Ayahuasca is just about the most intimidating plant teacher available, (although iboga may have her beat,) and is absolutely one of the most powerful psychedelics on earth. Many people speak of “she/her” because Mama Aya is a plant spirit. She feels like your oldest friend, your sister, your mother, your grandmother, all your ancestors, and The Earth herself. She is ultimately YOU.
She can appear as a stern, overwhelming, even aggressive presence taking you through layers of yourself, helping you shed your ideas of what is real and true, and connecting you to your deepest self. She will unravel you into the all. She will exalt you into ascension, and pull you clawing down into the abyss. She is also gentle, loving, and holds you like a sweet baby, giving you the love you need so badly to show to yourself.
Healing with ayahuasca bathes us in gratitude, appreciation, and understanding of the miracle that is life. She teaches us to respect and care for the water. She tells us stories of our previous lives, she shows us how old we are, how we have been doing this a long time and will keep doing it until all the beings find the light. She shows us worlds beyond this dimension where we are all one thing and that thing is LOVE. She shows us our human frailty, and we understand that we will die. She can also come on like a galactic freight train that drags you through some painful, uncomfortable, scary, and difficult experiences. She rips open our hearts and pummels us with love, forces us to face our fears, and is there to catch us when we break through.
She helps us understand that everything is in its right place, even when it seems like we are a big fat mess as a species.
My absolute favorite thing about ayahuasca is that no matter what I bring to her in ceremony, no matter where I am, or what I’m struggling with, I find the answer. Always. I find a deeper knowing of myself and how to be a human in this world, and I recognize that I came here on a mission to heal myself and my family, and to experience love. And that just by doing that, I am changing the world.