A hint of controversy

Apart from Ayahuasca being perceived as a tool for introspection and awakening, it must be emphasized that the visionary dimension of this medicine was traditionally the tool of diagnosis and care of the healer. Nowadays, it is often the main element that motivates Westerners to come to Ayahuasca retreats. Without condemning this approach, however, we must at least point out some current drifts. Indeed, Western practitioners tend to break free of tradition and offer a jumble of holistic practices around an Ayahuasca retreat, reducing this medicine to the new marketing product “trend”. One must remember that Ayahuasca is the heritage of the indigenous communities of Amazonia. Using Ayahuasca in this way demonstrates pure and simple appropriation, but above all ignorance of its real therapeutic potential.

Main Effect of Ayahasca

Drinking Ayahuasca causes a state of “modified” consciousness, a sort of meeting between the conscious and the unconscious that can bring the hewho consumes it to a state of dialectical lucidity. This visionary phenomenon makes it possible to be both the examiner and the examinee, and highlights the root of the conflicts that affect the individual. According to Dr. Riba’s neuroscience experiments (see below), Ayahuasca acts on emotional footprints by reactivating our old memories while keeping our conscious part awake. As the brain automatically links new experiences to old ones, the patient creates new connections in the brain to heal repetitive, harmful and limiting patterns. Sometimes, however, you feel lost, confused or panicked. These states are often unavoidable and represent our resistance to the phenomenon. This kind of resistance frequently causes most of the time a feeling of nausea very often followed by vomiting. Vomiting is also a symbolic act in which evil energies are expelled from oneself.

... I felt a kind of discomfort, I could not hold still on my mattress. While I struggled to keep my concentration, the effects became stronger and stronger, I began to sweat, my breathing was more and more difficult. I finally grabbed my bucket and started throwing up. I saw fluttering, black bugs coming out of my mouth. Then I slumped on my mattress. I was exhausted but strangely serene. A feeling of well-being was running through my body ...

— Testimony of a patient having drunk Ayahuasca

The hours following the ceremony are often times when one feels good and calm. Coincidence or not, Ayahuasca is an excellent anti-depressant (see chapter on the Ayahuasca Chemistry). This is also why it is very appreciated in the treatment of addictions, depressions and traumas. This feeling of well- being and liberation allows to accompany the patient in his process of care, an initial step to any subsequent work. The Ayahuasca ceremonies are a first approach that enables one to see the benefits of intense work, as in the context of a Diet of Master Plants.

Neurological effects :

Ayahuasca obviously activates the visual cortex. However other areas of the brain are also activated. According to Dr. Riba’s research, Ayahuasca activates the neo-cortex, the seat of perception, reason and decision-making ability. It also activates the amygdala, a region of the medial temporal lobe that contains all our old emotional memories including traumatic events, mourning,… The insular cortex is also activated. It is considered the link between our emotional impulses and our decision-making ability.

Physical effects and therapeutic use :

One can not speak of the effects of Ayahuasca without addressing its purgative properties. It is common at a Ayahuasca ceremony that the patient has nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, … This “cleaning” step is quite natural and happens in some communities for the most important phase of the process of healing. Note that purging is very often necessary so that the patient can have visions. Consumption of Ayahuasca may also be accompanied by physical pain other than nausea, such as stomach upset, headache, burning and heaviness on the skin, chills, sudden back pain or any other kind of pain in other parts of the body. These lasts one are often caused by “ghost” pains, residual energies from traumas, buried emotions, … They can also be the result of poor monitoring of the “diet” preceding the consumption of Ayahuasca. (See the contraindications related to the consumption of Ayahuasca).

Ayahuasca is also a potent anti-parasite that works on the digestive system and the urinary system. It also helps to rid the body of microbial organisms such as E. Coli, Salmonella, and  yeast. Besides, Ayahuasca also contains many active ingredients, including DMT.

It turns out that DMT could play a major role in the treatment of many degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, bipolar disorders, atherosclerosis, diabetes, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disorders as indicated in the following scientific article: The Therapeutic Potentials of Ayahuasca: Possible Effects against Various Diseases of Civilization.

Finally, Ayahuasca also has anti-carcinogenic properties. It stimulates the production of white blood cells promoting the destruction of cancer cells, stops the spread of cancer, and prevents the use of cancer cells (warburg effect). For more information, please refer to the following article : Ayahuasca and cancer treatment.

Energetical and emotional effects:

Ayahuasca has the property of harmonizing the energies by undoing the “knots” that could be present. The liberated energies then re-circulate in a more harmonious way. During this process of liberation, the buried emotions resurface. Sometimes we are overwhelmed by conflicting emotions. This is the case when a lot of emotional material is released at the same time. The direct consequence of this energy rebalancing is that one feels more “centered”, more energetically stable, able to look at what surrounds us with a new and more contemplative eye.

According to an article in Journal of Psychopharmacology, Ayahuasca activates the frontal and paralymbic regions of the brain, while inhibiting the passive mode “default mode network” that is supposed to manage self-awareness through introspection and autobiographical memories. This mode of functioning seems absent in regular Ayahuasca consumers who, on the other hand, tend to cultivate a form of mindfulness based on the feeling and the experience of feelings. Amanda Feilding, a British researcher who has worked with Dr. Jordi Riba, says that Ayahuasca acts on the mind and helps to free oneself from the grip of the ego. One study correlates this fact, demonstrating that the regular consumption of Ayahuasca could be likened to the practice of meditation, having the effect of detaching from one’s thoughts and emotions. It has also been shown that ayahuasca promotes neurogenesis (neuron production) as well as neuroplasticity (ability to modify the synaptic network), causing changes in communication between neural circuits carrying inappropriate addictive habits. Thus Ayahuasca stimulates the production of new neural circuits and facilitates a neurological rewiring of the brain’s reward pathways, as a sort of “reboot”. For more information please refer to the following scientific article: The Therapeutic Potentials of Ayahuasca: Possible Effects against Various Diseases of Civilization

Effects of Ayahuasca on spirituality

It is quite common that after a stay in a Ayahuasca center, one feels the need to live more intensely one’s spirituality. Ayahuasca medicine helps us to reconnect with ourselves, through the work of self-acceptance, of letting go, and by the revelations that visions induce. It allows us to renew the dialogue with our soul. Be careful not to lose your footing. It is common for patients to think of themselves as the new prophet and to make a “*messiah complex“.

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Ayahuasca: a Booming Tourism

In recent decades, Western enthusiasm for Ayahuasca has continued to grow. The number of Ayahuasca centers has multiplied, particularly in Peru, to such an extent that we no longer hesitate to describe this phenomenon as “Ayahuasca-business”. The experience often described as intense even for the most experienced *psychonauts has long conquered the “New Age” public in search of spiritual connection, as well as people suffering from depression or psychological trauma. However, it seems to attract more and more diverse profiles. A growing number of people keen on the topic are going to Ayahuasca centers in Peru today. Finance, marketing and creative professionals already adept at *micro-dosing are now overcoming their limits by attending an Ayahuasca Retreat in Peru. Beyond the motives that drive so many Westerners to brave the taboos to experience this exotic medicine, why is Ayahuasca becoming so popular ? The main reason lies in three letters: DMT.

« Over the last 25 years ayahuasca has gone global, with thousands of people learning about it, and drinking it too…»

— TheGuardian Read More...

DMT

As Peyotl or Datura, Ayahuasca is a visionary plant with *entheogenic properties known to cause mystical and spiritual experiences. However, what distinguishes it from other psychotropic substances is the substance it contains: DMT. DMT (Dymethyltryptamine), described by Dr. Rick STRASSMAN as a “molecule of the mind”. His research shows it is a neurotransmitter that is naturally present throughout our body as well as in living organisms. It is present as well in large quantities in the leaves of Chacruna, which are used in the preparation of the Ayahuasca drink. DMT, a mysterious substance, causes a high dose of alteration of perception that can lead to mystical or psychotic experiences. For those who consume it, Ayahuasca is reputed to be a “teaching” plant that offers clairvoyance, inner dialogue and connection to the spiritual world. Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, all the senses are exhilarated and sometimes even bombarded with information. These can help to resurrect what was buried, to unravel the emotional, psychological, and physical complexes, to free us from the past. Sometimes it can also be experienced as a traumatic event. Ayahuasca means in Quetchua “creeper of the spirit” or “creeper with a spirit” but it is also called the “creeper of death”. A coincidence or not, some say that at the time of birth or death, our body would produce DMT in significant amounts. It is true that Ayahuasca can in some cases cause the sensation of an imminent death (Near Death Experience). Nevertheless, these intense “dramatic states”, as psychiatrist Stanislav GROFF explains, are an excellent way of letting go. They represent a kind of ritual of passage necessary to any rebirth, and can even in certain cases prove to be determining during a process of care.

A Shamanic Practice Preserved

The other reason for the current craze for Ayahuasca is that this shamanic practice has remained relatively intact. Unlike other cultures that have suffered greatly from the presence of Spaniards, the Amazonians by their geographical isolation have relatively less suffered the presence of invaders. Despite the pressure of the missionaries, their ancestral knowledge continues to be transmitted to this day. This is precisely what modern man is in search of in these communities: an authentic experience. The reason for such a craze is also that the Ayahuasca experience can be considered as a ritual passage where the man becomes an adult and changes his relationship with the world. But this stage common to traditional societies is sorely lacking in our modern world. It represents an opportunity to reconnect with the “self” and the world around us. Traditional Amazonian medicine is a shamanic practice still alive, unlike other traditions that have already fallen into Folklore.

Scientifically Proven Results

Many Westerners therefore do not hesitate to spend weeks or even months in centers of Ayahuasca in Peru to get to know each other better, to heal psychological and emotional disorders such as depression, problems of addiction to cocaine, marijuana, alcohol or tobacco, … but also to cure parasitic diseases, joint diseases and even degenerative diseases. Isolated cases of people who have been treated were reported, particularly in the case of cancer, but the discrepancy in follow-up between the medical records does not allow us to affirm that Ayahuasca has treated them or even to refute the role of the “placebo effect”. It should be emphasized, however, that treatment of diseases in Amazonian traditional medicine is not limited to Ayahuasca, but uses others medicinal plants (cf master plants), and we must admit that we lack of information on this subject. Despite all of this and the climate of prohibition prevailing on the scientific study of psychotropic plants, researchers have recently been able to highlight the effectiveness of Ayahuasca in the treatment of degenerative diseases, demonstrating its strong therapeutic potential. (See the chapter on the effects of Ayahuasca and the chemistry of the Ayahuasca Plant Diet Mistresses). It is also recognized as a very effective way to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Jessica NIELSON, a researcher at the Brain Injury Center at the University of California, San Francisco, observed the healing of war veterans in Ayahuasca centers in Peru. Other neurological research carried out in Spain by Dr. RIBA corroborates this fact. Ayahuasca has the particularity of activating an area of the brain called the amygdala where are stored all our old emotional memories such as traumatic events, mourning, etc … You will find more information on the neurological effects of the Ayahuasca by following the previous link.

From Prohibition to Rehabilitation

Ayahuasca, however, has had dark hours … In the early 2000s the growing phenomenon of “Ayahuasca- business” and the death of Westerners who had consumed Ayahuasca almost convinced the Peruvian government to forbid its use. It is thanks to the combined efforts of representatives of various Amazonian communities and practitioners such as Dr. Jacques Mabit, head of the Takiwasi center (a center of traditional medicine specializing in the treatment of addictions) that Ayahuasca was saved. Its traditional use has been inscribed in the cultural heritage of Peru since 2008 and in Brazil since 2011. It is also tolerated in the Amazonian communities of Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, … as well as other countries of Central / South America like Mexico or Costa Rica. However, the lack of legislation and the relative tolerance that can be seen in these countries as well as in some European countries (Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Portugal, etc.) do not prevent ad hoc arrests. Paradoxically, the use of Ayahuasca has been recently tolerated in the United States ! But under certain conditions … After many administrative detours, rare syncretic and religious movements were allowed to use Ayahuasca as part of their rituals, such as the *Santo Daime born in Brazil, which largely contributed to public awareness Ayahuasca on the American continent.

…Towards Legalization ?

There is still a long way to go before Ayahuasca can be practiced legally. This is due, among other things, to the lack of supervision of this medicine. Currently there are no or few certifications of healers supposed to guarantee patients the quality of care they are entitled to expect. Every year, tourists find themselves in trouble with “shamans”, and the risks of seeing this practice newly threatened are real. It should be noted that a quality and ethics charter is currently being put in place between the ASA (Ayahuasca Safety Association) and some Ayahuasca centers in Peru. Similarly, there are certifications issued by recognized healers, guaranteeing that the practitioner has done a “learning diet” in a traditional way (see the diet of master plants) and / or that he himself is a “Maestro” (able to handle a ceremony and care at an Ayahuasca ceremony). But this does not reflect its degree of practice and has no official value. Let’s hope that, like marijuana, the use of Ayahuasca for medicinal purposes can be exercised within a legal framework.

Ayahuasca Victim of its Success

The other direct consequence of the Ayahuasca boom is its overexploitation. Like *Iboga in Africa, Ayahuasca is tending to become scarce due to rising demand. As the supply of quality liana becomes more difficult, it is necessary to go further and further into the forest to find a mature liana ayahuasca (about 15 years). The direct consequence is, of course, the increase in the price of Ayahuasca, the increase in the price of ceremonies and retreats of Ayahuasca, gradually making this medicine less accessible … Initiatives are slowly seeing the day as is the case with the association Isa Weni in the community of Santa Rosa de Dinamarca in Ucayali. This medium-scale ayahuasca plantation project is currently being carried out in the forest without uprooting existing trees.. This remains an isolated case. Major resettlement projects are being carried out, but with their main motivation being financial, these settlements are done to the detriment of the surrounding forest and are practiced by resorting to deforestation, as underlines the following article of the Guardian.

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