Ayahuasca anyone?

[NYEXPAT]

I mentioned in another thread that we are taking the family on a cruise up the Amazon river, leaving from Iquitos,Peru. My YW suffers from anxiety and has expressed her desire to to attend a Ayahuasca ceremony. I had heard it was good for Diabetes type 2 sufferers and did some research on anxiety as I find her "happy pills" are not all that effective. We are researching Shamans now, but would be interested in other experiences recommendations for Shamans specifically in the Iquitos area.

 

[Rianne]

Wow. Shamans are spiritual doctors, right? It reminds of Khal Drogo's experience in the Game of Thrones. When you're dealing with "good and evil" in the spiritual realm, I'm out. I had an experience with a Holy Spirit faith healer/spiritualist. Not a good experience and will never go there again.

 

[Aerides]

Goodness no. Nope no.

I mean if weed is a 1 on the 1-10 scale of drugs to consider, Ayahuasca would be over at 10.

 

[MRG]

Might try reddit, there's some subs. Good luck.

 

[Just_Steve]

 

[NYEXPAT]

Might try reddit, there's some subs. Good luck.

Thanks, had not thought of that!

 

[Rianne]

Chelsea Handler went there. I watched her Netflix documentary. Ask your wife to watch that segment of her documentary. Let her decide.

 

[jerryo]

And, you may want to read ”The Lost Amazon” by Wade Davis, if you haven’t already....

My wife and I have opted to do the easier version of an Amazon cruise....up the river to Manaus on Viking...

 

[NYEXPAT]

And, you may want to read ”The Lost Amazon” by Wade Davis, if you haven’t already....

My wife and I have opted to do the easier version of an Amazon cruise....up the river to Manaus on Viking...

Where are you boarding, Belem?

 

[NYEXPAT]

Chelsea Handler went there. I watched her Netflix documentary. Ask your wife to watch that segment of her documentary. Let her decide.

The decision was made long ago, now it is a matter of who,where,when? They have Ayahausca retreats all over Peru as it is a popular tourist thing, besides the treatment for drugs/alcohol addiction which is an industry of it's own. We don't want a touristy two week, eight Ayahuasca ceremonies with 20-30 tourists. Was, hoping to do a one time private ceremony with a well regarded Shaman where I can observe. If there are lasting effects of more than 4 weeks than we would consider some longer term treatment plan, if not she will stay on her "happy pills".

 

[stepford]

I've never partaken in an Ayahuasca ceremony but have some friends who have. They all report positive and sometimes life changing experiences. So if your wife is insistent on trying and comes into it with positive expectations then I guess I'd think the odds of a beneficial result are good.

That said, I had enough of life changing experiences while praying to the porcelain god when I was in college. You couldn't pay me to do it now.

 

[NYEXPAT]

I've never partaken in an Ayahuasca ceremony but have some friends who have. They all report positive and sometimes life changing experiences. So if your wife is insistent on trying and comes into it with positive expectations then I guess I'd think the odds of a beneficial result are good.

That said, I had enough of life changing experiences while praying to the porcelain god when I was in college. You couldn't pay me to do it now.

I have to agree with you. My wife asked me tonight if I was going to do it with here? I told her I had already done LSD/Mesc hundreds of times,happy and my life doesn't need any changes. I told her I would sit with her for the whole process.

 

[yakers]

Didn't try in in our trip to Peru a coupe years ago. Did a lot of interesting chemicles in college years ago. Did have anaesthtic that had psychadelic effects that my ayahuasca usiing friends said was similar. Loved it but don't feel the need to persue these activies at this time/

 

[bada bing]

I've never considered nor would I go through a Ayahuasca ceremony.

I have tried psilocybin and a few LSD analogs in low dose as well as a
couple full blown experiences. It isn't a priority, but I'm open to trying it
again after I'm retired and have time. The evidence for potential benefits
is pretty overwhelming. I can vouch for it being subjectively something
to be very deliberate in considering though.

I personally wouldn't feel at all comfortable in a Ayahuasca ceremony
and considering that all of the common tryptamine hallucinogens are
subjectively indistinguishable in blind tests, I don't see any advantage.
Laboratory grade LSD analogs are grey market in Canada and psilocybin
mushrooms aren't hard to find in many areas. That would be all I would
ever be interested in.

 

[Bamaman]

Just a sideline: I have a doctor friend (from our church) that just returned from a mission trip to Northern Brazil. This area has never seen any outsiders, and is one of the most out of the way places in the world.

They had to wait for the tribal medicine man to be "paddled" by canoe out of the bush to meet him--and interview the doctor. The medicine man was exactly like what I would think he would look like--with the bone through his nose, etc.

The doctor treated 600 sick patients in the week he was down there. There's a real need for medical help in so many parts of the world.

 

[jerryo]

Embarking in San Juan, disembarking in Buenos Aires, with stops in Barbados, French Guiana (Devil’s Island), Santarem, Parintine, Manaus, Recife, Salvador Bahia, Rio and Montevideo....

 

[NYEXPAT]

Embarking in San Juan, disembarking in Buenos Aires, with stops in Barbados, French Guiana (Devil’s Island), Santarem, Parintine, Manaus, Recife, Salvador Bahia, Rio and Montevideo....

Enjoy!

 

[Spudd]

Embarking in San Juan, disembarking in Buenos Aires, with stops in Barbados, French Guiana (Devil’s Island), Santarem, Parintine, Manaus, Recife, Salvador Bahia, Rio and Montevideo....

We did a similar cruise this past fall. Loved Devil's Island, in addition to the historical buildings they have a ton of monkeys, very fun. Just be prepared for very hot & humid weather.

 

[Nick12]

Saw videos on the event. No thanks to living in primitive conditions, living in the jungle and puking your guts out to feel like you are on LSD is not my cup of tea.

 

[LRDave]

I bring up this old thread, as many of the posters here are still around.

I am going on an Ayahuasca retreat this December. In the good ol' US of A. A friend of mine and I have talked about this on-and-off for years and decided to do it. He has a friend that is also going this time and that has been to this retreat before and recommended it. DW is comfortable with me going, as we both just finished Michael Pollan's book "How to Change Your Mind".

I am completely confident regarding any health risks to me and also I am not in any legal jeopardy.

 

[Time2]

It would be interesting to know if the active ingredient is the one that causes the nausea, or if it is another ingredient that causes it. Could the active ingredient be isolated?

 

[stepford]

The active ingredient in Ayahuasca is nominally DMT - mixed with Harmaline from a second plant that serves an an MAO inhibitor to allow the DMT to be orally active. I say 'nominally' since, just like marijuana vs. THC, Ayahuasca contains numerous alkaloids that color the experience beyond that of simple DMT.

BTW, DMT while a very powerful hallucinogen, does not generally cause nausea (at least when smoked, as it needs to be when consumed without an MAO inhibitor).

BTW(2), While I have never tried Ayahuasca the experience described seems qualitatively quite different from that of DMT by itself, so just "isolating the active ingredient" might defeat the purpose of the Ayahuasca experience.

 

[LRDave]

BTW, DMT while a very powerful hallucinogen, does not generally cause nausea (at least when smoked, as it needs to be when consumed without an MAO inhibitor).

Rick Strassman injected his subjects (IV not IM) at his Univ. of New Mexico trials.

 

[stepford]

Rick Strassman injected his subjects (IV not IM) at his Univ. of New Mexico trials.

True. I misspoke and should have said "consumed by means other than ingestion". Smoking was the typical means of recreational consumption of DMT, but I believe it could also be snorted (though I had heard that was a somewhat unpleasant experience).

 

[jim584672]

Seems easier to acquire these on your own and do it at home. These "Shaman" are running a business.