John Perkins - The World Is As You Dream It: Teachings from the Amazon and Andes

Just as the ruined landscapes we see about us are the visible dreams of the past, so any future world restored in its primordial loveliness must first come into being in the dreams that arise from the primordial depths within us. Without such dreams none of our efforts at purifying this toxic planet or establishing a viable mode of presence on the Earth will succeed. The dream not only drives the action, it also guides the action. Through John Perkinss narrative we learn this truth as it is taught with special vividness by the indigenous peoples of South America. Through them we are awakened once again to the wisdom we have forgotten for these many centuries.

Thomas Berry, author of The Dream of the Earth and The Universe Story (with Brian Swimme)

John Perkins is a gifted writer and blessed by the Great Spirit with extraordinary sensitivity and eloquence. This is a moving book of healing and belief in what people of the North usually think of as unbelievable.

Ipupiara (Bernardo Peixoto), Urueu-Wau-Wau tribe; Ph.D. anthropologist, University of Para, Brazil; advisor to Amazonian Exhibit, Smithsonian Institution.

A book of stunning power. Every page contains a lesson to be learned and love to be shared.

Cley Jenny Toscano, Peruvian Quechua healer; anthropologist; lecturer, San Marcos University, Peru, and American University, Washington, D.C.

John Perkins has lived, listened, talked, and flown with these extraordinary shamans. Now he takes us with him so we can heal the body of our souls and the dreams of the earth.

Gary Margolis, Ph.D., psychologist; author of Falling Awake; director for Counseling/Human Relations, Middlebury College

THE WORLD
IS AS YOU
DREAM IT

SHAMANIC

TEACHINGS

FROM THE

AMAZON

AND ANDES

JOHN PERKINS

Destiny Books
Rochester, Vermont

To Nase, the wind that travels through the forest blowing balance into all things

Authors Note

The events you will read about in the following pages are true. Some, especially those that involve shamanic healings, may stretch the limits of what our northern cultures perceive as credible. In addition to myself, at least five North Americans, including trained medical professionals, witnessed each of the healings and attest to its validity. All the events are re-created as accurately as memory, tape recordings, and scribbled notes permit.

Owing to the sensitive and potentially controversial nature of the material in this book, names and certain other details of people and places have sometimes been changed. This discretion is intended to protect fragile cultures and environments as well as to ensure anonymity.

As a direct result of episodes described in parts 2 and 3, a nonprofit organization known as Earth Dream Alliance (EDA) was established in early 1993. EDAs objective is to transform human consciousnessour collective dreaminto a more Earth-honoring one. My workshops and trips to take people to meet the shamans are now conducted in conjunction with EDA. A portion of proceeds from the sale of The World Is As You Dream It will be given by the publisher to EDA.

Many people contributed to The World Is As You Dream Itmen, women, and children who participated in my seminars and workshops, traveled by my side into the Andes and Amazon, and chatted with me on buses or around campfiresyou know who you are. You have heard me define shaman as one who journeys to other worlds and uses the subconscious, as well as waking reality, in order to effect change. You are shamans to me. The seed for this book was nurtured by our voyages together into those special worlds of friendship, healing, and inspiration. I owe you my eternal gratitude.

My publisher and friend Ehud Sperling traveled with me and encouraged me to reestablish old friendships with the Shuar in the Amazon. Not only has he been a support and kindred spirit to me personally, but he is also, through his business, providing a livelihood and a product that are transforming the lives of many people. I thank him for his love and applaud the example he sets. My thanks go to Estella Arias, whose undying faith in my writing made all of this possible and whose creativity has contributed so much not only to this book but also to the two preceding it. Thanks also to Cornelia Wright, whose editing wizardry brought form out of chaos. They, Leslie Colket, Larry Hamberlin, and others at Inner Traditions are working diligently to change the old materialistic dream into an Earth-honoring one.

I especially thank my family for their commitment and patience throughout all of this, for the journeys they have helped me complete, and for the ones they have taken with me. My mother and father opened the doors, and my wife and daughter continually encourage me to go out and explore new territory. My two Ecuadoran partnersguides, teachers, and mentorshave become brothers to me; their tenderness and strength have pulled me and so many others out of frightening and often dangerous situations. I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

Of course, above all I thank the great shamans. It is you who hold the torches that will light the pathways into the new dream. I am grateful beyond words to you as a group and especially to my individual teachersmen and women who are united in the belief that we can and must change, who honor Mother Earth, and who set inspiring examples for the rest of us to follow. You have sat with me and walked with me; shared your homes, food, and philosophies; and given me and others so much of your time, wisdom, and compassion. The World Is As You Dream It is your belief. This is your book.

Prologue

Only now, when the tribal peoples have almost gone, has the West awakened to the fact that, rather than their lands and possessions, it is their subtle abilities and specialized environmental wisdom, forged since the beginning of time, which are of paramount importance to us all. The new psychologies of hypnotic suggestion and creative visualization are increasingly aware that we are capable of infinitely more than the assumed constraints of physical laws on our bodies and minds would have us believe.

Lawrence Blair, Ring of Fire

Miami threatened to explode. The second trial was over. The jury had reached its verdict, but the announcement had been delayed. If the white police officer had been found innocent in the shooting of the black motorcyclist, the city would erupta repeat of the violence four years earlier following acquittal in the original trial, except this time the rioting would be even worse. Thousands of people had been homeless for nearly a year as a result of Hurricane Andrew. Thousands more were out of work. They were desperate and angry.

Helicopters circled the city. Sirens screamed. The message was clear: demonstrations would not be tolerated. Television screens were filled with helmeted police officers armed for war.

The university where I was lecturing had fortified itself. It was a liberal institution that offered generous scholarships to children of the poor neighborhoods surrounding its normally tranquil campus. Yet today its regents were terrified of the residents of those neighborhoods. The administration had given me and everyone else inside the universitys walls exactly one hour to either get as far away as possible or remain inside. The gates would close at 4:30 P.M., fifteen minutes before the verdict was to be announced.