Ayahuasca: herbal medicine from the upper Amazon

Hello everyone!

I am really anxious to share with all of you a fantastic herbal medicine from the upper amazon region that is penetrating our culture after thousands of years of native use. It is hard to do justice to a medicine that has so many dimensions to it, a medicine which can provide healing on all levels of existence. There is so much to be said about this plant medicine, but if anybody out here on this forum is feeling intrigued by what I am saying, I encourage you to read on..


This medicine is by no means for absolutely everybody, as the nausea and visual effects can be quite alarming for people. That being said, it is a rare occurrence for someone to undergo a legitimate and safely executed ayahuasca ceremony under the guidance of someone extensively trained with this medicine and not emerge with more clarity of mind, body, spirit and purpose in their lives. I speak from personal experience with this matter, and I feel it is part of my job here to share with those who may be seeking out healing, be it physical, emotional or spiritual. While this medicine helped me a great deal, it is not for the faint of heart. Those who wish to investigate further, I admonish you to visit the following sources of information so that you can be as informed as possible in your decision to initiate the greatest healing journey of your entire life:

http://www.ayahuasca-info.com/introduction/

I do not understand why there is no more responses to this topic. Oftentimes I have wondered whilst gardening or walking through nature "How would it be like to be able to communicate with this little seed? How could I know what it needs or feels or what it wants to tell me?"
Apperently, here is a plant that can do exactly that. It can bring you into close communion with nature and bring you into direct contact with the plant spirits.

I have not yet undertaken this journey, but would love to do so in order to heal my spirit, the scars from this life's mistakes, the guilt I feel over certain issues and to get into closer contact with my dearest of friends: Mother nature!

Would anyone here know of any permaculture research institutes that combine the use of Entheogens with their study of the natural world?

I recently saw this 1 hour talk on GoogleTechTalks and it sortof comes close, but not quite permaculture:


With love for the Earth,
Berry

http://templeofthewayoflight.org/permaculture-and-community/permaculture-and-local-community-projects

This temple has a great reputation and is looking for volunteers who can help with tropical permaculture projects. Two of my friends are there right now volunteering and they love it. The ceremonies are very powerful and very rewarding for them.

Hmmm, looks like they ask money for your stay there. I can understand the need for money to keep a place running, but I've WWOOFed before, and I've never had to pay money for it. Feels kindof weird?
Lets just say that I cannot pay 900$ per month to stay somewhere. My budget just doesn't allow it. How are your friends managing that?
They say on their website: "We are not a new age movement, nor based in any religion; healing from the plants is for everyone on the planet irrelevant of race, creed, color and social or financial status."
Is it possible to do some kind of adjusted arrangement?

Psychonautilus wrote:
Hmmm, looks like they ask money for your stay there. I can understand the need for money to keep a place running, but I've WWOOFed before, and I've never had to pay money for it. Feels kindof weird?
Lets just say that I cannot pay 900$ per month to stay somewhere. My budget just doesn't allow it. How are your friends managing that?
They say on their website: "We are not a new age movement, nor based in any religion; healing from the plants is for everyone on the planet irrelevant of race, creed, color and social or financial status."
Is it possible to do some kind of adjusted arrangement?

Im not sure what they have in mind for financial help. The reason they charge a lot is because if you stay for 3 months and volunteer, you get to participate in 21 ceremonies. My first ceremony in Oakland was $200. So, 21x200=4200. 900 a month, including food and a room....It's a pretty good deal. A week in a hospital is much more expensive anyways.

My friends managed to afford it because they have jobs and do work on the side and saved up for months. This is not a WWOOFing arrangement. While they do feed you every day all the food you need, and also give you the support required as you begin to process what you experience during ceremonies, this is not WWOOF. It is a temple, and the healing that takes place is well worth the price. I would have paid much more than 200 dollars for what I was shown and healed of as a result of attending ceremony.

That being said, you don't have to volunteer or stay for three months. Much shorter stays are also possible. The reason I advocate this temple is because it is so far from the gringo-fed tourist temples that don't give you any kind of support for what you are experiencing. They truly care about their work and your well being. Believe me, once you drink, you will not care about the money you spent. It might take you 5 lifetimes to accomplish what you can in one ceremony. This is the most powerful medicine in the world, and it takes dedication to seek it out and be helped from it. Once you take these sorts of medicines, your indigenous spirit is awoken. It is well worth the price.

There is another temple which is much cheaper and I have heard very good things about the resident vegetalista, Guillermo Arevalo, who trained the vegetalista that I drank with (Metsa Niuwe)

http://www.anacondacosmica.com/

Do they tell you which plants are being used?

H Ludi Tyler wrote:
Do they tell you which plants are being used?

Absolutely. Usually it is just Chacruna leaves and Ayahuasca vine, but many tribes use additional plants such as tobacco, coca leaf or other admixtures. I have only had experience with the basic formula, so I can't comment on the effects of different recipes. The most important thing of all, however, is the spirit or vibes that go into making the brew.

Looks like it's contraindicated for me anyway.... 

Hey...DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) is the main ingredient in what is commonly referred to as ayahuasca.  DMT is illegal in the states.

A pure extract may be smoked for short lasting effects, but must be combined with an MAOI for the DMT to be active when drunk in ayahuasca.  I believe it is most often extracted at home from "legally" purchased Mimosa Hostilis Root Bark.  However, many plants contain varying amounts of DMT http://wiki.dmt-nexus.com/Category:DMT_Containing_Plants

MAOI plants can be found here http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/maois/maois.shtml

I've no experience with DMT, but be extremely careful if making your own blends...this is powerful medicine.  MAOI's should not be combined with certain foods, therefore prepare very carefully and you may even be able to avoid nausea. 

Fortunately most plants are not illegal in the US (yet).

Josh, I have used DMT and Ayahuasca, not together though. Ayahuasca is a complete plant medicine, there are many component chemicals to the brew, beyond DMT (a naturally occurring neurotransmitter). That being said, Ayahuasca is nothing like DMT. The experiences are completely different. DMT visions don't really reveal anything about yourself or your past karma, nor does it have any therapeutic value by itself.

What heals you in ayahuasca is not any chemical or group of chemicals, it is the spirit of ayahuasca itself.

That's why I said what is commonly referred to as ayahuasca.  Traditional brews vary widely and may or may not have dmt.  I think most people interested in making their own do so for the oral dmt (which I have read can be quite spiritual), but I appreciate your opinion that the DMT part is not what its all about.

BTW, the website you linked to says the main ingredients in ayahuasca contain DMT, and I'm pretty sure that's an important part of it.  Anyway, most people don't have access to all these crazy plants that will make you vomit, or a professional ayahuasca MC which is why I felt it necessary to mention the DMT and MAOI.

JoshTH wrote:
That's why I said what is commonly referred to as ayahuasca.  Traditional brews vary widely and may or may not have dmt.  I think most people interested in making their own do so for the oral dmt (which I have read can be quite spiritual), but I appreciate your opinion that the DMT part is not what its all about.

BTW, the website you linked to says the main ingredients in ayahuasca contain DMT, and I'm pretty sure that's an important part of it.  Anyway, most people don't have access to all these crazy plants that will make you vomit, or a professional ayahuasca MC which is why I felt it necessary to mention the DMT and MAOI.

I certainly agree that DMT plays a significant role in the whole affair, but to anyone that has drank ayahuasca (read: chacruna x ayahuasca vine) and used DMT can attest to the striking difference in effect between the two. DMT does not induce synchronicity in everyday life in a much more striking way, for example. It's the difference between taking a glass bottom boat ride and riding a submarine to the ocean floor.

Make sure you learn every little detail about it. There is a special diet you need to abide to before you work with this medicine. Also respect the medicine don't abuse it.

Check out the Vaults of Erowid - I find this website is a good start for studies.  I hope you find what you seek!

http://www.erowid.org/

There seems to be some discrepancies here...

There are 3 ways to take DMT... Orally by Ayahuasca, Smoked by crystal formations and intramuscularly as demonstrated in the book "DMT: The Spirit Molecule". 

All three provide varying potency and length.  But DMT is what causes the experience, nothing else.

Smoking provides direct extremely intense experiences for short amount of time.
Ayahuasca will provide a milder experience for longer duration depending on dosage.

Call me a heathen, but I would like to know the specific mechanism of healing. I have known people who've gone on DMT and ayahuasca trips and come back... different. Mostly more selfish, sometimes with conversions to all-out-dick-ism. I wonder if it's just the individual buying into spiritualistic new-age hype and acting elitist because of it, or if there's a chemical reason.

What is it supposed to heal, exactly?

-CK

Chris, there is a book by Michael Pollan out talking specifically about mushrooms, but it also addresses ayahuasca and similar compounds. Research is looking at mental health treatment, specifically depression and end-of-life anguish for terminal cancer patients. I really enjoyed his book (Changing Your Mind) despite sharing your opinion, for the most part.
if you'd rather not read the entire thing, he's had a few good short summaries in a few places, including the NYT, New Yorker, and here https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/5/21/17339488/psychedelics-mental-health-michael-pollan-lsd-psilocybin

I learned about Ayahuasca from JP Sears. JP knows a lot about a lot of things and he's very entertaining. I especially like the part where he pees his pants