Ayahuasca master plant teacher for humanity

[Jetsun]

I have just spent the previous two weeks in retreat in the rainforest in Peru with a Shaman doing a dieta with Ayahuasca and coming home I realise that there is almost no-one I can talk to about this sort of thing without them looking at me like I am completely crazy, but I thought you folks here might be open minded enough to be interested in my experience.

 

I went to Peru looking for healing on the psychological and soul level having tried most of the Taoist healing techniques often mentioned on this site as well as most of the regular standard Western approaches to healing without much success, so Ayahuasca was almost like a last resort for me. I wont go into too much detail about everything or I will be here all day but the way the healing is approached is that you have to go on a strict diet of no sugar, fat, meat, spices, alcohol, very bland food and especially no salt, then isolate yourself in a cabin in the rainforest in order to open you up and bring down your defences so you can build a relationship and understanding with the spirit of the plant and learn from the nature of the rainforest itself. The Shaman also prescribed me another plant called Ajo Sacha which I had to drink a litre of a day to cleanse myself and try to connect to.

 

When it came to the Ayahuasca ceremonies I understand everyones experience is going to be unique depending on where they are at in themselves but my experience is that somehow the Ayahuasca taps into your original spirit like the spirit you had when you were a child or your true original nature, then the Shaman starts to channel pure energy into the space through songs which they call Icaro's, the songs themselves seem to be almost magical when you are in that space.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US_P5nTj_9o&feature=related

 

The Shaman are taught the songs by the spirit of the plant itself almost like a calling to the Ayahuasca in the sick persons body like a snake charmer rousing the snake through music, when I experienced this I felt my original spirit maybe for the first time in ten years but I also saw a lot of the darkness and ego which covers it up. This is where the healing begins as seeing that darkness for what it is in such a pure space makes means you simply can't deny it or make excuses for it so your body immediately starts to release and purge it in any way possible, so for me that began as weeping and then moved on to throwing up and finally to crapping it out. You literally start to throw up and crap out all that is dead and not useful on all levels of your being just like the merciless way the rainforest destroys and recycles all that is dead within it, at one point I saw a vision of some old beliefs collapsing into ash which I immediately had to purge out of my body, it just eliminates all that is already dead within you.

 

As a healer Ayahuasca is very tough, one thing I learned pretty fast is that all the previous attempts to heal myself were done from a place where I wanted the healing done on my own terms, while with Ayahuasca it is on it's terms or you will suffer a great deal more. I tried to struggle and control the process as first which brought me to a very dark place and I ended up in a state where I felt the only way I could survive and get through the situation without going completely insane was to let go of my ego's attempt to control and plunge into the rabbit hole head first, which was a pretty terrifying prospect. As a teacher it forces you to face your fears head on, whatever you are most afraid of it is likely you will be forced to look at it straight in the eye and it showed me that this is the only practical way to live your life, when I was at a very dark point in my journey I tried praying to Jesus for help and tried to invoke the compassion of all the Buddha's and all that stuff but none of it helped in any way whatsoever, infact all of that was just another way of trying to control things to avoid looking at my fears head on. The Shaman also plays a very crucial role in the process through protection and by helping to extract some of the darkness through techniques like sucking it out of the top of your head and spitting it out.

 

There is a whole other side of the experience where you get a fast track to direct perception of the spirit world, before I went despite all the esoteric stuff I had done I had never fully believed all that stuff but now well I don't know what to believe, I had one or two experiences with spirits which I am still trying to make sense of, but as it was healing I was there for that is what I am focusing on.

 

I can't honestly say now that I am back that it has been a miracle cure to all of my problems, but it seems like the glue which held a lot of it together has been weakened and I see things far more clearly now, I may well go back to continue to build my relationship with the medicine if I can pluck up my courage once more. That's not to say that Ayahuasca can't be a miracle cure for some people, it works on such a deep level that I see how it could cure almost any problem with enough time and with the skill of an experienced Shaman, but it also worries me a bit how powerful these Shaman can become through mastery on such a deep level if they had the wrong intentions, an Ayahuasquero is the last person on earth I would like to make my enemy.

 

Thanks to anyone who has read all this I didn't mean to write quite so much, I welcome any comments.

[Birch]

Thanks for your report Jetsun.

I've been reading all I can get on Ayahausca and DMT for a while. I haven't tried it (yet) as I don't like the idea of throwing up and crapping all over the place, definitely a control issue:-) From what I've read, the vine is a natural purgative (handy if you live in parasite-infected places). From what I understand the diet is to ensure proper digestion of the active principles while not adding competing stimulants to the mix.

 

I was going to write a post about the attempts of many practices really being about getting to DMT-producing-level physiology. I don't think churchgoers would laugh if the whole sacrament and ceremony was actually about 'getting high' though

 

However, more seriously, I do believe the plant allows people to access other dimensions of reality consciousness. There are a few 'Ayahausca churches' with branches all over the world, as well as non-denominational setups (OAS).

 

I've also read that as far as 'healing' goes, it's tough to ascertain because it has been made a controlled substance in many countries. I'm glad you're finding help :-)

 

I posted a documentary on it in the books section (because there isn't a films section :-))

[Jetsun]

Thanks for your report Jetsun.

I've been reading all I can get on Ayahausca and DMT for a while. I haven't tried it (yet) as I don't like the idea of throwing up and crapping all over the place, definitely a control issue:-) From what I've read, the vine is a natural purgative (handy if you live in parasite-infected places). From what I understand the diet is to ensure proper digestion of the active principles while not adding competing stimulants to the mix.

 

I was going to write a post about the attempts of many practices really being about getting to DMT-producing-level physiology. I don't think churchgoers would laugh if the whole sacrament and ceremony was actually about 'getting high' though

 

However, more seriously, I do believe the plant allows people to access other dimensions of reality consciousness. There are a few 'Ayahausca churches' with branches all over the world, as well as non-denominational setups (OAS).

 

I've also read that as far as 'healing' goes, it's tough to ascertain because it has been made a controlled substance in many countries. I'm glad you're finding help :-)

 

I posted a documentary on it in the books section (because there isn't a films section :-))

 

I thought I would have problems with puking and crapping everywhere too but infact it came as a bit of a relief when it happened, well after it happened anyway, it is a bit of a joke though that the Aya makes it really hard to walk and your legs all wobbly when you need to get to the toilet but you somehow can pull yourself together. I was told that the most people the place I was at had in a ceremony once was twenty five, I can't imagine the carnage of having that many people purging all at once

 

There are a lot of great videos about it around but I would be careful not to fill your mind too much if you are thinking of trying it as as I watched loads of vids and read loads books about it before I went so I arrived with loads of expectations expecting to experience exorcisms and battles with dark spirits like they talk about in places like National Geographic, but I soon realised I had to let go of all that and focus on my personal experience. If you are thinking of trying it I would do it with a trusted Shaman, I understand a lot of people do it alone at home or with friends treating it like a drug rather than a sacrament but I personally would never go into those realms alone without the protection of a Shaman without the proper ritual and respect.

[Mandrake]

Jetsun,

Sincere thanks for sharing with us.

I wish you all wellbeing on your path.

 

 

Mandrake

[Nanashi]

Sounds like it was a fascinating, powerful experience. I've heard accounts from Daniel Pinchbeck and Aubrey Marcus from when they underwent the Ayahuasca ritual in South America. One remarked it was like tuning into the frequency of the spiritual world already around us (akin to a radio dial).

Edited October 24, 2011 by Nanashi

[Protector]

Sounds painful, maaaaaaaaaan I wish I was there

[Nilo]

Ayahuasca has been calling me too, it is a powerful medicine for the soul. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

if anyone is looking for an authentic shaman then checkout:

http://www.ronwheelock.com/

Edited October 24, 2011 by Nilo

[Jetsun]

Ayahuasca has been calling me too, it is a powerful medicine for the soul. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

if anyone is looking for an authentic shaman then checkout:

http://www.ronwheelock.com/

 

I have read some good things about that Shaman Ron, he started his work working only with donations when some of the healers in that area are charging hundreds of dollars for their work, so his intentions are good I think.

 

The main advice I have learned if you do end up taking it is that if you do encounter any entities or spirits but are unsure of their intentions towards you you should ask them outright "are you my teacher?" either in your head or outloud and if they are they will say yes and if not they will leave you alone. Facing the rough times can be healing but if they get too rough or scary you can change the visions through your breath by breathing them away but I wouldn't expect many other spiritual or energetic practices you might have learned to be that useful.

[minkus]

Thank you for this very nice report of your ayahuasca healing. Interesting and recognisable

[JohnC]

I've done ayahuasca too, and give it a major bump.

I had lots of visions while on it, but my body was pretty clear in the first place, so no throwing up, or diarrhea for me.

 

The strangest thing was that it left me with a sense of wonderment of the world. Like I jumped on a plane go back home and was like 'HOLY SHIT WE ARE FLYING! Are you guys seeing this? Why aren't you amazed?!'

 

John

[suninmyeyes]

Thanks for sharing Jetsun!Most interesting to read.

Here is article I have just read about murder of 14 shamans in Peru, investigation in process..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/06/peru-shaman-murders?newsfeed=true

 

 

Peru shaman murders investigated

 

Peruvian government sends team to remote Amazon region to look into killing of 14 shamans, allegedly at behest of local mayor

 

reddit this

 

Dan Collyns in Lima

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 6 October 2011 18.31 BST

Article history

 

Peruvian shaman Pedro Tangoa

Peruvian shaman Pedro Tangoa performs a ritual involving the hallucinogen ayahuasca. Some suggest that the use of such psychoactive plants may be one reason the murdered shamans were targeted. Photograph: Reuters

 

The Peruvian government is sending a team of officials to a remote region of the Amazon jungle to investigate the deaths of 14 shamans who were killed in a string of brutal murders.

 

The traditional healers, all from the Shawi ethnic group, were murdered in separate incidents over the last 20 months, allegedly at the behest of a local mayor.

 

No arrests have been made over the deaths, which took place in and around Balsapuerto, a small river port in Peru's vast Amazon region on its northern border with Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil.

 

The prime suspects, however, in the disappearance of one victim and the murder of another are the mayor of Balsapuerto, Alfredo Torres and his brother Augusto.

 

The two men were named in a report from the public prosecutor's office in the nearest town of Yurimaguas, which said seven of the victims had been shot, stabbed or hacked to death with machetes. Local people identified all of them as curanderos or native healers, said the vice-minister of intercultural affairs, Vicente Otta.

 

The Roman Catholic church in the area has reported the death of seven other shamans whose bodies have yet to be found, Otta said, adding that territorial disputes and political disagreements also pointed to the mayor being "one of the instigators of the slaughter".

 

He said that the murder suspects had sought to "legitimise the killings " by blaming the victims for the high level of infant mortality in the area.

 

Torres has denied the allegations in interviews with local media. Calls to his office went unanswered.

 

The public prosecutor's report also details the testimony of a survivor of one attack. Bautista Inuma was mistaken for a shaman and received gunshot wounds and had an arm hacked off before he managed to escape.

 

Roger Rumrrill, an expert on Peruvian Amazon cultures and a government adviser, said some of the victims' bodies were thrown into rivers, to be devoured by piranhas and other fish.

 

He alleged that the mayor, who is an evangelical Christian, ordered the killings on hearing that the shamans planned to form an association. He said the mayor's brother was known in the area as a matabrujos or witch killer.

 

"For Protestant sects, the shamans are possessed by the devil; a totally sectarian, primitive and racist concept," he said.

 

Shamans in the Peruvian Amazon use psychoactive plants such as the jungle vine ayahuascafor spiritual ceremonies. As early as the 16th century, Spanish and Portuguese missionaries described its use by native people in the Amazon as the work of the devil.

 

"Until now the death of 14 curanderos who are the depositaries of Amazon knowledge wasn't worth the attention of the press," Rumrrill said. "That's an expression of how fragmented and racist this country is. A centralised country which continues to look at its interior with total indifference."

 

The National Institute for the Development of Andean, Amazonian and Afro-Peruvian Peoples estimates that there are around 330,000 indigenous people in Peru's Amazon region, about 1% of the country's population of more than 29 million.

 

Gregor MacLennan, Peru programme coordinator for the NGO Amazon Watch, said: "The death of these shamans represents not just a tragic loss of life, but the loss of a huge body of knowledge about rainforest plants and the crucial role shamans play in traditional medicine and spiritual guidance in indigenous communities."

[suninmyeyes]

 

I posted a documentary on it in the books section (because there isn't a films section :-))

Thanks for mentioning it K as I would have never probably notice it in a book section.

Ive enjoyed watching it.

[Birch]

Thanks for sharing Jetsun!Most interesting to read.

Here is article I have just read about murder of 14 shamans in Peru, investigation in process..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/06/peru-shaman-murders?newsfeed=true

 

 

Peru shaman murders investigated

 

Peruvian government sends team to remote Amazon region to look into killing of 14 shamans, allegedly at behest of local mayor

 

reddit this

 

Dan Collyns in Lima

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 6 October 2011 18.31 BST

Article history

 

Peruvian shaman Pedro Tangoa

Peruvian shaman Pedro Tangoa performs a ritual involving the hallucinogen ayahuasca. Some suggest that the use of such psychoactive plants may be one reason the murdered shamans were targeted. Photograph: Reuters

 

The Peruvian government is sending a team of officials to a remote region of the Amazon jungle to investigate the deaths of 14 shamans who were killed in a string of brutal murders.

 

The traditional healers, all from the Shawi ethnic group, were murdered in separate incidents over the last 20 months, allegedly at the behest of a local mayor.

 

No arrests have been made over the deaths, which took place in and around Balsapuerto, a small river port in Peru's vast Amazon region on its northern border with Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil.

 

The prime suspects, however, in the disappearance of one victim and the murder of another are the mayor of Balsapuerto, Alfredo Torres and his brother Augusto.

 

The two men were named in a report from the public prosecutor's office in the nearest town of Yurimaguas, which said seven of the victims had been shot, stabbed or hacked to death with machetes. Local people identified all of them as curanderos or native healers, said the vice-minister of intercultural affairs, Vicente Otta.

 

The Roman Catholic church in the area has reported the death of seven other shamans whose bodies have yet to be found, Otta said, adding that territorial disputes and political disagreements also pointed to the mayor being "one of the instigators of the slaughter".

 

He said that the murder suspects had sought to "legitimise the killings " by blaming the victims for the high level of infant mortality in the area.

 

Torres has denied the allegations in interviews with local media. Calls to his office went unanswered.

 

The public prosecutor's report also details the testimony of a survivor of one attack. Bautista Inuma was mistaken for a shaman and received gunshot wounds and had an arm hacked off before he managed to escape.

 

Roger Rumrrill, an expert on Peruvian Amazon cultures and a government adviser, said some of the victims' bodies were thrown into rivers, to be devoured by piranhas and other fish.

 

He alleged that the mayor, who is an evangelical Christian, ordered the killings on hearing that the shamans planned to form an association. He said the mayor's brother was known in the area as a matabrujos or witch killer.

 

"For Protestant sects, the shamans are possessed by the devil; a totally sectarian, primitive and racist concept," he said.

 

Shamans in the Peruvian Amazon use psychoactive plants such as the jungle vine ayahuascafor spiritual ceremonies. As early as the 16th century, Spanish and Portuguese missionaries described its use by native people in the Amazon as the work of the devil.

 

"Until now the death of 14 curanderos who are the depositaries of Amazon knowledge wasn't worth the attention of the press," Rumrrill said. "That's an expression of how fragmented and racist this country is. A centralised country which continues to look at its interior with total indifference."

 

The National Institute for the Development of Andean, Amazonian and Afro-Peruvian Peoples estimates that there are around 330,000 indigenous people in Peru's Amazon region, about 1% of the country's population of more than 29 million.

 

Gregor MacLennan, Peru programme coordinator for the NGO Amazon Watch, said: "The death of these shamans represents not just a tragic loss of life, but the loss of a huge body of knowledge about rainforest plants and the crucial role shamans play in traditional medicine and spiritual guidance in indigenous communities."

 

"The death of these shamans represents not just a tragic loss of life, but the loss of a huge body of knowledge about rainforest plants and the crucial role shamans play in traditional medicine and spiritual guidance in indigenous communities."

 

Very sad news.

[Creation]

As a healer Ayahuasca is very tough, one thing I learned pretty fast is that all the previous attempts to heal myself were done from a place where I wanted the healing done on my own terms, while with Ayahuasca it is on it's terms or you will suffer a great deal more. I tried to struggle and control the process as first which brought me to a very dark place and I ended up in a state where I felt the only way I could survive and get through the situation without going completely insane was to let go of my ego's attempt to control and plunge into the rabbit hole head first, which was a pretty terrifying prospect. As a teacher it forces you to face your fears head on, whatever you are most afraid of it is likely you will be forced to look at it straight in the eye and it showed me that this is the only practical way to live your life, when I was at a very dark point in my journey I tried praying to Jesus for help and tried to invoke the compassion of all the Buddha's and all that stuff but none of it helped in any way whatsoever, infact all of that was just another way of trying to control things to avoid looking at my fears head on. The Shaman also plays a very crucial role in the process through protection and by helping to extract some of the darkness through techniques like sucking it out of the top of your head and spitting it out.

Thank you for sharing your story Jetsun, especially the quoted portion. Something for me to contemplate indeed.