I met the young Director and Creator of this documentary last night,  Ricardo D'Aguiar, a vivacious and kind person. During our time around Takiwasi we've experienced many changes in our thinking patterns and motivation. We will be back in the United States this July and will be returning to our educational studies as soon as we can. Our lessons have all been oriented towards continuing our calling to understand plant medicines and the healing arts, but in conjunction with a societally integrated core of study. We will all be seeing more and more of the psychoactive plant medicines and return of ancient rituals in society as time goes on (as many of us have begun to see in the mainstream media); so young and old called to work with these medicines must begin to preempt the imminent challenges by filling themselves with a meaningful song to sing. 

Ayahuasca, which is produced from plants growing in the Amazon jungle, as been used extensively for healing and in religious ceremonies for centuries among certain groups native to the Amazon. In recent decades its popularity has been spreading elsewhere in the world and there is a growing interest in using the substance to treat mental disorders like depression, anxiety, PTSD and addiction that plague the Western world. For these treatments to gain traction, people need to be reassured that ayahuasca is safe and has few or no major side effects.

A number of studies conducted over the past few decades have produced evidence that ayahuasca does not harm the people who consume it. A 2012 study conducted by the Hospital Sant Pau in Barcelona drove home the message with scientific rigor.

The research looked at 127 people who had used ayahuasca at least twice a month for 15 years and compared them to a group who had never taken the substance. After undergoing a series of interviews and tests, the study found that there is “no evidence of psychological maladjustment, mental health deterioration or cognitive impairment in the ayahuasca-using group.” Ayahuasca users even scored better in some of the cognitive tests than their counterparts. They also showed lower rates of depression, anxiety, hostility, worry and other negative traits than the control subjects, and higher in self-transcendence and spiritual orientation. 

*Full article by Aaron Kase can be found on www.reset.me

An excerpt from the documentary: "The Jungle Prescription: Ayahuasca"
The Jungle Prescription is the tale of two doctors treating their addicted patients with a mysterious Amazonian medicine rumored to reveal one's deepest self. Dr. Gabor Maté has a revolutionary idea: to treat addicts with compassion. 
His work as the resident doctor in Vancouver's Portland Hotel - a last-chance destination for lifelong drug abusers - has been courageous, but incredibly frustrating. Maté hears of an ancient medicine beyond his imaginings: one that could provide his patients with a solution.