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Infinite Comprehension
Ayahuasca
Citation:   MovesJohnson. "Infinite Comprehension: An Experience with Ayahuasca (exp51246)". Erowid.org. Mar 27, 2006. erowid.org/exp/51246

 
DOSE:
T+ 0:00
0.5 cups oral Ayahuasca (tea)
  T+ 4:30   smoked Cannabis  
BODY WEIGHT: 195 lb
It began on a friday afternoon. I was online chatting with friends and noticed that one such friend, herein referred to as A, had an interesting screen-name, inviting anybody who wanted to try some ayahuasca to let him know ASAP. I messaged him, saying I was interested. I have had many previous experiences with hallucinogens before (primarily mushrooms, though I've tried LSD twice as well) and am always looking to expand my mind when the oportunity presents itself.

So we made plans to brew some tea the next day, and I showed up to his house at around 2 in the afternoon to find him hard at work in his kitchen, boiling some sort of brown liquid that smelled very reminiscent of an old barn that hadn't been used in years. This liquid was, of course, the ayahuasca. I am aware that there are several ways of making this brew and I cannot recall the exact ingredients, so I apologize for this lack of information. What I CAN tell you, however, is that as bad as the liquid smells, it's taste is infintely worse. I am not exaggerating in any way: IT TASTED AWFUL. It was probably the most foul tasting substance I have ever put into my body. It was utterly vile. It was in fact so vile that I could not drink it all in one gulp. I had to sip at it slowly over about a half hour period of time. When A made the liquid, he had boiled it down to two cups worth, with the intent that we would each drink one cup of the brown sludge. However, because I was sipping at it slowly, by the time I had taken half a cup, I was already beginnning to feel the effects of the drug and was very quickly unable to drink anymore of it.

Now, onto the trip...

Before I get too far into the effects of the ayahuasca on my body (and mind, for that matter), I should probably state now that I had brought a trip-sitter with me, as is common practice for me whenever I try something new for the first time. My tripsitting friend, J, tells me that about a half an hour after taking the first few sips of my tea I spent about twenty minutes staring at the wall behind the couch, where we were sitting. I have no recollection of this, but I can recall very vividly everything that happened afterward, which I verified with both J and A. I remember getting up and pacing around. There was nothing happening visually as of yet, but my body felt very uncomfortable, and it physically reminded me very much of a mushroom high at first, until the hallucinations started... I was in the bathroom when it happened. I was leaning over the sink, feeling somewhat nauseous, when I happened to open my eyes and look down. There were three orange blobs in the sink, which I am told were toothpaste. I, however, percieved them as goldfish. They were long and thin and swirling about, almost as though they were wagging their tails. I turned on the faucet to splash some water on my face, and the orange blobs began to swim around in the liquid. One of them looked up and smiled at me.

I stumbled back into the living room, somewhat off-balance, and sat on the couch. Almost instantly my legs fused with the floor. It was not that they became heavy, they became one with the floor. I could feel the wooden surface breathing through my socks. I could see the life force of the floor as I stared at it. I know it sounds crazy, but that's the only way to describe it. I heard a sound and looked up to see that A was vomitting. I could not help but feel a little sick myself, but I was able to hold it down. Far off in the distance I heard J. He was sitting right beside me, but I heard him as though we were lightyears apart. He had wanted to go to the Beer Store before we got to A's but it was too busy and we were late as it is. So he insisted that we go now before the trip got too intense and we were unable to do anything. I agreed, and tried to stand, only to find movement from the neck down impossible. It wasnt that I couldn't move, but that to move at this point in time would completely throw off the balance of nature. I was MEANT to be sitting on a couch right now. So J put on some music. Tool. My favourite band. After listening to Stinkfist and Eulogy, I was finally able to detach myself from nature long enough to get up off the couch.

We walked out of the apartment and down the stairs, across the street to the mall. It was about 6:30 by this point and the sun had set, so we were forced to walk through the parking lot in the dark. The exterior walls of the mall were alive with colour and motion. They swirled and danced in the night and I couldn't help but feel as if I understood them and their desire to dance completely, so I joined in. It was at this point that I realised I understood EVERYTHING. Nature, physics, theology, human emotion, even the divine nature of God. Everything made sense. I did not necessarily agree with or accept everything, but I understood it, fully and completely. While in the Beer Store, A and myself wandered around while J went up to the counter to buy his Lakeport. I stared at the ground and saw it swirl. Then I felt it swirl, and the ground became as water, and I felt like I was able to walk on it. I couldnt help but feel a little like Jesus at that point and then laughed at the thought that maybe Jesus was just really high on ayahuasca, and not in fact a messiah or saviour at all. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, J came and got us and we went back to the apartment.

I got upstairs first and as soon as I opened the door, I could feel the impure air in the room. I went out back to the balcony and sat in awestruck amazement watching the buildings dance on the horizon. It felt as though I was one with them and all the people inside of them. After what could have been two minutes or two millenia, J and A came out to the balcony with a joint, which was promptly lit and smoked. we then went back inside and J packed a few more bowls into a pipe and passed it around. I let the pot take me then. I smoke marijuana often and am very comfortable being stoned in virtually any situation, so I sat there and let the calming sensation of pot blend with the intensive visuals forming around me. Every time J or A said something, I understood completely. Any time a new song came on (we let the music run all night) I was immediately transported to a new world, where I felt myself fully aware of everything the artist was feeling at the time he composed the music. I cannot stress this enough, I understood EVERYTHING. I then remember feeling my mind breathing (for lack of a better term) and very shortly after that, I passed out.

I awoke the next day feeling fresh and renewed. All in all, ayahuasca was very cathartic.

Exp Year: 2006ExpID: 51246
Gender: Not Specified 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Mar 27, 2006Views: 11,142
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Ayahuasca (8) : First Times (2), Small Group (2-9) (17)

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