A friend reported on this recent dream he had. It was rather vivid so I thought id talk about it and hence will speak in the first person for clarity.
Was recently invited to partake in a ayahuasca ceremony run by a shaman. I do not remember the name of tribe. Anyway the ceremony took place indoors after dark in a large room. A central altar was built of dirt flowers and ayahuasca vine as well as central fire upon which various insences were burned though out the night. The shaman asked who had never taken ayahuasca before I and a few others raised their hands. About 15 people were to participate none of whom id met before. I was intrigued to participate one to see how a shaman conducts such ceremonies and two too use ayahuasca to help with some physical as well as mental healing processes. Furthermore as an aspiring natural product chemist I was intrigued as to how traditional ceremonies are used to aid the experience and healing process's catalyzed by psychedelic drugs and plants.
The shaman began the ceremony by discussing some brief points about how the ritual would go down as well as telling us to remember to focus on the purpose for our journey during the experience and use the medicine to help with that purpose. He was a very nice guy who obviously felt strongly about what he was doing. I was comfortable putting my trust in him as a guide.
He then had us all snuff a small amount of tobacco juice as was the custom to cleanse the sinus's and awaken the senses. Not being a fan of tobacco I was a bit nervous none the less found it easy to do and certainly felt energized from the tobacco. Next we all were individually given a dose of ayahuasca which was also easy to drink. After about 15 minutes of silence I could clearly feel the effect of the DMT side of things working its way through me. It certainly felt like DMT did as if it had been smoked except much slower dreamier and well less intense. As this was happening I began to feel nauseous. I let the feeling build and build as the drug came on. I was hoping to just purge out all the junk in my system and then focus on the trip.
However I continued to purge throughout the night a total of about 5-6 times. We were asked if we wanted a second dose but I felt I needed to deal with the physical side of the medicine and concentrate on my body and that this trip didn't need to be stronger. Throughout the night the Shaman would chant in his native language and play music for us that was very beautiful and others would sing and chant as well. After each painful agonizing purge I felt better cleaner and more relieved. Each time I would summon all the filth that I wanted to get out of me and painfully release it. My muscles would contract sometimes violently but the release made it tolerable. After snuffing more tobacco and vomiting more I was able to fall peacefully asleep. The final vomit culminated in some massive release of endorphins and my whole body went numb with relief.
The next day I felt great to be alive. I certainly see the value of ayahuasca as a healing tool. Especially in such a supportive setting. I still say I prefer other psychedelics such as LSD for mental and more recreational exploration (which is important too
). However ayahuasca was very useful for thinking about some aspects of my life I would like to improve on (I am a happy person and was in good health prior to experience however some physical pain I am constantly in needed to be resolved, as well as some big decisions I need to make soon). The nausea I am sure would get less if used ayahuasca again and allow me to better focus mentally. From a scientific point of view I am fascinated how such purging can be used to cleanse ones system of infectious bacteria parasites etc, as well as cleaning or revitalizing ones liver and other organs like kidneys etc. The overall effect on the body fascinates me because this is clearly a multitude of chemical factors coming into play. The DMT for the trip mental aspect, the MAOI to control the DMT like slow it down and allow it to absorb as well as other mood lifting effects associated with MAOI. The fasting. The chemicals in the brew that force your body to so intensely purge itself. Plus the supportive atmosphere certainly contributes as well.
Overall I will wait to try ayahuasca again. I feel no need to use it often but do see its value.
That is the end of the dream I had heard about.