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Hello everybody. Episode 15 of the show is out. In this show, I spoke with my friend Joe Tafur. Joe and I met in the Amazon where we were both working at Shipibo plant-medicine centers, myself at the Temple of the Way of Light and Joe at Nihue Rao. Joe is a medical doctor and was drawn to come to the Amazon to work with and learn from traditional Shipibo curanderismo. Joe is a really interesting guy as he bridges the more ‘Western’ medical model with the more ‘traditional’ plant healing systems of the Amazon. Joe has immersed himself deeply into both worlds and has the ability to speak to them both and how they relate to one another and how to bridge them together, respecting and learning from both systems. I always enjoy speaking with Joe and I think you all will really enjoy this episode with him. And starting in two episodes, I’ll begin releasing extended interviews exclusively on Patreon. So check out the information on that below. Cheers!
YouTube: bit.ly/YouTubeUW
Apple : bit.ly/AppleUW
Spotify: bit.ly/SpotifyUW
Google: bit.ly/GoogPodUW
“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). After residency, Dr. Tafur completed a two-year Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship at the UCSD Department of Psychiatry. After this research fellowship, Dr. Tafur continued work as a Family Physician in the U.S., and then eventually started his work in the Peruvian Amazon. In 2011, he helped to found Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual, a traditional healing center in the Peruvian Upper Amazon. At Nihue Rao, Dr. Tafur underwent traditional apprenticeship in Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine and Shipibo curanderismo.
After years dedicated to his work in the forest, in 2017, Dr. Tafur stepped down as a business partner at Nihue Rao, in order to focus on new projects. In March of 2017, he published his book The Fellowship of the River: A Medical Doctor’s Exploration into Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine about his unique journey into spiritual healing work.
With his colleagues, he also started the nonprofit Modern Spirit, dedicated to demonstrating the value of spiritual healing in modern healthcare. In addition to education and community-building projects, Modern Spirit is currently focused on supporting the Modern Spirit Epigenetics Project, a groundbreaking substudy of the MAPS MDMA-assisted Psychotherapy research trial.
In 2019, Dr. Tafur and his colleagues Dr. Amalia Baca ND and Ray Baca opened the Ocotillo Center for Integrative Medicine, an integrative clinic in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. The Ocotillo Center offers naturopathic medical Services, integrative medical consulting, counseling, health education and hands-on-healing.
Dr. Tafur continues to lead Journeys to Latin America to experience Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine and Ayahuasca curanderismo. With his colleagues, he leads groups to Nihue Rao in Peru and elsewhere, guiding individuals through the process of spiritual healing and traditional education.
Dr. Tafur is very interested in education. At Nihue Rao, Dr. Tafur has supervised traditional learning opportunities for a number of U.S. medical students and therapists. Building upon ideas presented in his book, he has also developed several lectures and presentations. Working to bridge the worlds of modern science and traditional healing, he has been Speaking at a variety of conferences across the globe as well as at a number of medical schools, including the University of Arizona’s Center for Integrative Medicine, UCSD, Yale, Southwestern College of Naturopathic Medicine and the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. Dr. Tafur has also been the primary host of the Modern Spirit Podcast, exploring the intersection between biology, emotion and spirituality.”
To learn more about Joe and his work, visit https://www.drjoetafur.com and https://www.modernspirit.org
Joe’s book, Fellowship of the River can be found on Amazon at https://amzn.to/309k3lI
If you enjoy the show, it would be a big help if you could share it with your own audiences via social media or word of mouth. If you’re watching on YouTube if you could take a second and Subscribe to the channel and if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts to leave a starred rating and a short review. That would be super helpful with the algorithms and getting this show out to more people. Thank you in advance!
If you would like more information on plant medicine and the work I do, visit my site at: https://www.NicotianaRustica.org
And finally, with the pandemic, most people doing this work have been without access to work since March and the future is uncertain. If you are able to and would like to donate to the show to help out with new content that would be deeply appreciated. For just a few dollars a month you can subscribe through Patreon and it gives you some really nice added benefits like early access to shows, bonus episodes, and a chance to ask personalized questions.
To support this podcast on Patreon, visit: https://www.patreon.com/UniverseWithin
To donate directly with PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/jasongrechanik
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Music courtesy of Nuno Moreno. See his work at: https://m.soundcloud.com/groove_a_zen_sound and https://nahira-ziwa.bandcamp.com/
And please leave any questions or comments in the comment section or email at:
https://www.UniverseWithinPodcast.com
This will help me with ideas for future shows.
Thanks and until the next episode!