Stanley Krippner and Joze Sulla will report their first-hand experiences with the three Brazilian religions that use the mind-altering tea, ayahuasca, as a sacrament. These religions are Santo Daime, Uniao de Vegetal, and Barquinha. In addition to spiritual growth, which is the major focus of the religious services, participants often report anomalous healing as well as telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance. „Channeling“ of various „spirits“ is a common phenomena, especially among the church members who have had special training. These religions are not longer confined to Brazil but have branches in Europe and even in the United States where they are being prosecuted by the attorney general’s office.
Stanley Krippner is professor of psychology at Saybrook Graduate School, and a former president of the Parapsychological Association. He is the recipient of the J.B. Rhine Award for Life-Time Achievement in Parapsychology and the author of eight volumes of Advances in Parapsychological Research as well as co-author of Dream Telepathy and Varieties of Anomalous Experience.
Joze Sulla is a graduate student at Saybrook Graduate School. He has made six trips to the interior of Brazil, doing fieldwork for his thesis on Santo Daime. He has learned to „channel spirits,“ especially songs that are now part of the musical legacy of several Santo Daime churches.