Has anyone here done ayhuasca?

[alittlelark]

I will be checking out into a virgin rainforest w/o electricity etc for 2 weeks to partake of the medicine. Me, my backpack and 2 pairs of shoes.... Gonna meet the other 7 seekers for the 1st time on the 11th in Puerto Maldonado, Peru.

Does anyone here have any experience/insight? I am going w/an open mind....

I will not respond to this OP for a few hours - gonna be soaking in the mineral baths here in Pagosa Springs.

[Paulie]

1. Have fun!

How many pairs of socks you taking?

[hunter]

2. I take powerful meds with unpleasant side effects to keep me out of that ayhuasca place.

The way people describe the experience, I'm pretty sure I've taken such trips for weeks and months without any chemical assistance at all.



Be safe.

[Tobin S.]

8. I hear you, hunter.

I take prescription stuff for those kinds of problems. It would be very unwise for people like us to take psychedelics. I've taken them in the past and have sometimes toyed with the idea that for some reason I couldn't come back from the trip. It was like I was on a permanent and very confusing journey into regions of my brain that have long since been over-ridden by higher brain functions in most people.

I'm not saying I was stupid for ten years, I was just very lost inside my own head. Very few people understand how that can be possible. With the addition of psychiatric medication to my brain chemistry, I was able to make it back to the place where I am focused and I know what is real. I almost aced a bachelor's degree, so lack of intelligence was clearly not the problem.

[jakeXT]

3. Beware of the crocodiles

Drink ayahuasca and you may see yourself being eaten by a crocodile. You may find a miraculous resolution to a crippling sadness. Or, more likely, you’ll land somewhere in between. Regardless, you will definitely throw up. Author and ethnobotanist Chris Kilham says all of these things have happened to him after drinking this psychoactive Amazonian brew.

If you haven’t heard of ayahuasca, you may soon. While once consumed mainly by natives of the Amazon basin, today, thousands visit Latin American countries every year to imbibe it, with the hopes of seeing profound visions, having religious experiences and—many claim—undergoing immense healing. Ayahuasca now has devoted followers throughout the world.

Kilham, who calls himself the “medicine hunter” and has traveled to and intermittently lived in the Amazon for more than two decades, says that he is a firm believer in the healing properties of the drink, which is made from the bark of a jungle vine called Banisteriopsis Caapi, and usually mixed with other plants like the leaves of the Justicia pectoralis or Psychotria viridis. It has been drunk by shamans throughout the region for thousands of years as a part of traditional healing processes: the visions brought on by the brew guided the shaman to the his patient’s problem.


Inspired by his experiences with the brew, Kilham has written a book called The Ayahuasca Test Pilots Handbook: The Essential Guide to Ayahuasca Journeying, which he views as primer for people interested in the topic, or a reference for people who have already experienced it.

http://www.newsweek.com/ayahuasca-can-help-you-communicate-plant-spirits-and-heal-your-body-and-mind-296226

[alittlelark]

4. Just ordered the book.....

[RandiFan1290]

5. DMT The Spirit Molecule

[alittlelark]

13. Very good documentary!

Thanks!!

[shenmue]

6. Is that the stuff in 'Altered States'?

I'd stick with lemonade, myself.

[Tobin S.]

7. I've read a little about it.

It sounds to me like it briefly dissolves the barrier between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. It brings your dream world into your waking consciousness. The visions seen are probably highly symbolic and deeply personal. I can see how someone might benefit psychologically from such an experience, but I don't think it has anything to do with different planes of existence as many have claimed.

[panader0]

9. LSD is better

I've never taken ayhuasca, although it sounds interesting. I have taken many different kinds of psychotropic plants, psilocybin, peyote, jimson, morning glory and more. All had psychedelic effects (and, as mentioned above, involved throwing up). But none had the clarity that comes with LSD.

[IcyPeas]

11. CNN did an hour show on ayhuasca with Lisa Ling (video here)

It was interesting. First time I'd ever heard of it.

it's on YouTube:

[TuxedoKat]

12. No

I heard a few radio programs about it on CoasttoCoast. If you are a member you could find them with their search engine. It sounds interesting, although not very palatable. Hope you have a good time and a safe adventure.