Before I introduce you to the concept of Amazonian shamans and my experiences with them, I want to get you thinking about modern day science in a somewhat critical light. We live in a day and age of science, with the vast technology at our disposal we can observe tiny elements like electrons and measure electromagnetic waves unseen to the naked eye.  From these observations we come up with theories for how the world works. These theories turn into laws using the scientific experimental method where if a theory, after extensive testing under a variety of conditions holds true becomes a law. We fail to realize that there may exist a situation in which the theory fails, but we don’t have the ability or knowledge to test the theory in that situation. Talk to a research quantum physics scientist and they will probably tell you that our current understanding of our world covers less than 1% of what is actually going on and our understanding is constantly changing. In 1900 the famous scientist Lord Kelvin stated “There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now.”  At the time, Einstein was 21 and a mere 5 years away from discovering the theory of relativity.

When we are shown something we don’t understand we used to call it magic or witchcraft, but these days we use the word illusion or a placebo effect.  We are afraid to admit that yes this is really happening but no, we can’t understand why it is happening with our current limited technology and scientific understanding. We tend to have an unwavering belief in things we are told to believe as true, which can shield our eyes from seeing all the signs that suggest there may be more to the story. Just under 300 years ago creationism was still believed by the majority of the population, god had made the world in 7 days as well as every species on it. When people would come across fossils, they believed that they were just rocks being formed into that shape by complete chance as sometimes these fossils would be in the shape of bones of species that had gone extinct. Now it is common knowledge (for the most part), that these rocks are actually fossils and they can be used to understand the evolution of species over time.  “A foolish faith in authority, is the worst enemy of truth” – Alberta Einstein

So before you discount anything you might read in my blog about the healing work these shamans do as hocus pocus or that it’s just a placebo effect, I want you to remember that there was a time not all that long ago when the majority of the population deemed that the scientists who claimed the earth was round and that it revolved around the sun to be practicing witchcraft.  If we truly lived in a time where our current knowledge allowed us to have a complete and in-depth understanding of the world, would Donald Trump really be a serious candidate to run a country?

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