Ayahuasca

Ayahuasca is a traditional native medicine used by many tribes of the Amazon.  In it’s simplest form it is a brew made from the Ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis Caapi) and the leaves of the Chacruna plant (psychotria viridis), but it may contain many other ingredients or so-called add mixtures such as tobacco or datura.

Ayahuasca can be brewed for general healing or made specifically for more esoteric purposes.  Most tribes work with different strengths of Ayahuasca depending on their cultural needs.  The Cofán of Colombia are notorious for brewing very strong Ayahuasca whereas the Yawanawa brew a lighter type which is locally known as Uni.

The Vine of the Soul

Considered medicine for the mind, body and spirit, strong Ayahuasca once drunk induces a long cleansing process which can be arduous and is best guided by an experienced Shaman or Medicine Man. The cleansing of the body involves purging (throwing up or trips to the bathroom), a process that can be painful, depending on the degree of contamination, age and alimentation habits.

Lighter Ayahuasca is generally less purgative and can be more easily palleted by the beginner or those that wish to experience the heart opening effects without a deep cleaning.  The Yawanawa and their guests often drink Uni all night without purging and sing, dance and celebrate while working with it.

Whichever kind of Ayahuasca you choose to work with the same holds true, the longer one works with the medicine, the deeper it goes.  With continued use diseases of the mind, body and spirit can healed by a combination of the Ayahuasca medicine and an experienced Shaman who accompanies the process.

Ayahuasca vine with Chacruna

According to Native knowledge, there are three kinds of diseases; diseases from the white men, diseases from Nature and witchcraft. Each one has its own handling and the degree of knowledge and personal power of the Shaman decide the outcome of the treatment.  Cleansing of the mind, the process runs parallel to the body cleansing, one normally sees what is producing the contamination of the body, also one is confronted with all the rubbish we absorbed through life, from our education or lack of it, our fears, assumptions, misjudgment and so on.

This process takes many years of drinking Ayahuasca, it’s long, arduous and one needs to learn to trust the spirit of this beautiful medicine. When properly done, the continued use of Ayahuasca leads to an experience of being re-born, as a much better human being, with a clear mind, and a purpose in life. Selfishness as an “ego disease” also disappears and one finds oneself as truly part of nature and at peace with others.

Yawanawa Ayahuasca or ‘Uni’

Throughout the process, our higher self or Spirit awakens, little by little one becomes aware and awake while dreaming, and in our higher self we begin to explore the spiritual realms, there are many levels of awareness and the deeper we go, the higher we fly. Our spirit also needs healing from misdeeds, traumas and suffering that left scars, through this process we receive help and guidance from higher beings, inhabitants of the spiritual realms. Through this process we can find the answers for those major questions: who are we, why we are here and where are we going to!

The most important aspect of this cleansing is the guidance and protection of a true Shaman. To open the gates of mind and spirit is like opening a Pandora’s box, we will find many wonders and beauty on the other side, but also danger and darkness, if not properly guided and protected. To take Sacred Plants like Ayahuasca with a “charlatan” pretending to be a shaman, is utterly dangerous and can lead to nasty consequences. When Ayahuasca is consumed with a genuine Shaman, one who has travelled ahead and knows the territory, Ayahuasca is safe and pleasant in many aspects, creating bonds that last forever and which lead to higher realms of existence.

Written by Eduardo Zotz and Simon Scott