A jouney into the mind

[JaiDee]

*I would like to start a thread about some trips I have made to the amazon region of northeastern Peru to take part in some Ayhuasca ceremonies; please be advised I am NOT talking about any kind of recreational drug usage here! If you want to learn more about Ayahuasca simply google the word and read.

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I first read about Ayahuasca in April of 2008. I was in my home in the USA and was reading one of my favorite magazine's called Mens Journal, kind of an Esquire or GQ-type rag but without all the faggy-looking junkie models wearing $2000 dollar suits which I will never buy. It's geared less towards sex and fashion and more towards men who enjoy the outdoors and adventure travel, and in it was a long article about Ayahuasca, the first time I had ever heard that word up to that point.

The author had written about how he had been to Peru the previous year, had taken an 18-hour boat ride up the Ucayali river to a secluded ceremonial lodge and bungalow operation and had indulged in something which has been going on in the Amazon region of South America for 3000 years now but which had just now been making its way into the collective consciousness of westerners. The article fascinated me, even with the graphic photo of the writer hunched over on all fours puking his guts out, and as soon as I was done reading it and doing some internet research on it I was saying to myself "I gotta check this stuff out". A ticket was purchased soon afterward and just 4 months later I found myself in the unbearably humid confines of Iquitos, Peru for a 3 -week journey into the dark and mysterious recesses of my own soul.

I picked one well-known but overpriced lodge 52 kilometers south on the Nauta road, just a few KM short of where the road ended and from where that point on only river travel was possible. One of the poorest countries I have ever been in, Peru is all at once exotic, depressing, dirty, stiflingly hot and stunningly beautiful. Before I went to that more tourist-friendly lodge I stayed at another place for 3 sessions and this is where my initiation into the sacred medicine started in earnest.

Known to the indigenous tribes of the Amazon basin for thousands of years, Ayahuasca was first brought to the attention of westerners through the work of the famed Harvard-trained ethnobotanist Richard Shultes in the 1950's. Since then it had remained relatively unknown, but the internet and magazine article's similar to the one I had read were bringing down increasing numbers of spiritual tourists to Brazil and Peru and Ecuador to check it out since it was literally not possible to obtain this medicine in the west. But I would be lying if I said I had some grandiose plans about seeing the face of God or trying to repair some long-lost unresolved issues inside my psyche; I just thought it sounded pretty cool and since I had done just about everything else under the sun I also wanted to check this out. Boy, was I in for a surprise.

The brew which you drink is horrible-tasting to say the least; a combination of between 10 and 15 locally-found plant extracts, including the mildly-hallucinogenic leave called D.M.T., it is a dark brown color and tastes beyond terrible when you drink it down, almost always creating a gag response. Brewed for 8 hours in a huge pot over an open fire, it is then cooled, blessed by shamans, and then placed into water bottles for the ceremony, which is always done by between 1 and 4 locally-trained Shamans or what we in the west would call a medicine man. Dressed in creative and colorful headdresses and constantly waving dried-out palm fronds which make a noise similar to a maraca, they are quite an intimidating sight but much needed during ceremony; their well-worded {in Spanish} Icaro's, or songs, keep everyone grounded and also keep them in touch with the spirit world and they rule over the ceremony from a throne-like chair high above the squatting campers and they also drink the brew themselves.

In the daytime there is not much to do; fasting is necessary after noontime and there is no electricity so only reading and conversing with the other campers is possible, or taking long walks into the jungle, preparing for that evening's ceremony. This time is very tense for all; the ceremony starts at 7pm sharp, or shortly after it is pitch black outside, and after the candles are blown out and everyone has had a cup you would be hard-pressed to see your hand in front of your face. If you have experienced it before, and I have done it 15 times now so for all but the first session I had, you know what is coming next; one hour of being extremely uncomfortable, sweating profusely and seriously wondering in your mind "what the hell am I DOING to myself" before you wretch violently into a small bucket. This is not just vomit, and not just the small coffee-cup sized amount of medicine you just drank, it is the whole of your insides coming up and the purge lasts anywhere from 1 to 5 minutes. You then lie back down and the experience begins in earnest and usually lasts for about 3 hours, which feels like 12; I will try to describe to you exactly what happens next in future installments, but be advised that each session is vastly different than the last and that some of my stories may seem bizarre and incredible to you all, but they are just the facts as I saw them in my own mind and in the throes of an Ayahuasca-induced journey through the cosmos and through the memories of my own life; and even before I was born.

[bumblebee]

Certainly different to chasing LB tail. Bruce Parry did a series a couple years back for the BBC where he went and lived with various tribes around the world. Here are some clips from his time in the Amazon trying it himself.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=bruce%20parry%20Ayahuasca&search=Search&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&spell=1

[JaiDee]

Certainly different to chasing LB tail.

Yeah, I had done that enough between 1999 and 2007 and needed something new, still do in fact; it was just time for me to find other pursuits and since I was in it so long myself I can certainly relate to people who are still enjoying the scene these days, but for me it just doesn't cut it anymore.

Thanks for the link BB, fascinating.....and for anyone interested there are a lot of similar links on Youtube.

Writing this mostly for Hefe and Williethepimp as well as anyone else who saw my initial postings about this topic on the forum I used to own and were intrigued by it; it will get a little bizarre soon but that's OK, I can't say I fully understand what other people do on their vacations so I hope they can be open-minded as to what I do on mine as well.

[JaiDee]

Ayahuasca is a local word which loosely translates into "vine of the soul" or "vine of the dead". For over 3000 years, long before there were ever some kind of boundry lines separating these countries and well before westerners started invading and conquering with their armies, their diseases and cockamamie religious nonsense, the indigenous tribes throughout the amazon have used it to cure everything and anything which inflicted their people. They also used it as a window into the soul, and for people to see past lives as well as where they may be going in the future after this life has ended. To say that it is extremely powerful would be an incredibly vast understatement; once it has been ingested it not only works on you in fascinating ways, but it also stays inside your bloodstream forever. As the shamans will tell you, "Ayahuasca is alive" and indeed it is; you also have no idea where you are going as each ceremony takes you to a different place in your mind and you have absolutely zero say in which direction you will be going; you just have to hang on for the ride and hope you end up on the other side all right.

The Indians believe that Pachamama, or Mother Earth, is the source of all life and indeed it is. Created over 4.5 billion years ago, our earth has been constantly bombarded by meteors, has been through untold numbers of ice ages, volcanoes, tsunamis and earthquakes, has been on a wild ride through the cosmos and has also produced one very important thing which concerns us all; life. Our earliest ancestors were single-celled organisms thriving and then joining up together in hot pools of water on the earth's surface about 600 million years ago, and 150 million years later were thriving in the oceans as adaptable, swimming and mating beings. By 325 million years ago our relatives had strolled onto land for the first time and we have never looked back; and during all that time and for billions of years before us the plants were thriving as well, and the Indians believe that these plants and trees, with their deep roots into the heart of Pachamama, have been witness to the evolution of our earth on its long journey through the universe and have also witnessed the rise of human beings and indeed all life forms, which are all inter-connected and related in the sense that we all share one thing; life.

Ayahuasca is one of those sacred vines with its roots deep into the earth; if you believe in this medicine, and I certainly can attest to how powerful and all-knowing it is, you are putting faith in the fact that the plant has billions of years worth of earth history locked up in its DNA, and that by connecting with the plant through drinking its bark you can also learn what "she" knows as well. Because it is so powerful, it also helps you remember things from your own past which you may never have remembered on your own; indeed, many westerners have said that one night drinking the Ayahuasca brew is equal to 100 sessions with a psychotherapist and that sounds about right. It frees up your mind to explore parts of yourself which you have never seen before; sometimes frightening but always illuminating, you oftentimes come away from these sessions feeling light as a feather, knowing deep down that you have just been on a ride through the universe courtesy of this wonderful plant which has already seen it all and is now imparting its wisdom on to you.

In the next chapter I will describe some of these experiences; you can believe them or not, that's up to you, but none of these are made up and indeed nothing the mind could make up could even compete with what is seen and experienced once you are in an Ayahuasca trance.

[williethepimp]

thanx a bunch for starting this....ive always been interested in mind -expanding drugs...I remember reading a similar article to the one you read,about ayahuasca...in it the author who had taken the drug describes his metamorphosis into a tree...I thought at the time"I wanna try that!" Ive never had the opportunity,and to be honest ,now,I don't think I have the courage to risk my mental health on hallucinogens...I took LSD in my youth,and Ive been to some scary places in my head on that...so anything as hardcore as ayahuasca I'll leave for others.,

I look forward to your next post as much as the extortion thread....

[Hefe]

Thanks jaidee, appreciate the effort.

I think there are things that may be able to help us get a different perspective, or "take", on our lives & some substances may focus the process.... as opposed to just wanting to get "high" to party, not that there is anything wrong with that if one knows his limits.

And why do all of these different shamanic trips begin with retching?

[strocube]

This past August I did a 12-day Ayahuasca retreat in the Peruvian Amazon, just outside of Iquitos.

I've had an interest in shamanism since I read Castaneda's books, starting around age 14. His stuff has since been proven to be faked, but at the time I thought it was real. Anyway, that doesn't matter, what matters is, he got me started down this road a long time ago.

Thanks, JD for re-sparking my interest in this stuff.

Check this place out:

http://www.templeofthewayoflight.org/

More later.

[strocube]

Ok, here is copy of an email I sent to Jai Dee soon after my return form the Temple.

Hey Jai Dee,

Been back from Peru a little over week now.

Dude, no matter how much you've read, researched or think you know, nothing prepares you for the experience itself-fucking wow, man. Where to begin? Well, for starters, I dropped 20Lb in 12 days without even trying. Upon my return, when I went to the chiropractor to get my twice monthly massage and adjustment for chronic neck and shoulder pain, I was blown away when I realized that there was no pain anywhere. I seemed to have shed A LOT of tension along with the pounds.

We had twelve aya ceremonies with the maestras and maestros (Shipibo shamans). The first two nothing happened, and I was just uncomfortable and annoyed. The third time I got as far as what I call the gatekeeper. It was some crazy green skull in a red feathered Mezzo-American headdress. I could kind of see past him but there was no entry for me that night. The fourth time I totally broke through. I'm sure you've experienced this yourself and have read about the visions. Anyway, I was tripping my balls off through the most amazing black-light, purple, gold, emerald, neon green, and day-glow orange, jeweled arcades, or jeweled circuitry, crystalline rivers of amethyst and fire opal. I would loose myself in these visions, dazzled, until there was no more me, just this amazing happening, I would come back giggling, because I still had a body. I found this quite amusing. The next thing I know, SHE is there. She pats me on the head and says, "Mama knows, baby." It felt like my heart opened and I just wept and wept, as wave after wave of the purest unconditional love washed over me, for what must have been hours. I have never experienced anything that intense-ever. I felt like was a child playing with the most amazing toys and having the greatest adventures one could possibly imagine. I would go off and explore and come back to "mama" who was always right there looking out for me. I got the feeling that everyone in the circle were all children at play. For the better part of the next day I was still affected, or still partially in dream time, I don't know. But it was hard to be around people, because I would start crying. I sat in my tambo, listened to music and wept for the better part of the day. I was not sad, it was tears of overwhelming gratitude and love.

The next session was something completely different. It felt like she grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and forcefully threw my ass out of the "play pen" of the night before and hurled me headlong into into a churning, impersonal, machine hell in which I was chewed to bits stabbed, scattered and left for dead. It thought I died, or that I was dying, or that I wanted to die just to make it stop. It was hours of the worst hell you could possibly imagine. I didn't think I was coming back, not sane anyway. After that session I was angry and paranoid. I was convinced that our facilitator, Sascha, had intentionally programmed a bad trip for me because I had asked that the shamans not blow mapache (tobacco) smoke on me or spit that horrid flower water on me. I thought that one of that shamans had warned me the night before to be prepared for a bad trip, but it was all my own projection. I was bale to get some clarity about this after talking to the shaman that I thought had tried to warn me. Anyway, it was this whole transference thing, where I transfered all my fucked up father issues onto Sascha, who was our facilitator at the Temple. I actually confronted him and accused him of doing what I thought he did. He handled it well, and later, after talking to the shaman I apologized for my unwarranted accusations. I think I resolved some father issues as well.

When they call it "la purga" (the purge) this does not just mean throwing up. It also means you purge a lot of old traumas in different ways. This certainly happened to me. I purged a lot of shit, yet I only threw up once.

Those were the two most memorable session. The last session was interesting as well. It started to go bad and scary, but this time I embraced it. I embraced the pain and the fear, and after a while of staying with it, with as much acceptance as I could muster, it turned into something else. I got a real sense of my own power and abilities. I felt the strength of the circle. There was some crazy energy coming up from the floor through my spine, I felt very strong and powerful, like an animal, but I'm not sure what kind.

Another thing that struck me was the power of the ikaros (songs/chants) and how the shamans are able to navigate the psychic spaces that they do. When they were in front of me singing and waving there hands over my body, I could feel the energy moving around. This would evoke, shudders, trembling, sobs or giggles intermittently, unbelievably powerful stuff going on.

[The-Sith]

Nice thread!