Hello EnterTheMatrix,
Welcome to the Nexus. I enjoyed reading your introductory essay.
I hope you enjoy your upcoming journey(s) with ayahuasca. I have found vine only brews to be quite healing both physically and mentally.
There's a lot of useful stuff that came in your welcoming PM. That Health & Safety link might give you some heads up regarding your concerns of harmful effects. The wiki is full of extraction teks for various entheogenic plants, etc.
Though you are limited to being able to post in a few areas as a New Member, once you log on you can view the entire contents of the forums. There is a subfora dedicated to Ayahuasca that you may find the be very useful.
Again, a very warm welcome to you.
"But even if nothing lasts and everything is lost, there is still the intrinsic value of the moment. The present moment, ultimately, is more than enough, a gift of grace and unfathomable value, which our friend and lover death paints in stark relief."-Rick Doblin, Ph.D. MAPS President, MAPS Bulletin Vol. XX, No. 1, pg. 2Hyperspace LOVES YOU