I have been sitting in Ayahuasca ceremonies for 7 years now. I have participated in close to 100 ceremonies. When I showed up to my first ceremony, I thought it was all nonsense. I was not spiritual in any sense. I thought people in the space were crazy along with their strange songs and clothes. Now, I have spent a good amount of time in Peru learning from shamans. I also have sat with many groups here in the states. Ayahuasca has profoundly changed my life and helped me in my healing. I love sharing about my experience of working with this powerful tool.
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Any pointers on choosing a shaman or ceremony facilitator in Peru for one's first experience?
I've been looking around and don't really know where to begin because there are so many.
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I think this is an important question. There is a lot of strange stuff that happens in the space. You really want to know someone who knows someone. If you are serious about it, maybe we can chat sometime. Also, it may be a good idea to dip your toe in without going all the way down to Peru. Where do you live?
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Ok yeah, finding a trustworthy personal recommendation seems like the way to go. I'd love to chat with you about it, I can try sending you a DM message through lightning which I've not done yet. Will be good for me to learn how.
I'm based in South America and usually in Peru, so I've found a few leads here and there, but still hunting for one that feels right.
Watch for a lightning message!
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We can talk on nostr too maybe. I have never done a lightning message. One guy I sat with is actually on a Netflix documentary called the last shaman. They call him the gringo shaman. His ceremony was very intense for me. Maybe the deepest I have gone. He's hard core. And I have a few other trusted connections. I am happy to help In any way I can.
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What were you trying to heal that Ayahuasca has helped? Thanks.
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I went from feeling quite traumatized to having love for myself and my story. I used to feel like a victim of my story and now I feel empowered. I used to be quite overweight. I felt older at 30 than i do now at 40. It has been healing for my mind, body, and spirit. It has taught me so much. I think we all deal with trauma in our lives. Its all relative and valid. And working through and processing that experience has been key for me feeling whole again. For many years, I was living a life that felt like it wasn't for me. I was doing what everyone else wanted me to do. These days I trust myself and lead from my heart, the best that I can. And ayahuasca has played a pivotal roll in the growth. It has been quite the blessing for me.
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Do you think you would have shed away this victim mentality without ayahuasca anyway, albeit at a slower pace? Cos I’m in my 40s too n feel tt as I mellow with age, my self-agency increases because I m more inclined to just get my shit sorted out
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I don't know. This just feels like the right path for me. It is not for everyone. I see it as a tool that worked well for me. But I know there are a lot of ways to heal.
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127 sats \ 1 reply \ @davidw 6 Apr
What would it take for you to say “never again”?
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I have stepped away from it many times. Its hard to say what it would take to get me to a "never again" place with it that actually sticks. I have some of the most challenging experiences of the life with ayahuasca. There have been times where i thought, never again, what the fuck was i thinking? And then with time I am able to appreciate the experience. For me the "bad trips"have been the ended up being the ones that impacted me the most positively.
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1100 sats \ 2 replies \ @anna 6 Apr
How do you believe sitting in a ceremonial setting affected your experiences? My deepest mushroom journeys have been when I was alone, since I was feeling the energy of friends around me quite strongly in other cases
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That is a great question. It seems that with Ayahuasca, group settings can be very powerful. There seems to be an energy exchange where the group helps to heal the group. I have not sat with Ayahuasca in a solo setting. Might be good. For me, mushrooms are much better for solo journeys. Or with maybe just a couple close friends.
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110 sats \ 0 replies \ @anna 6 Apr
I think at least going in with the intention to tend to my own journey is important. It’s easy for me to distract the mind from what I am there to look at. Thank you :)
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I love to sit in such spiritual gatherings quite often. We, here in India, do have many traditional or religious awakening evenings where we sing, dance, enjoy and yes they are helpful in healing.
Tell me, what activities you perform and which one is your favourite?
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All ceremonies are different. But there is generally sacred music of some sort. I have been in ceremonies where all i could do was lose my mind. And I have also been a facilitator who contributes With song, dance, moving energy. It has been quite a journey.
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I almost forgot the purging. That is a big part of it that scares people off. There tends to be vomiting. It is part of the experience. And can be very powerful. But it was scary to me at first.
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I've heard that consuming milk, for example, before drinking ayahuasca can be fatal. I've also heard that you need to fast beforehand. Is this true? Could you explain this process better?
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I haven't heard the thing about milk. I don't have any fear of a fatal issue. I do think that the lighter someone is going in, the better they will connect with the experience. Heavy energies like red meat can block out the experience. But there many schools of thought on this stuff. Also, purging can be more challenging depending on how we show up.
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Maybe I'm confusing it with DMT. Is DMT Ayahuasca?
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They call DMT the spirit molecule. It is in all kinds of things. I have never worked with a synthetic variant. I have worked with AYA and bufo. Both have DMT in them. But that doesn't mean they are very similar. For me, there is much more to these things than their chemical makeup. I prefer to aim to connect with the spirit of the medicine. Ayahuasca can be made a lot of different ways. There are thousands of plant in the jungle that get used as part of the brew. It's a deep rabbit hole. Even though I have been in the space a while, I have so much to learn. I serve bufo so I am more focused on my desert toad medicine.
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Interesting topic. I've heard about these spiritual retreats and have read both positive and negative reviews. In your opinion, what are the benefits and risks of trying one?
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I believe we always get the lessons we need. I think it is important to finding a group that you trust. We must feel safe to get the most from it. A lot of people that describe "bad trips" just aren't ready to face their shadows yet. I think practices like this can be very powerful but it all comes down to intention.
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I think he's gone back down the rabbithole
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I was. Sleeping. My favorite rabbit hole.
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110 sats \ 1 reply \ @riberet19 6 Apr
Who introduced you to the ayahuasca ceremony? or was it your own decision?
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When I was 10, my mom got with a man who ended up being my guide for many years. He was like a step father also. He got me to a lot of new things in my life. He got me into doing electrical work in fact. We were partners in business for years. And he is the last person you would think would be into this sort of thing. But he went, told me about it. I was resistant bit something told me to go. It immediately changed my whole life.
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What specific changes in your perspective or behavior have you noticed since starting your journey with Ayahuasca?
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This would be a long list. It has changed everything. Now I understand my reality though energy and vibration. I am spiritual now. And I never was at all before. I used to be all logic. I could write a book about it probably.
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110 sats \ 1 reply \ @nym 6 Apr
What would you describe the experience as? Is it like psilocybin or lsd?
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They are well quite different to me. I used LSD a lot when I was young, starting at 13 years old. It was an escape and I had a lot of challenging experiences. So strange. To me LSD lacks the spiritual component. There is no other energy to connect with. Mushrooms feel extra terrestrial to me. I feel like I am communicating with aliens. I love mushrooms still. Ayahuasca is very feminine energy, jungle energy. I also work with bufo which is a whole other energy. It's also different for everyone. I think our beliefs and perspective going into the experience inform how we perceive these energies.
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Have you seen or spoken to the beings beyond the veil? If so, how many tries did it take?
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Not really. I have been part of a church here in AZ for quite a while so I have met 1000s of people at these ceremonies and many people do connect with entities that way. For me, it tends to be an inward journey. It all depends on our intentions. I never had a focus on meeting beings beyond the veil. It's a very personal experience.
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What was the recurring vision that you experienced?
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Its quite been different every single time. I don't feel like there is much that has been recurring. Maybe a recurring theme, showing me what god feels like to me. Helping me connect to my higher self. Before I came to this space, I had no faith in anything like that.
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Did you experience a peeling away of layers revealing the true self? Similar to Aldous Huxley's writings in Doors of Perception?
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I think so. And there has been a LOT of layers. I never could have been prepared for what I was getting myself in to. If I did, I probably would have ran away. But now I am super grateful. Sometimes ignorance is key to getting moving.
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I did have 2 experiences of death or an ego death with ayahuasca, when I was in Peru. Felt as real as anything else I have experienced. But both times were very different.
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How come you're not bored of the experience?
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It's new every time for me. There is always something to learn. Just like in "normal" life. I keep showing up while three is more to learn. There are many layers. Great question. Thanks.
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