I think it might be helpful to the community at large to have one place where you can go to get information about all the various shamans and ayahuasca retreats around the world. This could be sort of a wikipedia type one-stop-shopping for info about shamans and retreats.
Each retreat center and/or shaman would have their own page. Like a wiki, anyone can contribute to that page (as long as it stays civil) and at the bottom, people are welcome to post comments, have discussion, and even rate their experience (ie. value, authenticity, comfort, personal care, etc). These pages could be categorized by country, location, style, etc. And the site could include other types of authentic shamanic retreats such as san pedro, peyote, mushrooms, etc.
My feeling is that the good places, whether obscure or popular would be easier to find, and the duds would be easy to avoid. in time it might even make shamans a little more accountable, knowing there is a public place where people can air their experiences.
i don’t see this site replacing sites like ayahuasca.com with its excellent articles, or erowid with it’s valuable information, nor replacing tribe.net with its vibrant community. I see this new site as being a place where newcomers (as they will continue to increase) can find a safe place to experience shamanic openings, and experienced people to make new connections.
Anyone interested in helping plan this out and help run it? I can help build and manage it. But it needs a solid few people behind it for it to work. (I’ve also wanted to do this for eastern gurus, but never got around to it.)
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Good idea, we’re working on this here in Iquitos already… There’s lots of info up on the http://www.soga-del-alma.org site as well.
Very good idea. I may even have a ’spare’ domain name if you are interested, but I would have to talk with my webmaster first if you are interested. The domain is http://www.AyahuascaJourney.com and also http://www.Ayahuasca-Journey.co. At the moment it leads you to another site of mine.
Hey Alan and viola, thanks for the comments and encouragement. Viola, those domains could work, and we can think of others too.
Alan, I’ve been a fan of your work for a while, and great website too. I’m guessing that you have lots of good info about shamans in Iquitos, but less on other areas. would you be willing to share that info in some way with a new site and we could link to your site?
If anyone is interested in helping to manage or plan a site, let me know. I don’t think it would be hard to startup and we could just improve it as we go. i would use wordpress which is such a powerful website tool, I’m learning.
Hi Deryk!
What a wounderful idea,it´s a jungle out there to find good information and to find retreat – yes we have some another info site but for the newcomers it would be great. I get tons of email´s where people ask for god and safe places from European people.
hi Liv, good to hear from you
. It think it would be a great resource to send newcomers to. And if someone has a really good experience with a shaman, they can write about it, and also if they have a bad experience. Also, we can organize the site so that people looking for a modern, very clean experience can find it, and those looking for a rustic, traditional experience can find it. we can note what languages are spoken, and if centers are gay friendly, etc.
I might put together a skeleton site soon so we can start to play around with it.
I am currently an art student at Northern Michigan University, the more i am learning about shaman and shamanism, the more i want to know. I would love if there were a website where i could find all the information quickly and easily. Also there are a lot of other websites i’ve been researching and i am very skeptical that they are genuine. To have honest information would save me some confusion, for i am searching for guidance, in some way shape or form, guidance to better understand the connection i have with the world around me.
Hi Katie, It is good to be cautious, but not too cautious. It is always good to visit a shaman based on the advice of other as well. When only looking at websites, try to feel is the place is genuine or not. Usually this is possible by looking at the motivation behind the writing and the photos. If their motivation is to supply tourists with a ’shamanic experience’ then stay away, however if their motivation is to help people, then it is probably a safe place. check out my page of recommendations: http://natureofmind.org/44/ayahuasca-information-and-retreats/. Tribe.net ayahuasca forum is also a good place to find lots of recommendations and warnings.
This is definitely a great idea and I’ve actually discussed a very similar idea with several people while living in Iquitos over the last year. I think such a resource is definitely needed due to the fact there are so many fake shaman around these days.
I just realised this post was from 2008. Did anything ever come of your idea?
no, nothing ever came of it. I’m back in Canada now focused on other stuff… but sometime in the future maybe. I agree there are a lot of shamans who put on a show or project a persona that is greater than they really are. I hear so many stories.
I’m used to the buddhists, where most teachers are genuine and humble and it is rare you find a false teacher. But to compare people who give ayahuasca to genuine buddhist teachers is a mistake that some people make. To become a buddhist teacher takes decades of practice and even then you’re still a beginner. With ayahuasca – a few years training with a curandero and people become shamans.
The goal is to see through ego’s game – not to boost it with spiritual materialism.
Nevertheless, there are some good shamans out there – they are just hard to find. And in the end the shaman is a guide, the real teacher is the medicine.