A rare in-depth look at the inner workings of Huichol shamanism • Describes the five sacred sites of the Huichol and their peyote ceremonies • Explains how the Huichol teachings of awareness, centered on the five points of attention, connect you to your true essence • Reveals the deep relationship between Huichol cosmology, Gnosticism, and Christianity, especially Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary Taking place in the heart of the Huichol homeland in western Mexico, this book offers a rare in-depth look at the inner workings of Huichol shamanism, which is permeated with the use of the sacred peyote cactus. Outsiders are almost never allowed access to Huichol sacred sites and ceremonies; however, James Endredy, after years of friendship with Huichol families, earned the privilege nearly by accident. Swayed by persistent pleading, he agreed to take another gringo into the mountains to one of the Huichols’ ceremonial centers, and they were both caught. After trial and punishment, Endredy was invited to stay within the sacred lands for the festivities he had illegally intruded upon and found his initiation into the Huichol shamanic tradition had begun. Sharing his intimate conversations and journeys with the shaman he calls “Peyote Jesus,” the author explains how Huichol belief revolves around the five sacred directions, the five sacred sites, and the five points of attention. As Peyote Jesus explains, the five points of attention refer to dividing your awareness yet staying focused on your inner self. This is not a normal state of consciousness for most people, yet when we maintain these points of attention, we discover our true essence and move closer to God. Endredy undergoes dozens of spiritual journeys with peyote as he makes the pilgrimages to the five sacred Huichol sites with Peyote Jesus. He is shocked by his vision of the Virgin Mary while under peyote’s guidance and learns of the deep relationship--strictly on Huichol terms--between their cosmology, Gnosticism, and Christianity, especially Jesus Christ. Providing an inside look at the major ceremonies and peyote rituals of the Huichol, this unexpectedly powerful book reveals the key tenants of the Huichol worldview, their beliefs in the afterlife, and their spiritual work on behalf of all of humanity.

A step-by-step guide to authentic advanced shamanic practices • Offers hands-on instructions for more than 30 practices, including sacred Fire ceremonies, direct shamanic viewing, shamanic death and rebirth, working with healing stones, shamanic lucid dreaming, shamanic healing, and advanced methods for acquiring an animal spirit guide • Allows solitary shamanic practitioners to advance their practice • Examines the biological foundations of spiritual experience, the many ways that Psi phenomena and shamanism are linked, and their relationship to the scientific concept of quantum entanglement In this step-by-step guide to more than three dozen advanced shamanic practices, James Endredy shares the wisdom and techniques he has learned through 30 years of working with shamanic teachers from all over the globe, including Huichol kawiteros, Tibetan lamas, Incan, Mayan, and Tukano shamans, Indian siddhas, the Kanaka Maoli of Hawai’i, and elders from many Native American tribes, such as the Seneca, Lenni Lenape, Arapaho, Sioux, Tuscarora, Yurok, Navajo, and Hopi. Endredy offers hands-on instructions for sacred Fire ceremonies, direct shamanic viewing, experiencing shamanic death and rebirth, working with and acquiring healing stones, shamanic lucid dreaming, shamanic healing, and advanced methods for acquiring an animal spirit guide, including how to properly retain its spirit in a sacred bundle or altar and how to use its power responsibly for healing. He provides a meticulous step-by-step approach to working with the five points of attention, a Huichol teaching on sacred awareness and shamanic levels of attention. He also examines the many ways that Psi phenomena and shamanism are linked and their relationship to the scientific concept of quantum entanglement. Showing how quantum physics is the scientific expression of shamanism, the author also explores the biological foundations of spiritual experiences, including the roles of serotonin, dopamine, and opioid transmitters, and the connections between altered consciousness and shamanic states. Integrating modern research with ancient knowledge to provide an enlightened view of shamanism that marries science and spirit, this guide offers authentic shamanic wisdom and techniques to help the solitary practitioner move forward on their shamanic path.

The Huichol tribes of the Sierra Madre in Mexico have thoroughly retained their ancient way of life. Their shamanic spiritual practices focus on living life in harmony with all things and offer a path path to healing both on a personal and a planetary level.

The first substantial study of a Mexican Indian society that more than any other has preserved much of its ancient way of life and religion.

In 1968 University of California Press published an unusual manuscript by an anthropology student named Carlos Castaneda.ÊThe Teachings of Don Juan enthralled a generation of seekers dissatisfied with the limitations of the Western worldview. Castaneda's now classic book remains controversial for the alternative way of seeing that it presents and the revolution in cognition it demands. Whether read as ethnographic fact or creative fiction, it is the story of a remarkable journey that has left an indelible impression on the life of more than a million readers around the world.

A hands-on guide to advanced spiritual transformation through the combined sacred arts of alchemy and shamanism • Recasts the 7 stages of the alchemical “Great Work” as a transformative shamanic journey and initiatic experience • Provides step-by-step instructions for 18 shamanic alchemy practices for inner transformation, including vibrational energy work, consciousness-altering techniques, the creation of mirrors of the mind, and sacred ceremonies tied to the four elements • Explores the alchemical plant-medicine techniques of spagyrics, as well as recipes for basic tinctures and “plant-stones” Offering a unique, hands-on guide to advanced self-transformation, James Endredy shows how traditional shamanic techniques offer a doorway into the sacred art of alchemy, the inner transformation of the soul. Revealing the practical and intuitive connections between shamanism and alchemy, including not only Western alchemy but also alchemical practices from the East, Endredy recasts the 7 stages of the alchemical “Great Work” as a transformative shamanic journey and initiatic experience. He provides step-by-step instructions for 18 shamanic alchemy practices for inner transformation, including vibrational energy work, consciousness-altering techniques, the creation of mirrors of the mind, shamanic viewing, and sacred ceremonies tied to the four elements. Exploring the healing art of spagyrics, the author shows how this alchemical plant-medicine practice is receptive to the energetic work of traditional shamanic techniques. He details formulations for distilling shamanic spagyric remedies, as well as recipes for basic tinctures and “plant-stones.” He also discusses the creation of sacred space, altars, and shamanic distillation lodges. Comparing shamanic and alchemical cosmologies, the author explains how both shamanism and alchemy employ direct experience of the numinous and invisible worlds, also known as gnosis, to impart wisdom, invoke peace of mind, and increase creativity and vitality. Showing how the practical vibrational science of alchemy and the consciousness-transforming techniques of shamanism directly enhance and expand upon each other, Endredy also reveals how they have the same ultimate goals: to allow the practitioner to transmute spiritual lead into gold and to penetrate the deep secrets of life and of nature.

"Ramón Medina Silva, a Huichol Indian shaman priest or mara'akame, instructed me in many of his culture's myths, rituals, and symbols, particularly those pertaining to the sacred untiy of deer, maize, and peyote. The significance of this constellation of symbols was revealed to me most vividly when I accompanied Ramón on the Huichol's annual ritual return to hunt the peyote in the sacred land of Wirikuta, in myth and probably in history the place from which the Ancient Ones (ancestors and deities of the present-day Indians) came before settling in their present home in the mountains of the Sierra Madre Occidental in north-central Mexico. My work with Ramón preceded and followed our journey, but it was this peyote hunt that held the key to, and constituted the climax of, his teachings."--from the Preface