Ayahuasquero
I wouldn’t call myself an ayahuasquero, but the first time I drank ayahuasca, I spent an evening in the kitchen with a good friend, brewing this shamanic drink ourselves. We bought some Banisteriopsis caapi, which contains several harmala alkaloids as MAO inhibitors, and dried leaves of Psychotria viridis, which contain N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Alternatively, you can use Mimosa hostilis as a DMT-containing plant. These plants are native to the Amazon rainforest and, in some cases, grow as far north as Mexico.
The end result was a bottle of brown, muddy liquid that tasted incredibly bad. We had no idea what the correct dose would be, so we ended up drinking enough to trigger a violent, out-of-body experience—hours of what felt like hyperspace and battling strange entities. It was all self-administered under a full moon in nature. I’m still not sure I’m brave enough to repeat the experience at this point in my life.
The Peruvian painter Pablo Amaringo made an effort to visualize his ayahuasca visions. I believe it’s quite difficult to relate the ayahuasca experience to anything familiar in our three-dimensional world—especially when time itself seems to dissolve and you’re drawn into inner visions. I think these visions are a direct product of the brain rather than a real spirit world existing outside the mind. The human mind is quite amazing. There are doors to be opened.
Paintings by Pablo Amaringo
After my first experience, I drank ayahuasca several more times in ceremonial, controlled settings. Jah Levi (his real name) organized ayahuasca evenings when he lived in Amsterdam in the 1990s, and with him the music was always good. I also tried a ceremony with the Dutch Santo Daime Church, a Brazilian syncretic religion founded by Raimundo Irineu Serra—himself a descendant of African slaves—shortly after his first encounter with ayahuasca in 1914. I found the Santo Daime ceremony too strict. I wasn’t even allowed to move my chair because it would supposedly block the “spirits.” Since I don’t believe in spirits outside the human mind, I considered this a bit silly. If I want to move the chair, I’ll move the damn chair.
“We are knocking on the door,
and the door is open wide.
For all to step inside.
We’re going deep inside.
Let the music fill your soul.
Great spirit is in full control.
Let the music fill your soul..”
Not sure what year this photo of Jah Levi is dated. I spent some evenings in his little shop in De Pijp where he held his singing circles. Those evenings were quite magical.
Basic structure of N,N-Dimethyltryptamine.
"Heyokah The Light Bearer" by Pavel Souviron CC BY-SA 4.0