Original subtitles

(UP-TEMPO

PERCUSSION MUSIC PLAYS)

(PEOPLE SPEAKING

NATIVE LANGUAGE)

-Got a cameraman?

-Yeah.

My name is Nick Polizzi.

Two years ago a good friend

of mine told me he had

Parkinson's disease.

I started trying to find out

if there were

any natural means

to cure Parkinson's,

because God knows

you can't do it with drugs.

What I found is that if you

Traced the origins of

western Pharmaceuticals,

over 25% of

their active ingredients come

from the Amazon rainforest.

And then I began to wonder,

what else is in

the Amazon rainforest?

There's over 44,000 species

of plants.

And to my surprise,

I found out that only

1% of those 44,000

plants had been studied

by scientists for their

medicinal value.

I reached out to a well-known

ethnobotanist, Mark Plotkin,

who said,

"if we look at the Amazon

rainforest as an Encyclopedia

of medicinal plants,

then the indigenous

Medicine men are certainly

its index and

table of contents."

On one of our preliminary

research trips,

we met a man

named Roman Hanis.

When Roman was 12 years old,

he was diagnosed with

Crohn's disease.

For 10 years, he tried every

available conventional method

to get rid of it,

but nothing worked.

At age 22, he said goodbye

to his family and left for

the Amazon jungle

in search

of a shaman to work with.

Within five months,

all symptoms of his

crohn's disease were gone.

Roman was given

the option to stay

and learn the ancient

tradition of Amazonian

shamanism.

He has spent the last

10 years in the jungle,

working with indigenous

medicine men and

improving his craft.

He and I decided

to work together

with the plan being

To bring real people

with real illnesses

out into the

middle of nowhere,

deep into the rainforest

to work with

a handful of medicine men

for 30 days.

"What are you making

a film about?"

And I'm like, "oh, bringing

eight people from around the

country that have different

health problems, really

serious, ranging from cancer

to Parkinson's to diabetes

down to the jungle to work

with natural medicine and

the local shamans there,

and their eyes

are always like,

"Yeah, right."

(LAUGHTER)

What if I told you

that your

Grandfather with

pancreatic cancer,

your daughter with

clinical depression,

or your wife with

severe stomach adhesions

had one final option

they had not yet explored?

But there's one catch.

You need to leave

everything behind.

You'll be spending

30 days in seclusion

in the middle of nowhere

in a corner of the world

that is home to a vanishing

group of indigenous healers

who are reputed

to have knowledge

of undiscovered herbs

and plants that are native

only to the uncharted regions

of the Amazon rainforest.

In October of 2010,

eight people from

around the world

chose this option.

Five would come back

with real results,

two would come back

disappointed,

and one wouldn't

come back at all.

This is their story.

(MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS)

My name's Garry Thompson.

I have neuroendocrine cancer.

It is a somewhat

rare form of cancer

of the cells and glands

that produce hormones

for your body.

Really what I'm up against is

the possibility of stroke

and heart attack

and failure of

kidneys and liver.

The oncologist mentioned

that the landostatin,

once I started it,

if I defeated the cancer

through that,

the chances are I'd

have to take it the rest

of my life.

So it would be

$1,000 a month

for the rest of my life.

I would have been living

under a bridge like a troll,

I thought, "nah, (LAUGHS)

won't go that way."

(LAUGHS) So that's

what I was offered.

Why do you want to

go to the jungle?

Why do I want to

go to the jungle?

I want to get off this.

I want to get better. I don't

want to have this anymore.

Parkinson's disease,

you need

pure determination.

It's so frustrating at times,

especially when you

have two young boys.

(CHUCKLES)

I can't leave any

stone unturned, right?

If it happens to be

in the jungle,

I'm gonna find it. (CHUCKLES)

That's when we met.

That's how he was.

(LAUGHS)

After, like, you know,

two days of drinking heavily

or something like that,

of course, I get really

down and depressed

and stuff like that,

but it just makes me

not want to drink more.

You know, it's like

I hate it, you know,

but then sometimes,

After all that

is gone, I feel,

"Well, you know,

why not have a drink?"

It's kind of-- it's been

an issue in our relationship,

and, of course, I want him to

get rid of that because, um,

I'm there for him, and

I really love him, and

I want him to be healthy.

(PLANE ENGINE WHIRRING)

(RAINFOREST ANIMALS CHIRPING)

(BIRDS CHITTERING)

(RAIN TRICKLING)

(ANIMALS CHIRPING)

(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

(CHUCKLES)

(PAN RATTLING)

This one is for Parkinson's disease.

This other is for prostate cancer,

This one is for digestive problems, and this one as well.

This is for Crohn's disease.

These work to cleanse and purify your internal organs.

When I lost my health, I lost

my marriage and my house,

and it just went from--

I felt like Job.

And then when

I lost my health,

that was like

this is the most

important one.

So it's been eight years

I've been trying to,

you know...

I've been focusing on

rebuilding the health.

That's what I like

about these shamans.

They've all had some sort of

illness that they've healed.

This is a little map

of our land.

Great.

We'll go deeper in,

and you have the--

-the most adventurous spot.

-(CHUCKLES)

You're in hut number 8.

-It's the hut that is

deeper in the forest.

-Great.

The intention for this land

is to be a place for

transformation and healing,

either short-term

or long-term.

Part of the work

that I'm doing

is visiting many different

Shamans from different regions

and areas.

Good shamans,

you really have to

establish a relationship

with them

before they become

open and they share

their knowledge.

Our mission is really to bring

back that wisdom and create

more benefit for others.

My life has been blessed.

Mmm-hmm.

I was a very

high-profile businessman,

-but I yearned for

A deeper peace.

-Mmm-hmm.

It's been an absolute

-struggle from as long as

I can remember as a child.

-Mmm-hmm.

-It's just been

a never-ending, um...

-Mmm-hmm.

...search for peace.

(WHISTLING)

Edwin, are these some of the remedies?

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

Mmm, it's good.

-All of it, now.

-Thank you.

When one has digestive problems, this medicine has properties

that clean out the stomach and the interior

(INHALES DEEPLY, EXHALES)

Repeat your first and

last name three times.

Gretchen Stacey.

Gretchen Stacey.

Gretchen Stacey.

(WHOOSHING)

(SINGING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)

This is called Papailla.

That's what we call it

here in the jungle.

This can help any person

who has diabetes.

So I'm to drink that all?

Yeah, drink that all.

One pitcher every day, right?

I'm supposed to take

insulin if my blood sugar

goes up too high.

Within the last three months,

it's been, like, over 400

three times in a row, and

every time it gets there,

I have to go to the hospital.

So I knew that

if I'd get away,

You know,

that's what I needed.

I can't live

this type of life.

You know, I visualized in

My mind that it would be, uh,

at least the center would be

a little bit more modern, but,

you know, I mean,

I have no complaints.

It's a real nice facility.

I'm kind of curious to see how

everything's gonna play out.

(SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE)

(KNIFE SCRAPING)

(SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE)

-Adios.

-Bye.

One day my grandfather told me, "I am going to die."

He said, "I have been preparing for 15 years to show you everything I know."

"But I can't. There isn't enough time."

"So you will have to continue this diet on your own."

"Continue this diet alone."

"The plants themselves will guide you on how to prepare and drink them in your diet."

When I first came

to the jungle

and started working

with medicine men,

I expected them to be wearing

headdresses and loincloths

like I had seen

in National Geographic.

I was a little misinformed

back then.

The truth is that the people

of the rainforest

are quickly becoming

modernized like

the rest of the world,

and the medicine men of today

dress a lot like you and I do.

People don't care

about the way

a medicine man looks

as long as he's effective.

Out here you're judged

by your ability to heal.

I was diagnosed

on March 17, 2006

when they instituted

neurogenic disorders,

which is hard to say

for me sometimes.

I was still trying to

work it out when it was

time to get my divorce.

Day after my divorce on

Good Friday in the afternoon,

the next morning, I was in

a head-on car accident,

and then I thought I'd be

home later that day,

then realized I had

broken both hips,

both pelvises, my femur,

my knee, my lower leg,

And seven ribs and some

soft-tissue damage,

which did not

help my Parkinson's.

(CHUCKLES)

The different medications

have a lot of side effects,

and half the time,

makes me worse.

It starts to

tighten up like this.

It's called chirisanango,

and it's gonna-- the effects

of it sometimes feel like

thousands of cold needles

start to go through

your whole body.

-Oh, really?

-Yeah.

Okay.

It is not painful, but

there will be some

whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo.

It's a medicine that is

really beneficial for

the nervous system.

-Right.

-It's really good.

It's also good for the bones,

for the immune system,

for the lymphatic system.

There's a lot of different

benefits to it.

(SINGING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)

(BLOWING)

Working with them,

I seem to think that

I might be complementing

more from the side

of the spiritual discipline,

and they're complementing

more from the side

of medicinal plants.

So far, I find this to be

a very good combination.

How are you doing

today, Garry?

Much better.

Much better.

I had trouble getting past

the joy of this

place at night.

It's-- it's all Romance,

it's all-- you know,

there's no fear involved

in any of the sounds.

It's all, "hey, I'm over here.

I need a buddy.

Somebody come and talk to me.

No, I'm over here."

(LAUGHS)

It's just-- it's beautiful,

and not so loud

that it's uncomfortable,

but loud enough

that it definitely

keeps your attention,

and I was thrilled

by it last night.

(OBJECT SCRAPING)

Crap.

Uh, yes, those ants

are coming back

and invading again.

(BEEPS)

WOMAN: Okay,

we'll send someone soon.

(BEEPS)

All right.

Oh, God.

(SCOFFS)

In the rainforest,

we are in connection

with the natural world.

The nature around is not

really disconnected from us,

and we are part

of this organism.

It's good to be present,

and it's good to be aware.

They usually are afraid of

humans more than humans

are afraid of them.

There might be some spiders.

Even if it's a tarantula,

you know, sometimes you might

see it around, but

they usually don't--

they will not attack you.

I'm not, you know, like

a wild-animal-type person,

you know?

I mean, some people can

live with, you know, animals

and things around them

and let them come in the hut.

I'm not that type of person.

I know what Roman would say.

He'd say that it's good

to just get used to

the sounds and,

You know, after a few nights,

you'll get used to it.

I'm constantly catching

and removing from

my little hut bugs

and flying things

and crawling things, and,

you know, I lie down

in my bed every night,

and it's sticky.

My body's sticky,

my shirt's sticky.

You know,

I'm used to schedule

and just, like, going

somewhere all the time,

and it's like I'm kind of

forced to not do any of that.

Being in solitude throughout

The process of the healing,

surrounded by nature,

they have really no way

to hide from themselves,

to avoid different

uncomfortable sensations

or different

unpleasant emotions.

In today's world,

we are so

separated from nature

that a lot of times

we go into

the rainforest like

astronauts go into space.

It can be quite uncomfortable

in the beginning.

So Garry's hut is

a little bit further away

than everybody else's.

It's hut number 8.

Garry's an adventuresome soul.

We figured he'd like it

this way, so...

-Hello, your spot.

-Oh, this is great.

-The, uh--

-Does this go in?

-Oh, it goes out.

-Out.

Pull out. Yeah.

I'm not sure why

the intended separation,

other than the fact

That it's our chance

to absolutely relax and outgas

and absorb some of

what's around us.

But I don't mind

anybody coming by.

I think I see

both sides of it.

Roman believes

pretty strongly in

the idea that a lot

of this has to do with

you getting out

of any patterns--

Social, mental,

emotional pattern

that you're in,

and that sometimes

traditional dieta is,

it's almost like

the passion of kind of like

have a month where you really

don't talk to anybody.

It almost gives those

patterns time to die.

-Yeah.

-You know?

You'll come to the jungle

to die and be reborn.

I've felt everything

from very sad,

uh, angry, uh,

confused.

Everything points to

a lot of self-pity.

-Okay.

-You know?

I have a lot of self-pity.

The process starts

really unraveling,

and then that's when

strong breakthroughs

and breakdowns

sometimes happen.

People go deeper

into themselves,

and they might

uncover even deeper layers

and different negative seeds

that have been planted.

Being with themselves for

A prolonged period of time

in the rainforest

allows them to

recognize those things.

When I was nine years old, Grandfather said to me,

"Come Bechin, we are going to drink Ayahuasca."

I said, "Okay Grandfather, sure."

I drank Ayahuasca.

He gave me a small cup.

I had no dizziness, no vomiting.

"Don't make any noise," he said.

Stay calm, the Ayahuasca doesn't kill."

The Ayahuasca will make you dizzy for three hours.

After three hours the dizziness goes away and you won't see anything else.

With time, the effects begin to diminish.

There are several legends

in Amazon about this sacred

medicine Ayahuasca.

It's considered to be

the mother of all plants,

that from this plant medicine,

the medicine men

found all the other plants,

and all the other

plants were created.

The way that

the medicine works,

we kind of enter into

a realm of dreaming

in a fully conscious way,

and in this way,

we are able to resolve

a lot of different tensions

and repressed emotions

and feelings in ourselves.

-Bueno.

-Hola.

(CLEARS THROAT)

(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

(SIGHS)

Ayahuasca is a plant medicine

that will heal all those who are sick.

It has a healing power.

Lastly brothers and sisters,

while we are in ceremony,

there is no touching and no talking.

(BREATHES HEAVILY)

My intention is to

be in a place

where I'm quite open,

where I can learn to hear,

learn to move forward,

learn to feel and share

and to add to that

spirit love that I feel in

this room already.

Thank you.

(SINGING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)

(PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT

SHAKING RHYTHMICALLY)

I mean, during the ceremony,

I was--

it was pretty clear.

Like, I had to relive

everything, and it

was not pleasant.

It was very intense,

and I-- When I said,

"make peace

with my past,"

I didn't know

I'd have to

go there like that.

It was like I was being read,

like I was being indexed or...

Opened up to discover

what's within me,

and then this

morning, sleeping,

all those images came back,

and I learned

a great deal.

I started to see a lot of,

um...

flashes and images and lights

and colors and--

(BREATHES HEAVILY)

Whatever that means.

Of course, I don't--

I don't know.

After the first week, usually,

you know, that's just

when it starts, you know.

It's when the medicine men

start to choose

different strategies

in the diet and healing.

It's not gonna taste good,

is it?

(SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE)

-Slowly.

-Slowly. Eh.

Jessica is doing

slowly better.

She's gradually improving.

She still has

some difficulties,

but she's saying that

her digestion is improving

slowly every day.

The medicine men

Edwin and Don Bechin,

they are putting

different medicinal plants

on the tumor

in form of bandages.

Right now it's just

taking the remedies,

every day taking the

remedies we have

all over our land.

It's very important

medicinal plants,

and the patients are

taking from our land.

But you have to

walk for hours

and look for it.

This is Ltininga.

(MAN VOCALIZING)

This plant is used for all types of rheumatism.

It works very quickly.

Joint and body aches too.

(VOCALIZING CONTINUES)

This is a medicine for people who aren't lucky in love.

A creeper plant.

You crush it and drink it.

Then the ladies will stick to you, just like this plant sticks to the tree.

(BIRD CHIRPS LOUDLY)

Yeah.

Oh.

This Tahuarico cures diabetes.

* na-na-na *

* Naa *

* Na-na *

* Na-na-na *

* Naa *

* Na-na *

* Na-na-na *

* Naa *

* Na-na *

* Na-na-na *

(SPEAKING NATIVE LANGUAGE)

This is a treatment for the prostate.

I'm not getting

the raw food I want.

(CHUCKLES)

You know, it's-- I'm just

really struggling,

and I feel weak.

I am stronger today

because I had

breakfast yesterday

and breakfast today

with pineapple

and banana.

I don't want that again

tomorrow because,

um, I've had enough of that.

The diet is very bland.

It has no spices.

It consists mostly

of green plantains

that are either boiled

or grilled.

In the mountain tradition

in the Andes,

part of the traditional

diet is also quinoa,

and also there is one type of

fish that is called bocachico,

and that fish is used

traditionally in the diet

with medicinal plants.

You'll find that people

can disconnect

from their taste buds

that our ego usually feeds off

and really connect

to our higher senses.

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)

Buenas tardes.

How you been?

-How you doing?

-Hi.

-Bueno.

-And Joel.

Okay.

Joel, how are you

feeling overall?

I'm feeling

pretty good overall.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

Yeah, just the--

I've been checking.

My blood sugar's been down.

Last night it was 59,

which it had

never been that low.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

It's never been...?

It'd never been that low.

That's numbers my kids have.

You know, it's like when they

see me checking

my blood sugar,

-they want to do it, so...

-Mmm-hmm.

You know, they're around 60,

-so I know that's great.

-That's excellent.

-That's the gauntlet.

-Right.

-All right, Joel.

-Okay, thanks a lot.

-Yeah, good to see you

doing well.

-Gracias.

-Okay.

-Gracias.

-Yeah.

-Okay.

-So low blood sugar, low

blood pressure looks like.

-Right. Uh-huh.

I'm excited.

(LAUGHS)

-Uh-huh.

-All right, then.

We'll see you.

We'll see you soon.

Take care, you all.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

How were you diagnosed with

the cancer of the prostate?

I have regular P.S.A. tests.

That's the prostate-specific

antigen test.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

-P.S.A.

-P.S.A.

I decided against

surgery or drugs

or radiation and went

on to a natural diet.

Do you remember how much

was your last P.S.A.?

Yes. I have brought

a copy with me.

7.5.

Siete punto cinco.

Oh.

This is...

September.

In-- yes, 22nd of September.

-This year.

-This year.

Just a month ago.

Part of the reason I came out

here is 'cause I really didn't

want to have surgery at all.

So it's mainly just like

The I.B.S. and the adhesions

and malabsorption--

like I'm Just not getting

vitamins from my food.

She has I.B.S., Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

He says that the I.B.S.

has to do a lot with

the emotional state.

No. Si.

When we get a disease, the

first thing that we want to do

is we want to push it away,

like it's not mine.

I don't want it.

I don't want to

have this sickness.

But by pushing it

away psychologically,

we are also sending

signals to our body

not to send the healing agents

Into that area, not to send

oxygen, not to send blood

circulation into that area.

It's all working through

subconscious impulses.

I guess I've kind of

been just repressing

it all the time

and just kind of pushing

it away and not really

fully dealing with it

and making amends with it.

Even though I was 12 years old

when I was sexually abused,

I still really held myself

responsible for what

had happened.

So, you know, I thought,

"well, Geez, I forgave

everybody," you know,

but (CHUCKLING) I

never forgave myself,

and that was a lot to

kind of handle,

I guess, for me.

As a teenager, you know,

I really didn't want to

go to school,

and so I started to

pretend that my stomach hurt.

And my parents really

didn't believe me,

and so I started

to do a better job

at pretending...

Mmm-hmm.

...Up to a certain moment

when there was no need to

pretend anymore.

The pain was very real

and the symptoms

were very real.

Through ignorance and,

you know, really not

knowing any better,

that's how I started

to actually seal

that condition

into myself one subtle

change after another.

(NATIVE FLUTE MUSIC PLAYS)

(FLUTE MUSIC STOPS)

Roman asked me, he says,

"Can you feel them?"

I said, "no. They're gone."

So they're gone.

You really feel like

you're-- so you came

here with tumors--

And the tumors are gone.

Roman-- the other night during

the grandmother ceremony,

he spent a great deal of time

praying over me,

and during the middle of that,

asked that they go away--

more like demanded

that they go away.

And right at that moment,

I stopped being

able to feel them.

I'm not gonna

question anything

other than the fact that,

man, I'm thrilled.

(CHUCKLES)

'Cause I can't feel them.

And normally it was

a normal, functioning...

Constant.

Not just-- not just daily,

not when I put pants on.

It's every single move

they were apparent.

Now there's nothing.

-Why didn't you call for me?

-(LAUGHS) I'm sorry, man.

(CHUCKLES)

Hi, John.

Can we come in for a sec?

Well, maybe-- maybe you

and I could have

a little conversation

then around the diet

before you leave.

Whatever-- whatever

fruits there are,

I'd just like a...

a very... large plate.

You know, like

a heap plate of fruit.

You know that it's--

you know, essentially,

we don't think that it's

beneficial because of cancer.

Cancer does feed on sugar.

Okay, okay, okay.

So I was considering

a little bit of fruit,

and that's what we

agreed on initially.

Okay, okay.

Well, this has been--

I get-- I get confused.

Look, I don't

agree with you...

-Mmm-hmm.

-...on fruit, okay?

Can we put the fruit aside

for a minute, please?

Can we put

the fucking fruit aside?

-Forget it.

-Because, you know,

on one thing--

I don't normally -- I do not

normally swear, right?

Yes, this brings

such strong emotions.

It's not part of my life.

Roman is running

this hospital,

and if he really thinks that,

then I should not

have had fruit

anyway-- if he

really felt that.

I thought that you were

getting fruit because you

lobbied for it.

I had.

I had lobbied for it,

but if it's not good for me,

then I want people to

have the strength of

their own convictions...

to say no.

(ENGINE WHIRS)

Today a friend of mine, Habin,

is gonna come, who's

also a medicine man.

-I think I mentioned

to you yesterday.

-Oh, yes, yes.

And, uh, he also had some,

um, experience

working with Parkinson.

Awesome.

Yeah, he's a good

medicine man.

Hello.

What a grand entrance for a shaman.

On his motorcycle.

We have to talk about all these cameras.

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)

Mmm-hmm.

She has taken Ayahuasca?

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

-And you're gonna

learn a lot...

-Yeah.

-...in the process.

-Gracias. (CHUCKLES)

This is Habin. Jessica.

Good to see you.

(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)

We've begun giving her Chuchuhuasi, Una de Gato, Chanca Piedra.

With Sangre de Grado and Copalliba, after--

How many drops of Sangre de Grado?

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

He says in the beginning,

it's difficult

because you don't know

the energy of the plants.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

After the sickness, comes

the change in your life...

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

...to change your life.

I hope so.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

With the guide-- with your

heart as a guide,

not the mind.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

-Not intestine.

-(CHUCKLES)

-(SPEAKING SPANISH)

-With the heart.

The heart.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

I've lived alongside a few different tribes and traditions.

Some more than others.

I lived with The Madre de Dios tribe for 10 years.

From my point of view,

if we truly love we should be able to respect other lifestyles.

Respect other forms of life, other paths.

I respect and appreciate these people whose lives are guided by nature.

With nature as their guides.

It is a choice that people are free to make.

But the Amazonians believe that this is a decision on whether or not to be pure.

I learned many things there.

About how to live.

Like a boy...

...and like a brother and a teacher as well.

And with much joy.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

(AXE CHOPPING)

In order to initiate a powerful healer or shaman, the way I was initiated

I with my teacher and now,

My eldest son, the first of my people.

He has decided to follow the path of healing.

In order for him to start learning,

he must drink Ayahuasca more than twelve times.

By taking the Ayahuasca he has begun purifying and cleansing his body.

Now he has to prepare himself

There was never an

interruption for thousands

of years.

There was never a generation

where there

was no life teacher

to pass this knowledge

to his student.

This knowledge has

been transferred

in a state of being.

Not so much in the head,

but in the heart,

in the state of being,

in the state of openness,

sincerity, and immersion

in mother nature.

There are many who don't believe in this path.

They criticize this culture. They make fun.

They say, "What what will that tree do for you?"

"Warlock!" "You don't know anything!"

They say many things, but you just have to be peaceful.

And try not to pay attention to what they have to say.

Simply follow your beliefs and be a good person.

But the younger generation is very lost.

They only think about what they will do each weekend.

Go to the club, dance, get drunk.

They don't think about reflecting on their lives...

...or go away to the mountains to heal themselves.

I like the outdoors, but,

you know, I don't--

it's for the animals

and things that

it's best that they

come in and stuff.

I guess I'm a wuss

since I can't handle it,

but, you know,

I thought I could, but

I don't think I can.

I mean, 'cause I'm not

sleeping out here.

I'm waking up like every--

about six or seven times

last night.

None of us wanted

to see Joel go,

but, at the end of 10 days,

all the symptoms of his

diabetes were gone,

and Roman and

the other healers agreed

to continue sending

him medicine

from the jungle.

This is Abuta. You can have it if you'd like.

Can he bring these back to the United States?

Sure. I don't see why not. It's just a plant.

He should keep his diet normal.

He said I'm 100%

diabetic-free.

my hemoglobins, my urine,

My, uh, cholesterol--

everything's normal.

Make me two appointments,

one with my doctor

and one with the eye doctor

for when I get back

'cause I want to

come home early.

(PLANE ENGINE WHIRRING)

By the end of the second week,

nicola was off

all of her medications.

While this in itself

was great progress,

Habin knew of one

plant in particular

known to cure Parkinson's.

The only drawback

to this remedy,

known as toe, is that

it's extremely potent

and sometimes deadly.

It's a bit dangerous for Nicola, right?

This plant is dangerous to the entire world,

because it is an extremely strong plant.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

He says that you have to be

calm with your children

and help them,

but you cannot be

their slave, also.

You cannot be like...

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

You have to be calm

and tranquil.

Devoting her life to her family

led her to follow a very fixed path.

Our job now is to change that, to help her.

You had another patient with Parkinson's, right?

Yes, I had one about 2 years ago.

And they are similar conditions.

Life is funny. You can look at the life of one person,

and another with a completely different cultural background, race, everything.

But despite these differences,

certain aspects of the emotions

and spirit are very similar in both people.

We're working with the plants.

And we're going to keep her on a cleansing diet,

(SINGING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)

As we go through

this process,

we can see how nature

opens up to us

and different parts

of us can be eliminated,

and we can recognize ourselves

in learning that we are

something much more

than our history

or different characters

or personalities

that we might have.

(SINGING IN

NATIVE LANGUAGE CONTINUES)

I've been an actress,

I guess, most of my life,

(CHUCKLING) you know?

It sounds crazy to say it,

but I have been-- you know,

just acting like

everything's fine

even though I really--

You know, when I heard Jessica

say this, I'm like,

"she said that she's

kind of hated herself

all along," and I'm like,

"That's horrible."

But then I started--

I'm like, I've really disliked

Myself a lot, too, you know,

and I feel like I'm always

trying to get acceptance

from everyone else

when I really just

needed it from myself.

(HALTINGLY) Well, I've...

unintentionally grown up...

to be a lone wolf,

and I mean really.

I find it...

very... hard...

Just to be part of the pack.

But more importantly,

have the pack

take care... of me.

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

Mmm-hmm.

It's such a...

That vivid...

That vivid,

frightening image...

Of that... Lone wolf.

We are all alone in a sense

because we are going through

our own path of evolution,

but we are not lonely in

a sense that we are all

going through

our own process.

Yeah.

So it's continuing to observe

and also learning how to see

the highest wisdom in

everything that is happening.

So, yeah, it's your choice.

You can look at the wolf

in terms of self-pity,

or you can look at

a wolf in terms of--

Of really that courage and

bravery that it takes to be

that kind of wolf.

Yeah.

-Thank you.

-Mmm-hmm.

-I will see you soon.

-Okay.

-(CHUCKLING) All right.

-I'll see you.

-All right.

-Okay. Oh.

It was very good to share

A presence with you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

I feel that.

Thank you.

I get all tangled up in

my emotions,

but it's like

this lower energy,

'cause my

Higher self totally is, like,

In cahoots with everything.

I've lived with breast cancer

now for eight years,

and I made a choice

to heal naturally.

I knew maybe I would succeed

And maybe I wouldn't.

That was the choice.

(BIRDS AND ANIMALS CHIRPING

AND CHITTERING)

Where's Roman?

He's coming.

-Oh.

-(BREATHES HEAVILY)

Roman's on his way.

Oh. Oh.

(BREATHES HEAVILY)

I can't breathe.

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

I can't breathe.

-What else do you feel?

-Nothing.

I just can't breathe.

-You can't breathe?

-No.

Right here.

Uh, uh...

Try just breathing.

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

Not enough.

Garry?

Garry?

Garry?

Garry, breathe.

(BREATHES LOUDLY)

Garry?

Garry. Come back, Garry.

Garry?

(BREATHES LOUDLY)

-Garry?

-Garry?

(WATER SPLASHING LIGHTLY)

What is death? What is life?

Life without death has no meaning.

Life does not exist without death.

Wherever there is life there is death.

And we cannot hide from it.

Death is a change, a process.

It is necessary for life.

Western society have demonized death.

But why? Due to fear and ignorance.

Because there's something to be afraid of after death.

What is it? What is God?

They are truly afraid of God, and He is life itself.

(MID-TEMPO GUITAR MUSIC PLAYS)

* oh, oh, oh, oh *

* Oh, oh, oh *

* Oh, oh, oh *

As the sun came up, we were

thinking about

pulling the plug

on the entire project and

sending the rest of

the patients home.

At about 11:00, I got a phone

Call via satellite phone from

the coroners after they

had done their autopsy.

The tumors in

Garry's intestines

had released a hormone that

caused hemostasis,

which resulted in

a blood clot in his lungs,

otherwise known

as a pulmonary embolism.

They said that this was a very

common occurrence in late

stage Neuroendocrine cancer.

He would have died this way

whether he was in the best

hospital in the world

or out with us in the jungle,

and in their opinion,

this was probably the most

peaceful way for him to go.

We decided to continue

moving forward.

Makes me feel better that

he was-- he was here,

and he wasn't in any pain,

and he was...

He was feeling good.

I mean, I'm happy for him...

'Cause I think that, uh...

I mean, I know probably

how he felt.

He felt that he had to do

something, and this was such

a blessing that this

showed up and gave him

a little bit of hope,

but on the other hand...

He had advanced cancer.

He was very enthusiastic

in what he saw in the little

time he was here.

I hope his family realizes

that he really made a special

impression on all of us...

A good example

to keep fighting

To the end.

You know, he really

loved it out here,

and he felt really

comfortable with everybody,

and, you know, he had nothing

but positive things to say

every time I saw him

about being here,

and I feel like he had

a chance to really

work through

what he needed to

work through to

pass away comfortably.

(NATIVE FLUTE MUSIC PLAYS)

If they didn't think

there was a benefit,

they would be on

that plane tomorrow.

But they see it,

and I'm sure they wouldn't

be staying here,

going through what they're

going through every day.

I mean, this isn't an A.C.

Air-conditioned hospital with,

you know, nurses and a bunch

of-- of people walking

by every second.

No, they're

in the woods alone.

So far, it has been

quite a process for everyone,

and now we're coming

to the next step

in this process, and really

we are working with

Andean traditional

sacred plants,

which includes the

Amazonian sacred plants,

but it also has Andean plants,

and one of the most

sacred plants in the Andes

is a cactus plant that is

called San Pedro.

This medicine works

a little bit different than

the ayahuasca in the sense

where it will not come to us

like ayahuasca comes,

which we will just sit

and wait for it.

We have to do certain effort

and then meet

San Pedro midway.

(CHANTING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)

(DRUM BEATING RHYTHMICALLY)

(CHANTING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)

Open your mouth.

Okay. Flush it down

with water.

(CHANTING CONTINUES)

(SINGING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)

(NATIVE FLUTE MUSIC PLAYS)

In this exercise,

it's very simple.

Look each other in the eyes.

Everything that

we want to say,

we'll say it with our eyes,

relaxing, completing

the energy flow,

keeping the eyes open,

and after a while,

we'll become

reflections of each other.

(FLUTE MUSIC CONTINUES)

(SINGING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)

Good. Good, good.

(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

Yeah.

(CHUCKLES)

(SINGING IN NATIVE

LANGUAGE CONTINUES)

What do I think about

these people, these patients

that are hanging on?

My heroes.

It's not easy out here.

This is not easy.

For anyone to come around here

and tell me that it's--

Spend 30 days here...

And it's like

a walk in the park?

No.

Especially that sick.

Especially that sick.

(RAIN FALLING)

I can't even...

Imagine certain aspects

of yesterday.

(LAUGHTER)

Yeah.

You know, it's just

beyond comprehension,

but, you know,

I'm aware that

it all happened,

unfolded, and, you know,

it was an amazing

roller coaster yesterday.

I mean, my body just starts

to vibrate as I'm talking

to you about it.

I mean, real vibration and...

Other senseness

of what's here.

(VOICE BREAKING) so nothing

much is happening for me.

(LAUGHS)

(MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS)

Nicola.

I know we have different

Health challenges,

but I wanted to share

with you what has been

very helpful for me.

Treat yourself the way

you wish others would

have treated you--

With unconditional love

and compassion.

People do incredibly

cruel things under

extraordinary circumstances.

They're not

in their right mind.

People can make big mistakes

that they will regret.

I've done many myself.

I have found that forgiving

these people and myself

has ended my suffering.

It set me free.

My dreams have been

sending me messages.

Pay attention to them

if you remember them.

It is wonderful to

witness your progress.

All set for a walk?

* where are you going to? *

* And can I go with you? *

* No, you have

To stand guard *

Nicola certainly walking

with confidence

and with, um...

Um...

Newfound ability,

and I was really--

I was really taken aback

'cause I was sitting here

feeling pretty sorry

for myself

at how weak I felt, and, boy,

she is really

just an inspiration.

As we near

the end of the month,

Nicola was off all

of her medication.

Her range of motion

was drastically improved.

She surprised all of us...

Including Roman.

Buenas tardes.

-Dr. Pretel.

-Buenas tardes.

Buenas tardes.

Dr. Pretel.

How do you do?

Nice to see you.

On the final doctor's visit,

John's results showed

that his P.S.A. level

had dropped from 7.5 to 5.5.

And according to

conventional guidelines,

5.5 P.S.A. reading is

normal for a man John's age.

He had had prostate cancer

for five years

and had tried everything

to get it to go down

without any success.

Thank you, Dr. Pretel.

Thank you.

It's at least-- you know,

about a 2-point drop

since the test results

that I had

prior to coming here.

-So, it's-- it's remarkable.

-Mm.

(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

I did it. I picked it up.

(LAUGHS)

That's amazing.

And I can go home,

surprise my boys and say,

"do you recognize mom?

She can move."

(CHUCKLES)

Whatever they're giving me,

I've been symptom-free, so

I'm really pleased about that.

I was very desperate

when I came out here,

and, you know, like I said,

I got so much more

than my physical health,

and the physical health

came pretty quickly,

and I'm very grateful

for that because I was able to

get so many gifts after that.

I'm getting kind of sad that,

um, we're almost

(CHUCKLING) done.

Mmm-hmm.

Well, you can

always come visit.

-I'd love to.

-You're always welcome here.

Thank you.

The issues...

that we have are not...

They're not physical.

We feel them physically.

The cancer comes out,

we can see them--

you know, we deal with them

in that sense, but...

What I see is that they--

they, uh...

They come from...

here and here...

Where we create these things.

And if you deal with it here,

Then the physical

will go away.

And... that's what

they work with here.

That's what's going on here.

People with the experience

of thousands of years

have seen that

each level of transformation

also has its own pitfalls,

and, therefore, these

traditions have been there

to transmit certain wisdoms

and realizations that allow us

not to get lost on different

stages of transformation.

The sacred sense itself from

those traditions is really

those guiding lights

or beacons

of light that guide people

through the ocean of

the subconsciousness

through many different levels

of transformation.

It's the most significant

thing I've ever done...

Learning how to be at peace

with myself and just

keep moving forward.

Just keep moving forward.

For what the land is, they are doing very well.

Their idea is great.

But we have to wait and see if it will happen.

Because this idea will not be achieved overnight.

It takes 3 years minimum to become a master.

I'm here alone, just wanting to do this work

here and see my true nature. I want to teach and heal others.

I want to do so.

If I succeed at this,

I can heap my friends.

And I can help those who are lost.

You think of it today and tomorrow it's there. No.

It will take years and years for us to make this sort of change.

I did not think that there was this much life in the path of the shaman.

That this much could happen with one's mind.

Bit I already see, here I am. Walking the path of the curandero.

(MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS)

* Trick of the light *

* Turn of the tide *

* A rift in a valley *

* Full moon in July *

* Red summer sun morning *

* A cold April sky *

* That lonely October *

* So cruel to deny *

* Wish for a fountain *

* Lost in the wind *

* A kick from a new life *

* About to begin *

* A south facing island *

* That floods in the spring *

* Will call to October

New life it will bring *

* It will bring *

* It will bring *

* It will bring *

* A drop in the ocean *

* Short of the line *

* Cursing a feeling

Caught up by the night *

* Repairing the ruin *

* Reducing the sting *

* That falling October

Will bring *

* Hope that is dreaming *

* Love that is torn *

* Dancing like dust

In the eye of the storm *

* Truth will be lost

When the mocking bird dies *

* October returns

With its cold... *

* Winter skies *

(UP-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS)

(UP-TEMPO MUSIC CONTINUES)

* Awe can't be touched *

* Faith can be blind *

* Fooled by a past that

The world left behind *

* Hidden in rocks

That are lost

To the shore *

* Of silent October you chose

To ignore *

(MID-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS)

(SOFTLY) * Da-da-da-da *

* Da-da-da, da-da *

(POP)

* Da-da-da *

* Da-da-da-da *

* Da-da-da, da-da *

(POP)

* Da-da-da *

(LOUDER) * Da-da-da-da *

* Da-da-da, da-da *

(POP)

* Da-da-da *

* Da-da-da-da *

* Da-da-da, da-da *

(POP)

* Da-da-da *

* Da-daa *

* Daa *

* Ohh *

(UP-TEMPO MUSIC PLAYS)