A Journey to Yourself.
An ayahuasquera who calls herself Little Owl has been quoted as saying, “Grandmother may not always give you what you want, but she’ll give you what you need.” The grandmother also named Pachamama is the supreme goddess of the original peoples of South America and Mesoamerica. In the tradition of the Incas and other Andean peoples, it was and is the divinity that engenders life and protects it. For this culture, spirituality is linked to nature and represented with two planes, the world of material objects (tonal) and the non-material spiritual world (nagual). The work of activating the Nagual can not be undertaken through external operations; the only way is to explore the deep layers of consciousness. The consume of sacred plants or also named “Plants of the Gods” in order to make contact with the spiritual word is very common in Andean cultures and is passed down from ancestor. In the Amazon jungle it grows two plants from which it is prepare Ayahuasca tea. Ayahuasca is a sacred plant that is considered the spirit of nature. For the populations who have traditionally ingested Ayahuasca in healing and cleansing ceremonies is a medicine that heals the mind and body. Nowadays people attend retreats to drink ayahuasca tea, looking mostly for self-knowledge and introspection. It has also beneficial effects in the treatment of addiction and depression. Drinking Ayahuasca Tea in an appropriate and safe way has seen an increase in popularity worldwide due to its therapeutic uses; however, it’s capacity for increasing mindfulness is the primary benefit.
In the last two decades, the Ayahuasca tea ceremony use has expanded worldwide. Although it have been used by Indigenous groups in the Amazon for thousands of years, it’s greatest popularity was acquired in the last time. It biggest growth out of South America (where it ceremony comes from) is in the United States. In the article “The Drug of Choice for the Age of Kale” published by the New Yorker, Leanna Standish, a researcher at the University of Washington School of Medicine, rate that “on any given night in Manhattan, there are a hundred ayahuasca ‘circles’ going on.” Also a self-help guru Tim Ferriss told to the author of that article Ariel Levy that the psychoactive tea has become very famous in San Francisco. He claims that, “Ayahuasca is like having a cup of coffee here, I have to avoid people at parties because I don’t want to listen to their latest three-hour saga of kaleidoscopic colors.” Intense hallucinations are common during this ceremonies since Ayahuasca contains the potent psychedelic chemical N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), which is a human neurotransmitter, and a psychedelic compound that causes the intense hallucinations where people had often reported to experience their own death. Additionally, the possible uses of this ancient medicine from the Amazon in treatments for cancer and Parkinson’s disease also aroused the interest of the science. In order to that there has been created a Global Ayahuasca Project (www.globalayahuascaproject.org) which is a multidisciplinary research project by international team of researchers from United States, Australia, Brazil, Spain, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland. Ayahuasca has caught on the attention of the word as a possible medicinal cure, and mostly since there is an increase of people interested in building and keeping a strong connection between mind and body.
Moreover, Ayahuasca has become increasingly popular as a tool to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and addictions. According to The New York Times article, “Ayahuasca: A Strong Cup of Tea” by Bob Morris, the ancient Amazonian psychedelic tea has more than a few celebrity samplers, including Lindsay Lohan who said that ayahuasca was helping her to go over addiction issues and keeping her to stay sober. She also describes this as an intense experience. Furthermore, Morris wrote that “it is like having 10 years of therapy in a night”. It is increasing it’s popularity as a therapeutic way of cleanse the body, mind, and soul of toxins that come from negative influences; such as bad experiences, toxic relationships, traumas, etc. The International Journal of Drug Policy had published a research paper titled “Ayahuasca’s entwined efficacy: An ethnographic study of ritual healing from addiction” by Piera Talin and Emilia Sanabria. Their analysis of addiction-recovery experiences with ayahuasca rituals results in confirming it as an effective practice of addressing substances addiction. There was also a repid-onest antidepressant effect that was maintained weeks after administration of a single dose during their analisis. Also this study shows that Ayahuasca induce to the recollection of highly emotional events simultaneous with a external view of these events, that may help the processing of emotional experiences. This analysis also display that Ayahuasca has effects in decreasing hopelessness, and making a positive impact on general well being.
Although Ayahuasca becomes popular as an internal cleansing method that works simultaneously in the physical, mental, and energetic body; Ayahuasca main potential is due to an increase of mindfulness capacities. Increasing mindfulness it is one of the best tools we have today to direct our life from calm. It is the ideal state to avoid distractions and focus on what you are doing. This helps reduce stress, but also to be more creative, to be able to judge and assess situations more clearly, to increase emotional resistance and to enjoy more of what is being done. As so many shifts are occurring on the planet and people look for ways to adapt their lives, more and more have been finding ayahuasca to be an invaluable tool in their transformation. In agreement with the original investigation “Exploring the therapeutic potential of Ayahuasca: acute intake increases mindfulness-related capacites” mindfulness is a two-factor construct composing both attentional and attitudinal elements. Many of the changes induced by the ayahuasca experience are classic goals of conventional mindfulness training. This investigation indicate that ayahuasca use leads to a rapid increase in several mindfulness-related parameters. Some of this are the ability to observe, decrease the judgmental processing of personal experiences, and reduce the inner reactivity. Ayahuasca particularly develop the acceptance of the thoughts and feeling by the individual.
Nevertheless, the safest way of doing these Amazonian treatment is to educate the seeker prior to treatment and to provide access to specialized therapeutic aftercare services. People should only seek the medicine and the well-trained shamans who hold the ceremonies with the intention of engaging in a serious spiritual upheaval. Ayahuasca should not be taken as an hallucinogen drug similar to LSD, which is often used recreationally. This is support by Dennis McKenna in Ariel Levy’s article published by The New Yorker when he warned, “There are some people who are getting damaged from it because they’re not using it the right way, it’s a psychotherapeutic process: if they don’t integrate the stuff that comes up, it can be very traumatic.” There are several specific cares that must be taken in place before consuming Ayahuasca. Usually people have to fill out a detailed health form, and people who have such conditions as high blood pressure or who are on antidepressants should not take ayahuasca. People have to carefully follow a diet that most ayahuasqueros recommends for the week before a ceremony: no meat, no salt or sugar, no coffee, no booze, no alcohol, no drugs. Finally, Ayahuasca is clearly not for everybody. The experience is typically intense. A key factor in performing this ceremony correctly is to be prepared for it. It is an experience that involves changes at the spiritual, physical, vibrational, and mental levels.
In conclusion, our body, mind and soul are connected and together they allow the achievement of a perfect balance. At the end of the day that is the goal, direct our life from calm to live in harmony. Drinking Ayahuasca tea is an effective way to raise our awareness of the Earth by examining our lives and entering into a state of peace. This experience is like a visit to the swampland of the soul, it is a way to make peace with death, and become one with the universe. For the native people from where this ceremony is originated, Ayahuasca is also called "dead’s rope" because in their worldview this allows the spirit of the person to leave the physical body and manifest without dying.