Ayahuasca for Personal Development
Ayahuasca is a powerful medicine that, if you’re ready, can help give you insights in yourself, your traumas, your life and the cosmos, and can support your healing.
During my healing journey (that I talk about here) I also did 15 Ayahuasca ceremonies. In the beginning, I did 11 Ayahuasca ceremonies together with the woman I traveled with, and the other four spaced out over the rest of the journey. These ceremonies helped give shape to and supported the rest of my journey. A lot of the insights I got, became relevant from a few weeks later till many months later.
What is Ayahuasca?
Ayahuasca is a drink that is made from plants and is traditionally used in shamanic ceremonies by indigenous tribes of the Amazon rainforest. This medicine has been a cornerstone of spiritual and healing practices for centuries, primarily in Peru, Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador.
Ayahuasca is typically made from two primary ingredients: the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub. One plant provides the psychedelic compound in ayahuasca, N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), while the other plant delays the breakdown of DMT in your body so you can experience its effects. DMT is what helps connect your body to the spiritual world.
How does an Ayahuasca ceremony look like?
How the ceremony looks like, differs per shaman and region. But in general, all ceremonies have the following similarities.
In the evening the group starts to assemble. Everybody gets prepared and sets up for the evening. In the time leading up to the moment when it starts, everybody mostly remains to themselves. I often use the time to reflect upon my intention and use the solitude to ground myself.
Typically it starts at 22:00 and then the shaman announces that everyone can come for their cup. Once you had your cup, you go back to your place and lie down.
After about 30-45 minutes the Ayahuasca will start working. Aya is a high-vibrating spirit that serves to help. It can happen that the first time nothing happens. Aya then takes her time to scan your body to know how to best help you. My experience is that Aya knows how many ceremonies you will have beforehand. Because the 11 ceremonies I did in the beginning, were all connected with each other. And the first ceremony nothing much happened. Except for the message to listen more to my feelings as being in my head wouldn’t help the process ;)
But once Aya starts doing her work, you can get visions, insights, or you get directives that tell you that you need to do something. Above all, Aya is an experiential teacher. Meaning that the lesson is often in the experience. How the medicine guides you, also feels different, per shaman, because every shaman prepares the Ayahuasca differently.
Part of Ayahuasca is the potential purging (=vomiting) or having to go to the toilet. These are the less attractive aspects of doing Ayahuasca. They are cleansing though and not as bad, once you have learned the lesson that we are all dirt; We are all nature. It’s part of the work.
Once it starts to wear off, or you feel you need to go for a second cup. You go for a second. Typically the shaman also invites the group for a second cup at a certain time. You can also go for a third or more if necessary, but drinking more than three is rare. It’s not a pleasant drink, so there is no risk of drinking too much.
Around 5:00 there is no more drinking Ayahuasca and there is time to sleep for a few hours before the ceremony officially comes to an end.
What Ayahuasca can do for you
I believe it is no coincidence that plant medicine exists. Though I have always been open to spiritual concepts. The experience with Ayahuasca has left me without doubt about the existence of a divine presence. For me, it felt most fitting to call it God. And I believe plant medicine is God’s way to help us remember who we are.
So other than finding God, what did Ayahuasca help me with?
- Increased intuition
- Insights and healing in forgotten trauma
- Divine masculinity
- Dark masculinity
- Understanding of the dynamics between masculine and feminine energy
- Insights in my mission
- To speak my truth
- And more
Aya can answer any question you have, and help you with every intention you set. However, Aya only gives you what you can receive and what you need. Not necessarily what you want. So whatever Aya shows you, helps you with, be grateful. Be grateful for the process. You don't know what is the best for you and your process.
Plant medicine is God's way to help us remember who we are
Tips if you want to do Ayahuasca
It is my personal belief that Ayahuasca is a gift from God and it is part of my journey to become the best version of myself. That does not mean that Ayahuasca should be part of everybody's journey as well. You don’t need to do Ayahuasca to get the answers you seek. If you feel called to do Ayahuasca, ask yourself what is it that feels called to do it?
And if you want to do Ayahuasca, see the following tips for a smooth first-time experience:
- Do Ayahuasca only with a proper shaman.
- Preferably only start doing Ayahuasca after you have already done some trauma work so you can handle yourself.
- Set an intention for what you want to work on that night. Ayahuasca is not meant for fun, but to work on becoming a better person.
- Be thankful. Be grateful. No matter how dark or tough it gets. Especially then, at those moments, say “Thank you, thank you, thank you” or whatever works for you.
- If possible, do Ayahuasca in nature where you can purge in nature and whatever you purge can be transmuted by the earth.
- Always take water with you if you leave your place. So if you have to purge, you can drink water so it gets easier.
- Don’t stay where you’re purging. Purge and then take a few steps to a new place. Whatever bad energy you’re purging, you don’t want to receive it back.
- Don’t stay longer in the toilet than necessary for the same reason you don’t stay at the same place while purging.
- A good shaman will protect the area but it helps to be familiar with some basics in energy work and how to protect yourself. At the very least, get a necklace made from for instance obsidian, black tourmaline, or amethyst, and cleanse it and bless it before using it as protection.
- Every Ayahuasca experience is different. Not one is the same.
- Don’t make big decisions within 2 weeks after doing Ayahuasca. If Ayahuasca shows you to sell your house. Wait 2 weeks, and see if that still feels like a good idea.
Final note
Ayahuasca is a controversial topic. It has gotten a bad reputation because of the people who have facilitated this medicine without the proper intentions, knowledge, experience, respect, and care.
Ayahuasca is not to be taken lightly. Working on yourself, and healing yourself is hard work, and Ayahuasca can help accelerate that process as it can give you hundreds of insights and profound healing. I’m exceptionally grateful for this journey and Aya’s role in that journey; this medicine definitely has a place in this world.
Jos Tijhuis
What would the world look like if all men were connected with their heart, their light and dark masculine, their emotions, and their mission which they would pursue with fierceness and fervor to protect and provide for their loved ones?
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