Hello,

I was wondering, in this forum's opinion, is it safe to participate in a busy life, 9-5 job plus other commitments and partake in an ayahuasca experience on say a Saturday. Would getting out of work on Friday, doing everything you can to clear your mind and focus on your long held intention, partaking in ceremony on a Saturday, and reflecting on Sunday be enough time to process an experience, and reintegrate back into work by Monday? I have studied this topic for about a year and half, and I have tried to take great steps to insure that safety is my number one focus. I feel like I am ready to go into the experience, but I am concerned that because I have a job that requires alot of time and commitment, I may have to wait for a break in commitments before actually going into an experience like this.

I have had one experience with mushrooms in a shamanic setting and it was very powerful. I was able to reintegrate into normal life very easily, and I felt very well and re energized after that experience, but from what I have read, ayahuasca seems like a more intense medicine and may have other risks.

here is a little bit of information about myself. I have been diagnosed with depression and social anxiety for at least the past 7 years. I treated it through college with antidepressants, which never seemed to help, but only masked some of the symptoms. I am completely off antidepressants now and have been for about a year and a half. I am healthy physically, play and coach sports, I work 9-5 during the week (just recently started this) and I have a healthy diet. I look at my depression now as some sort of learned self criticism that creates intense feelings of self doubt and self consciousness, which kind of shuts down my mind and makes me feel depressed and inadequate. One interesting thing I think I can share is that after my one mushroom experience, I experienced a lifting of my self criticism and intense anxiety symptoms. I became very outgoing and open to new people and experiences. I had a massive amount of energy, I felt whole for the first time in a long time, and I was passionate about my family, friends, and life (something that I have always felt inside, but have never been able to show it due to self criticism and anxieties). This lasted about 3 weeks before I started to sink back down to old patterns, although I believe I have retained some lasting impressions from the experience, like I don't feel so hopeless anymore.

Anyways, I took part in this mushroom experience because that was available to me at the time and I had done research on it which felt like it could mildly address my psychological conditioning. I was blown away by the relief and results I was able to bring back from the experience for a short period, but ayahusaca has largely been the subject that I have read about and thought "this medicine feels right to me". So to reiterate my question, do you guys have any thoughts on if it is a bad idea to work with ayahuasca medicine on a weekend in a western society where I work 9-5 during the week with other commitments in the afternoons. Could I expect similar reintegration into society like I had with my mushroom experience (which was very intense) where I had the experience on Saturday, and was fully functioning, even felt great on Monday? I am sorry for any ignorance on my part in asking my questions, I am simply trying to maintain my safety as I venture into these experiences. Thanks for any advice you may have!

lightlove17 wrote:



Personally I do it all the time, no way i'm going to let work interfere with my spiritual well being so I have done this many times and it always seems to go well for me....

My reasoning is that the positive attitude that psychedelics imbue me with helps me survive the workplace anyways...

Honestly, it generally tends to make monday a bit of a challenge depending on how high a dose you take...with a light to medium dose there should be no trouble however.

Another thing worth mentioning is that I believe Ayahuasca, although more intense is much more gentle than a high dose mushroom trip.. especially if your working with Caapi.

I pretty much agree with the above, work should never get in the way of the important things in life .

I would certainly make sure that Aya is safe if you are taking anti depressants, the 2 can combine badly and you could land yourself in a very unpleasant hole. Please stay safe.

Hey, I've never tried aya, but I've done freebase dmt 3 times and have found it to be one of the most refreshing experiences I've ever had, When I take mushrooms I always tend to feel drained for the rest of the day after my trip, the experiences are life changing but somehow feel "dirtier" than the "pure enlightenment" I tent to feel on dmt.

Of course this is freebase dmt I'm talking about, and from what I understand lasts much less time than aya, and doesn't gently coax you into hyperspace like aya does.

I personally think you'll be fine unless your job requires you to do things that require alot of thinking as opposed to doing physical work. I always think ALOT about my trips.

I hope you find some wonderful insight from such a wonderful experience.

Thanks for all the wonderful responses.



thank you for that comment, it is reassuring.



no more anti depressants for me, getting off of them was very difficult, but i have been done with those for about a year and a half



my job is all thinking, but if the ayahuasca experience can compare to my experience with mushrooms, my thinking was greatly enhanced and much more clear than normal. Or maybe my self criticism was calmed down enough for more creative and productive thoughts to manifest.

Sorry, I miss read your post

If this is the case then I would crack on, the rabbit hole is waiting

If your not sure if you will be completely ready for work after drinking on a sat, then maybe you could book Fri off work to get your weekend jobs done and then drink on Fri and have 2 days to integrate the experience.

Lightlove17,
Welcome to the nexus, your in the right place and seem to be going about things in a good manner. Im going to chime in because I have a different view point than the other reply's you have gotten. Its not a matter of they're right or im wrong its all subjective and since its information you are seeking its good to take a consensus.

Ive worked with ayahuasca quite extensively including a 3 month stay with the Shipibo indians in the central Amazon just recently drinking ayahausca with them a few times a week. Im not bragging just trying giving you a little background on me.

For me aya kicks my butt. I seem to be the minority here though most people feel energized. Maybe its the amounts I drink I tend to really go for it especially when working in the safety of a Shaman I trust, but even then I am fine 2 days later no matter how crazy it got. So I wouldn't worry too much about work on Monday.

Another point I will make is how rare it is for a first time soloist to nail it. What I mean is often time many people have brewing issues and finding the proper amount of MAO inhibition to make the dmt active. It is also common for new users to take it slow and baby step there way up. That being the case you may find yourself just fine the very next day or even later that night. This isnt a bad thing if one is drinking alone for the first time but if you were with an experienced trusted person I would advise you to really Go for it! As you know its not suppose to be a "trip" and often times the most profound healing and learning comes with heavy doses. It is however good to be cautious but just don't be too cautious if that makes sense.

I would encourage you to download and make a playlist of icaros. These songs have an important purpose. They give the mind something to focus on and some believe have the ability to guide the journey. Without them it can be a bit uncomfortable simply lying in the dark as your mind will often be racing from nerves and excitement. The icaro's will give the racing mind something to focus on and when the mind is quite you will find it easier to let go and travel through your consciousness and even other planes of existence. the most notable being the void, the place of non existence.

You can make a play list using something like I-movie. This way you can preprogram periods of silence here and there and never have to get up or think about it. This is a great way of simulating a ceremony.

You may want to just do your own thing and not lean twords a traditional setting. Thats great too but you still may want some soft ambient sounds or music regardless.

Its a wonderful idea to drink and work with aya at home. Dont even worry about being in the western world. Ayahuasca is a gift to all who seek its healing. I applaud your decision and courage to answer this call.

Are you confident in how to brew your aya? Do you have any questions about materials or dosing? Although much of this information is in the archives feel free to ask anything you cant seem to find.

Ok good travels and let us know how it went. It makes the hours of answering peoples questions worth wile when we get to hear our words actually help, !

This is a great topic. Especially for newbies like myself! Nice one guys.

Thank you for the kind response olympus mon, after a long search for qualified people, I have made contact and created a relationship with a trained shaman around me. Although I have not yet experienced ayahuasca with him, the opportunity will come with time, the only thing is, he only does sessions about 4 times a year, the next not being for a couple of months, but he has informed me that I am welcome in his circles. So, I believe, patients is my friend here even though I want so badly to cleanse myself and experience a deep healing this medicine seems to bring to people. For now, I will wait, contemplate, be with my intentions, and be grateful that there is a a place like this where I can share my worries and ask questions to people who have the experience and knowledge that can help me along.

To answer your question, I will not be making the brew myself, I am fortunate enough to trust that to someone who has a much better relationship with traditional knowldege and plant medicine than myself. I do have aspirations to get into growing psilo in the future, and I hope this to be a place where I can bounce my results off of. Thanks for the responses and guidance, I will keep you updated on where I am at.