Ayahuasca — Gateway to the Other World

What is ayahuasca? A plant mixture (often in the form of tea) composed of the Banisteriopsis caapi (main ingredient) and either chagropanga or chacruna (secondary ingredient) is claimed to induce altered mind consciousness that can last from four to eight hours after ingestion, with effects going from mildly stimulating to overly visionary. People use it as a medicine and as a shamanic communication (in a ceremonial session guided by an experienced drinker).

In 2008, the government of Peru recognized ‘ayahuasca’ as one of the main pillars that distinguishes the identity of the Amazon people, being it an herb used by tribal natives for thousands of years. It is also claimed that consumption of ‘the wisdom’ or ‘the teacher’ constitutes the gateway to the spiritual world and its secrets, (Ayahuasca as a medicine is structured around rituals).

Adam Elenbaas in “Why Do You Keep Drinking Ayahuasca Over and Over Again?” revealed that his life was changed and that he would never be the same person again after the first three ceremonies of drinking ayahuasca (the medicine). He also said that in what was no more than 18 hours spent in the sessions (during his trip to Iquitos, Peru) he purged toxic energies from his body and mind (including sexual addiction, alcohol abuse, religious confusion, panic attacks and opiate dependency).

Interestingly, an article at The New York Times “In Brazil, Some Inmates Get Therapy With Hallucinogenic Tea” (March 28, 2015), ayahuasca was given to inmates at Acuda during a ceremony in an open-air temple in Ji-Parana, Brazil.

This provision about giving hallucinogens to inmates on short furloughs reflects the quest for easing the prison system in the country, where population doubled to over 550,000 since the beginning of the century that causes violent uprisings, hostages and worst, ‘beheadings.’

According to Dr Charles S. Grob, a psychiatry professor at the UCLA School of Medicine, using ayahuasca was novel among prisoners, but it had great potential because it could produce a transformative experience in a person under optimal conditions.

Flora Baker, founder and editor of Flora the Explorer, revealed that it (ayahuasca) provided her an ability to see and learn untold amounts about the world and about everyone’s places within it.

Ayahuasca isn’t, in fact, a miracle cure that takes away life’s troubles after a couple of hours, but is a miracle cure that brings the unconscious and other processes to come out, allowing a drinker to work with any (other worldly processes) while effects last.

What’s your ayahuasca story? Would you like to share it with the community? Feel free to write it below and enlighten others.

Photo Credit:  Medicine Hunter