About the book

A deeply personal account of Dreaming, Ayahuasca, and the shamanic path.

Way of the Hummingbird is a 690-page firsthand journey into Ayahuasca, shamanism, and the living wisdom of the Amazon — written by Lore Solaris, who since 2003 has apprenticed with Huni Kuin, Yawanawá, and Shipibo teachers, walked the traditions of Santo Daime and Umbanda, and carries deep, ongoing ties to Aboriginal Australian culture and Country.

This isn't a clinical guide, a tourist's travelogue, or a distant academic study. It's a raw, honest anthology — richly detailed personal experience woven together with Indigenous voices and rigorous scholarship, honouring the intersections of Indigenous Australian, Amazonian, Celtic, and Mayan cosmologies. Readers are invited to walk alongside the author through the beauty, the mistakes, the initiation, and the hard-won humility of two decades on this path.

"Lore writes with humility, courage, authenticity, experience and I would recommend this book whether you have a passing interest in the subject matter or whether you have years of experience in ceremony. His experiences, lessons learned from different teachers and tribes, struggles, highs and lows are documented and articulated in a way that is informative and engaging. It's an adventure story with a powerful call to action, filled with wisdom, that I'm very glad I went on." - Amazon reviewer

What's inside

Ceremony and apprenticeship. Richly detailed, reverent accounts of ceremonial life with the Huni Kuin, Yawanawá, and Shipibo peoples of the Brazilian Amazon — the songs, the protocols, the relationships built over years, not weeks.

Two Dreamings meeting. Rare, direct Aboriginal Australian perspectives on Amazonian ceremonial tradition in contemporary context — a genuinely unusual cross-cultural lens most Ayahuasca literature doesn't attempt.

Brazilian syncretic traditions. A detailed account of the history, practices, and beliefs of Santo Daime, Umbanda, and Ciranda — living religious movements built around sacred plant medicine.

The shadow side. A fearless, balanced look at spiritual bypassing, ego, cultural appropriation, and the risks of the modern Ayahuasca movement — critique alongside reverence.

Colonial critique. A clear-eyed examination of Western dismissal of Indigenous knowledge, and the ongoing commodification of sacred plant medicine by government and pharmaceutical interests.

Rare guidance for advanced practitioners. Beyond foundational safety and integration support, the book offers uncommon insight for those already deep on the path — including jaguar Dreaming, subtle energetic cues, and techniques for advanced ceremonial work not typically found in mainstream Ayahuasca literature.

Scholarship woven through story. Extensive cross-referencing across ethnobotany, anthropology, ecology, and comparative spirituality — written accessibly enough for a newcomer, rigorously enough for an academic.

A glossary bridging traditions. Indigenous spiritual terminology across Amazonian, Aboriginal, Celtic, and Mayan frameworks, made accessible for cross-cultural understanding.

Songs, poems, and sacred chants drawn directly from ceremony and the traditions the book honours.

For newcomers, it unfolds with the immersive pull of an odyssey — in the tradition of Shantaram and Carlos Castaneda. For the dedicated seeker, it's a companion and reference to return to. For the scholar, it's a rare primary account with the depth to sit alongside the academic literature.

If you've felt the call of the medicine — or the call to understand it — this is the companion you've been looking for.

"Wow, what a book. It flows like a river through a challenging yet beautiful spiritual journey. Though-provoking, moving, and deeply reflective. I highly recommend it." - Amazon reviewer