Liquid Light: Ayahuasca Spirituality and the Santo Daime Tradition

by G. William Barnard

The Santo Daime is a syncretic religion that arose in the Amazon region of Brazil in the middle of the twentieth century and now has churches throughout the world. Its spiritual practice is based around the sacramental use of ayahuasca, a psychedelic brew consumed only within regular ceremonies. In Liquid Light, G. William Barnard—an initiate of the religion and a scholar of religious studies—considers the religious practice and transformative inner experiences of the Santo Daime community.Immersing readers in his own journeys into nonordinary states of consciousness, Barnard provides a vivid as well as introspective depiction of the dramatic ritual and visionary worlds that a practitioner of this tradition encounters. He combines striking first-person accounts of the ritual life of the Santo Daime with accessible examinations of the psychological and philosophical significance of mystical states and mediumship. Bridging insider and outsider perspectives on religious experience, Barnard demonstrates how the Santo Daime offers its practitioners a transformative and profoundly illuminating spiritual path. Liquid Light also reflects on the broader implications of psychedelics, arguing that entheogenic religions can shed light on a wide range of key philosophical questions concerning consciousness, selfhood, and reality.

386 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 7, 2022

Reviews

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my second time reading this book. While it definitely has some academic portions that felt a bit more challenging to read through, overall I appreciated his humility, kindness, and transparency.

I appreciated his sharing of his own experience as a fardado (a member of Santo Daime), and his reflections and descriptions of his experience of mediumship. There is much more I could comment on as this is a very extensive book, but I will just say that I found it very thought provoking, informative, and conversation generating.