The Mysteries of Ayahuascsa Revealed
Ayahuascsa(banisteriopsis caapi)
The treasured brew of the Amazon has been cherished and ritualized in visionary ceremonies for thousands of years with the sole purpose of deep physical and emotional healing as well as spiritual insight. The practice of ayahuascsa has gained world wide recognition and is protected in the Amazon by legal religious right. This act has been passed on through countless generations as a rights of passage, a symbol of environmental preservation, and acknowledged as a bridge between mother earth and mankind. This brew is often called “la purga” due to its liver and gall bladder detoxification effects on the body. Similar to a raw food cleanse it initiates what is known as a short term healing crisis in order to expel physical toxins so deep seeded emotions can surface. Some alternative psychiatrists who work with patients from a holistic view appreciate entheogenic medicine such as ayahuascsa as it helps to reveal ones inner-conflicts where conventional medicine simply suppresses. It has been stated that the psychoactive effects of this brew can offer ten years of psychotherapy in one night as the sub-conscious is opened up with no filters or restrictions. This comes as no surprise to the native people for this practice is deeply rooted in their culture and way of life.
Ayahuasca is highly anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-microbial, and anti-parasitic. Mother ayahuasca as it is traditionally referred as is not commonly sought after frequently in recreational manner due to it’s strong effects on the body, abhorrently bitter taste, and the transcendent effects it can bestow on ones life. More often than not, like many psychotropic plants, it is used as a stepping stone and put to the side for extended periods of time to integrate the lessons one receives or is left alone all together.
The traditional ayahuasca drink is a combination of the banisteriopsis caapi vine and the leaves of the chacruna(psychotria viridis) plant. Less often in non-traditional ceremonies chagranponga(diplopterys cabrerana) is used in place of chacruna. The b. Caapi vine is comprised of a complex chemical psychopharmacology which varies in concentration depending on the plants set region. The activate agents are beta-carboline(harmine, harmaline, tetrahydroharmine) MAOI(monoamine oxidase inhibitors) alkaloids. The Chacruna leaves contain the indole tryptamine n-dimethyltryptamine popularly known as DMT and referenced by author Dr. Rick Strassman as the spirit molecule. DMT is commonly administered through smoking in western recreational usage due to the monoamine oxidase enzyme present in the human digestive system which deactivates DMT through oral ingestion. This is one of the key principles for why cacao, pharmacologically speaking, has been used to amplify an ayahuasca journey in the Amazon. DMT, although considered an illegal drug, is a natural by product of human metabolism and is fundamental to neurotransmitter chemistry in the brain. The pineal gland secretes this neurotransmitter during euphoric states of ecstasy such as a conscious/religious awakening and when we fall asleep; it is the theorized chemical that is responsible for dreaming. It’s full spectrum effects are not clearly understood by experts yet there is tremendous interest by scientists and researchers.
“To this day, the natives of the north-west Amazon in Brazil and Colombia use the Banisteriopsis drink for prophetic and divinatory purposes and also to fortify the bravery of male adolescents about to undergo the severely painful yurupari ceremony for initiation into manhood. The narcosis amongst these peoples, with whom I have taken caapi on many occasions, is usually pleasant, characterized by visual hallucinations in color, which initially is very often a shade of blue or purple. In excessive doses, it is said to bring on frighteningly nightmarish visions and a feeling of extremely reckless abandon, although consciousness is not lost nor is use of the limbs unduly affected”.
Richard Evans Shultes
The very fact this sacred brew exists defies conventional logic. Out of the entire amazon rainforest where over 50,000 different plant species can be found, two distinct plants were identified. When they are left on their own they are inactive, but when brought together, macerated, and spun through an extensive brewing process help to manufacture a psychedelic experience noted to alter ones pictorial outlook on reality and instill life enhancing insights unique to the user. This was uncovered by a seemingly uneducated, uncivilized band of tribal people living in the rainforest with only their intuition and instincts to direct them. There is a variety of legend and lore linked to the origins of ayahuasca. The shamans simply believe the forest is a network of intelligence that relayed the message to combine these plants for ritual ceremonies and purgatory healing.
It is important to note the discussion of ayahuascha and other entheogenic substances should be kept in their proper context. This is not a toy to entertain temporary rifts of boredom such as cigarettes or alcohol as used in social gatherings. I only advocate the practice of plant medicines in a safe and sacred space designed for inner reflection of the user. Ayahuascha should be conducted by a trained and experienced shaman who knows how to guide others through the journey. There are numerous healing centers in the world that integrate these plant medicines with great success. The late Scott Peterson directed the Rufugio Altiplano retreat center in Peru who strongly advocated the medicinal use of mother ayahuascha and associated healing plants. Scott explains the purpose of ayahuascha is to uproot suppressed emotional trauma, cleanse the digestive tract, the liver and gall bladder, as well as open up subconscious nuero-patheways and reprogram the neurological system at large.
The writer and public speaker Graham Handcock publicly states his long term addictive relationship with cannabis(marijuana) was pointed out and alleviated by ingesting ayahuascha. He had used marijuana as a crutch for creative writing for decades and it began to become abusive. Graham states in no uncertain terms that ayahuascha revealed this pattern of abuse and alerted him to stop smoking it immediately. This is just one of the examples that disprove common arguments that these substances create physical dependency and addiction. Ayahauscha centers, such as the Rufugio Altiplanao, are set up to help, not only with spiritual crisis and life direction, but very much to assist in breaking physical addictive patterns such as alcoholism, prescription drug use, and street drugs. These methods have proven to be highly effective and gives a clue to their current legality.
