Customer Reviews

The Hummingbird's Journey to God: Perspectives on San Pedro; the Cactus of Vision

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Ross Heaven is the author of "Plant Spirit Shamanism", "Vodou Shamanism", and many other books on the subject. A psychologist, healer, and founder of the Four Gates Foundation he is an expert on the teachings and healing practices of indigenous wisdom. I was particularly interested in this book not because of my my previous knowledge of his work, but that there are very few books in the market on the plant teacher cactus called San Pedro, or Wachuma.

Heaven gives a nice, easy-to-read account of the history, use, and healing philosophy behind San Pedro. What makes the book engaging is his expressive opinions on certain ritualistic practices, though he is quick to encourage everyone to discover what is right for them: traditional or non-traditional practices, wherever San Pedro guides you. He also includes a very interesting chapter on psychosomatic illness. Excellent stuff!

I usually like to pick a quote out of the book I am reviewing that best encapsulates the overall atmosphere of the work: "San Pedro is another route to opening the door behind which our true capabilities have been locked away by our culture." Heaven eloquently examines the conflicts arising from the Western perspective of the natural world and how San Pedro's teachings are applied. A very relevant discussion to be had in this day and age.

There are few books about entheogens that are either not dry scientific essays or self-promoting glory stories, and are genuine gems of experience. This book is one of those gems. Ross shares with us his own, and other's, experiences of San Pedro. I appreciate that he shows us the simplier approach of La Gringa's (daylight) lineage as contrasted to the syncretic theatre that is often present in Andean San Pedro ceremonials.

There are so many gems, and secrets, about San Pedro and the experience that this is a worthy read to anyone doing any level of research involving San Predro or Andean shamanism in general. We can only hope that more authors come forward to provide these kinds of information on ancient ways to view our world and it's, and our, healing.

If you are interested in information about South American plant medicine delivered in an informative manner, which captivates the reader, you will want this book in your personal library. As I read this book I was drawn in like it was a novel rather than non-fiction. I loved it! I found the personal interviews and stories very interesting.

Ross Heaven has written a few books and this one on San Pedro is one of the better ones. He is honest and forthright in identifying statistical shortcomings and allows the reader to form their own ideas. The area of San Pedro doesn't have a great variety of information beyond the stereotypical 'PC' academic 'all altered states are bad!' and this book is a welcome addition.

San Pedro has the ability (when approached respectfully and with clear intent) to change lives and health states profoundly and very much for the better. This book conveys much of the amazing San Pedro without overwhelming the reader in pseudo-spiritual hyperbole [very 'well done' to the author for this!]

The good - Well organised and readable! In many cases, the author has a clear point to make and sets about leading the reader there in a clever narrative. Ross Heaven also avoids the whole 'Noble Savage' concept, which is also a welcome relief from some of the other texts on these types of subjects. His descriptions and interviews are clear, well articulated and nicely framed within the context of the book's flow.

The bad - There are a few spots where it truly feels like the publisher wanted some more pages after the fact and the resulting text is, unfortunately, quite aimless and poorly integrated (the circumstances of writing are unknown to me - I am using this as an illustration, not portraying events unknown to me).

The last word - For anyone intending to use San Pedro or partake in shamanic work, this book is a valuable and worthy library addition. Especially where the eitiology of some shamanic practices are questionable, the author shares some pertinent points and the opinions of others highly qualified to comment. This book will stay on my bookcase and will probably be read again a few more times.

P.S. - The interview with La Gringa is a gem and shares much of the nature of San Pedro shamanism in a very approachable way - well done!

Really nice book about San Pedro cactus and it's uses in shamanism. I like the paper , has a nice feel too it, the cover has a really cool green color reminds me of san pedro cactus. Good book, i recommend it to anyone who likes Plants of the Gods, One River, books like that.

I got this book for my boyfriend who loves to study psycho active plants, especially cacti. From the moment he got this book he could not put the book down! He's learned so much from this book!! It's a must have.

i briefly glanced at this book, and i think describes the title in words they best it could, but then again i didn't read it, but i plan to