By Sean Illing — 2019
What the psychedelic drug ayahuasca showed me about my life.
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I drank ayahuasca in 1999, in a ceremony led by two scholars with expertise in ayahuasca. What follows is an edited version of what I wrote about the experience in my 2003 book Rational Mysticism.
In an appropriate context, ayahuasca can be a valuable therapeutic tool and can act as a catalyst that can render psychotherapeutic processes more effective in less time, and sometimes allow for critical interventions when several other therapeutic strategies have been unsuccessful.
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Amazonian healing traditions collide with Western medical sensibilities.
The growing popularity of "authentic" ayahuasca rituals in Western circles can present multiple problems, including indigenous fetishization, a lack of cultural context for traditional ceremonies, and potential abuse from untrustworthy shamans, all of which can be problematic or sometimes even...
Ayahuasca has become increasingly popular with North Americans and other Westerners in recent years, as more and more people are looking for alternative ways to explore their inner selves and connect more deeply with a broader consciousness.
In 2014, former British Para Keith Abraham flew to Peru to see if he could cure his post-traumatic stress disorder with a dose of the psychedelic drug, ayahuasca. He returned a changed man and is now on a mission to extend access to other members of the armed forces and beyond
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As is the case with many spiritual or transformational experiences, it’s all too easy to confuse the profound healing la medicina delivers with the shaman who helped deliver it.
The legal status of ayahuasca is a complex topic, and folks looking to tap into ayahuasca’s often profound and spiritual effects are likely on shaky legal grounds. Legislation can vary significantly from country to country and even in the US, laws aren’t consistent across all jurisdictions.
Ayahuasca is a psychoactive tea derived from plants containing MAOIs and DMT. Learn more about the experience, benefits, and side effects.
Writing in the British journal Time and Mind, Benny Shanon of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University said two plants in the Sinai desert contain the same psychoactive molecules as those found in plants from which the powerful Amazonian hallucinogenic brew ayahuasca is prepared.