Yann with Ayahuasca

Myths

[See video at the bottom of this page]

You too may have done LOTS of research.
And yet…

…you might be surprised to find that some of that research has misled you.

During my two ceremonies i uncovered a few myths — and realized i had been lying to everyone who had asked me about Ayahuasca.

Myth 1 — soiling your pants
No, you may well not soil your pants after all. Told you there was good news.
Our Ayahuascero (ie the guy in charge) gave us a 40 minute talk before the ceremony and answered any questions we had. During his talk he struck down this myth: ‘no, you will not poop in your pants, and yes, you will have time to go to the bathroom’.
He added something surprising to most of us: ‘over the years, we only had one or two cases where people pooped in their pants, and all were intentional. They found themselves in such a beautiful & pleasant place that didn’t want to leave it to go to the bathroom. One person chose to poop there & then because they realized how conditioned they’d been since they were a baby and wanted to get rid of the shame they simply didn’t have yet back then when pooped in their pants’.
I can get that — to each their own, but i get it.

Myth 2 — throwing up violently for 5 hours
At the time of writing this i have attended 2 ceremonies in the presence of 39 other people. Not much experience, admittedly, but still enough to have a better idea than when i was doing my ‘research’.
If you’ve been eating as you’re supposed to before the ceremony (essentially vegetables & fruit & water), and did not eat on the day of the ceremony, then all you have in your stomach is water & that terrible brown brew, Ayahuasca. Whenever you vomit, you will do so very easily and quickly — at least that’s my personal experience. I did see people with a bucket in front of them for the whole ceremony, but most of the time they were just crying.
I threw up a total of 3 times in 2 ceremonies, each time lasted maybe a minute or so, and it just came out about as easily as it come in: it’s almost only water. It comes out quickly and it is very fluid.

Myth 3 — Ayahuasca is like a magic bullet that will change my life immediately
See my videos for more on that. No, you might not get all those stereotypic visuals you have heard so much about. No, you might not meet Mother Ayahuasca and receive a thousand years of knowledge in an hour.
I highly recommend reading the following article : http://lafamiliamedicina.com/progress/this-ayahuasca-sucks-possible-first-time-effects-of-ayahuasca/

Myth 4 — You are out of your body during the experience
While every experience is different and lying down or sitting down are the preferred positions, you will most likely remain in your body and be fully aware of it & of your surroundings. Most of the time you will be able to get up, drink water, go to the bathroom, etc.

Myth 5 ? — you need a shaman
Now i might get a few comments for this one, so i will add that this is merely my own personal opinion at a very early stage in my experience with Ayahuasca — i could change my mind! So take this one with a pinch of salt, will ya.
The 3 people who were in charge of our ceremonies did not claim to be shamans or curanderos. Or even anything. They were, i think, Ayahuasceros. A shaman, i have heard, will normally take the medicine with you. They said they rarely do, and when they do they take very little. Well, i was fine with that. They were there immediately when any of us needed them and we felt safe & cared for. And it is nice to know you have someone there if you need them, it really does make a difference.
But were i to source some Ayahuasca independently, i personally would not rule out taking it alone. Maybe i will change my mind later and think this is a very stupid comment to make, we’ll see.

Myth 6 — it has to be at night
Both my ceremonies took place between 10am & 7pm. It was fine and pleasant. I am, however, curious to try at night.

Myth 7 — it must take place in the Amazonian forest
My guess is that any place will do, but a place where nature is present is by far preferable. I was lucky to have a large lawn outside and a blue sunny sky above during both ceremonies, and it was exquisitely pleasant to be able to walk bare foot in the lawn & lie down in it staring at the lovely blue sky. For days after the ceremonies i found it unpleasant to wear shoes & even felt the need to remove my socks sometimes. I did also develop a strong distaste for busy built places & noise.
Having said all that, boy would i love to do some ceremonies in the Amazonian forest, at Teotihuacan or on a beach.

Myth 8 — Ayahuasca is just about DMT
During his pre-ceremony talk, one of the guys in charge mentioned that one false preconceived idea was that Ayahuasca’s active component was just DMT. He claims that in fact 2 other components are essential, but i did not write them down and cannot recall what they were! If i find out, i will update this.

Myth 9 — Ayahuasca & DMT are the same thing
Not many people would claim this, but just in case you’re wondering: no, DMT & Ayahuasca are not the same thing. I have never tried pure DMT but from what i have gathered DMT trips are much shorter, no one seems to mention nausea & throwing up or requiring the bathroom ten times, and DMT just doesn’t give you the time to do as much “psychotherapy” as Ayahuasca does, which is kind of the point to begin with.