Can't make it , but i will be thinking of you all next time i'm vomiting.

I'm old, like a gazillion in dog years, and I've heard The Newly Expanded's 'MO BETTA CONSCIOUS THAN THOU' Ayahuasca babblings for, like, two decades now. The Church of Diame (sp?) devotees, the South American "I lived with the Shamans" crowd, the "I went on a raft and met _______ who recognized I was a Special Whitey so he shared his ancient secrets and ______ with me" gaggle etc. What strikes me like a 2x4 of collapsed star-like dense matter is that NONE of these people, NONE (with the exception of mah man, good ol' Daniel P., who co-brewed this site, who I don't know) have done JACK SHIT with their astounding expansions, JACK SHIT but verbally jack off at cool soirees, say "Namaste" a lot and try to get laid. WHAT GOOD IS CONSCIOUSNESS, EXPANSION, ENLIGHTENMENT, FAME, "GNOSIS" et al if it doesn't further humanity as a whole? It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. You see jaguars? BIG FUCKING WHOOP. If you really have an edge here - APPLY IT. Selflessly and relentlessly. OR... you are just a 2.0 version of all that you claim to despise. (Read my article on David Icke, The Hardest Working Man In Show Business:) www.xanaduxero.blogspot.com

I mean, the most simple thing I want to express is that when I read these comments I was hurt (because I'm one of the presenters).

I want to be careful not to project anger from the hurt that I feel when I read the comments left here, but I'd be lying if I said that I am above not feeling hurt after reading this.

Some of the remarks here are perhaps coming from valid places of concern. But I'd like to disagree with some of what's been written, too.

First, I'd like to ask why it's so impossible to refrain from all the unconstructive criticism, the biting cynicism, and the mean-heartedness?

What I don't understand is this. If you feel so much more enlightened and above all of us who are presenting, then why not teach us what you know, that which you presume we have not understood about our own characters, in the spirit of love and kindness?

I'm all about having someone point out my flaws and actively evolving through my own weaknesses. I think this is why I drink Ayahuasca. I want to be a more loving human being, if its possible.

I first traveled to the Amazon to drink Ayahuasca after searching for something to medicinally treat a host of addictions I was struggling with. I had worked with entheogens and psychedelics for years, but I was seeking ritual and ceremony. I have now worked with Ayahuasca for several years in Peru. I am by no means an expert on anything.

I can only testify to my own personal experience: Ayahuasca has been a great healer and a great teacher to me.

I don't share your view about "ayahuasca tourism." While your concern may be totally legitimate, I don't hear concern in the voice of your post. I hear anger and cynicism.

To me that is a tell, like a card game. I think cynicism clouds our ability to tell the truth in love. And usually if I'm speaking like that to someone, I am most often speaking from a place of hurt or personal pain. I could be wrong. To classify myself or Fabian or any of us presenting some of our Ayahuasca stories as "phonies," or saying that you'd like to hurl old vegetables at us feels mean to me.

Plain and simple. It's mean.

I've met many people in Peru who have come from all over the world to seek medicinal healing with the plants of the Amazon. To classify the many unique people I've met as "druggies" or "tourists" would be unfair and insensitive. I've met maybe one or two visiting people out of hundreds in Peru whose motives I have ever questioned.

And I believe that there are a number of ways to think about how the medicine is gaining popularity in Peru--not all of which are entirely negative. 

My point by responding here is simple. You might be right about some of your claims, and you might have something to teach the world. Hell, you might have something to teach me personally.

Your criticisms---any of them, could be fair.

But why would you try to put me down instead of build me up while doing so? Can't you speak your concerns and criticisms with simultaneous care for my heart, or the hearts of any of the presenters?

 

Adam Elenbaas

Negativity, or reality? And why on earth would/could you (of all people) simply assume my conclusions are "kneejerk" and not labored over and thought out? "You can of course make the same criticism of almost any scene - the yoga world, followers of Tibetan Buddhism, raw foodists, etc. If you step back from your own prejudices, you might see that it is all an evolutionary process, and people are not perfect." Oh, I DO. I criticise the MANY MANY for whom the criticism applies, not those, THE TOO FEW, for whom it does not. "PEOPLE ARE NOT PERFECT"usually comes paired with "WE ARE ALL GOD", so everyone, at anytime, can, Burgur King-esque, HAVE IT THEIR WAY. Perhaps your concept of time is different from mine, Daniel, but it seems to me that a very short fuse is already lit, and that we do not have infinite days to 'evolve' between posing, acquiring, scoring tail etc., to die knowing we did what we could to make a viable world for our kids or even our old age. I see the middle class evaporating, quiet wars of disease planting, subconscious mind control, I see an INSANE lack of education in the USA that simply CANNOT be without an agenda behind it, I see chips in passports, secret GPS in cell phones, I see the destruction of The Family, and extended family units - DIVIDE AND CONQUER always works. And Daniel, I am WEARY of people's response to my thoughts being: Well what have YOU done NYAH NYAH? That is completely unworthy of you. Here's my quote to match your Rilke who, as you know, lived in another place and time. "SPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE CHILD"- to me, metaphorically, timeless. I see not much "willed" into being... maybe because we are so self indulgent, we can't sustain the will to will. And, of course, ACTION is always the ideal counterpart.

I know there's an underground rumble. I also know that very few are connected to it, or know how to connect. I know people are doing good things with their plant medicine knowledge, but what numbers are we talking about? And I see no outreach that is easily accessible. I have no desire to diss anyone in particular or hurt feelings or scorn fine intent. I wish to point out that reading Reality Sandwich and taking Ayahuasca and saying "Blessings" does nothing, in the big picture, to make a dent in the mess that is our world in a timely fashion. I think we need to organize and act - in 3-D world time, not Dreamtime, because things are now that bad. I hope I'm wrong, I pray to be wrong so, if I am, please tell me why without saying "Well what are YOU doing?" which is irrelevent to my comments.

There are many interesting ideas being presented within this post for a social gathering that is optional for those willing to enter its door.

I do think it is importent to ponder upon how these medicines affect people, and I shall refrain from drawing many a metaphor that we each could easily envision... I understand the apprehension of Ayuhausca entering "mainstream", but we should remember RS isn't exactly mainstream- yet. These sorts of medicines seem to come to those who need them. From my quick learning of it, it seems that its healing is very direct and to the point. Perhaps it is unveiling itself so it can help others- if time is such an issue as many bealive...

Now, the "DO" of each person, is personal. What is done here on the pages of RS does have an effect upon the world, perhaps it doesn't dent as deeply as a Range Rover would into a Ford Tempo, but it does leave its mark. For me, RS is a way to "DO" something. My "DO" is writing, loving, and bealiving in those I love. So, I would say that the work on RS does do something to the Big Picture, just as a little bit of salt makes a cucumber taste all the much better. Or celery seed... I hear tell that's pretty tasty... ;)

xanaduxero: Ayahuasca is not simple. Neither is the planetary situation/crisis.

Yet, part of what it teaches, or may teach, or has taught me, or continues to teach me, is about the cycles and flows of all life. Or, further; that death is not what we (generally) think it is. That hell is not what we (generally) think it is.

Ayahuasca has shown me, at least, that all evil wears a mask and when, at curtain call, that mask is removed, a laughing and hilarious face is revealed.

The thing with ayahuasca, (I find anyway), is that you can describe it and its uses in so many ways - traditional, shamanic, medicinal, mainstream, syncretic, trendy, tourism and so forth. But if and when one decides to drink it and so begin a relationship with it. All that "finger pointing", all those words and prejudices - begin to float away. One may begin to see a bigger picture where such divisions are laughable.


I agree that there is a very serious need for serious real-time action these days. But Ayahuasca is not always concerned with "real-time". It is as patient as they come. It improves health. It strenghtens the body. It knows how to purge illness. It does this with the assistance of both patient and curandero. It does these things in ways one would generally never expect.

 

So, you may think that it's all trendy and a farce of some sort, or that nothing is happening - but beyond the veil there is something, many things growing. Ayahuasca is patient, it knows of the long term and that is part of its workings - it may dispell anxiety, nurture awareness, encourage health. It does these things (and more) so that one's individual daily actions are more sound.

But it is not a quick fix. If, slowly but surely, people improve their lives and relations with the help of Ayahuasca - then it is working wonders. Wonders that will and do find their way into the world's at large.

The foundation and roots must first be strong and deep.


That "underground rumble" - that's a root taking hold.

us teenage freaks knew nothing about Ayahuasca, we were suddenly awash in a sea of LSD, and mescaline has handy.WE ate acid like candy, good and plenty.I wrote a experimental poetic novel that attempts to tell the story of a few teenage people that navigated those early psychedelic days, peace and love, and a V sign.

Propaganda Anonymous One thing I've become aware of about message boards is that it is very easy to forget that we are speaking to other people.

So the balence between 'airing out' and ranting, which I'm not totally opposed to, and compassionate communication is a fine one at that.

As Travis Smiley stated on Bill Maher's show about what made Martin Luther King Jr. such an amazing speaker is that he used a 'love language.' Especially when speaking about such hard issues as the Vietnam war, Etc.

So what I've learned in forums like these is that I find it necessary, Just For Me, to try to phrase my intense feelings about certain things in a linguistic structure that veers away from 'Why I'm so Right, and You are so Wrong! '

And 'I speak the Truth!'

See what I'm saying?

Anyway, that's just me. I do think there are definetely cool times to Rant. Bill Hicks and George Carlin, both heroes of mine, do so in such great ways.

OK, So this Ayahuasca situation. My 2 Cents. I find I agree with parts of what xanadu and eco are saying, while also finding value in the responses.

My own personal experience with the vine in this Capitalistic society has sometimes shown me some things about 'The Community' that I was very disappointed to see. I have seen Price-gouging. Which happened to me and my girlfriend by 'organizers' for dietas. I have ceased communicating with certain people, and boycotted their 'organizing' efforts because of a very disturbing experience with people Who I Thought Were Friends, and fellow intrepid traveles along this journey. And this personal boycot has led me to working with the vine less than if I just accepted such disreputable behavior.

If I did so I would be sacrificing dignity for divinity, which to me leads to cultish activity. Something I try to stay away from. 

I have also noticed a pattern in some people who use Ayahuasca that annoys me as well. Some of these people are just snobs with money, who have been afforded a certain amount of professional authority in their own lives and then they do Yage, like twice, and start talking like they're enlightened.

I have just watched these fools play themselves. And kept silent, which wasn't always easy, but again The Fools Play Themselves Out.

As Eco stated about the Feminine quality of this mysteriously beautiful substance, I have not picked up any obligation to stand high atop a mountain and declare that I Am here to save the world because of Ayahuasca. That is the 'Savior Trap.' John Lilly has got some cool stuff to say about that Trap.

And at the same time too, I have asked the Vine if it was ok for me to start speaking about my own experiences with it, and the response I got back(or maybe self-generated...cause Come on now, do we really know what is going on, really?) The response I received was one of Loving Indifference. As if 'she' was saying to me, 'Oh little child, you wish to speak of me to others? That's Fine. Do your thing. Be HAPPY'

In conclusion, I have found Assholes in every corner of this fine earth. And yes I have even found Assholes within these circles. I have learned to walk away from my bitterness that I felt because I had my own Expectations that Ayahuasca=Enlightenment.

This journey is long and varied. The concept of Bushido comes up for me. So I've also learned Compassion for others. We are all on our own individual trips here in Space-Time while simultaneously being inextricably tied in with everyone else. Ah, The Paradox of this Life, haha.

In my own life, I will start speaking more publicly about what I've learned from Yage. For me the 'sacred contract' seems to be 'Do Not Make Ayahuasca a gimmick that provides for most of my income!'

Even if other people have done it.

When it comes down to it, the only spirits they harm are their own.

I stay away from liars.

I watch the fools play themselves out.

And I just try to speak to people in as much of a heart felt way as I possibly can about Ayahuasca.

Cheers....

PS As Joe Strummer has said, "There's a mirror in your Soul. You should turn it to the Sky"

PAZ Ya'll

Morgan, Well put. I couldn't agree more. Ayahuasca is patient. And we can learn this from the plants I think. To know that while the storm rages, there is a calm. Or that while on the battlefield the warrior always knows that nothing is at stake. I think that it's just as important to purify our thoughts, words, emotions and actions. We can have the most advanced software ever, but without clean hardware, the system won't operate! As Christ said, "how can an old wineskin carry new wine?" Adam Elenbaas

i keep bringing it up about the psychedelic explosion, in the late 60's is that there seems to be some kind of disconnect, with this hole Ayahuasca emerging scene, with the psychedelic scene as a whole, and perhaps there are reasons to look at that at this particular juncture that would appear so, as i have read about these events, and people traveling down to the Amazon, ect.For those of us that lived like hippies, well people use to live outside of the mainstream, and or some of us lived modestly.To go to one of these events, or the Amazon, it means a considerable sum of the green, to take the route into the jungle.

My approach, as still a teenager was to attempt to teach myself, through the psychedelic experience, through reading as much as i could about history, philosophy, literature, ect. but that did not stop me from going through my own self-initiation, which if truth be told was because of my own sensitive nature my own karma, fate, and having been shot out of the psychedelic cannon.

I was really on my own, the hippies around me, or the people i hung out with, were of all kinds and types, but i mostly gravitated to the poets, artists, musicians.But we had only love-ins in the late 60's and in the 70's i lived in a the biggest hippie town.I once was sitting in a local hang out called the Catalyst and some wall street journalist came in there one day and wrote a a article about the Catalyst and the people there, he said something like" they had that ten thousand mile LSD stare in their eyes" i remember laughing my ass off upon reading that, but really this is how people saw us psychedelic freaks in those days.

So coming out of that, i'm viewing this new manifestation of the Ayahuasca bungle in the jungle, but it reminds me of when i was a kid, and i went on the jungle boat ride for the first time, and the man in the Rama of the jungle hat shot the hippopotamus with his loaded with blanks gun, at Disneyland.Is the people being on a kind of psychedelic jungle boat ride, with a hologram jaguar, because it has become a tourist attraction for yuppies that are looking for adventure, or are there still people that can take this experience back, alive like Frank Buck?

visionary stories? or a book you read with your starbucks?

oh , yeah, i only went to a few love-ins, but i saw all the great psychedelic bands.

 

In "western" contexts ayahuasca is often placed high on a mantle, deified by some, capitalized upon, etc. But this is a projection, it is not "inaction or weakness" on the part of the ayahuasca, it is the weakness and illness of the drinker. It is also, in some cases, related to traditional brujeria. Ayahuasca is a powerful technology and it can be used for good or ill.

Or somewhere in between, or sometimes beyond.

If you choose to do good, then it helps to know the illnesses - in order to be aware of them, avoid them, transform them.


In contemporary/western etc situations ayahuasca is (to some) a brand new thing with an awesome new lightshow. But in the jungles and in the jungle cities, to the average person, ayahuasca is somewhat common, like asprin or coffee or green tea.  I'd rather not put it in those terms, but simply, everyone knows about it, probably drank it for a very practical reason and/or has an uncle/aunt/cousin/friend/brother/sister who may or may not be a shaman or healer or knows one or has studied with one and on and on and on. It's no big secret.

And in these jungle cities (ie:Iquitos) they've still got casinos and fumes and mobile phones and internet and cocaine and drunkeness and sin and vice of all description!

And yet the curanderos there still do their work, people still get healed from their snakebite, their arthritis, their stomach cramps, their soul loss, their money problems, their bad luck and on and on and on.

In these places ayahuasca is used to continue the healthy flow of life. For a shaman/curandero to take care of a tribe or attend to a village or simply be the local river doctor is in some sense, the equivalent of "saving the world".

In our western/urban/contemporary contexts that notion is too immense for some, and so perhaps they falter. Or perhaps, in the rush to "save the world", and striving to the reach the ecstacy and efficacy of a shaman, they falter again.

Some describe that what constitutes a brujo, is someone who couldn't hack their shamanic training and therefore left an "incomplete shaman".

So, take that down a notch and there is the presence of "incomplete" ayahuasca use. Disrespectful ayahuasca use.

Certainly some of the urban/contemporary ayahuasca use is not an ideal situation. But as cringe-inducing as it may sometimes seem, people are simply getting the hang of it. Or not.

I feel there is benefit (and yet serious challenge) in developing a personal relationship with the ayahuasca. Especially when in the swirl and temptation of western/contemporary/urban centers and cultures. Perhaps it is a matter of going beyond cultures and into the realm and responsibility of the individual.


"The 'heart of a warrior,' courage, ability to face the truth, and knowing one's true calling without fear of extremes or 'ugly  things' are the qualities of the shaman."
---Guillermo Arevalo, Curandero, Shipibo-Conibo, Peru.


"It’s a pity that at a time when people came along with the sensitivity, openness and intellectual preparation to really start thinking about what these shamanic practices were about—as opposed to say a Schultes, who would just observe those states and say "they were intoxicated"—we almost came along a generation or two too late.

When you travel in the Amazon people say that all the real shaman have died off. And even by most anthropological accounts the last of the really highly trained shaman died around 1965..."
---Wade Davis, Author, Botanist, Adventurer, interviewed by Peter Gorman.


Patience, everyone is learning.

well, a fair plethora of prose above, and I just want to posit that this is one of THE more direct and experiential medicines on the planet these days. so methinks that words are beside the point (although the pingponging is fascinating). sit in the presence of and be precise if you feel directed to attach language to the experience - beyond an invitation to pay attention to to the invitation to pay attention.

 

not to be missed on the planet these days....

templemouse: "so methinks that words are beside the point"

ecolocal: "Talk is cheap, and cheapening."

I get the impression that with ayahuasca, it is possible to talk and share and chat about it endlessly - and not lose one fine shred of its experiential worth and benefit.

In fact, it simply translates into more and more learning. If one is open and discerning.

Certainly all the talk in the world could never fully prepare one for actually experiencing ayahuasca. But since it's an otherworldy thing, since it is so alien to so many; it is "language", "talk" and sharing that helps bridge the ayahuasca and one's experiences with it - across and into other world's and other experiences, however mundane in comparison.

It is our words that help guide our actions, or vice versa. In part, it is this twisting flux, this intertwined voice and vision from which comes the teachings of this teacher plant.

 

To clam up, to shut up or "keep it all in" perhaps goes against the flow of what ayahuasca is sometimes about.

Talk is cheap- only if one talks about cheap things. And surely, disrespectful or spiteful chat can be cheapening, for the chatterer. However, ayahuasca can be your friend. Why would anyone talk dirty about such a helpful, benevolent, patient friend? Why keep this amazing friend locked in a box? Especially when this friend has so much to share.

 

It shares these many things with us, and through us, so that we may share health and wisdom amongst us.

 

 

I meant, my suggestions really are these:

Talk about the wizdom, not about ayahuasca. As in, don't start talking with " Ayahuasca told me that...." which is a variation on "God told me that..." , a false qualifier. Ultimately , what you talk about comes from you. You are not a pure and clear channel, and neither is anyone else who talks.

If someone asks you about ayahuasca, use your discretion to talk about it, but as for the whole wide world goes, it is pointless and counter-productive to go on about what ayahuasca supposedly showed you.

Because many will just disregard it as drug-induced, and because ayahuasca is not for everyone. People need to look at the moon, not the finger pointing at it. It is clear that most people out there will never actually drink ayahuasca.

So why not be imaginative about what you are going to communicate to the people, and instead of putting ayahuasca (and yourself as neo-shaman) in the limelight, work on communicating the wizdom in ways that most people can benefit from. The wizdom can be grokked and applied without drinking any potions, when it is communicated properly. Inspire people to think and feel for themselves, that's all it takes. Use the inspiration you received to inspire others- that is an art requiring subtlety and boldness. If you start talking about the source of the inspiration, you start missing the point and working against you eventually, especially in this case when the source is tangible, and enmeshed in cultural paradigms that are under  threat. 

All the info on ayahuasca is out there, and those who are truly interested will find out. Turning it into the latest hip thing to be into, and putting yourself on stage to waffle about how it is, just smacks of the usual egoic games of affluent hipsters. Like propaganda anonymous wrote, you'd be turning it into a gimmick.

To sum up, my position is that if you are truly in touch with  the ayahuasca current, you'd keep quiet about it and your use of it, and talk about the messages themselves if you feel like talking. 

 I am probably wasting my time here. I have seen it over and over again. Young, impressionable folks do ayahuasca and develop an unshakeable belief that they are receiving divine messages which could not possibly be wrong or misunderstood. They literally get on a mission ordained by God(dess) and nothing will get them off that high horse.  Enthusiasm is OK , but soon becomes a blindfold if it is not tempered with humbleness and sensitivity. Life is long and it takes more than jungle juice to live it with some dignity. 

Ayahuasca is not a panacea, nor is it a solution to be applied on a mass scale.  The understandings that can flow from it can appeal to many, and do not require qualifications or shamanic references.

After years of experiment , talk and observation,  I find that ayahuasca, for many people, can reinforce egos and unexamined belief systems instead of deconstructing them. LSD is more effective on that front. 

ecolocal: Do you find it ironic that you seem to have so much to say about ayahuasca?
;)

Ayahuasca once "said" to me: There are no rules, only guides.
;)

Ayahuasca is not "fight club" - there is no first rule about not talking about it. Just because people discuss it or tell about thier experiences does not make them shamans or neo-shamans in any way, shape or form. But talking about it does help some people to integrate their experiences.

ecolocal: "it is pointless and counter-productive to go on about what ayahuasca supposedly showed you."

How so?


A great deal of what you are saying seems to be bound up with your own fears, prejudices and projections.



ecolocal: "All the info on ayahuasca is out there"

Oh, good. Everything about it is cleared up and  alphabetized somewhere. Mystery solved. Phew...

For a second I thought there was a lot to learn.


"To sum up, my position is that if you are truly in touch with  the ayahuasca current, you'd keep quiet about it and your use of it, and talk about the messages themselves if you feel like talking."

So you know the "true" way to use ayahuasca?

There are many ways to ride and flow with that current.

Some act boldy, some act subtly, some make amends, some are still learning, some keep very quiet, some feel like talking, some talk about what they've learned. No harm in this. But there is potential harm in pretending this is a big unspeakable secret (which btw, is a form of exclusivity/elitism).

In the jungle, if you ask a curandero or some ayahuasquero about Yage, they do not say "I can't talk about that."  

It is often more to the effect of "Yes, come with me, Ill show you what I know, and if you want, Ill brew you some and you can find out for yourself."

Ayahuasca is not simple, it is not one thing or one way. It is many things and many ways.

What are you so afraid of?


Of course respect is very important. But this respect can take on many forms. If one is full of themselves, full of ego, prejudice, confusion and so forth, the ayahuasca will make one face that shit sooner or later.

-

One of the best books I've read about ayahuasca is Yaje, The New Purgatory. Encounters with Ayahuasca by Jimmy Weiskopf. He talks at great length, with great respect and great insight about a lot of things in there and his some 30 years(?) experience with Yage in Colombia.

The Ayahuasca Monologues is one thing, and is perhaps a view of ayahuasca in an urban context - nothing wrong with that. In Peru there is an upcoming Curandero Seminar, where several respected curandero's will be speaking and teaching about ayahuasca, shamanism, medicinal plants and their uses. There is also an ongoing "teleseminar" for this featuring several curanderos speaking about their work.

 

And, in July there is the 4th International Amazonian Shamanism Conference. Where many respected Amazonian curanderos, writers, ethnobotanists and international healer folk will discuss their work.

 

anyway... just sayin'

 

:)

peace 

 

As a greater planetary awareness of ayahuasca grows, there seems to be a great deal of anxiety bubbling up surrounding its ethical use. And so my feeling is there needs to be serious (and not so serious) discussion. Those of us who are (culturally) new to ayahuasca (anyone not mestizo or indigenous) would do well to gather together and sing.

During ayahuasca, the curandero's singing guides the experience and if one find's oneself in a tight situation, singing can whisk one away to a better place.

Perhaps this (tight?) situation of ayahuasca in contemporary/urban/western culture can be seen or referenced as something like music.

There is no "absolute" way in which to engage music. There are many forms of music. There are many styles and ways of ayahuasca drinking.

I'm not particulary interested in "goa-trance", so I don't go to goa-trance raves. Nor am I very interested in "death metal", so I've never really hung out with death metal heads.

Similarly, I've little interest in attending a Santo Daime ceremony or a UDV ceremony. Nor am I particulary drawn to urban ceremonies such as the one recently described in the LA Times.

But I'm certain many interesting and worthwhile things are taking place there. Something is happening on some level, to say the least, and by and large it is good for those involved - or simply a whole ton better than so much of the horror and shit and hell of the planetary crisis, "the real world" etc.

So, in general, ayahuasca drinkers of any type have my respect.

Of course, similar to encountering "bad music", there can be bad ayahuasca ceremonies. Or incomplete shamans/brujeria/trickery/ego etc.

So perhaps one should learn and discern what kind of music they like, or what ayahuasca path will be most effective for them personally.



And then sing a little bit every now and then.


Can ayahuasca alone save the world? Who knows.

But it does seem to be interested in symbiosis. Because if we do destroy the planet, how then will the vine grow?

after i took a lot of psychedelics, mostly LSD, because that is what was available then, so my high school years were about learning about how my hair was too long, and i did not like sports, or my teachers, so then the psychedelic wave came and washed over my scene, it was he late 60's and the music reflected the times a changin.

So i had to attempt to educate myself, as i could not fit into the academic scene, even though i tried to take collage classes, it all became a weird swirl of english class, art class, and experimental psychology class, cultural anthropology, mythology, ect. but i had no serious academic classes because that was totally lost on me in my formative years.So what was a teenage acid head to do? To me my education was listening to Frank Zappa, Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen, and Lenny Bruce, and the psychedelic music, that was there just as i became psychedelisized, "one pill makes you smaller"

Thrust into this strange brave new world, a teenager learns by trial and error, what is hip and cool and what is square and uncool. So one day i stumbled upon Naked Lunch by William Burroughs, which is about Heroin and the interzone, but Burroughs also tried Yage in 1953, and lived to write about it.My next influence was a poet that wrote about his opium and hashish use, but he too wrote about transformation experience through his personal life and he wrote from his reading of poets whom also pushed the envelope of experience, he was Arthur Rimbaud, But Arthur was living in France in the late 1800's.So i stumbled upon a poet that was living, this poet took peyote in Mexico, in the 50's and also experimented with Heroin, he was friends with Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsburg, he influenced Allen, and the outcome was the famous Howl.This was the poet that met Andre' Breton when he was 16, Philip Lamantia, whom i called on the phone one fated night, and later met him at a reading in North Beach.

So this was my chosen path, to attempt to teach myself how to put my psychedelic experience into revolutions of transformation, by learning from others that had trodden the road, on it, in it, under it, the road that we must go down, or up, and if it isn't informed by mind altering substances then it is indirectly informed by them, one way or the other, you cannot get around that psychedelic crossroads, you have to met some strange gypsy like character there, some traveler in an indian blanket, or some surfer with a bunch of beatnik poetry, either way. Burroughs went to the jungles and took Yage, and he wrote about it, that was then this is now.If we don't write about these experiences, then what do we do with them?

I met Burrough's son, Billy, once in a drinking establishment called the Catalyst, he had written two books, one called 'Speed' and the other called 'Kentucky Ham' one was about his Meth crystal use and the other was about his stay in a institution for addicts.Billy was a very intelligent guy, but he was so sensitive he could not live up to his dad's strange reputation, or live it down.I imagine he tried psychedelics too, i don't recall, but he was cought in a abuse cycle, maybe if he coud have gone to the Amazon and taken Ayahuasca like his dad he could have pulled out of the nose dive.

As far as the current manifestation of young hipsters going for the brew of the jungle, well, we all have to pass the test, and we all have to find new ways to come to terms with the passing along of the medicine's message, and what that portends for the coming transformations, 2012 here we come! Ready or not.

was at the 1st one, at eyebeam, great space, been there since, hit or miss, but they are tryingthat said, even at the 1st one was some silly views, alomost walked out before daniel spke and gently rebuked some of the previous speakers for their lack of resect and recreational view of the medicinethat said, its been a whole damn year, and the panel/people you assemble doesnt include any indigenous views? to me this is a glaring omission and smacks of euro centric hipster predatory cultural hijackingand please, more social change components to things, not just feel good, money making networking in generalall these healers artists consultants seeking rich and famous and gullible clients is gross, and not unoticed by manythat saidkudos for trying reality peoplelets transcend the cult of the name brand artist too connecting with nature and spirit inside window less spaces removed from the earth

 

Hi Sharehealing, We tried to find a shaman or indigenous person from these cultures to speak but we are in NYC and that limits things a bit, especially when you don't have a budget to fly people in, at least not yet. In the future, I imagine we'll have these resources and will do our best to bring those crucial voices to the forefront.

 

I can see that this upcoming event is sparking little fires of emotion - I say good, wake people up. Now I don't know anything about ayahuasca, let alone how to pronounce this word, but I'm all about anything that aids in our transformation and healing. I can understand the argument about people doing nothing with their newfound awarenesses and expansions - we all know that it's just too easy to sit on our duffs and imagine what we should be doing or better yet tell others what they should be doing. BUT I do believe that in our world of gears and grease someone's purpose might be to do one little teeny tiny part of the oiling, which just might make that one little knob work again. I say good luck at your event and may it help even a fraction.

However, I often wonder:

 

1. When will we realize that we already have the ability to "obtain mystical insights, contact spirit guides, and explore magical worlds..."?

 

2. When will we allow ourselves this privilege?

 

3. Why is it so difficult to believe?

 

Answers to my own questions because I'm a nerd:

1. We already know, but I guess we've forgotten how to.

 

2. We have a hard time allowing the breath, let alone exploring magical worlds other than those cool ones made in video games.

 

3. Must be our cylon programming.

I have finally got to the end of this amazing thread.

VERY interesting, and so much passion and eloquence.

I have never--yet--had Ayahuasca. I am wanting to but its playing hard to get...LOL

I have listened to all the views and can appreciate so-called opposing ideas. We must always remember that simply ingesting entheogens does not automatically bring insight.

Several years back I emailed a South American website which had knowledge about Ayahuasca and curanderos, and I inquired about what they meant with their term 'witches'. I asked this because I was researching possible patriarchal influences in shamanism--and remember, much of South America has been influenced by the Catholic Church.

I had imagined they used the term 'witch' the way we do. Well I received this amazing, detailed, eloquent reply (which I unfortunately lost) informing me that their term for witch is not same as ours and means a sorceror. A shaman that seeks to do more harm than healing. And he added that many do this form of 'witchcraft' for money!

I was later to hear about this book, Dark Shamanism