Tony Moss (I.AM.LIFE): So You Want to Be a Shaman?
Tony Moss is a respected teacher and plant medicine advocate who has been working with Ayahuasca for over 25 years.
On the show we discuss the concept of shamanism, as well as issues with ego and integrity that accompany that title. We talk about how someone can become an ayahuasca ceremony leader through apprenticeship and Tony shares his approach to handling “freakouts.” I ask Tony whether it’s better to experience Ayahuasca in the Amazon and we go deep on the importance of integration.
Tony is a musician, artist, and founder of I.AM.LIFE, a non-profit event production project focused on interconnectivity. Tony is a public advocate for the decriminalization and responsible use of all plant medicines and is passionate about the synthesis of indigenous and modern world views.
Tony has lead enough ceremonies in legal jurisdictions to see the patterns that aspiring facilitators must be aware of. There’s no substitute for practical facilitation experience, no matter how much you’ve studied, which is why we need elders like Tony Moss to continue to guide the movement of psychedelic medicine.
Timestamps
:04 Is Tony a Shaman?
:09 Does Tony train other facilitators?
:13 Handling freak outs
:22 How folks can apprentice with Ayahuasca
:27 Is it better to do ayahuasca in the Amazon?
:37 Ego and shamanism and the authentic wanting to be seen
:46 Why does Tony work with Ayahuasca
:56 Without integration you’re just tripping
:59 Tony speaks to therapists