How to Navigate a Difficult Ayahuasca Experience
Imagine: You are now in your Ayahuasca ceremony. And it is incredibly difficult, you feel overwhelmed… What do you do now? How do you handle the situation? Understanding how to navigate these difficult experiences is important, for your safety and wellbeing first and foremost, but also for realizing the growth that it can lead to. This article outlines 13 practical tips to help you navigate through challenging Ayahuasca ceremonies with confidence. Key takeaways Trust the facilitators and medicine. Knowing that you are in safe, experienced hands can allow you to surrender more fully to the experience. Remember: the experience is temporary. This can help you stay grounded and reduce anxiety during the ceremony. Be open to whatever insights or messages Ayahuasca may bring, even if they are hard. This can turn difficult experiences into opportunities for growth and understanding. Table of Contents Tip #1: This difficult Ayahuasca experience won’t last forever During a powerful Ayahuasca experience, it can feel like this intense state will never end, which can make one anxious about their mental state and sanity. But, remember that Ayahuasca experiences don’t last forever. Knowing that you will return to your normal state the next day can anchor you during the ceremony. It’s also helpful to know that often with Ayahuasca it reaches a peak and then starts to go down. What may feel overwhelming at one moment is going to ease within the next 30 minutes. Remind yourself that each moment of discomfort is temporary and that the journey is cyclical… what goes up must come down. Must read blog – Ayahuasca what to expect Tip #2: You are not going to die In an Ayahuasca ceremony you can even be confronted with death itself. And it can feel very real, not just like a simulation that I am going through in a ceremony. Know that if you’ve been medically cleared to participate – meaning no existing conditions like epilepsy, heart issues, recent surgeries, or psychiatric conditions, and are not on medications that alter brain chemistry – that you will be fine. In a way death is a great liberation. And in some ways we need to spiritually die to create a new life. This ‘death’ isn’t literal but represents the letting go of past traumas, outdated self-concepts, and destructive patterns. The idea is that the foundation is so rotten, that you cannot build the life you wish for on that foundation. And the foundation needs to be wiped clean – to make way for new growth. This process is challenging and demands a high level of trust in the experience and in yourself, but it can lead to incredible feelings of liberation and renewal. For example, after experiencing a symbolic death in a ceremony, many report feeling freed from burdens they’ve carried for years, ready to start anew with a clearer vision for their lives. This idea is similar to the Buddhist practice of maranasati, a meditation focused on contemplating one’s own death to achieve peace and clarity about life’s unresolved issues and to know what path to go on instead of mindessly living from one day to the next without a purpose. Similarly, Ayahuasca can facilitate a deep confrontation with death and the unresolved issues we carry, offering us a chance to resolve these and choose a more meaningful path forward. As we will look into further in this article, keeping an open mind to what Ayahuasca wants to show you and being thankful for the experience are important to navigating difficult experiences like spiritual death. Must read article: Ayahuasca Preparation – how to prepare for your Ayahuasca experience Tip #3: Focus on your breath during an intense Ayahuasca experience When facing an intense Ayahuasca experience, it’s common to feel the urge to react physically – move around a lot and abruptly, to fidget, make sudden movements, start saying random sentences. This physical restlessness can exacerbate the hectic energy, adding more fuel to it. In a way we can put ourselves in that energy. And the more we “feed” it with our movement, the more it amplifies. Instead, you can practice grounding yourself by sitting still and focusing solely on breathing. When we actually sit down, and focus on our breath, just taking one breath after the other, we still notice that the Ayahuasca is strong, but we also notice that it starts to be more manageable. Tip #4: Trust the Facilitators Trusting the facilitators you choose for your Ayahuasca ceremony is so important. If there’s a lack of trust, it’s advisable not to participate in a ceremony with those facilitators. Suspicion or fear, such as concerns about being harmed or exploited, can seep into your experience, potentially amplifying any underlying paranoia. This may seem like straightforward advice, but it’s so important to highlight to lead a safe and positive experience. The dynamics of trust in an Ayahuasca setting are complex. Sometimes, our own fears and apprehensions can project onto the facilitators. For instance, I’ve had participants tell me that they saw me as an angel, I have had participants tell me I looked like the devil. This had less to do with my own energy but more with what the participant was going through themselves. Obviously trying to calm down a participant while he thinks that you are the devil is not that easy. Trust your intuition and also know that sometimes you might be projecting your fears onto the situation. So again, really make sure you trust the place that you choose to do your ayahuasca ceremony at… Before committing, take the time to research, visit/interact with the retreat and its facilitators to confirm that it’s a place where you can be vulnerable and open to the journey. Find out if Ayahuasca is right for you Will you be safe physically and emotionally? How will you be supported in the ceremony? How do the facilitators handle difficult situations? How will you be able to process the experience? You want change, but will your life be
