#38 What a Medical Doctor Learned in the Jungles of Peru with Dr. Joe Tafur
Dr. Tafur has been an Integrative Medicine activist throughout his medical career - while in medical school at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, and during his Family Medicine Residency at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). While a resident, he collaborated on research projects with the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine and the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine. After residency, Dr. Tafur subsequently completed a two-year Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the UCSD Department of Psychiatry under psychoneuroimmunology expert Dr. Paul Mills.
Dr. Tafur has observed that modern medicine struggles with certain mental and psychosomatic health problems because the system fails to address the emotional and spiritual dimensions of these illnesses. Under the guidance of master shamans, Dr. Tafur has learned about the importance of acknowledging the emotional body and its role in modern disease, and how spiritual approaches can be used to heal the emotional body and, in turn, the mind and physical body.
In Peru, Dr. Tafur learned how Ayahuasca shamanism (a ceremony involving the use of Ayahuasca, a traditional medicinal Amazonian plant known for its spiritual properties) could be used to heal the emotional body. After observing hundreds of people experience this kind of spiritual and emotional healing, Dr. Tafur recognized the broader value of spiritual healing techniques.
Dr. Tafur is the author of The Fellowship of the River, a fascinating account of his journey through the Amazon jungle as comes to understand how psychoactive plants interact with the complex network that connects our minds and hearts to our physical anatomy. Dr. Tafur serves on the board of Modern Spirit, a non-profit organization dedicated to demonstrating the value of spiritual healing in modern healthcare by illuminating the intersection between biology, emotion, and spirituality
In this episode Dr. Joe Tafur details how plant medicine, specifically Ayahuasca, can act as a portal to mystical experiences and can help many find profound emotional healing.
“One can initiate forgiveness in the brain, however true healing cannot be found until you are able to forgive in your heart.”
NOTES
Joe gives us a glimpse into how plant medicine and different modalities helped get him through a difficult time in his life. This personal experience was the catalyst that lead him to dedicating much of his career to the study of plant medicine.
Joe explains what Ayahuasca is, how it is used and what to expect during a ceremony.
Through the lens of his many years of experience, Joe explains how he believes Ayahuasca can often times be a gateway to profound emotional healing.
Click on the image below to see Dr. Tafur’s book:
We do care what you think! What would YOU like to hear on the Interviews with Innocence Podcast? Click HERE to send us your thoughts.
Would you like to be featured as a guest on the Interviews with Innocence Podcast? Contact Us, and tell us a few words about yourself!
RESOURCES:
Joe Tafur’s WEBSITE
Modern Spirit WEBSITE
Joe Tafur on FACEBOOK
Listen on APPLE PODCASTS
Listen on SPOTIFY
CONNECT WITH MARLA:
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.interviewswithinnocence.com
Have you had a spiritual experience? Do you have a story that a young child has shared with you? Please contact Marla and share your story.
Thank you!