Tag Archives: Santo Daime

Good old St. Nick and Mestre Irineu

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Michael J. Melville

At the opening of the Christmas festival, which is dedicated to the Virgin of Conception, we sang the founder’s hymns. Mestre Raimundo Irineu Serra had a vision after drinking ayahuasca with the natives of Peru when he was a border … Continue reading →

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The Mystery of the Medicine

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Michael J. Melville

When it became clear last month that my sister would lose her home, I started looking for a new one. Two years ago I had moved in when she was recovering from surgery. We needed each other in her isolated … Continue reading →

Posted in I Ching, Santo Daime | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Ayahuasca, Syzygy, and Divine Light

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Michael J. Melville

I awoke to the sound of church bells.  I had parked my car by the park and fallen asleep there.  I was back in Santa Barbara.  It was Sunday morning.  I could still make it up the mountain in time … Continue reading →

Posted in Ayahuasca, Balancing male/female energy, Christianity, Individuation, Psychology, Santo Daime | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Bishop and Santo Daime

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Michael J. Melville

Because genuine religious experience comes from naive, primitive ground levels of the psyche, an open channel to our inner world is needed to connect with the Divine.  Ayahuasca provides the key needed to open that channel.  A religion based in … Continue reading →

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Water and fire, dragons meet

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Michael J. Melville

When we met it was my first Santo Daime Work.  He was my youngest son’s age and he greeted me like he was expecting me.  During the break I was sitting in a chair looking out to sea, watching the … Continue reading →

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Concentration and re-entering your body

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Michael J. Melville

One of the basic Works of the Santo Daime Tradition is the Concentration.  Ayahuasca is drunk, hymns are sung, and then as the medicine begins to “come on”, we turn out the electric lights, and meditate.  Only candles are burning … Continue reading →

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Core Shamanism

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Michael J. Melville

In 2010 my spirit son invited me to attend a Shamanism Workshop where I met Michael and Sandra Harner.  Having studied and used the principles of core shamanism (developed by Harner) in my personal work in dream journeys, I was … Continue reading →

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Flicker Feather Fan

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Michael J. Melville

Something told me to take my cedar box into The Work at Oshunmare.  It was the last time the Santo Daime community would be celebrating at the retreat center in the mountains overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  That was where I … Continue reading →

Posted in Ayahuasca, Rainbow Nation, Santo Daime | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Finding Your Voice

Posted on December 18, 2012 by Michael J. Melville

His therapist recommended a drastic change of his involvement in life.  The motorcycle helped, as did the body work, but he wanted more.  Raised in the fundamentalist American South, the young white man had a lot of hang-ups. He was … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday Padrinho

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Michael J. Melville

At Padrinho Sebastiao’s birthday celebration I received a very disturbing vision of the end of the world, as did others in attendance.  This hardly seems appropriate, if it is a gift from the Padrinho in the Spiritual Dimension.  The Apocalypse … Continue reading →

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