After watching The Sacred Science for the second time, I’m finding that I’m very interested in the idea of ayahuasca. From the movie, I’ve gathered that ayahuasca, which is also known as yagé, is plant medicine that will heal all who are sick, as well as create an altered state of consciousness. But as we found in the movie, not all were successful with an ayahuasca treatment. I think this is because pushing away the concept of healing will deny the process, positive attracts positive and vice versa. Ayahuasca is known as a purifier or the medicine for those who are not lucky with love. I’ve also gathered from another source that ayahuasca is a brew that is used to heal people. It originated Peru, specifically in the Amazon Rainforest. …show more content…
It’s used in traditional ceremonies as a spiritual medicine. Some even say that they gained instruction on how to use ayahuasca from plant spirits (Wikipedia, 2015). Ayahuasca is commonly used by Shamans in the Amazon Rainforest in South America (What is Ayahuasca?). Shamanism is a practice where people reach states of consciousness that have been altered. By attainting this, we would have the ability to connect with the spiritual world as well as transition energy from said spirit world into our world today. A Shaman, is a person who is considered to have access as well as influence in the spiritual world that contains evil and bad spirits. When people enter a Shamanistic ritual, it is said that people will enter this world of good and evil spirits (Shamanism, Wikipedia, 2015). Ayahuasca is mainly composed of the ayahuasca vine which is known as the banisteriopsis caapi vine. It is also combined with a few other plants such as chacruna or chagropanga. Typically made from a combination of two or three plants, there have been ayahuasca mixtures with up to 55 different plants in them, it all depends on what it’s being used for, some examples include: ayahuma bark, which helps the soul find the body again after fleeing due to trauma or spiritual fright, or capirona bark, that provides protection and a cleansing (Ayahuasca , Wikipedia, 2015). It’s preparation takes a little time. First the ayahuasca vine is boiled by itself or with the leaves from different plants depending on what the drink is focusing in on. Some ayahuasca drinks will contain the hallucinogen DMT, but all depends on why and who it’s being prepared for (Kilham). Ayahuasca is mostly used within in religious rituals. Rituals are typically held in the night as well as specific days of the week. Locations include a Shaman’s house or clinical site, and are completed in total darkness. They usually contain four to eight patients at a time. A ritual would begin at around eight or nine at night and run about seven hours (Ayahuasca, Wikipedia, 2015). A Shaman will drink ayahuasca so he or she will have the ability so visualize the causes of the patients illness. On occasion, the patient will drink the ayahuasca as well. During the ritual, a Shaman may by singing power songs to invite the good spirits and perform healing. Tobacco smoke is also blown all over the patient and the ayahuasca to attract all the positive energy needed for healing (Temple of the Way of Light). In some cases as well, the patient may be invited to sit with the Shaman, where he or she will sing specific songs focused on the patient and their healing. Materials used for rituals depend on the needs of the patients. Things such as crystals, incense, and rattles have been used in different scenarios (What is Ayahuasca?). Today, in the 20th century, ayahuasca drinking has been spreading to Europe, parts of North America and more. Today, dozens, even hundreds of ayahuasca rituals are taking place on the weekends in the United States. It’s said that in North America and Europe, ayahuasca rituals are performed with a drink not actually made of ayahuasca but of a concoction that yields similar results (Ayahuasca, Wikipedia, 2015). This is because in the United States, the law sates that any substance that has DMT in it, has a potential of harming other people and also offers no medical benefit and is therefore banned. This means that Shamans who travel to the United States are likely to smuggle the concoction containing DMT here, to give patients the full experience of ayahuasca. An example of a substitution would be that Syrian rue plant is commonly used in place of the ayahuasca vine or the banisteriopsis caapi vine, as well as several options to use in place of DMT. But an ayahuasca drink without DMT will remove the hallucinogenic aspect, causing some to believe that it’s non beneficial. I find the effects of ayahuasca to be very intriguing.
I found that many who have consumed ayahuasca have experienced spiritual revelations in relation to their destiny here on earth as well as how to be the best person they possibly can. This is absolutely amazing, I want to be the best person I can possibly be, and I’ve also wondered at times what my purpose here on earth is, to possibly receive an answer through ayahuasca is remarkable. My Stepmom, who has a very deep spiritual connection recently went to Sedona, Arizona on a spiritual retreat. While she was there she participated in group drumming circles under the full moon out in the desert, as well as group reiki sessions. My Stepmom is a reiki master and her deep connection from her attunements to become a reiki master and the spiritual world is a very unique sight in itself, she often amazes me with her wisdom. While in Sedona, she was able to watch an ayahuasca ceremony. Some of the women she was on the retreat with decided to participate in it. She said it was something she had never seen before, and she also wished that she had participated in it. The spiritual connection between the patient and the Shaman was something that she could see develop over the course of the seven hour ritual, the patients could have walked in telling the Shaman nothing, and by the time it was over. The Shaman basically knew everything about them, from their childhood to every little minute problem in their life. After the ritual, many who participated felt much more centered within their bodies as well as connected to the spiritual world and the
earth. I’m unsure if ayahuasca is something that should be used within the medical field, due to the fact that DMT is illegal in the United States. Although, I do think that Shaman rituals should be offered to anyone who requests it. The effectiveness of spiritual healing primarily depends on whether the recipient believes or not. Negative vibes can truly altar the results of any spiritual healing. This makes is hard for some people to receive the full benefits of a spiritual ritual. I was once there myself, the spiritual world seemed like fiction. I do like that idea that ayahuasca is becoming more and more popular in the United States and I’m hoping that one day, I’ll be able to either sit in on a ritual or participate in one. I think either watching or participating can really help with one’s spiritual connection with the earth.
Ross defines and differentiates between the terms healing and curing. She recognizes the fact that healing and curing are very intertwined and it can be hard to distinguish between the two terms. There are differences between the definitions in scholarly and general settings. She references an ethnographic study of healing versus curing conducted by anthropologists Andrew Strathern and Pamela Stewart in 1999 with native groups in New Guinea. The results of the study looked at how energy used by the different types of tribal healers to either cure or heal a patient. Eastern medicine focuses on how energy interacts with the healing process in connection within the mind. Whereas Western medicine is focused on the mind and the body separately. The practice is considered a holistic approach to finding cures. According to Ross (2013), healing is more a therapeutic process targeting the whole body and specific illness including emotional, mental, and social aspects in the treatment. The act of curing is a pragmatic approach that focuses on removing the problem all together. The life experiences of a person playing into how well certain treatments will heal or cure what is ailing them. These aspects can not be defined with textbook definitions. The interaction that the healing process has with energy is a variable in the success rate. Uncontrolled emotions can have a greater impact on the inside the body than a person can realize. The exploration of energy interaction within the body can be used for greater analysis of health care systems. (21-22). Are Western healthcare facilities purposely “curing” patients just so that they return are few years later? Is Western Medicine built upon a negative feedback loop? The terminolo...
Erika Dyck provides the reader and interesting view of early historical psychological research on LSD, lysergic acid diethyl-amide. This book is composed of Dyck’s scientific interpretation and dissection of earlier psychedelic psychiatry research by Humphry Osmond, and Abraham Hoffer. A Swiss biochemist named Albert Hofmann dissolved a minimal amount of d-lysergic acid diethyl-amide in a glass of water and digested this new synthetic drug in April 1943. Three hours later he begins to feel dizzy and his vision was distorted. Hofmann recollects this as a surreal journey as if what he saw was created by the famous paintings of Salvador Dali unexplained carnivalesque or at some moments even nightmarish hallucinations. The drug began gaining support from pharmaceutical companies as something that can possibly be beneficial for future scientific study. Saskatchewan soon became one of the epicenters harvesting break through biochemical innovation and experimentation with LSD from the 1950s to 1960s.
Thomas, Gerald, et al. "Ayahuasca-Assisted Therapy for Addiction: Results from a Preliminary Observational Study in Canada." Current Drug Abuse Reviews 6.1 (2013): 1-13.Google Scholar. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.
Boyer, B., Boyer, R., & Basehart, H. 1973. Hallucinogens and Shamanism M. Hamer, Ed.. England: Oxford University Press.
LSD has proved that the mind contains much higher powers and energies, beyond the average10% of the brain that a typical human uses. These powers and energies, under the right circumstances, can be taken advantage of to benefit human kind spiritually, creatively, therapeutically, and intellectually. LSD has given human kind the option to chemically trigger mental energies and powers. Arguments that LSD is potentially a dangerous discovery and mind control should be strictly prohibited by the government holds much validity, although there are benefits and arguments of personal freedom of neurology to consider. Whether LSD reflects negativity as a weapon and mind control drug, or radiates euphoria as a mind-expanding chemical and sacrament, the choice to engage in such an experience should be through personal reasoning. It is not the states and other bureaucracies’ duties to take control of the human brain and body.
"The feeling of doing DMT is as though one had been struck by noetic lightning. The ordinary world is almost instantaneously replaced, not only with a hallucination, but a hallucination whose alien character is its utter alienness. Nothing in this world can prepare one for the impressions that fill your mind when you enter the DMT sensorium."- McKenna.
Psychedelic drugs affect more then creativity, they are also known to have the ability to increase the users sense of spirituality and religion. In the academic journal, “Voice of The Psychonauts,” author Levente Moro explores the correlation between spirituality, and psychedelic drug use. He claims that when psychedelic drugs are taken in a “supportive” environment they have the ability to induce “deeply meaningful religious revelations and spiritual awakenings” (Moro et al. 190). Psychedelic drug use in hopes of spiritual revelations is not new, and has actually been going on for hundreds of years. The Native American Church has been known to traditionally use psychedelic drugs for spiritual experiences (Moro et al. 190). Some Mexican tribes are also known to ingest psilocybin mushrooms in order to induce religious awakenings (Moro et al. 190). To further prove his argument, Levente Moro conducted an online survey amongst 667 random people. His results suggested that people still take psychedelic drugs in order to have religious experiences, even though it is looked down upon in certain religious groups (Moro et al. 195). Levente Moro is not the only one interested in psychedelic drugs and religion. Many other scientists have also examined this theory. In the article, “Values and Beliefs of Psychedelic Drug Users,” author Michael Lerner also discusses the relationship between psychedelic drug use and spirituality. Lerner also believes that when psychedelic drugs are taken with the correct mindset, they have the ability to increase ones sense of religion. In order to test his theory, Michael Lerner had 183 volunteers fill out a questionnaire. Even though he conducted the survey amongst people from all over the world...
In order to understand and base an opinion on a religion that is centralized around a drug, you must first understand the drug itself. Peyote is a small, round cactus that grows in the southern US and Mexico. Rather than spines or spikes, peyote has fuzzy tufts that stuck out from it’s edges. Only about an inch of the cactus is viewable above ground, with the majority of it being the deeply buried, carrot-like root structure. The small portion that is above ground is harvested, and is referred to as the peyote “button”. It is consumed either freshly cut, or dried, and has some extreme effects on the body.
the problems it created in the 60's because the average street dose is al least
A largely debated topic in today's society is whether or not psychedelic drugs should be legalized for medicinal purposes and if they should, how this legalization would affect the communities in which they’re being prominently medicinally used. Although many scientists have argued that psychedelics pose a mental health risk, closer examination shows that communities would have a significantly lower depression rate if certain psychedelics were legalized. Now to fully understand how psychedelics could be beneficial or the opposite thereof, you’ll need to understand how they work and what they are. What a psychedelic drug is, the immediate effects, both mentally and physically, and how communities might benefit and function with the sudden use of these drugs.
Throughout time, mankind has persistently been seeking ways to maintain their health and to cure those that had not been so fortunate in that task. Just about everything has been experimented with as a cure for some type of illness; whether physical, spiritual or mental. There has always been evidence of spiritual healing and it will continue to be an important part of any healing process, large or small.
LSD stands for Iysergic acid diethylamide. LSD is a hallucinate know to be the most powerful drug of this kind. LSD is commonly known as acid. This drug changes a person’s mental state by distorting the perception of reality to the point where at high doses hallucination occurs. Acid is derived from a fungus that grows on rye and other grains. It is semi-synthetic. It’s manufactured chemically in illicit laboratories, except for a small percent, which is produced legally for research.
“Of all the Buddhist groups in America, those focusing on meditation have been most attractive to young people from the drug scene, and it is these groups that have taken the strongest stand against drug use. The psychological literature as well as the literature on Zen abounds in descriptions of the altered states of consciousness experienced under the influence of LSD-25 and other hallucinogenic drugs. Descriptions of these drug-induced states often compare them with the experience of satori or enlightenment which may result from Buddhist meditation. Frequently the opinion is expressed that, under certain circumstances, the LSD experience is a satori experience. ”
It is important for us to learn a much as we can about hallucinogenic plants. A great amount of scientific literature has been published about their uses and effects, but the information is locked away in technical journals. No matter whether we believe the use of hallucinogenic plants is right or wrong, they have played an extensive role in human culture and probably will continue to do so.
Pre-Columbian Mexicans used many substances, from tobacco to mind-expanding (hallucinogenic) plants, in their medicinal collections. The most fascinating of these substances are sacred mushrooms, used in religious ceremonies to induce altered states of mind, not just drunkenness.