Drugs Become Medicine when you Integrate
So you wanna do ayahuasca? A good experience means you need to prepare for your ceremony.
With my one single ayahuasca ceremony under my belt, one would hardly say that I’m an expert in plant medicines. However, I’ve done a lot of research and introspection about this subject. And I can confidently say that your success in the ayahuasca arena comes down to two things: preparation and integration.
Preparation – The physical preparation is fairly easy–most guides suggest a week of eating clean, drinking plenty of water, and no sugars or sodas. Unfortunately, I didn’t follow these simple instructions and showed up for the biggest race of my life with an empty tank of gas. I could have prevented this, so do not make this same mistake!
Preparation also means being comfortable in your set and setting. I loved my guide, watching him chant and sing and dance was a spiritual experience in itself. In researching him and having someone I trusted refer him to me, I was doing my preparation homework. Set and setting are everything in psychedelic medicine, and I was grateful I didn’t just hit up a back-alley ayahuasca sesh with my massage therapist’s brother in his buddy’s sketchy basement. (Have these carpets been cleaned within the last decade? And why am I covered in pet hair? barf.)
THE DIVINE ASSEMBLY
Connect personally with the Divine
Mental preparation is also vital for a life-changing experience. Not planning for implementing your new knowledge will set you up for failure. I have a friend who has the money, time, and access to ceremony after ceremony. He has experienced some mind-blowing insights in every journey, but has never done anything to incorporate those changes into his life. And then he wonders why the medicine doesn’t work? With this attitude, it makes his experiences nothing more than a person getting high.
So what would be the difference between getting high and having the medicine change your life? The answer is incredibly simple and is shared by my friend, Sara Urquhart: the medicine is only life-changing if you actually do the work to change your life. The medicine will give you insights. If you continue to behave in the exact same ways as before those ayahuasca ah-ha moments, nothing will change.
Integration – Integration looks 100% like hiring a great therapist or enrolling in a program to help you implement your beautiful, new epiphanies into your life. I have been going to my therapist, twice a week for nine months prior to my ceremony. That period of time was intense for my family because I was navigating through big traumas when we started. But having therapy boot-camp helped me prepare me for this journey. I talk a great deal with my husband about all of my thoughts, feelings and ideas, we integrate together constantly. But having an actual professional who helps me identify and integrate changed behaviors is the biggest factor in this scenario that guarantees maximum return on my money.
Speaking of your money, ayahuasca ceremonies are not cheap. They range anywhere from about $250.00 for a local session up to $2500.00 for a travel experience.
I have seen, first hand, what plant medicine can do. I have experienced intense, radical acceptance and gained clarity into some painful life situations because I had ayahuasca’s medicine running through my veins. I have unlocked creativity inside of me that has been dormant in my soul for years. And my confidence is slowly returning. This medicine is ACTUALLY working, and I’m delighted.
Ayahuasca has reminded me that I am a strong, smart person who just lost herself for a while. This is my time to heal myself and my painful past and help others do the same. If this kind of healing is interesting to you, please do your research, prepare properly, and integrate fully. This medicine is life-changing, so get ready to change your life.
Follow Mindi Albrecht, the psychedelic pioneer trek on Instagram @plantmedicinepioneer and Facebook: Plant Medicine Pioneer