Ayahuasca is a process
“Ayahuasca offers a window into the work that needs to be done to cleanse and purify yourself from negative energies.”
We often say that ayahuasca is a process of healing that starts as soon as you decide to work with ayahuasca – even before you come to Holland for your ceremony! This process starts by your intention to heal, to evolve, to let go of the parts in you that are blocking you. Often these parts are subconscious, repressed, hidden in the dark.
Opening the door to a hidden world
When you ask Mother Ayahuasca for help, you are actually asking her to show you that which you cannot see. This means that in the weeks running up to the ceremony, you may already experience difficult feelings and emotions such as fear or depression. This is completely normal and is a crucial part of your healing journey.
Ayahuasca gives you a high degree of inner knowledge and power. It is the key that opens the door to our hidden world of emotions and helps you to understand them better and to learn from them, so they don’t completely overwhelm you in daily life. Therefore, throughout the process, a commitment from your side is needed to feel these emotions.
Ayahuasca is not a magic pill (or brew)
Instead, it offers a window into the work that needs to be done afterwards in order to maintain healing. We have to go through the emotional process ourselves. We can’t simply think this process through – it is a process of the heart and it can only be done by fully experiencing our feelings and emotions and being aware of them.
The real work starts when you return home
The healing process does not end when the ceremony ends! The crucial integration phase of this healing process occurs in the weeks/months that follow. What you do with the lessons that you learned in the ceremonies and the healing that you received is what determines authentic growth. Therefore, integrating these lessons is just as important as the ceremonies themselves!
After the ayahuasca ceremony, you may notice many changes in yourself. You can experience yourself and the world around you very differently. You get to choose the path you want to take from now on: do you continue to act and make decisions as you did before and rely on old patterns, or do you consciously start to implement the lessons from the ayahuasca ceremony?
“We only achieve true growth by implementing the ayahuasca lessons step-by-step.”
In order to get most out of the healing process, we would recommend you to:
- Take plenty of time for and with yourself (many people feel a need to spend time alone in nature)
- Implement a practice to quiet your mind (e.g. meditation, yoga, mindfulness)
- Maintain a healthy diet (many people feel a need to eat more fruits and veggies and less/no meat)
- Take time to reflect (keep a diary, write, talk, whatever works for you)
- Be more conscious of who you allow into “your space” (try to connect more to those who are good for you and beneficial for your personal healing process and less to those who are not; allow yourself to set boundaries)
- Make time and space for yourself and integrate things into your life that really bring you joy (such as playing sports, creating music, reading, cooking, hiking or other things that make you feel good)
The healing process can only be successful if you take things seriously, if you are in the right environment, and if you have access to professional and loving care throughout the entire ayahuasca process. Since we know from experience what impact the ayahuasca process can have on people’s life, our support goes beyond the ceremony itself. We view preparation and integration as an essential part of the process.
To read more about the support network of Acsauhaya, click here.