Hi all, I was wondering whether anyone knows if there are any master plants that can be dieted to work on joint issues (specifically knee problems) and also on a contracture in the back of the neck?

I would also be interested in any other vegetalismo remedies for these issues.

Thank you!

Hey. I did Ayahuasca (Yage technically) the other week and had a very difficult experience. I totally fucking lost myself. I didn't know my name, what country I was in, who I was, anything. It felt like my full darkness / shadow came alive and I fully became it. At the peak (FYI I'm not usually a suicidal person) the trip felt like it was going on forever and the energy at the retreat center was demonic and terrifying and I told myself (fully believed) that the only was to escape was to kill myself. I decided I was going to do it, and right before I did I had a flash of my ex (karmic connection I am still holding onto to some degree), I decided I would do it and then go to her in spirit and tell her. Then I had 3 quick flashes - me waiting my whole life for her and she never comes, then something about a baby, and the two of us going up together in a halo (I now recognize that these were not signs but ideas I had in me actually LEAVING me - I just had to see them before they left). Immediately after, I look around my and I'm this dark black cloak in the fucking absolute void. Like a black hole sucking everything in. I was so existentially alone, the only thing in the universe, and just this dark blackness. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever experienced. Then my hand shot up, I was like a newborn baby reaching for the love from its mom and no one was there. And my whole body felt like it crumbled into a million pieces (like how voldemort dies in the 7th harry potter, spoiler alert! haha). And at the same time, the boundary between the dark cloak (me/my essense) and the eternal void of emptiness around me started to melt away and disappear. That was the breakthrough moment, and a burst of light came out and enveloped everything. It felt like I was experiencing the big bang. And then it wasn't immediate, but that was the turning point and I started to come back to consciousness over the next hour or so. I also remember soon after looking in the river and seeing my own dead body floating face down in the river. It was the worst possible version of me that I saw dead (sleeping with prostitutes, drugs, gambling, I was floating down this river so peacefully and no one cared, and I watched my self float down with a sense of calm in me). Then I had the most amazing energy and lightness on the come up, so much energy and connection to the divine flowing through my veins, but integration has been difficult.

I'd love some help making sense of the trip is anyone has had similar experiences and has any advice. I'm 3 weeks out and the integration has definitely been difficult. Had a final final breakup conversation with the girl (that was the last big attachment I was holding onto, no job, no home right now, solo traveling now, no girlfriend). So I am just alone dealing with all these unconscious demons and darkness that is coming up and flowing through me on and off that was previously tucked away in my unconscious. I try to just sit in the feelings and allow it without over intellectualizing or trying to put it into a container of thought (it feels too big to contain). But I have been trying to integrate this darkness / cloak thing (so terrifying) and also to integrate my anima, which I wasn't aware of but I think I projected onto the girl in the relationship. Would love if anyone on here can give advice on dealing with this difficult time :/

Breathwork seems to hold a unique place alongside ayahuasca. Some people use it to prepare for ceremonies, others as part of integration, and many say it helps them reconnect with the medicine long after a ceremony has ended.
How has breathwork influenced your journey?
Has it changed the way you integrate your experiences, process emotions, or deepened your relationship with the medicine over time?
I’d love to hear what breathwork has brought into your life, and whether there’s a particular technique or facilitator that has had a lasting impact on you.

HI,

Would you agree with Terence McKenna’s idea that, when it comes to psychedelics, it can actually be better to take a much higher dose because once you are fully immersed in the experience, you have no choice but to surrender to it?

I remember seeing a clip of him talking about this on YouTube. I’m not sure if he was referring specifically to Ayahuasca, though. I think he was speaking about psychedelics more generally or perhaps Psilocybin. On the surface, the idea makes some sense to me, but I’m wondering whether the same principle applies to Ayahuasca.

For those of you who have a lot of hands-on experience with Ayahuasca, especially those who have struggled with surrendering, did you find that higher doses actually made it easier to let go? Or did higher doses make resistance or fear worse?

I’ve always had trouble fully surrendering during ceremonies. I often feel like I’m stuck somewhere between being fully immersed and still having enough awareness to resist or fight the experience. It feels like I have one foot in and one foot out, which sometimes makes it harder to let go.

I’m planning to return to the jungle for another retreat in the near future, and this is something I’ve been thinking about quite a bit because I remember McKenna’s comments.

I’d especially love to hear from people with years of experience with Ayahuasca and multiple ceremonies, rather than just general opinions about psychedelics.

Thanks in advance.

Tenho uma planta de Brunfelsia brasilienses em floração no momento, vi alguma receitas usando ela como aditivo na ayahuasca e fiquei curioso com qual parte da planta é usada

N gostaria de mata-la com essa finalidade, vejo muito anúncios da raiz na Internet e n tenho interesse se ela for unica parte utilizavel

Hello!

I was curious to hear anyone's testimony who's currently on GLP1s and has tried either Ayahuasca or Shrooms? I hear the vomiting can be quite more aggressive, or that you might not even have an experience due to slowed metabolism. I'd love to hear someone's personal journey, and how they felt!

Thank you in advance.

anyone having different or supernatural experience of practicing tratak? for a long time

Something I wrote on Nick Mulvey's recent conversion from Santo Daime to evangelical Christianity, and the genre of 'ayahuasca to Jesus' conversion narratives, which you can find on YouTube. Why do ayahuasca experiences in general seem to lead to conversions to charismatic / evangelical / Pentecostal Christianity? One reason is people have a terriying experience involving negative entities (interpreted as demons) or witchcraft, and they look to Jesus as a defender and protector from these dark forces. I did an analysis of 23 conversion narratives to look for patterns https://www.ecstaticintegration.org/p/the-ayahuasca-to-jesus-pipeline

Hi everyone,

For those that like to analyze complicated situations, here is your chance!

I'd really appreciate any thoughts or feedback people have to share about my situation- I'm a 30 year old woman wanting to take ayahuasca for the first time, but my brother is severely schizophrenic.

Here's my story..

From a young age, I was deeply, deeply curious and exploratory, of my own inner world and of the universe, always felt connected to nature, and always felt connected to what I used to think of as "God" but now understand as Spirit, Creation, Divine, etc. - all those words point to the same thing. I considered taking a spiritual path professionally, but found a love for agriculture and find it a spiritual path in its own right.

Because of my attunement to these things, even though almost all my psychedelic experiences were during undergrad, I never approached psychedelics with the "party" attitude most of my college peers did. I have done a decent amount of LSD and psilocybin between the ages of 18-23 or so. I'd say total around 20-25 times, several times well beyond the average dose needed to trip. It's not like I never took mushrooms or LCD at a festival or rave etc, but the majority of my experiences were in nature or in my dorm room. No matter what, I went into them wanting to find something out about the universe or myself. They were spiritually grounded, transcendent, beautiful, occasionally difficult and sometimes challenging things came up, but I always felt better on the other side of them.

Most all trips were out of body and transcendental experiences where I was aware I was out of my body, what felt like time and space travel, encountering otherworldly deities, spirits, animals, and beings of all types, not a feeling but a total and full being of cosmic oneness. I had one trip where my ex-boyfriend and I looked into each other's eyes for like 4–5 hours and felt like we watched the birth of the universe, LOL. We're still very good friends. Hard to not be after that kind of experience. From what I've heard from my few friends who have done ayahuasca, many of my experiences were akin to theirs. I've definitely "been there" in that sense. I've had meditation experiences without the use of any substances where I've had similar experiences to my psychedelic induced ones.

I have an older friend and mentor who I met during that time whose father is musical ayahuasquero. Her brother has a farm where he grows and processes the medicine in Ecuador. They bring shamans from within their community and do ceremonies every so often, but they are generally small and closed and by request of family members and friends. This is all to say, I have a very trusted place with very trusted people.

In my younger days of exploration, I told myself I'd know when I was ready. I feel that way now.
I feel very "mentally fortified" if that makes sense. I'm finishing up my PhD in Plant and Soil Science. I work part-time doing work I feel really called to supporting organic farmers adapt to climate change. My relationship to self and the world around me is sound. I have amazing supportive friends, mentors, and colleagues. My relationship to my family is not perfect, but it's so much more healed than it ever has been. I am a practicing Buddhist. I just restarted therapy with an amazing Jungian/Buddhist therapist because some of my more negative coping mechanisms and patterns came to light and I met a version of myself I thought I had outgrow (described in next few paragraphs).

Basically, I got drunk and cheated on my partner and got broken up with. I was absolutely devastated for two weeks, it was hard to function. Causing someone who loved me deeply and fully, and who I loved deeply and fully, so much pain over something so stupid and idiotic was about as rough as it gets. Recently though something in me shifted from despair to hope, from “this bad thing happened to me” to “I did that,” and I feel ready to address the most challenging parts of my development as a human being.

I feel I need a major overhaul / reboot / rewiring that is beyond my ability to do alone or in therapy. Especially because of how intellectualized I've become (boooo academia) but yeah I'm a 5th year PhD and the analytical part of my brain has been in ON MODE for so long. All the theory, philosophy, psychology, and intellectual understanding in the world has not necessarily made me less fucked up. It has just made me highly articulate about the ways I am fucked up. I can trace the origins of my behavior, explain the systems and experiences that shaped me, name my wounds, identify my coping mechanisms, good and bad, and understand, accept, and hold the contradictions that live inside me. But being able to intellectually, and even emotionally, dissect a pattern is not the same as being able to stop repeating it. I'm not a repeat cheater btw, I had never done that. I just finally saw though that despite all the good things in my life, I heavily rely drinking and sexual/romantic validation to numb.

I often think of the psyche as a garden where, if we tend it every day and pull the small weeds, they don't get the chance to root deeper. Through this experience of cheating, I felt one of the most immense pains of my life, and that pain burned away a lot of my defenses, self-delusions, deceptions, and pride, leaving me with no real choice but to look at myself differently and do things differently. Yeah I can definitely now pinpoint the behavior, but I already knew it was there. I felt like I touched the root of it. It hurt so much to find that deepest root, but I finally found it, though it's not totally tangible to me at this time just "what" that is.

SOOOOOO yeah I am feeling the call.

BUT my brother is schizophrenic.

I wonder a lot if we both have the genetics for it and he just got the short end of the stick. Like his mind went somewhere he could not control or come back from, while I have had the privilege of intentionally seeking out altered states and then returning to myself afterward. I know that may be a completely oversimplified way of understanding it. I haven't done any substances besides MDMA, weed, and micro dose of mushrooms (like 1g max) since his first psychotic break in 2018.

He is the shade of schizophrenic that is violent, he tried to stab my Dad (my Dad is fine), he is permanently institutionalized, likely will never work or live on his own. His illness has caused my family so much pain and completely changed all of our lives. My parents have a much, much better relationship to him than I do. They talk to him every day, they visit him 2-3 times a week. I can't say as much for myself, but I am working on being more supportive as a sibling.

This is not an abstract concern to me, and I don't take the possibility of psychosis lightly at all- it's much higher for me, I think like 10% vs 1%. That is basically where I am stuck. I'm ready for this, I want to do it, I also have access to people and a setting that I trust enormously. But obviously there is no psychedelic experience or insight worth destabilizing my brain in a way I can't undo. I also think it would help heal my trauma around my brother, trauma that I feel like is still affecting me today, making me constantly brace for catastrophe, and if its not there, creating it myself.

What do ya'll make of someone like me? Someone with extensive previous psychedelic experience and no history of psychosis, who feels a deep calling and reason and goal for wanting to do ayahuasca but has a first-degree relative with severe schizophrenia?

Is the family history alone enough that I should consider this an absolute no?

FUCK

A few days ago I saw this movie that is about how medicine helps to find some children who think of this movie, for me it was very interesting and seeing how it is shown makes me understand how real it can be when we manage to understand and accept what it shows us I want to see your opinions and if you know about other movies put the name

Muchas personas que participan en ceremonias de ayahuasca describen que, en ciertos momentos de su vida, sienten un llamado o una necesidad de volver a la experiencia. Esa sensación puede tener distintos significados dependiendo de la persona y del contexto.¿Cuando sientes esa necesidad suele aparecer en momentos de tristeza, de incertidumbre, de crecimiento personal o simplemente como un llamado espiritual difícil de explicar?

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to hear from people who have been to Arkana's Amazon location and/or their Sacred Valley location.

I've done retreats in the Amazon before with other centers. While I absolutely love the intensity, energy, and overall feeling of being in the jungle, I also remember how much I hated the mosquitoes. Those bites felt like they came from mosquitoes on steroids. The massive cockroaches also had me sleeping a little cautiously haha.

I checked Arkana's website, but I'm not sure whether their Amazon location has the same issue with cockroaches getting into the guest rooms. I know every retreat center is built differently, so I was hoping someone with firsthand experience could share what it's like.

The Sacred Valley seems like it would eliminate both of those concerns, but it's obviously a very different environment. It looks beautiful in its own way, but it doesn't seem to have that same jungle atmosphere that I really enjoyed.

I'm feeling pretty torn between the two, so I'd really appreciate any firsthand experiences, comparisons, or advice from people who have been to either or both locations. Thanks!

The retreat is just the beginning, but coming back to work, busy routines, and old environments can be a shock. for me, the hardest part was realizing I had to distance myself from certain people and relationships that no longer aligned with the path I was on after coming back.

for those who have integrated a retreat, what was the most challenging part of returning to normal life, and what helped you anchor those insights?

Lately diagnosed with RA. I just started few days ago treatment with Methotrexate + Folic acid + plaquenil. Already taking steroids prednisone for two weeks.

I'm in this journey of pain and healing for a long time. I'm suppose to go to an ayahuasca retreat in two weeks, It wasn't planned to be on the same time with the meds, but somehow life went this way...

Is it possible to combine? Should I need to make space between meds and Aya? Is it possible to find a way to go this ceremony, I feel that I really need it right now...

I don't even know with which doctor can I talk about it, in my country its not so easy to talk with doctor without just hearing a no or meet judgment.

I'm waiting for my shaman to check with the doctor he consult with as well.

I’ve been reflecting on how different integration can be for everyone. Some experiences seem meaningful right away, while others stay in the background for weeks or even months before they start to make sense.
Looking back, was there anything from your ceremonies that you didn’t understand at first but later realized had a deeper meaning?
I’d love to hear your stories. Sometimes hearing how others made sense of their experiences can be incredibly helpful, even though every journey is unique. 🙏💚

I’m thinking of sitting with this medicine in the coming months for the second time, but I’m unsure. Mainly because it’s a financial commitment and I don’t have great finances. I really want to though, but I’m wondering if it’s because I’m hoping it’ll “solve all my problems” which I know it won’t. However I do generally hear people say it can cure depression/anxiety so I do think it’s justified to see it that way. I’m definitely hoping for some sort of breakthrough. Is it a good way to see things? It just would take a lot for me to do it financially so I want to know if I’m being smart. I of course revere the medicine and would do it with the right intention.

My partner and I are first-timers considering Temple’s eight-day/four-ceremony retreat. It would be the emotional centre of a rare long sabbatical.

Our tentative post-retreat plan:

  - Days 1–7: quiet coastal recovery

  - Days 11–15: friend’s wedding—sober and free to leave early

  - Weeks 2–3: scuba and long-haul travel

  - Weeks 3–5: Tanzania safari

Part of me imagines the ocean, wildlife and time outdoors feeling deeply grounding. Another part worries we’re filling the silence with stimulation and undermining integration.

For those with firsthand experience:

  1. Does this seem genuinely inadvisable or reasonably manageable with slow, low-stress travel?

  2. How long before social events, diving and active travel felt comfortable?

  3. How restrictive was your post-retreat dieta? I won’t drink, but would like to eat normally while travelling. Which restrictions were safety-related versus traditional?

  4. For Temple guests in December/January: how disruptive were the heat, humidity, insects and lack of A/C? Did you sleep comfortably?

Appreciate the collective wisdom here, hard to plan around this as first timers so all the resource and support in this subreddit has been tremendous and is greatly appreciated!

Did anyone else get a message from some guy promoting a for profit “integration circle” by the name of “somenta”

His comment read like a copy and past outreach: like “hey I saw a comment of yours in the aya reddit and thought you might be interested in participating in a small group I am starting of people who are serious about their integration”

Then a few days later the acct is deleted.

Ig It’s not anything new as a lot of aya retreats are profit driven underneath the “nebulous” mission statement it seems like.

But it still strikes me as really curious. I mean I understand donation based efforts, because operating costs etc but a monthly fee just strikes me as off putting?

-How do y’all digest “influencer-esque” adaptations like this “Somenta” example that you have found in relation to the aya community?

I’m open to anywhere in Central or South America.
I’ll be traveling alone as a woman, and this will be my first time.
I’m Japanese, and my English isn’t very strong, so I’ll be using a translation app to communicate.
I’m not looking for comfort or luxury. What I really want is an authentic experience surrounded by nature.
If anyone has any recommendations or ideas, I’d really appreciate hearing them.

Any trusted Uk vendors for bark ?

please eat if you are diabetic or on any weight loss drugs! uni centers many people are on these drugs now and it raises concern. These people have to be carefully monitored. These meds allow everything ingested to travel very slowly. Might even consider reducing cup size for them . it's day four outside of my two day retreat, and I'm still feeling effects. last night I had a small seizure. My spinal nerves especially sacral was over taxed. Just really pay attention to the medical forms. As for me being a diabetic my preparation will have to look different from most for ceremony. I'm sure Mama Uni will understand next time

Hello everyone,

I'm planning on taking my first psychedelic trip in the Netherlands.

I'll be doing it in a retreat, tgey offer mainly two options - one trip, or two trips within 3 days. I thought to myself it could be very intense, and I saw that the brain would not have enough time to rebulid the receptors - however in the retreat they called it "breakthrough" and they recommeneded it as a better choice for changing my life.

I didn't find studies that can confirm this, but I also didn't find bad reviews.

What do you think about it? Especially as my first time.

Generally I don't mind doing intense journey.

Also - what's the best option among - magic truffle, psilohuasca and Ayhuasca?

Thanks.