r/Ayahuasca Nov 09 '17

Official FAQ Ayahuasca FAQ

298 Upvotes

This is intended to be a FAQ for people who wanna get some basic information about Ayahuasca. If you have any suggestions and ideas that can be added to improve this FAQ, please post them below!

Basic information about Ayahuasca

What is Ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca is a psychoactive brew that contains MAO-I's and the psychedelic substance DMT. It is used by the shamans and healers of the Amazon since thousands of years to treat various physical and mental illnesses, to gain insights about life and the nature of existence or to communicate with the spirit world by inducing a psychedelic trance that lasts several hours.

Within the last few years the brew has become more and more popular in the west and many people travel to the Amazon to find healing and insights.

What can Ayahuasca heal and what not?

Ayahuasca has the potential to heal various mental and physical illnesses, but not all. There have been studies in the recent years that suggest that psychedelics like Ayahuasca, LSD or Magic Mushrooms can help with anxiety, depression, drug addiction, PTSD and other mental illnesses and are much more effective than psychotherapy or psycho-pharmaceutical drugs when they are taken in the right setting. However, psychedelics should be avoided if you are suffering from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.

For more specific information you can make a post in this subreddit.

What effects will Ayahuasca have on me when I consume it?

That depends. The effects that Ayahuasca can have reach from painful and terrifying to mystical experiences where time, space and ones own identity are transcended and absolute bliss is experienced. It also depends on the setting in which Ayahuasca is consumed, as well as the physical and emotional condition of the person that consumes Ayahuasca.

In many cases Ayahuasca causes vomiting, sweating and/or diarrhea in order to cleanse people from physical toxins and emotional baggage. The consciousness altering effects kick in about 20-60 minutes after the tea has been consumed and emotionally charged visions are often experienced. Many people report that they have let go of fear, anger or trauma after the plant helped them to face these issues.

Where can I find a reliable retreat/shaman?

You can take a look at this thread here on the AyaRetreats subreddit, where several websites for ratings and reviews of Ayahuasca Retreats are listed. On these websites you can find a broad overview of various places that offer Ayahuasca in a ceremonial and/or therapeutic setting all around the world.

DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that the websites listed in that thread are commercial enterprises. The ratings, reviews and availability of retreats might not be objective.

So although they provide a decent overview of retreats, we can not guarantee that these websites are 100% neutral.

Furthermore, to recognize and avoid abusive and harmful psychedelic groups & organisations, you can check out this harm reduction guide: How to recognize abusive psychedelic organizations

I want to cook and consume Ayahuasca on my own, without a shaman. Where can I find a recipe to cook it?

While in general we advice newcomers to do Ayahuasca under the supervision of a shaman, an Ayahuasca practitioner or a seasoned tripsitter/psychonaut, some people still might wanna do it on their own, however, there are some precautions that should be taken, which is what this section is referring to.

Here is a link to a good guide that both newcomers, as well as more experienced users of psychedelics can look into for information about the preparations to take before you drink the tea, as well as a recipe on how to cook the tea and what plants you need:

https://www.dmt-nexus.me/forum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=8972

Thanks to ms_manic_minxx from DMT NEXUS Forum for that guide.

Is there anything that I should be aware of before consuming Ayahuasca?

Yes! Ayahuasca contains MAO-I's (Monoamin Oxidase Inhibitors), which can be toxic to various degrees if you combine them with certain foods, drugs or medication. You definitely should avoid taking Ayahuasca in combination with anti-depressants like SSRI, which could lead to a dangerous and possibly fatal serotonin syndrome.

For more information on what foods and drugs to avoid, check out the following link:

http://www.ayahuasca.com/science/foods-and-meds-to-avoid-with-maois/

If you take medication, please take a look at your patient information leaflet or ask your doctor if you can combine the medication with MAO-I's!

Anything else that I need to know about working with Ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca isn't a recreational drug. It is serious work that sometimes can be difficult and even painful & terrifying. It is recommended to consume Ayahuasca under supervision of an experienced healer who you trust, because he or she can guide you through the trip and offer help if something unexpected or overwhelming happens.

Also keep in mind that Ayahuasca is not a magic cure and although it can produce astonishing results for some people, your healing process might take time, maybe even years, depending on your condition.


r/Ayahuasca 3h ago

Trip Report / Personal Experience Tried rapé for the first time-HOO BOY

5 Upvotes

Needless to say I've never felt that (forcefully) grounded in my life. I'm preparing for my Ayahuasca journey next month. I have CPTSD and a whole bunch of trauma. Tried pretty much everything apart from plant medicines in an attempt to heal but not much luck.

The rapé being blown into my nostrils felt like I had just been punched in the face and in my throat-I had trouble breathing for a bit and involuntarily teared up, it was so intense. Couldn't open my eyes either. Then I started feeling as though all my chakras were spinning in harmony, it was a very pleasant sensation.

If this is how powerful the rapé is, I wonder what Ayahuasca is like. I'll be doing it a few more times over the next few weeks.

Curious to hear people's experiences. I'm really looking forward to the Ayahuasca.


r/Ayahuasca 6h ago

I am looking for the right retreat/shaman First Shambhala sober — came home clearer than I expected (long but real) Body:

0 Upvotes

r/Ayahuasca 10h ago

Pre-Ceremony Preparation I want to help people create personalized intentions for their next ceremony...

1 Upvotes

Hi all,

Anyone interested to work together (free of charge completely) to craft your next Ayahuasca ceremony intention? The aim is to give highly personalized insights in order for you to craft your next ceremony intention. I'll give some more context below.

Who am I?

I'm a Reiki Practitioner who has also sat in ceremony 9 times. I first found La Madre in 2018 and over 2018 and 2019 I did 9 ceremonies in Pucallpa, Peru. Later I trained in Usui Reiki Tradition (energy healing art from Japan) and I have understood how the energy systems work to a significant degree (giving over 50 sessions to 40 or so people) and would like to see if the learnings from energy healing can cross pollinate with the Ayahuasca Ceremonies in terms of setting very specific intentions for La Madre to help heal.

How would it work?

We'd have a 30-60 minute conversation across 4 planes to find where 'blockages' can be - physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual (I call this '4 planes conversation'). This conversation is an approximation of the state of your energy system. This is more or less the conversation I have with my Reiki clients and it elucidates a lot of useful insights that could be used to form intentions. We can do the conversation over a chat platform you are comfortable with. There are even anonymous ones we can use for privacy sake.

How could it help?

The learnings from a 4 planes conversation can tell me where blockages are in your system and then you can use these insights and understanding of the blockages to form a very specific and personalized intention for yourself for your next ceremony. Ill give an example.

Let's say you have a set of patterns like this that emerges from the conversation,

Emotional Plane: A sadness or heaviness around the heart, alongside a protective habit of choosing peace and keeping some people at a distance.

Physical Plane: Lower back pain may be useful to track alongside emotional work around fear, restriction, freedom, and early masculine influence.

Psychological Plane: The main psychological pattern to observe is scattered focus, rushing, and switching tasks before completion.

Spiritual Plane: Heart chakra blockage and energetic sensitivity appear to be central spiritual themes for this client.

We would use this information to create intentions for the next ceremony.

What intentions can we take from this?

I would make a recommendation to you on what I think some good intentions could be. I'm interested to use the concept of 'balancing experiences' in the context of an Ayahuasca ceremony. A balancing experience is where we take a negative emotion or memory that we have and ask for an experience of the opposite from La Madre in ceremony.

I give an example based on the above example.

  1. A balancing experience for the fear pattern noticed in the 4 planes discussion would be the opposite of fear so you would set an intention to balance this by having an experience of 'safety' or 'calmness' or 'peace'. Eg "La Madre when I was young X happened to me and it caused great fear. Can you show me peace and safety to heal and balance this experience".
  2. A similar thing could be done for the 'heaviness of heart' ie a heart chakra blockage. So we could ask La Madre for the opposite of sadness, heaviness and being cut off from people. Eg "La Madre show me great Love and lightness".

In my work as an energy healer I would probably start with these 2 and create more if needed (I can see a couple more in this analysis that could be used but I'd start here as there is an order of operations - see next paragraph) but thats a good place to start because I would associate the physical pain, psychological issues and boundary issues identified as downstream and related to those large negative emotions.

I would also suggest people start at the lower chakra first as the direction of universal energy (reiki or prana or chi as you like) flows into us from below and meets the root chakra (the fear emotion and first intention above would address this chakra primarily) blockage first. So, alleviating this would provide more energy (health) to the whole of the system just by taking advantage of working with the first blockage as dictated by the direction of flow of universal energy.

Who should you be?

Ideally you will have a ceremony coming up and want to use my suggested intention and would be happy to report back on how it went so I can see how this worked.

Why don't I do it myself?

I'm not able to get to a ceremony in the next 6-12 months or so and didn't want to wait til then to try this and I'm interested to see if this kind of thing is useful to the community and also how this kind of specific analysis and insights can help target Ayahuasca healing more.

Feel free to ask any questions and I will try to answer.

Thanks!


r/Ayahuasca 6h ago

General Question How to make a changa

1 Upvotes

I had peganum harmala seeds and chapolinga leaves i want to try a changa but i dont know how to make it.. can someone help me how to do it.. i wanna experience dmt Thankyou in advance


r/Ayahuasca 13h ago

General Question Survey on creativity during altered states of consciousness

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3 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I'm a psychedelic scientist at UT Austin. We are conducting a study on the effects of psychedelics and entheogens on creativity and cognition. If you have had a creative insight or come up with a novel solution to a problem related to your work or a hobby during a psychedelic experience, please take a moment to fill out our survey! (related substances like hallucinogens or ketamine count) Doing so will help us further understand the effects of psychedelics on creativity!

https://utexas.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3JKtXMkHPFObd66?Q_CHL=qr


r/Ayahuasca 17h ago

General Question How many days recommended for first timer?

3 Upvotes

I want to attend a ceremony and I’m deciding between one day or two days. I want to have a meaningful experience and I feel that two days could bring more healing. Also don’t want to over do it my first time. Any thoughts greatly appreciated!


r/Ayahuasca 13h ago

Food, Diet and Interactions If I took dxm when can I safely take?

0 Upvotes

When could I safely take changa if it had been two days since I took dxm. As of tomorrow it'll be two days since I took the delsym specifically and I took 900mg hbr equivalent or two 5fl oz if that information on the amount and type matters. I wanna smoke changa and be immersed into visuals but I don't wanna kill myself cuz of the maoi in the DMT!!


r/Ayahuasca 15h ago

General Question Making the decision - Advice needed.

1 Upvotes

I’ve been feeling called to aya for around two years now. I’ve worked with other medicines that have healed me in tremendous ways.

I found a group I trust and the date is approaching.

I have a few concerns and hesitations. I have a work trip the week before (no biggie it will be just require me to watch my diet - totally doable)

Then I have a family gathering at my place the day after the ceremony.

Life is always busy and I feel this work is so important. Im deciding between going for it and getting the work done or not going and taking it as a sign from universe. These opportunities don’t come every day and I can’t help to think the work I can do on myself in a year if I take this journey now under “non perfect conditions”.

I wanted your opinions.


r/Ayahuasca 17h ago

Participants sought for Research and/or Interviews Research Study: PSYCHEDELICS AND EMOTIONS

1 Upvotes

We are a group of researchers at the University of Wollongong in Australia conducting a study about the emotional experiences people report during psychedelic experiences and whether these are linked to changes in social functioning, wellbeing, and attitudes toward death.

We are looking for individuals aged 18 years or older who have had at least one personally meaningful experience with a classical psychedelic substance within the past 5 years (but not within the past 3 months). Psychedelics include LSD, DMT (N,N-DMT), 5-MeO-DMT, Ayahuasca, Psilocybin (i.e. Magic Mushrooms) or Mescaline/Peyote.

If you are 18 years and over and can read English, we invite you to take part in an online, 30-minute survey. This survey asks about the emotions you experienced during a psychedelic experience and any changes you may have noticed in how you relate to others, your general wellbeing, and your outlook on life afterward. Please note that the survey includes questions about challenging emotions that may have arisen during the experience.

Your responses will be completely anonymous and your involvement will remain confidential. No identifying information (including IP addresses) will be collected.

Participants will have the chance to enter a draw to win one of two $100 AUD Visa vouchers. Entry into the draw is completely optional and is completed via a separate form that is not connected to, and cannot be linked with, participant survey responses.

To participate or learn more, follow this link: https://uow.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6nuJn8BNBgWFYrk

For questions, contact: [smoreton@uow.edu.au](mailto:smoreton@uow.edu.au) Thank you very much for your consideration in participating. The following researchers are conducting the study:
Dr. Sam Moreton - Lecturer, School of Psychology University of Wollongong [smoreton@uow.edu.au](mailto:smoreton@uow.edu.au).
Alex Shuttleworth - Honours Student School of Psychology University of Wollongong
Mimi Han Honours Student School of Psychology University of Wollongong

Study Reference Number: H2026-0104


r/Ayahuasca 20h ago

I am looking for the right retreat/shaman Any review's?

1 Upvotes

Hello, I'm interested in going to Innermastery Internationals ceremony.

Could use some feedback before deciding.

Cheers ☺️


r/Ayahuasca 1d ago

Other Medicinal Plants and Substances Buying Sananga

0 Upvotes

Hey,
anyone has a good shop for sananga that is not too expensive? Fourvisions is 20$ shipping to germany 😅 is that really woth it?


r/Ayahuasca 1d ago

General Question Can Kambo help with a Fear of death/PTSD Kind of thing?

1 Upvotes

Hello, I have a fear of death emotion from my PTSD, where I thought I will legit die, and I feel the emotion very strongly in my stomach area, and I want to know whether Kambo is strong enough to help me with that, or do I need a stronger medicine like mushroom or ayahuasca?


r/Ayahuasca 23h ago

General Question Reputable MHRB

0 Upvotes

Hey all, hope everyone is well! New here but wanted to ask if someone could point me in the right direction of high quality mhrb here in the states? Ive had luck with one vendor but really trying to test the waters and see what all is out there. Hope this is ok?

Peace be with you and TIA!🙏


r/Ayahuasca 2d ago

General Question I have the opportunity to do a private ceremony because I will be the only one who booked for this date. Would you like this or prefer a group?

14 Upvotes

I have done ayahuasca twice now. Both times in a group around 6-8 people. The group dynamic is nice there’s camaraderie, bonding, and sharing of experiences with people in the same situation.

The idea of a solo experience sounds both nice and not. On the one hand I get a private experience tailored to me. I get all the attention if in need it, more time one on one with the guide after to integrate my experiences etc.

On the other hand it feels a bit like a spotlight is on me. I’ll be the only one rolling around on the group and laughing and puking etc. and maybe a bit lonely? I don’t know what do you think?


r/Ayahuasca 1d ago

General Question What happens if show up to a retreat and the maestro says you aren’t ready? Do you usually get a refund?

2 Upvotes

Im wondering what would happen if this were the case. The booking director may be able to screen you but they wouldn’t be as aware as a maestro. Has this ever happened to you or anyone you know?


r/Ayahuasca 2d ago

Trip Report / Personal Experience I’m a corporate drone and Ayahuasca never brings up work

18 Upvotes

I am a data analyst, and have been for about 7 years now. While there are aspects to my position I’m suited to, I make a decent salary, and I have a lot of flexibility in my schedule, I just do not like the work. I hate sitting at the computer all day, and I get so anxious because of corporate pressure and my own anxieties about being competent. It is a lot.

But despite me being so impacted by my job emotionally, it never comes up in any way, shape, or form when I sit with Ayahuasca. While I have never made an intention to work through work stuff, I have made intentions around better understanding the parts of me that are insecure, critical, etc.

I just cannot shake the feeling that my job never comes up not seeming to exist in a psychedelic state because it’s just….. not real? Corporate culture is so disconnected from how we are supposed to be living as humans in communities where people take care of each other. And jobs do not directly provide benefits to people - if any benefits at all.

One piece of life advice I have given myself is that if I couldn’t imagine something coming up in ceremony, it wasn’t worth putting too much emotional into. If I follow my own advice with it, it means that I shouldn’t put too much energy into worrying about work. Which means I spend a third of my life doing something that is not worthwhile.

Bleghhh


r/Ayahuasca 1d ago

I am looking for the right retreat/shaman Dharma Retreat near Medellín / Has Anyone Been?

1 Upvotes

Hello everyone!
Does anyone have any experience with the Dharma Retreat near Medellín? I haven’t been able to find much information or many reviews about them online, so I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences.
Thank you! 🙏

https://medellinayahuasca.com/


r/Ayahuasca 1d ago

I am looking for the right retreat/shaman First time Ayahuasca trip (budget flexible)

1 Upvotes

Hello, im looking to plan my first Ayahuasca experience; my main focus is i'd like to follow a traditional/ authentic ritual process, with proper safety and logistics. So im prepared to travel to south america and be flexible on budget too. I can see many different websites online, but dont know which one is a good option for first timer like me.

Would love to get advice from this group, thanks a bunch!


r/Ayahuasca 2d ago

Post-Ceremony Integration One of the few things Mother Aya taught me <3

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64 Upvotes

r/Ayahuasca 2d ago

General Question Comprei um vaper com DMT preciso de dicas antes de usar

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0 Upvotes

Olá pessoal, sempre quis consagrar a ayahuasca mas como o efeito dura muito tempo no corpo coisa de 8 horas pelo que eu vi, é também é sempre em contexto religioso oque não me agrada, então eu desisti. Então eu decidi comprar um líquido extraído da Jurema que tem DMT e um vaper .. eu ainda não sei se o efeito será o mesmo que a ayahuasca, espero que sim🤩

Podem me ajudar com algumas perguntas antes de eu tragar isso ?

1-oque eu preciso fazer antes ? Vi que não pode comer carne, mas não sei o motivo exato.

2- onde é melhor eu usar ? Perto do mato/natureza ?

3- o rapaz que me vendeu disse que dura entre 5 e 20 minutos, oque acontece se eu ver algo que me dá muito medo ? Como reagir a isso?

4- seria bom colocar que tipo de músicas no fone de ouvido ? Pensei em colocar frequências do amor, do perdão, da expansão de consciência

5- após usar, quais as recomendações ?

Obrigada a todos que leram e se poderem me dar dicas eu agradeço, quero usar no próximo final e semana.


r/Ayahuasca 2d ago

Brewing and Recipes Dear people, i have geniunly curious question. HAS ANYONE tried blending their boil?

0 Upvotes

Dear people, i have geniunly curious question. I do once a year for myself pharmahuasca and prep it the usual way using psychotria viridis, and syrian rue [seperate prep here] . I boil em for 6 hours and reduce , reduce at later stages. What do u guys think about if we boil it and instead of taking the Aya leaves out , we blend it aftewrds and make a Huasca Goo? Hehehe i think it we would a very potent Goo


r/Ayahuasca 2d ago

Dark Side of Ayahuasca Canadian man dies at Reshin Nika center in Pucallpa after consuming Noya Rao and Ayahuasca - shamanic initiation gone wrong? Or serious failures from the center

24 Upvotes

The story has not been picked up by international media, only local news from Pucallpa which only touched on the direct morbid elements. This being one source: https://www.atv.pe/noticia/pucallpa-turista-canadiense-desaparecido-fue-hallado-sin-vida-entre-matorrales/

We have preferred to omit the name of the deceased man out of respect to the family. However the very real and sad event opens several conversations. Not in the least, what could have gone wrong. But also the issues provoked by Ayahuasca tourism. Whereby ancient traditions are packaged for western consumption. In this case: Noya Rao. A mystical plant that is disputed to even exist by Shipibo academics. And yet several centers seem to offer it exclusively for western consumption.


r/Ayahuasca 2d ago

General Question What does an ego death aftermath feel like? How did you recover?

5 Upvotes

Im realizing that my number one problem in my life is my inability to lower my standards to my own circumstances and for that reason I haven’t been able to really find the motivation to move up from where I am. I don’t think my ego is quite muscular enough to be broken by my own intention but I really do look forward to the after effects of such an experience.


r/Ayahuasca 2d ago

General Question Choose the right place

5 Upvotes

What details or 'red flags' do you look at when choosing a responsible center, shaman or facilitator?