“A journey that invites curiosity, wonder, and a deeper connection with life around us.”

Some books find you when you’re ready, even if you weren’t searching. The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Narby was one of those.

It wasn’t a recommendation or a random pick. It was the title — The Cosmic Serpent, and the cover that drew me in. A serpent beside a strand of DNA. Mystery, spirituality, snakes, and science – all intertwined.

Snakes have always fascinated me: their mystery, their grace, their ability to shed their skin and begin again. Perhaps that is why the book caught my attention so deeply.

But what truly drew me in was the doorway it opened — a space between what we see and what we sense, between the everyday and the extraordinary.

Jeremy Narby With Virgilio Pizarro Curi, chief of the Ashaninka Machiguenga Organization of the Apurimac River OARA, September 2019 in the native community of Sampantuari.

Narby spent time in the Amazon, observing tribes who claimed their knowledge of plants and healing came through visions in ayahuasca ceremonies. Many had tried to study this before, only to dismiss it as superstition. Narby didn’t. He watched, he listened, and he noticed something remarkable: these visions, these experiences, revealed knowledge that modern methods had also uncovered in other ways. Two very different paths, yet pointing toward the same underlying truths.

This resonated deeply with me. My mind leans scientific, my heart mystical. I’ve felt energies modern tools cannot measure — yet I know they’re real.

This series isn’t about proving or explaining everything — it’s about exploring together. I’ll be breaking down complex ideas from the book, doing further research, and simplifying the science along the way. Think of it as a shared journey — an invitation to notice, wonder, and rediscover the intelligence and connection that runs through all life.

What’s in it for you?

Through this series, you may begin to see life a little differently.

It shows how communities and traditions have lived in harmony with nature for centuries, long before modern systems told them what was “normal” or “necessary”, just as we explored in ZenFusion’s previous posts, where people observed, listened, and learned directly from the world around them.

By noticing the intelligence in plants, animals, and ourselves, we begin to see how everything is connected. This awareness can transform how we live — making us more self-reliant, harmonious, and mindful in every choice we make.

The Journey So Far — Connecting the Dots

If you’ve followed ZenFusion, you may notice a thread running through our previous posts: the relationship between humans and nature, and the intelligence that surrounds us.

• Karkidaka Kanji
  The monsoon herbal porridge shows how humans once lived in rhythm with the seasons, relying on nature for cleansing, healing, and nourishment.
  
• Onam Sadhya
  Each dish is carefully chosen to balance the six Ayurvedic tastes and served in an order that supports digestion and harmony after the monsoon. It’s a celebration of health, tradition, and mindful living.
  
• The Silent Intelligence of Plants (based on the book The Secret Life of Plants)
  Plants communicate, feel, and respond. Science confirms what ancient cultures always knew: plants have their own intelligence.
  
• Vriksha Ayurveda
  Ancient Indian wisdom teaches that plants are living beings — our green relatives. Caring for them ensures mutual wellbeing; neglect brings imbalance.
  

All these stories reveal a simple truth: life is interconnected, and understanding that connection can inspire us to live more consciously.

The Cosmic Serpent extends this exploration — showing us that the unseen, intuitive, and mysterious can teach us as much as what we can measure or touch.

 Coming Up Next Week: Chapters 1 & 2 — “Forest Television” and “Anthropologists and Shamans”

In the first part, we’ll step into the Amazon:

• Entering the forest’s consciousness
  Through shamans’ eyes, the forest is alive, aware, and full of information waiting to be noticed.
  
• Why anthropologists misunderstand shamans
  Many dismissed their knowledge as superstition. Narby’s approach shows that humility and openness reveal truths that rigid systems can miss.
  
• Knowledge through visions
  Discover how shamans learn about plants and healing not from books, but through intuition, observation, and altered states — and how this can inspire us to notice the intelligence in our own world.
  

If you’re the kind who loves diving straight into the source, you might enjoy reading The Cosmic Serpent yourself.
You can find it on Amazon here:
COSMIC SERPENT: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge by Jeremy Narby

But even if you don’t plan to read it, stay with me — I’ll be walking you through its ideas, layer by layer, connecting them to everyday life in ways that are easy to grasp and, hopefully, deeply meaningful.