Dr. Joe Tafur, MD
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Explore how you can heal from unresolved experiences and emotional wounds through Indigenous wisdom and sacred ceremony — guided by a reputable physician in an integration of science and spirit — for a more holistic approach to health and wellbeing.
— Hippocrates
We’re in the midst of an accelerating physical and mental health crisis across the world — causing many to feel anxious, disconnected from their spiritual heritage, and deprived of an essential component in their lives.
Meanwhile, many would agree that the Western healthcare system is failing to help individuals address underlying emotional and psychological issues that are contributing to their disease.
But what if our system considered the invaluable knowledge and philosophy of Indigenous cultures — and stopped overlooking the healing properties of medicinal plants and spiritual practices that can lead to more balanced and sustainable healing?
This question has led us to a Psychedelic Renaissance — a time when an increasing number of experts concur that more integrative thinking is needed to heal unresolved experiences and emotions from your past.
There’s exciting research on psychedelic therapies that demonstrates their ability to contribute to a deeper healing journey — especially when combined with spiritual practices.
These types of treatments have been shown to inspire a renewed sense of self-awareness and personal growth, with an emotional and spiritual growth component. Moreover, they’ve been found to have a lasting positive impact on patients’ overall wellbeing and sense of purpose.
Dr. Joe Tafur, a Colombian-American family physician, has devoted his life to bridging the gap between modern medicine and Indigenous wisdom. He integrates both scientific and spiritual worldviews into his work as an integrative physician, academic, and traditional healer — bringing a unique perspective to healing through his experience with Amazonian plant medicine.
During this course, Dr. Tafur will discuss these unique experiences and integrative medical theories that combine the best of Western medicine and Indigenous healing practices. You’ll discover the wisdom of traditional Amazonian plant medicine, including Ayahuasca, and learn how it can help heal physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Dr. Tafur employs an impressive array of tools and techniques to help bridge the gap in healing and help his clients and students reach their goals. Utilizing love and emotional approaches alongside Indigenous wisdom and mystical approaches, he draws on data from neuroscience, psychology, and what’s known about mind/body interactions.
Traditional Indigenous culture functions with the understanding that in order to heal our relationship with nature, we have to heal our relationship with ourselves. Loving ourselves more also allows us to love nature and the ecosystem as a whole, creating a more connected and healthier world.
Throughout this enlightening course, you’ll ultimately explore this healing power of love and how it can expand your capacity to find your own inner healer.
During this informative and transformational intensive, you’ll:
- Discover how psychedelic medicines and traditional practices can help transform healthcare by addressing the emotional and spiritual aspects of health in addition to the physical
- Understand the history of clinical psychedelic medicine and its origins in Indigenous culture — specifically the role of Amazonian plant medicine and rituals
- Gain knowledge about the neurobiological processes of emotional regulation and healing — backed by the latest research and developments in psychedelic therapies and sacred plant medicine
- Understand the placebo effect and the concept of white magic in healing
- Explore the Prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor and its relationship to the Psychedelic Renaissance
- Understand the importance of harm reduction in the psychedelic therapy and sacred plant medicine movement — and how to promote safe and responsible use
- Explore the connection between emotional and energetic bodies and examine the healing processes initiated by psychedelic approaches and sacred ceremonies
- And much more...
Dr. Tafur will provide a comprehensive multidisciplinary experience that can empower one to live with greater balance, peace, clarity, and purpose — using a variety of tools and approaches, such as body scan meditations, traditional energy healing techniques, and many other empowering techniques.
Ancestral wisdom gives us the spiritual growth we need for deeper healing. In that sense, spirituality and health are one and the same, guiding us toward right relationship with ourselves, our loved ones, our community, our world, and the universe.
If you’re ready to transform your healing process and access deeper levels of spiritual growth and wisdom, join Dr. Tafur and a community of like-minded individuals on this empowering, transformational, and life-changing journey.
What You’ll Discover in These 7 Weeks
In this 7-week informative and transformational intensive, Dr. Tafur will guide you through the fundamental insights and competencies needed to understand how psychedelic treatments and sacred medicine ceremonies can help us overcome rigid thinking patterns — and access unresolved past experiences and emotional traumas.
Join the Livestream — or Stream Later to Watch at Your Convenience
You’ll connect with Dr. Tafur and experience his teachings through livestreaming video via any connected device. This connection is easy to use and will enhance the impact of Dr. Tafur’s transmissions. Can’t make it live? After each class, you can stream the video and audio recordings to enjoy anytime and anywhere at your convenience.
Course Sessions Tuesdays at 9:00am Pacific
This course will feature LIVE teachings, interactive sessions, experiential practices, and Q&A with Dr. Tafur. Each session will build harmoniously upon the previous ones, so you’ll develop a complete holistic understanding of the practices, tools, and principles you’ll need to integrate both scientific and spiritual worldviews into a more comprehensive understanding of spiritual healing.
Module 1: Revolutionizing Healthcare — Introducing the Intersection of Spiritual Healing & Science for Emotional & Spiritual Wellbeing (June 13)
We’re on the brink of a new era, where psychedelic medicines and traditional practices are being integrated into mainstream medicine. This marks a significant shift in the way healthcare is approached, and it echoes the ancient Prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor. Our aim is to explore this prophecy in relation to the Psychedelic Renaissance, and how emotional and spiritual dimensions of healthcare are being reintroduced into modern medicine.
Clinical psychedelic medicine has its roots in ancestral culture, and we’ll delve into its history and origins. Dr. Tafur will provide insight into how psychedelic medicines can revolutionize healthcare by addressing the emotional and spiritual aspects of health, in addition to the physical. We’ll also examine traditional Amazonian plant medicine, including ayahuasca, and its role in healing emotional and spiritual issues.
Dr. Tafur will discuss how psychedelic medicines and traditional practices are being integrated into modern healthcare. His perspective has the potential to bring about a significant change in the way you approach healthcare and represents a crucial step forward in addressing the emotional and spiritual aspects of health.
In this module, you’ll:
- Discover the re-introduction of emotional and spiritual dimensions in modern medical models, and how it revolutionizes healthcare
- Explore the Prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor, and its relationship to the Psychedelic Renaissance
- Understand Shipibo curanderismo and traditional Amazonian plant medicine, including ayahuasca, and their roles in emotional and spiritual healing
- Learn about the history of clinical psychedelic medicine and its origins in Indigenous culture
- Experience the "Opening Energetic Space" meditation and its potential to enhance emotional and spiritual wellbeing
Module 2: Psychedelic Therapies & Traditional Approaches for Improved Emotional Regulation — Including Understanding Risks & Harm Reduction in Clinical & Sacred Plant Medicine Settings (June 20)
To heal emotionally and spiritually, you must overcome rigid and narrow thinking patterns that close your minds to your hearts. While these patterns may function as protective mechanisms, in the long run they end up blocking out unresolved past experiences and limiting access to your emotional bodies. Explore how traditional approaches and psychedelic therapies are helping engage related processes and transform mental perspectives.
As we discuss the exciting potential of these therapies, Dr. Tafur will also address the associated risks and harm reduction in psychedelic therapies and sacred plant medicine work. He provides a comprehensive and balanced perspective on these emerging therapies and traditional approaches.
In this module, you’ll:
- Discover proposed mechanisms in psychedelic medicine and assisted therapies, including the neuroscience, mystical experience, and emotional breakthrough
- Explore how ancestral wisdom is being incorporated into modern healthcare practices, including psychedelic therapies
- Understand the importance of harm reduction in the psychedelic therapy and sacred plant medicine movement‚ and how to promote safe and responsible use
- Gain insights into the latest research and developments in psychedelic therapies and sacred plant medicine use
- Experience a Self-Care and Protection meditation technique for use to prepare for or during spiritual experiences
Module 3: Explore Mind-Body, Emotional-Energetic Connections, Psychedelic Approaches & Sacred Ceremonies to Achieve Spiritual Healing (June 27)
Explore the connection between your emotional and energetic bodies — and examine the healing processes that can be initiated by psychedelic approaches and sacred ceremonies.
As you begin to open your mind to your heart, you’ll regain access to your feelings and senses and become more aware of what needs to be healed in your emotional body, such as prior emotional traumas and unresolved emotional processes.
Through modern scientific understanding of the mind-body connection and your emotional biology, you’ll gain insights into the relationship between your belief systems and emotional health.
In this module, you’ll:
- Discover the benefits of psychedelic medicine and spiritual approaches for healing PTSD
- Explore the role of the emotional body in limbic healing and the psychoneuroendocrine immunologic network (PNEI)
- Understand the placebo effect and the concept of white magic in healing
- Gain knowledge about the neurobiological processes of emotional regulation and healing
- Experience an Interoception (sensing internal signals from your body) and Body Scan meditation
Module 4: Mystical Approaches to Modern Problems — Understand the Healing Power of Psychedelic & Spiritual Therapies to Address Emotional Trauma & Improve Resiliency (July 11)
Unresolved stress and emotional trauma can accumulate in your emotional body, which can manifest as allostatic load, or wear-and-tear on the psychoneuroendocrine immunologic network (PNEI). This can lead to various physical symptoms and psychosomatic illnesses.
Psychedelic therapies have shown great promise in helping individuals access and process unresolved emotional trauma. When properly supported, these therapies can encourage a deep sense of healing in the emotional dimension, which can translate into physical healing as well.
Whether you’re dealing with unresolved emotional trauma or simply seeking to deepen your emotional and spiritual understanding, this module offers valuable insights and practices to help you achieve these goals.
In this module, you’ll:
- Explore limbic healing and its significance in emotional and physical health
- Understand the implications of repressed trauma in mental and physical healthcare
- Discover the connection between energetic healing and neurogenic inflammation in the physical body
- Learn about traditional energy healing techniques such as Shipibo icaro and healing songs
- Experience a limbic resonance meditation — a practice to promote emotional regulation
Module 5: Love & Healing — Psychedelic & Traditional Approaches to Experience the Healing Power of Love in Mental, Physical, Emotional, & Spiritual Wellbeing (July 18)
Explore the healing power of love and how it can positively impact your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. We’ll delve into the traditional process of becoming a healer through apprenticeships and how individuals expand their emotional and energetic capacity. This will help you understand how to find your own inner healer.
To illustrate these concepts, we’ll examine specific cases presented in Dr. Tafur’s book, The Fellowship of the River, and connect them to modern practices of psychedelic therapy. We’ll also discuss traditional beliefs surrounding susto, soul loss, and soul retrieval — providing you an understanding of the rigorous training that healers undergo in traditional healing practices.
Through your exploration of these topics, Dr. Tafur will provide a deeper understanding of the profound ways in which love can facilitate healing and transformation.
In this module, you’ll:
- Discover A General Theory of Love , a book about the science of human emotions and biological psychiatry, written by Thomas Lewis — which explains the limbic system and how radiating a loving presence can have a powerful impact on your wellbeing
- Explore the traditional Shipibo Curanderismo and their practice of la dieta de aprendizaje (apprenticeship)
- Understand susto, soul loss, and soul retrieval through case studies and anecdotes that illustrate what it looks like in real life
- Learn spiritual approaches to address stress wear-and-tear, unwind trauma, and restore balance to the heart, body, and soul
- Experience a “Song of Healing” — and a meditation to access the energetic body
Module 6: Transforming Trauma — Advance Your Understanding of Spiritual Healing to Transform Your Deepest Wounds & Facilitate Emotional Wellbeing (July 25)
Explore how emotional trauma and stress can accumulate in your body, leaving epigenetic imprints that impact your wellbeing. However, just as stress and trauma can cause harm, practices like love, meditation, and spiritual remedies can promote healing and transformation.
Traditional teachings emphasize that trauma wounding impedes spiritual development — which also means that trauma healing can help you access the mystical realm. By exploring trauma healing as a frontier of consciousness work, you can gain a deeper understanding of the connection between trauma, healing, and spiritual growth.
In this module, you’ll:
- Discover the transformative power of mystical experiences and how they can support post-traumatic wellbeing
- Access your inner visionary guidance and explore how it can facilitate healing and transformation
- Understand the relationship between epigenetics, trauma biology, and inheritable stresses and how they can manifest in the emotional body
- Learn about the potential for release through psychedelic therapies and spiritual healing techniques
- Experience a meditation to facilitate an energetic cleansing process within yourself
Module 7: Whole-being Healing Through Forgiveness, Compassion & Gratitude — Psychedelic Therapies and Sacred Ceremony in Modern Healthcare (August 1)
Explore the profound impact of spiritual healing on your emotional wellbeing. Through practices such as psychedelic therapies and plant medicines, you can release negative energies from your emotional body and transform them through self-love, forgiveness, compassion, and gratitude. However, the integration process is crucial for sustaining these benefits and maximizing their potential.
We’ll delve into the modern understanding of forgiveness, compassion, and gratitude in the healing process — from both a traditional and scientific perspective. By continuing the integration process, you can reap the full benefits of these practices and access even deeper levels of mystical awareness.
In this module, you’ll:
- Discover updates on relevant epigenetic research
- Understand the medical understanding of the role of forgiveness, compassion, and gratitude in spiritual healing
- Explore anecdotes describing how forgiveness, compassion, and gratitude manifest in trauma healing
- Learn many important considerations for the integration of deep healing experiences
- Experience a meditation for closing energetic space
The Psychedelic Renaissance Bonus Offering
In addition to Dr. Tafur’s transformative 7-week online course, you’ll receive this special bonus offering to complement the course and take your understanding and practice to an even deeper level.
Live Bonus Q&A With Dr. Joe Tafur
Live Video With Dr. Joe Tafur on August 8 at 9:00am Pacific
Dr. Joe Tafur will attend a live Q&A session to answer questions from participants as a follow-up to his thought-provoking course. This session offers an invaluable opportunity to reconnect with fellow participants and delve deeper into topics related to healing and spirituality that may have arisen as you all integrated your course experience. Join us on August 8 at 9:00am Pacific for this enriching experience that promises to further your personal growth and enhance your understanding of the transformative power of shamanism!
What People Are Saying About Joe Tafur, MD...
— Simran Sethi: “To Study With Dr. Joe Tafur Is to Receive an Immersion in the Place Where Spirituality and Western Medicine Intersect”
— Tawny Gamboa: “I’m Forever Grateful to Dr. Tafur. He’s an Exceptional Teacher”
— Dr. Miyabe Shields: “What I Learned from Dr. Tafur Has Changed My Perspective on My Life and My Research”
— Tony Hoare: “Joe Has the Knowledge, But What Separates Him Is His Heart”
“Dr. Tafur provides an authoritative explanation for ayahuasca’s cures by drawing on data from neuroscience, psychology, and what is known about mind/body interactions.”
Much has been written in recent years about ayahuasca, the Amazonian brew that evokes visions and insights. Less has been written about its healing potentials, but Joe Tafur, MD, has filled the void with his remarkable book. Dr. Tafur provides an authoritative explanation for ayahuasca’s cures by drawing on data from neuroscience, psychology, and what is known about mind/body interactions. He also candidly points out the brew’s dangers and limitations, noting that ayahuasca is no panacea. The importance of this book cannot be underestimated; the suggestions given for medicine, psychotherapy, and spiritual awakening could transform institutions and societies as well as individuals and their families.
— Stanley Krippner, PhD, professor of psychology at Saybrook University, and co-author of Demystifying Shamans and Their World
“This is the medicine of the future, the big answer to what ails us in the West.”
This is the medicine of the future, the big answer to what ails us in the West. For millennia, the doctor and the medicine man were one and the same person. Dr. Tafur takes us into the heart of the Amazon and shows us how spirit can heal the body, how love can repair the soul, and how awakening to our higher purpose and mission in life can open the doors to health and long life. Brilliant!
— Alberto Villoldo, PhD, bestselling author of Shaman, Healer, Sage and One Spirit Medicine
“Dr. Tafur’s timely book takes us on an enchanted adventure through the emerging world of Amazonian shamanism.”
Dr. Tafur’s timely book takes us on an enchanted adventure through the emerging world of Amazonian shamanism. All along the way, he engages the reader with personal stories that illuminate his exciting and evolving philosophy of medicine and healing.
— Andrew Weil, MD, bestselling author of Spontaneous Healing and 8 Weeks to Optimum Health
“This book makes a strong case for the synergetic fusion of modern and traditional medicine to create a newer, more powerful paradigm...”
This book makes a strong case for the synergetic fusion of modern and traditional medicine to create a newer, more powerful paradigm that recognizes the primacy of the human mind in healing. This partnership of the two, he shows, is especially powerful in the treatment of conditions long considered to be beyond the reach of conventional medicine.
— Dennis J. McKenna, PhD, assistant professor at the Center for Spirituality & Healing at the University of Minnesota, and author of The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss: My Life with Terence McKenna
“Joe Tafur offers a long-awaited, sensitive, and honest demystification of the importance of considering alternative therapies in healing...”
Joe Tafur offers a long-awaited, sensitive, and honest demystification of the importance of considering alternative therapies in healing, and in particular ayahuasca’s powerful medicine. He does not romanticize its properties or the practice, giving the medicine a solid foundation in its rightful place amongst healing alternatives. Alongside careful scientific research, he offers solutions to real-life issues.
— Mbali Marais, traditional healer and founder of Return to Origin
Join the Global Community
Bridging Science & Spiritual Healing in the Psychedelic Renaissance offers some of the most transformational online teachings available, within a thriving global community of learning and practice.
Join fellow students and practitioners to support and inspire each other as you integrate the teachings and practices Joe Tafur, MD, will share in this powerful course.
You’ll join an international community on the leading edge of manifesting a world grounded in the principles of cooperation, harmony, and reverence for all of life.
Here’s What You’ll Receive
Seven 90-Minute Class Sessions With Joe Tafur, MD
Experience a unique opportunity to be mentored by and learn from integrative family physician Joe Tafur, MD, co-founder of Modern Spirit — from the comfort of your own home. Each class session includes a livestreaming video option and will guide you to explore the unique perspective of a contemporary healing arts bridge-builder. Course sessions are on Tuesdays at 9:00am Pacific.
Seven Video Recordings of Class Sessions
After each class, the video will be available for you to stream in a high-quality format. You’ll never have to worry about missing a session, and you can watch anytime and anywhere at your convenience.
Seven Audio Recordings of Class Sessions
After each class, the audio will be available for you to stream. You’ll never have to worry about missing a session, and you can listen anytime and anywhere at your convenience.
Seven Transcripts of Class Sessions
You’ll also receive the entire class transcription after each session is completed. You can then review, print, and highlight the most important insights and practices you were given.
Seven 30-Minute Interactive Group Practice Sessions
With live class attendance, there will be a 30-minute optional interactive practice session directly following each class. You’ll be placed in an intimate group with several other participants on the Zoom call to interact, share, and do additional practices to help further integrate the weekly lessons. Practice sessions are available for live attendance only and are not recorded for playback. If you’re unable to attend the calls live, the Facebook online community group allows you to connect with each other and find alternative times to interact.
Interactive Exercises and Questions for Each Lesson
Between class sessions, you’ll have the option of completing related exercises, practicing new tools, and answering questions to accelerate your learning and integrate each week’s lesson.
Online Community
Our exclusive Facebook online community is the perfect place to continue your discovery process after each class. Here, you can continue the discussion about your course materials and interact with your fellow students to take your exploration to an even deeper level.
The Bridging Science & Spiritual Healing in the Psychedelic Renaissance Bonus Offering
- Live Bonus Q&A With Dr. Joe Tafur
Live Video With Dr. Joe Tafur on August 8 at 9:00am Pacific
An Unprecedented Opportunity to Join the Online Course, Bridging Science & Spiritual Healing in the Psychedelic Renaissance
We feel honored that Joe Tafur, MD, has chosen to partner with The Shift Network to offer this exclusive LIVE online course. This is a unique opportunity to interact directly with an integrative family physician and the co-founder of Modern Spirit whose powerful insights and pioneering work are helping us heal and awaken ourselves and your world.
If you’re serious about overcoming rigid thinking patterns and accessing unresolved past experiences and emotions, then you owe it to yourself, your loved ones, and our world to take this one-of-a-kind course.
If you’re ready to take the next step in your own evolution, click the register button below to reserve your space now.
Your Satisfaction Is 100% Guaranteed!
Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed! If you don’t absolutely LOVE Bridging Science & Spiritual Healing in the Psychedelic Renaissance — or don’t feel that it meets your needs — please submit your refund request form on or before June 27, 2023 and we’ll happily issue qualifying customers a refund.
More Praise for Dr. Joe Tafur, MD...
“I absolutely loved everything about this course!”
I absolutely loved everything about this course! It was fascinating to hear about Dr. Joe Tafur’s training, both as a doctor and as a curandero in the Amazonian jungle.
— Cindy Rhodes, licensed clinical mental health counselor
“I truly appreciated Dr. Tafur’s wisdom and teaching abilities.”
This course was so helpful and empowering as a mental health professional. I truly appreciated Dr. Tafur’s wisdom and teaching abilities.
— Celisa Flores, PsyD, clinical psychology
“A great balance of intellectual learning, storytelling, cutting-edge research, and a beautiful weaving in of the healing power of the plant-spirits...”
A great balance of intellectual learning, storytelling, cutting-edge research, and a beautiful weaving in of the healing power of the plant-spirits through Joe’s incredible Icaros.
— Alexandre Jodun, holistic psychotherapist
About Dr. Joe Tafur, MD
Joe Tafur, MD, is a Colombian-American family physician. After completing his training at UCLA, Dr. Tafur spent two years in academic research at the UCSD Department of Psychiatry. After his research fellowship, over a period of six years, he lived and worked in the Peruvian Amazon at the traditional healing center Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual, training there as an Ayahuasquero. In his book, The Fellowship of the River: A Medical Doctor’s Exploration into Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine, through a series of stories, Dr. Tafur shares his unique experience and integrative medical theories.
He is currently a fellow at the University of Arizona’s Center for Integrative Medicine. With his spiritual community in Phoenix, Dr. Tafur co-founded the Church of the Eagle and the Condor (CEC). Dr. Tafur is also a co-founder of the nonprofit Modern Spirit; among their projects is the Modern Spirit Epigenetics Project, an analysis of the epigenetic impact of MAPS MDMA-assisted psychotherapy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What’s a virtual course?
A: It’s a great way to engage live and pre-recorded teachings and each other from the comfort of your home! All you need is a computer, mobile device, or telephone. If there’s more than one person in your household taking the course, you’ll each need your own connection. We use Zoom video conferencing to make it just like an in-person event, where you can ask questions and deepen your exploration of the course themes.
There’s no additional charge for connecting to Zoom with your computer or mobile device. Please note that dialing Zoom from your telephone is a toll call; your telephone service provider will charge you according to your existing long-distance calling plan. International access numbers are available.
“I’ve never seen a course so well put together ever...”
I had never participated before in an online course. The packaging, presentation, inclusion, and Facebook postings created a wonderful, safe cocoon within which to participate. I’ve never seen a course so well put together ever — not in all the years of taking college classes — and I had my doubts about doing an online course. The wealth of organization and ease of learning materials and support made this fun as well.
— Claudia F., Medford, Massachusetts
Can I still benefit from the course if I miss the live classes?
A: Absolutely! You can stream the recordings and download the transcripts of all course sessions, so you never need to worry about missing live calls. You can also engage with the full community and leaders in our private online community group.
Q: Can you tell me about the private online community group?
A: We’ll have a private online community group for all course participants on Facebook that will support you in making connections with others, sharing insights, engaging in discussions, and completing homework assignments that can supplement your transformational journey. You’ll have the ability to share your experiences, projects, and growth throughout the course.
Q: Are there scholarships available for this course?
A: Yes, we always make a certain percentage of spaces available for partial scholarships, for those who otherwise would not be able to enroll at the regular rate. If you’d like to apply for a scholarship, please review our guidelines, which include a link to our online application form.
Q: What’s your refund policy?
A: Your satisfaction with The Shift Network and this course is our highest priority! We offer a satisfaction guarantee so that you can sample the course risk-free. The deadline to receive a full refund is June 27, 2023. To request a refund, please click on this refund request form and submit your request. Qualifying refunds will be processed within five business days and an email confirming the refund will be sent. However, we’d love to have a chance to address and resolve your concerns first. If there’s something we can assist you with, please email us at support@theshiftnetwork.com and we’ll be happy to help! (No refund requests accepted after the above date or with scholarship awards.)
Q: How can I reach Customer Support?
A: Please visit our Customer Support Center, where you should be able to find the answer to your question or the solution to your problem. And if you can’t, you can submit an online request form and we’ll get right back to you.
