"There is a part of me that even now holds onto my faith in the scientific method, insisting on proof, at least in the form of well documented empirical evidence. Yet, my own experiences with ancient shamanistic practices long ago convinced me that there is an unseen reality which impacts our lives profoundly, yet which science has been unable to validate." Hal Zina Bennett, Ph.D., foreword, "Plant Spirit Medicine" by Eliot Cowan.

"Am I making this up?" This is the question, the monster, faced by every Westerner who ventures into the world of dreams.--Eliot Cowan, "Plant Spirit Medicine", page 25.

If spirit ever asks you to do something to help someone, do it. If you do, a miracle will happen. If you don't, you will spend the rest of your life wondering, "Am I making this up?"--Eliot Cowan, PSM, page 47.

Australian aborigines traditionally live not by clock time, but by what is called the "dreamtime". The dreamtime is a timeless mythic realm in which the Ancestors sing into existence every feature of the natural world. For those who live by the dreamtime,the world is sacred and inviolable. Not a single pebble must be disturbed from its place. The people of the dreamtime will never produce a laptop computer, but they will never produce ecological crisis either. --Eliot Cowan, PSM, page 54.