Ayuhuasca

Plant based medicine

I have heard a lot about Ayuhuasca, most of my friends have done it, but I have never been drawn, because I was a bit scared.
It seems that it can be a pretty mental and not so pleasant experience, telling you things about yourcellf that you might not want to  know and I never really saw anyone getting amazing results, so I thought I would give it a miss.
If I could guarantee coming out the other side as a fully enlightened being, I would take the risk of hours of hell, but there are no guarantees, either way. 
You have no idea what the hell will happen.

My teacher
I have got Joe Dispenza, he teaches people to get to that place simply using your heart, brain and mind. For free, if you are prepared to practise. He has tons of videos on youtube you can watch and learn and see the incredible results his disciples are getting.
Changing from the inside out, which is what we all have to do.
www.youtube.com/user/drjoedispenza

But there I am sitting at the swimming pool in the incredible Izychuluma hostel in Vilcabamba, Ecuador.

I start chatting to this very attractive young guy who I am sharing a dorm with.
He is going to do Ayuhuasca the next night, so I start asking all the same questions I ask of everyone, because I am intrigued and also terrified.

He tells me of his amazing experiences and how it is his mission to help people experience the growth and insights he has had on his journey.
He seems incredibly wise for 20. 
He came out the modelling World and has had a few experiences that have set him on a totally different path, the spiritual one.
His passion shines clear and I find mycellf once again contemplating it.
He cajoles and says I should try. I can go with him and his friend the next night, its fairly close by, he has done it with this Shaman before, its $80 so it all seems very convenient, if I fancy giving it a bash.
Nicho emailed the Shaman and he said he wanted to meet me, so with butterflies in my stomach I agreed to go the following morning, I would see what my gut said and take it from there.
This is the gorgeous Nicho, it was all his fault.

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After I decided to go, the nerves left and I felt a bit excited, it was strange.
We wandered down the hill to meet the Shaman and I was intrigued to learn more.
​Nicho had told me his place was immense but I had no idea how startling it was going to be.
Because Izychuluma is pretty off the scale stunning I thought it would be hard to beat, but this place is quite unlike any other I have ever seen.

As we walked along the River towards the place we were just chatting and must have mentioned Shaman, when a voice came from behind saying "quack shaman".
I started laughing, this is all the chat you get here. It has to be the real deal, and I am not sure anyone knows exactly the criteria for this.
I said to the guy, ahh so this guy is not a real Shaman, he said no. You need to go down deep into the jungle to get one.
He was pretty mean, and it felt immediately to me like jealousy and not deep concern for our welfare.
I was more amused than perturbed and was still happy to go with my gut when I met Miguel.
I walked into his garden and was spellbound.
It was like walking into a Disney movie, or as Julia, the other girl who joined us later said, it was like going into Alice in Wonderland.
Miguel was charming, warm, permanently amused and I liked him immediately.
There was no airs and graces here, he showed us around, we saw the ceremony site, he spent a couple of hours with us, so I decided it felt right.
I asked him if he drank it too and he laughed saying, ofcourse, it would be too boring if I never.
Fair enough, like going out with your friends when you are not drinking, no fun at all.

We were to go down there at 10pm then drink the medicine at 11pm. It goes on most of the night then you get fruit for brekkers around 7am.
We fasted all day to get the full experience.
About 6pm a young girl came to the dorm and was in the bed beside me. I told her that I was going and she on the spur of the moment decided to join.
So that made 4 of us.
Off we went, arrived there, we all had a mattress each, we sat around the fire, chatted, then the Plant medicine was given out.
It was green and tasted pretty gross, but I have drunk plenty of gross things in my day so it was no biggy.

Then......
Then you sit there, its in, and you have no idea what is going to happen.
As I am a letting go expert I consoled mycellf with the fact that I could let anything go, but also knew that it might not be that simple, you can be overwhelmed and lose all control, infact that could be what it is about.
You get a bowl to vomit in and there was an outside toilet near by for when your bowel empties.
You can see why I have avoided it for years lol.
I dont want to expose others stories but one of the others got up and was clearly distressed. I was still sitting waiting, and knew it could be me next.
Anyway the others dealt with it, as I had no idea really what was going on and was just waiting for the hammer to fall.
I felt the nausea coming on strong, then vomitted and knew that would possibly kick it all off, which it did.
I then went into a fairly pleasant psychedelic experience.
I was still expecting shit to happen, but I kept releasing and just enjoyed the sacred geometry show.
Miguel came over to see if I wanted more, but it was all good and I did not want to push my luck. I could hear the singing and drumming in the distance but I was in another world.
I opened my eyes a few times but could not grasp peoples faces so just kept them closed and observed.
Next thing Nicho was by my side and I came to and we discussed our experiences.
It had worn off, everyone was quiet, and it felt nice just to lie and listen to the rain and the river.
I cannot say I got a message or anything profound.
But I felt great for days after, and it was a real bonding experience for the 4 of us that did it.
Not everyone had the pleasant experience, but when it was over they seemed to come out the other side, maybe more relieved than anything.

Doing "plant medicine" here is huge, really big business.
Money always changes things. It used to just be the Shaman that did it, now its open to everyone, which I agree with, but it leaves it open to greed.
People are paying thousands to do the Retreats.
It fascinates me that we are willing to put ourcellves through that, because make no mistake it can be awful.
Why?
We are chasing the dream?
The dream of understanding ourcellves and what the hell this is all about?
You can get insights for sure, but you can get them in other ways too.
But are you prepared to do the work afterwards, the personal, eternal, journey of discovery that we all have to take in order to be free.
Free from the mind.
Mind mastery.
The Shaman says all illness starts in the mind.
Even in the West we are starting to understand that now.
Most of the stories we have been told are simply not true and it is time for us to open our minds to how powerful and destructive we are.
The only person who can conquer your mind is you.
No Doctor, no pill, no operation.
I am learning so much here, especially on this biodynamic farm, where the land is natural, the farmers understand the moon and the stars and how to grow food without harming the Earth.
It could not be further from the developed World and the way we live in the West.
The reverence for the plant and spirit World is part of life here.
Vilcabamba used to be famous because the people lived to be really old.
In communities, and harmony.
One of the farmers guessed my age exactly. HIs mother in law is 100, still works the fields, can thread a needle without glasses.
Wow how far we have moved out of harmony.
And we are paying the price.

Do I recommend Ayuhuasca?
If you are drawn to it then go right ahead.
It is definitely helping people, how much of it is placebo I do not know.
Or are we still looking outside of ourcellves for the answer?
I believe we all have the capacity to heal, and it should be free and available to anyone no matter what Country they are in and how much money they have.
I believe its an inside job.
But external things can help, listen to your heart, see if it calls you.

The ceremony etc around it is powerful, the community, the power of group intention, then the plant. Who knows what is doing what?

In Scotland we would take these "drugs" and get wasted.
Here they call it medicine, they treat it in a special way, they hold intention and community, and they get results.
​We could maybe learn a thing or two?