Dr. Joe Tafur is a Colombian-American family physician raised in Phoenix, Arizona. Throughout his medical career he has been an integrative medicine activist. As part of his exploration into holistic healthcare, he spent two years in academic research at the University of California, San Diego, department of psychiatry in a lab focused on mind-body medicine.

After his research fellowship, over a period of six years, he lived and worked in the Peruvian Amazon at the traditional healing center Nihue Rao Centro Espiritual. There he worked closely with master Shipibo shaman Ricardo Amaringo and trained in Traditional Amazonian Plant Medicine. At the center, Dr. Tafur completed traditional apprenticeship in ayahuasca shamanism. During those years at Nihue Rao, he assisted hundreds of individuals from all over the world as they went through traditional healing with Amazonian plant medicines and ayahuasca ceremony. He is both doctor and shaman.

Dr. Tafur is committed to healing work and to education. He is passionate about bridging the worlds of medical science and spiritual healing, and hopes to promote this work through lectures and educational programs. With his brother Mario and friends, he has founded the non-profit organization Modern Spirit, which focuses on demonstrating the value of spiritual healing in modern healthcare through, among other avenues, educational programs for healthcare practitioners. If you are interested in supporting this work or having Dr. Tafur consult with your organization, please visit their website modernspirit.org. Dr. Tafur's independent work is further described at his personal website drjoetafur.com.