Medicines
Ayahuasca
Category: Medicines - plant based
Type
Voluntary
Introduction and description
Ayahuasca is an Amazonian Amerindian brew 'employed for divinatory and healing purposes.'
Pharmacologically, ayahuasca combines DMT containing plants with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) containing plant or plants. There are a variety of recipes for ayahuasca, but most commonly it is simply the leaves of Psychotria viridis (the source of DMT) and the vine Banisteriopsis caapi (the source of MAOI).
We have a section on DMT, but DMT is not Ayahuasca. During the experience provoked by ayahuasca one is helped by the spirits of the plant itself. If you take DMT, all you get is the spirit of one chemical, and the spirit has no intention of helping - being man-made and of somewhat dubious lineage.
Healing potential
Ayahuasca has been placed in the suppression section and as a medicine, because we wish people to think of it in this way and not, as they appear to do at the moment, as some sort of 'recreational' drug.
Addiction to drugs and alcohol as well as problems such as post traumatic stress and depression are a bane of our society. Ayahuasca can help in the healing process, in some cases it has successfully cured the addiction.
Whilst Ibogaine appears to be very effective for people on the opioids and is used as therapy to treat addiction to methadone, heroin, ethanol, cocaine, methamphetamine, anabolic steroids, or with problems such as depression and post traumatic stress disorder, Ayahuasca appears to be about the only 'brew' able to help people with Benzodiazepine addiction. Given the absolutely horrendous consequences of this, it is a truly divine brew. The lives of millions have been ruined by benzodiazepines.
Michael Jackson, for example, died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25, 2009. At the time of death, Jackson had been administered propofol, lorazepam and midazolam - the latter two are Benzodiazepines. They are a truly nasty set of pharmaceuticals.
The observations show that it may heal other addictions too - alcohol, for example, as more observations are added we will get a clearer picture.
In effect, if one looks at all the observations from people who have tried Ayahuasca treatment with genuine intent – it works.
Ayahuasca and the Spiritual path
Ayahuasca should only ever need to be used once and has a very specific place on the spiritual path. Furthermore, it needs to be thought of within the context of spiritual progress, or if you prefer as a divine plant capable of helping you progress spiritually and emotionally.
Ayahuasca - within the context of a healing process which requires you to go through all the ceremony and support from shamanic peoples, - provokes a rebirth experience.
The person concerned must want to be helped and must be prepared for great discomfort. Furthermore they must be prepared to school themselves for the next stage of the spiritual path, in order that they can be 'purified', cleansed of all the problems that put them in the position they are in.
By taking Ayahuasca in the context of the healing process you are placed in 'Purgatory', you are purged. After having been through this midnight of the soul, you can then proceed on the spiritual path to the stages of purification.
Those who have no understanding of the importance of this drug spiritually will go backwards, continue to mess up their lives, will not relearn and will find themselves longing for a repeat of the process to cleanse themselves of the harm they have done by not learning.
In contrast, those who move on to the 'Purification' stage of the spiritual path heal themselves. Since many types of illness are emotionally linked, curing emotional ills often helps in healing physical ills - this is described in Types of Hurt and organs and the section on Healing yourself.
This qualitative empirical study explores the ritual use of ayahuasca in the treatment of addictions. Ayahuasca is an Amazonian psychedelic plant compound created from an admixture of the vine Banisteriopsis caapi and the bush Psychotria viridis.
The study included interviews with 13 therapists who apply ayahuasca professionally in the treatment of addictions (four indigenous healers and nine Western mental health professionals with university degrees), two expert researchers, and 14 individuals who had undergone ayahuasca-assisted therapy for addictions in diverse contexts in South America.....
Findings indicate that ayahuasca can serve as a valuable therapeutic tool that, in carefully structured settings, can catalyze neurobiological and psychological processes that support recovery from substance dependencies and the prevention of relapse. Treatment outcomes, however, can be influenced by a number of variables that are explained in this study. In addition, issues related to ritual transfer and strategies for minimizing undesired side-effects are discussed.
- PMID:24830187
Legal issues
Internationally, DMT is a Schedule I drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The Commentary on the Convention on Psychotropic Substances notes, however, that the plants containing it are not subject to international control:
The cultivation of plants from which psychotropic substances are obtained is not controlled by the Vienna Convention. . . . Neither the crown (fruit, mescal button) of the Peyote cactus nor the roots of the plant Mimosa hostilis nor Psilocybe mushrooms themselves are included in Schedule 1, but only their respective principals, mescaline, DMT and psilocin.
A fax from the Secretary of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) to the Netherlands Ministry of Public Health sent in 2001 goes on to state that
"Consequently, preparations (e.g. decoctions) made of these plants, including ayahuasca, are not under international control and, therefore, not subject to any of the articles of the 1971 Convention."
In December 2004, the USA Supreme Court allowed the Brazil-based União do Vegetal (UDV) church to use a decoction containing DMT in their Christmas services that year. This decoction is a "tea" made from boiled leaves and vines, known as hoasca within the UDV, and ayahuasca in different cultures. In Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficente Uniao do Vegetal, the Supreme Court heard arguments on November 1, 2005 and unanimously ruled in February 2006 that the U.S. federal government must allow the UDV to import and consume the tea for religious ceremonies under the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
In September, 2008, the three Santo Daime churches filed suit in federal court to gain legal status to import DMT-containing ayahuasca tea. The case, Church of the Holy Light of the Queen v. Mukasey, presided over by Judge Owen M. Panner, was ruled in favor of the Santo Daime church. As of March 21, 2009 a federal judge said members of the church in Ashland can import, distribute and brew ayahuasca. U.S. District Judge Owen Panner issued a permanent injunction barring the government from prohibiting or penalizing the sacramental use of "Daime tea." Panner's order said activities of The Church of the Holy Light of the Queen are legal and protected under freedom of religion. His order prohibits the federal government from interfering with and prosecuting church members who follow a list of regulations set out in his order.
Method
Sections of vine are macerated and boiled alone or with leaves from any of a large number of other plants, including Psychotria viridis (chakruna in Quechua) or Diplopterys cabrerana (also known as chaliponga). Other names for the brew include
- "caapi", "cipó," "hoasca" or "daime" in Brazil
- "yagé" or "yajé" in Colombia;
- "ayahuasca" or "ayawaska" in Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru, also to a lesser extent in Brazil ("vine of the dead" or "vine of souls": in Quechua, aya means "spirit," "ancestor," or "dead person," while waska means "vine" or "rope"). The name is properly that of the plant B. caapi, one of the primary sources of beta-carbolines for the brew.
- "natem" amongst the indigenous Shuarpeople of Peru
The spelling ayahuasca is the hispanicized version of the name; many Quechua or Aymara speakers would prefer the spelling ayawaska. In the central Andeans of Perú, Ayacwasca means: "Ayac" (spirit or dead) and "Wasca" (vine, cord or rope)
Ayahuasca should only ever be consumed within the context of a spiritual ceremony, in which at least two to three weeks preparation has preceeded it including considerable spiritual guidance, teaching and help.
There must be the use of Dietary moderation before during and after the process. Only water should be consumed.
These instructions are key, absolutely key. People have died experimenting thinking that this is just some sort of new recreational concoction
Division of Forensic Toxicology, Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, 1413 Research Blvd., Rockville, Maryland 20850, USA
A case of a 25-year-old white male who was found dead the morning after consuming herbal extracts containing beta-carbolines and hallucinogenic tryptamines is presented. No anatomic cause of death was found at autopsy. Toxicologic analysis of the heart blood identified N,N-dimethyltryptamine (0.02 mg/L), 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (1.88 mg/L), tetrahydroharmine (0.38 mg/L), harmaline (0.07 mg/L), and harmine (0.17 mg/L). .... The medical examiner ruled that the cause of death was hallucinogenic amine intoxication, and the manner of death was undetermined. PMID: 16356341
Comment
If the rich of the world wished to help the planet of which they are a part, they could do no better than to save the areas in which this ceremony and knowledge is preserved and set up trusts that both helped defend this knowledge, ensure the monitoring and safety aspects and provided people with the means of seeking treatment.
There is aslo a need for defenders of this faith - knights who can help protect the pristine land where all these plants grow and where the peoples who understand the land are based.
A good shaman - both good in the sense of good at his or her job, and good in that his/her intentions are kindly and genuine - is not interested in money. They are interested in the preservation of their way of life, the safety of their people and the preservation of the paradise in which they live.
The body of a British teenager has been found by the road in a Colombian forest, after he took part in a "shaman experience" advertised for tourists.
His family have said that Henry Miller, 19, from Kingsdown in Bristol, took part in a local tribal ritual, drinking a herbal concoction known as yagé and apparently suffering a fatal reaction to the hallucinogenic infusion.
Reports suggest that Miller was with a group of foreign tourists – all of whom had paid $50 (£36) for the experience and who drank the brew together – but who were ushered back to their lodgings when Miller took ill with the assurance that the tribespeople were looking after him.
His body was found dumped by a road near the southern city of Mocoa, close to the border with Ecuador and on the edge of the Amazonian basin.
Ayahuasca is not a recreational drug.
References and further reading
Gorman, Peter (2010) - Ayahuasca in My Blood: 25 Years of Medicine Dreaming.
Campos, Don Jose (2011) - The Shaman & Ayahuasca: Journeys to Sacred Realms.
Metzner, Ralph (1999) - Ayahuasca: Human Consciousness and the Spirits of Nature
Related observations
Healing observations
- Assessment of addiction severity among ritual users of ayahuasca 017555
- Ayahuasca-assisted therapy for addiction: results from a preliminary observational study in Canada 017553
- Claudio Naranjo: The Early Days' Ibogaine Experiments 017459
- Daniel Pinchbeck - Mazatec Indians 002596
- Fernando Payaguaje – The Yage Drinker 011636
- Hallucinogens and redemption 017557
- Healing a benzodiazepine addiction with spiritual ayahuasca treatment 017515
- Healing a valium addiction with ayahuasca 017558
- Holy Cow, Aliens, Soul Marriage, and Divinity - Ayahuasca by Mitra 03 018624
- Lindsay Lohan talks about how Ayahuasca has changed her life 017560
- Nick Polizzi - Heals himself 015484
- Pastoral care council - Indigenous healing practice, ayahuasca, Opening a discussion 017554
- Psychedelics as medicines for substance abuse rehabilitation: evaluating treatments with LSD, Peyote, Ibogaine and Ayahuasca 017453
- Reichel-Dolmatoff - The Desana of the Amazon basin 011580
- Report on psychoactive drug use among adolescents using ayahuasca within a religious context 017556
- RobCast No.1 (My plant medicine journey with Ayahuasca and San Pedro) 017559
- TED talk: Mark Plotkin - What the people of the Amazon know that you don't 017551
- The Three Sources Of Revelation (with Jacques Mabit) 017514
- This War Zone Anthropologist Used Ayahuasca To Heal His PTSD 024769
Hallucination
- Claudio Naranjo: The Early Days' Ibogaine Experiments 017459
- Cordova Rios, Manuel - Listen for my instructions and have no fear 017570
- Crystallinesheen - Wild Horses Are After My Spleen - Ayahuasca (B. caapi, P. viridis & D. cabrerana) 011591
- Dobkin de Rios, Dr Marlene - Ayahuasca experience 2 017564
- Harner, Michael - The ayahuasca experience 017568
- Holy Cow, Aliens, Soul Marriage, and Divinity - Ayahuasca by Mitra 01 017573
- Reichel-Dolmatoff – Amazonian Cosmos - The Yaje ceremony 011627
- The Swish of the Schacapa Ayahuasca by Dillon 020113
Wisdom, Inspiration, Divine love & Bliss
- Allende, Isabel - On ghosts, grief, Chile, Ayahuasca and whether wisdom comes with age 017575
- Claudio Naranjo: The Early Days' Ibogaine Experiments 017459
- Graham Hancock talking about Ayahuasca 017549
- Holy Cow, Aliens, Soul Marriage, and Divinity - Ayahuasca by Mitra 02 017565
- Holy Cow, Aliens, Soul Marriage, and Divinity - Ayahuasca by Mitra 03 018624
- Parry, Bruce - Looking through the tribe's eyes 017550
- Paul Devereux - The Tukano and Choco Indians - 'Entoptic geometry' 011590
- Reichel-Dolmatoff - On ayahuasca 010159
- Reichel-Dolmatoff – The Tukano Indians - Blue, Red and Smoke 011585
- Reichel-Dolmatoff – The Tukano Indians - The Milky Way 011584
- Simon, Paul - The Rhythm of the Saints 017589
Out of time
- Alice Dee - I then passed through the roof of the temple into the sky 017572
- Allende, Isabel - On ghosts, grief, Chile, Ayahuasca and whether wisdom comes with age 017575
- Allende, Isabel - Takes ayahuasca 017567
- Art F from Greenville, South Carolina 017569
- Ayahuasca experience (Joe Rogan Experience) 017562
- Claudio Naranjo: The Early Days' Ibogaine Experiments 017459
- Colonel Morales goes out of body 004265
- Dobkin de Rios, Dr Marlene - Ayahuasca experience 1 017563
- Dr William McGovern - Trip to Pira Parana 004271
- Hans Peter Duerr - Dreamtime - Visiting the Earth Mother's womb 022795
- Harner, Michael - The ayahuasca experience 017568
- Jeremy Narby - Shamanic songlines 005844
- Lindsay Lohan talks about how Ayahuasca has changed her life 017560
- Nick Polizzi - An ayahuasca experience 017312
- P Reinburg on yage 004288
- Reichel-Dolmatoff – Amazonian Cosmos - Shamanic transformation 011626
- Reichel-Dolmatoff – Amazonian Cosmos - The shaman, yaje and viho 011625
- Reichel-Dolmatoff – Amazonian Cosmos - The Yaje ceremony 011627
- RobCast No.1 (My plant medicine journey with Ayahuasca and San Pedro) 017559
- Schultes and Hofman - South American shamanic use 000462
- She became a jaguar 007121
- The Swish of the Schacapa Ayahuasca by Dillon 020113
- The Three Sources Of Revelation (with Jacques Mabit) 017514
- This War Zone Anthropologist Used Ayahuasca To Heal His PTSD 024769
- Villoldo, Dr Alberto - The ayahuasca ceremony 004140
Enlightenment
- Claudio Naranjo: The Early Days' Ibogaine Experiments 017459
- Holy Cow, Aliens, Soul Marriage, and Divinity - Ayahuasca by Mitra 02 017565
- Holy Cow, Aliens, Soul Marriage, and Divinity - Ayahuasca by Mitra 03 018624
- Sting talks about ayahuasca 017561
In time
- Alice Dee - I then passed through the roof of the temple into the sky 017572
- Art F from Greenville, South Carolina 017569
- Claudio Naranjo: The Early Days' Ibogaine Experiments 017459
- Colonel Morales goes out of body 004265
- Cordova Rios, Manuel - Listen for my instructions and have no fear 017570
- Crystallinesheen - Wild Horses Are After My Spleen - Ayahuasca (B. caapi, P. viridis & D. cabrerana) 011591
- Daniel Pinchbeck - Mazatec Indians 002596
- Dobkin de Rios, Dr Marlene - Ayahuasca experience 1 017563
- Dobkin de Rios, Dr Marlene - Ayahuasca experience 2 017564
- Ginsberg - Taking ayahuasca 017571
- Healing a valium addiction with ayahuasca 017558
- Holy Cow, Aliens, Soul Marriage, and Divinity - Ayahuasca by Mitra 01 017573
- Holy Cow, Aliens, Soul Marriage, and Divinity - Ayahuasca by Mitra 02 017565
- Holy Cow, Aliens, Soul Marriage, and Divinity - Ayahuasca by Mitra 03 018624
- Jeremy Narby - Shamanic songlines 005844
- Jeremy Narby - The Turkano - Discovering Curare 008370
- Pinchbeck, Daniel - The Spirit beings of Ayahuasca 002324
- Reichel-Dolmatoff - On ayahuasca 010159
- Reichel-Dolmatoff - The Desana of the Amazon basin 011580
- Reichel-Dolmatoff – Amazonian Cosmos - The shaman, yaje and viho 011625
- Reichel-Dolmatoff – Amazonian Cosmos - The Yaje ceremony 011627
- Reichel-Dolmatoff – The Tukano Indians - The Milky Way 011584
- RobCast No.1 (My plant medicine journey with Ayahuasca and San Pedro) 017559
- Sarandon, Susan - On taking Ayahuasca, LSD, mushrooms and marijuana 025874
- Schultes and Hofman - South American shamanic use 000462
- Schultes and Hofman - The Kamëntsá - Ayahuasca and obtaining plant knowledge 008369
- Simon, Paul - Spirit voices 017566
- The anthropologist Kenneth Kensinger, witnesses the abilities of the Cashinahua tribe in the Peruvian Amazon 021828
- The Swish of the Schacapa Ayahuasca by Dillon 020113
- Villoldo, Dr Alberto - The ayahuasca ceremony 004140
Prophecy
Dying
Environmental Influence
- Fernando Payaguaje – The Yage Drinker 011636
- Reichel-Dolmatoff – Amazonian Cosmos - Shamanic transformation 011626
- Reichel-Dolmatoff – Amazonian Cosmos - The shaman, yaje and viho 011625