A few short quotes from Benny Shanon's 'Antipodes of the Mind' (dreamed caapi + psychotria over 150 times) for education:

The Contents of Visions

"I turn now to a consideration of the contents of the visions that Ayahuasca induces. The following survey is based on a systematic analysis of both my own experiences with the brew and those reported by my various informants. Whenever relevant, citations from the literature are presented as background material. This review, I should emphasize, is qualitative, not quantitative. In other words, my purpose here is to chart the space of various contents that usually appear in the visions. A numerical, quantitative analysis is presented in the Appendix.

Investigators of Ayahuasca in the indigenous context have noted that the visions induced by the brew reveal certain common elements. Thus, Der Marderosian et al. (1970: 11) observes that:

In spite of the individual nature of the hallucinogenic experience, there is a high degree of similarity in the content and frequency of occurrence of particular hallucinations from individual to individual during any one night of drinking. Certain themes also recur every time they drink Ayahuasca. The most frequent of these are: (1) brightly coloured, large snakes, (2) jaguars and ocelots, (3) spirits, both of Ayahuasca and others, (4) large trees, often falling trees, (5) lakes, frequently filled with anacondas and alligators, (6) Cashinahua villages and those of other Indians, (7) traders and their goods, and [8] gardens.

Similarly, reviewing the anthropological literature, Harner (1973r) states that the most common items seen in the visions reported by indigenous persons are snakes, jaguars, demons and deities, cities, and landscapes. Also noted are visions having to do with the resolution of unsolved crimes, flights of the soul, and experiences of clairvoyance.

A few short quotes from Benny Shanon's 'Antipodes of the Mind' for education:


Quote:
The Contents of Visions

The following discussion sets itself to answer the question 'What kind of things do people see in Ayahuasca visions?' It is the first attempt to examine the contents of Ayahuasca visions systematically and on the basis of a sizeable corpus of empirical data. The survey is structured in terms of the following main categories-personal and autobiographical material, human beings, naturalistic and non-naturalistic animals, plants and botanical scenes, beings which are neither human nor animals [henceforth, 'beings'], cities, buildings, and architectural complexes works of art, objects and artefacts, vehicles of transportation, symbols and scripts' places and landscapes, historical and mythological beings and scenes, scenes depicting creation and evolution, celestial bodies, celestial and heavenly scenes divine and semi-divine beings, encounters with the Divine, scenes of light, Platonic ideas and mathematical objects, and episodes pertaining to death.

1. Personal and Autobiographical Material

First, one can see one's own life. In particular, one can see snapshots and scenes of one's personal past. The most elaborate visions of this kind reported to me are serials in which drinkers inspected different scenes of their life and as a consequence had a psychological insight of personal import to them. In one such case, the Ayahuasca drinker saw snapshots, each of which was depicting a certain moment of her biography. The shots were not ordered chronologically, but rather juxtaposed thematically. The juxtaposition revealed some patterns in the drinker's personality and conduct of which she had not previously been aware.

A special type of biographical memory I would like to highlight is that of snapshots of seemingly insignificant moments of one's life. The experience consists of the Ayahuasca drinker seeing himself or herself in the midst of an episode the likelihood of he or she normally thinking about is very, very small. For example, I once saw myself engaged in a conversation with an elderly English lady I met on a bus ride while travelling through the island of Malta. The event took place about ten years before I had the vision in question. During the entire intervening period, I never had any recollection of this episode nor had I thought about or reflected upon it. Yet, inspecting it in my Ayahuasca induced vision, I realized that I was gaining new insights regarding my own self. Similar experiences were reported to me by my informants.

2. Human Beings

Personal Acquaintances

In conjunction with the biographical material indicated in the previous section, one may see individuals whom one knows or has known in the course of one's life. These may be seen in isolation, as single apparitions, or in the context of memories of one's personal past. While, for me, seeing personal acquaintances is rare, for many others such visions are quite common.

Significantly, the most common episodes in which personal acquaintances appear are ones having to do with the actual death of a member of the drinker's nuclear family. Especially moving was the experience one European informant had at the very beginning of her first Ayahuasca session. She found herself at her father's deathbed. For reasons beyond her control, in her real life this informant could not attend her father's funeral; indeed, the last time she saw him she was not at all aware that she would never see him again. All this happened almost forty years before the Ayahuasca session took place and it all remained an unresolved, painful wound that my informant carried in her heart throughout the years. The Ayahuasca experience finally gave this person the opportunity to bid farewell to her father. This was a wonderful, unexpected gift for her, she said, and she was greatly relieved.

Famous Persons

One can also see people one knows of but does not actually know, or has never known, personally. For me, the most common such figures were royalty. Of these I shall mention King Solomon and Zedekiah, the last king of First-Temple era Judaea, as well as several Egyptian pharaohs and European monarchs. Other specific historical figures I encountered in visions included Moses, the biblical hero Samson, Plato, the apostle Paul, Cortes, Freud, and the Nazi Josef Mengele. Historical figures that informants told me they had seen included biblical figures, popes, Leonardo da Vinci, Newton, and Einstein. On several occasions I have also seen royal persons whom I associated with various ancient civilizations but who were not identified by name. Once I saw what seemed to me to be a high priest of the Incas. Many informants also reported seeing royal and religious figures of various cultures. Not necessarily famous, yet of special presence and fairly common, are warriors and strong men of all sorts. Notably, these include knights and muscular black men.

Guides and Teachers

A special category of human beings often reported is that of guides, guardians, teachers, and other wise men and women. Non-human beings (notably, fairies and angels) can serve in these functions too. In the Amerindian tradition, the most prominent of these is the Ayahuasca mama, the mother of Ayahuasca (see Luna, 1984a); in the Daime context such a figure is referred to as the Rainha da Floresta (Queen of the Forest) and the Holy Virgin (the two are often regarded as being the same persona). The seeing of such figures is usually associated with the reception of knowledge. Most notably, shamans have told me that they determine how to cure a patient on the basis of information presented to them by wise persons that
they encounter in their visions.

Once, in a private session I was listening to Verdi's Requiem, and the scenes that appeared before me seemed to be the ones described in Dante's Divine Comedy. Like Dante, I was escorted by a guide. He stood at the back, in a corner of the visual scene, without me being able to see him. This is in line with what I heard other people describe: most typically, the guides are not seen, they stand behind the Ayahuasca drinker and direct him or her, make him or her understand what is going on, and protect him or her.

Also seen are persons one appreciates to be wise but who do not serve as guides or teachers. In my visions, these included a pre-Columbian high priest, an old man in Burma, and a magician from an unidentified ancient civilization.

Individuals

An experientially distinct category is that of individuals who do not have a name but who do have a specific, well-defined identity. Often, the figures seen have a distinct presence and those who report seeing them feel an intimate link or identification with them. Invariably, in both indigenous and non-indigenous contexts, this phenomenon is attributed to the figures seen being reincarnations of the Ayahuasca drinker's past lives. Putting the interpretative speculations aside for now, I would like to underline the special force of the experience in question. The first time this happened to me was before I had heard of such experiences from other people, and it was clear to me, instantaneously and without any doubt, that the old man who appeared before me in the vision, a lonely shaman in the icy tundra of Siberia was, while still being himself, me. Other individuals I have seen and felt a strong identification with included a wise old man on a balcony in a Chinese town and a young Spanish aristocrat of the Renaissance. People in this category described to me by informants included Amazonian Indians and Incaic figures, women of the ancient Middle East, princely figures, monks and priests from various lands and cultures, a prostitute, and a beggar. More on this will be said in Ch. 13, where personal transformations are discussed.

Social Scenes

Very common are scenes in which many people appear. The scenes in my corpus of data fall into five categories: dances, pilgrimages and processions, rituals, gatherings, and street scenes.

The dances I have seen may be divided into two kinds. The first is of colourfully decorated women celebrating the Divine. Strikingly, some of the visions of this kind that I have seen are exactly like ones found in Amaringo's work, notably the vision depicted in Plate 18 of Luna and Amaringo (1993). The second kind is of orgiastic scenes with semi-clad women, often black. Invariably, the dance was erotic and lascivious but there was no malice in it. In my own visions, the women were usually looking halfway to the side; this occurs rather frequently in the visions of other people as well (see also the report of Kusel, 1965 which was cited in Ch. 1).

As reported in Ch. 7, twice I saw a serial of scenes whose theme pertained to dancing.

The scenes of pilgrimage and processions consist of lines of people marching forward. For me, the lines of people always ran diagonally from left to right, with the participants being the members of some ancient culture climbing towards a sacred place. Most of the processions that I have seen were royal processions. These include a series of scenes depicting kings and queens appearing before their subjects. Once I saw a procession of deities. A special subtype is that of people coming towards the drinker. For example, once I saw people climbing towards me in a procession so that I might cure them. They were poor, Andean persons and I received them with an understanding nod. Similar visions were repeated to me by many informants.

The rituals I have seen were usually pagan. Some seemed to be very ancient, and several included human sacrifice. The gatherings included receptions, feasts in palaces and mansions, and scenes in eating places and bar-like establishments. The street scenes were usually related to visions of villages and cities. Examples are market scenes in medieval Europe and a grand scene depicting the lives of farmers and fishermen along the Nile in ancient Egypt.

3. The Natural World

Animals

An inspection of the literature reveals that the items most likely to be seen with Ayahuasca are animals (for a review see Harner, 1973^). Indeed, there is no report in the anthropological literature that does not mention animals. In the data I have collected this is the case as well animals are the most common category of content;3 this holds true both for my core corpus and for the data provided by my informants. By far, the animals most frequently seen are serpents, felines, and birds. This is even though, obviously, both my own personal and cultural background and those of my non-indigenous informants is so different from that of the Amerindians studied in the anthropological literature. Below are some further descriptions and comments regarding the various animals that appear in the data I have collected.

Before proceeding, it is pertinent, I think, to cite observations made some thirty years ago by C. Naranjo (1973a). In an experimental setting, Naranjo administered harmaline (one of the chemical constituents of Ayahuasca) to thirty-five Chileans with no knowledge about Ayahuasca. Especially salient in the visions these subjects had were serpents, crocodiles, felines, and birds of prey.

The felines mentioned included tigers, leopards, and jaguars (but apparently, not lions). I find the similarity between these findings and those surveyed here striking.

Serpents and Other Reptiles

Traditionally, Ayahuasca is closely linked to serpents. Serpents are also extremely common both in my own visions and in those of my informants. Indeed, in both my data and those of my informants, serpents are the most common animal and, in fact, the most common single content item reported. As described in Ch. 1, the very first figurative items I saw with Ayahuasca were lizards and in my first major Ayahuasca experience serpents featured prominently. Subsequently, I have seen serpents on many occasions. On several occasions, I have also seen crocodiles, both natural and mythological, and dinosaurs. About a third of the serpents I have seen were mythical or non-naturalistic in one way or another. Some of the serpents were adorned with flowers or shining scales. Phantasmagoric and serpents like those of mythology were also reported by my informants. Amongst these were gigantic serpents, serpents characterized as 'cosmic', winged serpents, and ones made of or emitting spewing fire. At times, serpents appear intertwined in pairs, with one serpent coiling around another; this motif is discussed at length in Narby [1998]. My own experience is that, in general, serpents appeared either as the first figures in a session or whenever I was embarking upon a new stage in the session. Why serpents are so prominent in Ayahuasca visions is an intriguing topic that I shall discuss elsewhere. Here I will just note that the associations I had with serpents in my visions were of wisdom, enchantment, seduction, and healing. A grand vision in which I saw serpents in conjenction with disease and cure is reported in the next chapter.

Felines

In the literature, apart from serpents, the most common type of animal associated with Ayahuasca visions arre felines--notably, jaguars and pumas. This is also the case with respect to the data I have collected, both mine and those of my informants. Indeed, for all groups of my informants, as well as for myself, felines are by far the most common kind of mammal seen in the visions. On the basis of firsthand experience--both my own and that of persons who participated with me in sessions--I can testify that the seeing of felines also occurs in urban contexts which are distinctly non-Amazonian. Indeed, seeing jaguars and pumas was also reported to me by first-timers partaking of Ayahuasca outside South America. Overall, I would characterize the jungle cat as a manifestation of the energy of life in its full and pristine form. Seeing a feline is tantamount to an encounter with this potent energy. Indeed, my data reveal that many visions of felines exhibit a strong interactive aspect.

Of the felines, the most common are jaguars and black pumas. The prevalence of black pumas is especially striking. In my structured interviews I have asked my informants whether they have seen 'jaguars'. Again and again, the response I have received was 'Yes, but more frequently I have seen pumas, black pumas.' This detail was given even though my query did not specify pumas as such. Some of the cats are non-ordinary. Personally, I have seen jaguars with shining or flower-shaped spots. Once I had a glimpse of what I conceived to be the primordial Jaguar. One informant reported having seen a tiger of fire.

The seeing of felines may be coupled with an interaction with them. For example, once in a vision, I found myself confronted with a puma. Watching it, I experienced a transfer of energy the puma's energy was passing over to me. An identical experience was reported to me by one of my informants. As recounted in the previous chapter, still another informant reported a vision in which she engaged in a magic journey riding a jaguar.

Birds

Birds of all kinds constitute the one single category of content that appeared most frequently in my visions. However, as explained above, it should be borne in mind that this zoological group is far more heterogeneous than that of the serpents or the felines and that it comprises several well-defined species; dividing the group into these will, of course, result in lower values of frequency. I have also seen many birds that I could not identify or label. The most common birds are birds of prey, notably eagles and condors. Also common are waterbirds (especially, cranes and herons), pheasants, hummingbirds, and parrots. For both my informants and myself, white birds are especially common. Many of the birds are characterized as being enchanted; these are often blue-feathered. Also mentioned are golden and two-headed eagles. Lastly, birds are salient in experiences of transformation and of flight; these are discussed at length in Ch. 13.

Other Animals

Mammals I have seen on more than two occasions are horses, elephants, and bulls and cows. I have also seen a dog, a lamb, a deer, a camel, a monkey, a raccoon, a hippopotamus, and a pack of jackals. In addition, I have seen fish, bees, ants, butterflies, as well as various lower organisms. Animals reported to me by more than three informants were (in a descending order of frequency) fish, butterflies, horses, bulls and cows, monkeys, lions, dogs, bats, dolphins, crocodiles, frogs and toads, all sorts of insects, as well as animals characterized as evil beasts and as prehistorical. Of these, the first seven were indicated by eight or more informants.

Phantasmagoric and Mythological Animals

Phantasmagoric and mythological animals are especially common in Ayahuasca visions; some were already mentioned in the sections concerning serpents, felines and birds. As noted in Ch. 1, dragons appeared before me most powerfully, and totally unexpectedly, in my very first strong experience with Ayahuasca. Other non-naturalistic animals I have seen include golden bulls, winged horses, a winged elephant, a taurus, a phoenix, and what I would characterize as 'evil animals'. Enchanted animals reported by my informants included dragons, winged horses, and a winged lion. As indicated above, enchanted birds are quite common. Both for me and for my informants, many of the phantasmagoric animals are creatures that are half-human, half-animal; these are discussed below.

Flora

Botanical items are seen very often in Ayahuasca visions. These may be viewed either in isolation or in scenes, either in natural settings, phantasmagoric or mythological ones, as part of works of art or decorative designs.

Perhaps the most remarkable botanical item seen in isolation is the Ayahuasca vine itself. Interestingly, such visions and the insights associated with them often resemble ones encountered in the indigenous Amerindian lore. Thus, in his first and only experience with Ayahuasca, in a private session in Europe, one European informant was struck by the feeling that a plant being was in his body and that he had a strong, intimate relationship with it. This man felt that the plant was a being in its own right and that it was passing knowledge to him. This is in line with the indigenous conception of plants as teachers, a topic with which this subject was not familiar (see Luna, 1984^). Another informant recounted a vision in which a beautiful woman turned into a serpent which in turn transformed itself into the Ayahuasca vine. Such stories of metamorphosis are central in Amerindian myths on the origin of Ayahuasca. A vision I myself had of the discovery of the vine from which Ayahuasca is made is recounted below.

Half-way between isolated items and scenes are visions in which the drinker's visual field is completely filled with flowers. Flowers can also appear as ornaments or decorations; an example of my own is that of wall drawings in a classical (ancient) Roman style. I find it in place to add a clarification here. Quite likely, the label 'flower' may fail to capture the experiential qualities that some visions depicting flowers have. A vision may present 'only' flowers, all naturalistic, yet be extraordinary. Such, for instance, was the first vision of one experienced informant, a vision he characterized as one of the most powerful he has had. In it, waves of flowers appeared one after another. I once had a vision in which my visual field expanded and was all replenished with garlands and wreaths of flowers. Just that. And yet, the vision was grandiose and its impact exhilarating.

The botanical scenes I have encountered include views of forests, gardens, meadows, and savannas. Many of the gardens that I have seen were enchanted; in some of these, fountains, pools, and waterfalls were seen as well. One image that especially stands out in my mind is a very realistic panoramic view of a forest, similar to those in Rousseau paintings. There were palm trees lit by the bluish light of the moon under a very clear night sky. Another was a garden the likes of which I have never, ever seen. It was purple-blue, and large pheasant-like birds were strolling in it. Still another was what seemed to me to be the garden of God. I did not enter it, but only viewed it through the large metal grilles that surrounded it.

On two occasions I had visions consisting of glimpses of the Amazonian forest and its mysteries. In the first, I saw Indians hunting with the aid of Ayahuasca. They were running through the forest in the dark but there was a strong white light hovering in front of them and guiding them. In the second, I saw how the plants of which Ayahuasca is made were discovered. This vision was similar to the first: An Indian was marching through the forest, and light was hovering like a halo above the plants, marking them.

An item to be mentioned also in the section on landscapes below is that of open meadows and fields. Visions depicting these are extremely common and were reported also by many first-timers with no prior knowledge about Ayahuasca. Typically, the meadows or fields extend far into the horizon and seeing them is coupled with an ambience of infinitude and eternity. This often imparts subjective feelings of serenity, faith, and optimism.

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quotes from Benny Shanon's 'Antipodes of the Mind' for education:

Quote:
4. Mythological and Phantasmagoric Beings and Creatures

Beings and creatures that are neither human nor naturalistic animals are common in Ayahuasca visions. Mythological and phantasmagoric animals were commented upon above; the other beings and creatures may be divided into several types.

First are mythological beings and creatures. The epithet 'mythological' is employed here to denote beings and scenes that are not part and parcel of ordinary reality, present or past, nor of realms interpreted as being heavenly or divine. The mythological beings and creatures at hand may or may not be drawn from the cultural heritage of the Ayahuasca drinkers. I myself have seen such creatures only on a few occasions. Mythological beings reported to me by many informants included little green men, gnomes and elves, fairies, and monsters of all sorts. Various creatures characterized as 'Ayahuasca beings' pertain to this type as well. Many times, the creatures seen are said to be playful and mischievous (but at the same time benevolent).

Second are chimeras (in the broad sense of the term) or hybrid creatures that is, creatures which are half-human, half-animal. Of these, by far the most frequent are mermaids creatures that are half-woman, half-fish. Also reported are hybrids of humans and felines, reptiles, birds, and canines. Interestingly, such creatures are also common in indigenous reports (see, for instance, Waisbard, 1958/9 as well as the paintings presented in Luna and Amaringo, 1993).

A special category is that of creatures with multiple faces. Usually, these creatures are encountered in heavenly scenes in which the drinker feels that some ultimate secrets are being revealed to him or her. These are reminiscent of the Divine beings described in the visions of the biblical prophet Ezekiel as well as in the Apocalypse of St John. Both I and several of my informants had such visions Especially remarkable is a grand vision in which one informant saw a creature with a great number of faces, each pertaining to a different animal. This creature was conceived of by the informant as the embodiment of all Life.7 The multiple faces may also appear sequentially. Thus, one informant saw a human face changing, in succession, to the face of a puma, a tiger, and a wolf.

Third are beings referred to as extraterrestrials. Often these are seen along with spaceships. For some individuals these are especially common.

Fourth are angels and other celestial beings. The term 'angels' refers to winged humanlike beings made of light. Indeed, several informants have explained to me that the wings consist precisely of this powerful light. Other, very common, supernatural humanlike beings are transparent figures. These are usually perceived as beings made of exceedingly delicate white webs of energy. Often they are explicitly described as 'beings of light'. Several depictions of these are found in the Amaringo paintings (see e.g. Luna and Amaringo, 1993: PI. 36).

Fifth are semi-divine beings, that is divine beings which are not God. The most prominent of these is the figure of a beautiful bearded man in the prime of life. The man is clad in a simple white garment whose margins are often finely embroidered. Invariably, the man is seen en face (relative to the viewer), he radiates good energy and is full of love. Many of my informants identified this person as Jesus Christ. Also very common is a benevolent female figure standardly taken to be the Virgin Mary. Conceivably, the great frequency with which these figures appear in visions of my informants may be attributed to the Christian and semi-Christian contexts in which Ayahuasca is often taken.8'9 I should note, however, that on several occasions, I too have seen both the male and the female figures of the type just noted. Other beings of the same category that I have seen are the Buddha and various Hindu and pre-Columbian deities. With open eyes, in the sky, I once saw the figure of the mischievous Hindu divine being Ganesh. Deities and divine beings reported to me by informants included ones pertaining to ancient Egypt, India, and various pre-Columbian cultures.

By way of example, let me present one grand vision in which a goddess characterized as the Great Mother appeared. This vision was seen by one independent drinker from Rio de Janeiro the third time she partook of Ayahuasca:

'She was the mother of all atoms and the matrix of all forms. All the atoms were dancing and the Mother was pure joy. She looked like an Egyptian Goddess who was covering, and protecting, all of creation with her body. 'Why do you look like an Egyptian?' I asked the Goddess. 'Actually, I do not have any form, but I appear as Egyptian because the Egyptians were the first to comprehend my secret,' she replied. Then the Goddess lifted up her arm and turned it so that the fabric unfurled. I saw that the cloth consisted of all the possible forms and I understood that the Great Mother is the creator of Everything and that what holds this entire immense Creation together was Cosmic Joy. In this process, suns and planets are created. What creates it all is Sophia, wisdom.'

The informant added that only later she found, in a book, a depiction of the Egyptian Goddess Nut which was very similar to what she had seen in the vision.

Last to be noted are demons, monsters, and beings of death. A vision of mine that especially stands out in my mind is the following:

'The Angel of Death presented itself in front of me. I knew that if I did not hold on to my life energy, he would take me. I also knew that as long as I sustained an unwavering will to live he could do me no harm. In other words, this angel will take me only if I manifested and/or conveyed a weakening of the will to live. 'But I do wish to live!', I reflected. With this, I summoned all my vital energies and the menacing figure in front of me retreated.'

5. The Cultural World

Ayahuasca belongs to the Amazonian rain forest, but my data reveal that, apart from beings and animals, the items that feature most frequently in the visions this brew produces pertain to culture: cities and architectural complexes, palaces and temples, and various works of art and precious objects all are very common for both me and the different groups of my informants. Indeed, palaces and objects of art and magic are, for some, the items most commonly seen in the visions. A perusal of the anthropological literature reveals that items pertaining to culture are also common in visions reported by indigenous persons.

Buildings

Buildings appear very frequently in the visions; most of them are magnificent. Most notable are, on the one hand, palaces and other palatial complexes and, on the other hand, temples and religious sites; castles, mansions, and archeological ruins are also common. Often the palaces and temples seen are made out of gold, crystal, and precious stones. Here, for instance, are two descriptions taken from Polari (1984: 197-8, 264):

'I found myself in the salon of a castle illuminated by torches. The salon was oval, slightly oblong, with semicircular doors, placed at regular intervals. At the same time, I saw an atrium situated in front of the principal wall, and the hall of the throne.

Thousands of tunnels, galleries, corridors, secret doors, staircases, inclined planes crisscrossed in a composition akin to one of Escher's These led to sumptuous palaces, lofty halls, sarcophagi, caverns or temples. In some of these there were sentinels appearing as medieval figures.'

I myself have seen palaces and temples many times. As described in the previous chapter, the only time I consumed Ayahuasca in the midst of the virgin Amazonian forest, I saw a whole sequence of palatial and regal scenes. I hoped to get a glimpse of the mysteries of the Amazonian jungle, but instead I saw palaces and royalty from different cultures on both sides of the Atlantic. The most impressive of these were two visits to the throne hall of an Egyptian pharaoh. In real life, I have been to many of the famous archeological sites in Egypt, and I have also visited the Egyptian galleries of many museums, but what I saw in this and other visions surpassed them all. The Egyptian palaces revealed to me in my Ayahuasca visions appeared to be totally new and full of life, as if they had just been constructed.

Like Polari, on many occasions I saw corridors, one hall opening into another, marvellous wall-paintings, sculptures, and reliefs. Architectural details that especially impressed me included sculpted marble colonnades in the form of white elephants, staircases adorned with golden lions, and finely carved gilded wooden ceilings. Several times, I saw most beautiful painted tiles. In the reports of my informants mosaics appear frequently; an example was described in Ch. 6 when serial images were discussed.

The temples I have seen were both ones of ancient civilizations and ones of the more recent Christian world. One of the more impressive architectural visions I have had was of a grand cathedral. The edifice extended up to the heavens and its dominant colour was emerald. I have heard of very similar visions from my informants. Several informants told me that looking, with open eyes, at the hall or the maloca (Amazonian hut) in which the Daime or Ayahuasca session was,taking place, the whole place transformed into a holy edifice. In more than one instance, the actual roof seemed to disappear and the visioned construction reached up to the sky. Also reported by many informants are pyramids of all sorts, most either Egyptian or pre-Columbian.

As exemplified in the above citations from Polari, basements, hidden passages, gates, and doors are all very common. These often have a secret, enchanting allure.

Cities

Entire cities may be seen as well. Here I focus on cities qua architectural complexes; cities as a type of place are considered later in this survey. The cities seen in visions are usually exotic and most fabulous. Discussing the Amaringo paintings Luna comments that: 'About one third of the visions presented contain... cities. Their architecture is either diffusely Eastern Chinese, Arabian, Indian or futuristic, or both. They may be located in the underwater world or on another planet' (Luna and Amaringo, 1993: 41; see also Harner, 1973c).

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A few short quotes from Benny Shanon's 'Antipodes of the Mind' for education:

Quote:
Works of Art

Works of art and artistic objects are very common both in my visions and in those of my informants. Items I have seen many times include pieces of sculpture, pieces of furniture, chandeliers, ceramics and articles of gold, masks, carpets, tapestries and rich fabrics, embroidery, jewellery, crowns and sceptres, as well as swords and shields. All these were also reported by my informants. The materials of which most of these items were made were gold, brass, gilded wood, crystal, precious stones, and fine textiles (most of which were white and/or finely embroidered).10 Usually, the items seemed to be exceedingly precious and some seemed to be endowed with magical powers. Once I saw an entire exhibition of the works of arts and crafts of one specific culture. Manifestly, all the items I saw belonged to the same culture, one that I could not associate with any particular culture I had ever known. Similar experiences were reported to me by two other persons.

Artistic works are also frequently encountered in the buildings one sees. As described above, often these are embedded in the architectural structure itself. An example drawn from my own experience are elephants of white marble that served as pillars to the front hall of a palace. On several occasions I have seen ornate frescoes. In many cases, these were in the art-deco style; on one occasion they were of the Roman Pompeian style, and on another they were eighteenth-century Baroque. As mentioned above, several informants have reported seeing all sorts of mosaics. Also common are carved wooden figures, engravings, and ornamental reliefs. Some of these were seen in conjunction with vehicles--notably sculptured prows of boats.

Especially to be noted are items pertaining to religious rites, be they generic or associated with specific services or occasions. Those I have seen include the Caduceus, the Golden Calf, the biblical choshen (a divination plaque with twelve precious stones, used by the ancient Jewish High Priest), and various idols. As noted above, objects endowed with magical powers are also common.

Vehicles of Transportation

The most common category of artefacts is that of vehicles of transportation. These may be of land, sea, air, or space. Of those that I have seen, the most frequent ones were on the one hand, carriages, mostly royal, and on the other hand, boats and ships.11 Twice I have seen what I recognized as space ships. Some individuals seem to see these quite often. On many occasions, even if the vehicle was technologically standard (e.g. a train or a car), it would be fabulous in its decor, adorned with gold or wonderfully painted. Once I saw a joyous elephant playfully riding a scooter. On several occasions I have seen visions in which wheels or other revolving parts were central. Once, I saw a grand vision in which futuristic technology was prominent. Such scenes have been reported to me by my informants as well.

Musical Instruments

Another special category of objects pertaining to culture is that of musical instruments. These are often associated with the hearing of music. By far, the most common instruments seen by me or reported by informants were trumpets.

Books, Scripts, and Symbols

Many people report seeing inscriptions of letters, numerals, or other signs. Both in my case and in that of my informants, on some occasions the characters seen were made of, or engraved in, gold or silver. Often these are in scripts or languages that the Ayahuasca drinker characterizes as ones he or she cannot decipher or understand. Some informants say that they do manage to decipher and understand messages in scripts and/or languages that actually are not familiar to them. I could not substantiate any of these claims (especially to be noted are cases when the language in question was Hebrew, my own native tongue) and I prefer to regard them as reports of genuine subjective experiences, not facts. Mandalas and flags are also very common.

A vision of special significance to me was the following:

'I was seeing what was clear to me was the Torah of God. It was a scroll of red fire on ice. As 1 examined it further, serpents came out of the fire. As the image developed, the serpents crawled within the boundaries of the scroll in horizontal lines of alternating courses from left to right, and from right to left. And then I realized that letters were engraved on the serpents. But the serpents were moving, and this scrambled the text. It was fine, I thought, what really matters in the holy text are the single letters, not the prose.'

A year later I found the following description taken from the Zohar, the principal book of the Kabbalah: 'In the beginning, two thousand years before the heaven and the earth, seven things were created:... The Torah written with black fire on white fire, and lying on the lap of God' (Ginzberg, 1909: i. 3). As reported in the Prologue, one of my first visions consisted of a triangle with a hand inscribed inside it. On other occasions, I saw the entire zodiac, astronomical-like figures, and the primordial letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

6. Places and Landscapes

Cities and Sites

Above I mentioned cities in terms of the architectural complexes in them. Here I refer to cities as a special category of place. The cities I saw were usually not familiar to me from real life. Only on a very few occasions have I seen a city that I had actually visited. Most of the cities I have seen in my visions belonged to ancient civilizations; most were of ancient Egypt and the civilizations of pre-Columbian Central and South America. Other civilizations that featured in my visions included ancient biblical Judaea, Assyria, ancient Persia, the Hellenic world and classical Rome, medieval Europe, and the Far East. On several occasions I have seen what seemed to me to be futuristic cities. These featured skyscrapers, hi-tech constructions, and many neon lights. All these kinds of cities have been reported by my informants as well.

Landscapes

In the present terminology, landscapes are places that seem to be real but do not have a particular geographical or historical identity. It will be noted that the landscapes may be seen either from outside or from within. The landscapes seen from the outside can be either glimpses or broad panoramas. The landscapes I have seen included open vistas of meadows and grassland, panoramic views of mountains and of the sea, as well as scenes of lakes and riverbanks. All these were also commonly reported by my informants. My informants' data also include scenes of waterfalls and of the desert. Significantly more rare are underwater scenes. I myself felt that I was going under water only once, but I was worried that I might drown and I did not let myself go in further. A special category is that of the views one sees while flying; I shall say more about these in Ch. 13. Finally, snapshots of exotic places may be seen. Ones encountered in my own data include small pastoral mountain towns, an island in the South Pacific, and the African savanna.

Other places

Lastly, there are places of entertainment. These seem to fall into two main subtypes. One is that of places such as bars and cabarets, often lascivious and somewhat lewd. The other may be characterized as ludic. In these, the atmosphere is gaily frivolous; they include amusement parks and circuses. The frequency Q facilities pertaining to amusement parks in the visions is, it seems to me, disproportionately high. Especially noted are carousels and Ferris wheels. Interestingly a merry-go-round is also mentioned by Naranjo (19730) in his experimental study of harmaline.

A puzzling question that arises is whether one can see real places that one does not know or know of. Kensinger (1973) reports that there were some Shipibo Indians who claimed to have seen the town of Pucallpa although they had never been there (see also Morton, 1931; for further discussion and references the reader is referred to Ch. 16). Campa Indians I talked to said exactly the same thing that Ayahuasca enables them to travel and see foreign places. A lower-class, simple resident of the far west of Brazil told me that he had visions in which he found himself in Russia and Japan. In real life, this man had never left the Amazon region. Further, he assured me that he had never seen any pictures of these places. I have no means to check the veracity of these reports. Writing this summary survey, I wish I could have returned to the Amazon and shown art books of various civilizations to residents who have reported to me having had visions of foreign places and civilizations. Unfortunately, I do not know when, if at all, it would ever be feasible for me to do this. More on the alleged paranormal powers of Ayahuasca is said in Ch. 16.

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quotes from Benny Shanon's 'Antipodes of the Mind' for education:

Quote:
7. History and Evolution, Religion and Myth

Historical Scenes

Scenes from different historical periods are very common. My impression is that in all cases events were seen as being in the process of their happening in a particular place at a particular time. In general, it is not that with the outset of the Ayahuasca vision a special event begins and with its fading off it terminates. Rather, it is as if out there life goes on and the intoxicated person is presented for a moment with the opportunity to witness a scene of other times, and other places. In glimpses this fragment of time is very short, in full-fledged scenes it may be long. The historical scenes may depict major historical events or episodes of daily life. The most common instances of the former are wars, coronations and royal pageants, and episodes in the lives of famous historical figures. Images of the latter kind that stand out in my mind are a market scene in medieval Europe and a very colourful street scene in China.

Especially impressive scenes in which I found myself in the position of a witness were of the Holocaust of the Jewish people in the Second World War, various biblical scenes, and scenes of daily life and rituals in various ancient civilizations. On several occasions I have also experienced scenes of prehistoric people and of prehistoric animals roaming savannas.

Of special significance are panoramic historical visions. These depict several historical episodes which together present a moral regarding the human predicament. As noted in the Prologue, one of my very first visions included a panorama of human history: the injustice it manifests on the one hand, and the bounty of culture and art notably, religious it produces. One informant told me that in the first vision he had with Ayahuasca he witnessed human suffering throughout history. With this, he understood the forces of evil, pride, and greed that make empires fall, and he came to the realization that the only hope for humanity is spiritual.

Religious Rites

On several occasions I have seen prehistoric sacrifices of both animals and humans, shamanic rituals, pagan rites, religious services in various cultural contexts, as well as processions and pilgrimages (these latter have already been described above). Religious rites mentioned by my informants included ones in the Amazonian forest, in ancient biblical Israel, pre-Columbian America, and in pagan and medieval Europe. An experience I myself had, and which was reported to me in identical terms by several other persons, consisted of a non-ordinary perception of the very Ayahuasca session in which I, or my informants, were participating. In all cases, the session was experienced as a very primitive (in the historical, chronological sense of the term) ritual often a dance in which the drinker him- or herself was actively taking part. Often it was commented how extraordinary the strong group feeling associated with these rituals was; some reports also alluded to a summoning of the forces of nature. In all cases the experience was described as exceedingly powerful.

Evolution and Creation

Akin to the grand, panoramic historical scenes are scenes of biological evolution. A Brazilian with extensive and varied experience with Ayahuasca reported:

'I was looking into the mouth of a cauldron. Within the circle defined by the rim, a cinematic presentation of evolution unfolded. Outside of the boundaries of the rim, everything looked utterly normal. This was the most powerful of the very many Ayahuasca visions that I have had.'

I myself once looked at a tree, and, with open eyes, saw a reptile. The reptile grew and changed shape, sequentially transforming into several animals. First there were prehistoric, extinct species and later, modern ones.

Some of the most spectacular visions that can be experienced with Ayahuasca are those interpreted as depicting the Creation of the universe. Usually, these are shrouded in mystery and in general are characterized as being ineffable. Also
characteristic of these visions is the great impression of harmony and bounty that they impart. One such vision I experienced myself consisted of a stupendous emanation of light which was bountiful and full of love. From the light emerged a multitude of flowers and with them the entire world rejoiced in the wonder that is Life. A European woman with extensive Ayahuasca experience told me of a vision in which she felt she was joining the Demiurge, the God who was creating not one but many universes. Similarly, Reichel-Dolmatoff (1975) reports that indigenous users of Ayahuasca say the brew enables them to visit the place of creation, witness the act of creation, participate in the creation story, and comprehend the moral concepts it contains. Three of my informants related the creation of the universe to geometric forms.

Myth

In the indigenous context, Ayahuasca visions are intimately related to myths Indeed, the visionary state is often regarded as that in which myths are revealed Mythological scenes reported to me by my non-indigenous informants were akin to Amerindian myths, to Celtic ones, as well as to fairy tales. These portray beings already mentioned: heroes and supernatural beings; enchanted animals and creatures which are half human, half animal; fairies and gnomes; spirits and demigods. A vision that especially impressed me was one in which it seemed to me that I was understanding how myths are actually created.

8. The Divine

Celestial and Heavenly Scenes

Of special impact are what may be called celestial or heavenly scenes. In these, the heavens part and the Ayahuasca drinker witnesses scenes akin to those described in the book of Ezekiel (ch. 1 and 10), the book of Isaiah (ch. 6), and the Apocalypse of St John. In such scenes drinkers encounter realms full of light which emanate great bounty and bliss. Celestial and heavenly scenes I have witnessed included chariots with magnificent white horses, a ring of animals around an expanding sky, and an opening of the heavens which might be called the entrance to the Kingdom of God. Both I and half a dozen of my informants have had visions in which a ladder was reaching the heavens and angels were going up and/or down it. For obvious reasons, I refer to such visions as 'Jacob's ladder'.

Related to the above are scenes in paradise. In these, the Ayahuasca drinker may see enchanted gardens and orchards, fountains and brooks, angels and other benevolent beings. Perhaps more significant is the general ambience which is characterized as paradisiacal. Typically, it is described as one of serenity and bliss in which the supreme Good reigns.
In conjunction with the origin of myth, see the reflections of the anthropologist-philosopher Levi-Strauss (1964) and my comments on them in Ch. 23.

Encountering the Divine

The Indians say that Ayahuasca enables them to see God (see Reichel-Dolmatoff, 1975; Taussig, 1987; Payaguaje, 1983). I would rather use such phrases as 'encountering the Divine', 'being in the presence of God', or the traditional Jewish one 'being under the wings of the Sfiekhina'." I shall discuss this experience further both in Ch. 9 and in Ch. 16.

Light

Last but definitely not least are visions of light. Because of their special subjective significance and varied phenomenological complexity, these visions will be discussed separately in Ch. 17.

9. Other Categories of Special Import

In the last section of this survey, I shall mention several content categories that stand apart. I place them together here only for editorial considerations.

Celestial Bodies and Planetary Voyages

Both I and my informants experienced visions in which the sun, the moon, and/or the stars featured centrally. An example is presented in the next chapter, where themes of visions are discussed. In this conjunction let me note that one of the most important hymns of the Santo Daime Church is called 'Sun, moon, stars'. Likewise, these three entities feature centrally in the decoration of the halls in which sessions of the UdV are held.

Often Ayahuasca carries one higher and higher above the planet Earth and far into the cosmos. On several occasions I felt I was flying upwards. On one of these voyages I saw, from above, the whole planet. Similar interplanetary voyages have been reported to me by my informants. Some indicated having reached a particular astronomical body, such as the sun or a specific planet. Such voyages are also depicted in some of the paintings of Ayahuasca visions in Luna and Amaringo (1993); see, for example, pis. 21 and 37.

Anatomy and Physiology

Traditional healers and medicine men are famous for their (alleged) ability to see, under the intoxication, the insides of patients' bodies (see, for instance, Gebhart-Sayer, 1986). The shamans I have interviewed expressly boasted of having this ability too. I myself have experienced visions of the inner parts of my own body on several occasions. On one such occasion I caught a glimpse of the internal parts of my upper leg, and on another I travelled inside my cranium. Travels within the body were also reported by several of my informants. The most common of these are ones in which the drinker was getting an inside view of his or her own brain and ones in which individual cells in the body were said to be seen; informants also reported seeing their own DNA [for a related discussion, see Narby, 1998].

Platonic Ideas, Archetypes, and Mathematical Objects

One special feature of Ayahuasca visions is the encounter with what may b referred to as the world of Platonic-like Ideas.14 There, one sees not the particular and contingent but rather the generic. My first experience of this kind Was reported in Ch. 5: a villager was passing by at a distance and I saw him as the Farmer; it will be noted that this happened with my eyes open. Other visions of this kind that I have experienced depicted the archetypal Man and Woman and the primordial Jaguar; both visions were seen with my eyes closed. Several informants reported identical experiences to mine.

Abstract entities may be seen as well. One informant told me he had a grand vision of perfect geometric bodies. Another reported a scene in which he spontaneously came to the appreciation that the physical world is harmoniously governed by mathematical laws. Three informants reported grand visions in which the manifold of all forms was seen. Several informants, all with an academic education, explicitly commented that Ayahuasca brought them to the world of Platonic Ideas.

More on this topic will be said in Ch. 15 and 23. One of the most impressive visions ever recounted to me was that seen by a South American man of mixed race, a labourer with only three years of primary school education. This person has had extensive experience with Ayahuasca and the vision he described as the most meaningful he had ever had was comprised of mathematical formulae which he understood as conveying the basic laws of the Universe.

Birth, Death, and Rebirth

Birth and death, the two momentous events in human life, are both encountered with Ayahuasca. I shall begin with death, for it is the more common and the more characteristic of Ayahuasca. In the indigenous context Ayahuasca is intimately related to death. After all, this is what the name Ayahuasca means the vine of the spirits, or of the dead spirits. I have seen death scenes twice, both times with my eyes open. The first time was at a Daime concentration session. Suddenly all the (real) people around me seemed to be dead. I was horrified and did all I could turning my head, shaking myself to stop this vision. The second time was in the midst of the forest. There were dead persons suspended on and from the trees. As noted earlier in this survey, once I had an encounter (fortunately, not consummated) with the Angel of Death. With my eyes closed, on several occasions I saw prehistorical rituals in which human beings were sacrificed. Seeing blood was reported by several informants.

Reports of my informants included scenes of self-death, scenes in which the drinker saw him- or herself as a victim in a ritual of human sacrifice, horrible scenes of wars, funerary ceremonies, as well as scenes in which skeletons, spirits, and sarcophagi featured prominently. Reports of self-death furnished by my informants are presented in Chs. 9 and 13. As will be described in more detail there, experiences of self-death are often coupled with experiences of rebirth. Drinkers feel that they almost die and then experience themselves reborn while gaining salvation and enlightment.

My informants also reported visions of birth. Both were reported: visions in which a woman was giving birth, and a vision in which the drinker herself experienced delivering a baby.

Small Details

Lastly, I would like to mention several small details that seem to feature rather often in the visions. What characterizes them is precisely their being details. In terms of their content, the items to be noted pertain to different semantic categories and are not of special significance in their own right. What is special is that they are disproportionally recurrent in reports of Ayahuasca visions. I have noted them in my own visions, and then was struck by their appearance, unsolicited, embedded in reports furnished to me by other people; at times I have found them mentioned also in descriptions of visions cited in the literature. What I am referring to are specific visual details seemingly without any psychological or cultural significance. Indeed, it is precisely the apparent insignificance of these details that makes them important with regard to the issue of interpersonal commonalities in the Ayahuasca experience. True, it could be argued that some items that are especially common in visions have been heard of by people, or read about, prior to their personal experiences. This might be true for serpents and felines, Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, but not for seemingly intrinsically unimpressive items such as those to be indicated below. Likewise, some prominent items, such as angels and palaces, may be associated with archetypes that are deeply rooted in the human condition; but again, this cannot be said with respect to the small details indicated here.

The first small detail I would like to mention is disembodied eyes. These are eyes seen floating in the visual space without there being either a face or a body of which they are part. The eyes may be those of human beings, of felines, or without any particular identity. Often, a great multitude of such eyes is seen. These are reported very commonly. Notably, they are also encountered in the most spectacular vision reported in the Bible�the prophet Ezekiel's encounter with the Divine (see, in particular, Ezekiel 1: 18; for a discussion of the motif of disembodied eyes in the context of pre-Columbian Mexican culture, the reader is referred to Ott, 1986). Also commonly reported are detached faces, that is, faces without bodies; bodies without faces are also reported. Interestingly, heads without bodies are also mentioned by Karsten (1935) in his report of what indigenous Amerindians experience with Ayahuasca. Especially prevalent are faces with slightly slanted somewhat mocking or sardonic smiles and grimaces. Several informants specifically said that the faces approached and teased them (see Harner, 1980). Anoth frequently reported item is mouths of animals that open and from which some thing for example, flames or other animals comes out. These are encountered in several of Amaringo's paintings too, as well as in the early report of Harne (1980) of his first experience with Ayahuasca. Also to be noted are persons with tilted heads and ones whose torsos are inclined; especially marked are women who raise one arm and brush it up against their ear (see, for instance, the report \ Kusel in Ch. 1).

As already mentioned, scenes of people usually groups of women dancing are very frequently reported; a beautiful depiction of such a scene, one which very much resembles a vision I myself had, is found in pi. 18 of Amaringo's paintings (Luna and Amaringo, 1993).

A recurrent detail in my own visions that impressed me quite a bit was that of a person looking forward, scrutinizing vast distances or gazing into the open and unknown. Typically, the act was associated with reflective serenity and the atmosphere encompassing it had a touch of the eternal. On several occasions the person had the allure of a sage, on others it was a valiant young man who seemed to probe optimistically towards the future. Once it was a group of small children who were engaged in the act of looking; in this scene, the entire ambience was of fresh hope. On still another occasion it was a chimpanzee. It was positioned way up on some very high boulder looking in the manner described above but not cognizant of the meaning of the act. To me it seemed that the ape was peering into the future progress of evolution.

Concluding Remarks

Having focused on details, let me now take a broader perspective and comment on the global picture that emerges from the foregoing survey. In their totality, the data we have surveyed define the semantic space of the visions seen with Ayahuasca. Embracing an alternative world-view, these data may also be regarded as defining what traditional users refer to as 'the world of Ayahuasca'. The semantic space, or world, in question comprises four main domains.

The first is the domain of nature. As noted throughout the foregoing discussion, animals especially serpents, felines, and birds are some of the most common items in the visions. Natural landscapes and scenes of forests and gardens are also very common. Also common are scenes of heavenly bodies and the far reaches of the cosmos.

The second domain is that of culture. Its prime manifestations are magnificent cities, the majesty of the royal, various products of artistic creation, religion, and magic. Usually, what are seen in the visions are not contents pertaining to the drinker's own socio-cultural milieu but rather ones associated with ancient civilizations. The majority of the constructions, objects, and artefacts that appear in the visions are either precious or wonderfully ornate or both. Further, most of the buildings seen in the visions are palaces or temples, and many of the human beings are either kings and queens or religious figures and persons with spiritual prominence.

Third is the domain of fantasy. It comprises enchanted and magical lands and it is populated by all sorts of creatures which are neither human beings nor naturalistic animals. As just indicated, the objects and scenes that appear in the visions are usually not mundane; often they are associated with mythology, fairy tales, and magic.

Fourth is the domain of the spiritual and the supernatural. Ayahuasca visions often reveal before one celestial and heavenly realms. In these, divine and semi divine beings often appear. The supernatural domain is usually associated with spiritual and metaphysical meanings. Related to this domain are the items and scenes pertaining to death.

In addition to the specific contents that are typical to them, Ayahuasca visions are also characterized by the extraordinary beauty that they manifest. Time and again, drinkers report that what they see in Ayahuasca visions surpasses in magnificence anything they have ever seen either in reality or in works of art. As further indicated above, objects and artefacts that appear in these visions are usually extremely rich and wonderfully ornate.

Many of the landscapes are fantastic, and even when strictly speaking they are utterly naturalistic, the landscapes often emanate special qualities such as eternal presence, divine bounty, or pristine meaningfulness. And then, when the visions lead one upwards, to the realms of the planets and beyond, what one sees can be utterly stupefying. Not infrequently a point is reached when the marvel is such that one feels that what is presented before one is overwhelming and that its scrutiny is beyond the grasp of one's human cognitive faculties.

In the literature, the word 'ineffable' is often used, marking the limitedness of language. At times, however, one also experiences the limitedness of one's mind and one's heart. Especially powerful visions may impress one as being totally beyond one's mental reach. On such occasions, one feels that what one sees is too wondrous to be grasped and one finds that one's mind simply cannot contain the marvels revealed to one. In extreme cases one may feel it is too painful to watch what the visions present it is all just too sublime, above and beyond the realm of the human.

The special character of the semantic space of Ayahuasca visions may also be marked by way of contrast. Comparative and contrastive analyses that I have conducted indicate that the content items that appear in these visions are different from items often seen in dreams. As further described in the Appendix, I have compared the content items of my dreams to those seen in the corpus of my Ayahuasca visions. Very little overlap was found between the content items that appear in the two sets of data.

None of the content items characteristic of the visions are encountered in the dreams nor are those that usually appear in the dreams found in the visions. In particular, in my dreams I have never seen tigers or serpents, palaces or scenes from ancient civilizations, royalty or other special beings. Never have I seen places that may be characterized as phantasmagoric or magical, nor have I ever seen historical or mythological scenes or ones having to do with the meaning of either the human predicament, Life and Creation, Nature, or the Cosmos.

Furthermore, my dreams never had any religious or spiritual quality nor did they ever seem to convey a message or serve as a vehicle for instruction. Rather, by and large, the content...

Furthermore, my dreams never had any religious or spiritual quality nor did they ever seem to convey a message or serve as a vehicle for instruction. Rather, by and large, the content items that appear in my dreams are common place. In them, I usually see persons who are significant in my life, scenes echoing events that happened to me in real life, images incorporating details often insignificant, such as telephone numbers that I have encountered during the course of the preceding day or two, scenes that reflect my personal conflicts, issues with which I am especially concerned, my fears, my wishes and desires. In general, these do not appear in the visions I have had with Ayahuasca.

Having said all this, let me also note that what may be seen in Ayahuasca visions is, in principle, unbounded essentially, there is no limit to it. The unboundedness pertains to both the types of content seen and to the tokens (that is, specific instantiations) of these types. With respect to the types, let me cite what, on two different occasions, I have been told by two very experienced drinkers. Checking whether they had seen the various items on my structured questionnaire, these informants answered in the affirmative for all items queried. Doing this, they smiled and said 'Well, you see, I have seen everything.'

With respect to the tokens, the unboundedness manifests itself in people never seeing the same vision twice. I say this both on the basis of my own experiences with Ayahuasca and the repeated observations of many other individuals; no one has ever reported a case that counters this generalization. The generalization holds even though there are many items that are especially common in Ayahuasca visions. In terms of their type, the items seen do exhibit various patterned regularities, but the tokens associated with these content types display unbounded variation.

Thus, I have seen palaces and interior decorations thereof many, many times; yet, each vision of these was totally novel not even twice did I see the same building or decoration. Coupled with the fantastic nature of the contents of the visions and their extraordinary magnificence, I find this state of affairs to be truly remarkable. In sum, all things imaginable and non-imaginable can be seen with Ayahuasca. One can see all the moments of one's life, all the people and places that one knows, Nature and the Cosmos in all their manifestations, human history and the different cultures that it has and has not produced, and scenes that lead one above the planet, to the far reaches of the cosmos, to the heavens.

One can see the inner parts of one's body and the deeper strata of one's soul, one can encounter the infinite richness of myth and fantasy, meet fairies and dragons, angels and devils, taste the nectars of the Eternal, be washed by the bounty of the Supreme Good, witness the perennial light, encounter the Divine. But then, if everything and anything is possible what sense is there to list and enumerate the 'contents of Ayahuasca visions'? I shall give several answers to this question; these answers are not mutually exclusive.

The present work is based primarily on reports that might be characterized as pertaining to a first stage in one's Ayahuasca schooling. By now, I have partaken of Ayahuasca more than 130 times and only very few of my informants have had a more extended experience with the brew. With long-term experience the quality of the visions may change. Some (but definitely not all) Ayahuasca users say that after about two years of regular exposure to the brew, they see fewer and fewer visions. In contrast, long-term drinkers report increases in experiences of great insight, spiritually uplifting ambiences of light, and special performances with the brew. I myself have noted that after about 90 sessions a new phase in my Ayahuasca experience seemed to begin.

In my more recent sessions, some of the more frequent items I have seen in the earlier sessions no longer appeared; this is especially true of serpents and jaguars. On the other hand, all sorts of new items appeared. With this, the set of content items that I have seen only once greatly increases with time. How then do I square the two? I would say that the items reported here are the ones most likely to be seen in what I would characterize, indeed, as a first cycle [see Ch. 18] in the school of Ayahuasca.

Two years after these last lines were written, I met an indigenous shaman whom I asked, as I had done with so many other people, why serpents and jaguars are seen in Ayahuasca visions. He responded that these two are, indeed, very common but that this is especially the case in the early stages of drinkers' experience with Ayahuasca. 'At first Ayahuasca shows one the natural worlds, later it reveals other worlds to one,' he said (see also Richman, 1990/1).

Let me put this in other words. In principle, it does indeed seem to be the case that given sufficient exposure to the brew, anything and everything can be seen with Ayahuasca. However, not all things are seen with the same probability. The foregoing survey seems to me to present a fair depiction of the types of content that are most likely to be encountered in Ayahuasca visions. Indeed, as already noted in Ch. 3, it seems to me that, as it stands, the corpus of data I have collected is robust; correspondingly, my assessment is that the survey presented here (as well as all other general data summaries in this book) is quite stable. At this stage, whenever I hear or read new reports of people's experiences with the brew, I do not find items that I have not heard of before and which are not included in my survey. Indeed, over and over again I am struck by reports of visions that are very similar to ones I have experienced myself or which I have heard about from my informants.

I would like to close with a comparison with the domain of literature. The question 'What does one see in Ayahuasca visions?' can be compared to the question 'What can be written in literature?' or 'What can be depicted in art?' Some, especially traditional, forms of both literature and the visual arts can indeed be associated with a relatively well-defined set of content items. Fairy tales are most likely to describe kings and queens, princes and princesses, good fairies and gnomes, wicked witches, dragons, and magical objects. Greek mythology often talks of deities and various types of heroic figures. Similar lists of most frequent items may be defined for other literary genres. But there comes a point when the question is meaningless: one can write, or draw, anything one fancies. There might be items that are more likely to be written about or drawn, especially in the more realistic genres of art, but in principle, the human imagination is withou limits--eventually, anything is possible. The situation with Ayahuasca visions is, I think, very similar.

My own experiences corroborate this general statement: Most of the cities I have seen seemed to belong to ancient civilizations whereas others were futuristic or magical, whose identity I could not determine. The reports of my informants reveal the same pattern. The most impressive city I have seen was that described in the Prologue whose buildings were made of gold and precious stones.

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A few short quotes from Benny Shanon's 'Antipodes of the Mind' for education:

Quote:
Open eyed visuals (seeing-in category):

"A somewhat more complex pattern is the following one that I experienced as I was observing a wicker shopping bag with an interlacing pattern of tan and black. I saw two alternating figures: at certain moments the wicker bag looked to me like a jaguar, and at others like the face of my niece. Later, when the intoxication was over, I approached the bag and examined it closely. The pattern was the simplest one possible. There was nothing in it that I could see as generating either the figure of a jaguar or that of a human face."

"By way of further example, I shall mention two other cases of superpositions which are visually complex, semantically elaborate, and dynamic. Twice, during sessions of UdV, I was gazing through the open doors. The bush that was seen through the door was full of beings. I might say that the beings I saw were "tree-people', for their figures were all made of leaves of the bush outside. What I saw was so rich: there were many figures, and their faces were distinct and expressive. At times it seemed that the faces expressed attitudes; for example, when the Master of the session spoke, the figures appeared to display interest and curiosity. Furthermore, it appeared that they were extending their heads towards the door so as to hear better, to be closer to what was going on inside the hall."

"An individual's general constitution and personality have a great effect on what will happen to him or her during a session. The relationship between these and the particualrs of the Ayahuasca experience are not simple to describe for, in principle, every and any personality trait and stance can be relevant. As a rule, people who are psychologically solid, whose souls are 'clean' and whose minds unperturbed are more likely to have good sessions. Characteristic of such sessions are powerful visions, revelatory insights and ideations, and spiritual uplift. In such cases nothing menacing happens and the session is felt to be meaningful and rewarding.

By way of example, let me mention a good friend of mine, a very pious woman of about 60 who--in the good sense of the term--has kept her innocent inner child alive. She partook of Ayahuasca only twice; on both occasions I was also present. Invariably, she had fairy tale visions--enchanted gardens, beautiful singing birds, angels, and nature all in a dance. It seems clear to me that what this woman experienced in her visions is directly related to the type of person she is.

The numerous conversations I had with people before and after Ayahuasca sessions repeatedly revealed to me how extremely important are parameters pertaining to drinkers' personality. As I have heard said repeatedly in all contexts of Ayahuasca use -- with this brew, each person receives exactly what he or she merits. Over the years, I have come to appreciate how perfect this match is. At times it manifests itself in ironic ways, and often its perfetion might be characterized as cruel.

One of my favorite quotes from the "7. History and evolution section" above:

Quote:
One informant told me that in the first vision he had with Ayahuasca he witnessed human suffering throughout history. With this, he understood the forces of evil, pride, and greed that make empires fall, and he came to the realization that the only hope for humanity is spiritual.

"The only hope for humanity is spiritual."

A few short random quotes from Shanon's 'Antipodes of the Mind' for education:

Quote:

random (1): The Style of Ayahuasca Visions

The first style was commented upon spontaneously by many people I have interviewed. Even without being asked about the style of the Ayahuasca visualizations, informants mentioned that what they saw resembled cartoons and animated movies as well as images similar to those encountered in pop art. Quite a few indicated that the visions reminded them of Disney-like designs. Usually, the images in question are described as two-dimensional, static, and having well-defined boundaries and homogeneous clear colouring. Often they are seen in sequence, as in comics strips. I too have experienced such visions several times.

Related to these observations is the characterization of some visions as kitsch or slapstick. Some informants explicitly expressed discomfort or embarrassment with this. Some thought this reflects their own taste in the arts, which is apparently not sufficiently cultivated. Yet, it appears that the phenomenon is not idiosyncratic: some visions are indeed of this style.

Second is the element indicated above in conjunction with powerful geometric designs-- marked lines demarcating the boundaries between small colour elements in the manner of the metal divisions in stained glass windows. Such marked dividing lines can also be found in visions with semantic content. Visually, such visions will be composed of the same fluorescent colour elements of which the powerful geometric designs are, but like vitrages, they would define figurative elements, notably magnificent architectural complexes. Similar observations were made by both Harner (1980) and olmatoff (1990) with regard to their own firsthand experiences with Ayahuasca; interestingly, they are also encountered in reports of subjects to whom harmaline was administered in an experimental-clinical setting (see Naranjo, 1973).

The third style will be denoted by the term "expanses". I am referring to visions of wide expanses of open landscapes of either land or sea and to panoramic visions of the entire planet, the solar system, or the cosmos. In these visions one does not see the lines noted in the previous paragraph. Rather, the scenes have a realistic air and the overall atmosphere they induce is of eternal, profoundly meaningful serenity. Reichel-Dolmatoff (1975, 1978b) marks this as characteristic of what he defines as the third stage of the Ayahuasca intoxication.

The fourth stylistic characteristic is "enchantment". I am referring to the quality that is especially salient in paintings such as those by the French painter Henri Rousseau. It seems to me that one special feature in these paintings is the secretive light. An example from my own visions is a scene of a forest with the moon shining over the trees in a special bluish light. Reichel-Dolmatoff (1990) makes the same observation with regard to his own visions.

Fifthly, there are visions which may be characterized as having a Baroque flair. These typically depict scenes that may be characterized as fairy tales. For actual examples of such scenes the reader is referred to the drawings of Ayahuasca visions by the Brazilian artist Ademir Braga de Oliveira shown in Meyerratken and Salem (1997).

Finally, let me comment on what may be referred to as the general ambience that the visions exude. Many informants told me that when having visions, they felt that they were "coming back home". Even though the visions were phantasmagoric and "out of this world", there was something in them to which informants felt very much connected. Furthermore, scenes in the visions were often characterized as "inviting". In addition, several informants said that beings in the visions told them they had been expecting them and/or waiting for them.

random (2): A Structural Typology of Visualizations: Designs with figures

As described in the Prologue, my very first Ayahuasca-induced visualization was of lizards popping out of arabesques. The lizard images were repetitive and embedded within the geometric pattern. Patterns that are very similar to this are seen in some Escher drawings.

random (3): Kaleidoscopic Images

The arabesque may change from a purely geometric pattern into a multitude of figures. This results in fast-moving kaleidoscopic images that usually consist of many items of the same kind. Patterns of this sort which I have seen several times are lines of semi-naked dancing women and of flowers. My experience has been that while in movement, images of this type are not subject to rapid transformations.

random (4): Interaction and Narration

With full-fledges scenes, however, drinkers need not remain passive towards what they see. Indeed, the more involved a drinker is with the visions he or she has, the more powerful the experience tends to be. In this conjunction, it is pertinent to cite a statement made by Amaringo (Luna and Amaringo, 1993:27):

"It is only when the person begins to hear and see as if he/she were inside the scene, not as something presented to him, that he is able to discover many things. There is nothing that she/he is not able to find out. I saw how the world was created, how everything is full of life, how great spirits intervene in every aspect of nature and make the universe epand. I was like a tourist, always asking the spirits what is this and that, asking them to take me from one place to the other, demanding explanation for everything."

Control

The most impressive type of control is a dynamic interaction in which one actually determines the ongoing development of the scene. Here the drinker may be likened not only to an actor in the scene but also to its director, as in a play or a film. This happened to me only once:

"There were seven men in front of me, each holding a black panther on a leash. At one instant the panters were freed and moved towards me. I knew I had to act fast. And then it happened: a brook appeared between me and the panthers and I placed beautiful water lilies in it. The panthers were attracted to the flowers and they came to the river and drank. Having done so, they forgot about me and they all turned back and went away."

After this session, I felt a deep satisfaction, it seemed to me that I had advanced a grade in the school of Ayahuasca.

Progressions

The second progression vision was recounted to me by an Amazonian Shaman as being one of the two major accomplishments he has had in his entire lifelong experience with Ayahuasca:

"In my vision, I entered a most beautiful mansion. It was Incaic or Mexican. I passed through the gate and there was a hall. I went on walking and found myself in front of a door. I entered it and there was a second hall. There was another door, and I passed through it too, thus entering into still another hall. I passed hall after hall until I arrived at the tenth. The hall was all gold--the floor, the walls, ceiling. Bearded old men clad in white sat in two lines along the walls. As I entered they applauded saying "Congratulations! You have made it!" In front was their leader. He was holding a great tobacco pipe. I advanced and when I reached him, he invited me to sit down. He passed the sacred pipe to me and blessed me. I felt immensely gratified and honoured andd so emotionally moved that tears of happiness poured from my eyes."

random (5): Interaction and Narration: Serial Thematic Variations

The first time I experienced this type of vision was on the only occasion I partook of Ayahuasca in the midst of the virgin Amazonian forest:

"I saw a series of 6 visions presenting monarchs in their throne halls. The most spectacular of these were the first two scenes which depicted ancient Egyptian pharaohs. In all cases I was invited to step in, stay in the corner, and witness the monarchs as they ruled. I was given the chance to observe the challenges and difficulties that absolute power presents. I appreciated the potential pitfalls as well as the grandeur associated with such power."

On another occasion, the theme of the series was the dancing woman. At least eight scenes passed consecutively before my eyes in which a woman or a group of women danced. These included a prima ballerina in a ballet performance, a hyper-modern discotheque scene, a pas de deux of metal figurines, a parade of lascivious dames of ill-repute, and a very formal dance of a group of aristocratic ladies.

Still another series concerned the animals of the night. Even though the hall in which the session took place was highly illuminated (the occasion was a festive Daime session), whenever I closed my eyes there was darkness--darkness of the night, one which, when one accommodates to it, actually turns out to be very far from being pitch black. The different visions that appeared all pertained to one common theme--the life of nocturnal animals. In each vision, a different species appeared: jaguars, jackals, several kinds of birds, insects, and organisms smaller than insects.

In each case, I was shown how the animals in question behave. My eyes accommodated and I could see what the animals themselves saw. In effect, the entire set of visions was a very instructive course on animal behaviour.

Lastly there is one of the most marvellous Ayahuasca sessions I ever had--it consisted of two interlacing thematic series. The first series presented various scenes depicting the glorification of the gods in different contexts--scenes of religous rituals in varous ancient civilizations as well as scenes of adoration by supernatural beings and by animals.

The second series presented various scenes of dance. The first series was the primary one, and between every two successive scenes pertaining to it there appeared, as an intermezzo, a scene of the second series. The entire sequence consisted of about 17 scenes extended over a period of almost 3 hours.

random (6): The Themes of Visions: Artistic and Cultural Creation

Especially impressive are visions that may be likened to visits to galleries or museums. As already mentioned in the previous chapter, once I found myself shown an exhibition displaying the works of an entire culture. Various works of art and artefacts were displayed. They were all of a style that resembled nothing that I had ever seen in my entire life. What was striking was that the different objects on display all defined one coherent style. Similar visions were reported to me by several other persons.

random (7): The Themes of Visions: The Religious and Spiritual Dimension

Many Ayahuasca visions lead one to an appreciation of the Divine and of the sacred dimension of being. The drink introduces one to the dimension of the Sacred.

random [8]: Ideas, Insights, and Reflections: General Considerations

Overall, Ayahuasca makes people think and reflect. Many individuals with whom I conversed said that under the effect of Ayahuasca they find themselves thinking faster than normal and that they become more insightful. Many further say that the brew makes them more intelligent and that it bestows upon them special lucidity and mental clarity. It seems to me that the inebriation also renders people more involved with deeper psychological analyses and with philosophical contemplation.

Ontology

The Ayahuasca experience forced ontolgoy on me. Often, the things I saw under the intoxication impressed me as being so real that the conclusion seemed to be unavoidable: truly existing other realities are being revealed. Believing that this is the case is very common with the drinkers of Ayahuasca. Both during the course of the intoxication and afterwards the question repeatedly forces itself: Does this really exist? over and over again I have heard people express the same feelings of puzzlement and intrigue:

Where do all the wondrous things revealed in the visions come from? What do they mean? The things seen with Ayahuasca often strike people as so different from anything they have seen or known that they cannot be the products of their own intellect.

Universally, drinkers of Ayahuasca feel that these things are too fantastic to be merely the products of the imaginative power of their own mind. If a supernatural realm [the term usually employed is "the astral"] exists in any sense, many further questions ensue. What is the relationship between this realm and the physical world? What is the relationship between it and the human mind, between it and the brain? Does the supernatural or transpersonal consists of only one realm or of many?

Epistemology

Like traditional mystical states, the Ayahuasca inebriation is associated with a strong noetic feeling: under the effect of the brew people often have the impression that they are gaining access to new knowledge.

I will note that personally, Ayahuasca brought me, for the first time in my life, to doubt the validity of the Western world-view. With this, again for the 1st time in my life, I began to wonder whether science as we normally understand it suffers from some fundamental limitations and that, in fact, it may hinder and inhibit us from understanding some crucial aspects of reality. I begain seriously to entertain the possibility (still unproven) that there are other, complementary sources for knowledge, ones that do not employ the instruments and methodologies developed by modern science. A full discussion of this extends beyond the scope of this book (but see Tart, 1972; Roberts, 1983; Vaughan, 1983).

random [9]: Ideas, Insights, and Reflections: Aesthetics

Beauty is unique in that it has the power to reveal to us humans the existence of an ideal world beyond the world of sense. This, in turn, is a prime source for happiness. Again, these feelings and insights are very common under the Ayahuasca intoxication.

Lastly, Ayahuasca is intimately related to artistic creation. The anthropologist Reichel-Dolmatoff claims that one main reason indigenous people partake of Ayahuasca is to gain inspiration for their artistic work. In his works, he argues that the geometric designs that appear in Tukano art are direct reflections of the designs seen with Ayahuasca. Similarly, the designs encountered in the ceramics, textiles, and house decorations of the Shipibo-Conibo are directly linked to the geometric figures seen in the visions, and so too in the case of the Cashinahua.

Personally, during many sessions, I felt I understood that the source that great creators gained their inspiration from was the cosmic source of plenty. It was all there--the artist "only" had to be sensitive so as to be in touch with this source, to grasp what it offers, and then, of course, to know how to translate it, or rather--how to create from it, to crystallize what he or she saw or heard into the particular medium that he or she masters. Several informants--notably ones who are artists themselves--have recounted similar reflections to me.

random (10): Ideas, Insights, and Reflections: Esotericism and the Paranormal

The Ayahuasca experience is miraculous. Amerindian legends associated with the brew typically contain elements of the supernatural and the non-ordinary. The doctrine of the Santo Daime Church proclaims that the brew makes one enter another reality, the astral.

The UDV characterizes the brew as cha misterioso, mysterious tea. With this, people are prone to entertain ideas and reflections of an esoteric nature. Time and again, informants have reported to me that Ayahuasca made them appreciate the existence of a hidden reality to which human beings are normally blind. With this, people claimed, hidden forces were revealed and hidden meanings recognized. With this, questions regarding the paranormal and the possibility of miracles become especially pertinent. Indeed, having undergone the Ayahuasca experience, most people--including ones with higher levels of Western education--tend to believe that all sorts of paranormal phenomena are actual.

---

69ron on harmalas:


Quote:
Ayahuasca is Banisteriopsis caapi. It contains mostly harmine. B. caapi itself contains no DMT and can be used as is to produce visionary states that are like mental day dreams which lack true visual content. Often admixtures are used to increase the visual content of the ayahuasca dreams. Most admixture plants contain DMT.

Harmine used alone, can produce a mild dreamy psychedelic experience in which daydreams or lucid dreams can be experienced if the user chooses to do so. These dreams from harmine alone are vague and lack visual content, but usually have story lines and can be quite complex just like a real dream. Harmine allows one to go in and out of dream consciousness at will. It takes some practice to learn how to enter a lucid dream with harmine alone. Harmine won’t make you enter a lucid dream. You have to do it yourself by allowing your mind to drift off into a lucid dream.

DMT used alone, produces an intense visual experience, often very chaotic and fast moving, and quite amazing to watch. The visions of DMT alone usually lack meaningful content. The DMT visions are often just constantly morphine colors and shapes. Most of it makes absolutely no sense. Rarely will the visuals present to you a full blown dream with people, places, a story line, etc. But this does sometimes happen. But usually you just get a bunch of bazaar visions that are difficult to understand.

When combined, as in ayahuasca, the harmine brings a dreamy quality to the DMT experience that makes it more like one is experiencing an actual dream, not just a bunch of fancy colors. With the two together, you have the visuals of DMT, plus the dream content of harmine. Harmine is the boss here in this combination if used in ayahuasca proportions where harmine is not just used as an MAOI but is used specifically to allow dream consciousness to be entered by the user. DMT is just an additive used to increase the visual portion of the harmine induced dreams.

Using harmine in very low doses, just as an MAOI, is not the same as using properly made ayahuasca. If harmine is used in low doses just for it’s MAOI effects, the trip lacks dream content and is just a bunch of bazaar DMT visual effects. This is not ayahuasca-like, it’s just orally activated DMT. That’s not the same. Its true that some ayahuasca is prepared this way, but such ayahuasca is considered inferior by most natives. With ayahuasca, the DMT is just an additive, not the main course. This is why ayahausca made with only caapi is still called ayahuasca and considered nearly as powerful as ayahuasca made with additive plants containing DMT.

This is something a lot of people don’t get. Ayahuasca is not simple orally activated DMT. It is the dream consciousness effects of harmine that are at play in ayahuasca. In order to experience lucid dreams from harmine without DMT, you need to practice a lot. But once you know how to do it, you don’t need DMT added to it anymore, unless you want the extra visual depth that DMT adds to the dreams.

So, “Dmt Or Ayahuasca?”, well that question is a personal question. Some people prefer DMT-less ayahuasca. Some people prefer just orally activated DMT. Some people prefer ayahuasca with a side order of DMT. Some people prefer the truly bazaar effects of smoked DMT alone.

My personal opinion is that DMT alone is FUN and can be quite frightening. It’s like a roller coaster ride and I like roller coasters. But don’t expect a deep meaningful life changing experience from it. Its pure visual FUN and nothing more. If I want a more meaningful experience I’d use an oral ayahuasca extract, or a smoked Yopo extract (not as effective as ayahuasca because Yopo is low on harmala-like alkaloids).

Authentic ayahuasca, high in harmine, and low on DMT, is like entering a full blown 3D dream with dream characters, storylines, etc. This can be a life changing experience. It’s more like sitting in a theater for several hours absorbing a story that’s meaningful because its about you. You leave with memories of places, things, people, etc., and possibly a new view on life.


Sachahambi (in response):


Quote:
This is a really excellent description of the effects of Vine and DMT separately and together. (I'm not sure that the Vine's effects can be completely attributed to one chemical, though, but I am not a biochemist.)

"These dreams from harmine alone are vague and lack visual content, but usually have story lines and can be quite complex just like a real dream."

They may or may not have visual content, but when they do, the visual images are shadowy and monochromatic, silhouette-like and very slow-moving compared to DMT. This is why you hear in the Amazon about "different colors" of Vine based on the color of the visuals they tend to produce, since they are usually only in one color: red (actually a sort of dark maroon), yellow (sort of tan), black (a sort of dark charcoal), etc. No one would describe DMT plants with a single color! But the point is, whether visual or not, they have content and storyline, like a lucid dream... and messages and insights.

Claudio Naranjo, M.D. from "Psycotherapeutic Possibilities of New Fantasy-Enhancing Drugs (1969)":

Quote:
The author proposed to re-introducing the term Oneirophrenia, first employed by Meduna, to designate drug-induced states that differ from the psychotomimetic by the absence of all symptoms of the psychotic range and yet share with the psychotomimetic experience the prominence of primary process thinking. Harmaline and ibogaine characteristically elicit such a state, for their psychological effect is one much like the bringing about of dream...

Claudio Naranjo, M.D. from "Psycotherapeutic Possibilities of New Fantasy-Enhancing Drugs (1969)":

Quote:
The author proposed to re-introducing the term Oneirophrenia, first employed by Meduna, to designate drug-induced states that differ from the psychotomimetic by the absence of all symptoms of the psychotic range and yet share with the psychotomimetic experience the prominence of primary process thinking. Harmaline and ibogaine characteristically elicit such a state, for their psychological effect is one much like the bringing about of dream phenomena without the loss of consciousness, changes in the perception of the environment, delusions, or formal alterations of thinking and depersonalization.

In short, we may speak of an enhancement of fantasy which, remarkable as it may be, does not interfere with ego functions. Such an enhancement of fantasy, as we will see, is in the nature of both an increase in vividness of visual imagery (which takes on an eidetic quality) and an increased spontaneity of content, which resembles that of true dreams more than that of ordinary daydreams.

In a way, neither harmaline nor iboga may be said to be new. Of course, each has been used for centuries by people in Asia, Africa, and South America, mostly as a part of rituals intended to bring the individual into contact with the realm of myth.

Reichel-Dolmatoff (1975:30):

Quote:
When I have partaken of Ayahuasca, my head has immediately begun to strain, then I have seemed to enter an aerial voyage, where I thought I saw the most charming landscapes, great cities, lofty towers, beautiful parks, and other delightful things. Then all at once I found myself desrted in a forest and attacked by beasts of prey against which I tried to defend myself. I began to come around, but with a feeing of excessive drowsiness, headache, and sometimes general malaise.

Various quotes from Shanon's "Antipodes of the Mind" for education:

Quote:
random (1) transformations: flying as a Bird

On a third occasion, I flew as a seagull. I was sitting in my chair, towards the end of a Udv session, and there I was--a seagull in the air:

"I was high above a long stretch of coast, between sea and white cliffs. La Manche (The English Channel), I thought. I circled up and down, soared, and even performed acrobatics in the air. During this entire time I had views of the land and sea down below; the experience was both very realistic and wonderful."

Several informants have reported experiences of flying to me. The most common of these was flying as an eagle. For example, a European taking Ayahuasca for the first time experienced himself as an eagle which flew up above the hut in which the Ayahuasca session took place. The man experienced himself high in the sky looking down at the people participating in the session. He discovered that his eyesight was very acute and that even though he was observing from a great distance he could detect the most minute details. The experience was, he said, exhilarating.

Wolf (1992) reports a similar experience. Experiences of flying were also reported by C. Naranjo (1973a) in his study of the psychological effects of harmaline.

random (2) atmosphere & general effects

Usually, the harshest symptoms of the Ayahuasca inebriation occur during the first 90 minutes following the onset of the effect. During this time, visions can be very strong and the entire experience may be tough and even frightening. Often the feeling is that the drinker has little or no control over what is happening. Thus, the initial phase of the inebriation is likely to present drinkers with moments of intense struggle. At times, the person who partakes of Ayahuasca feels he or she is losing his or her senses and even going mad. Quite commonly, people feel that they are about to die. With experience, however, the fear can be better managed and the Ayahuasca drinker learns to gain more control over the intoxication.

The initial difficult phase is usually followed by a period in which the impact of the brew is strong but more manageable. In general, this period lasts from about one and a half to two hours. It is at this stage of the inebriation that drinkers usually begin to come to terms with the Ayahuasca experience and even enjoy it. Indeed, people may find that this experience presents them with moments of exhilaration and great wonderment.

The last phase of the Ayahuasca inebriation is usually melllower and is often accompanied with sentiments of serentity, extreme peace of mind, and bliss. One may still have visions, but normally, as time goes on the preponderance of visions diminishes and their strength and intensity are reduced. During this phase the experience is that of great happiness, harmonious well-being, and spiritual uplifting.

random (3) methodology and General Structure

In all of places in which I have partaken of Ayahuasca (135 times), the constituent plants were Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis. In the various contexts of Ayahuasca use, it is often said that the vine gives "power" whereas the leaves give light.

random (4) Concluding Philosophical Reflections, Status and Veracity

Most users of Ayahuasca conceive of the Ayahuasca experience in extra-psychological terms. This is true both of indigenous persons and non-indigenous ones, and surely it is true of all the new syncretic Brazilian sects that employ the brew. The specific attributions offered vary, but in essence, all refer to non-naturalistic sources of knowledge and/or non-human entities and beings that impart knowledge.

The explanations usually invoked by users of Ayahuasca highlight the super-natural, paranormal nature of the other realities seen in the visions. As noted earlier, these realities are generally conceived of in a very concrete manner and often referred to as constituting "the astral".

At times, an eternal storehouse of information is invoked in which all information--past, present, and future--is kept. According to this hypothesis, Ayahuasca brings those who partake of it to realms that are not dependent on time. In these, it is believed, all that has been known and all that will be known is co-present and potentially available for people in the visionary state to access.

Significantly, the first time I ever thought of this option was under the effect of Ayahuasca. Afterwards, in the course of my interviews, several informants reported having the very same realization under the intoxication.

random (5) Contextual Considerations

On the basis of extended observation, I can attest that extraordinary as the Ayahuasca visions are, they do fit what might be characterized as the mindset of the individual drinker. A person who is religiously inclined is more likely to have visions pertaining to the Divine, one who is adventure-minded is more prone to have phantasmagoric voyages, one who has a light-hearted, playful character may have ludic-like experiences. Similarly, persons normally interested in philosophy are more likely to experience metaphysical visions and ideations. All these statements are based on actual, concrete cases I have interviewed and observed. Further, an inspection of the data furnished by the interviews I have conducted reveals that some of the richest visions reported were furnished by people who are either professional artists or artistically inclined.

random (6) Contextual Considerations

Perhaps the foremost reason for the consumption of Ayahuasca, for both Amerindians and others, is to transcend ordinary existence and come in contact with the Divine. In essence, what Ayahuasca does is place drinkers in a special state of being. For a couple of hours the person partaking of the brew is granted the gifts of heightened sensitivity--both sensory and psychological, of increased intellectual and psychological insight, of enhanced vital stamina and well-being, of spiritual uplifting.

It is up to each person to decide what to do during these hours of grace. He or she may employ it in order to question the inner self, for direction with respect to specific problems that currently concern his or her life, to gain psychological or intellectual understanding and insight, to heal body and soul, to grow spiritually, to have a wondrous multi-modal aesthetical experience, to enjoy well-being and shared communion in the sacred, to be able, even if for a brief time, to transcend the normal confines of human existence.
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Thanks for posting.

I read Benny Shanon’s book and it is a great work. But taking the same mixture 150 + times? It would be more interesting to hear about the differences in visuals when drinking the brew over a long period of time and testing out all sorts of combinations, chaliponga, Syrian Rue, etc. It is not clear to me why he sticks solely to one brew only.

The paintings of Pablo Amaringo are beautiful.

Hi strtman! always great to hear from you! Shanon stuck with the traditional psychotria + caapi as it is the same formula used by the UDV and Santo Daime, and Shuar Indian, and in the Jungle, it was what was preferred. It's 100% safe, non-toxic, and highly potent. Shanon has taken Ayahuasca well over 200 times now, mentioned in one of his updates. I've personally tried the other combinations, and can say without a doubt that nothing comes close to caapi + Hawaiian psychotria. A true gift from Heaven. I've dreamed it over 56 times, it is completely safe and no weird body stuff even on dosages that were super strong and mega-powerful. Very non-toxic. I agree, his book is top notch, and will always be the forever classic study of the visions not only of himself, but of the several hundred other interviewed.

He is spot on with his content of visions, I too have seen hundreds of the things mentioned in his writings, even down to the island in the South Pacific and the naked twirling women dancers, and interior decorations of fabulous palaces and temples, waterfalls, incredible gardens like in France, and many animals including beautifully decorated elephants, and even the black puma and twirling snakes like dna. I will never forget the viewing of Atlantis, as it was back in the day, I had a bird's eye view of all of it, and zoomed in for a closer look. It really did exist. I have flown like a bird many times on Ayahuasca to far away places, once even to Los Angeles, flying over the parks and many homes with pools below, another time I flew over a renaissance village in the middle ages, a great view of all the homes, market and people below. In one curious vision, I was shown a beautiful woman searching for her lost ring inside a home in the middle ages, then Ayahuasca showed me where her ring was hidden.

What are your experiences with chaliponga? In what combinations did you use it?

Caapi + hawaiian psychotria + chaliponga ? Or Caapi + chaliponga only ?

Hi again Franlover! Yes, Ayahuasca is very Clairvoyant. Nothing is hidden from her.

Keep in mind these are my own opinions, and yours may vary very differently strtman.

Have dreamed chaliponga 2 times, the 1st time, it was exactly like hawaiian psychotria, fabulous experience, the 2nd time used a bit more and it was very different, and I experienced profuse sweating and anxiety on the tail end for an hour, likely due to the tiny amounts of 5-meo that was in it. I just don't like the tiny to trace amounts of 5-meo that is in it, and is likely the reason people say never to use more than a few grams of the leaf. I have a bad reaction to it and start sweating and get bad anxiety, and the chaliponga journey is quite long, many hours longer than a psychotria experience, so when difficulty strikes, it is a long waiting process. Chali may be safe if used in very tiny amounts, but I much prefer the dream with 100% safety net of psychotria. Chaliponga I have read is often only recommended to advanced Shamans. I avoid after that last dream. Keep in mind that the UDV and Santo Daime and Shar Indian use traditional caapi + psychotria exclusively.

Wise words from 69ron on psychotria vs chaliponga vs barks:
69Ron:

Not to be preachy, little off topic, but keep in mind liver toxicity that ron69 mentions above as a real possibility with barks, check this out from madchemist:

medchemist (April 25, 2011)
from Ayahuasca.com "what are Ayahuasca analogues" comments after the main paper:

I personally work with Anahuasca, Rue and Mimosa/Acacia, i've taken the stuff probably more than anyone else has, never noticed any toxicity or dark effects or anything like that, it's always been quite heavenly, though also terrifying on occasion but that comes with the territory. I stick to analog plants because they've given me everything i need and i'm more than satisfied with them, and imo there's nothing particularly special about traditional Aya over analogs, they're all the same technology, just different flavors and traditional Aya can vary so much anyways depending on the admixture plants they add, some may be smoother or better than other variations but just find the ones the work best for you i guess.

ShamenStamen said:
Great to hear ShamenStamen!

This