Cubeananda and myself, as well as hopefully many others, are interested in the interaction between ayahuasca and the gut nervous system.

A concise description about this self-contained nervous system is on this wiki page, especially this section is helpful.

``The enteric nervous system also makes use of more than 30 neurotransmitters, most of which are identical to the ones found in CNS, such as acetylcholine, dopamine, and serotonin. More than 90% of the body's serotonin lies in the gut, as well as about 50% of the body's dopamine, which is currently being studied to further our understanding of its utility in the brain.``

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_nervous_system#Complexity

Of interest is this relay station within the brain, which, if you have an interest in the neurology of entheogens and what is weird and interesting about our neurology overall please read!


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solitary_nucleus

``Inputs

* Taste information from the facial nerve (anterior 2/3 of the tongue), glossopharyngeal nerve (posterior 1/3) and vagus nerve (small area on the epiglottis)
* Chemoreceptors and mechanoreceptors of the general visceral afferent pathway (GVA) in the carotid body via glossopharyngeal nerve, and aortic bodies via the vagus nerve
* Chemically and mechanically sensitive neurons of the general visceral afferent pathway (GVA) with endings located in the heart, lungs, airways, gastrointestinal system, pharynx, and liver via the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves``


The solitary nucleus sounds very likely to be part of the following process, for example. It isn't mentioned in this press article, but the description explains that it is literally a place where signals from the gut are received and then can affect several brain nervous system regions.

Signals are received including signals from microbes in our gut

``“Microbes have the capacity to manipulate behavior and mood through altering the neural signals in the vagus nerve, changing taste receptors, producing toxins to make us feel bad, and releasing chemical rewards to make us feel good,” said Aktipis, who is currently in the Arizona State University Department of Psychology.``

http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2014/08/116526/do-gut-bacteria-rule-our-minds

I do wonder about ayahuasca in regards specifically to the enteric nervous system. By providing a DMT experience for this self-contained nervous system, along with us as a whole, is part of the incredible healing from ayahuasca related to allowing this somewhat obscure but fundamental part of our bodies to become as radiantly and purely alive as we can often feel from DMT and ayahuasca preparations?

Great! Thanks for all this, it is shifting my views of aya for the better.

I have experiences also that the harmala alkaloids '(I have experimented with Syrian rue sans admixture quite a bit) help the ENS settle down a bit. That said, the addition of DMT seems to help establish a lasting harmony. It is just so absurd to think of how much suffering is caused by this discordant relationship between the gut and the brain/intellectual/locomotive functions.


This article comes to mind...

http://www.feelguide.com...action-to-inflammation/


In my experience with ayahuasca it often feels like there are alternating phases, a heady phase trying to balance and maintain a healthy conscience(also go through this one on salvia and mushrooms), and then there is of corse the stretch and moving of lymph phase which I often experience also on mushrooms. And there is the phase of addressing the gut, to me this is the part which requires great concentration, perhaps because aya is trying to tune the two brains. In any case I always found it quite miraculous has aya has that ability to create such a harmony in the whole system.


Edit: further, I thought this could perhaps be relevant.

The Guardian of the Fortress of the Intestines. (Humbaba) has so Ben likened to the intestines and also it seems to demonstrate that in the past this discord between the two brains has established a general attitude that the intestinal brain is actually a different being, who is akin to a devil of sorts. "Sent to earth to be a terror for humans."

I think, while esoteric, this is very poignant to show how we approach this whole living thing different than most other cultures. And we do have an advantage of sorts, but also it is good to appreciate the approaches of older worlds because they have been observing the same things as we have, especially internal affairs.

In my meditations I see that there is indeed great turmoil, apparently some portion of this is related to the microbiome trying to vote (with toxins or reward transmitters) for how I should behave, an being absolutely deaf to this in turn I am subject to a lot of abdominal distress and pain (as well as behaviors which probably confuse and displease the ENS) It is wonderful when ayahuasca seems to align all these worlds. Perhaps it can be one of these "gifts" Gilgamesh gives to Humbaba. I see humbabas forest as a kind of wealth in influence, whereas the brain (for which Gilgamesh plans to defeat humbaba and take his lumber)

Thank you!! I'm very happy that this topic ended up being similar to what you were hoping it would be.

This subject made me wonder about sleep; I usually would sleep with my head about at the same level as my belly, i think many people do. I decided to try raising the head and shoulders a bit, and so far, I am much more clear headed in the morning. I am trying to search for research about head position and sleeping, when I can find something I will report back.

I think that there would be some connection with a similar communication between gut and brain as with ayahuasca, but, mediated by the different molecular messengers that we have with us at the time.

I have a gut feeling about this...

I would rather bluntly call it the terrorizing of the body by the ego. It is IMHO the curse of humanity. A lot of science and the curative arts has also become hijacked by the terrorizing ego.

My depressions were finally cured after I had realized that the problems were not between the ears but in the core of my trunk. All I needed to do was observe this, relax and soften my belly, and calmly work through some of the emotions locked into those areas.

My favorite analogy is that of a car: if there is a problem with the motor control (body), like the gas throttle or brakes, there is little other than superficial symptom management that can be achieved by steering (intellect).


Great story! Note also how Humbaba is decapitated and his head put into (turned into?) a leather sack.

To me, the devil is an allegory of the essentially psychotic runaway ego, projecting its own demonic character onto the body.


Hmmm, I see the gifts more as dirty tricks to distract Humbaba. Ayahuasca could be the opposite, a trick to distract the ego.

I was thinking again about the sublingual administration of: any liquefied, tinctured or extract-tincture form of plant material that reliably would contain DMT.

Where it is absorbed directly into the bloodstream under the tongue, does that reduce or remove the need for MAOI inhibition, where there is not a complex system of MAO enzymes between the tongue capillaries and the bloodstream?



I feel like these experiences could be more of a shallow sea than an ocean, but, could also allow for regular microdoses and larger doses throughout a visioning and healing period.

What if the gut
Is not the "second brain,"
But the first?!
o.O