Taking aya, even if the surroundings are just the four walls of your home, should be more than just a plain session. A ceremonial setting greatly enhances the celebration-like aspect of taking the medicine.
The way we do it, in a nutshell: we have a small altar, where we place the incences (mostly resins and dried leaves, pieces of wood), also feathers, cobbles and other stuff we gathered during our trips to the nearby forests, to increase our attachement to our own organic nature. We also put candles on the altar and in other places of the room.

The music is another important part of the ceremony: we usually begin with Icaros, then introduce other sounds, as the journey gradually unfolds. Tibetan buddhist mantras, singing bowls and bells and some dark ambient music can definitely carry one on their wings!
At the end of the journey, usually before sunrise, we serve ginger tea with honey, a closing gesture of offering warmth and relaxation.

So, the aim of this topic would be to gather your experiences with home ceremonies to inspire each other - what do you prefer to mark the uniqueness of each meeting with the medicine? If you are more than 2 persons, what are your tips to create comfortable surroundings? How do you manage the purging process? We have some bowls and buckets for this purpose, and the bathroom... Of course, it would be much more respectful to gather all the purges in one single bucket and the morning after the ceremony to give it back to the Earth as a symbol of purification and rebirth. This is the way traditional aya ceremonies are lead. Hopefully we'll be able to do it this way after the weather warms up a bit.

Hope to read some interesting reports on this subject, there is always so much to learn!!!

Great vibes for you all,
drishti

I like silence most of all.
I don't have a ritual that i do everytime. I most of the time focus on things i think are relevant for me at the time: i usually meditate after i ingested the brew, but sometimes i do a little reading or pianoplaying until i feel it's time to lie down.
I keep the room as darkened as possible.
I always clean up the room and shower before ingesting it.

A realy important thing for me is that i have fresh fruit and juice nearby that i can pick anytime i want to. Sometimes i also have some tea ready in a thermosjug and some toast.

I like to have spent the day outside, having walked through the woods for at least an hour.

If i take it with somebody else, we will make the brew toghether. every step of it.

I'm actually preparing for my first journey (solo) tomorrow night, and have been contemplating these kind of ideas. I've got a playlist set up beginning with some drumming, rainforest sounds, icaros, then ending with some ambient tracks.

Last night my two year old daughter and I painted a large canvas with fingerpaints, and our handprints, and I'll be putting this up in the room for positive energy and guidance.

Other than that, I just plan to drink it down and sit up straight on my carpet. Have no idea whatsoever what to expect. How often does one get to say that?

I've also preparing a blank canvas to paint on when I've come out of the experience well enough.

What is the function of ritual? Are then acts themselves what is of value. Or is it that repeating specific acts in a certain way, every time can cultivate some sort of benefit?

I understand many religions, cultures and the like have rituals. I understand the reasons are variable.
Perhaps creating ritualistic acts with specific intentions or goals would benefit neo-psychedelic culture.

So much within the shamanic sense has become irrelevant to modern westerners. I understand that people hold value in shamanism especially in a traditional sense. But these cultures are in a completely different setting to our own. Maybe borrowing specific valuable tools would be of worth.. like the great tool Ayahuasca.
Perhaps interpreting traditional shamanic practices incorrectly and trying to make them fit into an alien culture is not so great. Thus a desire to create new practices with our actual current setting and condition considered.

I think ill stop here... i can feel myself rambling.

The ritual is like a frame for the experience.

Time spent in nature beforehand is important. I like lots of candlelight, crystals, dressing up in something warm, and snuggling under some blankets with a Caapi cutting. Water nearby is a must. Candles in the bathroom are a must. I always tripped in the same neon orange sleeping bag for about three years when I would drink alone... and nothing beats the smell of white sage!

Xt wrote:


DMTripper wrote:


A ceremonial setting is indeed a frame for the experience, for various reasons. Maybe I wasn't specific enough, so please find some more specific details.
We do use elements in our home ceremonies, borrowed from other cultures - this is not imitation, these elements fit perfectly into our vision of re-connection to our roots, to the spirit of the earth. Indeed, Western civilization has almost completely forgotten its true values, that are inseparable from nature's forces of creation. These have the power of leading the experience on the right track.

Besides the few borrowed yet incredibly fitting elements, we use music and sounds, sometimes even pictures to take us into a deep meditative state. Meditation is the main purpose of ayahuasca during our sessions.
As far as music / sounds are concerned, we prefer trying out different stuff, depending on our mood. Sometimes we get carried away by icaros, other times it's Tibetan monks chants that we listen to (I realised these give a mystical, occult direction for thoughts). Ambiental sounds are also wonderful for meditation. Our latest session was accompanied by an incredible sound-sculpture, as my partner said (he discovered this music just recently): her name is Eliane Radigue, I'd say it's a must for ambient-lovers! This is like shiatsu for the brain !!!

Setting up a frame for the experience is essential, as it constantly reminds you that it's a special occasion, something extraordinary. And if you approach ayahuasca with this respect, it will become a mirror of your mind and your deeds - it will show you what to transform in your actions and thoughts, and how to do it. No wonder it's often called University of Life!

Bliss,
drishti

Sticks
Stones
Pictures
incense
Idols
Artifacts
Music
Candles
And many more would all bring energy, Their own energy.

Good questions and points you bring up Xt. Here's how it works for me. My ceremony begins by cleaning up my space and then I go and spend at least part of the day walking in nature. It helps to have a large wilderness area within steps of your back door! I visit some of my favorite spots, make tobacco offerings to various plants and say a prayer of gratitude.

I come home, smudge my journey space and perform a small pipe ceremony, giving blessings to the seven parts of the medecine wheel. If I feel the need or want to send some healing thoughts I will pray to Christ. I'm not even a christian, at least not in the traditional sense, I just do what seems to work for me. I then do some yoga stretches until it's time to drink.

I mostly draw from native american spiritual influences because it's what seems the most straightforward and familiar to me and there is a framework ( There's that word, You said it first Tripper ) already in place for honoring Mother Earth. If you have used ayahuasca you know that she wants you to connect with the earth spirits. So do mushrooms and cactus but Mama's really in your face about it.

I'm not fanatical about any of this but if you have no belief that there is a spirit realm on the other side of the mirror then these types of ceremonies are probably a a big waste of effort for you. That said, I don't believe you have to have any kind of traditional belief system in order to use these plants. For instance, I find the people of the Amazon really fascinating, but their way doesn't fit into my framework well. It's all just too culturally foreign to me so I would feel awkward and dishonest about trying to walk that path.

But still, I can borrow parts that are relevant to my worldview. It's what humans have done for thousands of years. We use what is relevant to our cultural perspective and discard what's not. I suppose the reason the native (north) american system works for me is because I'm living on the same ground they occupied for thousands of years. Some of that is going to have to rub off if you're open to it. It is also adaptable to a modern perspective in a lot of ways, and I can still find room for teachings from many other sources.


In the end it's about directing our intent to best suit our purposes. If your intentions are from the heart, it can do nothing but help, and practicing a ceremony, even if it's your own little creation will help cement those intentions in place. Hopefully resulting in a journey with greater personal insight and meaning.

Thanks drishti, interesting thread, glad to see it finally getting some interest
Peace.