MY KETAMINE JOURNEY

Hell and Back

4/28/2019

 
I've decided to share another fascinating article on ayahuasca, this one from the same person who recommended The Doors of Perception:
www.kirasalak.com/Peru.html
Some thoughts on it:
There are, of course, similarities between this and Sean Illing’s Vox article, but the one I found the most interesting was how both authors decided to take a second trip even though the first time cleared up their depression. Perhaps Sean also had “stubborn enemies” hiding out in his psyche.

There’s also something Salak mentions that reminds me of something I mentioned in a post of mine (my-third-session.html): directness. It seems ketamine and ayahuasca alike are good at bypassing the need for a therapist and getting directly to “the core”. Another thing that resonated with me is the suppression of emotions. I too don’t feel it’s a sign of strength and feel resentful about the fact I’ve felt the need to suppress some of my emotions related to my depression.

All that being said, I found one striking difference between Salak’s article and Illing’s: Salak’s trip seemed to be much more religious in nature. It makes me wonder if it has something to do with the fact that Salak took the drug in Peru whereas Illing took it in Costa Rica. Perhaps it’s a cultural difference between the two places?

One major component of this can be seen in a metaphorical light though the shamans don’t seem to see it that way. According to them, whenever a traumatic happens to us, we lose a part of our spirit. Unless we undergo soul retrieval, those parts will be forever lost to us. Each one contains an element of who we truly are: sense of humor, trust of others, innocence, etc.

There’s also the part mentioning the materialist angle. Salak talks about how she grew up among “fundamentalist atheists” (whatever that means). Her lack of happiness, though, drove her into the arms of shamanism. Furthermore, it’s difficult to catalog the drugs effect because it seems to affect people on three different levels: the physical, psychological, and spiritual.

However, I nevertheless agree with Benny Shanon’s take: “Under [ayahuasca’s] intoxication, people’s imagination and creative powers are greatly enhanced. Thus, their minds are prone to create the fantastic images they see with the brew” and Ralph Metzner’s observation “[Healing with ayahuasca] presumes a completely different understanding of illness and medicine than what we are accustomed to in the West.”
​
I don’t think the problem is materialism per se. Rather, our use of science over the centuries has sterilized the world too much for us, and we’ve lost touch with a part of what it means to be human. That’s why Joseph Campbell’s works are so popular. Like lost knowledge about sleep, we’ve lost the art of myth making. For instance, although scientists have confirmed the existence of animals like the giant squid, there seem to be no more monsters left in the world. Maybe the old will be new again.
 
Lauren Ross
4/29/2019 03:41:06 am

This is very beautifully written! From what I have read, ayahuasca has a dramatic effect on some people’s lives. Some people who take it are not affected at all. It’s strange... perhaps some people have more susceptibility to DMT, or as some say ayahuasca chooses who it wants to help. I don’t think any of these substances provide a permanent fix and perhaps that is why people go back a second time. People who live in depressing situations and/or have a chemical susceptibility to depression will likely always fall back into it. However, ayahuasca will change your life and give you a new perspective. And that is priceless.

Alex Freeman
4/29/2019 01:41:02 pm

Thanks for the compliment! I think you're right about drugs not providing a permanent fix. I too have not stopped getting ketamine. However, I wonder if taking ayahuasca just once would be a great supplement to ketamine because of the new perspective it might give me.

Irene
5/1/2019 12:55:51 pm

I have included two paragraphs from the article that reveal amazing things about ayahuasca.
Paragraph 1:
The studies found that all the ayahuasca-using UDV members had experienced remission without recurrence of their addictions, depression, or anxiety disorders. In addition, blood samples revealed a startling discovery: Ayahuasca seems to give users a greater sensitivity to serotonin—one of the mood-regulating chemical produced by the body—by increasing the number of serotonin receptors on nerve cells.*
*This is amazing – increasing serotonin receptors!

Paragraph #2:
Hamilton explains it this way: Everyone has an energetic body run by an inextinguishable life force. In Eastern traditions, this force, known as chi or prana, is manipulated through such things as acupuncture* or yoga to run smoothly and prevent the buildup of the negative energies that cause bodily disease, mental illness, and even death. To Amazonian shamans, however, these negative energies are actual spirit entities that attach themselves to the body and cause mischief. In everyone, Hamilton asserts, there is a loving “higher self,” but whenever unpleasant thoughts enter a person’s mind—anger, fear, sorrow—it’s because a dark spirit is hooked to the body and is temporarily commandeering the person’s mind. In some cases, he adds, particularly evil spirits from the lowest hell of the “astral realms” take over a person permanently—known as full-blown demonic possession—creating a psychopathic mind that seeks only to harm others.
*Remember your euphoria when you had acupuncture so long ago?

Alex Freeman
5/1/2019 01:03:37 pm

Oh, yeah. I'd forgotten about those points, particularly the one about all the studies finding that all the ayahuasca-using UDV members had experienced remission without recurrence of their depression. I wonder why Illing and Salak would go again then.

Your mention of Hamilton actually reminds me of this sentence: "He is like a mirror, always reflecting back your own ego, showing you your attachments, your fixations, your fears." He seems to be the bleak mirror personified.

Irene
5/2/2019 07:44:07 am

I like the quote on Hamilton. He does seem to be the bleak mirror.


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    I am Alex Freeman, and this is my blog on my experiences with ketamine.

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