, that person has to develop a personal (and/or spiritual) practice, which may include meditation.

We are all shamans within interconnection. Nature we are - as we realize and transcend. In other words, I feel each one of us can utilize, develop and embrace a kind of shamanistic ritual or life under our own planes of consciousness. We have so much to learn upon while staying true to our own roots.

i think this is the best piece of advice and information you're getting here.
many people diminish the work and experience of a 'real' shaman and think they are up for the task (i.e. just because you can do a couple of hits of some nasty r/c or medium doses of mushrooms at a festival doesn't mean you're ready.note that i'm just generalizing for the sake of reasoning). i find this to be another cocktail of the ego bar for most of us civilized humans. pour 2 fingers of curiosity into a glass of ignorance, add a pinch of emptiness and stir it with a "cool" stick.
i don't know about your personal experience but if you really want to undergo this path maybe you should consider doing high dose experiences with different substances; get to know your plants and fungi and not just alk contents; if possible, visit places where the real magic is happening and be part of it's rituals.
the ancient mystery schools of egypt, which taught the philosophy of the occult and mystic, did not approve students just because those were eager to learn the secret doctrines. it is said that greek philosophers like pythagoras and socrates studied for about 20 years until they were granted a place, as students, in these schools.
that being said, there are many reasons why one would want to become a shaman but most are asserted from the ego. if you really want this i suggest you too,like socrates,should work hard for this.

Very true with all statements, I have a friend diagnosed with depression on a very low dose of anti's. He was in a bad place so I took him in to do a spiritual cleanse, one night of smoking dmt. No maoi's. Serotonin syndrome for him was what I feared, as just we used straight nn-dmt for the healing. He told me his life was rough, no parents, girlfriend issues, and a gang-load of other problems. He told me he felt soo much better after the exp. Like he can see why now, why the problems were there. Every question he had about certain things, I would do my best to reassure him that its ok. One point he put his head in his hands and just almost broke down into tears because from what he related to me, he was growing and saw what needed to be done. Couple more night ceremony's. He eventually decided to move out of his old house and start something new. He moved to a new city to try and get another job cause he hated his old one, he took initiative and took life into his own hands. Im very happy he found a part what he is looking for and that I was able to help "Guide Him" the right direction. Only have helped 2 others before this successfully so 3 for 3? Sounds good.

The point of being a shaman ( I don't even consider myself anyways ) is someone you can ask deep insightful questions to without the fear of being rejected or criticized for or from the problems using medicinal substances within the practitioners ability and to relate that this is going to be life changing. It does not mean you need to know all botanicals (even though im slowly working towards this goal) of different medicines. I have found it also heals my soul by simply helping others reach a goal. I hate seeing people suffer because at one point in my life my soul was hurt, damaged, broken. So I DO NOT like to see others hurt , or suffering from themselves, because I was there before, and hated it, I wish I had someone to help guide me, but I wouldn't be where I am today if I had anybody.

As for practicing, I've been practicing hallucinogen's since I was 17, im now 27. 10 years of constant experiences I believe is a good place to start when most of it has been on research testing and trials to see what works best. One summer I took LSD for a straight summer. Talk about a summer vacation! Had my goods had my bads, but never got discouraged form any of the experiences. Just grew. I found that my favorites I tried for ceremonial purposes, is aya, freebase dmt, cyclobe cubenesis. Yet to try mescaline, but I can imagine! We all need to start somewhere, we just need the dedication to do so, I choose to do this, Im not obligated in the least bit. I love the title of shaman, but to call myself one would be insulting to the "true" people of practice. I just want to help and give back, that is all, im not looking for a title or an ego boost, just to help.

Gods speed Everybody!
May the Universe Embrace.

---dls---