Strtman, look forward to hearing about your Ayahuasca ceremony in the future should you share the experience with us, and the similarities/differences encountered vs smoking...post here again should you get the chance.
From Pinchbeck's book "Breaking Open the Head":
For many people,Ayahuasca-a slowed-down low-res interface of the DMT flash-seems to convey strong messages from the natural world, of nature as sentient energy and spirit matter, of the need to protect the planet we have been given.
Yag whispers that human beings are meant to be gardeners of this reality, journeyers, storytellers and singers, weavers of the sacred. DMT, on the other hand, conveys no overt human or humane message.
For a comparison of DMT trip reports (with endless speculations on the entities) to the Ayahuasca journey "contents of visions" the reader is referred to the following great reads:
DMT research from 1956 to the Edge of Time by Gallimore and Luke
From a representative sample of a suitably psychedelic crowd, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who couldn’t tell you all about Albert Hofmann’s enchanted bicycle ride after swallowing what turned out to be a massive dose of LSD. Far fewer, however, could tell you much about the world’s...
realitysandwich.com
hxxp://realitysandwich.com/318885/dmt-research-from-1956-to-the-edge-of-time/
One of the best & longest articles ever read: In this paper we learn that the Hungarian psychiatrist Stephen Szara isolated dmt from samples of Cohoba, a psychoactive snuff powder prepared from the seeds of Anadenanthera peregrina by the Taino Indians. He extracted the bufotenine (a potent 5-ht1a agonist) out and the dmt out, and gave the bufotenine only to prisoners, and injected himself with 75mg of dmt.
Only wished he had kept the bufotenine together with the dmt and conducted studies of the two working together in unison as well, then we would have reports of the Shamanically used seeds, just as they are used in the Amazon. There is important teamwork going on when the bufotenine in the seeds is used in conjuction with the dmt found in the seeds--for one, the bufotenine is supplying the missing 5-ht1a agonism that dmt lacks...just as the 2nd largest component of caapi, a potent 5-ht1a agonist and serotonin reuptake inhibitor (but not found in rue) supplies the missing 5-ht1a agonism that dmt lacks. The anti-serotonin effects of LSD, mescaline and mushrooms also fall into this category--all having strong and important 5-ht1a agonism, with 5-meo-dmt having the strongest 5-ht1a agonism of all the known entheogens--and often, why only minute amounts of it are found in plants in combination with dmt--as only tiny amounts of it are sufficient--due to its overtly strong 5-ht1a agonist actions.
Besides snuffs, dmt containing plants are used with Caapi which contains as it's 2nd largest component -- a mild fast acting SSRI (tetrahydroharmine) which is a potent 5-ht1a agonist and serotonin blocker, which is not found in rue. In other words, DMT is always used traditionally in combination with either caapi or minute amounts of 5-meo-dmt or its derivatives like bufotenine found in the snuffs. These snuffs giving effects which lasts for around 3 hours.
Nichols: "LSD has very strong potency in blocking the action of serotonin. The morpholide lysergamide cousin had only about 1/10th the potency in blocking serotonin. Of the 5 diiferent dialkylamides they studied LSD was the most potent and specific serotonin antagonist. " [page 2 & 3 of 8]:
hxxps://heffter.org/docs/hrireview/02/chap6.pdf
In dreams, a brew of blended up psychotria leaf can be boiled in 1 and 1/4 bottle of spring water (21oz) for 1/2 hour, then filtered thru a wire mesh to get out the course leaf fragments, then filtered thru a cotton ball in a funnel to get out the fine leaf sediment, change out the cotton ball when/if it clogs, then put the liquid back on the stove and reduce it down to 1 or 2oz, and add your caapi. Phenomenal dream with good plants. The cotton ball gets out any fine sediment which is irritating to the intestines, for a nausea free to the stomach/intestines brew, this of course does not reduce "brain nausea" which can result from using too much leaf.
The 1st 60 minutes from when the caapi takes effect is when some weak nausea or slight dizziness might be noticed during the dream, whereas after the 1st hour, there is usually little to zero nausea or dizziness as the harmine in the caapi has mostly worn off by then, as the half-life of harmine is around 1.5 hour. Then all that is left working is the more desirable tetrahydroharmine in the caapi and any leaf actives for the duration of the rest of the dream.
Just as Bancopuma wrote here once, "the more caapi the better." Caapi contains tetrahydroharmine as it's second largest alkaloid, and contributes greatly to the experience in many postitive ways, besides it's brightening and coloring abilities, it goes way beyond that:
Have a sense that THH not only partially inactivates filters (or barriers) in the brain so that "mind at large" as coined by Aldous Huxley can be let loose a bit, but also strongly activates the right hand hemisphere of the brain-- the side that performs tasks that have do with creativity and the arts, feelings, visualizations, imagination, holistic thinking & intuition.
"Mind at Large" as coined by Huxley:
Mind at Large - Wikipedia
Quote from TIHKAL by Dr. Shulgin "More studies on tetrahydroharmine are absolutely imperative."
Trips (from this forum here on 12/2/2011):
As to how the THH altered the experience -> I find rue extract+DMT to be very similar to mushrooms. I found the THH added to the rue+DMT to shift the experience to a state much closer to that provided by LSD. It was more clear, more energetic, more euphoric, more focused, and when confusion struck it was definitely more "acid-like".
The Mystery of DMT: A Talk with Graham St John, author Mystery School in Hyperspace: A Cultural History of DMT
DMT been damned as the “nightmare hallucinogen” with no medicinal value, or received accolades as the “spirit molecule”, and the brain’s very own psychedelic. The further in you go, the deeper the mystery gets.
realitysandwich.com
hxxp://realitysandwich.com/319198/mystery-school-in-hyperspace/
Google books: contents preview of Mystery School in Hyperspace: A Cultural History of DMT
Since the mid-1950s, the psychoactive compound DMT has attracted the attention of experimentalists and prohibitionists, scientists and artists, alchemists and hyperspace emissaries. While most known as a crucial component of the “jungle alchemy” that is ayahuasca, DMT is a unique story unto...
books.google.com
hxxps://books.google.com/books?id=mGb7rQEACAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
Read all the contents, found it interesting that 8 time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney gave an account of his smoked dmt experience, included in the above are detailed accounts from Watts, Leary, etc. Do like the authors writing style, around a 500 page book.
340 DMT trip reports (compiled by Meyer and Pup):
hxxp://www.serendipity.li/dmt/340_dmt_trip_reports.htm
Read the first 250 of the 340 total reports, the reports with entity encounters are marked as such before the beginning of each report.
James Oroc contrasts the differences between dmt and dmt combined with minute amounts of 5-meo-dmt from his book "Tryptamine Palace":
As an experiment (and in a foreign land) I smoked the last of the Bufo alvarius venom (the story of whose collection is described within the pages of Tryptamine Palace) with some ‘regular’ DMT (extracted from Jurema Preta.). In the vast majority of my early nigerine (DMT) experiences, I encountered visual fields of ‘dots’ that would come together to form images, much like the pointillism style of painting developed by Georges Seurat or the Australian Aboriginal song-line paintings.
With the addition of the 5-MeO-DMT containing toad-venom to the DMT however, the visual characteristic was completely different and totally unique to my experiences so far. On this occasion there was a complete lack of ‘dots’ or ‘points’ of any kind, the fine lines of the constantly changing imagery were like those painted with a single-hair brush on Tibetan thangkas and due to the overwhelming artistry of what I was seeing, I could only think of the vaulted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in comparison.
Sistene Chapel: This was without a doubt the most ‘visionary’ experience I have ever been fortunate enough to encounter and I lay there with my eyes shut watching the most fantastic parade of the Collective Unconsciousness imaginable, wishing that it would never end, and as I sit here now I can not even describe one tiny corner of it, since every image in the multitude of imagery was in such constant motion that they defied all but a glimpse. And then moments later, like a tent collapsing when its ropes are cut, the vision is gone. Leaving only a struggle of words to explain it, since nothing before or after has come close to this experiences visual majesty.
This experience leads to the interesting question of selectively combining DMT and 5-MeO-DMT for a more visionary and somewhat less overwhelmingly transcendental experience. (Or for the other way around). This combining of the two endogenous entheogens is being tested in changa blends (reportedly at a 90% DMT to 10% 5-MeO-DMT ratio), while many Pharmahuasca urban-shamans are also adding 5-MeO-DMT to their ayahuasca-analogues to transform and deepen that experience. It seems likely to me that the combining of DMT and 5-MeO-DMT in various ratios and manners will only become more popular as the exponentially increasing number of psychonauts search for new psychological terrain to explore.
Shanon breaks down the contents of Ayahuasca visions into 4 categories:
1. Nature
2. Culture
3. Fantasy
4. Domain of the Spiritual and Supernatural
Concluding Remarks from Benny Shanon on chapter "Contents of Visions" from the classic "Antipodes of the Mind, Charting the Phenomenology of the Ayahuasca Experience":
Having focused on details, let me now take a broader perspective and comment on the global picture that emerges from the foregoing survey. In their totality, the data we have surveyed define the semantic space of the visions seen with Ayahuasca. Embracing an alternative world-view, these data may also be regarded as defining what traditional users refer to as 'the world of Ayahuasca'. The semantic space, or world, in question comprises four main domains.
The first is the domain of nature. As noted throughout the foregoing discussion, animals especially serpents, felines, and birds are some of the most common items in the visions. Natural landscapes and scenes of forests and gardens are also very common. Also common are scenes of heavenly bodies and the far reaches of the cosmos.
The second domain is that of culture. Its prime manifestations are magnificent cities, the majesty of the royal, various products of artistic creation, religion, and magic. Usually, what are seen in the visions are not contents pertaining to the drinker's own socio-cultural milieu but rather ones associated with ancient civilizations. The majority of the constructions, objects, and artefacts that appear in the visions are either precious or wonderfully ornate or both. Further, most of the buildings seen in the visions are palaces or temples, and many of the human beings are either kings and queens or religious figures and persons with spiritual prominence.
Third is the domain of fantasy. It comprises enchanted and magical lands and it is populated by all sorts of creatures which are neither human beings nor naturalistic animals. As just indicated, the objects and scenes that appear in the visions are usually not mundane; often they are associated with mythology, fairy tales, and magic.
Fourth is the domain of the spiritual and the supernatural. Ayahuasca visions often reveal before one celestial and heavenly realms. In these, divine and semi divine beings often appear. The supernatural domain is usually associated with spiritual and metaphysical meanings. Related to this domain are the items and scenes pertaining to death.
In addition to the specific contents that are typical to them, Ayahuasca visions are also characterized by the extraordinary beauty that they manifest. Time and again, drinkers report that what they see in Ayahuasca visions surpasses in magnificence anything they have ever seen either in reality or in works of art. As further indicated above, objects and artefacts that appear in these visions are usually extremely rich and wonderfully ornate. Many of the landscapes are fantastic, and even when strictly speaking they are utterly naturalistic, the landscapes often emanate special qualities such as eternal presence, divine bounty, or pristine meaningfulness. And then, when the visions lead one upwards, to the realms of the planets and beyond, what one sees can be utterly stupefying. Not infrequently a point is reached when the marvel is such that one feels that what is presented before one is overwhelming and that its scrutiny is beyond the grasp of one's human cognitive faculties. In the literature, the word 'ineffable' is often used, marking the limitedness of language. At times, however, one also experiences the limitedness of one's mind and one's heart. Especially powerful visions may impress one as being totally beyond one's mental reach. On such occasions, one feels that what one sees is too wondrous to be grasped and one finds that one's mind simply cannot contain the marvels revealed to one. In extreme cases one may feel it is too painful to watch what the visions present it is all just too sublime, above and beyond the realm of the human.
Having said all this, let me also note that what may be seen in Ayahuasca visions is, in principle, unbounded essentially, there is no limit to it. The unboundedness pertains to both the types of content seen and to the tokens (that is, specific instantiations) of these types. With respect to the types, let me cite what, on two different occasions, I have been told by two very experienced drinkers. Checking whether they had seen the various items on my structured questionnaire, these informants answered in the affirmative for all items queried. Doing this, they smiled and said 'Well, you see, I have seen everything.' With respect to the tokens, the unboundedness manifests itself in people never seeing the same vision twice.
I say this both on the basis of my own experiences with Ayahuasca and the repeated observations of many other individuals; no one has ever reported a case that counters this generalization. The generalization holds even though there are many items that are especially common in Ayahuasca visions. In terms of their type, the items seen do exhibit various patterned regularities, but the tokens associated with these content types display unbounded variation. Thus, I have seen palaces and interior decorations thereof many, many times; yet, each vision of these was totally novel not even twice did I see the same building or decoration. Coupled with the fantastic nature of the contents of the visions and their extraordinary magnificence, I find this state of affairs to be truly remarkable.
In sum, all things imaginable and non-imaginable can be seen with Ayahuasca. One can see all the moments of one's life, all the people and places that one knows, Nature and the Cosmos in all their manifestations, human history and the different cultures that it has and has not produced, and scenes that lead one above the planet, to the far reaches of the cosmos, to the heavens. One can see the inner parts of one's body and the deeper strata of one's soul, one can encounter the infinite richness of myth and fantasy, meet fairies and dragons, angels and devils, taste the nectars of the Eternal, be washed by the bounty of the Supreme Good, witness the perennial light, encounter the Divine.