i guess this would be the thread to post this on.
i\'m having a bit of a dilema. as most of you know, i dont use drugs because of my past issues with addiction/alcoholism. however, i feel called to the ayahuasca ceremony. part of me feels that attending one of these ceremonies with a shaman would be on par with getting prescribed medicine from a doctor, but then part of me is like, \'well thats using drugs, and i dont do that\'. not sure what i expect any of you to tell me here, but i did just want to vent it. feelin pretty conflicted...
Ayahuasca is interesting.... but there\'s a good chance you will be in over your head. I doubt there are many people on this planet with as much and as diverse psychedelic experience as me... and, um, ayahuasca IMO is just too unpredictable in terms of dose and effects curve. Also the experience it provides, at least for me, is much less valuable in terms of one\'s own growth and self-realizations than the experience provided by *** or psilocin-based *********.
I vastly prefer smoked DMT over ayahuasca because its much easier to find the right dose, and just a better experience overall. But even smoked DMT isn\'t my top choice because the quick trip makes it virtually impossible to take your time with the experience and learn much from it besides "holy shit!!!".. plus the body buzz can be a bit overwhelming.
Here is why I prefer ********* over ayahuasca for self/spiritual therapy. Ayahuasca is liable to come in waves of strong intensity for several hours, leaving you feeling almost sober at times and extreeeeemly spaced and forced unwillingly into other dimensions like 2 minutes later, and back, and forth, and back, and forth. The entire experience can be spent just trying to get your bearings!
IMO it is absolutely not even close to the psychedelic/entheogen I\'d choose for a beginner. For example, my ex-girlfriend ate some DMT (pharmahuasca) and was assualted by aliens contacting her and taking over her sensory functions. I ate the same size dose and thought it was mostly too weak to be interesting, except for brief periods where it was uncomfortably intense.
Also, the whole doing-it-with-a-shaman idea is cool.... but there\'s tons of people around all over the world these days who may be able to guide you through an experience as well or better than a shaman. Doing it with a shaman would likely influence your experience towards themes of ancient societies and stuff like that.... but really all a psychedelic does is manifest your mind and project whats in your mind blended through your senses and emotions. I think its best to take a psychedelic with as little preconceived notions as possible so you get the clearest and most accurate picture of whats actually in your head. That\'s where the therapy value is.
Anyway, shrooms or *** for your introduction, trust me. All phenethlyamines don\'t hold the same value (including mescaline). Also keep in mind a shaman is going to give you a FAT dose of whatever he gives you (aya, mescaline, whatever), that\'s just the way they roll. I disagree with this strategy and find that just as much or more value can be taken from medium/light trips, with the added benefit of not freaking you out.
Feel free to PM me if you got any questions, I have more experience with this stuff than anybody really should
