Shipibo Curanderismo
Ancestral Healing Tradition
The Ayahuasca Foundation collaborates exclusively with Shipibo curanderos, embracing the profound and respected Shipibo healing tradition. At the core of Shipibo philosophy lies the principle of cleanliness—the belief that every living being is whole and perfect, but obstructed by obstacles that prevent the divine light from shining forth in its intended brightness and beauty. The removal or cleansing of the obstacles allows for our innate healing to be achieved. All living beings are guided by a powerful, intelligent force toward harmony and wholeness. This life force, often seen as divine or an expression of God, is thought to govern all things, from cellular repair to planetary movement, continually striving for balance and optimal health.
In our eight week initiation courses, Shipibo curandero don Enrique teaches this ancestral philosophy and the techniques of the ayahuasca plant medicine tradition to cleanse the body, mind, and soul to clear the way for the divine healing principle to achieve it goal and shine its light.
The Lopez Family
Shipibo Familial Lineage
The Ayahuasca Foundation collaborates closely with three curanderos from one Shipibo family rooted in multi-generational lines of healers. These curanderos are the culmination of ancestral knowledge, passed down and expanded through each generation, deepening the tradition’s reach and medicinal wisdom. The brothers and sisters of the current generation of this lineage hold a broad vision for this tradition, feeling a profound duty to share this wisdom not only with their children but also with students and retreat participants from around the world. In their view, spreading this knowledge brings humanity closer to healing, restoring balance within ourselves and across the planet. Through these teachings, the tradition evolves, carrying forward a legacy that fosters global healing and harmony.
Doña Angela embodies this evolution, as recognition of female curanderas in the Shipibo tradition has grown significantly in recent times, especially as indigenous healing practices have gained broader interest, allowing women to emerge more publicly as healers alongside men.
Family Bonds
Special Sibling Connections
The Shipibo approach to healing is rooted in the understanding that the work of the curandero is to open the world of spirits so that the spirits of plants and ancestors can guide and direct the healing processes. Through concentration and dedication in their plant dietas, curanderos build relationships with spirits that orchestrate the cleansing of obstacles preventing the healing energies from their movement to restore and maintain harmony on all levels. In their guidance for purification on multiple levels, Shipibo curanderos use a variety of medicinal plants, especially ayahuasca, to support holistic healing for the spirit, mind, and body. Through their ceremonies, they clear blockages and cultivate an ideal environment where this divine healing force can act unhindered, bringing each person toward harmony and well-being.
Don Rono is the youngest of the Lopez siblings and expresses his personality in his work with retreat and course participants receiving treatment in the Lopez familial lineage of Shipibo plant medicine. The Lopez siblings collaborate, advise, and learn from each other in their healing journeys.
Tree of Light
Noya Rao
At the heart of the Lopez family healing tradition is the spirit of the tree of light, Noya Rao. It is the central root of the tradition. It is the energy of Noya Rao that permeates the work done by these siblings in ceremony, in treatments, and in life. The spirit of Noya Rao is considered to be an enlightened being, with a consciousness that radiates peace, joy, and compassion. This spirit aspires to guide us through the process of letting go of all our negativity and darkness so that we, too, can shine with our own inner light and love.
In support of Noya Rao are four other powerful plant spirits, Bobinsana, Chullachaqui, Chiric Sanango, and Marusa. Recently, this Shipibo family has also begun connecting and working with a plant from outside of the Amazon rainforest, Blue Lotus, referred to as Padma Rao. The Lopez family and these incredible plant spirits work in a breath taking collaboration and performance of divine intelligence and grace. It is such an honor to have worked with the Lopez family since 2009 and to know them as friends and teachers.
Shipibo Plant Medicine
The knowledge of plant medicine and its connection to spiritual realms has been largely erased from modern belief systems, stripped away by scientific paradigms that deny the spiritual dimensions of life. Yet, through the study of ancient cultures, we are reminded of a timeless truth: we are, at our essence, spiritual beings. At this level of existence, we possess potential far beyond our current imagination. By embracing this truth and understanding our deeper selves, we can expand the limits of our true potential, accessing our innate power to heal ourselves and restore balance to our world through the wisdom of plant medicine. Many illnesses stem from afflictions within the spirit, realms untouched by conventional medical treatments aimed solely at the physical body. This aspect of healing has yet to be realized in modern medicine, where profit-driven industries often prefer to maintain illnesses and afflictions rather than to heal them.
Shipibo curanderos attune themselves to the high-frequency energies of plants and plant spirits, establishing a deep resonance that allows them to channel these potent energies into their patients. They understand that each plant has a unique spirit and vibrational essence, capable of influencing different levels of a person’s body, mind, and spirit. By connecting with these plant spirits, often through sacred icaros and ceremonial ayahuasca practices, they align themselves with the healing frequencies of the plant world. This alignment enables them to serve as conduits, guiding the plant energies to clear blockages, restore balance, and stimulate the body’s natural inclination toward harmony. This approach to healing transcends the physical and reaches into the energetic and spiritual realms, where plant spirits act as powerful allies, enhancing the healer’s intention and amplifying the effects of their work for profound transformation.
Spiritual Healing
Spiritual ignorance has pervaded nearly every corner of the world, and few now hold an intimate knowledge of spiritual dimensions and the vast power of the human spirit. Yet efforts to reclaim this wisdom are swiftly growing, including efforts to protect the Amazon Rainforest as a repository of ancient knowledge. At the core of this knowledge is the truth that every being is a spirit, like a whirlpool of consciousness in an infinite ocean of cosmic energy, and these ancient forests hold a depth of spiritual wisdom that commands our humility. Nature and its spirits are healers, guides, and teachers, possessing a profound wisdom, exquisite beauty, and unfathomable power far beyond human comprehension.
The practice of curanderismo emerges from ancient knowledge that enables communication with plant medicine spirits essential for survival and healing. With the guidance of ayahuasca, one can access the spirits of plants, animals, ancestors, angels, and other sacred beings. Much of the knowledge transmitted in this way concerns the preparation and use of plant medicines. Indigenous botanical wisdom, built on millennia of communion with plant spirits and their environment, continues to surpass conventional science in its depth and insight into medicinal plants. Through this refined tradition, curanderos maintain an unmatched expertise in healing practices, rooted in profound respect for the spirit of the natural world.