Hi everyone.

I've been lurking since around 2011, I think.

I've really liked reading about ayahuasca on this forum, because of the mixture of sincere first-hand experiential writing, and accurate, precise, scientific knowledge.

Lots of articulate, thoughtful, well-informed, and experienced people on here. I'm personally grateful for all the effort that has gone into this site.

I decided to make an account just to say hi and maybe add something to the conversation one day.

-corncob

Hello hello welcome!!!

Definitely the site is an incredible source of information, glad you like it.

Feel free to share us with some experience reports, on the other parts of the forums such as first steps in hyperspace, as well as check out the chat if you can leave a tab open and be semi afk about it, can get sometimes slow but there are some cool dudes if you ever wonna have a nice talk to someone

Cheers !

Hi!

I like that My original reason to make an account was so i could see the images lol

Welcome welcome welcome.

Tell us a little more. What psychedelics other than Aya are you interested in? Have you done Aya? What are your thoughts if so?

What are some of your stances with regard to psychedelics?

Be well

One love

Well, I've never actually tried aya, although many years ago I did do an experiment involving syrian rue and acacia confusa... it didn't quite work out, due to life circumstances. However it did lead to some interesting experiences with the rue alone. I found the rue rather powerful.

My main psychedelic experiences have been with psilocybin mushrooms, LSD, and various brugmansias and daturas. Also with over-the-counter dextromethorphan, if that counts.

However I've always felt drawn to ayahuasca especially after reading some posts by @ms_manic_minxx around 2010, 2011, 2012... Those really inspired me to seek it out, whenever possible.

Finally, about a decade later, an opportunity has arisen for me to go to the Amazon for that purpose. I am leaving in just a couple weeks.

The last time I took LSD was in 2018 and it just showed me how sick and frail I was, and how I should stop using substances in a casual manner, and especially how I shouldn't take things if I didn't know where they came from and what intentions went into their production and distribution, whose hands they'd passed through... etc, etc. Had all sorts of nasty karmic visions of the drug trade, along with visions of my own body in various states of decay.

I decided at that point to be much more careful and intentional about psychedelics. I think the way I'm approaching ayahuasca is much healthier than the way I'd been approaching those other substances in the past. (especially DXM, which can be quite toxic and addictive)

Thank you for your reply.

I love hearing that you are reapproaching your psychedelic use with intention. I'm a huge advocate for such.

If you're willing to share, what would you like to work on in your Aya adventure?

One love

Welcome, Corncob! I can completely relate to this experience. Sometimes we can take the medicines for granted and selfishly ingest them with ignorance. I, too, was guilty of this from about 2003-2018. Then one day, the medicine "smacks" you and teaches you how to not be. Then it is up to us to integrate that and make the real life change. I'm happy that you have come to this realization. Have you had any new experiences since then, or have you been waiting to try aya as your return foray?


I wasn't going to ask this, but I gotta lol. How were your experiences with Brugs and Daturas? How did you take them? I keep getting this calling to try to make a "flying ointment". I'm aware of the dangers, but the more I read on such ointments, the more I am intrigued.

Pretty much a total, general life-reset, if that's possible. I'm moving away from home, going to the jungle, leaving behind technology, bad habits, bad food, etc... And I'm going to do a traditional "diet" in isolation under the guidance of a shaman. So likely the main focus of the experience won't even be Ayahuasca, but rather a different Amazonian plant / plant-spirit. But certainly Ayahuasca will play a role.

I just want to be stronger, healthier, and find a more purposeful and positive way to live the rest of my life. Hopefully by purging some things and learning some things in the jungle, I'll make some progress towards that goal.

Up until now, in my life, while I think I've mostly had good intentions, I've been unable to realize those intentions in a concrete way, due to being so bogged down and stuck in a negative lifestyle and entangled in a difficult family situation. So far, psychedelics have given me some clarity, perspective, and perhaps occasionally some healing, but I think the bulk of the work is ahead of me. For this reason I think I should commit to a robust, thorough, intentional path, such as can be found in the Amazon.

This is my return foray!
I mean, I've used psychoactive substances in the intervening years, but no psychedelic experiences.



I approached these plants in the wrong way, probably, but luckily I did so cautiously. At various times I ate seeds, leaves, flowers, or made teas from leaves or flowers. Mainly Datura Wrightii, Datura Stramonium, and Brugmansia Suaveolens.

I never had the classic, full-blown datura delirium experience. You know -- the type involving multi-day trips, massive amnesia, potential lingering blindness for weeks, potentially waking up in jail or a hospital...

Mostly I experienced unpleasant physical sensations, my heart didn't feel quite right, and I had some interesting dreams and visions but nothing life-changing. One of the things that intrigued me was indigenous use of these plants to locate lost items at a distance via visions. I didn't manage to access that level of visionary insight with these plants, but that's probably because I was only dipping my toe in the water. And it probably would have been unwise to wade any deeper.

There's a distinct "darkness" to these things not just in the sense of a sinister or toxic energy, but in the sense of a dimming of the light of ones awareness. So it's hard to pull out useful insights. The phenomena slip through your fingers as you try to grasp them, and you end up forgetting, like how you forget dreams. By the time the shadow people arrive, amnesia has probably set in quite heavily already.

Another traditional use of these plants seems to be to create an ordeal. Like for a rite of passage, or to test ones yogic powers. You might be inviting an "ordeal" of one type or another by ingesting these things via any route.

That's a very good point. And the two main types of ordeal in modern Western society seem to be arbitrated by either medical or legal forces - maybe both. Either of these things can be quite the test of 'Yogic powers'.

I think that sounds very beautiful, even if challenging. And no one is beyond redemption. We can always turn things around in this life as long as we're alive

Do you intend for this to be a permanent move for you? How do your loved ones feel about your new direction?

One love

For now, I'm just planning to stay for a few months. But it's likely that I'll end up back in the Amazon later, perhaps even permanently. I don't have that much tying me down anymore. We'll see how it goes.

As far as loved ones are concerned... well, a couple of them died in the past three years, so that's part of why I'm able to leave now. The remaining loved ones seem relatively supportive even while they don't really understand. I really just have my mom and sister in that category now, though.

Anyway, when I get back to a computer after my stay in the jungle, maybe I'll share some of what I experienced.