Psychointegrator Amazonian Plants and Experimental Lucid Dreaming Seminar

Psychointegrator Amazonian Plants and Experimental Lucid Dreaming Seminar

with Dr. Luis Eduardo Luna and Dr. Stephen LaBerge

Manaus, Brazil January 23 – February 5, 2005


This is an invitation to participate in very special symposium in the Brazilian Amazon. We offer a twelve-day journey of vast inner and outer exploration of modified states of consciousness.

The symposium combines formal lectures, in which we will explore an array of stimulating ideas, with four ayahuasca, two Holotropic breathwork, and one afternoon WILDing guided imagery sessions.
Integrative circles and special artistic and musical workshops will help you to process and bring down to earth some of your inner discoveries, and weave them into your daily life. Excursions into the surrounding rainforest will expand your knowledge of the extraordinary planet we inhabit and the extreme importance of the unique Amazonian ecosystem.
We offer you a magnificent and safe Amazonian setting to explore your own existential presuppositions and belief systems, and get in touch with your inner/higher self and with your inner shaman/healer. You may expect to enhance your creativity or access new information about yourself, the world around you, and explore extraordinary hidden realms deep within your own consciousness.

During the ayahuasca sessions we use two effective psychointegrative techniques to bring together intellect and emotions, the individual, the social and the natural world. The first, Ayahuasca, a deeply revered ancient plant medicine used by Amazonian Indians, mestizo practitioners and members of modern synchretic religious organizations. The second, Holotropic Breathwork, a contemporary technique developed by highly respected psychotherapist, writer, and lecturer, Dr. Stanislav Grof, in partnership with his wife Christine, in 1976.

Dr. Stephen LaBerge will lead lectures on perception and consciousness, methods of psycho-navigation, techniques of becoming aware while dreaming (achieving lucidity), and remembering dreams & visions. Many of the tools for working in the dream world will be helpful in working with the altered states of consciousness accessible through out the seminar. During the week we will offer ample time to reflect and share on both our Dreaming & Visionary experiences.

Program

4 Ayahuasca Sessions using a brew of the highest quality with each session followed by a circle for integrative group sharing.
Morning debrief of "dreams & experiences of the night" to explore and share our dream worlds and illuminate dream signs and the possibilities of lucidity rising
2 Holotropic Breathwork session conducted by Ivania Hassler
1 Waking Induced Lucid Dream (WILD) practice session using "61 Points Meditation Method" led by Dom Attisani
Sleep and Dream Science Lectures by Stephen LaBerge including: perception/awareness in lucidity, psychophysiology of lucid dreaming, PSI & lucid dreaming and the techniques of becoming consciously aware and controlling your dream state
Lectures by Luis Eduardo Luna will include: Amazonian Ayahuasca Shamanism & Brazilian Synchretic Religions. Botany, Pharmacology and Current Research on Ayahuasca. Visionary Pre-Columbian and Ethnographic Amazonian Art.
All program members will be asked to participate in research on the effects of the ayahuasca experience on lucid dreaming. Pre and post seminar experiential surveys will be conducted.

Fees & Accommodations

$2,000 - Single occupancy with private bath & air conditioner
Fees includes- transportation between Manaus and our lodge, 11 nights at the lodge, all meals, activities, jungle journeys, river trips, and experimental sessions.
Please note that the nature of the enhanced perception offered by our seminar sessions requires that participants not consume alcohol, unapproved drugs/medicines, salt or refined sugar during their stay.
The size of the program is limited and an $800 deposit is required to secure a reservation.
Final payment for the program fees is due by Nov. '05
Early airline reservations are highly recommended.
US citizens will require a Brazilian Tourist Visa. Other nationalities should check with their Brazilian consulate on country specific entry requirements

Seminar Lecturers & Biographies

Luis Eduardo Luna, Ph.D was born in Florencia, Colombia. He received his doctorate in 1989 from the Institute of Comparative Religion at Stockholm University and in 2002 a honorary degree from St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York. A Guggenheim Fellow and an elected Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, he is the author of Vegetalismo: Shamanism Among the Mestizo Population of the Peruvian Amazon (1986), and with Pablo Amaringo - Ayahuasca Visions: The Religious Iconography of the Peruvian Shaman (1991). He is the co-editor with Stephen F. White of Ayahuasca Reader: Encounters with the Amazon's Sacred Vine (2000). He was professor of Anthropology at eh Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil (1994-1998) and is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Swedish School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland. Dr. Luna has over 30 years experience with Ayahuasca in various contexts: as an anthropologist with indigenous groups, with urban an mestizo ayahuasqueros, in Peru and with all syncretic Brazilian religious organizations that use Ayahuasca as a sacrament. For the past 7 years he has been conducting sessions in seminars in the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon. He is the director of Wasiwaska, Research Center for the Study of Psychointegrator Plants, Visionary Art and Consciousness in Florianopolis, Brazil.
Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D. world-renowned expert on lucid dreaming, has pioneered the scientific study of the topic. His groundbreaking research at Stanford University demonstrated the validity of lucid dreaming to the scientific world, and his best-selling books Lucid Dreaming and Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming have introduced thousands to the experience.
Dr. LaBerge's recent research shows how the phenomenon of lucid dreaming sheds light on the nature of consciousness, viewing consciousness as the dream of what happens, with perception and dreaming essentially differing only by the presence or absence of sensory constraints. He is a dynamic speaker, known for his humor and ability to stimulate thought and to make scientific concepts relevant to the individual. Through the years his research team has developed highly effective techniques, including technological aids, for building lucid dreaming skills.
In addition, Stephen has had extensive personal experience with lucid dreaming, having learned to have lucid dreams at will, and among his thousands of lucid dreams are many which have been delightful, inspiring, enlightening, and life-changing. Thus he is an unashamed advocate of lucid dreaming, believing that the world would be a better place if more people developed the art. His interest in the subject embraces science as well as spirituality, and he feels a special kinship with the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of dream yoga.


Suggested Reading:

Ayahuasca; Hallucinogens, Consciousness and the Spirit of Nature by Ralph Metzner

Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming by Stephen LaBerge

Ayahuasca Reader: Ecounters with the Amazon´s Sacred Vine.
by Luis Eduardo Luna

Wizard of the Upper Amazon by Bruce Lamb