Fellowship of the River Course 2023
The above photo is a painting I (Joseph Rodriguez) did composed of the chacruna plant at the bottom with the red bulbs, to the right with the pink flower is a part of the master plant called Bobinsana, the center piece is a ceremonial cup filled with plant medicine, the blue-green to the left represents a river in Peru, and the designs at the top of the painting are representative of sacred designs shown by master plants of the ceremonial brew.
The above audio was made by myself (Joseph Rodriguez) as a supplement to my overall final project for the Fellowship of the River Course 2023. It was made with the above painting in mind as well as with the emotions, experiences, and insights I’ve gained through this course and the Fellowship of the River book.
There is so much more that can be said about this course. I highly recommend experiencing the Fellowship of the River Course lead by Dr. Joseph Tafur, MD, integrative Family Physician, curandero, ayahuasquero, speaker, and author of his book, The Fellowship of the River, A Medical Doctor’s Exploration into Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine.
Before signing up for this course I was taking classes on curanderismo. Just as my courses were finishing up I saw Dr. Tafur had opened his application for students. I was uncertain if it was what I wanted to do but I figured I would sign up and see if I even would be accepted before making a final decision. I have watched many videos on youtube with presentations, podcasts, and more by Dr. Tafur in the past. I’ve been fascinated by studies into epigenetics and I’m highly interested in the ties between the mystical world of plant medicines and modern medical science. The way Dr. Tafur presented his complicated studies and ideas just made sense to me and so I knew deep down I wanted to be a part of this course. It wasn’t much longer after applying that I received an acceptance email, the start of something new and exciting.
The layout of the course is very inviting and integrative. I was surprised and also unsurprised to see I was joining the course with superhero people of our world such as psychedelic therapists and healers. The class became much more of a community than a classical school setting. Classes were held once a week for two hours over Zoom and each week Dr. Tafur invited influencers within the psychedelic and indigenous communities. A couple of these people were Josie Begay-James, an indigenous Navajo native speaker, and Rachel Harris, a PhD psychologist with interest in psychospiritual development. Each of these invitees are passionate about what they do and they went in-depth about their works and traditional cultures. We all had an opportunity to ask questions of these amazing people. Of course, we also had the opportunity to ask Dr. Tafur any questions we may have had. His insight into indigenous Shipibo traditions, modern medical science, and many years of experiences as an ayahuasquero in Peru truly brought the class teachings altogether.
The experiences and sacred knowledge I’ve gained with the Fellowship of the River Course are not something you could acquire anywhere else in the world. This was truly an experience of a lifetime and I am honored and grateful to be a part of this amazing community brought together by Dr. Tafur. If you haven’t read his book, I highly recommend it!
