Uploaded June 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
John Perkins is an author and activist whose 10 books on global intrigue, shamanism, and transformation including Touching the Jaguar, Shapeshifting and the classic Confessions of an Economic Hit Man have been on the New York Times bestseller list for more than 70 weeks, sold over 2 million copies and are published in 35 languages. As chief economist at a major consulting firm, he advised the World Bank, United Nations, Fortune 500 corporations, US and other governments. He regularly speaks at universities, economic forums, and shamanic gatherings around the world and is a founder and board member of the nonprofit organizations, the Pachamama Alliance and Dream Change. JohnPerkins.org During this time of a virus pandemic, climatic cataclysms, racial tensions, species extinctions, terrorism, political upheavals, and countless other crises we ask ourselves: What can we do? What can I – each one of us – do? Touching the Jaguar answers that question. In fact, five of the themes that run from beginning to end of the book serve as guides along the journey to personal actions each of us – you – can take. These themes: 1. Our perceptions mold reality; 2. The world as we know it is collapsing because our perceptions around “economic, materialistic success” have created a Death Economy; 3. People around the world are awakening to a new perception, a higher consciousness, the need to change, to transform the Death Economy into a Life Economy; 4. These changes in perception are leading to many examples of actions that change reality, including those of Indigenous people and business leaders around the world. They all involve touching the jaguar – our fear of change; and 5. Each of us has a role to play. Questions: Why did you write Touching the Jaguar and what do you hope the book will accomplish? What does the title of your new book “Touching the Jaguar” mean? The jaguars you talk about are archetypal characters for indigenous people. They sound a bit like the threshold guardians in the hero’s journey. I’d like to know more about their mythic and archetypal nature, as the Shamans and indigenous people think of them. Aztec, Mayan, Toltec, Inca jaguar legend of powerful, scarey gift-giver. What do you feel before, during and after touching the jaguar? You started, early, after college as a peace corps worker in Ecuador, where you had an experience through a shaman, with Ayhuasca. And then you received training in being a shaman. Yet you went on to become an Economic hit man. It was only years later that you woke up and repudiated that life and started to embrace what you’d learned as a shaman’s student. You are well known for your New York Times bestselling book, The Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. How did you become an “economic hit man”? And what experiences converted you into a crusader for transforming not only the economy, but the world? While this book was written before the current coronavirus pandemic, there are lessons that feel especially applicable to today’s situation. What do you think we should be taking away from this crisis? How might readers begin to identify with their own “jaguars” within? What do you hope that readers will take away from Touching the Jaguar? John encourages people to ask themselves five questions: 1- What will bring the most satisfaction, bliss and joy into your life, starting today, for the rest of your life? 2- How does that help other people, because we are all happier when helping others. 3- What jaguar stands in front of you telling you that “you can’t do this.” What is the voice saying? 4- When we touch the jaguar, how does it change our perceptions? 5- What actions do I need to take every day?
John Perkins is an author and activist whose 10 books on global intrigue, shamanism, and transformation including Touching the Jaguar, Shapeshifting and the classic Confessions of an Economic Hit Man have been on the New York Times bestseller list for more than 70 weeks, sold over 2 million copies and are published in 35 languages. As chief economist at a major consulting firm, he advised the World Bank, United Nations, Fortune 500 corporations, US and other governments. He regularly speaks at universities, economic forums, and shamanic gatherings around the world and is a founder and board member of the nonprofit organizations, the Pachamama Alliance and Dream Change. JohnPerkins.org During this time of a virus pandemic, climatic cataclysms, racial tensions, species extinctions, terrorism, political upheavals, and countless other crises we ask ourselves: What can we do? What can I – each one of us – do? Touching the Jaguar answers that question. In fact, five of the themes that run from beginning to end of the book serve as guides along the journey to personal actions each of us – you – can take. These themes: 1. Our perceptions mold reality; 2. The world as we know it is collapsing because our perceptions around “economic, materialistic success” have created a Death Economy; 3. People around the world are awakening to a new perception, a higher consciousness, the need to change, to transform the Death Economy into a Life Economy; 4. These changes in perception are leading to many examples of actions that change reality, including those of Indigenous people and business leaders around the world. They all involve touching the jaguar – our fear of change; and 5. Each of us has a role to play. Questions: Why did you write Touching the Jaguar and what do you hope the book will accomplish? What does the title of your new book “Touching the Jaguar” mean? The jaguars you talk about are archetypal characters for indigenous people. They sound a bit like the threshold guardians in the hero’s journey. I’d like to know more about their mythic and archetypal nature, as the Shamans and indigenous people think of them. Aztec, Mayan, Toltec, Inca jaguar legend of powerful, scarey gift-giver. What do you feel before, during and after touching the jaguar? You started, early, after college as a peace corps worker in Ecuador, where you had an experience through a shaman, with Ayhuasca. And then you received training in being a shaman. Yet you went on to become an Economic hit man. It was only years later that you woke up and repudiated that life and started to embrace what you’d learned as a shaman’s student. You are well known for your New York Times bestselling book, The Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. How did you become an “economic hit man”? And what experiences converted you into a crusader for transforming not only the economy, but the world? While this book was written before the current coronavirus pandemic, there are lessons that feel especially applicable to today’s situation. What do you think we should be taking away from this crisis? How might readers begin to identify with their own “jaguars” within? What do you hope that readers will take away from Touching the Jaguar? John encourages people to ask themselves five questions: 1- What will bring the most satisfaction, bliss and joy into your life, starting today, for the rest of your life? 2- How does that help other people, because we are all happier when helping others. 3- What jaguar stands in front of you telling you that “you can’t do this.” What is the voice saying? 4- When we touch the jaguar, how does it change our perceptions? 5- What actions do I need to take every day?
