News
The Shaman's Brew
It has been described as a muddy brown liquid with an earthy taste. Ayahuasca is a herbal drink created from plants in the Amazon. Used for centuries in healing and cleansing ceremonies, the tea — which is illegal in the United States — has recently has discovered by tourists, who seek out shamans hoping to enlighten them with eye-opening experiences.
According to dr. Robin Rodd, ayahuasca refers to a decoction made from Banisteriopsis caapi and a wide range of other plants. B. Caapi is a vine that grows throughout the Amazon region.
An anthropologist at James Cook University in Australia, dr. Rodd has spent more than a decade studying ayahuasca as an element of shamanic practices of the Piaroa ethnic group in Venezuela, and recently has researched the Australian ayahuasca drinking ritual in relation to spirituality.
Apparently, ayahuasca use has moved out of the Amazonian rainforests and into cities around the world. A wide variety of people have become interested in ayahuasca. Some are attracted to its mind-expanding possibilities, others associate it with spiritual growth or awakenings, some seek answers to important life questions, and others might be looking to be healed.
Ayahuasca involves a range of psychoactive compounds that alter perception and change mood. Ayahuasca effects are highly variable and, like other hallucinogenic drugs, are contingent on the person's mindset and the social and physical setting in which it is consumed. Some people report extremely vivid visions, others report no visions at all. Sometimes people feel nausea or simply vomit, and other times people may feel a deep sense of joy, wonder, fear or connection with other people or even other species.
Ayahuasca can have very variable effects, which is why people have tended to approach it with caution. A lot of medical research has already been conducted that demonstrates that long-term use does not, on its own, produce any negative health effects and in some cases seems to indicate health benefits (sense of well-being, cessation of smoking). There is a lot of medical research currently underway to explore ayahuasca's potential health benefits, including in relation to treating addiction and depression.
According to dr. Robin Rodd, ayahuasca refers to a decoction made from Banisteriopsis caapi and a wide range of other plants. B. Caapi is a vine that grows throughout the Amazon region.
An anthropologist at James Cook University in Australia, dr. Rodd has spent more than a decade studying ayahuasca as an element of shamanic practices of the Piaroa ethnic group in Venezuela, and recently has researched the Australian ayahuasca drinking ritual in relation to spirituality.
Apparently, ayahuasca use has moved out of the Amazonian rainforests and into cities around the world. A wide variety of people have become interested in ayahuasca. Some are attracted to its mind-expanding possibilities, others associate it with spiritual growth or awakenings, some seek answers to important life questions, and others might be looking to be healed.
Ayahuasca involves a range of psychoactive compounds that alter perception and change mood. Ayahuasca effects are highly variable and, like other hallucinogenic drugs, are contingent on the person's mindset and the social and physical setting in which it is consumed. Some people report extremely vivid visions, others report no visions at all. Sometimes people feel nausea or simply vomit, and other times people may feel a deep sense of joy, wonder, fear or connection with other people or even other species.
Ayahuasca can have very variable effects, which is why people have tended to approach it with caution. A lot of medical research has already been conducted that demonstrates that long-term use does not, on its own, produce any negative health effects and in some cases seems to indicate health benefits (sense of well-being, cessation of smoking). There is a lot of medical research currently underway to explore ayahuasca's potential health benefits, including in relation to treating addiction and depression.