blig-blug's Ayahuasca experience log

[Transform]

XIX log update:

Dose: 230mg harmala freebase (from Rue) @ T-00:30 + 3ml tincture (equivalent to 1.5g Mimosa) @ T+00:00 + 3ml tincture (same) @ T+01:00. With empty stomach, fasted for 10 hours. Very late at night.

This was an experiment to try the tannin-free Mimosa tincture made following @Transform 's tek. As he had warned of signs of potential convulsant activity, I had a lower dose than I would have otherwise. So this was mainly an experiment to see the effects.

Due to some noise from the neighbors next door getting ready to leave the village the next day, I had to take it very late at night. The effects from the harmala alkaloids proved to me that the muricata doses I've had were low (and thus the material I have is weak): I started feeling as if transported to another world before I even drank the tincture.

The tincture had a very mild flavor, not unpleasant at all. Combined with the fact that it's so little volume of liquid, it was very easy to drink. This is a good plus. I couldn't feel any tannin dryness in my mouth (as it's supposed to be).

When I went upstairs, I found out I had forgotten to prepare some basics (bring there my mp3 player and earphones, a second blanket, a pillow...) and as I was already feeling effects come up, I frantically went downstairs to look for all I needed. It was difficult to find in the state I was in, and when I finally got it all my heart was pounding. I think I'm going to write down a checklist for the next time, because this is not a good way to start an experience, and I tend to be forgetful.

As I laid down, I felt profoundly relaxed. Soon, strong flashes of vibrating light appeared, and over time they developed into phantasmagorical, flickering images. Their style was very much that of Mimosa CEVs as opposed to pure DMT (at least for me): less well defined but somehow more realistic, quickly shifting (in this case they flickered fast and over time a new image started alternating with the old one during the flicker and finally replaced it), and with a feeling of "space" to them. So the tincture must have successfully extracted other actives besides DMT.

The content of the CEVs this time was very unusual for me, and somewhat embarrassing to recall. There were many women, specifically young women, very beautiful and often acting in a very sexually provocative way. Some of them naked. At times it was not sexual but they were looking upwards as if in prayer while crying. Over time, the images started being predominantly in an anime style (and I don't usually watch anime). Despite the high amount of sexual content, the feeling was one of sadness. I don't know why.

After some time, the CEVs started to become more abstract, and I think I would have started to have realistic-type visions if the dose had been higher. I started to have many complex trains of thought that I can't recall well. Part of it is due to it being unusually late, so I was tired and I think at some points I was drifting into a state not far from dreaming. I remembered many good moments of my life and friends I appreciate but haven't seen in a long time. I realized how their image had been slowly fading from my mind: now I could see them again clearly, as they are, a very fresh and vivid image. I'm going to reach out to them soon.

I also saw clearly the reason I misinterpreted @fink 's recent posts: the real problem is not how they were written, but that some posts he made before triggered some very negative associations, and so I was predisposed to misinterpreting it from the beginning. I apologize for that @fink , I was harsh just due to my own misinterpretations and issues.

At many points I could feel different presences, most of them benevolent. Unlike other times, I had no gastric discomfort (very slight bloating, but not uncomfortable) and didn't have muscle tension, I was very relaxed and felt safe and comfortable. So about three and a half hours in, everything started getting more and more dreamy, and eventually I fell asleep. When I woke up (five and a half hours after taking the Mimosa) there were still noticeable effects, although not strong. I went to bed, and when I woke up this morning I was still having tracers, at T+9:00! This is very unusual for me, also considering that the dose was not too high.

So the tincture worked perfectly, and it's exactly what I was looking for: the Mimosa effects without stomach pain. The tek is great and it's going to be my go-to way of preparing Mimosa. So thank you @Transform! As I didn't perceive any worrying effects, I'm going to try a higher dose with harmalas next time. And if it works well, I'll combine it with B. muricata.

Thank you for carrying out this test, the news has really uplifted my day (not that it was bad here to start with )

It seems to me that your iterative approach in preparing the TnT tincture helped you avoid adding an excess of lime and thus contributed to preserving much of the broader spectrum of effects from the natural material.

So, in adding your positive report to that of @Denverevolution, it sounds like this heralds the time to get it written up as an official "Tek", as has long been promised. Were there any particular nuances to the tincture preparation process, as you experienced it, that seem worthy of note? It would be useful to dial this in as neatly as possible to help prevent future explorers from needlessly encountering the difficulties and disappointments that @Sicho Naut, in particular, had to deal with.

It's also nice to read your trip report as a key part of what makes the whole endeavour worthwhile. The perspective shift and empathic understanding it brought was a feature I've previously noted, too.

One question, actually regarding the imagery - what night was this experience engaged with? Was it in the past week? I ask because I had some very uncharacteristic dream imagery involving lots of naked people one night recently, within the last seven days. (I really ought to be in the habit of keeping a dream diary.) It just strikes me as a bit of a funny coincidence, even if these two things might not have temporally aligned so precisely.

And a final question about technique - did you do anything to reduce the pH of the fairly alkaline tincture?

 

[blig-blug]

It seems to me that your iterative approach in preparing the TnT tincture helped you avoid adding an excess of lime and thus contributed to preserving much of the broader spectrum of effects from the natural material.

Maybe also it was the fact that the lime was so clumpy, so it likely was not very effective compared to properly powdered lime. In this case, if it contributed to a more full-spectrum tincture, it's a positive for me. But some people may seek to minimize that and get only DMT as much as possible.

Were there any particular nuances to the tincture preparation process, as you experienced it, that seem worthy of note?

I did it in cold vodka instead of vodka heated to 60C and it seems to have worked well. I don't know if it will have made any difference. I left it in the vodka for several hours, but the vodka became very dark red in a very short time. Other than that, and the issue I had with my lime not being effective at first, nothing. The process is very simple and straightforward. What is important to make clear is that the lime should be added little by little and mixed well before adding more.

It's also nice to read your trip report as a key part of what makes the whole endeavour worthwhile. The perspective shift and empathic understanding it brought was a feature I've previously noted, too.

I can barely believe I had Mimosa effects without stomach pain! After so many times dealing with that. I find the effects I get from Mimosa and from this tincture to be more "earthly" and grounded, while pure DMT is often "cosmic".

One question, actually regarding the imagery - what night was this experience engaged with? Was it in the past week? I ask because I had some very uncharacteristic dream imagery involving lots of naked people one night recently, within the last seven days. (I really ought to be in the habit of keeping a dream diary.) It just strikes me as a bit of a funny coincidence, even if these two things might not have temporally aligned so precisely.

Just last night (meaning the night before this morning). That's interesting, it was very uncharacteristic for me too, I had never gotten this many naked and sexual images during an experience. Usually there are none or at most one or two at random moments. In this occasion it probably kept going for an hour or so.

And a final question about technique - did you do anything to reduce the pH of the fairly alkaline tincture?

No, I didn't even think about it... Right now I have no pH paper (I should get some) so I didn't measure it. And didn't consider that there will be some lime dissolved. I did have the second dose dissolved in a good amount of apple juice (that has citric acid and vitamin C added), so at least that dose had a lower pH. I didn't feel any discomfort in my mouth or throat with either of the doses.
What was the pH when you did it? Do you think it's dangerous or unhealthy to drink it without correcting pH?

 

[blig-blug]

A couple of things I just remembered about the process, in case it's relevant. Before reducing the tincture, I had it sitting in the fridge, and a very fine layer of something (I assume lime) formed at the bottom. I discarded it by carefully pouring the liquid and filtering it again. Then, when I was boiling the tincture to reduce it (I boiled it in the end), a small cloudy layer of fine particulate matter formed at the top. That layer disappeared after a while, when the tincture was already quite reduced. Do you have any ideas of what that could be? It could be lime, but in that case I wonder why it seemed to dissolve later.

 

[Transform]

What was the pH when you did it? Do you think it's dangerous or unhealthy to drink it without correcting pH?

In those tiny-ish quantities there's no great danger or health risk, although one still ought to be cautious about getting it in one's eyes, perhaps. From what I recall (of acorn tincture, iirc) the pH was at least 12 as measured by narrow-range pH strips. In that case, ascorbic acid was added to bring the pH into a more usual range for beverages. The pH-corrected TnT acorn liqueur was quite palatable and a bit whisky-like.

My thinking in this was also that some people report more nausea when using freebase DMT compared to using a salt form, or solution in acidic media like fruit juices.

Anyhow, it should not be at all surprising that the pH of a solution of a tertiary amine like DMT would be above 12, with or without excess lime.

Thanks for the additional details, and I'm not sure what the transient scum you observed during the reduction might have been, nor why it should redissolve, but one of the components of the extract may have been forced out of solution as the alcohol level decreased and then subsequently decomposed into something more soluble, perhaps.

 

[blig-blug]

XX log update:

Dose: 230mg harmala freebase (from Rue) @ T-00:30 + 2.5ml tincture (equivalent to 2.5g Mimosa) @ T+00:00. Fasted for 10 hours. At night.

This one was pretty bad, and it was my fault.

I had planned eating rice early for lunch for the day, so I could easily digest it for it to not cause any issues. I added some oil to it, and I must have added too much, because it didn't sit well in my stomach, causing discomfort for several hours. I was waiting to see if it would stop, to not take anything unless it did. And, apparently, it did stop.

So, I had the harmalas, and they started being effective quite fast. No discomfort. Then, I had the Mimosa (1g more than last time) and went upstairs. For about an hour I had no effects from the Mimosa whatsoever. Then, I still didn't, but started to feel worse and worse in the stomach. It started at some discomfort like during the day, but it got worse and worse to a lot of pain. And somehow no nausea whatsoever. Still no effects from Mimosa.

Suddenly, I had an urge to go to the bathroom (but it wasn't diarrhea). As soon as I was done, I vomited some thick liquid with a lot of acid. I was feeling even worse so I waited there to see if I would vomit more, and could see that there were little oil droplets in what I had vomited, confirming that the issue had been the oil. I vomited a small amount more after a while, and then went back upstairs.

I felt better, still not good but the pain was reduced. I had some mild Mimosa effects, but I must have vomited most of it. I could see some patterns in what before were only harmala phosphenes, but that was all. Little mental effects other than the effects of the harmalas.

Around 3 hours 45 minutes after having the Mimosa, I went to bed, as I had almost fallen asleep once already. But then I couldn't sleep. I'm sure in reality I must have been able to sleep from time to time, but as far as I'm aware, I've been awake the whole night. Fortunately I didn't have much stomach pain. My mind was overactive thinking discursively about many topics that I don't remember, and from time to time I had some bluish mild patterns, as if I was absorbing some small amounts of Mimosa randomly.

I think this one has been the worst so far, at least in physical suffering. So I have learned my lesson: next time that I have stomach issues for some hours in the afternoon I won't have anything, even if it seems to have subsided.

 

[Tumupasa]

XX log update:

Dose: 230mg harmala freebase (from Rue) @ T-00:30 + 2.5ml tincture (equivalent to 2.5g Mimosa) @ T+00:00. Fasted for 10 hours. At night.

This one was pretty bad, and it was my fault.

I had planned eating rice early for lunch for the day, so I could easily digest it for it to not cause any issues. I added some oil to it, and I must have added too much, because it didn't sit well in my stomach, causing discomfort for several hours. I was waiting to see if it would stop, to not take anything unless it did. And, apparently, it did stop.

So, I had the harmalas, and they started being effective quite fast. No discomfort. Then, I had the Mimosa (1g more than last time) and went upstairs. For about an hour I had no effects from the Mimosa whatsoever. Then, I still didn't, but started to feel worse and worse in the stomach. It started at some discomfort like during the day, but it got worse and worse to a lot of pain. And somehow no nausea whatsoever. Still no effects from Mimosa.

Suddenly, I had an urge to go to the bathroom (but it wasn't diarrhea). As soon as I was done, I vomited some thick liquid with a lot of acid. I was feeling even worse so I waited there to see if I would vomit more, and could see that there were little oil droplets in what I had vomited, confirming that the issue had been the oil. I vomited a small amount more after a while, and then went back upstairs.

I felt better, still not good but the pain was reduced. I had some mild Mimosa effects, but I must have vomited most of it. I could see some patterns in what before were only harmala phosphenes, but that was all. Little mental effects other than the effects of the harmalas.

Around 3 hours 45 minutes after having the Mimosa, I went to bed, as I had almost fallen asleep once already. But then I couldn't sleep. I'm sure in reality I must have been able to sleep from time to time, but as far as I'm aware, I've been awake the whole night. Fortunately I didn't have much stomach pain. My mind was overactive thinking discursively about many topics that I don't remember, and from time to time I had some bluish mild patterns, as if I was absorbing some small amounts of Mimosa randomly.

I think this one has been the worst so far, at least in physical suffering. So I have learned my lesson: next time that I have stomach issues for some hours in the afternoon I won't have anything, even if it seems to have subsided.

Sorry it went that bad!
Maybe the oil kind of blocked or reduced the absorption of mimosa in your gut… though in this case, it would have also blocked harmalas…

 

[blig-blug]

Maybe the oil kind of blocked or reduced the absorption of mimosa in your gut

Yes, I think it either wasn't well absorbed and I vomited it, or I absorbed it spread throughout the night. The latter would explain why I couldn't sleep, because usually I sleep very well after an experience. I definitely shouldn't have assumed my stomach was recovered. At least, it being self-inflicted made it easier to handle psychologically.

 

[northape]

I think this one has been the worst so far, at least in physical suffering. So I have learned my lesson: next time that I have stomach issues for some hours in the afternoon I won't have anything, even if it seems to have subsided.

Yeah, that's a lesson in itself. Don't worry, I've had plenty of awful experiences, and you learn from every one of them. For example, the day after a rue ceremony, I drank some pretty strong coffee and got hypertension from it. I was so anxious that I went to the ER, but they just wrote it off as stress. I learned my lesson, though.

Strange, your tincture is high in pH and is supposed to be good for helping to dissolve fats. I usually abstain from a ceremony if I feel any noticeable bodily discomfort beforehand.

I'd advise having some digestive aid on hand, especially as you get older. Eat simple foods in the days before a ceremony, and maybe some fiber. Longer fasts work wonders, if you have no sugars in your brew.

 

[blig-blug]

Strange, your tincture is high in pH and is supposed to be good for helping to dissolve fats.

I had diluted it in acidic juice, so the pH was probably not that high anymore.

I'd advise having some digestive aid on hand, especially as you get older

I usually have some peppermint, chamomile, and star anise teas on hand, but I found out they got moldy. So I have to buy more. I'll also look into the enzymes. I usually don't have stomach issues caused by food, but by emotions. Still it's good to help it as much as possible.

Eat simple foods in the days before a ceremony, and maybe some fiber

Yes, and I'll keep fasting the day itself as I was doing before. Rice has been okay in the past, but adding oil was a mistake. I must have added too much, and probably being nervous didn't help either.

 

[northape]

I usually have some peppermint, chamomile, and star anise teas on hand, but I found out they got moldy. So I have to buy more. I'll also look into the enzymes. I usually don't have stomach issues caused by food, but by emotions. Still it's good to help it as much as possible.

It would be beneficial to fast, exercise to raise your metabolism, and work on strengthening your digestion. Triphala is another good herbal supplement that will clean your system and aid digestion. Wormwood could also be used to strengthen digestion. I like to drink salvia tea during the ceremony; it boosts energy levels.
Enzymes are good in a pinch, like you had. The ones I listed are pretty strong and would clear any issues in about 30 minutes.
Just drinking rue or ayahuasca teas can also strengthen digestion. There is more to them than just harmalas.

The fat issue could be a hint as well. Check how well your gallbladder is functioning. You can simply observe your body's response to fats in food.
Edit: Stomach massage is an awesome manual aid.

 

[blig-blug]

I like to drink salvia tea during the ceremony

Salvia hispanica or officinalis I'm guessing, right?

The fat issue could be a hint as well. Check how well your gallbladder is functioning. You can simply observe your body's response to fats in food.

I've also been losing a noticeable amount of weight in the last months (willingly, as I had some excess weight), and that puts some strain on the body. And my stomach is used to eating lighter now. I'll pay attention.

 

[northape]

Salvia hispanica or officinalis I'm guessing, right?

Yes, salvia officinalis or common sage. It boosts energy without any caffeine. I often drink it throughout the night.

 

[northape]

"ILU" Self-Massage Technique for Abdominal Discomfort | The Pelvic PT

Learn how you can use the "ILU" self-massage technique for bloating, constipation, diarrhea and general abdominal

www.thepelvicpt.com

I like to explore my stomach while under the influence of medicine. Just do it gently and never push with force.
You can feel tight areas and gently massage them. It's a good practice for life in general.



Agnisara Kriya is from this book.

 

[blig-blug]

Thank you, it looks helpful. Given that I often have issues with gas even when fasted for 36 hours. I'll try it.

 

[northape]

Thank you, it looks helpful. Given that I often have issues with gas even when fasted for 36 hours. I'll try it.

Supta Pavanmuktasana on page 52 is good too. You may know it.
I did lots of kriyas in my early days, especially on high doses of medicine. Some of these poses are not in books, and I could never repeat them sober

 

[blig-blug]

Well, turns out I'm getting sick, so that may have played a part too.

 

[Transform]

Well, turns out I'm getting sick, so that may have played a part too.

Tummy blug bug?

 

[blig-blug]

Tummy blug bug?

I don't think so. I have some fever, mucus (but no cough), and I feel generally unwell. My stomach doesn't feel too good either but it could be because of last night. Seems like a mild flu.

 

[Transform]

I don't think so. I have some fever, mucus (but no cough), and I feel generally unwell. My stomach doesn't feel too good either but it could be because of last night. Seems like a mild flu.

Aha, that sounds similar to what I came down with earlier this week. - fever, mild respiratory symptoms, no appetite, general malaise.

I had to rest lots and drank stinging nettle tea, sometimes with a bit of thyme in it. Haven't eaten much, but felt well enough to go to the swimming pool this afternoon.

Get well soon!

 

[blig-blug]

Thanks! There's a bug going around here and just two days ago I was at the only situation during the week where I'm with other people indoors (going grocery shopping in the bus), so it's probably from that. I still think I made a mistake with adding what seems to have been too much oil, and I should have probably postponed the experience. But it's not like anything happened other than some physical suffering, so it's an opportunity to learn. And I did get a good afterglow and mood boost despite everything.