AMAZON CURANDERISMO
The word curandero means 'healer' or 'one who cures' and curanderismo refers to the ancient science of plant spirit medicine. Within curanderismo there are many different specialties, usually distinguished by the ally plant or plants that are used. This seminar will focus mainly on ayahuasqueros, who use the sacred brew, ayahuasca, in healing ceremonies to diagnose and heal physical, mental, and spiritual afflictions. The reality within which curanderos work is not an ordinary reality, and the laws which are observed and followed within the spiritual dimensions do not always make sense in the rational world with which we are so familiar. Therefore, curanderismo could be compared to our science, which provides us with the structural elements we use to build our perception of the world around us.
What we take to be real has been passed down to us from generation to generation, constantly being refined as new observations and profound experiences demanded changes. We do not think of it as a belief system, but more so as the truth. So too, do curanderos feel the science of curanderismo is the truth, and much of their science coincides with ours, when dealing with the physical, rational dimension we call reality. But they go beyond the ordinary into a separate reality, where an entirely different set of laws can be observed and where the limitations of the 'real' world disappear. It is the study of these dimensions that has led to such a powerful practice, one from which we have much to learn.