Drinking the Four Winds: A Shamanic Love Story
, by Ross Heaven
When Ross Heaven, a psychologist and ex-pharmaceutical industry consultant, embarks on a shamanic apprenticeship in the rainforests and mountains of South America his intention is to unlock the secrets of San Pedro, the mescaline cactus that has been used as a sacrament and teacher plant in Peru for millennia, and to learn about love and healing. What he finds is more remarkable, painful, enriching, liberating and extraordinary than he could have imagined.
Ross Heaven was described by Guardian newspaper journalist James Shreeve as "the Joseph Campbell of our times". The director of The Four Gates Foundation for spiritual and shamanic wisdom, Ross is a psychologist, presenter, and the author of more than 10 books on shamanism, plant medicines, and the healing traditions, including The Hummingbird's Journey to God (the first book to be written about shamanic healing with the plant teacher San Pedro), Plant Spirit Shamanism (about ayahuasca and San Pedro healing and the therapeutic uses of other plants), Plant Spirit Wisdom (about healing traditions and practices with native European plants), and The Sin Eater's Last Confessions (about the folk-healing practices of Wales).
As well as his work with native shamanism, Ross has visited Peru since the 1990's to work with the ayahuasceros and curanderos of the Amazon and Andes, and with ayahuasca and San Pedro, the two legendary sacraments and teacher plants used by the shamans of these regions to heal the mind, body, and soul, and to unlock new levels of expanded consciousness.
He now offers the same opportunity for others, with retreat programmes and journeys to Peru where participants can work with indigenous healers and explore and expand their awareness through shamanic encounters with visionary plants. He has also worked with the shamans and plant healing traditions of Haiti and his experiences in this area are recorded in his book Vodou Shaman, of which Publisher's Weekly said "This stands out as one of the most articulate and well-intentioned guidebooks available".
In his workshops, Ross draws from his cross-cultural knowledge of shamanism and its healing possibilities for creating new ways to understand ourselves, our connections to the Earth, and the journeys we are on. Order from Amazon
Ross Heaven was described by Guardian newspaper journalist James Shreeve as "the Joseph Campbell of our times". The director of The Four Gates Foundation for spiritual and shamanic wisdom, Ross is a psychologist, presenter, and the author of more than 10 books on shamanism, plant medicines, and the healing traditions, including The Hummingbird's Journey to God (the first book to be written about shamanic healing with the plant teacher San Pedro), Plant Spirit Shamanism (about ayahuasca and San Pedro healing and the therapeutic uses of other plants), Plant Spirit Wisdom (about healing traditions and practices with native European plants), and The Sin Eater's Last Confessions (about the folk-healing practices of Wales).
As well as his work with native shamanism, Ross has visited Peru since the 1990's to work with the ayahuasceros and curanderos of the Amazon and Andes, and with ayahuasca and San Pedro, the two legendary sacraments and teacher plants used by the shamans of these regions to heal the mind, body, and soul, and to unlock new levels of expanded consciousness.
He now offers the same opportunity for others, with retreat programmes and journeys to Peru where participants can work with indigenous healers and explore and expand their awareness through shamanic encounters with visionary plants. He has also worked with the shamans and plant healing traditions of Haiti and his experiences in this area are recorded in his book Vodou Shaman, of which Publisher's Weekly said "This stands out as one of the most articulate and well-intentioned guidebooks available".
In his workshops, Ross draws from his cross-cultural knowledge of shamanism and its healing possibilities for creating new ways to understand ourselves, our connections to the Earth, and the journeys we are on. Order from Amazon