The Ayahuasca Wave

Jason
I've personally done Ayahuasca on 4 occasions, with a Peruvian Shaman, and it was amazing. Once I did it 24 hours apart. My trips were not as difficult and severe as yours were but they were every bit as enlightening. Not all journey's are as difficult as what you had. I recommend it to anyone.

BTW, no one has ever died from it or become addicted. I recommend you read a book called The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Narby, you can find it on eBay.
Bob Munro Vancouver, Canada

As a member of the Santo Daime church I appreciate your thoughtful accounting of your experience. I do believe it is tremendously helpful for alcohol addiction and depression, if a long-term relationship is established. Thank you for putting this out there.

So glad you drank. When I drank I thought nothing was happening, until when I was just about to purge, and thoughts of my relationship with my father came up. Let's say that the garbage of that relationship was purged.

It never stops working, and the most important part is what happens and what you do after ceremony. Congratulations on drinking; these medicines do not wait for fools.

Thank you Jayson.

I think I still have work to do.

The shamans are I guess what one would call urban shamans. They know what they are doing. Lots of experience. The two of them didn’t always agree but they didn’t argue about disagreements. And they were relatively minor disagreements. They just kind of accepted each other. The older one was more hardcore with opinions. An intense personality. Saying that we wont go to bars and drink alcohol, eat meat, get excited about sports, women, etc, etc. after the experience. The younger one told us that he still meets with friends for a drink or two every once in a while, eats tacos every now and then (I live in Mexico), etc. The point, he said, is that you simply wont desire down a whole six pack and start hitting on random women or eat an enormous steak every day. That you will be happy just living and being healthy. I think I know what he means. I have a 7 year old daughter. When I went home that morning, the love I felt for her was bursting out of me. I just felt such incredible joy. When I looked at her, I felt how lucky I was to have this wonderful little miracle in my life. It was just happiness. I didn’t need any “stimulation”. Just being in that moment was good enough.

The truth is after the experience I don’t even really have a burning desire to go out and party hard at bars. I do have a burning desire to go out with friends and just talk. Just be with people. Maybe at a cafe or something. And believe me, I am (was) the party hard kind of guy.

People who I felt have hurt me, well, I just don’t feel hurt by their actions the same way I did before. I realize that their actions toward me were coming from their ego. There is one woman I was recently involved with who lied to me about things, other men, etc. I was so hurt and angry before. I wanted her to understand the pain that I felt. But now I just feel like I want to help her somehow. I have known her for almost 4 years. I love her. I don’t mean in the romantic way. I mean I love who she really is. I know she has a lot of fear based stuff going on and is in a lot of pain (father abandoned her at a young age, and lots of other issues). And I now realize that her true self isn’t the one who deceived me and would lash out at me. It was her protective shell, her ego. I wish I knew how to tell her all of this. I know in my heart that she could benefit from ayahuasca. Which brings up an interesting question. How does one bring up ayahuasca to loved ones? Maybe they just see the changes in you and begin to ask questions?

Aya did talk to me about meat and alcohol and things like that. I asked her about alcohol. She answered kind of sarcastically. As if to say, “Do you really have to even ask?”. Often she would give me answers in way that was really telling me I already knew the answer. That I just have to look into my heart. Into my soul. I was told that our temporary shells. They were given to us as gifts and that meat is something are bodies really don’t need and shouldn’t eat. But I was given a feeling that if we chose to eat meat, we should take it more seriously than other food. We should do it humbly and with great thanks and respect. But, strangely enough, she told me that fish is totally ok! Still trying to get my head around that one.

And I really want to understand why Jesus was chosen for me. I mean why not one of the other guardians? Bhudda, that earth goddess (cant remember her name), or one of the others on the altar? I just really want to understand. I never really considered myself a Christian before. Maybe that’s the point? Well, she knows best. The message was clear. She did show me that I have a really strong connection with that earth goddess/mother (Damn. Really wish I could remember her name). But Aya really made sure I got Jesus. The painting of the last supper above the altar even came to life. Jesus actually was talking to me. His mouth was moving! The message was in my head, but his mouth was actually moving! It was…. well, I have no words to describe that feeling. Her having me put my thumbs and forefingers into the shape of a triangle and raise my arms. Mind you, this is all with my eyes closed. Then she says, “open your eyes!”. And there is Jesus in the painting. Directly in the center of the triangle! (And what does that triangle mean?) And earlier in the experience there was an intense energy in my right arm. Like electricity almost. A vibration. It made my right arm lift up. Again, I was told to open my eyes. My hand was pointing directly at the statue of Jesus on the right side of the altar. Keep in mind that all the other spiritual leaders/guardians were there. She told me they all are guardians. But for some reason she really wanted me to get that Jesus was important for me. That he is in me. And that I am in him. And I was made to really repent and feel guilt, shame, etc. for denying his and the Virgin’s existence for so many years and for my, well, sins I suppose. And I was totally loved and forgiven. There were other examples of her hammering this point home. I wont go into them all, but the whole thing was almost miracle like. I know it sounds insane to most people. But this all really happened. I’m just really curious. I believe now. But why Jesus for me? Why Jesus for someone who was always such a non-believer?

I still have many other questions. It’s like your whole life changes in one night. Trying to get my head around it. I wish the shamans had had more time afterward to answer questions. I have so many. I sent a message to one of them asking if he would get together for lunch with me or something and answer some questions. The problem is I’m leaving town for a over a month starting Friday. I guess it can wait.

Anyway, thinks for “listening”.

Mark

“Your personality will suffer and you will see parts of yourself that literally make you vomit.”

What if you have already been going through this spiritual awakening process, ego death and seeing parts of yourself that do make you vomit WITHOUT Ayahuasca?

Would your recommendation be that Ayahuasca is not needed or the way to go?

As a yogini and ayurvedic practitioner and one who has been on a medicine path for more than 6 years, I agree that each person must take very seriously the care of their body and nervous system if they want to drink the medicine. It is a very severe path, and leaves very little room for error in terms of diet and lifestyle without big psychological and physical consequences. I agree that it blasts open our chakras, and then we are quite vulnerable and have burned up a lot of ojas in the process. Good clean lifestyle, time in prana building practices like yoga and plenty of rest through mediation and good sleep along with a clean diet are just essential if you want to explore this path in any depth. I have seen many in the churches and in the shamanic communites have very difficult times from over use of the medicine coupled with poor habits and insufficient integration activities (meditation, yoga, pscyhological work, group process, etc).
I think the focus on dieta and retreat in the prana-filled jungles of traditional communities working with these plants needs to be practiced here in the west. Lots of time in Nature, etc….

Jayson,

Thanks for sharing this.

I wrote a comment earlier sharing additional details, but somehow it didn’t save my security question and when I went back to resend my comment was gone in addition to the time I had to rewrite. In sum, check out the following: http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/the-dark-side-of-ayahuasca-20130215

This is a good strong article that depicts that there are some true, serious dangers happening with this “Ayahuasca Wave.” Basically, fake shamans, evil shamans, people dying, getting raped, doped on false shit etc.

This article got some pretty massive exposure and so there are as you can image tons of comments and feedback loops happening. One good point is that these “spritual” revered shamans that people are trusting perhaps are getting pulled into the “dark” side of this double edged sword. The Ayahuasca will not make you a better person, a more highly evolved soul etc., otherwise these religious leaders wouldn’t be capable of poisoning, raping etc. these people.

Its a Very touchy subject and too many people are indeed seeking it out looking to reach higher levels of consciousnesses, burn negative karma, evolve, etc. and the bottom line is its not a fix it. Even Robert Valez warns against using his Shamans he widely supported and is still getting spread across the web like wildfire.

I’m a mother and so of course I look at through such eyes, I certainly wouldnt want my young adult children running off to foreign countries, even with the best of intentions, without doing SERIOUS pre-work, assuring every resource is reliable, and knowing FULLY the dangerous of the country, the cultures and the side effects of such experiences.

I think the word that keeps coming to me is “REVERENCE” we need to hold our minds, bodies, souls, fellow souls, consciousnesses, the earth, this plants protection etc, with a reverence.

In my research I find much more support and hype about this with some mild caution, and almost legal sounding warnings, without a fair balance of spreading the WHOLE truth of the subject.

Thanks for sharing your story Jayson. Peace

Hi, Jason and folk, I am looking for people in San Francisco or Bay Area, who may share their Ayahuasca experience with me. Please, help.

Thanks.

Vadim

I am extremely interested. Any info for Denver Colorado?