Shamanism has been practiced all over the world for tens of thousands of years. The late anthropologist Michael Harner distilled a set of core beliefs and methods used by shamans from widely varied cultures and geographic regions. One such method is rhythmic drumming to induce altered states of consciousness where where healing and guidance are available from the spiritual realm. Thanks in part to Harner’s teachings, shamanism has undergone a resurgence in recent decades, and shamanic techniques are now used by non-indigenous people for healing and guidance. Shamanic practitioner Sage Heart will discuss the core elements of shamanism, and participants will learn specific methods to inform their own practice. This will include a shamanic drumming experience with a journey into the non-ordinary reality of shamanic cosmology, guiding you to access your own deep spiritual wisdom. Participants are requested to bring something that can be used as a blindfold (such as a bandana) and are encouraged to bring a small hand drum or rattle if they have one.

Mycologist Alan Rockefeller will lecture on the identification of psilocybin mushrooms. The presentation will include an overview of all North American species, focusing on the species which occur in Southern California. The audience will learn important characteristics for accurate identification and how to spot poisonous lookalikes. Participants are invited to bring legal mushrooms for a hands-on discussion of how to identify mushrooms you encounter.

Alan Rockefeller is a mycologist living in Oakland, California. He spends half the year hunting mushrooms in Mexico where he documents a wide variety of fungal species. His experience in the field includes focuses on mushroom identification, DNA analysis, microscopy and photography. In the lab, Alan sequences the DNA of mushrooms from all over the world, gaining new insights from existing species, discovering new species, and eliminating duplicates in the taxonomic record.

How do we, as a community, create a space for the conversation about 'right relationship' with these life-changing earth medicines? In the coming months, we aim to introduce a number of topics that we will expand upon with the help of the medicine community and integration network. This month we will begin this conversation with the first topic around recommendations to seekers around what questions they should be considering asking themselves and potential facilitators before they decide to join a circle. 

Please join us for a wide-ranging conversation with Dimitri Mugianis, where we will discuss the traditional and medical history of iboga, the commodification of plant medicines, and the dangers inherent in the trend of medicalizing iboga. 

Join the Aware Project and leaders in the Southern California psychedelic/entheogenic community for a panel and community discussion of issues of power, sexuality, gender, race, and ethical practice.

We will host an informative conversation that allows our community in California to receive a first-hand perspective about amazonian plant medicines as a path promoting a healthy, holistic way of life that is first of all preventative in its approach to disease, while also going deeper in how disease, illness, and so forth can be healed with the help of the plants after it has already manifested in an individual.

Medical doctor, Joe Tafur, and psychologist, Rachel Harris, will discuss their books, interview each other, and share their stories. We'll explore different models of how healing happens with ayahuasca biochemically, neurologically, psychologically, and spiritually (from a Western and indigenous perspective). We'll consider the role of intention before the ceremony, navigation during the ceremony and discernment, and behavior change after the ceremony. We promise love, laughter, and time for questions.

Film Preview in Echo Park: Cura presents an inspiring story of the healing power of family, community, and ceremony in the midst of the brutal American public health and criminal justice landscapes. This event will be co-hosted by Cura's Production team members Steve Holmgren and Francesca Alfano, and Filmmaker Ethan Goldwater.

Join us for an evening of connection, healing and celebration with the Yawanawa lineage from the Amazon Forest.

We feel blessed to invite you to sit with Isku Kua and Pêu in a moment that the planet and ourselves need healing, prayers and truthful respect. From an unique and special place deep in the Amazonian forest, wherein lies a culture of a profound spiritual knowledge which has been passed down for generations, since time immemorial.

In this talk Javier Regueiro will present his two newly published books on San Pedro/Huachuma and Ayahuasca and speak about the plant medicine healing process, its benefits, and challenges. He will devote particular attention to the theme of integration and the issue of safety in plant medicine circles.