Gabor Mate Answers Questions About Ayahuasca

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Dr. Gabor Mate recently joined me at the Firehall Arts Centre, in Vancouver, for Q & As after my monologue Medicine, in which I describe my experiences on a retreat he led, which involved ingesting the Peruvian shamanic psychotropic tea ayahuasca. 

If you're in the Vancouver area, Dr. Mate will be doing more Q & As as the run continues until Feb 3 - check the Firehall Arts Centre's website for ticket details.

What follows are some excerpts from those Q & As. 

From Jan 3, 2013

Here are the questions he addresses:

-How did you come to work with ayahuasca

-How are the retreats you lead different from other ayahuasca ceremonies people might be leading

-How does a person integrate what they've learned on ayahuasca into their regular life

-What if you don't believe in the plant having a spiritual consciousness

-Can you reach similar self-knowledge without ayahuasca

-How is the tea made

-Have studies shown that ayahuasca can treat alcoholism

-Is ayahuasca addictive

-How was ayahuasca used traditionally

-Does everyone need healing in some way

 

 

Jan 4

 

And here are that night's questions:

 

gabor mate answers a question-Why is shame the deepest of the negative emotions

-What do you do if you encounter difficulties on ayahuasca

-How can you protect your kids from traumatic experiences

-Can ayahuasca be used to treat cancer

-Does being on anti-depressants mean you can't partake in ayahuasca

-Why are people becoming more open to exploring this kind of therapy

-What needs to happen for the powers that be to accept treatment of this kind

-Why is ayahuasca effective

 

 

This additional short clip is Gabor's response to seeing a show about the retreats he leads, and my inquiring about Gabor's process of psychological detective work. 

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6 comments

  • Comment Link Gregor Bingham Monday, 21 January 2013 20:57 posted by Gregor Bingham

    Thanks for this TJ... it's really impactful to have his perspective and erudition on this subject. I hope we do indeed have better politics in his lifetime.

  • Comment Link TJ Dawe Monday, 21 January 2013 22:22 posted by TJ Dawe

    Gregor - I hope so too. Maybe, once the pendulum swings the other way and the Conservatives lose power, there will be advances. Also, as Gabor says, as problems get worse and society gets more broken, the need to find solutions other than the ones we've been applying will become that much more apparent.

  • Comment Link Benjamin Tuesday, 22 January 2013 05:20 posted by Benjamin

    Awesome. I've been a Mate fan for a while. How can I get more information about Mate's retreats? Google reveals nothing!

  • Comment Link TJ Dawe Tuesday, 22 January 2013 17:48 posted by TJ Dawe

    There's a schedule on Dr. Mate's website of upcoming speaking engagements and seminars, but because of the nature of his retreats, they aren't posted publicly. In a more enlightened culture, there would be legal accommodation for healing work of this kind.

  • Comment Link Leslie Hodson Thursday, 14 February 2013 17:48 posted by Leslie Hodson

    Thanks you TJ for such an amazing life changing event, I've been paying it forward ever since :)

  • Comment Link TJ Dawe Thursday, 14 February 2013 18:45 posted by TJ Dawe

    Leslie - thanks so much for being there. Very glad the show reached you the way it did.

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