What is Ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca is a brew made of several plants from the Amazon region. The Indians residing there use ayahuasca already for centuries. They consider the drink as the main drug of the jungle.

The Ayahuasca-drink consists of plants containing DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) and plants that contain so-called MAO inhibitors. DMT is a shorty working hallucinating means that after intake is rapidly degraded by an enzyme called MAO. The DMT will work for a longer time when a plant that halts the MAO enzyme is add to the brew.

Basis of the drink is a liana, the so-called Banisteriopsis caapi. The Peruvian Quechua Indians call this liana ' Ayahuasca ', which means 'Liana of the soul' or 'Liana of death'. The liana contains active substances of which harmaline, harmine and tetrahydroharman are the most important. The main pharmacological effect of the substances is halting the MAO enzyme. The MAO inhibitor in the liana ensures that DMT can reach the brain untouched.

Subsequently the liana is combined with DMT containing plants. Traditionally, the leaves of Psychotria virides are used, but also other DMT-containing plants are sometimes mixed with the drink.

In the Amazon people often add many more plants with a variety of active substances to the drink, but in the Netherlands that hardly happen.

According to national researchers and researchers from abroad ayahuasca would have medicinal qualities, particularly in the field of psychotherapy, such as in case of depression and addictions. This is being investigated.

Using rituals
The rituals by which ayahuasca is used generally take place after sunset. In the Netherlands various kinds of rituals take place.

First, ritual provided by medicine man from the Amazon region take place in the Netherlands. These rituals can be very different in nature, because each tribe in the Amazon region has its own style of rituals. In these types of rituals the participants (ranging from fifteen to fifty)  usually sit or lie in a circle. In general, there is only candlelight, or it is even completely dark. The medicine man gives each participant the ayahuasca and usually sings during the night. Sometimes there are  several hours of complete silence, only interrupted by the sound of people who are vomiting.

A very different kind of ritual is that of the Brazilian Santo Daime church. This strongly religious ritual has a strict structure. Men and women stand opposite each other around a rectangular table. Participants are divided into groups according to length. The members of the church wear uniforms, depending on the kind of ritual. All non-members are dressed in white. Drinking Ayahuasca and singing hymns is the essence of the experience of the Santo Daime faith. There are several types of rituals. For example, there special dancing rituals, concentration rituals and healing rituals. In contrast to the rituals of medicine man, the services of the Santo Daimekerk always take place with a lot of light. During the church service pure cannabisjoints are distributed.

The ayahuasca-rituals in the Netherlands are derived from the above-described rituals. The Foundation Friends of the Forest, for example, is sprung from the Santo Daimechurch. This is visible through the white clothes of the participants, the presence of much candlelight, the singing of religious hindu songs and songs of the founder of Friends of the Forest.en through the fact that the Foundation Friends of the Forest uses the same ritual objects and worship the same saints (Jesus and Mary and the Indian guru Osho) as the Santo Daimechurch.

The Awakening Foundation also organizes rituals. These are roughly in line with the rituals of Friends of the Forest. A ritual has on average between twenty and forty participants. Again, the participants preferably wear white clothing and habitually hindu songs are sung jointly. Awakening also occasionally organizes rituals with medicine men of the Shuar tribe from Ecuador.

Besides, a number of other groups and individuals are active in Amsterdam. One person organizes rituals based on the Peruvian-Curanderismo rituals. This means that there is no dress code, the rituals that take place in complete darkness and the healing power of the ayahuascadrink has a central place. This person also organizes rituals for medicine men from the Amazon region. For example, in recent years medicine men from different parts of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia came to the Netherlands. Unlike the Santo Daime church, Friends of the Forest and Awakening, these rituals  are for a selected public only. On average no more than ten to twelve persons join these meetings.

History Ayahuasca 

Not much is known about the history of the use of Ayahuasca. However, the extensive distribution in the Amazon, the multiplicity of place-names and especially the fact that the use of Ayahuasca is deeply rooted in different cultures, suggests that Ayahuasca was used already since thousands of years.

Ayahuasca was first described by missionaries who called it demonically. The Brittish Richard Spruce sent Ayahuasca to to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew in 1951. The material was there  rediscovered and investigated is 1969 (!).

In the twenty's of the twentieth century the Santo Daime faith, better known  as 'Mestre Irineu', led by Raimundo Irineu Serra  was born in Brazil. This belief combines Ayahuasca traditions with the Catholic Christianity. On this point it thus resembles the União do Vegetal, or USO, which arose later.  Because of this combination of Ayahuasca traditions and Catholic Christianity, the Santo Daime faith laer played an important role in the spread of Ayahuasca to the west.

During an annual meeting in 1923 the American Pharmaceutical Association watched a film about an Ayahuasca ceremony. This, however, did not directly reveal extensive publicity in the west, nor did it lead to much scientific research.

Ayahuasca got really known in the west when William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg in 1963 "The Yagé Letters" published. They describe their experiences with Yagé (ayahuasca). In the nineties of the twentieth century the use of Ayahuasca spread to Europe. This immediately led to several lawsuits banning the use of Ayahuasca.  In vain: the court in Amsterdam concluded that Article 9 of the ECHR (the right to freedom of religion) protects the ritual use of Ayahuasca by members of the Santo Daime church.

The famous jungle extract Ayahuasca consist of the cooking of various plants. The most common combination consists of the liana Banisteriopsis caapi and the leaf Psychotria viridis.

The brown and bitter tea is known by many names, for example: Yagé fake kabi, natema, hoasca, daime and Ayahuasca. The latter term means "liana of souls" and is used mostly.

Even now there are dozens of Indian peoples that use the ayahuascadrink already since years and  use it during religious gatherings and to cure all types of diseases.

Chemistry 

The most active biochemicals in Ayahuasca are: the beta-carboline alkaloids harmine, harmaline, tetrahydroharmine, harmol, harminesour, methyl harmine amide, acetyl norharmine, harmine N-oxide, harmalinezuur, ketotetra-hydronorharmine sit in the bark, trunk and branches of B. caapi, Banisteriopsis inebrians and other kinds of Banisteriopsis.

B. caapi has a higher concentration of Tetrahydroharmine than other plants which contain harmala alkaloids, such as Peganum harmala (Syrian Ruta graveolens) and certain types of Passiflora sp. (passionflower). This possibly ensures that these original Ayahuasca has a better and longer-lasting therapeutic effect than the 'analogue' preparation without B. caapi.

Effects 

The moment on which the effects occur depends on when and how much the user has eaten and is also dependant on the fysical conditition of the user. The first effects start between twenty and sixty minutes after consumption. Smaller doses, shorten the duration of the effects, on the contrary, longer doses cause a longer trip. A trip lasts two to six hours. A peak- moment occurs one to eight hours after consumption. But again, this depends on the dosage and on individual characteristics of the user.

The purpose of the various effects of Ayahuasca is spriritual progress. This progress can be reached through purification of the soul and by releasing suppressed emotions. Time is an important factor in this progress. Each experience exposes certain patterns. The degrees of awareness and understanding depends on the intensity of previous experiences and on the level of consciousness of the user.

While is is possible to direct the trip a bit, the effects of Ayahuasca are not consistent. The memory processes that are activated by ayahuasca, can't be programmed in advance.

The pharmacological properties of the psychoactive ingredients, together with the biological antecedents can't demonstrably impact the psyche. Ayahuasca will always respond on the setting and on the psychological circumstances of the individual, such as motivation, attitude, personality, mood and previous experiences. The combination of circumstances affects the impact and the type of trip. The effect of the substance on the brains is mostly determined by outside influences, such as the setting, the environment and the presence of a teacher. than by the emotional state of the user. For example: a person who uses Ayahuasca alone has a totally different experience than someone who uses it in the presence a person who can direct the energy which is released by Ayahuasca. The effects are optimal in the presence of a teacher and the journey can be sent to a desired place in mind, for example, to the place where God is located. This forms the basis for transformation.

After consuming Ayahuasca, first nausea will occur, possibly together with vomiting. You'll have to to get through this phase: don't fight against it. This phase is considered as a cleansing process. Subsequencely we reached a phase in which the senses function above average. During the first ninety minutes hearing will play an important role and your feelings will also be more  present. From this point the trip can develop into to any direction. When someone enters into other dimensions and say leaves the physical body, a feeling of floating through the air may arise.

A person who experience an Ayahuasca session in general shows a remarkable mental and physical progress, similar to an intense psycho-therapy. In a short period, Ayahuasca can cause demonstrable changes. It provides an essential acceptance and ensures that you are in line with the simplicity of your own spiritual identity. The result: a change in our values and preferences and that in turn will change our presence and our awareness of our own 'Self.'

Some visual experience with Ayahuasca deliver images of landscapes with angels, spiritual beings or mystical worlds. You can make the journey very rich yourself and build a bridge to the sacred, spiritual, as to fulfill certain aspects of the spiritual search.

All these experiences are important for the individual: he learns to trust his inner guidance and to experience his spiritual identity in different ways in his own created loving environment.

Medical use 

Not much is known about the healing forces of Ayahuasca. Because Ayahuasca can stimulate clairvoyant, it is used to to find out the causes of a disease, or harmful situations in any sense. In South American countries such as Peru, Ayahuasca, also called "curanderos" or "ayahuasqueros', is used  by shamans for direct healing. Because Ayahuasca enables contact with spiritual entities, it is likely that it exposes good remedies.  It is also believed that Ayahuasca has a healing effect in a magical or spiritual sense. 
In contrast to the Western views people in South America believe that Ayahuasca can cure when  either the patient, or the healer, consumes it. All these processes together are summarized by someone as follows: "Nature heals, while the doctor or 'healer' entertains the patient."

Variations 

As previously stated, Ayahuasca can have many different formations in different combinations of plants and seeds. Many recipes are known and can be found on the Internet.

Use

Fixed Ayahuasca recipes don't exist. The correct doses depend on the circumstances under which the plant grows and on the sensitivity of the user. Each shaman has its own recipes and they vary with their recipes, depending on the desired effect. Other plants such as tobacco, datura or Brugmansia are often added to influence the trip in a certain way. However,  only add this type of plants if you're an experienced Ayahuasca user. The same is true for cannabis: for some people it has a pleasant reinforcing effect, while others have very bad experieces with the combination with Ayahuasca. This is hardly predictable in advance, so also in the case of cannabis, extreme caution has to be taken. A secure and trusted environment is very important.

Side effects

Ayahuasca can have very negative effects on people who use medication. This is especially the case with anti-depressants such as Prozac. Don't take Ayahuasca when using anti-depressants and if you  lack knowledge about the interaction between the anti-depressants, Ayahuasca and MAO inhibitors.

Warnings 

Cases in wich using Ayahuasca resulted in serious injury or death are hardly known. However, it is certainly possible to hurt yourself with it. Because a MOA inhibitor is one of the main components of Ayahuasca, Ayahuasca does have potentially negative effects. MAO inhibitors namely block an enzyme in the body that is important for the functioning of certain processes in the brains and the rest of the body. Make sure that you have sufficient information on MAO inhibitors, the medication you use and the food that you take.

Most medicines and drugs can have fatal consequences when used in combination with a MAO inhibiter. Moreover, Ayahuasca can, as almost every psychedelic means, change a person's personality. Besides, it can stimulate neurtic periods to people who are sensitive for this.

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