A couple months ago my brother engaged in an ayahuasca ceremony in the jungles of Colombia. Post trip, he wasn’t all that different but claimed he saw himself as a demon during the hallucination part.

Hes always deeply questioned the meaning of life, traveling the world, talking to anyone with any kind of belief to bring him closer to what he was searching for in terms of the purpose of life.

About two months ago, he quit his full time high-paying engineering job after meeting a homeless man, preaching about end times apocalyptic based on the Ethiopian Bible, which is another form of Christianity.

For two months now he’s been living with this man out of his car in LA, doing what he calls “spiritual audits” all over town. He claims the man he lives with was first a Disciple of God, and now has told our family he thinks he’s the full on Messiah in the flesh.

My brother has always been a “chameleon” of some sort, emulating those he’s around likely as a people pleasing mechanism or maybe a mild personality disorder. But now post ayahuasca, and after this religious transformation, he is night and day with the person he used to be.

My brother was also never super religious before which is the weird thing. We grew up conservative Christian but he never was this interested or curious until now after everything that’s happened to him.

I’m desperate to help my brother and am scared the path he’s on now will lead to dangerous lifestyle, as he is choosing homelessness and refuses to get a job, relying on the charity of others to now “pursue his mission for God”.

Has anyone else experienced or know someone that went through this drastic of a lifestyle shift after ayahuasca? I know he smokes weed and takes mushrooms occasionally now and have heard of serotonin syndrome but am not well read on it yet.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated to help here. Thanks!

Hello all,

I've done many Ayahuasca ceromiomies, but this last one was the most intense and powerful.

I heard intense ringing (bell like sounds), it was deafening. Then shortly after I heard the sound of the bells, I felt my body and mind dissolve away. I tried to touch my chest to ground myself but it was no longer there.

Honestly I resisted this, and the resistance resulted in me puking my brains out 😂.

I'll meditate on why I felt the need to resist and try again.

I'm wondering if anyone else has heard the bells (ringing) before? If it's a common theme or not.

This experience has been life changing.

This centre has been the best place I’ve ever heard of & experienced.

So many medicine centres today due to the Western popularity have 20-40 people attending at a time. Only 1-3 shamans for the entire group and the shamans only attend for ceremony then leave. This isn’t to take away from any particular place as there are incredible centres out there but being in a smaller group setting where both shamans are with you majority of the time, you get to connect 1:1 with them, they get to work 1:1 with you, you get to constantly ask questions and constantly heal in profound ways due to that personal support and care - you feel at home in this space because the family feeling is highly orchestrated.

La Maestra also cooked all our meals & did the washing. Don Gardel also worked on the construction & maintaining of the land. Both our shamans put so much into this space & we spent so much time with them.

This is a place that’s drive is due to its mission to serve & heal, they don’t see being a shaman as a job but rather their soul purpose.

Unfortunately, there are many places out there today that don’t follow the same principles anymore. There are centres who’s main focus is getting as many people in & out, charging silly amounts, not desiring to create the best personal experiences but more so to make the best personal income from it. & This factor has a lot to do with the Western input within these spaces. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be aubundant and creating rich money flow for yourself & I do believe that these places should be profitable BUT never in exchange for the depth of ones experience.

It makes it tricky picking a place to sit medicine due to the not so pure intentions of some people. For us, we wanted authenticity, we wanted the raw & the real. We didn’t want the ego & the show off, we wanted tradition. & our intuitions where spot on with choosing this place.

We did SO much extra activities to help the experience. Breathwork pre ceremony to settle the mind. Workout post ceremony to sweat out the medicine. Mambè talking circles to digest and share in community. Daily Qigong to centre your energy. Jungle tours, river tours. Variety of medicines. Ecstatic dance… the list goes on.

My hat goes off to the founder Fabrizio, what an incredible human. The way he has organised all this along with his own guidance & knowledge within the medicine space is just simply spectacular. He’s real, he walks the walk, he cares & he absolutely creates such a profound space. This experience wouldn’t have been the same without him.

So much has been birthed from this place. Truly & utterly in awe of this life.

I feel grateful beyond words. Highly highly recommend!

So I’ve decided pull the trigger and seek Ayahuasca help. It has been a good 3 year process and something I’m taking very serious. I’m want to use Ayahuasca to help me find some missing links and find peace with certain situations in my life( I think that’s what I want out of this lol)

For some context; I’m recently going thru a break up of a long term relationship (8 years) I have been in therapy for a little over a year now, Ive had a lifelong feeling of “something missing” and working thru PTSD events, mostly from being in emergency medicine for 12 years, both pre hospital and intrahospital. I’m taking a hiatus from work to do this trip.

I am planning a trip to Brazil & Peru (possibly more) I think I’ve decided to do a 5 day retreat at Etnikas in Cusco, Peru. I like that they have medical staff and that they do volunteering trips during the retreat.

On the website it gives details on the prepping and reintegration. Which I intend to do strictly, especially the weeks leading up the retreat, but was curious about the reintegration diet and cannabis use.

It says two-four weeks after refrain from cannabis but I am I heavy cannabis user for physical pain. I have a neuromuscular disease and would say I rely on it day to day to take my mind off pain. What are the pros and cons of using cannabis after? Any personal experience? I will be ok to deal with the weeks leading up to the retreat without it but will really look for it after I feel.

I am a huge food lover, it is art to me and something I struggle resisting. (I’m a bad version of Anthony Bourdain lol) how strictly do I need to follow the diet? Any tips on diet friendly places while in Peru?

How much does traveling, jumping place to place before and after affect the experience? Any tips on continuous travel

Which itinerary sounds better for a first timer? (My birthday is Feb 25th)

NYC to Rio: Feb 18-March 12 Rio to Lima: march 12-24th Start prep 17th Lima to Cusco 24th Retreat at Etnikas 31st- April 4th Stay in Cusco 2/3days after retreat Cusco to Lima around April 7th Stay in Lima a few days before heading to Europe to stay with my brother and travel more

OR

NYC to Lima Feb 18th Lima to Cusco feb 20th Retreat 24th-28th Stay in Cusco 2/3days after Cusco to Lima Stay in Lima a 2/3days Lima to Rio around March 7th Stay in Rio March 7th to April 7th Head to Europe to live with my brother and travel more

I am up for suggestions on any traveling advice or itinerary changes. Nothing is booked yet but looking to book within the next few weeks

I've started looking into ayahuasca as someone who wants to heal some trauma patterns that keep coming up as I find my meditation practice isn't quite cracking this nut. I'm pretty intermediate on meditating and find trauma consistently comes up in my practice and I feel I need to pull out something more powerful.

Since I come from a dharma background, I see every psychedelic as something to help get insight into the true nature of reality, but they're all treated as a step along the way. Meditation is my endgame. It would be nice if there were people who had similar views to facilitate. Can anyone give me a rec or point me in the right direction?

Hey Family!

I did a 1 week retreat (4 Aya ceremonies) this year, and next year (just over 1 year later), I'd like to do a longer ceremony - I really want to go deeper this time. In this week - I got so much out of it - I really felt like it healed some deep trauma and I had some serious purging.

I had the option to extend when I did it this year, but I think my body was really drained. I think I had a food poisoning the week I was at my retreat and my body really struggled, so I opted to go home. That aside - It was a deeply magical and healing experience.

That brings me to my question: I'd like go back next year and am seriously considering 3 weeks, but am wondering if it's overkill and if I should just do 2 weeks considering my previous experience.

Has anyone done 3 weeks AND 2 weeks - were you able to go incrementality deeper in that extra week? Or was it really tough on your body?

Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

Hi there! Next week I'll do for the third time aya. still having troubles with my intention.

I have struggled with bulimia, but there is still some of those thoughts that keep standing in the way of making healthy choices. Any recommendations for intentions? I don't want it to be too specific as I still want to surrender. Many thanks

NETI Study Results: How Ayahuasca Therapy Transforms Lives

At Paojilhuasca Ancestral Medicine Center, we recently conducted a study using the Non-Dual Thematic Embodiment Inventory (NETI) to measure the impact of our ayahuasca retreats on spiritual and psychological growth. Here's what we found:

1. Significant Progress
   • Average NETI scores increased from 66.7 to 79 after one week—greater than the results from a Chopra Center study focused on meditation and diet (+12.5 points vs. +2 points).
2. Top Areas of Growth
   • Inner peace, regardless of circumstances.
   • Deep vitality and tranquility.
   • Freedom from roles and expectations.
3. Key Insights
   • Ceremonies Need Time to Digest: Progress doesn’t depend on the number of ceremonies but on time to process the experience.
   • Diet Matters: Participants who followed a dieta showed significantly more progress.
   • Challenging Ceremonies Lead to Growth: Tough experiences yielded the most improvement but only with proper integration time.

Ayahuasca therapy isn’t about instant results—it’s about real, lasting transformation through effort, patience, and guidance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOrLVidZlVk

Hello all.

I am looking for some advice and I apologies for the rant.

I have been struggling for the past 5 years with a number of issues. Depression, anxiety, apathy, anhedonia, no discipline and chronic fatigue. I also struggle majorly with porn addiction and instant gratification. I had been diagnosed with bpd in the past however my current therapist believes this might be a misdiagnosis and I better suit the diagnosis for CPTSD.

Ultimately I hate myself. I have made so many mistakes and I can't get to a place of forgiveness or self love/acceptance. I have never been able to let go and I live in the past constantly. I always tear myself down and have a hateful inner critic.

I have tried to implement changes, but they have never lasted. Everytime I start to do things that benefits me I self sabotage and self destruct. I've just hit a brick wall and feel like I'm at rock bottom. I was introduced to the idea of ayahuasca by a friend who feels it could be they key I need to "break down this wall" I can't seem to overcome.

I want to believe that by committing to a retreat (2 ceremonies for a beginners entry) I can expel and let go of what's holding me back so I can return to my life and implement the changes I want in my life. However, my fear is that it won't actually be the catalyst I'm looking for. That I will fall back in the integration period as ultimately it's all down to me. Or even worse that I might come out of it all worse off and find life more difficult than I have already.

I don't know if this makes sense really. I just want to find a way to love myself enough so I can fix the issues I have and right the wrong I've done. I want to know if there's been anyone here who has had similar issues as me and ayahuasca has helped them implement new habits and behaviours, ultimately turning their lives around. Would ayahuasca help me or should I try different methods first?

Sorry for the long post, thank you for reading and have a great day!

First, you have a call with the facilitator. He explains how things work, answers your questions, then asks for a deposit (in fact, this is just his cut). You still have no idea what the place actually looks like, what conditions you'll be living in, what the shaman looks like.

With your place secured, you arrive at the airport. They pick you up and drive you to the retreat. It looks like they're doing you a favor, but actually this prevents you from finding your bearings. It's just you and the retreat, no context, no frame of reference.

You arrive at the retreat. It's in the middle of a village. They explain how things work, encourage you to stay for three weeks to get the maximum results. You sign a paper to show that you commit to following their rules. Then they ask for the entire remaining amount up front.

You find out that, for the first three days, you have to stay in your room. You can't walk around the village, you can't use the internet. This is a special time of isolation, where you set your intention for the three weeks. At 6 am each day, they give some kind of plant-water mixture, the "essence of the plant". They feed you eggs, beets, rice, carrots, lentils. If you're not happy with something, they tell you, wait until the end of the three days to contact the facilitator.

The three days pass. There are two more days of rest before the first ceremony. It turns out you still can't leave the retreat grounds. They tell you that the bad spirits of the villagers might mess with your qi. You complain about the village noise, say that you're still not happy and want to leave. They tell you that you can't leave, the spirit of the plant will get upset. There's another house in the countryside where they do the ceremonies, it's quiet and peaceful there. Wait and see, maybe you can live there instead.

Five days have passed, it's the day of the first ceremony. The house in the countryside is just one big empty room. No bed, no electricity, no running water. It's impossible to live there. The ceremony is interesting, but the ayahuasca dose they give you is small, there's no paradigm shift.

You're still not happy and still want to leave. Now it turns out that the money you gave them, nearly a yearly salary in this part of the world, has already been spent. Part of it went to a business manager (mafia?). Part of it went to "security", some guy who guards an empty field (also mafia?). Part of it went to building supplies. They promise to find you some family member to stay with.

More time passes. They didn't find you any alternative place to live. They reframe the problem as being a "you problem". If you're not happy with something, this is a challenge, an opportunity to fight, grow, and heal. You still can't leave, you still can't get your money back. They console you by blowing tobacco smoke in your face.

--------------------

For the next two weeks, you have to stay in your room and somehow keep yourself entertained. Hopefully, you brought a Kindle. Once every two days, you do a ceremony. You take a shot of the ayahuasca, they blow out the candle, and you lie there in the dark. Thirty minutes later, the shaman sings for you and you try your best to concentrate, as with meditation.

Some days, you feel calmer. Other days, you feel like they're lying through their teeth. "Give it more time, it takes time for the medicine to do its work." "Your frustration and impatience are the emotional problems that ayahuasca can help you solve. Trust the process." How can you tell what is gaslighting and what is reality?

Was looking to do Ayahuasca for the first time and looking for something reasonably priced. They're on Aya Advisors but I couldn't find much about them. Anyone know anything/have any tips?

Their website:
https://ayaadvisors.org/listing/amazonka-tv/

I am looking to head to The Philippines this January or February. Does anyone know of any retreats going on? It seems the one that was previously recommended on this sub, Ayahuasca Ancestral Asia, is no longer running. Another one looks to be ayahuasca.ph, does anyone have any experience with them? Thanks!

Anyone been here? If so, how was it?

Hello, I have freebase DMT available and I plan to take it with Syrian rue. ( And also eat a little quantity of chakruna and mimosa) Freebase DMT is not water-soluble according to ChatGPT. So, I need to convert it to DMT acetate. To do this, I plan to put my DMT in water (10 to 5ml) and add a few drops of white vinegar. Is this the right way to do it to maximize absorption? Also, before the ceremony, I plan to try tobacco rapé. A friend who takes ayahuasca advised me to eat lion's mane, but I didn't ask him about the dosage or how much time before the ceremony I should take it. Never take this mushroom before. Any recommendations ?

I did 4 ceremonies last month in hopes of healing spinal issues and an autoimmune disease. This morning my chiropractor said my spine is in perfect alignment and I’m not stuck anymore in the lliopsoas muscle as well as my pelvis isn’t tilted anymore. He said he was getting the chills during the examination because for 8 years I’ve dealt with this. 15 times to the physical therapist didn’t help either. I also have end stage arthritis in my big toes as bd was going to get them fused but now I’m able to walk on my tiptoes again and don’t have to hang on to the railing walking down the stairs! I’m wondering if anyone else has had healing when it comes to structural issues? I’m actually still in a state of shock! lol

I dont know if this is allowed so delete if it’s not. I’m looking to sit with the mama. Where would you recommend that has the best experience. Mainly the best shaman experience. I know how absolutely Important the shaman is and that there’s a lot of “scammers” out there. Not necessarily scammers but the shaman they have isn’t actually a shaman. So any personal recommendations would be great.

Hi friends, I’m looking for B. caapi in Canada but am unable to find a source. I’d prefer not to order from outside the country. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated, thanks :)

Hearing lot about Rapé. I would like to experience it myself. Can anyone suggest a best source to get the rapé. Any suggestions for a beginner is greatly appreciated.

Best snuff for a first time user?

Best website to source the product online. I live in canada.

I have already ordered a Tepi and Kuripe.

2 weeks ago I had my first experience of Mother Aya. She was gentle with me, and I purged quite a bit and felt like I released some things which had been weighing me down.

20 years ago I caught glandular fever. From what I understand the Epstein Barr Virus continues to lie dormant in your body. My experience for years after the virus was whenever I felt run down or depression the chronic fatigue type symptoms returned. I haven’t however felt this for many years.

During my Aya ceremony I felt extreme exhaustion - I could barely left my head. This lasted for 4/5 hours. Exactly like the extreme effects I had during glandular fever. I have felt wiped out and a little drained ever since.

Has anyone else had the same experience? I went into ceremony with the intention to heal the mind but it appears there is some bodily healing which needs to come first.

Interestingly I have been exploring Kambo this past year and I have similar effects - extreme exhaustion and wiped out for some time after.

I am supposed to be journeying with Aya again next week and I’m conflicted. I feel like my body is still healing needs to rest and recover, however I wonder if the best thing is to offer it back to Mother Aya to do deeper work. My mind feels ready but my body less so!

Hi everyone. I live on the south coast of the UK. I've been fortunate enough to sit a bunch of Ayahuasca ceremonies over the past 8 years or so, and it's completely changed my life. I just wish I could connect with more people about it IRL! None of my friends have experience with it - though a few would like to try at some point.

I'm wondering how many other people found this after returning from retreats/ceremonies?

Annnnnnd shall we start some kind of club/hangout for plant peoples? Or is there one already? I don't even know if I mean online or IRL, I just want some plant medicine pals so I'm not the only weirdo 🤣

Lots of love to you all :):):)

Travelling, drinking, and serving the medicine in different lands, From Peru, to Mexico to Greece to Australia, I felt in my heart the need to infuse the land I was born, with the beautiful powerful brew from my Shipibo maestros. Mi Shipibo familia! I was born on the same day that my ancient ancestors were having the most powerful ceremony in the ancient Greece, and for over 2,000 years they were drinking another brew. So in my blood and DNA I have thousands of years of rituals and ceremonies and Ayahuasca has offered me the ability to heal myself and open my arms to hold the whole humanity! Yes my arms are a bit small for that, but my heart is big, and so is your heart, and no matter how bad you feel or how much challenged you feel you are I know that everything can change. You just need to know how, and that how will come to you through the helping compassionate, caring and loving spirit guides. Together we can design a world full of joy, peace, and harmony. I know that for sure. I don't like to lead I like to be, and by being, invisible energies find their way to manifest amazing and profound miracles. If you don't believe in miracles Im sure you will change your mind. Our sacred plants will provide balance between the Digital Life and the Organic Life. I have seen different timeliness for the future, and I have chosen to serve the Christ consciousness [ nothing to do with any religion] and support this planet and all life. Im no better than any of you, I just have a calling and guidance to help my fellow travelers to detox from chemicals, to clense the brain from neurotoxins and remove nasty metals from our filtration system, use powerful remedies and rituals for all kinds of challenges, guide you to overcome mental/emotional blocks and limited beliefs, and provide the space where the magical spirit guides and star nations beings can provide alignment with the rest of the universe. These are all possible. Its no science fiction. It is happening, with you or without you. I know that Europe needs a lot of healing to find this alignment. Greece the mother of modern civilisation with its powerful magnetic fields, and a history full of myths beauty medicine and rituals is in my heart the ideal place especially for Europeans to drink the powerful medicine, to find ways to release their shadow, connect to self love, create a purpose and align with frequencies and energies from the unseen realms. Aho ❤️🙏💫

Hello! I've been researching into plant medicine ceremonies, specifically ayahuasca ceremonies for a while now. I've been looking at different places in the US and South America, and all of them seem to be $2500-5000 range not including air fare.

As much as I would like to go to the source of these medicines and cultures out of respect, it is becoming apparent that these are simply too way expensive for my budget and the available time to be able to go and work with the plant is becoming very difficult. Therefore, going to South America just isn't feasible in the current time. So I have been looking in the US and it also has been an issue with the cost as well.

Would anyone have any recommendations for specific retreats or ceremonies in the US, more so in the Midwest/ Wisconsin area?

I appreciate any help insight I can get!

My ceremony is tomorrow evening and I currently put 4 tablespoon into 1 cup of oat milk and it's in the fridge. However im a little scared now because i noticed the oat milk (although natural and only has 3 ingredients) has 9 grams of sugar in 1 cup. Should I forgo this meal? I'm scared of this is too much sugar lol :(

Pessoal, preciso fazer o retoque do botox hj e sábado vou consagrar, tem algum problema?

Hello! Looking into aya for spiritual growth and healing, and trauma healing. Am a recovering addict in AA. Where does 1 find a retreat in the US if I can't afford to fly out of country

I'm planning a 1 day ceremony (overnight) at Ikaro retreat in the sacred valley. Has anybody been there? Do you have any feedback? It will be really helpful thank you.

I’ve essentially lost all faith in modern psychiatry. My doctors and therapists seem to want to solve all my issues with medications. I am diagnosed with insomnia, ptsd and adhd. I have a history of addiction due to my traumas, cocaine, weed those are my vices. I want to stop taking meds, I wanna sleep without them, I want to go deep down in to the reasons as to why I use drugs. I want to dive deep into myself and find out what is holding me back from true peace. I’ve done dmt before but I didn’t breakthrough. I’ve had experience with many other psychedelics but none of those experiences were life changing.

Will ayahuasca help me workout all my demons?