Ayahuasca and Psychedelic Shamanism

A paper I wrote for a class I took at school.  As you will see it is a research based paper on  ayahuasca, DMT and shamanism culture.  Super stoked to share it as all of my school work usually is saved on hard drives only to be seen by the professor marking it.  All the books and research I used is cited bellow! :)   

Ayahuasca and Psychedelic Shamanism

               The first question that comes to many individuals minds when they think of Ayahuasca is how taking a brewed tea concoction from the middle of a jungle in the Amazon Rainforest is and can be a spiritual and even religious experience.  This brings up the question then, is Ayahuasca a legitimate spiritual path?  Depending on whom you ask, you will get different answers, but the general consensus from people whether they are Shamans themselves or just one-time experiencers is that ayahuasca is no recreational hallucinogen. (DeKorne, 2011) “It ain’t for fun, nor is it a way to avoid your issues or psychology. Far from it.” (Gaddis, 2011) Although extensive research has been done on other psychedelic and hallucinogen drugs, finding research based on numerical or statistical fact is nearly impossible in regards to specifically the experiences had during these ceremonies.  However, the amount of personal accounts and the history that is so deeply rooted in these traditions stands for a lot more than some would feel comfortable giving.  As with most religions, until you yourself experience the powers and the magic you have to rely on faith.  Ayahuasca is a known healer and form of psychotherapy, maybe not by modern medicinal definitions but by traditional means.  In order to understand ayahuasca one must understand the history and tradition of Amazonian Shamanism, the power of dimethyltryptamine (DMT), the science and spirits in the plants and finally by hearing the personal experiences had by all who have travelled across the dimensions in order to face their issues and gain knowledge of the universe many think inconceivable.

To begin, a true and real understanding of what ayahuasca is and how it is viewed in its native home is very important.  Our western view of it sometimes deems it a psychoactive drug, something along the lines of LSD, “Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide (INN) and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed- and open-eye visuals, synesthesia, an altered sense of time and spiritual experiences, as well as for its key role in 1960s counterculture.” (Wikipedia, 2013) It can get confused for something that is recreational and that can help you connect to a higher power of things that are not existent in the average westerners world.  They believe that everyone has the power inside of them already it is just not awaken yet.  However, once you awaken what is already there just lying dormant that our true reasons for being here and the full potential for healing can be accomplished. 

In Ecuador and Peru ayahuasca is known as a medicine.  It is a Quechua Indian, indigenous group native to South America, word that means the “vine of the dead”. (DeKorne, 2011) It is also refered to as yage, pronounced YA-hay, and also as daime. (DeKorne, 2011) A major difference between and LSD experience and an ayahuasca experience is that the users see the experiences as real and not as “hallucinations” in the usual sense of the word, and also that it is a portal to other worlds that exist alongside ours. (DeKorne, 2011) People often think of ayahuasca as a singular drug, like that of LSD or acid, but in fact ayahuasca is the combination, a brew if you will, of two very specific plants found only in the Amazonian jungles. 

While each shaman has his or her own secret formula for the mixture (with probably no two exactly alike), it has been established that true ayahuasca always contains both beta-carboline and tryptamine alkaloids—the former (harmine and harmaline) usually obtained from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, and the latter (N,N-dimethyltryptamine, or DMT) from the leaves of the Psychotria viridis bush. (There may be variations among plant species, but the alkaloids are generally consistent.) (DeKorne, 2011, pg 146)      

DeKorne continues to discuss that neither of these plant substances by themselves are psychoactive in oral doses.  That is why the brewed combination of the two plants is so essential for an ayahuasca brew.  The two plants that are used, Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the Psychotria viridis bush, both contain different properties that work together allowing the physical human body to reach this high state where the experiences do become real. 

The caapi vine is a potent short-term MAO inhibitors, or a monoamine oxidase inhibiter.  In our bodies we naturally have monoamine oxidase that act similarly to a chemical version of the white blood cells and help our bodies break down toxins found in the everyday things that we consume.  But it is also what breaks down the DMT from the viridis bush and what makes it ineffective on its own. (DeKorne, 2011) This is one of the many reasons that Shamans and anyone who plans on experimenting with ayahuasca have to follow very specific diets and lifestyle changes in order to safely participate in a ceremony. An example of the ayahuasca diet includes; No salt or pepper, no sugar, sweets or chocolate, no pork for a minimum of two weeks before and after, no red meat, no oils however if you must use oil use olive oil sparingly, no animal fats, no alcohol for a minimum of one week before and after, no fizzy drinks including diet sodas as these contain aspartame and other sweeteners, no energy drinks, no non-alcoholic beer, no seasonings, white pepper or spices, no chillies or other hot peppers, no ice, ice cream or ice cold drinks, no pickled products and no dairy produce.  The lifestyle changes include; no sexual activity of any kind including masturbation, avoidance of synthetic soaps, perfumes and toiletries, no prescription drugs especially antidepressants or antibiotics, female participants who are menstruating must let the shamans know and ayahuasca is not compatible with pregnancy. (Temple of the Way of Light, 2013)

 The other plant used in the brew is the viridis bush.  This is the spirit plant, the plant that contains the psychoactive properties known as DMT, it is what provides the high.  It is the leaves from the viridis bush that “produce what has been described as one of the most profound of all psychedelic experiences.” (DeKorne, 2011) To better understand and to connect with this one must first understand the power that is behind DMT, because otherwise it may be misconstrued as just another drug that people ingest to feel something.    

DMT is found naturally in the mammalian brain and is theorized to play an important role in thought processing, dreaming and near-death experiences, as well as meditation and out-of-body experiences such as astral-projection. When smoked, injected, or ingested in combination with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), DMT induces an intense hallucinogenic and psychedelic state. (Drug Forum, 2012)

There are many effects that can be felt from Dimethyltriptamine.  People have even claimed to enter into a completely new world where time is infinite.  They have lived an entire lifetime in the twenty minutes of being high, if smoked, or the few hours of being high if taken in a brew like ayahuasca.  During a drug trial of DMT conducted by Rick Strassman in 1990-1995 at the University of New Mexico’s School of Medicine in Albuqueque, four hundred doses of DMT were administered to sixty human volunteers.  Everyone who participated in this trial had already had some level of experience with other forms of psychedelics but none had had previous experiences with DMT in this form.  Every single participant had claims of having departing to another world and learning things that would seem impossible to any life form on this planet.  They said that it was very difficult to realize that when they did come back to their physical body from some other dimension that all of the knowledge their souls had learnt in that lifetime their current physical confines could not possibly handle all of it or process it on the same level. (Strassman, 2000)

Another example of a DMT experience is that it is your body dying and being reborn again, piece by piece, cell by cell. (Osta, 2012) The intensity of it all, especially when smoking it is very strong.  That’s why when consuming it as a brew the effects are longer lasting because your metabolism has to break down the substances and carry them into your blood stream.  However, although one is intensified what people experience from either straight DMT or an ayahuasca brew is very similar.   

 The effects of Dimethyltryptamine include physically, slightly elevated blood pressure, heart rate, pupil diameter, and rectal temperature. Mentally you go into a hallucinogenic state of mind where you feel you have entered into another world. Loss of understanding what is real and what is not. (Drug Forum, 2012)

There is no doctrine or a holy book, the shamans and the followers of these shamanic rituals base their belief off of their personal experiences.  This faith is a faith that solely comes from the personal experiences encountered in the ceremonies and not by just believing in it.  That is why it is so difficult to understand and to describe in words, especially if you have not experienced its powers or powers similar to it.  The best way to compare it to someone who is Catholic for example, is that if every time you drank the “blood and the body” of Christ, the bread and the wine, you entered this altered state where you were able to physically, in the sense of visions experienced, and spiritually connect with Jesus, his Disciples, followers and even God.  However, that does not happen.  Everything is a symbol, and when you believe in those symbols and worship them you are in turn showing your devote faith to the Roman Catholic Church, Jesus and God.  But it is rare to have an actual tangible experience, and those who do have those tangible experiences are often the ones who become Saints and viewed as extra special people, for lack of a better word, with an extra special connection to the higher power.  They are the people that are prayed to for different reasons and they are the ones who are looked up to because they were once human beings on this earth not so long ago, and so there is a different, more attainable connection with them. 

This is where Shamanism is so basically different then a religion like the Roman Catholic one.  Shamanism takes its faith in the plants and the spirits to the next level and experiences them.  It also allows anyone who is open and willing to experience it the opportunity to do so, and you do not need to be a Saint or anything in particular.  You can come from any background or faith and the spirits will guide you through and provide you with ways for you to help yourself that is unique to whom you are.  That is why people from all nations from around the world seek out these Ayahuascaros, or shamans, because it is almost like each experience is tailored specifically for the person enduring it.  This may then bring up the question again, is ayauhasca a legitimate collective spiritual path if it is so individual?  The thing about shamanism is that they believe in the same God as Christian, Judaism and Islamic followers do.  But just like the differences between those religions, shamanism has its own way of forming a relationship with him.  They believe that by taking the “brew” you are using the spirits of the plants to connect you to the higher power of the universe, which includes, but is not limited to, God itself.  However, they do not have a specific depiction of God, they believe that God reveals himself to different people differently.  That is why one vision of God that someone may have may be different then someone else’s vision of God, but it is still God and God has a will, a plan, for everyone here it is just a matter of opening up ones mind, heart and soul to the signs around us in our everyday life and realizing that this God, this higher power, is with us every step of the way and that we are never, nor can we ever, truly be alone.  Even in our darkest times God is there, and he does not want for our lives to be difficult and sad but by our choices we sometimes take ourselves down those paths. 

This is another crossroads in Shamanism and the Catholic Church, to continue with the same example.  This is because followers of the Catholic faith believe that God is always there with us, his spirit is always inside.  The reason this is a crossroads though is because this view is very similar but Shamanism also believes in other spirits being constantly present and being very powerful as well.  Another huge difference is that in Catholicism they view that children are born sinners, that it is internal factors that cause disease and turmoil inside of us.  Where as in the Shamanic faiths they believe that human beings are born pure and can be pure.  It is the external forces that are responsible for disease.  “Man is, in effect, absolved from any responsibility.” (Dobkin de Rios, 1972) By this explanation people cannot be sinners.  It is partially to do with working out our karma but also the intentions of those we surround ourselves with. (Osta, 2012) 

Ayahuasca is a powerful healer.  It is why so many people seek out this Amazonian brew.  This is another misconception that a lot of foreigners to this religion tend to have.  Many people believe that by taking it that you are trying to become a shaman, but that is not the case.  It is like taking prescribed medication from a doctor.  You are not trying to become the doctor by going to see them and take the medication that they recommend for your healing, you are just trying to get better and heal from the illness that you are suffering with.  Shamanism and ayahuasca brews can act the same way; the Shaman as the doctor and ayahuasca as the catalyst agent to your healing.

People rarely focus upon ayahuasca by itself as a curative agent. The hallucinogen is a means toward an end--a way in which healing can begin. Special diets, rituals, orations, particular spells, and counter magic are the ways in which healing takes place. (Dobkin de Rios, 1972)

A great example of the type of healing ayahuasca and Shamans, or Curanderos, can provide comes from Iquitos, Peru.  People would come to Javier, a very powerful curanderos in Iquitos, and he would recommend them different types of surgical procedures and operations, often planned for only days after coming to him, “You must have a liver transplant.  Your operation will be on Friday.  On Saturday stay in bed.” (Osta, 2012)  These operations and transplants however were taking place on the astral body and are performed spiritually by the curanderos coming to them through dreams.  “‘After a time, whatever is done with the astral body begins to reflect in the physical body, like a mirror.’ Javier explained.”  (Osta, 2012)

The ayahuasca healing process is not a pretty one, nor is it a comfortable experience.  This personal experience shared by Jayson Gaddis on January 5, 2011 is an example of this.   

Over a year ago, I had the hardest night of my life on this medicine. I shat myself, threw up on myself and thought I was going insane.  I was in a room with some friends and mostly strangers. I was crying out for help. I was dying. It felt like a psychotic break to the point where I lost all reference points and “me” totally disappeared.
I experienced deep terror that I don’t wish upon anyone. Fortunately for me, the inferno ended and I felt the deepest shame of my life that night. After many hours of hell, I came out the other side in bliss and ecstasy.
I crossed through a threshold that night that marked the true beginning of my ego death and spiritual emergence that is still going on today.
At this point, you might be wondering why I went back for more. But, for those of you who know me, you know that I am that devoted to uncovering the truth of reality.  And, while I have experienced the dark night, I have also see[n] the other side, of blissed out LOVE. (Gaddis, 2011)

So is psychedelic Shamanism, psychedelic plants, spirits and hallucinations all a way to face your issues and psychological make-up face on?  The research would indicate that yes, it is.  However, it must be done under the very specific guidance of Shamanic healers, the Curanderos.  Shamanism is also more similar to other western religions then maybe it is portrayed through the media.  Especially because a huge part of the Amazonian Shamanism is the use of psychedelic plants, which are illegal throughout North America and the majority of the other westernized countries in the world. 

Psychedelics are illegal not because a loving government is concerned that you may jump out of a third story window.  Psychedelics are illegal because they dissolve opinion structures and culturally laid down models of behavior and information processing.  They open you up to the possibility that everything you know is wrong.  (Terence McKenna)

Ultimately the question comes down to whether or not ayahuasca is a legitimate spiritual path?  The answer to that question can only be found within.  

     References

Macrae, E. (n.d.). The Ritual and Religious Use of Ayahuasca in Contemporary Brazil. Santo Daime. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from http://santodaime.org/archives/edward.htm

DMT. (n.d.). Drugs Forum RSS. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showwiki.php?title=DMT

DeKorne, J. (2011). Psychedelic shamanism: the cultivation, preparation, and shamanic use of psychotropic plants. Berkeley, Calif.: North Atlantic Books.

Dietary Information - templeofthewayoflight.org. (n.d.). Dietary Information - templeofthewayoflight.org. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from http://templeofthewayoflight.org/retreats/dietary-information

de Rios, M. D. (n.d.). Erowid Ayahuasca Vault : Info #3 on Traditional Use. Erowid Ayahuasca Vault : Info #3 on Traditional Use. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/ayahuasca/ayahuasca_culture3.shtml

Gaddis, J. (n.d.). Is Ayahuasca a legitimate spiritual path?. Elephant Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from http://www.elephantjournal.com/2011/01/is-ayahuasca-a-legitimate-spiritual-path/

Lysergic acid diethylamide. (2013, August 12). Wikipedia. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide

Osta, A. (2010). Shamans and healers: my experiences with Ayahusca masters and spiritual healers. S.l.: Andrew Ostapenko Designs.

Strassman, R. (2001). DMT: the spirit molecule : a doctor's revolutionary research into the biology of near-death and mystical experiences. Rochester, Vt.: Park Street Press.

Night-Time Shots

Nice to see the new street lights create awesome photo lighting! Especially with freshly fallen snow on trees at night time. 

Lost Letters: Part One

Dear you, a person who loves me,

If I were to go today, grieve and be sad, but know I left this earth ready. My death will mark the end of my current human life but my soul will continue on. I'm ready for death and I accept it with open arms. It's a beautiful thing, my rebirth. Even if my spirit doesn't stick around know that I left you with a piece of myself. Every word I spoke with you and every experience that I shared with you was meant to be, and those are the things you must hold on to and remember me by. All of the terrible things, or fights we may have had helped me grow into the person that I became. I love you and my love for you will be everlasting through every memory you have of me. Even if we left on a more negative note know that that's how it was meant to be and that I love you regardless. My number may be called soon or far from now but it doesn't matter because I left this place knowing I was loved and that I experienced love, which I believe to be the most important thing to experience. You may not have been ready to let go of me but my body was just a material object that I and others alike used. If you need more time with me, look through every single one of the photos that I have taken over the years and think about me, that is how you'll keep me with you. But don't let me hold you back, just because my human life has come to an end does not mean that yours has to. You must keep living because there are other humans who are still going to rely on you.  Clearly I was meant to write this now because I literally just stumbled upon this quote which sums up exactly the point I have been trying to make. It goes "What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal." By Albert Pine

Please donate my organs and burn my body. And when you're ready take me and sprinkle me in a pond of lotus under the moon light. I have already faced death, and no matter how much suffering comes with death, life is still much harder. Death is easy. I've struggled with my own personal ups and downs and I've gotten through them, maybe not in a conventional way but in my own personal ways. This is just another chapter to my story and not the end. Celebrate. Put your differences aside and share what you loved about me. Come together over this, do not drift apart. You are all my people so don't stray. 

To the love in my life; You are my alpha partner. You have been the only person who I feel comfortable enough to let lead. You were my one. I have always felt the drive to lead but you lifted the weight of the world off my shoulders and helped me lead, as partners. You are the ying to my yang. I knew that since the moment I met you. We often come at situations from different experiences and angles and yet when they come together it's like two puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly. You have helped me break down walls in moments that I have spent years constructing. You were like a bomb that went off inside me and shook me to my core. You'll never comprehend how critical your timing was when we came into each other's lives. I love you. 

My Favourite Poem of All Time

Max Ehrmann 


Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

While lost in the middle of no where, that is where I found myself.

I think the biggest irony of all is the current state of my life. While living in a city filled with millions of people I feel the most alone that I ever have. But while living in a secluded forest in the out skirts of Ontario, no where close to civilization and with only a handful of people I have felt the most connected and at peace. Who would have guessed it? Myself most certainly not. Yet here I am feeling stranded on an island, cold, upon my return instead of feeling embraced and warm. I feel like jumping out of my skin, like my soul needs to escape this black hole of a city. It's an abstract concept feeling so connected while being so alone and so disconnected when surrounded by the masses.   Bound by commitment it's not like I had much choice when returning to this place. But come April, when given the choice this will not be where I remain. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to miss my humans and my main man Ed more then I'd like to but at a point you just have to listen to your heart. My intuition and every fibre of my being is pulling me west ward. To what? That has yet to be determined, but the feeling is there for a reason and it's time to follow that feeling and discover the reason on the way. Embracing what ever comes my way.

Carl Jung

"Loneliness does not come from having no people around you, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to you." -Carl Jung 

This quote is super vital to this blogs running theme. I have always had some form of understand of what communication was but my post-secondary education along with my personal life experience has opened my eyes to just how important it really is. 

I really do agree with this quote because I often find that when I am most frustrated with myself and others it's because of a lack of understanding of our communication patterns. I find myself thinking "JUST LISTEN". I can be in a room of 100 people and feel completely alone, while in other situations with only a handful of people or even just one person and feel a lot less lonely. 

When I start posting more about my experiences this past summer this idea is further explored. 

What are your thoughts on this quote?

Find What You Love And Let It Kill You

My lotus mandala :)