The Fellowship of the River: A Medical Doctor’s Exploration into Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine

by Joseph Tafur

Brain scans show that it activates parts of the cerebrum where childhood emotional memories are stored,

It also allows people to re-experience long-lost inner qualities, such as wholeness, trust, love, and a sense of possibility. People quite literally remember themselves.

Then my thoughts were directed toward the ways I had hurt others in my reckless suffering, a girlfriend whose feelings I did not consider, things that I could have done better. The peyote had opened a space for me to contemplate without judgment and make plans to improve my behavior.

Overactivity in the DMN has been correlated to a variety of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, addiction, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).3,5 Each of these conditions is related to narrow and repetitive thinking patterns and a disconnection from the outside world and from one’s feelings. Antidepressants are, with varying results, used to treat each of these four conditions, likely because of their effects on DMN activity.2,3 Psychedelic medicines such as LSD, psilocybin, and ayahuasca have also shown promise in the treatment of depression, anxiety, addiction, and OCD.5-