LESS EGO / MORE SOUL

Imagine living in a culture where magic exists, where spirits are commonly communed with, where to understand the fullness of what is really happening all around you, you must drop all preconceptions and open your eyes – really wide.

Well, that’s where I’m off to on Tuesday; into the heart of the Peruvian jungle, to walk the line between the visible and invisible. I’ll be on an ayahuasca retreat and then off to Brazil to rejuvenate.

In the meantime I’ve been reading the incredible experiences of Peter Gorman in his book Ayahuasca in My Blood and it’s blowing my mind.

 

“The vision was a small revelation. I realized that most thoughts are impersonal happenings, like self-assembling machines. Unless we train ourselves, the thoughts passing through our mind have little involvement with our will. It is strange to realize that even our own thoughts pass by like scenery out the window of a bus – a bus we took by accident, while trying to get somewhere else. Most of the time, thinking is an autonomous process, something that happens outside of our control. This perception of the machine-like quality of the self is something that many people discover, then try to overcome, through meditation.”

– Daniel Pinchbeck, Breaking Open The Head

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gagR2_Yi8wE&w=560&h=349]

You can go to Peru to find yourself through an Ayahuasca ceremony led by a local shaman.

It is said to be an incredibly enlightening ceremony, allowing a human to move beyond their own conditioning, acomodadors, inhibitions, psychological limitations, depressions, fears, addictions and pain.

But, be warned, it is a trip which often involves going into the darkness of your psyche.

If they haven’t spent much time exploring your own internal landscape, many participants describe themselves as surrounded by infinite fear and dark satanic creatures, alone in an unfamiliar realm that even your worst nightmare would even fail to emulate.

So whats the attraction?

Enlightenment.

Healing. Self-development.

A new perspective on life.

Freedom.

This article by National Geographic sheds some pretty awesome insight on the experience.

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NB: this post was written before ever having tried Ayahuasca. In my experience, I have found grandmother Aya to be a very reasonable and loving teacher, who has led me to expand and understand myself in so many beautiful ways. You can read about some of my experiences here.

For a more diverse exploration check out these articles on Reality Sandwich.

If you are interested in travelling to Peru for healing and self exploration, might I recommend the Temple of the Way of Light.