Ayahuasca, Art, and Shamanism

Amazonía: siete visiones contemporáneas - Art Exhibition, Lima Peru

2009-10-01T06:07:00.000-07:00

Amazonía: siete visiones contemporáneas - Art Exhibition, Lima Peru

Seven Amazonian Artists present their visions of the Amazon Rainforest. It is an irony that this exhibition sponsored and hosted by Petroperu (the state owned oil corporation) , which (putting it mildly) is not a 'friend' to the Amazon rainforest.

It's history of oil pollution, and state sanctioned land-grabbing that recently culminated in major protests by indigenous people with a significant loss of life (May 2009). For further reading on this;

http://www.tierramerica.info/nota.php?lang=eng&idnews=3114

http://www.amazonwatch.org/

Amazonia Art Exhibition - Lima Peru

Photo Gallery on Flickr of the Exhibition;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hgcharing/sets/72157622366131421/

FROM THE PETROPERU PRESS RELEASE (English Translation incl).

En homenaje a los 27 años de la Refinería Iquitos y los 40 de la vida institucional de Petroperú, se presenta la muestra Amazonía: siete visiones contemporáneas. Esta exposición reúne la expresión pictórica de siete artistas radicados en la región Loreto.

Montada en la sala de arte de Petroperú, la exhibición nos presenta 30 pinturas trabajadas en acuarela y en óleo, cuyas temáticas reflexionan sobre la belleza amazónica, sus tradiciones y misterios, y reflejan la profunda inquietud social que se gesta en algunos espacios.

Es así cómo se exhibirán los trabajos de Francisco Grippa Jochamovich, quien –formado en California en los años setenta– regresó al país para internarse en la selva con los shipibos y los boras, es también uno de los iniciadores del boom de arte amazónico; Cliver Flores Lanza, renombrado pintor iquiteño egresado de la Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes; Sixto Saurín Púa, artista de prestigio nacional e internacional, dueño de una pictórica imponente.

Asimismo, están presentes en la muestra otros cuatro reconocidos artistas: Emilio López Rengifo, Yolanda Razzeto Ruiz; Pablo Amaringo Shuña y Juan Montes Torres.

El rugido artístico de la selva se escucha cada vez más fuerte en las galerías nacionales e internacionales. Su originalidad y la fortaleza de sus colores han creado una línea artística, que hoy por hoy está en toda efervescencia.

La exhibición se encuentra en la sala de arte Petroperú (Av. Canaval y Moreyra 150, San Isidro), el ingreso es libre, podrá visitarse hasta el 10 de octubre, de lunes a viernes de 1 a 8 p.m. y los sábados de 11 a.m. a 4 p.m.

In tribute to the 27 years of Iquitos Refinery and 40 of the institutional life of Petroperu Amazon presents sample: seven contemporary views. This exhibition brings together the pictorial expression of seven artists based in the Loreto region.

Mounted in the art gallery Petroperu, the exhibit presents 30 paintings worked in watercolor and oil paintings, whose subjects reflect on Amazonian beauty, its traditions and mysteries, and reflect the deep unrest that is happening in some areas.

This is how it will exhibit works of Francisco Grippa Jochamovich, who, formed in California in the seventies, returned to the country and into the jungle with the Shipibo and the Boras, is also one of the initiators of the art boom Amazonian Cliver Flores Lanza, renowned painter iquiteño graduate of the College of Fine Arts; Sixto Saurin Pick, an artist of national and international prestige, owner of a stunning pictorial.

They are also present in the sample other four renowned artists: Emilio Lopez Rengifo, Razzeto Yolanda Ruiz and Juan Pablo Montes Shuna Amaringo Torres.

The art of the jungle roar is heard louder in the national and international galleries. His originality and strength of their colors have created an artistic line, which currently is in full swing.

The exhibition is at the art gallery Petroperú (Av Canaval and Moreyra 150, San Isidro), admission is free, can be visited until October 10, Monday through Friday from 1 to 8 pm and Saturdays, 11 a.m. at 4 p.m.

Ayahuasca Inspired Art

2009-09-28T06:46:00.001-07:00

Ayahuasca Inspired Art
Originally uploaded by Howard G Charing

Ayahuasca Inspired Art

September 2009 - Acrylic on canvas.

Ayahuasca Shaman - Artidoro Aro Cardenas Interviewed

2009-09-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

An Interview with Ayahuasca Shaman Artidoro Aro Cardenas.

By Howard G Charing and Peter Cloudsley (2003)

This article has been revised to include plant classification names. An extract from this interview appeared in the book Plant Spirit Shamanism (Destiny Books USA).

Interview With Ayahuasca Shaman Artidoro

Shipibo Ayahuasca Shamans - Interviews

2009-07-23T08:13:00.000-07:00

Shipibo Ayahuasca Shamans

Birds and Animals of the Mishana Nature Reserve - Peru

2009-07-23T08:10:00.000-07:00

Birds and Animals of Mishana Reserve, Amazon Rainforest - Peru

Ayahuasca and the Visual Music of the Shipibo

2009-05-31T12:12:00.000-07:00

Underlying the intricate geometric patterns of great complexity displayed in the art of the Shipibo people is a concept of an all pervading magical reality which can challenge the Western linguistic heritage and rational mind.

Communion with the Infinite - Ayahuasca: The Visual Music of the Shipibo tribe of the Amazon

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Non-fiction Books music art

Coca and the Shamanic Traditions of the Andes

2009-05-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

Spiritual Traditions of the Andean Shamans

Preparing for the Future, traditional Andean healer Doris Rivera Lenz

Doris Rivera Lenz talks to Howard G Charing and Peter Cloudsley about the effect of belief on health, how we get sick, and how she helps patients recover, and she looks to a future when we will need to keep balance as material values no longer isolate us from the Earth

First Published in Sacred Hoop Magazine Issue 57, 2007

Coca and the Shamanic Traditions of the Andes

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Non-fiction Books peru shamanism

San Pedro - the Cactus of Vision

2009-05-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

San Pedro - the Cactus of Vision

The use of San Pedro cactus and healing altars in the shamanic tradition of Northern Peru. Shamans from different cultures and traditions have been using psychoactive plants since the dawn of human emergence. These plants have been used traditionally for guidance divination, healing, maintaining a balance with the spirit or consciousness of the living world.

HOWARD G. CHARING & PETER CLOUDSLEY, talk with Maestro JUAN NAVARRO.

Article first published, in Sacred Hoop Magazine, Issue Summer 2004.

San Pedro - the Cactus of Vision

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Non-fiction Books spiritual peru

Birds and Animals of Mishana Reserve, Amazon Rainforest - Peru

2009-05-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

A Guide book to the birds and animals in the Mishana protected reserve in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru.

This reserve due to a combination of geological factors and diverse soil types supports a unique community of plant and animal species. It is the ‘jewel’ in the crown for bird-watchers and contains dozens of species which are unique to this area. The Reserve contains one of the highest biodiversities known in the Amazon basin. The Lodge is located directly on the Rio Nanay which is a tributary of the Amazon River.

Birds and Animals of Mishana Reserve, Amazon Rainforest - Peru

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Non-fiction Books animals peru

Ayahuasca Shaman - Interview

2009-05-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

Ayahuasca Shaman - Javier Arevalo Interview

Ayahuasca is the jungle medicine of the upper Amazon. It is made from the ayahuasca vine ( Banisteriopsis Caapi) and the leaf of the Chacruna plant (Psychotria Viridis). The two make a potent medicine which opens the doors to experiencing the energetic world which underlies the world of everyday.

Spirituality is at the centre of the Ayahuasca experience. Purification and cleansing of body, mind, and spirit in a shamanic ceremony can be the beginning of a process of profound personal and spiritual discovery.

Interview by Howard G Charing & Peter Cloudsley

Ayahuasca Shaman - Interview

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Health & Lifestyle Books peru amazon

CD - Drumming for the Shamanic Journey

2009-05-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

Drumming for the Shamanic Journey
With Leo Rutherford & Howard G. Charing

Drumming for the Shamanic Journey CD

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Non-fiction Books shamanism drum

THE SHAMANS OF PERU CD Ceremonial Chants, Icaros, and Music

2009-05-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

THE SHAMANS OF PERU CD - Ceremonial Chants, Icaros, and Music

Shamans of Peru - Recorded on Eagle's Wing Journeys to Peru Contains chants and dramatic effects of six different ceremonies with shamans who have worked with Eagle's Wing Groups. Two ceremonies with San Pedro maestros working in the atmospheric ruins of Puruchucu; two ayahuasca shamans, a man and a woman, in separate sessions working in a jungle temple on the River Momon, outside Iquitos; a Shipibo shaman working in Yarinacocha, outside Pucullpa; and lastly, a despacho in the ruins of Pisaq, Cusco. In addition there are three tracks of atmospheric music played on pre-Colombian instruments.

Shamans of Peru CD

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Non-fiction Books music song

Pablo Amaringo - Foreword & Interview

2009-05-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

Foreword by Pablo Amaringo, to the book 'Plant Spirit Shamanism'.

Pablo Amaringo is one of the world's great visionary artists. He is renowned for his highly complex, colourful and intricate paintings inspired by his visions from when he was an Ayahuasca shaman. He trained as a curandero or healer in the Amazon, healing himself and others from the age of ten, but gave this up in 1977 to become a full-time painter and art teacher at the Usko-Ayar school of Amazonian art which he founded. His book, Ayahuasca Visions: The Religious Iconography of a Peruvian Shaman, co-authored with Luis Eduardo Luna, brought his work and the rich mythology of the Amazon to a wide public in the West.

Also in the package is an interview with Pablo Amaringo, by Howard G Charing and Peter Cloudsley.

Pablo Amaringo - Foreword to the book Plant Spirit Shamanism

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Non-fiction Books art interview

Ayahuasca Shipibo Shamans

2009-05-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

This booklet contains original source interviews with three Shipibo ayahuasca shamans.
By Howard G Charing and Peter Cloudsley.

Shipibo Ayahuasca Shamans

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Religion & Spiritual Books spirituality spirit

Visionary Art and Ayahuasca Workshop with Pablo Amaringo

2009-01-20T09:33:00.000-08:00

A Visionary Art workshop and Ayahuasca Retreat in the Amazon Rainforest

THE AYAHUASCA VISIONS OF PABLO AMARINGO

July 25^th - August 5^th 2009

PABLO AMARINGO

Pablo Amaringo is one of the world's great visionary artists. He is renowned for his highly complex, colourful and intricate paintings inspired by his visions from when he was an Ayahuasca shaman. He trained as a curandero or healer in the Amazon, healing himself and others from the age of ten, but gave this up in 1977 to become a full-time painter and art teacher at the Usko-Ayar school of Amazonian art which he founded. His book, Ayahuasca Visions: The Religious Iconography of a Peruvian Shaman, co-authored with Luis Eduardo Luna, brought his work and the rich mythology of the Amazon to a wide public in the West.

We are delighted to offer a rare opportunity to join Pablo Amaringo in a visionary art workshop with night time Ayahuasca Ceremonies

This special event consists of a ten day workshop and Ayahuasca retreat with Pablo Amaringo in the beautiful heart of the Amazon Rainforest at a dedicated Retreat Center in the Allpahuayo Mishana Nature reserve.

Each day, Pablo will hold a hands-on Art workshop; participants will enjoy the unique experience of learning the art of visionary and nature painting with Pablo. This workshop is suitable for beginners as well as experienced and proficient artists.

Each night we offer traditional Ayahuasca ceremonies with Shipibo Shamans, Enrique Lopez, and an elder maestro - Benjamín Ochavano or Leoncio Garcia (depending on the number of participants). Also we will have available shamanic plants, plantas maestras, which enhance dream intensity and visionary and sensory perception, such as Guayusa and Ajo Sacha.

This workshop-retreat is also a journey of self-exploration through the medium of Art and Ayahuasca, with guidance from Pablo Amaringo and our Maestro Shamans.

Click to view Pablo's Video Invitation to this workshop.

PABLO ‘S WORDS ON THIS WORKSHOP - (transcribed from Video)

“Its a good idea because people would see something of Mishana as well as what lies ahead in their lives. In fact through drawing they can learn so much more from drinking the ayahuasca. It will help them to understand their environment and value it more, wherever they live”.

To learn to care for and respect plants, to look after the rivers, the water ..... as well as their homes and family. ... we should value animals too. For me as an artist, my concentration in the Amazon is of great value because the truth is, without plants and animals, we couldn't live”.

Question: "so its an invitation to anyone?"

So the invitation is for everyone who wants to appreciate more and know... in this case to learn how to learn.

Question: "how could the workshop help people in their creative process"?

“Ayahuasca teaches when people start to see colours and forms...... the motifs and composition of a plant, an animal or a person ..... or elements like the clouds...... they can learn to see the molecules of ayahuasca which themselves are based on colours”.

“When I do this work myself, I realise that every plant has leaves but they're all different.... each one a style of its own, they can never be the same, nature is full of wisdom! Its divine, the roots too are all different, branches, flowers. That's how I learned to paint - from nature - I never learned from books or teachers.... nature gives the structure”.

Pablo’s paintings represent a reliable testimony to how the indigenous people of the Amazon live in constant awareness of spiritual realms.

The Shipibo for example, have a strong presence in the region where Pablo lives and are one of the largest indigenous groups in the Peruvian Amazon having their own language, traditions and culture. Today they number about 20,000 and live in communities along the Ucayali River and around Yarinacocha, an oxbow lake near Pucullpa.

The Shipibo world is under laid by intricate geometric patterns of great complexity and is displayed in their art. This concept of an all pervading magical reality challenges the Western linguistic heritage and rational mind. The patterns are an expression of the oneness of creation, the inter-changeability of light and sound, the union or fusion of perceived opposites. It is an ongoing dialogue or communion with the spiritual world and powers of the Rainforest. The visionary art of the Shipibo brings this paradigm into a physical form.

Pablo's painting classes are a creative form of entertainment. Like story telling, they bring Amazonian legends and fairy tales to life. These consider cosmic questions such as the origins of human consciousness and the power of the imagination. Many legends speak of a 'time of the ancestors' when humans regularly communicated with the spirits, and sensed and moved like animals and birds with whom they could converse. This era occurred before the rational mind separated us from the mysteries of the cosmos, a loss sorely lamented to this day but which - thanks to Ayahuasca - can be reversed. These are some of the themes of Pablo's Amazonian School of Painting.

Mishana Private Retreat Centre

This programme will take place in the Mishana Private Retreat Centre. We have 57 Hectares (140 acres) of land with a lodge in the Allpahuayo Mishana National Reserve in the department of Loreto, Peru. Our lodge is located directly on the river, which is part of the 58,070 hectare nature reserve.

Due to a combination of geological factors and diverse soil types, the reserve supports a unique community of plant and animal species. It is the ‘jewel’ in the crown for bird watchers and contains dozens of species, which are unique to this area. The Reserve contains one of the highest biodiversities known in the Amazon basin. Our Lodge is located directly on the Rio Nanay, a tributary of the Amazon River. The mild acidity of its black waters are not popular with mosquito larvae and this means there are virtually no mosquitoes.

The journey to our lodge from Iquitos takes two hours in our power boat. We are situated in-between two bends of the river giving an amazing panoramic view. The boat is always available so trips can be made to some interesting, and extraordinarily beautiful places along the river.

We work with maestro Shipibo shamans Benjamin Ochavano, Enrique Lopez, and Leoncio Garcia. We will work with two of the shamans listed above on this programme.

Included in the program are individual personal healing or consultative sessions with our shamans, based upon your personal needs. The maestros will also provide teachings about the fascinating medicinal and psycho-spiritual properties of the local plants.

For full details and a 22 page downloadable PDF programme, visit our website;

http://www.shamanism.co.uk

The Visionary Art Workshop with Pablo Amaringo is a post event workshop of the 5th International Amazonian Shamanism Conference: July 11th - 18th 2009.

Cl.ick to Visit the Conference website:

Ayahuasca is declared a national cultural heritage in Peru

2008-08-19T19:51:00.000-07:00

EL COMERCIO (LIMA) Sunday July 13^th 2008

DECLARATION TO PROTECT THE TRADITIONAL RITUAL USE AND SACRED CHARACTER of AYAHUASCA

Ayahuasca declared a national cultural heritage

This plant is considered an essential part of the identity of the Amazonian peoples of Peru.

The knowledge and traditional uses of Ayahuasca practiced by the Amazonian indigenous communities, was declared a cultural heritage of the nation by the Institute of National Culture (INC). This announcement was made yesterday in the publication of Directorial Resolution 836 by that body, in the official gazette "El Peruan".

According to the declaration, the ritual use of Ayahuasca is one of the fundamental pillars of the identity of the Amazonian people. It's ancestral use in traditional rituals, with therapeutic benefits directly related to the qualities of the plants, has guaranteed its cultural continuity.

The provision states that the measure seeks to protect the traditional use and the sanctity of the ritual of Ayahuasca, and to differentiate between this and Western commercial and consumer interests.

The Ayahuasca is a plant species that has an extraordinary cultural history with it's psychotropic qualities as it is an essential ingredient of a brew in conjunction with the plant known as Chacruna. In the indigenous Amazonian world this plant brew is regarded as wise teacher.

ORIGINAL SPANISH TEXT

El Comercio Domingo 13 de julio del 2008

BUSCAN PROTEGER USO TRADICIONAL Y CARACTER SAGRADO DEL RITUAL

Declaran patrimonio cultural de la nacion a uso de la ayahuasca

Planta es considerada parte essencial de la identidad de los pueblos amazonicos del Peru. Los conocimientos y usos tradicionales de la ayahuasca practicados por las communidades nativas amazonicas fueron declarados patrimonio cultural de la nacion por el Institiuto Nacional de Cultura (INC). Ello se dio a conocer ayer tras la publicacion de La Resolucion Directoral 836 de esa entidad en el diario oficial “El Peruan”.

Segun se consigna en el texto, la practica de sesiones rituales de ayahuasca constituye uno de los pilares fundamentales de la identidad de los pueblos amazonicos. Su ancestral uso en los rituales tradicionales, vinculado a las virtudes terapeutics de la plants, ha garantizado su continuidad cultural.

La disposicion establece que la medida busca proteger el uso tradicional y el caracter sagrado del ritual de ayahuasca, con el fin de differnciaro de los usos occidentales descontextualizados que tienen propositos comerciales y consumistas.

La ayahuasca es una especie vegetal que cuenta con una extraordinaria historia cultrural en virtud sus cualidades psicotropicas, ya que es ingrediente esencial de un brebaje asociado a la planta conocida como chacruna. En el mundo indigena amazonico se la considera una planta sabia o maestra.

Ayahuasca and Yoga Retreat Centre - Google Earth Satellite Photographs

2008-05-26T23:58:00.000-07:00

Ayahuasca and Yoga Retreat Centre - Google Earth Satellite Photographs

It's been a rainy day today, so being browsing around on Google Earth, and have saved some satellite photos of our Retreat Center at Mishana.

Located in protected national reserve, our centre has a panoramic vista of two river bends of the Rio Nanay. A beautiful and tranquil venue to hold an Ayahuasca, Yoga, or Spiritual Retreat programme. Please contact me If you are interested in hiring our Retreat Center.

Pablo Amaringo - Video

2008-05-18T12:31:00.000-07:00

A video montage of the great visionary artist Pablo Amaringo. Taken on visits over the years to his home and gallery in the jungle city of Pucallpa Peru. Read or Download the interview with Pablo Amaringo by Peter Cloudsley and Howard.

Solaris - Tribute

2008-05-15T01:06:00.000-07:00

I found this clip from the movie Solaris (Soderbergh, 2002) starring George Clooney. The imagery and music by Cliff Martinez are both beautiful and awesome. It's one of my favourite movies, and one I regard as very shamanic (if I can use that as an adjective) , expanded consciousness, life, death, rebirth, redemption.......

Here is the clip....

Solaris - Movie Tribute from Bruno Ellern on Vimeo.

Ayahuasca and Yoga Retreat - August 2006

2008-05-13T07:58:00.000-07:00

A Photo gallery of our Ayahuasca and Yoga Retreat - August 2006

Ayahuasca Retreat - Aug 2006

Visit our website for info on our Ayahuasca and Yoga Retreats

Ayahuasca, Yoga, and Spiritual Retreat Center - Mishana, Peru

2008-05-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

An updated video of our Retreat Centre at Mishana. Located in protected national reserve, our centre has a panoramic vista of two river bends of the Rio Nanay. A beautiful and tranquil venue to hold an Ayahuasca, Yoga, or Spiritual Retreat programme. If you are interested in hiring our Retreat Center, please contact me at; eagleswing@shamanism.co.uk

Bora Indians - Their Music and Dance

2008-05-10T02:51:00.000-07:00

A great clip (with permission of Peter Schneider of the Amazon Rainforest Lodge in Peru). Featuring the Bora Indians music and dance.

Amazon Rainforest Lodge Website

Ayahuasca Retreat February 2003 - photos

2008-05-08T02:19:00.000-07:00

A little dip into the photo archives. Here is gallery of our Ayahuasca Retreat in February 2003

Ayahuasca Retreat Feb 2003

Mishana Retreat Centre in the Amazon Rainforest, Peru

2008-05-04T03:45:00.000-07:00

Mishana Retreat Centre – Amazon Rainforest,

Peru

Ayahuasca and Yoga Retreat Center

We have 57 Hectares (140 acres) of land with a lodge in the Allpahuayo Mishana Nature reserve. Our lodge is located directly on the river which is part of a 58,070 hectare nature reserve.

Due to a combination of geological factors and diverse soil types, the reserve supports a unique community of plant and animal species. It is the ‘jewel’ in the crown for bird-watchers and contains dozens of species which are unique to this area. The Reserve contains one of the highest biodiversities known in the Amazon basin. The Lodge is located directly on the Rio Nanay which is a tributary of the Amazon River.

Our lodge is situated in-between two bends of the river giving an amazing panoramic view. We have our own boat so trips can be made to some interesting, and extraordinarily beautiful places along the river. The lodge is a 2 hour river journey from Iquitos by power boat.

Our accommodation is in comfortable traditional cabins or tambos (dieting huts), a leaf roof supported by poles and with open sides (the most intimate way to sleep in the jungle). The beds benefit from a comfortable mattress and fly nets when necessary. The tambos are spread out to assure privacy and minimum disturbance from others. Participants have a choice of using either the cabins in the 'Casa Grande' annex or tambos for their retreat.

During the day when there are no activities, there will be hammocks to relax in, and you can read, or wander into the forest, or swim in the river (there is a small sandy beach). Our ceremonies and meeting will be held in either the Casa Grande with an open platform on stilts directly on the river with a magnificent view of the rainforest and star filled sky. or our maloca (ceremonial temple), a large circular tambo made of natural materials and shaped like a womb. We will eat our meals in the lodge, the traditional meeting place, where food is cooked on a wood fire.

Single Accommodation

One of the unique characteristics of our Retreat Centre is that we offer single accommodation. This ensures that participants can obtain the maximum benefit from their encounter with the plants. The Diet really needs to be taken in solitude and personal retreat without distractions. This is a defining characteristic of this programme. Typically other programmes do not offer this and dormitory / shared accommodation is usually the rule. Our Tambos (individual accommodation huts) are all different and are spread out, some with more isolation than others and we also have individual accommodation rooms in the wing of our Casa Grande for those who would prefer being close to the main facilities.

Available for Group Hire - Email Howard for details.

The Shipibo and their beautiful Art and Crafts

2008-05-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

The Shipibo people of the Upper Amazon in Peru, have a unique and complex form of visionary art. Underlying the intricate geometric patterns of great complexity displayed in the art of the Shipibo people is a concept of an all pervading magical reality which can challenge the Western linguistic heritage and rational mind.

To View a gallery of the Shipibo Art and Crafts;

Art of the Shipibo

Click to read an article on the beautiful and unique art of the Shipibo