First i'll describe the ceremony, then my general thoughts on it, and finally, I share some insights I was offered
So 60 of us were gathered in a nice big stone and wood room, backs against the walls. An altar made of earth, decorated with feathers and plants, upon which were regularly brought glowing embers of the fire burning outside. Incense was poured on these throughout the ceremony.
After introducing himself and the romanian organiser and explaining how we would procede during the night, Jose Manuel, the "shaman", a spanish man in his forties went around disitributing Tobacco juice to be snorted. That was nice and cleansing, despite the strong taste.
He then went around giving each a ball of Ayahuasca resin, saying it would come on slower but last longer. First time i saw this, but in it went.
Then another round with a cup of liquid Ayahusca this time, so we wouldn't have to wait too long either.
He then sat and sang some spanish medicine songs while shaking his maraca. After 15mn, someone starts puking, soon to be followed by others, which led to about 2 hours of general puking. That kept the couple helpers pretty busy. During that time, the songs changed every couple minutes, from hindu mantras to Santo Daime hymns, with some people trying to sing along and others trying to start their own songs, while many moaned and retched. One guy was screaming for 2 hours as if he was tied on a roller coaster in the dark! I was feeling some effects during that time, but being surrounded by so much noise was too distracting for me to go deep.
This puking moaning screaming random siniging went crescendo until the romanian organiser said "OK people let's calm down, let's have a little moment of tranquility!", little moment which would basically last until the end. In the relatively calm atmosphere, I managed to focus better, got some mild geometric visuals while the medecine was working and purged for a couple minutes. But the ball of Ayahusca resin, 4 hours after, was still not fully digested, so i ended up with my mouth and teeth coated with sticky foul tasting bits of it. Next 15 mn spent teethbrushing and spitting, and understanding why I haven't heard of Ayahusca resin balls before. No wonder people go with liquid.
So now I had room for another cup, drank it, and lied down for some time. The singing was as random as ever ,mostly led by the romanian organiser: some english spiritual songs, some traditionnal romanian songs, at one moment they even put on a CD of icaros for an hour! The "shaman" and the romanian organiser started speaking of respecting the Earth, not splitting atoms like our Japanese brothers, and some more inspired new agey spiritual talk that I barely registered.
I had a second small purge, and the effects slowly faded off as the sun rose. Many people were still quite in there and purging, the roller coaster guy was still taking a ride frome time to time, and most people seemed quite tired. The ceremony was concluded with a glass of blessed water for each, and little by little, people took off, leaving me wondering how safe it was for them to drive.
Now after having drank Ayahuasca a few times in the Amazon with a very good shaman, who sings VERY effective icaros basically non stop for 4 hours and is really managing what is going on, this ceremony seemed to me quite chaotic and dispersed. Sound is of utmost importance when working with Ayahuasca, and imo the random chanting and 60 people purging more or less loudly that night was not very helpful in promoting deep work.
I also felt that telling everyone to calm down when the group was basically reaching a peak purge was pretty odd, since purging is what it's a lot about. Why not instead encourage everyone to go deeper and purge their guts out?
Basically, I felt these facilitators were a far cry from the true shaman I drank with in the jungle. He would guide the medecine work so intensely and deeply with his icaros and presence, make you purge two hours straight head-in-the-bucket, it was like being in the hands of a skilled surgeon, whereas these guys basically gave you a serving, burned some incense and sang whatever crossed their mind. I know they mean well, and my opinion is surely very personal, yet I didn't see many people in the morning smiling their lips off or going to cheerfully thank the guys, which makes me think it wasn't just me.
But hey, it's still Ayahuasca, and I still got something out of it. No fancy visuals or cosmic revelations, mostly some personal things, I'll share what I remember.
While sitting on the floor, I understood that it's not possible to be a balanced person without having first a balanced "sexuality": if you try to sit cross legged on the floor, you will see for yourself that you are basically resting upon your genital area/bottom chackra. If it's unstable, it's impossible to build anything stable on top of it. Things in life/chakras must be balanced in a certain order, just like you would pile cubes. First the bottom, then you move your way upwards.
I realized I have too much tendency to put hope in a future experience (aka an ayahuasca experience,...) to better my life. It's a useless and wasteful way to function, since while I'm chewing on something to come, the one and only present moment flies by, unlived to the full. What you will do matters not a bit, it's what you are doing.
Sound is extremely powerful. Instruments, but especially our voice. The vibrations of sound can truly modify atmospheres, spirits, moods,... Be careful with your tone of voice...
Spirit is everywhere. Speak, and you are heard. The Spirit likes to be spoken to, sung to, played with...
It has brought me to much needed thought about the direction my life is taking, location, job, and family wise. Still reflecting now, and some good ideas are springing up. Grateful for this too.
And humility. How infinitely more beautiful and healthy than arrogance and "me me me". One day we will all be humbled beyond anything we knew was possible.
it's about making life a neverending experience of wonderfulness!