Religion of Ayahuasca

Zusatztext Who better to tell the story of ayahuasca (Diplopterys cabrerana) than de Alverga? His intellectual and practical work bridges the worlds of scholars and Amazonian people. After years of being held as a political prisoner during the reign of Brazil's military junta! he encountered the Santo Daime religiona unique form of christianity blended with traditional Amazonian use of mediumship and ayahuasca for healing and spiritual growth. The book relates the personal experiences key figures and of the author's as he evolves into a Santo Daime leader. Informationen zum Autor Alex Polari de Alverga spent years as a political prisoner during the rule of the military junta in Brazil, enduring torture, brutality, and deprivation. On his release from captivity, he encountered the Santo Daime religion and is currently a padrinho (spiritual father) in the spiritual community of Mapiá. Klappentext ENTHEOGENS / RELIGION In search of something to restore his spiritual connection to life after his release from captivity as a political prisoner in Brazil, Alex Polari de Alverga had a transformative encounter with Padrinho Sebastiao Mota de Mela, one of the two revered founders of Santo Daime. A potent synthesis of Christianity and indigenous Amazonian practices of entheogen use, mediumship, and healing, the Santo Daime church provided Alverga with an alternative to his disillusionment with modern society. His quest for spiritual initiation eventually led him deep into the heart of the rain forest to Mapia, one of the spiritual centers of Santo Daime, where he became a teacher and leader of the Daime community. The Religion of Ayahuasca is a story of a classic spiritual encounter comparable to the Tibetan Saint Milarepa's search for his teacher Marpa. It is also an intimate account of the genesis of an important religious tradition from its modest beginnings in Brazil to its growth throughout the world, offering an inside look at the spiritually centered village of Mapia--a model for communities in the 21st century--and at the religious leader who helped create it. Providing insight into the spiritual path the Daime offers, Alverga's tale reveals the new depths of being made available through the sacred use of ayahuasca. ALEX POLARI DE ALVERGA spent years as a political prisoner during the rule of the military junta in Brazil, enduring torture, brutality, and deprivation. On his release from captivity, he encountered the Santo Daime religion and is currently a padrinho (spiritual father) in the spiritual community of Mapia. Chapter 2 The Prophet of the Amazon I was so enveloped by good omens that I did not remember any of the other reasons that took me to Rio do Ouro. The encounter with Padrinho was brief but significant. He answered doubts that for a long time I did not know how to formulate to myself. By and by, back to my consciousness would come the fact that I was in the middle of the forest, a member of an interdisciplinary commission that came to study, and maybe even also to decide, the future of a drink and a doctrine I had only moments ago accepted when I asked Padrinho for his blessing. I was surprised sometimes by the feeling of a weight in my heart because the whole situation with the research and validation of the Daime was bringing me guilt for communing with God in such a way, for feeling that the divine experience was in some way being artificially induced. Suspicion about hallucinations, visions artificially induced, was the main component of old misconceptions. But a new era is dawning in which prejudice can no longer hold back the truth. Nevertheless, a confrontation is in the air and we were the witnesses being called to testify about this new form of consciousness. This is our first great spiritual battle: to affirm our faith in what we had seen with our eyes and felt with our hearts; to testify to the divine character of an experie...

Auteur

Alex Polari de Alverga spent years as a political prisoner during the rule of the military junta in Brazil, enduring torture, brutality, and deprivation. On his release from captivity, he encountered the Santo Daime religion and is currently a padrinho (spiritual father) in the spiritual community of Mapiá.

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ENTHEOGENS / RELIGION In search of something to restore his spiritual connection to life after his release from captivity as a political prisoner in Brazil, Alex Polari de Alverga had a transformative encounter with Padrinho Sebastiao Mota de Mela, one of the two revered founders of Santo Daime. A potent synthesis of Christianity and indigenous Amazonian practices of entheogen use, mediumship, and healing, the Santo Daime church provided Alverga with an alternative to his disillusionment with modern society. His quest for spiritual initiation eventually led him deep into the heart of the rain forest to Mapia, one of the spiritual centers of Santo Daime, where he became a teacher and leader of the Daime community. The Religion of Ayahuasca is a story of a classic spiritual encounter comparable to the Tibetan Saint Milarepa's search for his teacher Marpa. It is also an intimate account of the genesis of an important religious tradition from its modest beginnings in Brazil to its growth throughout the world, offering an inside look at the spiritually centered village of Mapia--a model for communities in the 21st century--and at the religious leader who helped create it. Providing insight into the spiritual path the Daime offers, Alverga's tale reveals the new depths of being made available through the sacred use of ayahuasca. ALEX POLARI DE ALVERGA spent years as a political prisoner during the rule of the military junta in Brazil, enduring torture, brutality, and deprivation. On his release from captivity, he encountered the Santo Daime religion and is currently a padrinho (spiritual father) in the spiritual community of Mapia.

Résumé
An insider’s experience and personal transformation with ayahuasca and the religious philosophy surrounding it

• An intimate account of the genesis of the Santo Daime tradition

• Edited and introduced by Stephen Larsen, author of The Shaman’s Doorway

In search of something to restore his spiritual connection to life after his release from captivity as a political prisoner in Brazil, Alex Polari de Alverga had a transformative encounter with Padrinho Sebastiao Mota de Mela, one of the two revered founders of Santo Daime. A potent synthesis of Christianity and indigenous Amazonian practices of entheogen use, mediumship, and healing, the Santo Daime church provided Alverga with an alternative to his disillusionment with modern society. His quest for spiritual initiation eventually led him deep into the heart of the rain forest to Mapiá, one of the spiritual centers of Santo Daime, where he became a teacher and leader of the Daime community.

The Religion of Ayahuasca is a story of a classic spiritual encounter comparable to the Tibetan Saint Milarepa’s search for his teacher Marpa. It is also an intimate account of the genesis of an important religious tradition from its modest beginnings in Brazil to its growth throughout the world, offering an inside look at the spiritually centered village of Mapiá--a model for communities in the 21st century--and at the religious leader who helped create it. Providing insight into the spiritual path the Daime offers, Alverga’s tale reveals the new depths of Being made available through the sacred use of ayahuasca.

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Chapter 2

The Prophet of the Amazon

I was so enveloped by good omens that I did not remember any of the other reasons that took me to Rio do Ouro. The encounter with Padrinho was brief but significant. He answered doubts that for a long time I did not know how to formulate to myself. By and by, back to my consciousness would come the fact …