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Impressive Lessons Poor Attention Span
Ayahuasca (B. caapi & P. viridis)
Citation:   Seakker. "Impressive Lessons Poor Attention Span: An Experience with Ayahuasca (B. caapi & P. viridis) (exp110855)". Erowid.org. Sep 12, 2017. erowid.org/exp/110855

 
DOSE:
T+ 0:00
4.5 oz oral Banisteriopsis caapi (tea)
  T+ 0:20 3.5 oz oral Psychotria viridis (tea)
BODY WEIGHT: 129 lb
Substance & process: 50 grams dried Psychotria Viridis leaves. 50 grams shredded yellow caapi vine. (This would produce tea for a handful of doses).

Prior preparation included special week-long diet and fasting, except for drinking water and cold pressed watermelon juice, on the day of the ceremony. Didn't have any pharmaceutical meds, alcohol, or marijuana four weeks prior.

The dry Viridis and Caapi were placed in their own stainless steel pots with water and a dash of apple cider vinegar. Both pots were brought to a light simmer, but never vigorously boiled, and were frequently stirred. I used the same wooden spoon as I felt that some mingling was good. This was done for about two hours. The extracted teas were strained and set aside in their own containers. A total of three washes were completed for both plants. The warm, spicy jungle scent of simmering caapi is unforgettable.

The resulting liquid from all three washes, the two plant teas still kept separate, was evaporated until it reduced to about 16 ounces of caapi tea and 16 ounces of Viridis.

During this lengthy process, gratitude for the plants and the spiritual learning opportunity was expressed. I also focused on my intent; to find greater spiritual understanding and wisdom. I was in a very positive and prayerful state preparing this tea, but didn't sing out loud as is done by traditional Yage curanderos. I felt the 'song' was inside me.
Care was taken to create metaphysically protected, spiritually conducive surroundings.

My partner, N, was the sitter, the best person possible for this. I sat in a screened lanai filled with plants that overlooked a wooded area. The sun's last rays flared over the trees, the summer sky fading to deep indigo.

The opaque brown caapi tea was ingested first, about 4-5 ounces. The sharp bitter flavor made my tongue curl.
The sharp bitter flavor made my tongue curl.
While I waited twenty minutes, the vine alone didn't induce nausea, but my body relaxed and fleeting shadows crept along the edges of my slightly blurring vision. Next, I drank about 3-4 oz of the dark green DMT containing Psychotria tea, which had a stronger, highly astringent bitter taste.

After several minutes, a pleasant numbness slowly spread through my body, vision continuing to blur. My stomach turned. Uh-oh. I leaned forward, flicking a glance at the green plastic bucket nearby, nose and eyes helplessly running. N handed me a tissue. Leaning back, I took a deep breath and tried to relax. The nausea increased, my vision swimming. About ten minutes later, I clutched the bucket with trembling hands. Doubt and worry had crept into the back of my mind. What if I ended up in the hospital? What if this caused some kind of organ damage?

I puked a clear, tasteless watery expulsion with a few dark clots. Ewww- what are those? I puked two more times, water copiously flowing from my eyes, mouth, and nose. It felt like something had cleared from my sinuses. Those clots perhaps? Relief was immediate. The doubt and worry vanished. (As a cancer survivor, I'm no longer afraid of the dark. No fear of death.)

I numbly leaned back, body buzzing in slow waves like an electrical 'shock' effect but painless. The scene before me warped and continuously changed focus. It felt good to close my eyes. A radiant round yellow light symmetrically surrounded by glittery sparkles approached my inner vision along with a crescendo hum in my head. In the background I could hear what sounded like tinkling bells, ringing elvin laughter, and random bird chirps. I lay down.

The buzzing, crackling hum ramped up in intensity and I lost awareness of my body. A hectically psychedelic, multidimensional fun house facade twirled and contorted before my awareness. The noise was louder now, rising with tension. Silver, reds, yellow, oranges, odd colors... My attention span flitted, dream like, from one writhing scene to another. I finally mustered enough wit to try and focus on one of the twisting multidimensional 'strands' and was drawn through it... BOOM!

The background noise instantly fell away to a soft hiss. My awareness appeared in front of another scene similar to the fun house, but oddly mechanical. It was reminiscent of meshing multidimensional gears. The 'gears' themselves were unseen dark blackness, but possessed electric prismatic outlines that flashed with the gear's confounding, space folding movement. I stared uncertainly. 'Well what the hell...'

The perception of sound ceased altogether and I lost the already tenuous grip on my attention span. ZIP! I'm mentally (telepathically?) traveling somewhere, disassociated from all bodily sensation. It's dark and... ZIP! I'm now aware of my upper body and see rays of light emanating from, or going toward, the locations of my tumors (I'm a survivor, but not cancer free). I try to get a closer look and- ZIP! I'm curled under ground like a seed, the earth soft and loamy. Feels so restful, content. I was here for a long time. Ahhh, so pleasantly warm. Germinating, I emerge from the mossy ground toward a misted light source, and there's the trunk of a friendly thick vine or small tree near me. I perceived the bodily sensations of my tree-self. A frog-like creature jumped on my growing trunk and I felt its firm, clammy feet kick off.
ZIP!

My once again disembodied visual perspective is now inside or floating close to what I can only describe as a wall of giant living cells. (Giant cells or I have become incredibly small). The translucent network of cells are busy, some internally sparking with flashes of light, others twitching.

ZIP! Is that a grey putty sculpture of the bottom half of a kangaroo? Wtf? Let me see- ZIP! My visual awareness slowly approaches two great spheres, like planets almost touching in the blackness of space with a small white sun shining between them. 'Do these symbolize the hemispheres of my brain?' I try to zoom closer to... ZIP! spirit doctors...what?? ZIP!

Suspended in blackness, I grow frustrated by my nearly uncontrollable attention span and stamp my non-existent foot in an attempt to remain in one place. I mentally cry out. 'Please! I seek spiritual wisdom.' Something responds, but not in words. It communicates directly into my thoughts. A solid sense of knowing. It explains.

3-D letters spelling the word 'WISDOM' slowly float past me. The firm communication continued.

'Yes!' I sense and feel the answers and know them. A portion of my ignorance peels away like the shriveling layers of a drying onion. The truth within is radiant, completely intact under the multiple, dirty layers of illusion. It is simpler than I thought. Unconditional love... ZIP! Aya is a tool I must use wisely, a teacher to be respected. I must practice what I learned in daily life otherwise I'm just a passive observer of this gateway to all that IS- ZIP! ...I must enter and participate... ZIP! ...be active.

A tunnel ribbed with lights of an alien color I've never seen before draws me in to... ZIP! ZIP! Senseless, I slowly twirl into a warm black void. Mind fuzzy now, I try to focus on some of the lessons learned.

'It's okay to show vulnerability. What I perceived as weakness is not. It's okay to show emotion and ask for help when help is needed. It's okay to let others in.' My awareness floats off, like falling asleep for a while.

I gradually regain a sense of my body, muscles waking and twitching. About four hours had passed. The middle of my forehead hurt. Hungry, slightly wobbly and disoriented, I drink water, eat some fruit, and contemplate the strange, fascinating experience.

The next day I was unusually energetic with an odd pressure sensation in the center of my forehead.

Exp Year: 2017ExpID: 110855
Gender: Female 
Age at time of experience: 47
Published: Sep 12, 2017Views: 1,954
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Ayahuasca (8), Banisteriopsis caapi (169), Psychotria viridis (170) : Alone (16), General (1)

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