HEALTH | MENTAL HEALTH | PSYCHEDELICS

The 7 Ways Ayahuasca Will Ruin Your Life

But, perhaps not in the way you’d ever imagine.

Aya-Whatta? Was probably what you’d have said a few years ago when reading this, but this previously mysterious Amazonian plant medicine known as Ayahuasca has, in the past few years, hit the mainstream hard. Until pretty recently, this off-beat beverage seemed appealing only to a few brave anthropologists, psychedelic explorers such as the McKenna brothers, and a few pioneering individuals who, for whatever reason, fumbled and stumbled their way into the path of a Shaman in the jungles of Peru, Brazil or Equador. But not anymore.

Nowadays, conversations about Ayahuasca can be overheard everywhere.

In restaurants, particularly those serving vegan, vegetarian food or green juice and featuring a heavy dose of ‘blessings’ on the menu. In boardrooms, especially in the tech industry where those who seek to be one step ahead of the masses tend to preside. In bathrooms. Yep, hang out in the toilette at a yoga studio, Daybreaker venue, alternative, healing, yoga or music festival, and guaranteed you’ll hear the A-word, countless times. In shopping malls. On public transport. In coffee shops. And, if you happen to be on the spiritual travel tourism circuit a.k.a. Bali, India, Nepal, Thailand, Australia, Peru, Guatemala, Equador, then you’ve probably already had it, and most definitely heard about it from practically everyone you’ve met.

One Shaman (who shall remain nameless) who’d spent a year training in the Peruvian jungle, who now holds discreet ceremonies back in the USA told me that there are up to 40 plus ceremonies where between 10–20 people drink Ayahuasca every weekend in New York. He added, “It’s pretty much the same in every major city.” So, you might ask, why on earth are hundreds, if not thousands of people sitting in the dark to drink a sticky, reddish brown tea made from a plant known by the Ayahuascaro’s — those who’ve trained, often for lifetimes to work with the ‘medicine’ — as the ‘Vine of Death’ each weekend?

Most arrive at the feet of the Shaman to knock-back the less than tasty shot of liquid for varied reasons: Spiritual Seeker. Trend Setter. Psychedelic Joyrider. Traumatized. At a Crossroads. Sick with a Disease. Stuck in a Deadend Job. Lost. Divorcee. Heard About it and Decided to Dabble. The reasons are as varied as the subsequent…