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A testimony on the action of psychotropic plants and their link with the spiritual world
It’s common to find in articles, books or on the internet many descriptions of ayahuasca sessions, mainly presented by Westerners. Paradoxically these testimonies are almost never accompanied by a reflection on their content from the western categories of thought and culture. These stories remain exotic, even fantastic, dominated by subjectivity, self-referentiality and the attempt to link them to "shamanism", whether in its traditional version or in its neo-shamanic version influenced by the New Age movement. The essential work of integrating the symbolism of visionary and experiential material is thus very often discarded or distorted, which sometimes is not without very damaging consequences.
Moreover, in view of the loss of the symbolic function among Westerners and the denial of their spiritual roots, even of the very existence of a spiritual dimension in human beings, the possibility of spiritual teaching brought by this work of exploration with the ritualized use of Amazonian plants, is not taken into consideration or it is simply rejected when it offers elements attached to the Christian pantheon which is considered obsolete. Moreover, many believers and religious consider a priori that this “mystical” approach is unacceptable, contrary to doctrine, suspect of occult, magic or witchcraft practices.
The testimony presented here of Father W., a Catholic priest, is therefore all the more interesting in that it provides information on the richness of this approach when it is placed in an appropriate context. His erudition allows him to point out the links with Christian doctrine, scriptural sources and the oldest writings of the nascent Church. Finally, from an eminently subjective and personal experience, he identifies the perspectives for access to universal knowledge which is relevant with Christian anthropology and theology.
This text only asks to be shared, continued and deepened.
Dr. Jacques Mabit
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Traditional Amazonian medicine in addiction treatment: Qualitative results
A new research paper by David M. O'Shaughnessy on the effectiveness of the Takiwasi Center's addiction treatment model has been published in the scientific journal SSM - Qualitative Research in Health.
Traditional Amazonian medicine, and in particular the psychoactive substance ayahuasca, has generated significant research interest along with the recent revival of psychedelic medicine. Previously we published within-treatment quantitative results from a residential addiction treatment centre that predominately employs Peruvian traditional Amazonian medicine, and here we follow up that work with a qualitative study of within-treatment patient experiences. Open-ended interviews with 9 inpatients were conducted from 2014 to 2015, and later analysed using thematic analysis. Our findings support the possibility of therapeutic effects from Amazonian medicine, but also highlight the complexity of Amazonian medical practices, suggesting that the richness of such traditions should not be reduced to the use of ayahuasca only.
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Testimony of a participant in the retreat/dieta
I sought Takiwasi's help at a time in my life when I felt everything was out of balance.
Each stage of the process I think is quite important, from the moment of writing the letter of motivation a process of reflection begins. The purging experience, which I initially thought was more of a physical cleansing, was very intense emotionally.
Taking Ayahuasca, which was the first time for me, was very important. If I had to summarize in a few words what I initially felt with the first vision, it was union, a very deep feeling of love, an approach to the sacred and the dissolution of the self.
When I came back from the dieta I was able to talk about my experience with my mother, I was able to listen to her, she was able to confide in me things about her history, especially her childhood, and now we can have sincerer talks, our communication improved. That is why I want to emphasize that personal healing is extensive, that when we grow spiritually, this undoubtedly has a certain impact on the beings around us.
Mentally it was a very important cleansing, I felt very calm, the strength of these plants I understood later, I was able to take off family weights that I was carrying, the fear of rooting, it was also important in the way I coped all the time of confinement due to covid.
I have no doubt that the path I have taken to assume all these changes in my life, in my actions, in my thoughts, is due in large part to what I received in the retreat-diet, to the teachings received through the plants at Takiwasi.
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From hurricane to light breeze
The exploration of our inner being often refers us to this apparent opposition between the material world of manifestation and the invisible world of principles, between what cries in us and what the soul whispers. For the "ways of God are high above ours" (Is 55,6-9.) and undoubtedly the object of this inner quest consists in overcoming this separation between the world from above and from below, so that the will of the Father can be applied here below as it already applies up there. Thus, we proclaim to be loved while our soul whispers "love"; we cry to be recognized while it whispers "recognize the other and the All-Other". The initiations of the first peoples, in their extreme experiences, lead the individual to surrender to his humanity and join this intimate place where he becomes a being "with broken hearts and minds". We then see, when man touches his own misery, a spontaneous springing up and overflowing from the body of the essence of the soul that asks for forgiveness and gives thanks. Never have contrition and gratitude appeared to me so authentic, as manifestations of memory incarnated in the depths of the body. For like Elijah (1 Kings 19: 9-21), man meets God not in the mad hurricane of his fantasies, the seismic jolts of his frenzy, or the devouring fire of his passions, but, in the midst of silence, in the light breath of an inner breeze.
Lecture delivered in French as part of the 2011-2012 series of lectures IdéesPsy, Series: "Cries and whisperings of the soul", Paris, May 2, 2012.
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Retreats/Diets at Takiwasi
Dear friends, these are the dates of our next Retreats/Diets:
• 13 - 23 July
• 17 - 27 August
• 14 - 24 September
• 12 - 22 October
• 16 - 26 November
• 07 - 17 December
For more information and to start the registration process please write to: terapia@takiwasi.com
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Takiwasi Center Online Courses
We want to invite you to enroll in our online courses:
- Introducción al modelo terapéutico Takiwasi:
11 pre-registered classes taught in Spanish by the therapeutic team of the Takiwasi Center. Topics such as Traditional Amazonian Medicine are addressed, including the presentation of specific techniques such as plant baths and purges, and the application of Western psychological approaches in the treatment of addictions, such as existential psychotherapies and the analysis of trans-generational inheritances.
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Coherencias entre la iniciación cristiana y la iniciación amazónica: taught in Spanish by Dr. Jacques Mabit, course based on 5 pre-registered videos. The experience of the Takiwasi Center shows us that there are numerous and surprising points of coherence and convergence between the Christian faith and Amazonian shamanism (when correctly understood and practiced). This course attempts to highlight the relevance of bringing these two paths of knowledge closer together and articulating them appropriately in favor of opening new paths for the healing of the body, mind and spirit.
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Help us with your Donation
If you wish to support the activities of the Takiwasi Center, there are several ways to do it.
You can choose to give your contribution to the protection and conservation of Amazonian teacher plants through the project Adopt an Ayahuasca, or contributing to cover for the cost of the treatment and rehabilitation of our patients that suffer with drug addiction and have limited economic resources
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