The Ayahuasca experience..a spiritual journey...in the thick of the night!!!

One has to be prepared both physically and mentally to take the journey to be visited by one's spirits.I arrived today at the Pachi mama spiritual hostel..My host, my spiritual mentor,
Armndo, as the art teacher
in an open air school

The whole day was spent preparing the heavenly drink .... the masculine medicinal leaves Ayahusaca were boiled on a medium heat for 4-5 hours andtiny branches of another tree ..the Chaocaran .. the feminine part ..were crushed in a mortar to almost a powder, put in a pot with some crushed branches told me to rest and drink lots of agua. Refrain from heavy meals, no meat, no alcohol, no sex, no bad and negative thoughts.I had two full days before the big moment.encircling in the pot.Heated for hours. Both the feminine and the masculine liquids  were then mixed and concocted for few more hours.The final concoction was  thickened with panela to make the final concoction, a sweet honey like drink.

The celebration ceremony of taking Ayahuasaca has to be performed  away from the human noises.. best place is in the thick of the jungle in sync with the nature.. in the quietness of the dark nite, amidst the natural sounds and musical orchestra of the jungle animals, birds and other inhabitants...complemented by the serene sounds of the flute, the jhankars.tin a ling.. of the Damroos.. pellet drums.. and the calling of the spirits by the holy spiritual sage.
The  chosen  abode is a 20X20 ft square with a roof made of shredded grass and bamboos, some sitting place around the periphery and enough space to have four hammocks. 

 The fire is lit, the hammocks are laid up, the small table is set in the middle with a candle lit, uno little serving  glass, the bottle of the Ayahuasca , the nose sniffer powder, the tongue refreshing paste and a small bottle of some liqueur . All ready. The spiritual man sits down with a bunch of dried leaves in his right hand..shaking them all the time. The music starts. We, the four  participants,  three male assistants and the Mentor, all are playing one of the instruments in sync with the sounds and music of the nature..very slow..The orchestra is all set for the spiritual journey.
Varied experieneces of diffrent people... Good  and bad spirits
Am I scared..? Yes, but no.No my heart was not beating fast .I was told that this is a mind and  body cleansing experience.The environment was so charismatic that I did not dare to take any photos off the camera  I had brought, lets I ruin all the serene build up. That moment, that time had already lifted me up into another world. I was ready.The sniffer was sniffed... cleaning the nostrils, the tongue tasted the tobacco like paste. One by one , Armando.. the sage, gave us the glass  full of Ayahuasca..the sounds of music increased while we drank the concoction, the dried leave bunch was shaken in front of us. Armando sang in some Indigenous language..perhaps calling the sprites..going around each of us who have been enjoying the slow swing of the hammocks

The spirit world is the home of the soul. And for a living human to experience the spirit world or to be visited by spitits is a blissful,meaning and life changing.  Soul may also equate with the  spirit but the soul involves certain individual human consciousness, while the spirit comes from beyond. A soul develops and grows as an integeral aspect of a living being.Worshipping the ancestors at least once a year is a tradition in my cultures  It is believed the spirits of elders visit the family homes.And are treated with regard. Prayers are held, food to the poor  and Brahamins is distributed and donations are given to the charities.I know most part of India this practice is still performed with great sense of duty and zeal..

Five minutes later another round of the AYAHUASCA and the silence. I closed my eyes. And perhaps ten minutes later I was travelling as if in a very fast moving roller coaster or like the feeling in the airborne speed train.. going up and down and witnessing the strange looking figures in all sizes, shapes and forms,some with strange ornamentation, long hands, mermaid like multi legs, bulging eyes, big eyes , rios, small bricked bridges, covered faces , funny eye covers, masks and entirely different types of trees..males and females, big and small. How long this journey lasted ?  I dont know. My guess is at least an hour but felt like ten minutes. The faces and the movements of the spirits is hard to explain..but can you imagine a 5th version of the movie AVATAR.
One is transformed in to anotehr plane.
.The feeling of an emperor
Now another world.. world of some human faces and some recognizable ..a little easier scene to watch and enjoy. As if you are on a rail free train..voyaging smoothly going past  still fast ..all these variety of people... I dont remember now..who were these people..It is strange that if you open your eyes .. you are back on earth..Normal.. You close the eyes and you are back on the journey again.I did disturb this voyage two times, once when I have to pew ( which is  good..a sign that all the toxins are conning out) and the other when I went to the washroom. I did not want to miss any action, I rushed back  closing my eyes asap.


 Was it hallucination ? I think not. Because I was always aware and live and very well knew what was happening around me..if I opened my eyes. Just like being intoxicated with  some fully matured  single mart whisky. I dare not open my eyes lets I loose this beautiful strange experience... as it has to end some time.
Experienced fast movements of figurines like this in the opposite direction
People have hallucinated..and have even talked to the spirits..People have experienced seeing and chatting with spirits even with eyes open. Christina, one of the participant, thought that she talked to some people , but later realized they were real people living in the hostel. Strange, how the mind works, how it is elevated. The Ayahuasca, can make you see people with open eyes.Some of my friends tasted the drink have felt like a dog and another one like a very high fast flowing waterfall.
Hard to explain the phenomena but imagine

being visited by these kind of spirits
The right dose, the right atmosphere is created by the experienced mentor for the best possible enjoyable journey. I was lucky, because Amador ,  a childhood friend of Nancy..my Couchsurfer host, an art professor, a great painter,a entrepreneur, educated and above all a very entertaining, passionate caring individual.
Anna, Ashok  and Tina in front of the Pachamama hostel
 Has science, yet caught on with this phenomena? Ana, another participant and a Harvard university science scholar, says yes, they have been making headway in understanding this. The indigenous people say that they get the instructions directly from plants and plant spirits. the researchers have devised  a number of theories   explaining this phenomena.  Indigenous people all over the world believe and worship the spirits. "The spirits are their Gods, they are their saviours , the spirits save them from all the disasters.That is their religion, when asked about their religion".

They believe in incarnation. They want to become the spirit. .. and get away from this cycle of  birth and death.This is what ancient Hindus also believed in too with different terminology.

We stayed in the jungle till the wee hours. I slept late in the morning waking up with a cleaned stomach and a relaxed mind.
The grande , the Amazon river at Sun set. 
Some years back I did take Pranayama yoga lessons for a week.. with the result, I always felt much more relaxed, no bad thoughts, no ill will against any one. Just positive energy surrounded me. I felt just one  step up the others. It was not the same feeling here though but definitely an amazing unique one .

Will I  do it again? Yes I will.

Puerto Narnio, Amazonian, Colombia, South America, March 2013.