An Invitation to Dream: Ayahuasca!

"Take your place at the top of the world", a voice invited as I landed proudly in the eagle's eerie. I was indeed on top of the world, and the vista was utterly spectacular: I looked down over forests, lakes, castles, seas and distant lands with the immaculate vision of an eagle. It was a different world up here - calm and timeless, but also desolate and unfamiliar, a unique insight into the world of the 'king of the air'. The only sound was the roaring wind.

You could be forgiven for thinking that the above is an excerpt from an ayahuasca experience, especially since such 'soul flights' have been reported by those who drink this mysterious and unique combination of magical plants. However, this experience was actually the culmination of a dream, but no ordinary dream; in fact, it remains one of the most vivid visionary experiences I have ever had. Since first drinking ayahuasca there have been several enchanting dreams like this one, dreams whose intensity and detail go well beyond what I had previously thought possible. And this illustrates an important point - that ayahuasca will, over the course of time, alter the very core of one's being, attuning one to the deeper realms of the imagination, and to the many beautiful (and sometimes sublimely terrifying) worlds that lie within reach of the searching soul.

Many people long to know whether such worlds really 'exist'. Are they 'just' a product of the imagination - a dream or the hallucinatory side effect of psychoactive plants - or do they belong to some other equally 'real' dimension that can be independently verified by others, or even perhaps mapped out scientifically? For the shaman this question is ludicrous, for he or she knows that everyday reality itself is just as much an illusion as the apparently evanescent inner world of dreams and visions, an illusion that can be shattered and transcended by cultivating altered states of consciousness. Plant teachers like ayahuasca dissolve the boundaries between outer and inner worlds, questioning our habitual division of reality into external and internal categories of experience. To be sure, in the normal waking state everyone feels themselves to be only a small part of the external universe (or outer world), but when a person drinks deeply from the ayahuasca cup they will begin to grasp the fact that contained within their own body and mind is the infinity of the greater cosmos. Or, as one prophet once proclaimed - "the kingdom of God is within you". This being the case, it is quite possible to connect to the greater cosmos even without the aid of such magical plants - through meditation, sacred dance and dreams, for example. Many ancient cultures knew this, and such mystical communion has been neglected on a large scale only relatively recently in human history. For myself and many others, ayahuasca is so important because it shows one how to establish a profound reconnection with the spiritual realms, realms that are denied by secular modern culture and its materialistic obsessions.

Sadly we have cut ourselves off from the powers of this greater universe by fooling ourselves into thinking we are disconnected from everything around us, that we are lonely individuals walking in a vastly intimidating cosmos. I cannot explain why we have done this. Perhaps it is a necessary step in our evolution that will be corrected at a later stage. Perhaps plant teachers like ayahuasca will play an important role in showing us our true sense of self. There is no doubt though, that the separate sense of self which afflicts modern consciousness is responsible for the mess that we are creating on this beautiful planet. We seek to control and exploit nature rather than co-operating with her, and the same goes for the way nations constantly seek to subjugate each other, whether through war or more insidious forms of control (like enslavement to debt). Society at large remains fixated upon the ideals of domination and coercion embodied by the Conquistadors themselves, values of ownership and egocentric desire that are not rooted in a true understanding of the wider spiritual and organic reality that we inhabit. It is perhaps no coincidence that these same conquerors dubbed ayahuasca the 'devil's work', and today ayahuasca drinkers face persecution in some parts of the world because societies have forgotten the value of plant wisdom and are even afraid, confusing them with the drugs (like heroin and cocaine) that humans have disrespectfully extracted from nature with great ignorance of her true medicinal gifts.

The resurgence of interest in shamanic cultures - and in particular their 'entheogens' (psychoactive plants) - may be an important step in returning to a more balanced relationship with our planet (or Pachamama - the Earth Mother - in indigenous Peruvian terminology) and its peoples. At the same time, many will question whether these old ways of life have any relevance for our modern technology-driven world, and will perhaps accuse me of being escapist, or just selfishly pursuing a new type of 'high'. This criticism certainly merits attention. We must be careful not to idealise the shamans and the cultures they represent, several of which are just as warlike as our own. But anyone that has taken ayahuasca will tell you that it is impossible to escape! Again and again the plants point you back in the direction of the here-and-now, to your own life and world. Indeed, these plants are not to be confused with other recreational hallucinogens or euphoric drugs. Admittedly the experience can at times be both hallucinogenic and euphoric, but there is also a strong intelligence guiding the lessons that one receives while under the influence of ayahuasca that may cause one to be confronted with many difficult problems. Perhaps that is why some people only try it once.

It is not so much the lifestyle of ancient cultures that is relevant for us, but their attitude to life in the widest sense - to the living world around them. Animistic beliefs - the belief that everything has a spirit - may be dismissed as primitive and superstitious by our psychologists and historians, but they lie at the heart of the shamanistic worldview. It also happens that when one ingests psychoactive plants this experience of unity with nature comes to the fore, not merely as a spoken ideology, but as a direct revelation. The widespread use of such plants in ancient cultures - largely overlooked by anthropology until relatively recently, but now proved beyond any doubt - accounts in part for their deification of the natural world. Such entheogenic cultures survive today in some remote parts of the world, but also in growing numbers of people who are rekindling a form of spiritually centred on the sacredness of nature, some inspired by the use of sacred medicines like ayuhuasca, peyote and mushrooms, among others. That does not mean of course that we should all drop what we are doing and go to live in the wilderness, or become 'eco-warriors'! It does mean that we should take an active role, assuming responsibility for our actions, and working from within our own sphere of influence to bring about changes of attitude in whatever small way we can. This is not about converting people to a new religion or a new form of drug therapy; but it is about trying to heal, and on many levels. If the plants teach that we are all one, then we must work to manifest this by expressing love and respect for one another and our planet. In this way the message of ayahuasca is very simple, but one has to experience it for oneself rather than just hearing about it. The complexities arise when our own egos resist this message with fear. Fortunately the spirit of the plants reveals things one step at a time, so that gradually transformation is possible.

I have attempted to explain above what ayahuasca is all about, as I see it, in the broadest spiritual sense. Stemming from this experience of communion and oneness there are many other kinds of insights to be gained, and it would not be possible to list all of these within a single piece of writing. In fact, since everyone is on a different path in life, the insights that ayahuasca brings will inevitably be different for everyone. I will speak a little about some of the things I have learned, but do not let this fool you into thinking that it will be the same for you.

One aspect of ayahuasca that does seem to be felt by everyone in some way or other is its healing properties. Experiments and theories are being contrived by psychologists and scientists to understand more about how this works. It is certainly not a miracle cure for every disease and ailment. Ayahuasca is but one secret that lies beneath the canopy of our disappearing rainforests. For every healing herb that has been investigated by modern science there probably remain thousands of others whose ability to heal particular problems - from cancers to snake bites - lie untapped by modern medicine, but are known by shamans and folk medicine (although this knowledge is rapidly vanishing along with the cultures themselves). Ayahuasca is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Amazonian healing plants, but it is accorded a very high status as such (and frequently other plants are added to the ayahuasca brew according to the specific needs of the patient). Its healing benefits work in manifold ways: on the mental level it has strong anti-depressant qualities, its chemical properties being similar to certain anti-depressants used by Western medicine; it often causes a purging of the digestive tract (vomiting and/or diarrhoea) which is effective in removing the intestinal parasites to which Amazonian peoples are prone. For me the purge has become important in other ways, when it seems as if all kinds of toxins - physical and spiritual - are being flushed out. Healing benefits are also brought about by the psychological insights one receives in the form of visions and internal dialogue, and these may sometimes bring about an improvement or curing of physical problems that were related to underlying psychological ones.

There is another still more mysterious layer to the healing power of ayahuasca - an experience that I have had many times in different forms. It can actually seem as if the visions themselves are interacting with you to effect some kind of healing. This is usually accompanied by strange bodily sensations, sometimes of electricity running through the body or waves of heat, tingling, coldness, or numbness. There may even be visions of friendly spirit beings or creatures sending energy into you or even performing operations on parts of the body. When this happens for the first time it can be unnerving, and the best thing to do is surrender to it and let the plants work their magic. If you do this you should feel really great afterwards. You may also find that you become very preoccupied with parts of your body, stretching or massaging certain areas. At this stage it seems that one taps into a natural source of wisdom and begins to put things right intuitively. In this way I have become very attuned to the various pressure points that run through the body, which I suspect are very similar to the meridians used by acupuncturists. I can sense where the energies are sluggish and apply pressure to help ease tensions and promote healthy functioning, and this awareness seems to remain for weeks afterwards.

How to interpret your visionary experiences will be related to your own set of beliefs. It is very common in South American for ayahuasca shamans to cure a patient by sucking out what they believe to be magical darts sent by sorcerors to inflict illness, which may be just another way of making sense of the strange sensations mentioned above. However, it is not necessary to have a 'qualified shaman' present to benefit from these extraordinary adjustments of one's nervous system, though it is certainly possible that the plants will bring out your own latent 'shamanic' healing abilities. I find that if I ask for guidance, it usually comes in one form or another.

Of course, not all visions are concerned with healing or being healed, and the range of imagery and visions reported are seemingly limitless, from personal memories of the past and fantasies of the future, to extraordinary visions of mythical beings, shamanic flights, and even extra-terrestrial encounters. Pablo Amaringo - a Peruvian artist and former ayahuasca shaman - has provided a beautiful rendering of these in 'Ayahuasca Visions' (edited by Luis Luna). Despite the staggering variety of such visions, there are some common themes drawn together by Luna in this book, and these can be witnessed in other accounts elsewhere in the literature and on the Internet. Jaguars and serpents are held to be one of the most common types of animal vision, though many other creatures can be seen. Ornate cities resembling Middle Eastern or Indian temples can sometimes be visited, and there can also be a strong 'futuristic' element to these and to other visions. One common phenomenon is meeting with entities - good, bad or indifferent - and these take many forms, sometimes resembling humans or beings akin to the fairy folk or elves of the Western imagination, and at other times being completely alien and unfamiliar.

The mysteries of these plants are truly incredible, but wandering through such realms is not an activity to be taken lightly: this is no package tour of the universe! You are being shown these things for a reason, and it may take many sessions to begin to understand and benefit from these visions. Indeed not everyone is able to behold the visions with clarity, and it takes time to learn to adjust to seeing them at all, since usually everything is in motion, which can be quite disorientating! But one thing is for sure: ayahuasca is a wise teacher and will not let you come to harm (unlike some plants that have to be worked with carefully, like datura). Treat her with proper respect and reverence and you will almost certainly be rewarded, sometimes in the most unexpected of ways. But please take the time to research the dietary precautions that are necessary when working with these plants, especially since our Western diets are much richer in aged foods that can be harmful when combined with ayahuasca.

Many of you would also probably like to know how ayahuasca differs from other so-called entheogens and synthetic psychedelics. This is indeed a fascinating question, yet a difficult one to answer. Having experimented with many different visionary substances I can say that ayahuasca is certainly my favourite, that it is the most enlightening and yet also the most demanding. To drink ayahuasca one must be prepared to face everything that is hidden in the depths of one's memory and soul, both pleasurable and painful, and one must also be willing to grow and change, accepting the guidance of this medicine. And medicine it is, first and foremost. Forget about what you have read about ayahuasca (even this article!) and work along your own path, experience your own visions, rediscover your own imagination and soul. This is the only way.

Many blessings!