One Man's Experience into the Spiritual World of Shamanism: Ayahuasca

I have written before about the ‘spiritual plant medicines’ used by tribes originating from South America to enter new worlds in order to heal the body and soul. They have been a topic of interest for me since first reading about them some years ago and obviously I had considered the prospect of trying out such an experience for myself one day, but that had always seemed a very distant concept. That was until I was invited to an Ayahuasca ceremony last Saturday night…

My personal standpoint on drugs is one of curious caution, I believe in the hands of the sensible and the sane they can certainly be a source of interesting, relaxing and even mind expanding experiences, while in the wrong hands they can quite simply be dangerous. The fact that this ceremony was being run by friends of friends who had invited a Columbian ‘Shaman’ to their home made me feel it was a safe and worthwhile experience to try out. After all, how can you possibly write about a subject matter of this nature with any conviction unless you have a first-hand experience of it yourself?

So just a short drive out of Mexico City to the hills of Xochimilco and moon lit winding and bumping roads that led to the small eco-park that was to be our final destination. We arrived at the naturally fuelled house and were welcomed by our most friendly Mexican hosts into the large garden surrounded by trees. It was cold and dark and so the collection of people gathered were huddled in a circle of 50 or 60 people around a fire in the centre of the lawn, hand drums beating and strong incense burning as the atmosphere grew.

After some time the Shaman arrived, dressed in traditional feathered headdress and painted markings upon his skin. His set up his stall to one side of the large lawn and then invited the congregation to line up in order to take the ‘medicine’ which we were warned could very well make us feel unwell. We were given clear instructions to which ditch we were to attend if we needed to either pass diarrhea or vomit. I was aware beforehand that the concoction could cause quite severe nausea so did not find this too unusual.

I took my place in the line as I watched people take the liquid one by one, some of whom went immediately to the vomit ditch, the sounds of them hacking away clear for all to hear as my own trepidation gradually built. But how bad could it possibly be?? I waited patiently until it was my turn to kneel before the Shaman. I watched him measure out a small glass of what looked like a thick orange/brown soup like mixture while he muttered offerings in a language I could not understand before he blew rapidly onto the filled glass several times and then handed me the medicine. I took it down as quickly as I could, the flavour of which I could only describe as a thick, strong ‘off’ tasting bitter beer that burned the stomach as it went down, souring the palette immensely in its after taste.

The nausea was instant, but I didn’t feel the urge to be sick or squat in the bushes like so many others were, and instead took my place beside the fire. I sat and looked up at the night sky and listened to the rhythmic music that was being sung and played with drums, guitar, pipes, rattles and horns of various forms, while others floated around the circle carrying small cauldrons of thick burning incense which only added to the light headed feeling that was quickly descending upon me. As time ticked by my head ached so much so that it hurt my eyes to even have them open, so I closed them and snuggled up into my sleeping bag in attempt to get comfortable and warm – which proved increasingly difficult as shooting pains began springing from my stomach.

I had glanced at my watch to roughly time events. I had taken the potion at around 0030, and by 0230 I had experienced nothing mind-opening or spiritual and only considerable discomfort. I felt increasingly cold and tired as time wore on and decided it was probably best to simply sleep. But as I relaxed I eventually began to hallucinate, first of well-defined patterns in front of my eyes like being inside a giant twisting honeycomb structure, which soon switched to patterns similar to those seen in the Ayahuasca visions decorated onto Peruvian Shipibo pottery and textiles (examples here). It was then I knew for certain I had finally reached the ‘experience’. For the next few hours I saw more of these wonderful patterns and then visions of beautiful colours as though I was watching ink being dropped into water. Later wonderful snakes glided forth in front of my eyes, all as the music and singing continued around the site of the camp fire. My body felt better as I began to come around, the visions subsided and I became relaxed again.

It was then that the Shaman asked if anyone wanted to take a second dosage of the brew, at around 0400. Not everyone went back for seconds, but I considered that as I had come this far I may as well go the whole hog. Again I knelt before the spiritual leader and took the medicine. This time it made me feel a whole lot worse and within moments I was squatting into the ‘diarrhea ditch’ with uncontrollable stomach cramps amidst tall cactus plants on unstable footing. Once that terrible bout had subsided I dizzily lurched over to the ‘vomiting ditch’ where I remained for some time until I felt completely drained and empty, only with another pounding headache. This was truly a painful experience and not one I look back upon with any pleasure whatsoever. I felt incredibly unstable at this point, and managed only to limp back to my sleeping bag to huddle into a ball of discomfort.

The hallucinations then became stranger and deeper, at one stage a half snake half rodent creature approached me with intrigue, while at another time I was watching a white coloured baby demon sitting on a demonic throne attempting to talk to me, but at no time that evening did I have any audible hallucination to hear what it was saying, it was only visions in tremendous colour, almost computer graphic in nature.

Soon after I must have fallen asleep, and slept peacefully for a couple of hours only to be awoken by more loud music and a knock on the head at sunrise. I sat up feeling disorientated and nauseous. The incense was even more profound at this time, the fumes of which were swirling around the camp in every direction as the sweet aroma filled my nose and throat to such a sickening extent that I had to spend the next hour or so at the vomiting ditch, while several others continued simultaneously around me.

The music finally stopped at around 0700 and breakfast was served. I did not feel like eating at all but the rice and beans certainly succeeded in easing the sickness. After the food was served people began to leave and the experience was essentially over. But what could be taken from it?

I can say that the experience was interesting while at the same time immensely uncomfortable and strange. Being made to feel that unwell was one thing, but to witness many others being sick in different ways en mass around me was something else. I had no feelings at all of a ‘spiritual’ experience, the hallucinations were mildly stronger than the visions attainable in a deep meditative state, and of a different nature, but I did not feel as though I learned a great deal from them or managed to ‘cross world’ so to speak. People I spoke to at the ceremony said much the same thing, they felt their bodies had been ‘cleansed’ and they felt a sense of clarity come the end of it without going as ‘deep’ as they might have expected. I certainly felt good at the end of the experience; but I think anyone would feel good in a relieved sort of way in recovery after feeling so very bad for so many hours.

I would not typecast all Ayahuasca ceremonies into this one experience, but I can say from my one trial that it was a strange uncomfortable experience I didn't get a great deal from barring perhaps a cleansing of the stomach and intestines… The hallucinations and visions were very real but apart from beautiful colours and shapes there was little there to learn from, nothing more that could be achieved from a deep meditation through a practice such as self-hypnosis.

Would I do the ceremony again? In that location I don’t think I would. Perhaps with a different Shaman on a more personal level the experience would be more profound, and it would need to be given the discomfort the brew brings about. The ceremony wasn't quite what I had hoped for but it was an experience of an ancient practice I shall never forget, and one that in time I hope will inspire me toward a greater understanding of the human mind and human consciousness.

Spiritual Plant Magic Medicine

True healing puts into order the body, mind and spirit with the past, present and future. What kind of agent or method or formula or treatment can help to effect such sweeping, integrated healing? I offer for your consideration ayahuasca, a psychoactive potion indigenous to the Amazon rainforest, and the only combinatory vision-inducing agent in the world. Made from the vine Banisteriopsis caapi (often called caapi) and the leaf Psychotria viridis, (known as chakruna) ayahuasca is both a portal to the spirit world, and an enigma that has baffled scientists and anthropologists for centuries.

Ayahuasca, traditionally administered in special healing ceremonies by highly trained shamans known as ayahuasceros, is sometimes referred to as a hallucinogen. But it is no such thing. For while a hallucinogen produces visual phenomena rooted in the individual psyche, ayahuasca opens up channels to the spirit world, and the drinker/participant bears witness to that landscape. Best to name ayahuasca a sacred plant medicine. For among those with whom the ceremonial healing use of ayahuasca is a way of life, the brew is referred to as “La Medicina,” the medicine.

In nature a number of plants and fungi are known for their vision-inducing effects. Peyote, San Pedro cactus, Iboga and the Psilocybe mushrooms are all used in traditional ceremonies to gain access to the spirit world, and to effect healing. But unlike all of these single-species agents, ayahuasca is combinatory- made up of two plants- and there the mystery is greatly compounded.

In the Amazon rainforest, approximately 80,000 higher plants grow in that lush, verdant environment. Perhaps as many as 10,000 plants are vines. Virtually all of the plants in the Amazon have leaves. And yet, somehow, somebody figured out to use one particular species of vine (Banisteriopsis caapi), and one species of leaf (Psychotria viridis), to make a ceremonial psychoactive brew. Here the so-called trial-and-error theory dissolves like sugar in water. Neither the vine nor the leaf is especially distinguished in appearance. There is simply nothing morphological to suggest that either one, or the two together, would in any way be more suitable for the making of a psychoactive healing brew than any other plants. The odds of selecting these two plants from all the others is a multi-billion to one long shot. So how did this take place? The shamans will soberly tell you that the plants originally told people.

The vine Banisteriopsis caapi, also known as “the vine of the soul,” contains a group of compounds called harmala alkaloids. These compounds are MAO inhibitors. They prevent the activity of naturally-occurring agents in our bodies called monoamine oxidase. Think of MAO’s as doormen standing in front of the night club of your brain. Psychoactive compounds, notably the potent vision-inducing agent DMT, want to get into the club and attach themselves to your brain’s receptors. But the MAO doormen prevent this from happening. The harmala alkaloids in Banisteriopsis caapi, however, tell the doormen to take a nice log coffee break. They do. That’s when the Psychotria viridis, rich in DMT (N,N Dimethyl Tryptamine), comes into play. DMT is the most potent vision-inducing agent known. And oddly, DMT is not only found in many hundreds of plants all around the world, but it is also manufactured in our own bodies. But thanks to MAO’s, we do not trip on DMT all day long.

DMT is not orally active. You can eat a handful of DMT, and nothing will happen. But if you consume an MAO inhibitor, then the DMT will in fact be orally active. So the enigma of ayahuasca is that somehow, by some means, some native person(s) a long time ago figured out to combine harmala alkaloid-rich caapi vine with DMT-rich chakruna.

Ayahuasca is made by pounding sections of the vine Banisteriopsis caapi, to remove the outer bark, and to soften up the rope-like fibers of the vine. A large amount of pounded caapi vine is placed into a large cooking pot. Atop the pounded vine, a large quantity of Psychotria viridis (chakruna) leaves are added. Then another layer of pounded vine is added, then another layer of leaves. When the pot is pretty filled almost to the top with pounded vine and leaves, then water is added. If the pot is large enough, as much as forty litres of water may be added. Then the mixture is cooked over a fire for several hours. Over time, the liquid in the pot begins to evaporate. After several hours, perhaps eight or so, the ayahuasca is finished. The pieces of vine and leaves are filtered out through a strainer. Perhaps only a litre of viscous fluid remains. This liquid is “La Medicina.”

While ayahuasca ceremonies vary from one shaman to another and from one tribal tradition to the next, certain features remain constant. A true ayahuasca ceremony brings together the ayahuasca brew, the shaman(s), and the plant spirits. This triune force engages in ceremony to effect healing, and to open up the doors of the spirit world to the participant. Typically an ounce or two of the brew is drunk. The ayahuasca brew is intensely bitter, and the taste is unpleasant, even for those who are experienced drinkers.

In some ceremonies, the shaman(s) sit quietly with the participants in the dark for about forty-five minutes or so, as the effects of the ayahuasca start to come on. However, some shamans begin to sing and make ethereal whistling sounds as soon as the brew has been drunk. Some shamans wave chacapas - noisy leaf fans – and others do not. It is typical and common for the shaman to blow smoke of potent Amazonian tobacco (called mapacho) on participants, to cleanse the atmosphere and to establish an aura of protection.

Within about an hour after drinking the brew, visions usually commence. There is a geometry common to the ayahuasca experience, and this geometry is beautifully represented in the textiles and ceramics of the Shipibo native people of Peru. Most people who journey with ayahuasca see that geometry. As the visions increase, the shaman(s) sing healing spirit songs known as icaros. These evocative, haunting tunes bring the yravlere deeper into the ayahuasca mystery.

If you ask the ayahuasca for healing, it will usually provide what you seek. There are many thousands of cases in which people have been healed of physical, mental and emotional disorders, and many curious cases of recovery from grave and even fatal disorders. There is much to investigate about the healing properties of ayahuasca. A large number of people have been cured of addictions through a few ayahuasca ceremonies, and the cases of post-ayahuasca cancer remission are too numerous to ignore.

Purging is typical and common in the ayahuasca ceremony. Most participants throw up at some point in ceremony. Some also get diarrhea. The cleansing effects of ayahuasca are well known, and are just part of the ceremony. For most participants, purging is a relief. Typically the purging does not last long, and the ayahuasca experience becomes stronger afterward.

People see and experience all kinds of phenomena while on an ayahuasca journey. You may see deceased relatives, spirits of every kind, vast landscapes of natural or manufactured forms, animals, insects, serpents, birds, and various creatures of nature. And as you engage in ceremonies over time, you start to learn to negotiate the spirit landscape, and to enlist the aid of certain spirits for your own healing and spiritual awakening.

For the person who has never participated in an ayahuasca ceremony, it is easy to assume that the brew causes the drinker to hallucinate, and that this explains the ayahuasca experience. But when you have engaged in ayahuasca ceremonies with highly trained shamans who make the brew correctly, such simplistic and reductionistic explanations fall apart completely. The spirit landscape, in all its mystery, beauty, splendor, terror, majesty and strangeness, is its own world, and the ayahuasca lets you into that world.

Ayahuasca is clearly not for everybody. The experience is typically intense, and can be terrifying. The spirit landscape is beautiful, but can also be overwhelming. Still, ayahuasca helps to put into order the body, mind and spirit with the past, present and future. Because of this extraordinary healing power, ayahuasca is a revered brew, and ayahuasca ceremonies are increasingly sought after by people from all over the world. Some flock to Peru, Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador to participate in ceremonines in the Amazon, and others drink in urban and suburban venues, in ceremonies led by shamans who tour. In many ways, through a great many people, ayahuasca, La Medicina, is making itself known. This potent Amazon brew has the power not only to heal, but to transform your understanding and experience of reality.

From the Medicine Hunter Chris Kilham http://www.medicinehunter.com/