Ayahuasca has gained significant popularity these days in cities around the world. Why? What effect might ayahuasca be having on our culture? Does this psychoactive brew, which seems to inspire environmental action, simplified lifestyles and more communitarian behaviour, act as an antidote to frenzied consumerist culture? In When Plants Dream, Pinchbeck and Rokhlin explore the economic, social, political, cultural and environmental impact that ayahuasca is having on society. Part 1 covers the background; what ayahuasca is, where it is found, and its cultural origins. Part 2 explores the role and practices of the ayahuasquero in both Amazonian and Western cultures. Part 3 examines the medicinal plants of the Amazon, looking particularly at the ingredients in ayahuasca and their therapeutic qualities, covering the most up-to-date biomedical research, psychedelic science and psychopharmacology. It also covers all the legal aspects of ayahuasca use. Lastly in Part 4 Pinchbeck and Rokhlin question the future of ayahuasca. When Plants Dream is the first book of its kind to look at the science and expanding culture of ayahuasca, from its historical use to its appropriation by the West and the impact it is having on cultures beyond the Amazon.

About the Author
Daniel Pinchbeck is the bestselling author of Breaking Open the Head and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl. He co-founded the web magazine Reality Sandwich and the online platform Evolver.net. He was featured in the 2010 documentary, 2012: Time for Change and hosted the talk show, MindShift, on GaiamTV. He directed the think tank, Center for Planetary Culture. His essays and articles have appeared in a vast range of publications, including The New York Times, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and ArtForum, and he has been a columnist for Dazed & Confused. Sophia Rokhlin MSc is an author, a speaker and a nonprofit organizer dedicated to supporting the conservation of indigenous wisdom and territories.

Reviews
"When Plants Dream offers a standout survey of the accompanying quest for knowledge and transformation that this plant and others promise." - California Bookwatch

"When Plants Dream, by Daniel Pinchbeck and Sophia Rokhlin is the first book to set the Ayahuasca phenomenon in its proper context... All in all a tour de force. Highly recommended." - Graham Hancock



Book Information
ISBN 9781786785459
Author Daniel Pinchbeck
Format Paperback
Page Count 216
Imprint Watkins Publishing
Publisher Watkins Media Limited