Ayahuasca: Let The Journey Begin (Part One)

So….let’s talk about Ayahuasca. Four years ago when I went to Peru to find the healing jungle tea, no one  knew what I was talking about. When I explained to them what it was they thought I was INSANE for wanting to drink it. Now, I hear people talking about it everywhere I go. I’ve ear hustled conversations about Aya in Australia, India, and the US.

SIDE NOTE: I‘ll be referring to Ayahuasca as “Aya” in this post because I am too lazy to type it out…lol Nah, it sounds more hipster to say “Aya”. Like I am in a “Members Only Club” and only people that know Aya like we do know what we are talking about. Hahaha!!

Here are some typical questions I get asked when I mention Ayahuasca.

• Where can I do it?
• How much did it cost?
• What’s it made out of?
• What was my journey like?
• How long did it last?
• Did it heal me?

Before I start answering some of these questions I want to tell you what Aya is for those of you who haven’t heard of it.

“Ayahuasca is a psychedelic brew typically made from boiling two plants, banisteriopsis caapi and psychotria viridis. The brew has been used by many indigenous peoples of the Amazon Rainforest for healing, magic and social welfare for at least a few centuries, possibly much longer. When consumed, ayahuasca usually creates extraordinary experiences of visions and intense emotions.” Source: Kahpi.com

Let’s start with a little backstory of how I came across Aya. One night while reading The Week, I came across an article called, “To Hell and Back” that was about a woman who went to the Amazon to drink Ayahuasca and was healed of depression. This was a shortened version of her story that was first published in National Geographic. (I tried to find the article but it looks like they took it down.)

My soul spoke to me when I read this article. I knew right then and there that this is what I needed to heal  past trauma and depression. In my next therapy session, I asked the therapist if she had ever heard of a Shaman, medicine man/woman. She knew exactly what I was talking about and gave me the book “The Way of the Shaman” to read. A lot of what I read resonated with me. I felt at times that I already knew a lot of the information in the book.

I had made up my mind, I was going to go to Peru, find a Shaman, drink Aya, and be healed. The only thing stopping me was fear. When I mentioned wanting to go people would pass their fear on to me. They would say things like, what if I get kidnapped, raped or murdered? I mean Peru is suppose to be a “third world” country and it’s dangerous to travel there, right?!

Several years past and still I would have episodes of severe depression. I attempted to kill myself during one of these low times. (You can read the story here “That Time I Wanted to Die“.) The pain of going through the fluctuations of depression was weighing on me and that’s when I decided to go to Peru.

Once I made the decision to go, the universe opened up a rare opportunity so I took it. It turns out that one of the girls I worked with was from Peru. She overheard me talking about going in the dressing room and invited me to go with her the next time she went. We traveled within two months of that conversation.

I spent two weeks in Peru traveling with her and her friend. It was an adventure to say the least. I won’t go into detail about the trip because it’s not relevant to this story, but just know I was miserable at times. But I never lost sight of my mission.

“Find a Shaman, drink Ayahuasca,  heal”

We traveled to Cusco, Peru from Lima to go to Machu Picchu. To get to Machu Picchu you must travel to Aguas Calientes first then take a bus up to the site. In order for us to do this we had to go to a travel agency to book a van to take us to the city.

While at the travel agency I urged my friend to ask the agent if there was a local Shaman in the area that was keen to talking to me and giving me the healing juice.
He called someone and made arrangements for us to see the Shaman when we returned from Machu Picchu. I was given two instructions on how to prepare for my ceremony;

No SEX!! No meat or diary.

He said I should have been doing this for a month before I came and I knew this, but I still had sex before I left the U.S. A whole week with no meat, in a place that eats chicken like it’s going out of style, was rough to say the least. Let me tell you, I was starving by the time I came back from Machu Picchu. haha

When we arrived in Cusco, we went to the travel agency to confirm our appointment to see the Shaman. Upon getting there we were informed that the Shaman that he had selected didn’t have time to see us, but a Shaman’s apprentice had magically stopped in earlier that day. Sketchy, right?! I had already paid $300 before our trip to Machu Picchu and I knew this man wasn’t about to refund our money so I was willing to take the risk and go.

A few hours later we were met by the Shamans apprentice. He def looked the part of what I would think he “should” look like. We got into a cab and up the mountain we went.

We arrived across from Sacsayhuaman and walked up a dirt road to the Shamans home. It was a shabby little house with dirt floors. It was the worst living conditions I had ever been exposed to. He had two elementary aged children and no wife. Their beds were covered in clothing and filth. It broke my heart to see this.

After a hour or so of waiting for others to arrive, we gathered what we needed for the ceremony: rolled up mats, blankets, and whatever we came with. There were 5 men and 2 of us, but we weren’t scared. We started walking down the road until we got to a faint beaten path that lead up the side of a mountain. I had no idea we would be hiking. I wasn’t prepared at all for this part.

The trek up was a bit difficult and I had to stop a lot. My energy was so low from fasting that day. I chewed on coco leaves to give me energy, and before you ask, no it didn’t get me high. lol

I don’t know how long it took us to hike up to the ceremonial spot, but the view from the top was worth it.

A small cave carved out of the large boulders created shelter for us all. We laid down the mats and prepared the area. Then we sat…and waited…and waited…and waited. It seemed like hours had past.

The evening turned into night and the cold crept in. They were drinking an alcoholic beverage to keep warm, but I didn’t drink want to drink on an empty stomach. We waited a bit longer and then the Shaman got up and signaled for us to follow him.

He called on the 4 directions and invited in our ancestors and probably the elements. I am not 100% sure, but some of it I understand just from him gestures. Afterwards we sat back down and he poured the Ayahuasca from an old plastic coke bottle. It was brown and looked gross. He poured it into a wooden cup and handed me the first drink.

OMG!!! It tasted so bad. If you’ve ever had kambuchi then you know what I am talking about, sorta. You will always remember the taste. Trust me. I swear when I swallowed it I thought to myself, “is this cow piss?” haha He coulda had us drink anything. I was putting my 100% trust in this man.

I sat back and waited. I had no clue what to expect. Yes, I read about it, but it’s really hard to explain what you see. If you are an artist you can make what you see in a drawing or painting, but sometimes words can’t describe the patterns and vivid colors. After about 20 minutes or so I started to see tracers.

Once it started working I went out and sat on a large flat rock. It felt safe and nurturing in some weird way. I closed my eyes and allowed the visions to come. Circles appeared everywhere; big ones, small ones, fast moving, slow moving, and the seven colors of the rainbow. All swirling and mixing to make the colors we see in this dimension and creating the images we see.

Everywhere I looked I saw this. This flowing substance was in everything. To me, it’s what “God” looks like. It was mind blowing. Then, everything turned different shades of grey and black. The 3D images were still there, but the vibrant colors were not. My stomach began to churn and I projectile vomited purple stuff. I threw up so much, which didn’t make sense to me because I hadn’t eaten all day. Where was all this coming from?

The Shaman brought me back to the cave with the others. I was shivering from the cold, but couldn’t feel it. Throughout the night I would continue to go sit on the rock. The Shaman began singing and soon my friend joined in as well. They sang most of the night. I didn’t know the significance of the singing, but it felt good, whatever they were saying.

At times I had diarrhea so bad that I barely took my pants down before I went everywhere. So much sickness. Every time I vomited I would say “I don’t want to be sick.” Then the Shaman would gently whisper to me, “The sickness is all in your head”. He blew tobacco smoke into my hair and on the crown of my head. At one point he came around and began sucking black stuff out of the palms of my hand and spitting it off to the side on the ground. I could see a thick dark substance coming from my hand into his mouth. I was in disbelief that something like this was really happening.

“The sickness is all in your head.”

Isn’t it though? If you think about it, all sickness comes from your head: meaning the thoughts you have. I can’t really say how long I was in another world, I drank twice that night. I eventually fell asleep. I won’t go into more detail about the rest of the night and the rest of my trip because this post is already too long, but I will finish by telling you that it changed me.

I came back to the U.S. a different person. My chakras were open. My outlook on life was different. My sister can tell you that I was totally different when I came home. From this point on I was on a journey of self discovery that will continue until I take my last breath.

This was only the beginning of my relationship with Aya. I returned to Peru last year to reconnect with the sacred jungle tea that changed my life. I needed her help one more time.

To be continued in Part Two. “12 Day Yoga Ayahuasca Retreat”