AYAHUASCA
Ayahuasca is a dynamic plant medicine made from the combination of two base plants that has been used by Amazonian peoples for healing and spiritual purposes for centuries, possibly for thousands of years.
The profound effects of ingesting ayahuasca include intense physical purging (e.g. vomiting, diarrhea, heavy sweating, etc.) as well as striking visions that are often made up of deep personal, cultural, and spiritual significance. The aftereffects of the purging, and the lessons and insights that are received from the visions, work synergistically to produce powerful, meaningful change within the context of people’s lives.
Ayahuasca - Banisteropsis caapi
The Plants
Ayahuasca is unique among plant medicines in that it is prepared using a combination of two or more plants in order to elicit its psychoactive effects. The base plant, from which the brew gets its name, is the ayahuasca vine (Banisteropsis caapi). Scientifically classified as a liana of the Malpighiaceae family, any beverage made using this vine is also referred to as ayahuasca. This can range from vine-only brews, brews with one additional plant, or those that contain several other plants. Other names for ayahuasca include natema, yagé, caapi, oni, and others.
In today’s cultural climate, when people refer to ayahuasca they are typically referring to a specific brew prepared with two primary ingredients—the ayahuasca vine and an additional companion plant that contains tryptamine alkaloids, most often DMT (dimethyltryptamine). The most common of these companion plants is known as chacruna, or Psychotria viridis. Less common but still widely used is chalipanga or chagraponga (Diplopterys cabrerana).
Chacruna - Psychotria viridis
Mysterious Origins
One of the prevailing mysteries related to the origins of ayahuasca is just how ancient Amazonian peoples discovered precisely which two plants to brew together, how, and for how long, to create the resultant, spiritual effects. With somewhere around 80,000 species of higher plants in the Amazon, it is unlikely that trial and error was the method of discovery. The guardians of this medicine will tell you, through their oral traditions and mythologies, that the plants were the ones who guided them how to perform this advanced feat of chemistry.
Jungle Chemistry
The ayahuasca vine contains a series of beta-carboline molecules that function as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Monoamine oxidase is a naturally occurring compound in the stomach which breaks down DMT when it is ingested orally. With the presence of MAOIs found in ayahuasca, orally ingested DMT is processed by the stomach, absorbed into the blood stream, and ultimately passes the blood-brain barrier. The profound effects of drinking ayahuasca result from this ancient, fortuitous combination.
Admixtures
Admixture plants can also be included in ayahuasca preparations. Each can have varying effects on the strength and complexion of a finished brew. Which plants are selected depends on several factors: level of expertise, desired result, properties that are being sought after, etc. In our ayahuasca, a series of tree barks, sanango roots, and a small amount of mapacho are included. These add potency, structure, depth, as well as access to spiritual resources that increases the capacity of what is possible than with just ayahuasca and chacruna alone.
Preparation
Preparing ayahuasca is a critical part of the process, more art than recipe. All our medicine is cooked onsite. The plants are locally harvested from the surrounding jungle or grown by Maestro Alberto and his family. Once the raw plants have been washed and prepped, they are layered into large pots and cooked over a wood fire until the proper consistency is achieved. This usually takes around 8 hours. Guests are invited to participate; we demonstrate the whole process and share in-depth knowledge on how each of the medicines work together, both in and out of ceremony.
THE EFFECTS OF DRINKING AYAHUASCA INCLUDE
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Intense physical purging, including vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, shaking, etc.
Brilliant visions made up geometric shapes & patterns, images of animals & nature, spiritual beings, vibrant colors, etc.
Personal & universal insights
Emotional healing & release
Spiritual illumination & guidance
Resolution of trauma; meaningful insight into one’s past
Clarity on the origin of illness or other causes of suffering
Connection to nature, oneself, & divinity
A cosmic sense of belonging to something much greater
Sense of deeper meaning with renewed purpose to one’s life
Synesthesia; heightened senses & perception; enhanced creativity
Connection to a deep sense of inherent wisdom & understanding
Brief History of Ayahuasca
The oldest known archeological evidence indicating potential ayahuasca use comes from what appears to be a ceremonial urn excavated in Ecuador and dating back at least 2,500 years. In the written record, there are initial mentions of ayahuasca rituals observed in Peru by Jesuit missionaries during the 17th century. Ayahuasca use first entered the scientific literature through English ethnobotanist Richard Spruce in 1851, who encountered the medicine during his well-documented explorations of Amazonia.
Ayahuasca was later brought to wider attention through the work of Richard Evans Schultes, an American ethnobotanist who considered Spruce one of his scientific heroes. Schultes traveled widely throughout the Amazon in the 1940s and 1950s, where he documented and described ayahuasca use, preparation methods, history, effects, and indigenous beliefs associated with the plant and related practices. Much of this material was published in 1979’s Plants of the Gods.
As the 20th century marched on, largely through the work of anthropologists, artists, scientists, and other cultural agents, ayahuasca and its potential as an astonishingly effective plant medicine continued to capture the attention of the wider world. This is an ongoing process that continues to this day.
TRADITIONAL FUNCTIONS OF AYAHUASCA
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As a diagnostic tool to identify root causes of disease and/or imbalances
For various kinds of divination: to locate game; find missing objects or people; discover a hidden enemy or source of mal-intent; divine the future
Conflict resolution: identify and bring balance to conflicting energies for individuals, between people, and within communities (which includes interactions between people and spirits/spiritual forces)
Receive a method of curing for a patient (e.g. an ayahuasca ceremony would reveal which plant to take, for how long, what to avoid, etc.)
Gain hunting prowess; form and maintain integral relations with nature
Learn the healing and spiritual properties of other plants
Purge unwanted, negative, or otherwise malicious energies (usually identified as being foreign, i.e. from another person or entity)
Receive spiritual strength, blessing, and protection
THE EVOLUTION OF AYAHUASCA TODAY
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Ayahuasca has become a global phenomenon. Over the last decade, even within the last few years, the presence of the medicine can be seen more and more in mainstream culture all over the world. It has gained the attention of scientific leaders, thinkers, professional athletes, creatives, doctors, healers, and many others from virtually all walks of life.
As ayahuasca garners more attention, more people are of course able to experience the benefits it offers. While we feel it is essential to stay true to tradition—which means honoring the guardians of this medicine and the land from which it comes by offering it here in Peru—the potential collective effects the plants can have on humanity and consciousness are massive. Maestro Alberto maintains that ayahuasca is a medicine for humanity, and its healing benefits are open and available to those who seek it.
Even with the rising popularity and evolving contexts that ayahuasca can be found in, the core integrity of what the medicine is about remains intact: to alleviate suffering and that which causes suffering in order to bring holistic balance and harmony into one’s life—personally, in one’s relationships, socially, in communities, hearts, minds, and spirits. This aligns with and reflects traditional ayahuasca use.
We have personally witnessed ayahuasca and the medicine plants we work with and help resolve the likes of depression, anxiety, PTSD and other trauma, loss of purpose and meaning, lack of direction in life, damaged relationships, addictions, and much, much more.
It is our honor to be a part this world and to make this medicine available to those in need. It is nothing short of extraordinary, and we look forward to sharing the journey with you.
