Isuspect that Ayahuasa therapy will become a mainstay of psychotherapyrather quickly now. The momentum is almost visible out there. It isnot addictive and it has been shown to be profoundly transformitivefor victims of mental illness. Thus I suspect that this item willprove quite useful in preparing oneself for such a project.
Thedrug itself is a natural brew and is not addictive. Critically ithas a tradition in place to provide reasonable guidance and evenavailable practitioners able to assist in interpretation. We are notstarting with a blank slate and complete ignorance. It reminds medirectly of the early days of acupuncture.
GrahamHancock is an experienced observer and is not suffering from anyissues, thus his effort here tells us what most can expect. Aperson with issues, does need an experienced guide to assist. Thegood news is that the empirical data makes this very promising. Itappears possible to objectify issues in such a way that they canleave one's life.
Thiscould be a real curative protocol for mental illness generally.
This is the third ofthe series of articles I am posting about Ayahuasca sessions I’mpresently participating in here in Brazil. Ayahuasca is a visionarybrew that marries leaves containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT) with amonamine oxidase inhibitor contained in the Ayahuasca vine itself;these two primary ingredients are cooked together in water to producea foul-tasting but highly psychoactive beverage that has been drunkfor at least three millennia by the indigenous peoples of the Amazonrainforest, who value it as a portal to the spirit world. In thepast decade it has begun to acquire a global reputation and has beendescribed as “twenty years of psychotherapy in one night.”For those who missed the previous articles in this series I’mpasting them in at the end of this one as they provide context andbackground for what I have to say here. Meanwhile, since Ayahuasca isa potent psychedelic, and since its effects have a profound impact onconsciousness, I’d like to share this short compilation video (inwhich I make a brief appearance at the end) on the subject ofpsychedelics and consciousness that was recently drawn to myattention by another posterhere:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3shL389L2EY.
Soour latest session took place on the night of Monday 28 January intothe small hours of Tuesday 29 January. This time I drank 80mililitres of the brew in a single cup – as against three doses of25 mililitres each on the previous session. With too small a dose ofAyahuasca it is perfectly possible to have no experience at all; withtoo large a dose it is possible to have an experience that iscompletely overwhelming – perhaps far more so that you would like.It is not an exact science and it is complicated further bydifferences in one’s own body chemistry from day to day that canresult in widely varying effects.
I’m here together with agroup of more than a dozen people and, as in previous retreats forserious work with Ayahuasca that I’ve participated in over the lastten years it is noticeable how close and trusting of one another wehave become. The Ayahuasca experience has a very special way of doingthis – of opening the heart and breaking down barriers so that youfeel intense empathy and a deep connection with others at a levelthat is near to impossible in the often angry, often competitive,frequently loveless hustle and bustle and grind of daily life. It isa great privilege to be able to know this empathy and connection andreminds me that all of life could be like this should we consciouslyset out and be willing to do the work make it so. It is not oil, orwater, or mineral deposits, or food, or land, or any other economicresource that is truly scarce or precious or “running out” inthis bountiful Earth of ours. What we are short of as a globalspecies, what we seem reluctant to manifest, what we are failing toexpress and act out, is simply love, and in a way this should be theeasiest problem in the world for us to solve – for it is within thecapacity and the power of each and every one of us to give love if wechoose to do so.
It is SUCH agood feeling just to lay down the barriers of suspicion and fear andself interest and trust others completely and know that the trust isshared and that the love you put out is the love you get back.So, we all gatheredround and raised our cups, mine containing 80 mililitres ofAyahuasca, and thanked the spirits and the ancestors for giving usthis blessing, and drank. I then went to the bathroom and washed theacrid taste of the brew from my mouth before sitting down on mymattress with my back propped against the wall of our largeceremonial room surrounded by the rest of our group. Our shamanturned off the lights, and put on a CD of the sounds of nature –the ocean, rainfall, birdcalls – and through the open windows camea soft, cooling breeze. Stillness descended like a blessing and forthe next half hour or so we all simply sat there staring into thedarkness, thinking our thoughts. It is best to sit up at first –some prefer to sit up the whole night – as it allows swifter andmore efficient digestion of the brew than can be achieved lying down.Nausea and vomiting commonly accompany the consumption of Ayahuascabut it is a really good idea not to purge for at least an hour toallow full absorption of the medicine from the gut into thebloodstream. Vomit before the hour is up and you will likely need todrink some more brew.
Mercifully asI have become more experienced with Ayahuasca during the past tenyears I find that I vomit less and less, and usually not at all –although I do still suffer episodes of nausea.
After 45minutes I felt I was ready to lie down and stretched out on mymattress. Music is a constant accompaniment of our sessions here –the shaman sensing intuitively the needs and mood and individualjourneys of the members of the group and adjusting the playlist andhis own instrumentals and vocals accordingly. He practices within thePeruvian, Shipibo tradition (though these ceremonies are taking placein Brazil) and at the point where I lay down he had begun to sing aseries of Icaros (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icaro), traditionalsongs that provide an excellent waveguide into the profoundmeditative state that Ayahuasca can bring, or, equally Ariadne’sthreads that can help to lead us out of labyrinths we might prefernot to find ourselves in.
These days Irarely go into an Ayahuasca session without some fear and this hasmuch to do with a terrifying session on pure (smoked) DMT that I hadin the United States in 2011 (describedhere:http://www.grahamhancock.com/forum/HancockG3.php). The Ayahuascaexperience is not the same as the DMT experience, even though DMT isthe primary active ingredient of Ayahuasca, but sometimes a strongAyahuasca journey will plunge me squarely back into what I think ofas DMT space. I feel vulnerable there, sometimes unprotected by thekindly, healing spirit of the vine, and my fear derives from thissense of raw exposure to elemental intelligences.
I suppose anhour had passed when I first became definitely aware of the effectsof the brew in the form of intense visuals, seen best (even in thedarkness) with my eyes closed. They took shape at first, as theyoften do, as swirling patterns of deep, richly-saturated colours, butalmost from the first moment they had the slightly menacingundertones of my 2011 DMT trip. How can I describe them? Patches ofcolour all joined to one another, here purple, here ochre, here astrange, deep brownish-red, here a luminescent green, here blue –each patch about the size of a human hand and shaped into oblique,rhomboidal geometric forms, and all joined together in a meaningfulswirling dance. This was not simply the entertaining pattern flow ofa kaleidoscope. The patterns radiated intelligence, sentience,intent, and I felt my fear rise up another notch and at the same timeI exercised my will and said to myself “I will not be afraid; Iwill journey into this without hesitation and see where it leads me.”As soon as I had made that decision I felt my fear subside and Ijourneyed deeper and then out of the patterns, and – formed out ofthem – appeared the beautiful, glittering, sinuous form of aserpent seeming to radiate compassion and concern for me and I sensedthe presence of the great spirit, mother goddess of our planet, who Ithink of as Mother Ayahuasca, and I felt her healing energy. Sheworked on me for some time, swirling around my body, fixing parts ofme that were broken, right down to the deepest level of my DNA and ofmy psyche.
At this pointit was all extremely gentle. I saw faces that I did not recognize.A great bird, a raptor of some kind, took wing amidst a nimbus ofsupernal light. The serpent became a jaguar. And still I was notafraid and I began to think – well, this is going to be fine. My 80mililitre cup was just right, just enough to enter healingvisionary space but not so much that the visions would overwhelm meand swallow me up. And as is often the case with Ayahuasca thevisions came and went in waves – sometimes quite intense, sometimesfalling away almost to nothingness.
I drifted intothoughts about my relationship with my wife Santha, how I am soblessed to have her in my life, how she is in fact a goddess who hasincarnated in human form and how incredibly privileged I am that shepermits me to go through this incarnation with her and learn from herhow to be a better human being. And I realized how so much of ourlife together has been very selfishly about ME, about my work, mycreativity, my concerns, and it was brought home to me with the forceof a revelation that the next stage of our partnership has to beabout HER and that my role now is to be of service to her and helpher in every way possible to express and manifest her own wonderfulcreative gifts and to fulfill herself.
I spent sometime in the presence of our children – Santha and I have sixchildren between us, all young adults now, and they are a tremendousblessing to us and the light and joy of our lives. And I thoughtabout how wonderful and full of love they all are, and what goodpeople they are, and I reflected on the struggles and challenges theyface, and the elegant, generous spirit in which they are all maturingand developing and travelling their own journeys.
Next came thoughtsabout the state of the world. I found myself dwelling on theterrible, inhuman way the state of Israel behaves towards thePalestinians and of that hideous wall that Israel has built, andabout its constant aggressive seizure – in the name of God noless!! – of more and more land on which Palestinian families andcommunities have traditionally lived. The more power we have – andIsrael has immense power – the more it is our responsibility tolove and I realized that the great task facing Israel now, eventhough its people themselves feel threatened and fearful and unloved,is to desist forthwith all acts motivated by hatred and fear and toact instead with love and generosity towards all neighbouringpeoples, to dismantle that abominable wall, to stop aggressivelyexpanding settlements, and to carry the entire region forward into anew era based on trust and the mutual benefit of all. It will bedifficult, incredibly difficult, and every attack on Israel by thosecommunities that Israel has monstrously abused for so long will beused as an excuse and a justification for more acts of hate andcruelty by Israel itself, but the vicious cycle must be broken and asthe most powerful player on the regional stage it falls to Israel tochange the destructive, hateful, violent pattern that has been inplace for so long. At first acts of love will be rejected, thrownback in Israel’s face, even punished, but love is giving, love ispersistence, love is kind and if Israel adopts a policy based onlove, and shows as much kindness and compassion towards non-Israelis– and concern for their needs and interests -- as it presentlyshows toward its own people, then little by little the injuries ofthe past will heal and a way will be found to bring peace andsecurity to all humans, regardless of their creed, colour, ethnicorigin or nationality, whose fate it is to live in that torturedregion today.
It would be agood thing, I couldn’t help thinking, if every military leader,every religious fanatic, every president, every prime minister, everydictator presently exercising power in the world today were to berequired to undergo ten sessions of Ayahuasca before being allowed tomake a single other decision.
By this pointin my journey my head seemed completely clear. I thought the visionshad stopped. I gave thanks that nothing too terrifying had happenedto me and I got up and walked around for a while. As I was walking,however, a new wave of visions descended on me like a storm and Iretreated once again to my mattress where the next phase of mynight’s journey began.
I wasimmediately in the presence of the entity I saw when I last smokedDMT in 2011 and who I think of as “the Trickster” or “theMagician” or “the Sorcerer” and whose aura, quite unlike thatof Mother Ayahuasca, is entirely male. I do not know who this entityis or where he comes from. It is perfectly possible that he issimply one of the many transformations of Mother Ayhuasca herself– and indeed the healing female spirit that many of us experiencethrough the brew is construed as male by a number of traditionalcultures in the Amazon rainforest.
So there was theTrickster, and he was dancing, dancing, his face long and thin,severe and yet sensual, with steep, angled planes as though drawn byAubrey Beardsley. And he wore a cloak of many colours made up of apatchwork of those same richly saturated rhomboidal forms I hadseen earlier in the session. He made elaborate, skillful, elegant armmovements as though he held silver threads in each hand and wasstretching these threads out and showing them to me, and it came tome that his dance was the dance of creation and that with eachgesture and movement he was bringing reality into being –fabricating, generating and manifesting reality – and that in hisdance some kind of immense cosmogenic power was at work.
My feelingsof fear were very strong now, quite overwhelming and I wanted toflee, to run away from this scene, to open my eyes wide and stopthe visions, but again I exercised my will, placed myself undercontrol and stayed put and let this magnificent, terrifying,cosmogenic dance unfold before me. I could not banish the fearentirely but I began to realize that perhaps there is nothing to beafraid of here and then just as this became clear to me I wasovertaken by a giant wave of nausea and had to shuffle round on mymattress and bring up my bucket to my face (we all have buckets) incase I would vomit.
In the event Ididn’t vomit and after a few moments the nausea began to subside,and then Santha, who was beside me, suggested that we go out into themiddle of the floor and dance. Sensing the change in mood our shamanbegan to play rhythmic, vital, energizing music and other couples andindividuals joined us in the clear area of wooden floor at the centreof the room and I felt no pain whatsoever in my severelyosteo-arthritic hip on which I am due to undergo surgery in April,and we danced and danced and were overtaken by joy and thecelebration of the magnificent and generous and precious, preciousgift of life.
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Forthose who missed the previous two articles in this series I pastethem in below:
ARTICLE 1,SATURDAY 26 JANUARY:
Santha and Iare in Brazil after a long flight cramped up in the back of a BritishAirways 747. The seats seem to have been designed like the medievaltorture called “Little Ease” where it is impossible to findcomfort in any position. I’m due to have my right hip replaced inApril and spent the 12-hour journey in something approachingexcruciating pain. What a relief to arrive into the Brazilian summerand be able to stretch my legs!
Now we’re atthe retreat where I had the extraordinary experiences in October 2011that I described here a few days ago in a status update (“Giving upthe Green Bitch: Reflections on Cannabis, Ayahuasca and the Mysteryof Plant Teachers”). In the coming weeks, together with our shamanand a group of a dozen other people, we will participate in a seriesof Ayahuasca sessions. As well as drinking the sacred Amazonian brew,and learning the lessons it has to teach me this time around, I willbe presenting several talks to the group on various aspects of mywork. The other presenter here is the renowned ethnopharmacologistDennis McKenna, brother of the late, great Terence McKenna. I firstgot to know Dennis well during a lecture tour that we did together inAustralia last year and am looking forward to renewing theacquaintance and to the further deep connection that shared journeyswith Ayahuasca always bring. If you haven’t read it yet I urge youto get hold of a copy of Dennis’s new book, “The Brotherhood ofthe Screaming Abyss”, about his life with his remarkable brotherTerence, seehere: http://www.grahamhancock.com/promotions/McKennaD1/McKennaD1.php.
So yesterdaywe rested, relaxed and recovered from the long flights we’d allmade to get here (the other participants come from as far afield asthe Middle East, Australia, and the US). Today, Saturday, the workbegins with the first all-night Ayahuasca session. I have sometrepidation – as Dennis puts it anyone who approaches deep workwith Ayahuasca without at least some trepidation doesn’t reallyknow the brew. But I have made a sincere effort since October 2011 toimplement the changes in my life and outlook that Mother Ayahuascarequired of me (see here for the status update referred to abovewhich I’ve now posted as an article on my website:http://www.grahamhancock.com/forum/HancockG3.php).
Iam hoping to be handled gently by Ayahuasca this time and toexperience beautiful visions, healing, inspiration and love.
Above alllove.
That, I knowfrom long experience, is the essence of the intelligence behind thevine.
I’ll report back tomorrow.
- ARTICLE 2, SUNDAY 27 JANUARY:
So, Santha and I are in Brazil for a series of sessions with Ayahuasca, the sacred visionary brew of the Amazon. “Ayahuasca” means “the Vine of the Dead” or “the Vine of Souls.” It is given this name for a number of very good reasons. One is that it can allow the experience of contact with those who have passed on. I make no claims here as to the reality status of that experience, although I do have an opinion. Another is that aspects of it are so similar to some of the well-known features of the near-death experience, notably a life-review, that some feel it may provide us with a dress-rehearsal for death itself and for whatever we may encounter when we pass beyond the veil. Again, while I have my own opinion I make no specific claims here as to the “reality” of such experiences. I give some further thoughts on this in my article “Giving up the Green Bitch” posted here some days ago as a status:http://www.grahamhancock.com/forum/HancockG3.php
Last night’s session was very mild, and for many in the group it was not visionary at all. This is sometimes the case with Ayahuasca; one should not go into a session with expectations of seamlessly convincing and overwhelming visions. Often the brew will give you these, but not always, and not reliably. Last night, however, there was an additional factor of uncertainty and this was that the maestros had provided a new batch of the brew that they believed to be very strong and which was indeed thicker and more syrupy than the brew we normally drink here in Brazil. It reminded me in its consistency of the very concentrated brew, sometimes with bits of plant matter floating in it, usually offered by Peruvian shamans (where, accordingly, rather small cups – about 25 mililiters -- are the norm). At our Brazilian retreat on the other hand it is the practise to offer a less concentrated brew but in larger doses and in past visits here I have frequently drunk cups of 100 or 150 and sometimes even 200 mililiters.
Because last night’s brew was new, and was said to be strong, our shaman proposed cups of just 25 mililiters or less for each of us and we would then discover its strength, or otherwise, for ourselves. If it was not as strong as expected we could always drink a “booster” cup after an hour and a half or so.
The effect was not strong and after 90 minutes almost the entire group queued up for a booster, again of 25 mililiters. Still in my case this had no – or almost no – effect and I began to contemplate a third cup. This is not an exact science and it is never good to be too eager with Ayahuasca. In other words you can go for a booster after experiencing no effect with the first cup only to discover that it was merely slow kicking in and that suddenly, with the booster, you have had more than you want. So I waited a while but when it was clear I was still not entering the Ayahuasca realm I did go for a third cup. So three cups, each of 25 mililiters, making 75 mililiters in total.
There was no purging – i.e. (apologies for being graphic) neither I nor anyone else in the group vomited last night. This is most unusual although I have found as the years go by that I do purge far less than I used to when I started out. But within half an hour of drinking my third small cup I did gradually begin to enter visionary space. These visions were mild, and a little “flat” or two-dimensional by comparison with other fully-immersive visions I have experienced in the past. The visions were of intricate geometrical and cursive patterns presented as though on separate individual cards, but when I studied each card the patterns proved to be in movement and resolved into the forms of entities, rather scary in appearance, and I felt somewhat menaced. Go to Google Images, search “Codex Borgia” and/or “Codex Nuttal” and you may get some inkling of the atmosphere, if not the exact details, of these images. I felt myself to be in the presence of intelligence and I tried to focus on that intelligence, rather than be repelled by the menacing images and in due course moved on to the next stage of the journey in which I was filled by powerful feelings of empathy and compassion for my fellow human beings.
These feelings began with reflections on the other members of our group who I had begun to get to know, and whose stories I had heard, over the past two days. Often in my daily life I become absorbed selfishly in my own immediate worries and concerns, certain problems and issues that are confronting me which seem to loom large, and matters that are causing me emotional or spiritual pain. I am incredibly privileged and live a blessed life yet still I find reasons to feel victimised or hard done by and sorry for myself! In an instant last night I was shown how ridiculous and self-indulgent and uncalled-for such feelings are as I reflected on what I knew of the difficulties and challenges, and real worries and pain that members of our group, in their own ways are confronting bravely and without complaint in their own lives. I thought of some cases in particular, the strength, the dignity, the good will, the cheerfulness in adversity, of certain individuals, and I felt myself brimming over with compassion and love and admiration for them. And it came home to me in a real and immediate way that each one of us here on earth, not only the members of the immediate group surrounding me in the Ayahuasca session, but every one of the billions of my fellow humans going through this incarnation in this time are bright and luminous individual flames of light – each with his or her own special gifts and creativity and imagination, each with his or her own strengths and weaknesses – and every one of us faces challenges and difficulties, and ordeals and pain and is confronted daily by defining choices, some small, some momentous, that write the pages of the stories of our lives.
And the only right response is gratitude, gratitude, gratitude to the universe for working the high magic that has made it possible for us to travel the path of human experience, and to learn and practice love.
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