Interview with a Shaman: A Conversation with an Ayahuasquero

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For the past few years, I've had the opportunity to work with a wonderful lineage of Ayahuasca shamans at the Blue Morpho lodge, just outside of Iquitos, Peru. The lodge has become more popular in recent years, recieving journalistic coverage from the New York Times and National Geographic, making it a global hot-spot for shamanic workshops.

Blue Morpho's owner and founder, Hamilton Souther, is unique. He is a westerner, a "white guy," who apprenticed with a lineage of Mestizo shamans. After completing a workshop this past June, I had the chance to share a dialogue with Hamilton about the nature of fear, the evolution of consciousness, some of the political issues that Ayahuasca shamanism is facing from the Peruvian Government, and the developing role of Ayahuasca Shamanism in the West.