Hello all! I am preparing to embark on my very first journey with Ayahuasca, which will also be my first experience with DMT.. And this is my question.

I know it is usually recommended to try smoking DMT first. However, what are your thoughts on Ayahuasca for a first time user? Though I could extract from my Mimosa, here is the reason I am feeling pulled towards Aya.

I am a recently clean heroin addict.. Well actually, I have over 3 months clean now, which for a 5 year IV heroin addict, is not recently at all! It's the longest stretch I've ever had.

I was granted this gift of freedom from addiction through my experiences with the Iboga plant. So my fears of my addiction returning are smaller than ever before, almost gone, but of course I remain on my toes.

Anyway.. The reason I'm leaning towards Aya is because it is only after my Iboga experiences that I feel so drawn to it. I've always been very curious in the past about trying DMT, and knew that I someday would, however I had planned on smoking it first.. In the past my intentions would have been for the fun/exploration of it first, and spiritual journey second. But as a newly addiction-freed soul, I am now in this more for the emotional/spiritual healing that can come about. And also, I have to watch myself and my intentions very carefully.. If my unconcious goal is really to have some fun and "get fucked up", then I'm sure it will not only be an unpleasant trip, but could have the potential to start me down a destructive path again.

So I'm very mindful of my intentions these days. Most of my cautiousness about this journey was actually brought to my attention by some friends I'm in contact with in a very small and tight-knit Iboga forum. I hadn't even thought too much about the potential of this to start me down a drug/thrill seeking path again. Thankfully that Iboga forum is full of incredibly caring people, and they have been kindly helping me in a similar discussion on that board.

But yes, anyway, my main question is.. What are your thoughts about a first timer taking his journey with Aya. And feel free to be as specific as you can about everything.. Intentions, dose, set, setting.. (I will be using yellow Caapi vine, and Mimosa bark)

I am only a baby in this world and am so very grateful for these forums to allow me to hear the insights and opinions of others. Thank you!

congratulations on 3 months off of dope, thats truly amazing. i understand the horrors of opiate addiction and 3 months is a mountain. ive been off opiates for 2 1/2 years and life has never looked better. ive been using dmt for 3 years and began working with ayahuasca mid summer.

im not sure if i would agree that people should smoke dmt prior to trying ayahuasca but i guess i could see an argument for it. everyone has an opinion and this is just mine. i think your idea is a very good one for a couple reasons.

you sound very clear that your interest is in healing and progression. ayahuasca meets this intent perfectly. dmt is a great teacher but i wouldn't exactly call it a healing medicine the way i would ayahuasca or iboga.

second reason is that if your concerned about substituting dmt for heroin as a "reward" or party drug ayahuasca would be a better choice. it is far from a party and not necessarily a "good" time. done correctly it takes preparation and a little discipline. i feel i definitely abused dmt when i was getting off opiates. it was just so easy and convenient and there was no better escape for me at that time. this was a dangerous intention and one that i payed for greatly through some pretty terrifying trips.

that being said if your interested in trying ayahuasca read ms.manicminxs sticky in the aya forum. it is very thorough. there's only about 5 pages of topics in that forum so read them all. i have and continue to do over the past months and its quite amazing how much knowledge ive accumulated by logging onto the nexus. this is a special place indeed. welcome and good travels.

I think it's a wonderful idea. My first true psychedelic experience was with syrian rue and mimosa and it was quite beneficial; more so than smoked spice would have been. You say that most of us would recommend smoked spice at first, but in truth there is more of a debate than your comment implies.

I know the common recommendation with aya is to start with small, caapi-only brews (10-20g)and work up from there. This is a slow and gentle way to build a relationship; but a good beginning visionary journey would be perhaps 50g caapi and 1-2g mimosa. Yellow is good in that it is balanced and readily available. Good luck!

A few threads that might be some good reading for you d_phreedom

https://dmt-nexus.me/for...aspx?g=posts&t=15194
https://dmt-nexus.me/for....aspx?g=posts&t=8972
https://dmt-nexus.me/for...aspx?g=posts&t=15316

Safe travels.

I haven't had experience with either DMT or Aya yet, but I would say aya seems much more what you are looking for based on your write up. Read those linked threads at a minimum. They have lots of very good info. Congrats on 3 months by the way!

I've had considerable experience with other entheo's in my life and just reading everything on DMT related things it seems like aya is a little more workable as far as self progress. The added time and build up and the addition of the vine seem to really help people integrate and learn. It seems like the smoked experience is harder to integrate and harder to sometimes even fully remember because of how extremely bizarre and quick it is. Maybe people suggested the smoked kind in whatever you were reading just do to the fact that it is so much shorter that you can be introduced to it without need to have 6 hours for yourself and someone that can watch over you during the aya experience.

Thank you for all the replies so far! And the linked threads were very very helpful and informative. I love how specific this forum is. I could only gather so much from erowid's vaults, but here it is very helpful to be connected to people with experience on this topic.

It was recommended to me that I should smoke first I think mainly because of the short duration of effects. That way if it ends up being very intense for me, or should I start getting slapped around by the fear, that well, at least it won't last long. But you all have helped confirm what my own thoughts were. That for a truer healing and easier time integrating, aya is the route to go.

I still have much to learn, and a lot of preparation, but thank you all so very much, and of course I welcome more opinions! Always happy to learn more.