Vine of the Soul
I’ve struggled to write this one for a while because working with Ayahuasca is such an intense and difficult thing to put into words. Because the ceremony is life. It's not a three day retreat or a trip into the jungle. The ceremony is endless. The lessons and downloads you receive during the few hours over a few days that you sit and drink the medicine is a small part of the journey. But bringing these lessons to life through your daily practice, that's what the ceremony is all about.
I started to write this during the time I was preparing for the first ayahuasca retreat I had ever hosted alongside a dear friend, colleague and Maestro, Don Roberto. You can check out our podcast episode on Healing in Harmony where we discuss the use of plant medicine for healing. I wanted it to be some kind of guide of how to prepare and what to expect for the participants who were attending from all different backgrounds, places and experiences. So just like the first time I sat in ceremony, I made a list of all the useless facts and bits of information. My rational thinking mind kind of took over but I just couldn't go beyond the list. What am I really trying to say?
Ayahuasca is not fun, it's pretty messy to be honest. But within this mess you will find beauty and courage to step into yourself like you haven’t done before. That’s of course if you allow it. If you allow the process to unfold and understand that all the things happening around you after ceremony, are part of the ceremony, that is where the true magic of ayahuasca lies. Understanding the ceremony is life. It's everyday before, during and after. It never actually ends. It's a continuum of past, present and future, a dance with the divine. It's to trust fully and to submit to the intention of the divine- and to our ancient and sacred plant teachers.
Context:
Ayahuasca is an indigenous plant medicine native to the Amazon that has been used for thousands of years. It is considered a mother plant, and has been used for healing physical and mental conditions, as well as in rites of passage and religious ceremony. The most commonly known word to describe ayahuasca translates to vine of the soul, and is derived from the Quechua-language roots, aya, meaning death, dead person, spirit, soul, or ancestor, and huasca, meaning rope or vine. Ayahuasca’s main ingredient is Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), also known as the ‘spirit molecule’. This is a naturally occurring molecule in plants, animals and the human body and is released every night when we dream.
Indigenous Australians have the belief that their world was created in Dreamtime, a beginning that never ended. They held the belief that Dreamtime is a continuum of past, present and future. Dreamtime is the foundation of Aboriginal religion and culture. It dates back some 65,000 years. It is the story of events that have happened, how the universe came to be, how human beings were created and came to function within the world as they knew it.
Many indigenous communities around the world understand the significance of dreams and dreaming and the realms that become open to us during this state in our subconscious. An ayahuasca journey simply activates this dream state but in real time. You are still fully present in your physical body but you are also in a liminal state in different levels of consciousness. It is a continuum of past, present and future. A beautiful passage to connecting with higher forms of consciousness.
Tradition:
My experience with ayahuasca has only been in the Shipibo tradition. But there is more than one tradition to work with this medicine: Such as in Brazil the ‘Santo Daime’ or ‘Uniao de Vegetal’ churches, or in Columbia ‘Los Taitas’, or the numerous traditions of Ecuador. The Shipibo are one of the oldest and largest tribes of the Western Amazon basin with a population of around 35,000 and an ancestral territory that runs north and south of Pucallpa, along the Ucayali River. In fact as I write this, our shamanic facilitator Don Roberto is in Peru, in the region around Pucallpa, deep in the jungle and deep in retreat.
My first ayahuasca ceremony was at the Temple of the Universe in South Africa along the banks of the Hennops river, an incredibly beautiful and powerful site, right next to the sacred lands of Credo Mutwa. The greatest African Spiritual Leader of our generation, so far. The facilitator was Don Roberto who instantly made me feel at ease with his sense of humour and joy. I felt really fresh in a space I had never been in before but I also felt very safe.
So I was lying there having drank my full first cup and hearing everyone else go through these intense experiences and I was just like, right, when am I supposed to feel something? I just waited until we were called up for our second cup of the night and when I sat down I had no intention of drinking more coz nothing had happened, and I didn’t want to purge because I still didn't understand how sacred the purge was. Purging is a cleansing process helping to create an environment more suited to the healing process. Don Roberto didn’t say much except, “you need to drink more”. He poured me a decent amount more, sang to the medicine and offered me the cup. I purged shortly after and asked if I should finish all the brew in my cup, he said if I feel like I can I should. So I drank more. And that’s when he sang the Icaros.
Icaros:
In the indigenous Quechua language, Icaros, are sacred songs which are used for healing purposes by the Curanderos of the Amazonian basin. Curanderos sing to open every ceremony, inviting spirits to be present in the ceremony in order to perform healings. They are sung throughout the ceremony and help participants to navigate the intensity of the experience…So I'm sitting there receiving this song with my whole heart and that's when I see everything. There is a dance of medicine going on inside of me. Vines merging with sacred geometry in bursts of jungle greens and blues and deep yellows, dancing with dolphins and whales and turtles and I begin to cry and laugh and be filled with this deep joy and gratitude. “It's time to go back to your station” Don Roberto says, and I thank him and lie down and continue on my journey.
Mapacho:
Another important aspect of the Shipibo tradition is the use of Mapacho during the ceremony which is a sacred tobacco. The curanderos direct smoke with breath, or “soplay”, to cleanse the spirit and body. The tools of curanderos include breath, hands, tobacco and aqua florida as common tools used in a ceremony. Now I witnessed something incredible with this soplay during ceremony; when Don Roberto blew it was released into the space, forming this spiraling fibonacci sequence floating through all these sacred symbols and totems that I could not read.
The real moment where I connected with the healing powers of Mapacho was my second night. I was going through a very physical experience, experiencing pains at different parts of my body. But the worst was coming from both my ankles. I went to Don Roberto and told him what I was feeling and he asked for my feet. He held my feet and blew Mapacho onto each foot around my ankles. I felt lighter and I went to lie down. I closed my eyes and I heard the Mary Mary song Shackles (Praise You) play through my head. “Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance, I just wanna praise you, I just wanna praise you”. I mourned and cried a deep grieving for the life I once lived as a slave. Shackled at the feet. My ankles had carried this pain for generations in my timeline that I was finally releasing.
The significance of this moment extended long after ceremony because I experienced a dream one night at home two weeks later. I was in a shipwreck in the dark off the coast of somewhere that felt familiar. I washed up amongst debris and dead bodies arriving to shore. I sat up and vomited sea water, looked around me and saw a few other slaves who had been washed up and were alive starting to sit up- all looking confused. There were about 8 of us. We still had shackles on our ankles, some on writists but the longer chains were broken so we could move. A muscular and strong looking Black man silently stood up and just started to run into the jungle ahead of us. A thick tall dark forest; running into the unknown was surely a better fate than being recaptured by the slaving colonisers. I didn’t hesitate, I just stood up and ran as fast as my shackled feet could carry me, straight into the dark tall thicket ahead of me. I was taken in by an indigenous people who I am now convinced were the Quechua Shipibo people who unshackled me, healed me and showed me how to work with their traditions and incorporate it into our own sacred indigenous African practices.
Ayahuasca in Africa?
This is why I think it's so amazing that we get the opportunity to work with this medicine here at home on the beautiful continent of Africa.
Our ancient healers and members of my family have always known the sacred ways of plant medicine and worked with similar compounds that are DMT based. From the ancient Egyptians to the Maasai. Different variations of the same medicine exist in the most ancient indigenous populations around the world. What I discovered after working with Don Roberto is that he actually uses an acacia DMT base for the brew. How fitting that he should feel called to share this incredible medicine here amongst the most ancient acacia trees using this technique? I don’t believe in coincidence anymore.
When I started working with other plants before arriving at aya, I slowly came to understand that it doesn’t matter where you are in the world. If you are working in an indigenous tradition and respecting the source (Mother Earth), she doesn’t discriminate. I had always expected that I would have to travel to Peru or Brazil to partake in ceremony in its ‘indigenous’ setting. But I'm also a working mum and wife. I can’t just get on a plane and go into the jungle for 2 weeks all the way from Nairobi. Does that mean I should wait for years until after I've finished reproducing and working to work with ayahuasca? I don’t have the privilege to walk out for 2 weeks on my little family. I learnt from ayahuasca that she doesn’t care where you’re from or where you are on this physical plane. She doesn’t operate in that third dimensional thinking and reason. The sanctity of the vessel and integrity of the spirit is the most important factor.
As an indigenous healer I feel very strongly that we need to break the dogmatic patterns of purity that society has us trapped in. Indigenous people have always shared wisdom and knowledge amongst each other across territories and worked within the divine laws of nature. Understanding that spreading healing is not something exclusive to certain groups or people. Respecting the tradition, the history, and the struggle through which this medicine came to be used. As long as we honor her and use her for the purpose of what she was placed here for. Deep soul healing and cleansing.
Dieta:
Speaking of purity, the Shipibo tradition is considered one of the most intact traditions and its emphasis is on cleansing and purification. The principles of healing in the Shipibo tradition centre on the belief that if obstacles to healing are removed, the divine will sort out the rest. I read this beautiful example of how this works below:
“We are all familiar with what happens when we get a simple cut on our finger. As long as it is kept clean, it heals on its own. So, to aid that natural healing process, we wash it, perhaps put a band-aid on it to help prevent it from getting dirty, but the cut heals itself. The directive principle, or God, makes it so. All we do is assist the process by providing the optimal environment for the healing to take place. We do this by keeping it clean. What is meant by cleaning or cleansing is the removal of obstacles that might hinder the healing process”.
The diet or Dieta is therefore a really important part of the ceremony in the Shipibo tradition. The purpose of the ayahuasca diet is to demonstrate one’s determination through sacrifice, increase sensitivity, and to raise vibrational levels, which is done by limiting stimulants and pleasurable foods and activities. Yes, including sex for a couple of weeks before and after ceremony! Consuming red meats, salt, dairy, citrus and other acids, sugar and sweeteners, and other products, can not only disrupt and delay the healing of the participant, but in many cases can produce undesired effects. For this reason, in this medicine tradition, the discipline with respect to Dieta restrictions is of vital importance.
For at least 10 days before it is recommended that you abstain from the following:
No salt or very salty foods. (Vegetables naturally high in sodium, like celery, are ok.)
No vinegar, lemon juice or other highly acidic foods (eg kombucha, mayonnaise, pickled foods, etc).
No pork or red meat. (Chicken or fish is ok.)
No spicy food – such as chilli, curry, hot sauce, etc
No dairy – milk, cheese, yoghurt. (Eggs are ok.)
No sugar or sweeteners.
Avoid caffeine.
Avoid fried and oily foods. Most natural supplements are ok, but avoid natural supplements that are very potent (such as Oregano Oil) or highly acidic (such as Vitamin C) or that affect brain chemistry (such as St John’s Wort).
It is also recommended to avoid all aged and fermented foods including miso, tofu, smoked fish, etc.
But don’t worry because you will get all this information in your preparation document when you join our Healing in Harmony retreat. You will also be asked to complete a health form that will allow us to assess your physical and mental health and make sure you are not taking any contraindicated medications that could have a negative effect when combined with ayahuasca.
The Ceremony is Life
Thank you for taking this wonderful journey to read and learn more about my experience working in the Shipibo tradition of ayahuasca here in Africa. I’m sure I don't seem so rational anymore to the reader who doesn’t know me personally. But I assure you I am very level headed. I’ve shared my personal experiences to show you what is possible. I am just a student to our sacred plant teachers. I am a vessel for divine light. I am not special, even though my intense medicine experiences are related to my shamanic heritage and practice. This insight that ayahuasca has shared with me is possible for anyone. You just have to be a humble and respectful student. Come humble for she will surely humble you.
The key takeaway from my experience is that the ceremony is life. It's not just a few days of sharing ayahuasca together in sacred wisdom. It's a journey that has no ending. A continuous dance between past, present and future. To allow yourself to fall into the embrace of mother and experience what it feels like to be in the womb, to birth yourself and burst into starlight. It is a freedom of not knowing and not needing to know, yet at the same time a deep trust and understanding unlike you could never have for something one dimensional. It is the experience of the divine, of source. It is the vine of the soul.
Love from the East African coast.
Engenoi
