An Amazonian shamanic brew in Australia: ayahuasca healing and individualism

Abstract

Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None. vi Acknowledgements I would like to send a big "Thank you!" to everyone in the Australian ayahuasca circles who welcomed me into their practice and kindly offered their hospitality and knowledge. I am grateful to Bia Labate for the invaluable discussions and her generosity and to everyone on the Ayahuasca Researchers email group for the useful ideas, research, and debate. I am indebted to my primary supervisor Sally Babidge for her generosity of time and thought and to my secondary supervisors Fernanda Claudio and Yancey Orr for their generous guidance and feedback. A courteous "hat tip" to Myz Guidance and the Rose Road Mystery School for accommodating my thoughts and writing sessions and to Rak Razam for helping in more ways than one. I would like to extend my appreciation to the team at Entheogenesis Australis (Melbourne) for providing such enriching symposiums, and to Des and Erik for their erudition and generosity. I extend my thanks to

Psychedelic Communitas: Intersubjective Experience During Psychedelic Group Sessions Predicts Enduring Changes in Psychological Wellbeing and Social Connectedness

“…These often include techniques aimed to structure the relational dynamics amongst retreat participants and between participants and facilitators. A prevalent example are ‘sharing-round’ rituals ( Fotiou, 2020 ; Gearin, 2015a ; Gearin, 2016b ), often held both before and after ceremonies, during which participants are invited to articulate personally salient material, such as intentions for, or experiences during sessions. Controlled self-disclosure of feelings and thoughts, being fundamental for developing social relationships ( Derlega and Chaikin, 1977 ), has been shown to elicit trust and reciprocity especially among 'passing strangers' (coming from different locations) ( Rubin, 1975 ) and liking within groups ( Collins and Miller, 1994 ).…”

Accidental Environmentalism: Nature and Cultivated Affect in European Neoshamanic Ayahuasca Consumption

“…Sharing circles are integral parts of such ayahuasca retreats. They are meant to provide space for people to articulate and share their experiences, thus allowing, or so it is hoped, to foster integration of extraordinary experiences or insights into everyday life and to underpin lasting personal transformation (Gearin 2015).…”

“…Specific forms of relating to nature appear to be at the heart of contemporary neoshamanic practice in general and ayahuasca ceremonies in particular (Fernández 2014; Gearin 2015). Marketing campaigns and testimonies uniformly emphasize the naturalness of the medicine and introduce healers in a language strongly infused with exoticizing imageries of the romantic “Noble Savage” (Raymond 2007).…”

Um panorama da literatura sobre a internacionalização das religiões ayahuasqueiras brasileiras

“…Sánchez e Bouso (2015) recentemente avaliaram o processo de globalização da ayahuasca e suas implicações jurídicas, enquanto Dawson (2017) analisou a difusão internacional da ayahuasca a partir da ideia de tradições inventadas, sustentando que é próprio da modernidade se alimentar continuamente do tradicional. O australiano Alex Gearin (2015), por sua vez, realizou um importante e pioneiro estudo comparativo entre o uso da ayahuasca e sua relação com a cura na Amazônia e na Austrália. Já Lopez-Pavillard (2015) escreveu uma tese de doutorado sobre o xamanismo ayahuasqueiro na Espanha, observando seus resultados terapêuticos a partir da epistemologia e racionalidade próprias dos xamãs.…”