Ayahuasca and Animism – A Cure for Modern Materialism?

[Waking Times]: Widespread and systematic destruction of our ecosystems; exploitation of the Earth’s resources; factory farming of animals; unashamed bigotry – these are the hallmarks of the modern human race.

Part of the problem is our materialistic view of the world that not only denies the inherent life and spirit in other beings, but also gives us the illusion of being above the laws of nature.

Yet we have a unique chance to learn from the wisdom of people who have maintained connection to nature for their entire existence. Ayahuasca, a plant medicine used by countless indigenous peoples of the Amazon basin, is rapidly increasing in popularity in the Global North. And with it comes the opportunity to shift our perspective.

This ancient psychedelic brew is a mainstay of dozens of South American cultures, most of which employ some form of animist spirituality that carries a deep and innate connection to nature, animals, and self. The ayahuasca ceremony can be a powerful gateway to animist principles.

Ayahuasca has the power to transform individuals in many ways. But could it also help break humanity out of its materialist prison? Or are we already too far gone to be saved by a perspective shift, no matter how sudden or revelationary? ...read more>>>>...

Ayahuasca – A Plant That Teaches

Waking Times: I’m guessing many of you know about Aya and some may have taken the medicine. It is a brew made of natural plants indigenous to South America. It has been used for thousands of years as a purgative and as a healer of the body and the consciousness. It has been called “vine of the soul” for a reason. The most active component is DMT, which has a powerful effect on consciousness.

Persons drinking the brew often enter a trance state for several hours during which they experience visions or encounter hidden aspects of themselves: whatever the plant gives them, it is to support their personal journey. The brew is administered by a Shaman, and the participants are protected by the Shaman and the assistants. Sometimes a participant will have a celestial journey, sometimes a challenging one...read more>>>...

Ayahuasca and The Healing of a Broken Heart

Stuart Wilde: I’ve participated in, or worked as a facilitator on 207 Ayahuasca journeys. It cures depression, usually with one drink, and it heals people that have a fractured psychology from childhood pain or trauma. It is the greatest teacher in the world, because it shows you the real you in the real inner worlds, those are the ones I write about.

It takes you to a multidimensional comprehension of self, and it shows you the eternity of your soul. Usually after people take Aya’ they continue to see visions for years later that teach them. The hyperverse of the multi-dimensional worlds shows them about itself as fast as they can cope with it. We call it ‘The Mother” as it’s the gift of creation, Gaia.

Ayahuasca works on many levels. Not only visionary, it can work on healing deep and traumatic emotional pain...read more>>>...

A Word on 'Ayahuasca'

After being virtually ignored by Western civilization for centuries, there has been a huge surge of interest in Ayahuasca recently. There is a growing belief that it is a kind of ‘medicine for our times’, giving hope to people with ‘incurable’ diseases like cancer and HIV, drug addictions and inspiring answers to the big ecological problems of modern civilization.

Spirituality is at the centre of the Ayahuasca experience. Purification and cleansing of body, mind, and spirit in a shamanic ceremony can be the beginning of a process of profound personal and spiritual discovery and transformation. This process can continue indefinitely even if one never drinks Ayahuasca again. One thing is sure, and that is that every person gets a unique experience. We believe that by seriously looking at the way Ayahuasca is used we can improve our life experience and benefit more from this medicine.

Ayahuasca is the jungle medicine of the upper Amazon. It is made from the ayahuasca vine ( Banisteriopsis Caapi) and the leaf of the Chacruna plant (Psychotria Viridis). The two make a potent medicine, which takes one into the visionary world. The vine is an inhibitor, which contains harmala and harmaline among other alkaloids, and the leaf contains vision-inducing alkaloids. As with all natural medicines, it is a mixture of many alkaloids that makes their unique properties. For example, Peyote, the cactus used by the North Native Americans, is said to contain 32 active alkaloids, so when one of those alkaloids, mescaline is synthesised in a laboratory, contrary to popular opinion, the result is not at all the same.

The oldest know object related to the use of ayahuasca is a ceremonial cup, hewn out of stone, with engraved ornamentation, which was found in thePastaza culture of the Ecuadorian Amazon from 500 B.C. to 50 A.D. It is deposited in the collection of the Ethnological Museum of the CentralUniversity (Quito, Ecuador). This indicates that ayahuasca potions were known and used at least 2,500 years ago.

Ayahuasca is a name derived from two Quechua words: aya means spirit, ancestor, deceased person, and huasca means vine or rope, hence it is known as vine of the dead or vine of the soul. It is also known by many other local names including yaje, caapi, natema, pinde, daime, mihi, & dapa. It plays a central role in the spiritual, religious and cultural traditions of the Indigenous and Mestizo (mixed blood) peoples of the upper Amazon, Orinoco plains and the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador.

The plants are collected from the rainforest in a sacred way and it is said that a shaman can find plentiful sources of the vine by listening for the ‘drumbeat’ that emanates from them. The mixture is prepared by cutting the vines to cookable lengths, scraping and cleaning them, pounding them into a pulp. Meanwhile the Chacruna leaves and picked and cleaned...READ MORE...

Ayahuasca to Treat/Cure Addiction?

'New research suggests ayahuasca, a jungle vine found in the Peruvian rainforest, can have a powerful effect on the human central nervous system when brewed with other plants. Researchers say one of ayahuasca's most promising uses could be in treating drug and alcohol addiction. According to the World Health Organization, medicines derived from plants play a major role in the health care of 80 percent of the world's population. Western medicine has synthesized many of these natural drugs, from the painkillers in willow bark to the anti-cancer compounds in the neem tree, and is constantly searching for more pharmaceuticals in the biodiversity of the world's forests...Read more...