WHAT IS AYAHUASCA?

"Ayahuasca” refers to a medicinal and magical drink incorporating two or more distinctive plant species capable of producing profound mental, physical and spiritual effects when brewed together and consumed in a ceremonial setting.

The word ayahuasca can be translated to English as vine of the soul or vine of the dead. This is most likely due to the fact that after taking ayahuasca, a person often feels a freeing of the soul.

Ayahuasca is usually made by mixing two or more distinctive plant species capable of producing psychoactive effects when brewed together and consumed. One of these plants is always the giant woody liana vine called ayahuasca (Banisteriopsis Caapi). The other plant or plants combined with ayahuasca generally contain tryptamine alkaloids, most often dimethyltryptamine (DMT). The plants most often used are the leaves of chacruna (Psychotria viridis and other species) and oco yagé; also known as chalipanga, chagraponga, and huambisa (Diplopterys cabrerana).

This drink is widely employed throughout Amazonian Perú, Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, western Brazil, and in portions of the Río Orinoco basin. The oldest know object related to the use of ayahuasca is a ceremonial cup, hewn out of stone, with engraved ornamentation, which was found in the Pastaza culture of the Ecuadorean Amazon from 500 B.C. to 50 A.D. It is deposited in the collection of the Ethnological Museum of the Central University (Quito, Ecuador). This indicates that ayahuasca potions were known and used at least 2,500 years ago. Its antiquity in the lower Amazon is likely much greater.

THE EFFECTS OF AYAHUASCA

After ingestion, you will start to feel the effects in about 15-60 minutes. The peak starts at about 60-90 minutes after ingestion and can last 2-6 hours. After effects can last another 1-8 hours.

A large dose will last longer and be more potent than a smaller dose will. However, if a user ingests too much, they will probably black-out and forget the experience. It is nearly impossible to overdose and die.

After you drink ayahuasca, you may have to vomit. This does not happen to everyone but it is fairly common. Vomiting itself is unpleasant but it should not be considered an allergic or negative reaction. If you do have to vomit, afterwards you will feel as though you have been purified from the inside out.

The best way to minimize the chance of vomiting (or at least limit the amount), is to fast for 24 hours prior to ingestion. That means drinking water only (no food at all) for one full day before drinking the brew.

SHAMANIC CEREMONIES & AYAHUASCA

Shamanism is a system for psychic, emotional, and spiritual healing and for exploration, discovery, and knowledge gathering about non-material worlds and states of mind.

Anthropologists have identified shamanistic practices in tribal cultures, ancient and modern, throughout the world. Shamanism is a "technique of ecstasy" (Mircea Eliade) in which the spirit of the shaman leaves the body and travels to communicate with spirit helpers and other beings for the purpose of obtaining knowledge, power, or healing. However, the shaman usually retains control over his or her body. In many cultures, a shaman is chosen or called, sometimes by healing him- or herself of a serious illness.

Shamanic journeying is an altered state of consciousness wherein you enter a realm called "non-ordinary reality." By journeying, you can gather knowledge and perform healing in ways that are not accessible in ordinary waking reality.

Shamanic healing is a process whereby a person journeys on behalf of another, and brings back information or instructions that can be used to provide psychic/emotional/spiritual healing to another person.

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