What an awesome thread. Such a shame most of the contributors seem to have disappeared.
Last night, the thought came to me to brew my own aya and do a ceremony (or two).
It's been about ten years since my last (2 night) ceremony. I drank a brew that came from a shaman in Peru that a friend has worked extensively with. Strangely, I did not purge either night, as I have always done every time I drank before. I went quite deep, and there were some background visuals, but nothing crazy, and a lot of unpleasantness and groaning etc.
At the end of the second night, when things had pretty much subsided totally, I was on the toilet, wondering if I should make myself sick. Then the download came:
"YOU JUST NEED TO BE YOURSELF"
Oh, nice, I thought. Then...
"AND THIS REQUIRES SOBRIETY"
Bugger, I thought.
Well, for the last ten years, I have not been sober. My chronic use of MJ continued, as well as drinking and various other chemicals.
Just before this new year, however, I stopped smoking, cut my drinking right back, and started my regular Ashtanga vinyasa practice again. I am having one 'cheat day' a week, where I have a little bud and a few drinks, but this feels like the sobriety Aya told me I needed, or as close as I can get at present.
I have thought about doing an aya ceremony over the last years, but as I had not actioned the message I got so clearly from Aya last time, thought it would be a waste of time and disrespectful. Like, what was I doing back again, when I had not listened?
It feels like now is the time to return and seek more guidance, and making my own brew feels like a good way to do this.
Having read about making the medicine, I would like to use a more authentic brew, and not the MHRB I extract to make changa. Could anyone suggest a recipe?
Ommmmm.
Peace.