Dr. Joe Tafur combines traditional Western medicine with psychedelic plant medicines after discovering their incredible ability to heal numerous physical and mental health ailments. In this podcast, Dr. Tafur discusses how peyote, which is legal in several states across the U.S., transformed his life. He also describes the healing powers of ayahuasca and the patients he’s treated and cured with the sacred brew from the Amazon rainforest.
Dr. Tafur is an integrative minded Family Physician and founding partner of Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual ayahuasca healing center near Iquitos, Peru. He is Colombian-American from Arizona, studied biology at UCLA, then Med School at UCSD, completed Family Medicine Residency at UCLA, then went on to do a post-doc in the Department of Psychiatry at UCSD, studying low-intensity light therapy and, simultaneously, Psychoneuroimmunology.
Dr. Tafur has been working in and around integrative medicine throughout and after his medical training, working on a variety of academic and community activities with Traditional Chinese Medicine and Yoga Practitioners and Energy Healers. He has been studying Traditional Shipibo Plant Medicine for the past five years and is now apprenticing under Ricardo Amaringo at the Nihue Rao center. His primary interest at this time is in spiritual healing and in working to integrate practices like Amazonian shamanism and other traditional approaches with modern healthcare.
Scroll down for video version. Also available on Stitcher and iTunes.
Thanks Amber. I Love to hear moving stories such as this. It’s through stories like Dr. Tafur’s that gives me hope for positive changes to the collective consciousness of earth. Keep up with your beautiful work. <3
Such a great podcast – such a great, humble and intelligent guy. This was really goood:)
Thanks Amber. My only critique is that the mic could have been closer to Joe. I found myself needing to turn the sound up to full to try and hear Joe speak but then had to turn it down when you would speak. Keep up the great work.
Thanks, this is a very informative and enjoyable podcast. As a professional health care provider of 25 years, it was especially good to hear medical opinions from a trained physician. Dr Tafur seems exceptionally adept at combining traditional western medicine with the non-traditional concepts of shamanism and plant medicines. There are two points of interest that I would like to address. I am somewhat concerned about people who travel to the Amazon, partake of Ayahuasca, experience the profound insights and healing that it imparts, but then have to return to the mundane, ordinary day to day challenges of living that we all must face. How well do they adjust and cope after having been “reset”? Is there any type of follow-up or support system they can utilized that will help alleviate the frustration of existing in a consensual reality that is not generally considered to be loving,compassionate, understanding or even tolerant of thought that is not mainstream. I have friends who had their first psychedelic/mystical experience and later felt they were “losing it” because they had no one to help them process. They had no prior frame of reference to follow. What should be the focus of the post- Aya mindset in regard to integration and application of the new and unique paradigm structure they have discovered? Secondly, it is unfortunate that the medicine is only available to a certain segment of society i.e. those that can afford to travel and partake in the ceremony. It seems that those who would benefit the most (especially in regard to purging past traumas) would be the populace that is forced to live in poverty and suffer the highest incidents of drug addiction, abuses, violence and incarceration. I suspect they are the most traumatized. I realize it isn’t feasible, at this time, to bring Ayahuasca to the people, but to think of the possibilities of enriching the lives of millions of souls who desperately need it is indeed “mind blowing”. There is much work to be done.
What an incredible privilege to have access to this information.
I hope to find the resource to healing my past trauma and expand my awareness, and am experiencing the deep pull for healing with Ayahuasca, soon.
Thank you for sharing your passion and research!
This is great! Agreed RedFox—this is indeed an incredible privilege!
Wonderful! Full motion video podcasts!
It’s interesting to hear more about Peyote/mescaline being that is it one of the rarest psychedelics around.
I have never heard of anybody speak about peyote like this! (I am 5 minutes in this is going to be good!) Great questions Amber, you’re great at being a catalyst for deep responses from these interviewees and I love the variety in them as well.
This is your best one so far, maybe Graham Hancock tops it (DO ANOTHER WITH HIM)
The idea of the spirit walk is amazing because I am usually a solo goer myself.
Your aura is glowing Amber! You give a good vibe even through the computer, powerful intentions.
Really appreciated Dr. Tafur’s measured approach; not dismissing the mystical side of things, but also stressing a common sense ‘street smart’ approach.
Also, thank you for posting both audio and video. I really enjoy being able to watch the video when possible.