The Psychotropic Mind: The World According to Ayahuasca, Iboga, and Shamanism (tp)

A three-way conversation on what shamanism and plant medicines might have to teach a scientific worldview. Narby, Kounen, and Ravalec compare notes from anthropology, filmmaking, and literature.

The Psychotropic Mind grew out of an ongoing dialogue between anthropologist Jeremy Narby, filmmaker Jan Kounen, and writer Vincent Ravalec, each drawn to Amazonian and African shamanic traditions by a different road. Across the book they discuss ayahuasca, iboga, and the encounter between indigenous knowledge and Western thought — what these practices propose about consciousness, perception, and the limits of materialist explanation. The tone is exploratory and conversational, naming traditions and questions without claiming final answers.

• Author: Jeremy Narby, Jan Kounen & Vincent Ravalec
• Publisher: Park Street Press
• Published: 2010
• Pages: 144

About the Author — Jeremy Narby

Anthropologist who has spent decades working with indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon, best known for The Cosmic Serpent, which examines the relationship between shamanic knowledge and molecular biology. Here he is joined by filmmaker Jan Kounen and writer Vincent Ravalec, both longtime students of these traditions.