Ayahuasca - a healing journey (part 1)

    This is a brief account of my ayahuasca journey, it only lasted a week  and I wasn’t necessarly

 the most gifted of student but still, I got a lot more out of it than I had hoped.

This is dedicated to those who like me, are at the back of the spiritual class.

    The bus journey through the Andes was harrowing, particularly for someone who suffers from fear of heights, which I do,  and by the time we arrived at the retreat, I was a blubbing mass.  “Bring on the ayahuasca” I said, “ it can’t be any more scary than being on the top front seat of an out of control double-decker, speeding through the Andes” and lo and behold they did!

 Yeps, as we were picked up from our meeting point, the California Café, we were told that the first ceremony would be that very night!   Mmm, I wasn’t expecting that, but, in a way, I was glad to be thrown at the deep-end straight away.  Waiting to start, is usually the scariest part of any journey. 

Our group of searchers was smallish, eight or so (two were missing  and were to arrive the next day  but that’s a whole different story) most people from the US, except for a Russian/Chinese young couple, based in Italy.  Rickety taxis took us on a dirt track, even higher than the already vertiginous 3100 meters. Women in bright traditional clothes and towering hats carried enormous bags of herbs on their backs or babies, some tilled the fields, small black pigs and bizarre dogs roamed happily and children waved at us.  I got the feeling of a happy people, not so preoccupied with the artificial values of our world.

Andes 

Eventually we arrived at the lodge, a haven surrounded by the sharp canines of the Andes. As we were to drink that evening, the dieta had started at lunch. We were given some instructions, then some tree bark tea… the spirits of those chosen trees help you on the journey, they are kind of allies of madre Ayahuasca. 

The centre

As dusk fell, we trotted down to the ceremony room for our meditation and satsangha.  A big fire was roaring, it was very comfy and easy to forget why we were here and of course yet again, I was taken by surprise when the ceremony actually started, I guess I had expected us to go back to our rooms (as I am deaf I tend to miss a lot of what goes on).  But no, once again I was thrown at the deep-end.

Alex (co-founder of Ayahuasca Satsangha and super hero) was to perform the ceremony as Gume’s daughter was ill.  

La mesa (altar)

I sat down, feeling increasingly “drunk” or mariado/a as it is called.  Cartoon like images and pyramids flashed in my head but nothing quite as spectacular as I had expected.  It’s going to get better I thought, then I vomited in the bucket provided for that purpose and all the visions stopped!

Next installements…the rest of the night, the lessons, the dieta and how I got to meet one of the black ones.