Ayahuasca is a psychedelic drink made by indigenous peoples of the Amazon basin, and now used all over the world. Its active psychedelic component is DMT, an incredibly powerful hallucinogen. Because DMT breaks down in the digestive tract, Aya also includes an MOAI or monoamine oxidase inhibitor. This addition makes it so DMT can be effectively ingested.
Why am I writing about Ayahuasca?
Well, for a couple of reasons. One is that Aya has become incredibly popular recently with people seeking “shamanic” experiences. I also have a number of people coming to this page looking for ayahuasca ceremony in Maine. Most importantly, I have heard and seen some absolute horror stories from people using ayahuasca, and I feel like nobody is mentioning these cautionary tales.
I’m no expert in ayahuasca, I have never done it. I do not lead ayahuasca ceremonies. I know and have met lots of people who have taken it. I know shamanic practitioners who have clients with very bad experiences. So I will speak from second-hand experience, but also from my role as a shamanic teacher.
I will not tell you whether you should or shouldn’t try Aya, but I feel like you should be as informed as possible before you do something that potentially dangerous or life altering.
Each ayahuasca ceremony can last for many hours. During that time, most people purge - with both vomiting and diarrhea. If you are having a “bad trip” there is no antidote. You cannot stop the experience. As someone who has done ayahuasca told me - once you buy the ticket, you’re going for the ride.
Is Ayahuasca Dangerous?
The truth is that some people have died from ayahuasca, and some people have wound up institutionalized at least temporarily from the effects. I would say that it’s dangerous in and of itself. It affects people in relatively unpredictable ways as it works on serotonin and other body chemistry.
There is very little research on the safety of ayahuasca, but there have been some reported deaths and other negative health repercussions. There have been some allergic reactions, interactions with other drugs, effects on undiagnosed health conditions. The potentially fatal risk of serotonin syndrome is something to consider.
People who prepare the brew, may include lots of other plant material, and you may not know how you’re going to react to those.
Caution is definitely in order.
Because ayahuasca became so trendy and profit-making, there are also unscrupulous “shamans” out there. There have been stories of ceremony participants being sexually assaulted.. If you are going to put yourself at the mercy of a practitioner for hours or days, take every precaution and do your research to know who you’re dealing with.
Like most hallucinogens, ayahuasca is not legal in the United States and in many other countries. While I have not hear of anyone getting arrested for participating in a ceremony, iit is something to consider.
From my own spiritual observations of people who have done Aya and other entheogens, they tend to blow you wide open, and not everybody is prepared for tthat. Someone walked into a talk I was giving whose pupils were “off” and etherically, looked like he had very large insects whizzing around his head. He definitely had “hitchhikers.” He was quite ungrounded and a bit dissociated. I talked to him during a break and, as I expected” he had done a lot of ayahuasca and a bunch of other psychedlics.
Will I Have a Spiritual Experience on Ayahuasca
Ayahuasca falls into a group of drugs called “enthogens” which means something that can give you an experience of God. People do have profound spiritual experiences on ayahuasca, and healing can take place. But spiritual doesn’t necessarily mean euphoric or even pleasant. This is something to prepare for.
It’s very common for people to see bugs and snakes and monsters. Sometimes there are auditory and other effects. As with anything, there are no guarantees about what kind of experience you will have - but it will most likely be profound.
Having talked with probably dozens of people who have done different entheogens, including aya, it doesn’t seem to be a shortcut to enlightenment to me. Others certainly might disagree. It seems to be helpful in pulling up some of our shadow - and that could be very useful. It also seems helpful in showing us our connection to everything in the universe, and that can be profound.
I fully support the clinical trials going on now with psychedelics, and many of them look promising for mental health. One mechanism they seem to work on is brain plasticity, allowing the brain to more easily create more desirable pathways. I think this is an area where shamanism and science can play really nicely together.
Do You Recommend Ayahuasca?
I do not make recommendations for or against participating in an ayahuasca ceremony. I believe in body autonomy - that consenting adults can choose for themselves. However, I believe in informed consent - you should know what you’re getting into and the potential risks, I see very few people talking about the risks and drawbacks associated with Aya - and this is worrisome.
When I journey, or teach students to journey, I use rhythm to help generate the altered state - usually by drumming. We do not use chemicals to drive or enhance the experience. When we wish to end the journey, we just come back. Within a few minutes, everybody is back in the room and fully grounded. Personally, I like having that level of control over the experience.
I’m really on the fence about the risk / reward ratio of ayahuasca. Sine I haven’t done it myself, personally I feel the risk isn’t worth the reward. But you choose what’s right for you. Just make sure you are as informed as possible before you choose something potentially lethal.
I believe that almost anybody can safely learn shamanic journeying without the use of psychedelics. Self-healing is a process, and there aren’t to many shortcuts without tradeoffs.