Some Things I Wish I’d Known Before Trying Ayahuasca

Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash

“What’s your previous experience with plant medicine?” the shaman asked, his gaze gentle but probing. Fair question, I figured, still surprised by the case of nerves it set off in my belly. Our meeting preceded my first encounter with ayahuasca, the sacred medicine of the Amazon, and though I had spent months readying myself for this evening, the shaman did not know me. It was his duty to guard the divine portal and ensure all would-be initiates came suitably prepared.

Knowing what I know now, I am glad he was there to stand watch. Voltaire said, With great power comes great responsibility, and ayahuasca is a powerful psychedelic. I did grasp this going in, but as a first-timer, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Many Westerners enter the experience woefully unprepared and come out altered in ways they didn’t bargain for. I was expecting and intending a positive change in my psychic makeup and — I thought — ready to lay down my ego. But I needed a responsible observer to help navigate the turbulent waters ayahuasca was about to hurl me into. The shaman’s role cannot be overstated. He or she keeps the raft from overturning and pulls you back into it before you drown.

While not a psychonaut by any stretch, I’m no stranger to psychedelics. I’ve encountered mushrooms many times, and more recently the venom of the sacred toad. I have…