“My love and gratitude for Cyana & Brother Bear is so intense that I am at a loss for words. Their compassion, guidance, and wisdom are so out of this world amazing. ”

“ I wasn’t sure how it would be doing ceremony with a non-native maestro, but Bear helped me to feel so safe & received my concerns with a light heart & served me and 2 others the most magical experiences of my life. Any doubts or judgments I had about non-native curanderos were completely shattered to bits. His icaros shook me to my core, his care healed my heart, and his guidance helped me find the light in some very dark memories. He’s certainly no charlatan, he truly lives the medicine path, and a few of the teachings he offered, I will carry with me for life. As a therapist, I know how important this work is, and I pray that everyone out there who’s struggling can find their way to this beautiful man. He will not see you as your wound, like everyone else in the world, he will see you as the shining light you truly are. ”

“My first Ayahuasca Journey…

All the words can’t describe what an Ayahuasca journey is like, except that you have to experience it to understand self, your true self. Maestra Pamela and Brown /Brother Bear are truly masters of ceremonies. This was my first Ayahuasca journey of many more to come & they knew how to clear that sacred space for me to feel comfort & relief during this mind blowing, life changing journey, making it a safe space to heal from all the pain that I did not even realize I had suppressed for so long. I now know through this journey, that my body is truly my temple. Their music, song & instruments being used throughout the journey, had such a profound impact on me that my being now feels so much gratitude, love and respect for these beautiful souls. The level of mastery, skill & dedication it takes to transmute the energy, to allow individuals like myself to tap into a deeper level of their consciousness to learn, grow & become one with source is how powerful these 2 chosen beings give servitude to others. If only more of humanity could awaken to this Ayahuasca medicine, we would all be able to heal into this unified field to create heaven on earth. Namaste

”

“I’ve had a long dark night of the soul, & I felt like I was never going to be able to pick myself up all the way again. My heart ached incredibly, but now I am laughing just because I feel HAPPY, which is something I have not felt in a very long time.

It was hard to believe the true power of Mother Ayahuasca, but now I understand. The medicine did as I asked and took away all of that pain I had been harboring. I hadn’t even realized that I could let all the pain go. My time in ceremony with Ayahuasca offered me a reminder of not just Who I Am, but also Who I can Be. I am forever grateful, and without a shred of doubt, I know my life has changed forever, truly.”

“I easily did more healing at Avatar Centre than I’ve done in my entire life, & I have been walking my path of healing for many years. I walked away from a 14-Day Retreat with more self-love, clarity, peace, and confidence in myself than I really ever imagined possible. I can’t imagine having had this experience anywhere else, with anyone else. The plants are magical and powerful and such a beautiful & critical part of the healing which I experienced, but I think it’s just as important to have a pure, raw, and trusting connection with the curanderos one is trusting themselves into the care of. Pamela and Brown have easily become like family to me, and I know the connection with them will continue to grow throughout my life. I am excited to work with them again in the future, and I recommend them whole-heartedly for anyone looking to experience an equally beautiful, powerful, and transformative journey with the medicines.
”

“The deep physical & energetic cleansing & letting go that I experienced in ceremony cleared the space for me to see and feel clearly, & experience a very heightened vibration of presence. Ceremony with Pamela & Brown was a priceless gift, which I gave to myself, that will ripple out into the lives of my family, friends & community. It takes courage to go beyond “the devil we know” to explore the unknown, but the rewards of this leap of faith can be enormous. Pamela & Brown truly hold a space of unconditional love & deep understanding, before, during & after ceremony. Touch in with your heart & take the leap of faith that you need to align with the divine vine. It will likely be the best investment you ever make in your true self.”

“In preparation for an Ayahuasca Retreat, Brother Bear prescribed me a 30 day preparation diet. He explained that many people will only be doing 3-7 days, but because I had type 2 Diabetes, that he recommended me to do the diet for a month in advance. After just 2 short weeks, my blood sugar regulated and I no longer needed to take my insulin. Before the retreat even began, I had received more healing than I expected. The Retreat experience was powerful & taught how to forgive myself. I felt the full spirit of the jungle come over me every time they sang. Now 3 months post retreat, I still feel connected, am keeping up with the diet, and my doctor says that I no longer have diabetes. ”

“The Maestros Pamela & Brown, offered me an intimate glimpse into what right-relationship with Spirit can look like.
Learning about the faith and discipline required to shed self-imposed illusion, and to turn towards the light are some of the most poignant gifts of healing I’ve received. I felt so touched, inspired,
and deeply humbled to receive the truth, knowledge, and support that they both offered to me. Since the retreat, the perception of my own capabilities exploded in wonderful ways I couldn’t have previously imagined, and today, that perception just continues to expand! I cannot wait to return to Peru and study with you both and with Anael again. Thank you so so much for all you are
and all you give to the world and to others.”

“Sitting with Maestro Brown is more than just a medicine experience. The way he reads, guides, and clears with the mapacho spirit is unmatched and masterful. Truly Inspiring!”

“My experience doing four ayahuasca ceremonies with Maestro Brown was immensely healing as I prepared to get married. I had all kinds of turbo-charged fears & doubts from a lifetime of family trauma, that were obscuring my hearts truth, & no amount of meditation or talk therapy was helping. Brown’s skill in moving the energies, singing, & working with the medicine had an immediate & dramatic impact on me, clearing my psychic space & giving me the freedom to be in the present moment, in my heart. As a result, I shared my deepest desires with my husband-to-be(including a newly uncovered desire to have a child!), & we had an amazingly beautiful & sane wedding day & are now enjoying the beginnings of a powerful marriage. I will forever be grateful to Brown & the medicine for facilitating this deep resolution of very old, tired pain in me. It’s given me more freedom & joy than I had previously even dared to hope for.””

“I am forever grateful to Cyana’s sight and recommendations. After an ayahuasca ceremony, she gave me a mapacho reading, during which she saw that I had digestive problems due to parasites. I just completed the parasite cleanse she recommended, and for the first time in literally my entire life, I am not on any medications and am no longer suffering from heartburn. ”

““I came to ayahuasca to defeat this fear and anxiety which has gripped and controlled my whole life. I was granted this freedom and so much more. I feel overall that I have grown more in love, mind and spirit, understanding and connection in the last two weeks, than I have at any other point in my 35 years of life. I know I still have a long way to go, but I’m proud to say that I now feel confident in my path and my ability to shine.” My gratitude for Pam, Brown, Celia, Ayahuasca, Bobinsana & the icaros is infinite!” ”

“Working with Maestra Pamela and Maestro Brown, I was able to access much deeper levels of healing and awareness than I had anticipated. I was really impressed with how patient and careful they were in guiding me and the other participants through our preparation before ceremony, and I felt very supported and cared for during the ceremony itself.

I experienced both of them as having the ability to meet me and the other participants in such an attuned way, that a potent container of trust and power were created. They are truly special healers, bringing humility and compassion as well as rich and complex knowledge to their work. One week later I’m still feeling positive effects, as if deep structures are transforming within me. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to meet these 2 healers and receive their help on my path.”

““Before going to the Avatar Centre, I suffered immense and deep anxiety & panic attacks, childhood traumas and years of substance abuse. I spent thousands of dollars seeing the best psychologists available, and though they all helped, they never got to the core, the part which could empower and free myself, and help me live a life of more quality, and more space & freedom. I have that now, thanks to the whole team at the Avatar Centre. I spent one month doing an Ayahuasca dieta with a whole range of plants. The freedom that I experienced from the work we did there is still blowing me away now, & the benefits provided me with improvement in my relationships with my family, friends, & co-workers, as well as a clear connection to my own soul’s purpose. I can’t wait to return.” ”

“As a long-term survivor of PTSD, I have historically been reluctant to open to the flow of plant medicine. Until recently, I feared that lowering my guard would cause an onslaught of intrusive memories and flashbacks. With Maestra Pamela’s careful guidance, I began preparing my body and spirit. The mindful dieta and Pamela’s explanation for how to set my intentions allowed me to shed my fear and meet Mother Ayahuasca.
During the ceremony, the Maestros supervised and guided us - their clarity and abundant experience was evident to us all. I felt safe and protected, while having the space required to tackle my very old pain. Their beautiful voices carried me through what was, at times, a harrowing journey.
Weeks have passed and I am continuing to integrate the lessons I learned in the ceremony. I am forever grateful for Pamela and Brown — they are both humble & gifted healers, who enabled me to see life from a new perspective.”

“Having drunk with 7 shaman now over the course of 8 yrs, I can say that Maestro Brown’s brew is the first whose taste I’ve actually enjoyed. Guided by his melodic & traditional singing, it’s powerful inebriation took me into a deep healing & rejuvenation, as well as into an all enveloping enchantment. He is clearly well versed in the healing techniques of the jungle curandero & gives astonishingly accurate diagnoses. At all times I felt safe & cared for from his gentle but experienced manner, & have been inspired to learn more from him over the coming years.”

“4 Yrs Ago I entered into dieta at The Avatar Centre to cure the intense pain and discomfort I felt in my uterus and entire body due to my entering into early menopause. Maestro Brown prescribed a 2 part remedy made of the bark of 2 trees, the chuchuhuasi & uvos colorado. He put me on a strict isolated dieta at The Avatar Centre. I was to drink the remedy at sunrise and sunset, and I had to do an internal vaginal douche with the same 2 plants every day for 8 days. After just 15 days of dieta, the hot flashes, intense cramping and moodswings subsided, and after 4 years I can report that the symptoms never returned. ”

“My experience with Brown and Pamela was profound. I was able to heal family wounds both past and present. The care and love I received from these two amazing healers was delicate and genuine. Brown gives respect to Pachamama when preparing the medicine and I was able honor my passed matriarchs as well as let go of the things that do not serve me including alcohol and self doubt. I recommend this experience to anyone working on self-healing and appreciation for this beautiful life! All is love and love wins.”

“The Ayahuasca ceremony with Brown was beautiful! He and his wife Pamela show great respect for the medicine and each person participating. It is obvious they have a deep relationship with and understanding of many sacred medicinal plants and icaros (which were incredibly beautiful and moving). The individual attention and support they offer to each and every person in the ceremony is something special. Feeling very grateful to have met this couple and shared this experience/work with them. Muchas gracias y mucho amor!”

“I have practiced meditation for 24 years, & am astounded by the rapid positive shifts in psychological & physical tendencies following just one ceremony with Brown. At one month after ceremony, the bonds of negative mental & physical habits are loosened, my body is enlivened & responsive to which foods I need & should avoid, & my attraction to certain sights & smells has been refined to align with lighter more spacious sensibilities. The ceremony itself was an arduous experience, & Brown’s heart-centered presence was a beautiful compliment to the rigors of purification. I have been truly moved by his skill & generosity as a guide & healer, & touched by the compassion that radiates through him.”

““I’ve worked with a number of shamans & ceremony leaders over the years, & I just want to say that Brown & Pamela are utterly exceptional! I think it is sadly somewhat common for people who lead ceremony or shamans to be on weird ego trips or power games, and nonsense like that, but Brown & Pamela again and again have shown themselves to be so devoted to their altruistic missions to heal the people in their care. I’ve never encountered weird power tripping or anything like that with them, just the most honest, loving, present, skillful, perceptive attention that I am infinitely grateful for. When I think about Brown & Pamela, what really occurs to me, is that they are genuine healers, they are what doctors are supposed to be.
I know if ever again I hit a rough patch in my life & emotions, and need healing of trauma, I would go straight to them, because there is so much that our western psychology & medicine doesn’t know about healing the wounds of the soul. Of all the people I have met, Pamela & Brown are able to accomplish that, with the help of the medicines they work with, in a way that is utterly astounding, and just fills me with gratitude.”
”

“Offering a gentle, caring and nurturing approach to working with his patients, his work is easy to develop trust in, and can gently pry open your heart where it once was blocked, drawing with it a resurgence of love and gratitude for life. Brown is a young practitioner in his 40’s, with the wisdom & spirit of an elder.”

“Brown and Pamela have built an amazing and powerful healing center in Avatar. I spent 3 1/2 weeks there in October 2017. My experience was transformative. Brown has cultivated deep connections with master and healing plants of the Amazon through many years of dedicated practice. His connection with Mother Ayahuasca and icaros is powerful and his ceremonies sacred, strong and safe. He has an incredible capacity for compassion. Celia assisted with ceremony and with dieta at times. She is a strong curandera with magical icaros. Brown guided me through some strong dieta experiences expertly. I now have plant allies always with me. Pamela’s healing through vibrational repatterining and Ayahuasca yoga gave me insights and healing as well. The three of them together is beyond comparison to any other center I have experienced. Prior to meeting Brown, I had spent 2 months practicing dieta with three curanderos at three centers in Peru. Prior to that, I spent time apprenticing with an ayahuascero in the United States. I have worked at a healing center and facilitated Ayahuasca ceremonies. This time in Peru was for me to find someone who I could work with to further my own healing and learning in order to become my full potential. I found that with Brown, Celia and Pamela at Avatar center. In two days I return to Avatar for my last three weeks of this Peruvian journey. Words cannot fully describe my profound gratitude and respect.        ”

“I got to know the Avatar Centre during a very stressful time in my life. I could feel, day by day, how my energies became purified, clarified & recharged, from the care and hospitality of Maestros Pamela and Brown, the beautiful jungle surroundings, & of course the help of the medicine… I was blessed with the overwhelming feeling of home, which was something I truly needed to feel...to feel safe & protected in my life.”

“Ceremony with Maestro Brown is an absolutely magical experience! Drifting through dimensions with the soothing, ancient and traditional songs and sounds he masters. He is completely living out his purpose as a healer and ayahuascero, that is clear to me.

During his ceremonies, despite his western bloodline, he is without a doubt channeling the ancient ancestors and elevating what is known as energy healing to the next level. As an energy Healer myself and quite proficient with the blessing known as ayahuasca, my experience in ceremony with Brown has been unparalleled to any other time I have had with this medicine. Including my few weeks spent in the jungle with a family of indigenous Shipibo Maestros.

Having great respect for the indigenous heritage and culture with this medicine, I was blown away by Maestro Brown’s natural ability/fluidity in becoming one with everything the Shipibo medicine traditions are and so much more. In all my experience with this medicine I have been seeking to clear out stored trauma in my sacral chakra and wanting so badly to purge these traumas on this medicine to no avail. After being called up to the mat for a healing with Brown, within twenty minutes I began to purge my stored traumas, well into the next day; and am still glowing from my experience over a week later.

Working with these plant medicines is part of my soul purpose and life’s work, throughout this lifetime and many others and connecting with Pam and Brown has illuminated this vision and path for me. If you are looking for dedicated Healers and a strong brew, I highly recommend the Avatar Center!”

“Having drunk with seven shaman now, over the course of 8 years, I can say that Brown’s brew is the first whose taste I have actually enjoyed. Guided by his melodic & traditional singing, it’s powerful inebriation took me into a deep healing & rejuvenation, as well as into an all enveloping enchantment. He is clearly well versed in the healing techniques of the jungle curandero, & gives astonishingly accurate personal diagnoses. At all times I felt safe and cared for from his gentle but experienced manner, & have been inspired to learn more from him in the coming years.”

““After 4 long ceremonies with Brown at The Avatar Centre, given the weight of all I had to work through, I can easily say that my journey was ever-so enhanced by the loving and compassionate, power and insightful presence that Brown provided. He empowered me in the realization that this was my journey, and he was not here to heal me or to change me, but to support me in loving myself enough, to realize that I was not tainted or tarnished, and that my traumas had not branded me a damaged person, but that I was worthy, and that all along, through all of life’s challenges, I was still and always have been a symbol of beauty at the core of my essence, and that my own perfection comes out of realizing the natural flow of all I have experienced, and that it has all been here to strengthen me for the work my soul has been brought here to do. The support that Brown provided, allowed me to do my own work, and the space that he held, reminded me that even the work of confronting my own demons and traumas, and believe me there were many, was something sacred and even could be seen as beautiful, and a vital process in my journey to becoming the woman I want to be. The ayahuasca was incredibly strong for me, but not too strong for me to handle. The medicine helped me to see how strong I am really am, and that vulnerablility is not weakness, but actually a strength too, which allows me to fill with the love of the universe. During the hardest times in the ceremony, Brown seemed to be tuned in to my experience, knowing just what songs to sing to ease my mind, soothe my heart, and awaken my soul, bringing me strength to keep moving forward. Some think that a shaman should be of certain ancestral lineage, but experiencing the power and presence of an elder that Brown carried, helped me to see that healing souls come in all forms, in all ethnic and social backgrounds and colors of skin. These things are just forms that the vessel takes, and none of these are a testament of a souls work or power or purpose. The power a soul carries is something that can be felt, and perhaps if one is gifted enough to see oras and spirits around a person, then it too may be seen, but for me...it is a feeling and something that seems to activate a kind of higher knowing within myself. This higher knowing stated to me even before sitting in ceremony with Brown, that I could trust him...but more than him, I could trust his spirit. After sitting in ceremony with him, and receiving the nurturence of his flower baths, guided meditations, powerfully transcendent icaros and sacred spaceholding in ceremony, I am incredibly grateful and in awe to say that he may be the first man I’ve ever been able to fully trust in life, helping me to finally turn the page on some things. I have been with much feeling of burden, carrying with me for decades. If you are looking to ayahuasca, and seeking someone you can trust to help you through your journey, I can ever so highly recommend Brown or William Koroskenyi as some know him to take good care of you through the process. Even though it was a big journey for me, I can say with tremendous faith, that I will certainly be back, and will certainly bring others with me the next time I return, so that I may share this beautiful medicine with those I love.” ”

““Nearly two years ago, my husband Matt and I (though we were not married then) had decided we wanted to welcome a child into our lives together. We had only been together for nine months, but being 35 and 45 respectively at the time, that was all was needed to know that it was the right time and that we wanted this with each other.

This period, for me, was also marked with some darker shadows. Around the same time that we started trying to get pregnant, a long-time friend of mine had committed suicide. One day he woke up and told his wife, another friend of mine, that he was going out to buy clothes, and instead went and bought a gun and drove 50 miles outside of the city and shot himself. The other shadow was that a different friend, also of many years, had been diagnosed 9 months before with stage four rectal cancer and had been undergoing very difficult and aggressive treatments, and at the time (she has had clear PET scans for over six months now), did not look like she would very likely survive. So, these were the themes that were surrounding me on the day when I first met Brown.

Matt and I were both eager to participate in the ceremony that he was leading in October, 2015,a few months after we had begun trying for a baby. Matt had met Brown previously as a host for one of his ceremonies that was held in our house about ten months before, and he had very good things to say about it. That was a few weeks before we had started dating, so I wasn’t around for it, but I trusted Matt’s opinion. I was not new to ceremony, though it had been over a year since I had participated in one and I was looking forward to working with someone other than the person I had been attending ceremony with before. Matt and I picked Brown up, and we all drove to the home of the person who was the host this time. Immediately after meeting him, I felt a very deep connection to Brown, something that I couldn’t quite place, but he felt familiar and his energy comforting. During the ride, Brown shared with us the story of how he came to Peru, met his partner and saw a vision of his son, and came to become an Ayahuasquero and create his center. Until I heard the details of how he came to his new life, a part of me had some hesitation about how “authentic” a white, middle-class man from Pittsburgh moving to Peru could be as a shaman. As a person who strives for social justice, I am wary of appropriation of other cultures for financial gain. However, I knew after having a chance to talk to him that he was as genuine as I could have hoped for, and I could see almost immediately how open his heart was and how much he belonged in this role. Nothing of my experience of participating in his ceremonies or getting to know him has given me any other feelings than these. Plant spirits, as it were, could probably care less about which culture someone comes from. More importantly, what matters is the content of a person’s heart and their willingness to learn and grow and to be a vessel to facilitate the experiences that other people need. During the initial part of the ceremony, Brown made mention that he sensed death and cancer as a big issue in the room. This had, of course, resonated with me, so when he invited us to each come individually to talk with him privately, I had assumed that these issues were part of what the ceremony was going to be about for me. When I started talking to him about it, though, it became clear that these were not the main issues for me. What started to become evident is that issues surrounding pregnancy were. Brown asked me if I had had any abortions, and as I started to talk about the two that I had experienced, I could feel the dense entanglement of congested energy around my first and second chakras and the emotions that were stuck in my chest and in my throat. I realized that I was still living with a great deal of fears and guilt associated with my past experiences with pregnancy. During the main part of the ceremony, between the first and second offerings of the brew, Brown had been inviting people who felt the urge or desire to be worked with directly into the center of the circle onto a yoga mat that had been placed for that purpose. At a point when I saw an opening, I felt compelled to lay down to have Brown work with me. As I lay there with my eyes closed, I could hear Brown singing and chanting and moving over me with feathers. As he was working, I could feel rushes of very intense energy moving through me, emerging out of my uterus and being channeled out through my crown. Once he finished, I remember feeling a sense of hollowness in my hips that I hadn’t felt in a long time, with my awareness able to travel through in a way that it had not anytime I could think of in years. At some point after this experience a second dose of brew was offered and I felt compelled to drink more medicine. As I was drinking, I had a vision of the grandmother spirit instructing me to paint the walls of my uterus with the brew and so I imagined myself doing this. It was just after this that I had a vision of myself pregnant and accompanying this vision I heard a voice say that his name would be Logan. It was surprising to me, because this was not a name that I had ever thought much of, or ever considered as a name for my child. When I was home, however, I looked up the meaning of the name and came across something that claimed its meaning to be “of or from the Hollows”. It suddenly seemed fitting since the release my blocked energy had given me a feeling of my hips being ‘hollow’. At the end of the ceremony, Brown closed by moving from person to person and sharing some words about what he saw for them, and as he approached me, laughing a beautiful laugh, he told me that he saw me as a pregnant and worry free and that he saw a child coming to Matt and I. About a week and a half later, with a few symptoms to encourage me, I took a pregnancy test and both my, and Brown’s vision were confirmed. Today, my son Logan is 10 months old.” ”

““After spending the last 23 days in the Amazon jungle at the Avatar center, I have been truly transformed. I completed the dietas required for my healing, and worked together with Ayahuasca & other plant medicines, which have all proved to be amazing.Pamela’s ability to channel is strong, & her visions are precisely accurate. She was able to offer me significant guidance in regards to the effect of spirit entities on my life. She has given me the understanding guidance I needed, & the practices I need to pursue for the ongoing protection of my body & spirit.Brown’s knowledge & expertise with the plants is astonishing to say the least. His Icaros are incredibly powerful, beatiful to listen to, and healing on a deep level. With the help of Ayahuasca as a guide, he is able to pin point which areas of your life would benefit from adjustment, and then offer a plant or plants which most resonate with the condition, and therefore, which plants and preparations could help remedy the patients situation. I have found Brown to be a very humble guy with a massive loving heart. He was always so caring with his offerings of one-on-one sessions & support in assitance of my integration, which was a big part of me getting the most out of my experience.Celia the shipibo curandera was so kind and generous with me, sharing icaros on-on-one, with her powerful voice. Before each ceremony, she would prepare and bless a beautiful flower bath for us, for cleansing and purification. This is something I’ve never experienced before..this level of care.It was all so humbling. Brown, Pamela & Celia have given me both direction & tools, which I needed so much to continue my path of healing. I feel so blessed and humbled to have them be a part of my journey, and soul’s path. At this point, they all fee like family to me, and I can highly recommend The Avatar Centre for a life nourishing experience.” ”

““I had been on a self healing path for several years. It was time to take my work to another level. This is when I started hearing about ayahuasca. I knew it was something I needed to do. I didn’t pick the Avatar Centre off the bat. There is so much information out there and so many places to choose from it can be difficult to know what is best for you. I had planned on attending a larger center with a lot of reviews and testimonials. Until one day I saw an event pop up on my Facebook feed. There was a meet and greet in my city showcasing the Avatar Centre. I attended. Although I only talked with Brown briefly, a great feeling came over me. I knew this was where I needed to go for my journey.

Several months later I was getting on a plane, all by myself, flying to a country I had never been to, could barely speak the language, and had been told by multiple people that I was crazy for going. It was the freest I had felt in a very long time. I had reached a crossroads at many different levels in my life. I needed to go deeper in my own personal healing. I had suffered trauma when I was very young and it had left me closed off. I had just gotten out of an unhealthy relationship with my daughters mother. My work situation wasn’t making me happy anymore. I was seeking answers and direction.

Brown met me at the airport in Iquitos. We ran some errands before getting on the speedboat for the hour ride to Tamshiyacu. Soon the big city was out of sight and I was on my way down the mighty Amazon. We arrived at Tamshiyacu and took a 20 minute moto kart ride into the jungle. Brown unlocked the gate to the centre. I was finally at my home for the next two weeks.

The Avatar Centre is on a several acre patch of land. The main lodge overlooks a lagoon and is surrounded by a garden of native plants that Brown had been planting himself. He took the time to introduce me to each of the plants. Explaining to me their medicinal uses, as well as giving me a history of the spirits of the plants. I was in awe of the range of uses that the plants had. There was a plant for any type of western medicine you could think of, ranging from controlling PMS to healing broken bones. It was from this garden that Brown would prepare a special brew of tea that I would drink each night. The brew brought me much direction in my dreams. He also prepared me plant baths that I would take each day before ceremony, picking plants to aid in my healing process.

After two short days of diet it was time for my first ayahuasca ceremony. I had not been nervous about taking the brew until a few hours before ceremony time. I was sitting nervously in the lodge awaiting ceremony time, when Brown’s friend Alberto asked me how I was feeling. “Nervioso” I replied. He smiled and explained to me in Spanish that he had drank more than 300 times, and he was nervous each time he drank the brew. It was then that I could see him breathing deeply, I realized how much respect he had for the medicine, and the power that it possessed. I began to breathe deep also. My nerves calmed and I awaited ceremony time.

Shortly after dark it was time. It was only Brown, Alberto, and myself drinking this night. Brown did some rituals and was ready to serve the medicine. I was invited to drink first. He blew smoke into the cup, and filled it to the brim, smiling he gave it to me. I said a prayer into the medicine, holding my intentions I tipped the cup and swallowed the thick molasses tasting brew. I returned to my place in the ceremony room. Laid down on my mattress and began to wait. I couldn’t help but think would the medicine work for me the first time, I had read much about people having to drink multiple times before they ever got a vision from the ayahuasca. Some time passed and then I could feel the medicine working in my stomach. Soon I could feel it take hold over my body, Brown recognized the energy changing in the room and began to play music. At the time I couldn’t figure out if the music was coming from him, or if it was coming from the medicine, it flowed so well with the experience. It felt as if it was part of the ayahuasca itself. I began to receive visions and messages. My intention for the night had been answered.

We drank 4 more times over the course of the two weeks that I was at the centre. Each time the medicine answered my prayers, some lessons were harder to learn than others. Some were shown to me gently, some were a little bit harsh, but each was very important and exactly what I needed to get the lesson to stick. Brown also did a lot of work on me. I had been to several different healers, but I was very impressed with Brown’s natural healing abilities. He was able to identify health issues, energetic blockages, begin the opening and healing of my heart center, as well as relate in a way that was easy to understand and accept the lessons that I was taking in during this time. I realized how dedicated he was to his craft, not just by dieting, or working with the medicine, but that he had a relationship with this jungle and all its beings, spirits, and plants. I couldn’t have picked a better place to be or person to be with throughout this journey.

I was soon ready for my return home. Equipped with a “to do” list from the teachings of the ayahuasca, along with a great appreciation for nature in general. It is now a year later, and I have completed many of the items on my list, some are still in the works, but my life and self improve each day. I have begun to share my lessons with others, passing on what I had learned, and am now beginning to fill my role as a healer as well. I look forward to my future. It is not clear what is all to come, but each next step is certainly clearly visible, and I take each stride eagerly and thankful for the experiences I had. I plan to return to the Avatar Centre again to learn so that I can help to take healing beyond the jungle and offer it to so many of us that need it dearly.

All in all my time at the Avatar Centre was an integral part in my own healing path. If you are someone hearing the call of Mother Ayahuasca and the Amazon, there is no finer place to go than the Avatar Centre, and no better person to be in the care of than Brown.”
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““Two friends and I traveled to The Amazon in Peru to stay at the Avatar Centre in May 2014. The Centre is located in Tamshiyacu, a small village that is a 45 minute boat ride down the Amazon river from Iquitos. The centre is about a mile out of town, and is isolated on a beautiful property. The adventure of getting there was part of the appeal. The centre was lovely. It had several single bedrooms and one with multiple beds all with mosquito nets, hammocks in the common space, ceremonial area/ yoga room, running water, electric (solar power) & modern facilities. It was nice to relax and take things slow and forget about time. Everyday, Browne went to the market to get fresh vegetables and foods for our meals. We also participated in cooking some of the meals. While at the centre we were able to explore the wonders of the Amazon. Our Pamela and Browne arranged for a boat ride on the Amazon to a remote village and a walk through the jungle with a native of the area that told us about the plant medicines, and what each plant was used for (cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s, etc.). Truly amazing that all the natural medicines/ remedies man needs is provided by Parkinson’s, etc.). Truly amazing that all the natural medicines/ remedies man needs is provided by Mother Nature in the Amazon. While at the Centre we participated in two Ayahuasca ceremonies led by our hosts, who are also committed shamans, working with the medicine. Our hosts also arranged for another ceremony with a local well known Curandera, which turned out to be an amazing experience. During one of the ceremonies with Pamela and Browne at the Avatar Centre, I experienced some deep physical healing. I saw a ball of white light energy travel down my body to my stomach/uterus. It felt like it was repairing and healing that area of my body. It was very warm and loving. Two months later I became pregnant with my first child. I decided that I wasn’t going to have children early on in my life, and had spoken about donating my eggs. I feel that this was the Universe’s way of preparing my body to carry a child. Everyone is on their own journey to discover themselves & to engage in experiences that make them who they are. Experiences like these change the way you look at life and the way you live. You see the beauty and magic in a world that can often be heavy, stressful, and chaotic & see that we are part of it, and it is also part of us. I definitely recommend visiting the Avatar Centre for an array of reasons. It may change your life.” ”