San Pedro, The ?Miracle Healer?
SAN PEDRO, THE “MIRACLE HEALER”
By Ross Heaven
The Western world is increasingly familiar with ayahuasca, the visionary brew and “plant doctor” of Amazonian shamans, thanks to celebrities like Sting and Madonna who have drunk it and television programmes like Bruce Parry’s Tribe and Amazon, which showed the presenter drinking ayahuasca in the jungles of Peru, during which he experienced, he said, some of the most profound insights of his life.
Scientific studies carried out by Western doctors have also demonstrated the effectiveness of ayahuasca in curing illnesses that orthodox medicine finds it hard to address. Especially impressive is its ability to help people overcome drug and alcohol addictions, with a success rate of 70% through the use of ayahuasca alone.
Less well-known, however – but no less effective – is another of Peru’s visionary healing plants: San Pedro. Like ayahuasca, it has been drunk for thousands of years in shamanic healing ceremonies and through it there have been a number of ‘miracle cures’ to a variety of illnesses, including cancer, diabetes and paralysis, as well as emotional and psychological problems such as depression and grief.
So what is San Pedro, how does it work and how might it be helpful for us in dealing with the issues we face?
I first drank San Pedro in 1998 during a trip to Peru ostensibly to work with ayahuasca. A chance meeting with a shaman, however, led to an opportunity to drink San Pedro as well and I found myself in ceremony.
I have to say that there were no great visions or divine revelations for me that first time. Instead of healing