greetings my lovely brother and sisters,
first and foremost I apologize for my absence as I've been in some very rural parts of peru and colombia as many of you know, however you're all in my thoughts often.
i've been in peru for about 2 weeks now. i wont go on and on but i will say that i have traveled from mexico to here over the past 5 months and this country is like nothing i have yet experienced. the people are simply amazing.
so the main focus of this whole journey is to work closely with ayahuasca in a traditional setting with the local people, not through aya tourism which i have my own opinions on, some good many not so good.
this goal of mine has turned out to be much harder than expected. here's the problems i've run into and what im hoping someone can help me with:
first, there are no shortage of scammers, charlatans, psuedo ayahuasqueros, and western ayauasca retreat centers making large sums of money and not putting squat back into the community in any significant amount.
i hope this doesn't come off snobbish but i really want to work with the people of [peru not a room full of touristas, most of the fellow travellers that have done aya ceremonies have all had very poor experiences. from my knowledge and thoughts its not always because the ceremony was bunk its usually that the person really had no clue wtf they were in for nor did any research. they simply heard it was a cool thing to do, did, [puked their guts out and perceived the whole thing as a nightmare.
so when i say i don't want to work with the gringos on the back-packer trail its not because i feel better than them, its that i feel they are not doing aya for the right reasons nor understand this sacred plant and its healing potential. so i hope i am making myself clear and not coming of as "im better than they".
so problem 2, i can NOT find a place or village where the god-damn missionaries haven't stripped the locals of their beliefs and traditions. the villages that do offer ayahuasca ceremonies are pretty much gringo only and in it for the money which i dont feel is a bad thing. poverty is huge here and i have no ill feeling for a person trying to make a living.
my plea to you all, does anyone know of a village, indigenous group, or place where i can do a ceremony with at least some if not mostly local peruvians?
currently 'im in pucallpa after an arduous 5 day boat ride up the amazon from iquitos. i couldn't find any solid leads in iquitos so ive decided to move south to try the area of the shipibo.
i've thought about hiring a guide to bring me to a local village where Christianity hasn't infiltrated the local traditions but to be quite honest in the now almost 6 months i've been travelling one thing is for sure; when it comes to making money the local people will tell you anything you want to hear and have gotten me into some pretty precarious situations so for obvious reasons i'm more than hesitant to go this route.
i'm running out of time and funds. i have about 2 and a half more months in peru till i must return to the states. can anyone help me, direct me or think of something i'm not?
blessing to you all, love and light.
olympus mon
first and foremost I apologize for my absence as I've been in some very rural parts of peru and colombia as many of you know, however you're all in my thoughts often.
i've been in peru for about 2 weeks now. i wont go on and on but i will say that i have traveled from mexico to here over the past 5 months and this country is like nothing i have yet experienced. the people are simply amazing.
so the main focus of this whole journey is to work closely with ayahuasca in a traditional setting with the local people, not through aya tourism which i have my own opinions on, some good many not so good.
this goal of mine has turned out to be much harder than expected. here's the problems i've run into and what im hoping someone can help me with:
first, there are no shortage of scammers, charlatans, psuedo ayahuasqueros, and western ayauasca retreat centers making large sums of money and not putting squat back into the community in any significant amount.
i hope this doesn't come off snobbish but i really want to work with the people of [peru not a room full of touristas, most of the fellow travellers that have done aya ceremonies have all had very poor experiences. from my knowledge and thoughts its not always because the ceremony was bunk its usually that the person really had no clue wtf they were in for nor did any research. they simply heard it was a cool thing to do, did, [puked their guts out and perceived the whole thing as a nightmare.
so when i say i don't want to work with the gringos on the back-packer trail its not because i feel better than them, its that i feel they are not doing aya for the right reasons nor understand this sacred plant and its healing potential. so i hope i am making myself clear and not coming of as "im better than they".
so problem 2, i can NOT find a place or village where the god-damn missionaries haven't stripped the locals of their beliefs and traditions. the villages that do offer ayahuasca ceremonies are pretty much gringo only and in it for the money which i dont feel is a bad thing. poverty is huge here and i have no ill feeling for a person trying to make a living.
my plea to you all, does anyone know of a village, indigenous group, or place where i can do a ceremony with at least some if not mostly local peruvians?
currently 'im in pucallpa after an arduous 5 day boat ride up the amazon from iquitos. i couldn't find any solid leads in iquitos so ive decided to move south to try the area of the shipibo.
i've thought about hiring a guide to bring me to a local village where Christianity hasn't infiltrated the local traditions but to be quite honest in the now almost 6 months i've been travelling one thing is for sure; when it comes to making money the local people will tell you anything you want to hear and have gotten me into some pretty precarious situations so for obvious reasons i'm more than hesitant to go this route.
i'm running out of time and funds. i have about 2 and a half more months in peru till i must return to the states. can anyone help me, direct me or think of something i'm not?
blessing to you all, love and light.
olympus mon
