Download In this episode, hosts Joe and Kyle interview Hamilton Souther, Shaman of Blue Morpho. In this episode, they cover Hamilton’s incredible journey from Western life into becoming a Shaman and the spirit teachings that he experienced along the way. 3 Key Points: Hamilton Souther, a Shaman of Blue Morpho, shares his experience from living a normal Western life to his journey of his calling, learning and training to become a Shaman. He shares amazing examples of connectedness and spirit while living amongst the natives. A common concept that comes out of an Ayahuasca ceremony is that the plants care for you. The teachings that come from the plants are peace oriented and resolution oriented and opening of creativity and problem solving. Shamanic training is a long and extremely difficult journey. Training comes to the people that feel the deepest calling, because you have to commit your whole life to it. Support the show Patreon Leave us a review on iTunes Share us with your friends – favorite podcast, etc Join our Facebook group - Psychedelics Today group – Find the others and create community. Navigating Psychedelics Trip Journal                                              Integration Workbook             Show Notes About Hamilton He grew up in Silicon Valley He went to CU Boulder for Anthropology He was interested in humanity He wanted to travel and had opportunities to He had some near death experiences and accidents when he was younger The year after he graduated from college he would go into spontaneous awakenings and altered states of consciousness while totally sober He would have really intense visionary experiences in those states Those experiences were so powerful which led him into training and into his Ayahuasca experiences He felt without purpose and gave himself up to something greater He turned to shamanism to try to explain the nature of those experiences Spontaneous Awakening Kyle mentions that this can happen, that substances are not always required for an ‘awakening’ Hamilton says he wanted to connect to something other than himself The path took him to Peru, and there was a possibility of meeting people with Ayahuasca He was being called to it and knew they were real and it led to his ‘apprenticeship’ as a Shaman It wasn't by accident that he was there, he had visions that he was supposed to stay there and to learn Discernment Coming from a scientific background, he demanded (from the spirit guide) that the process be practical and grounded in reason and logic He used doubt in a way that he was able to use a lot of proof and truth toward his belief system rather than just being naive and believing these messages too early He couldn't envision how to evolve from the vomiting, defecating human on the ground to the composed shaman in the room Even though he spoke the language, he couldn't understand what the people were saying when they shared their stories It seemed like a different world to him The first few years were learning how to survive in the jungle and learn how to live off of the food He says it was like reliving his childhood, he had no idea how to walk through the forest like he knew how to walk down a street growing up The first house he lived in out of college was one he built himself with locals These experiences were so far from what he grew up in Toward the end of his apprenticeship, ceremony started to look less impossible and more of something he would dedicate his life to Spirit In the indigenous communities, everybody sees spirits, especially at night And not just in the Ayahuasca culture, its everybody. They thought the jungle was literally alive with spirits They would say things like “call me if you need me” and they meant it telepathically Hamilton says “sure enough, they do answer when you call”. He was in Southern Peru at a pizzeria, and they were in ceremony, and they started to call to him He had to excuse himself from the table and go o