'I Wake Up and I'm a Baby': An NFL Star's Journey into Ayahuasca

From www.guardian.com: “Kerry Rhodes says a series of hallucinogenic trips he took as part of a documentary helped him understand himself more deeply. “Once it kicks in there are prisms and shapes and stuff like that, I could see visually stunning stuff. I literally had to tell myself, ‘You’re OK, you’re good, this is what you signed up for.’” The first “purge” – vomit – into a bucket brought a particularly bizarre vision: Rhodes, at his playing peak one of the NFL’s pre-eminent safeties, was brought face to face with a foetus…”

Ayahuasca Stimulates the Birth of New Brain Cells

“A a study conducted by the Beckley/Sant Pau Research Programme, and published in the journal Scientific Reports, reveals that certain compounds present in the psychedelic Amazonian brew ayahuasca actually stimulate the birth of new neurons…”

AyahuascaArtful AlchemyFebruary 1, 2020Neuroscience, Science, Harmine, Beckley Foundation, Mental Health, Health, Studies, Research

We Are Harvesting the Ayahuasca Vine at an Alarming Rate

“The signs that wild ayahuasca is being overexploited for the global market are evident, according to the main players of this industry. “Wild ayahuasca is being depleted.” “There is almost none.” “Over harvested.” “We are worried.” “There is a shortage.” “You don’t find thick ayahuasca anymore.” “In a couple of years there won’t be any there.” Gatherers, intermediaries, processors and exporters based in Iquitos, the capital of the Peruvian jungle, or in the indigenous communities near Pucallpa, the other major production center, are in agreement about the overexploitation of wild ayahuasca…”

Frogs, Brain Noodles and a Lot of Vomit – I Took Ayahuasca and Finally Found Inner Peace

From Metro.co.uk: “I’m drowning in mud, my brain has turned into noodles, and I’ve just tipped a bucket of my own vomit over my head. This is the reality of doing ayahuasca, a transformative hallucinogen. Despite a terrifying trip involving ghosts, broccoli, and frogs, I’m so glad I did it. I’ve finally found inner peace and my life has radically changed. But let’s rewind a bit…”

Ayahuasca, ExperiencesArtful AlchemyJanuary 9, 2020Ayahuasca, Peru, Experiences, Healing, Dieta, DMT, Purging, Visions, Shaman, Tribes, Anxiety, San Pedro

Jan Kounen Discusses Virtual Reality Experience ‘Ayahuasca’

“Jan Kounen, the Netherlands-born French film filmmaker whose best-known credits are “Dobermann‎” and “Blueberry,” has delivered his most personal work so far with “Ayahuasca,” a virtual reality experience exploring shamanic medicine from the Peruvian jungle. Produced by France’s leading VR outfit Altas V (“Gloomy Eyes,” “Spheres”), Luxembourg’s A_Bahn and Small studios, “Ayahuasca” was created by Kounen based on his multiple trips to the Peruvian Amazon where he participated in the Ayahuasca rituals…”

AyahuascaArtful AlchemyDecember 31, 2019Documentaries, Virtual Reality, Peru, Jan Kounen, Technology, Visions, Shaman

Women Are Leading Amazon Ayahuasca Ceremonies for the First Time

From Vice.com: “Ten years ago, Waxy would not have been allowed anywhere near this ritual. Women were considered too fragile for ceremonies and told to avoid coming into contact with spiritual leaders all together. Waxy and her friends are trying to change that—they pioneered a movement to bolster women's roles in spiritual ceremonies that has now rippled throughout the Amazon…”

Ayahuasca, PoliticalArtful AlchemyNovember 19, 2019South America, Shaman, Tribes, Traditions, Ayahuasca, Ceremonies, Brazil, Amazon

The Brutal Mirror: What Ayahuasca Showed Me About My Life

“For four consecutive nights, a group of 78 of us here at a retreat center in Costa Rica [Rhythmia] have been drinking a foul-tasting, molasses-like tea containing ayahuasca, a plant concoction that contains the natural hallucinogen known as DMT. We’re part of a wave of Westerners seeking out ayahuasca as a tool for psychological healing, personal growth, or expanding consciousness…”

Reflections on 2019 World Ayahuasca Conference

“This was the third World Ayahuasca Conference held in Girona, Spain last June, which brought together 1400 people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds, disciplines, and traditions. Three days of fascinating, moving presentations, invocations, conversations, and declarations towards a common vision of a sustainable future for plants, people and the planet…”

Ontario Police Officers are Using Ayahuasca to Treat their PTSD

“As a constable with the Ontario Provincial Police, Matt Chorny regularly responded to car accidents. He often dealt with victims and family members throughout the entire process, from the crash to the morgue. Over time, such incidents took an emotional toll. These days, he’s coping with the help of a surprising source — ayahuasca…”

AyahuascaArtful AlchemyMay 26, 2019Ayahuasca, PTSD, Canada, Police, Peru, Amazon, Retreats, Therapy, Psychedelics, Mental Health

Canada Grants More Religions Ability to Import Ayahuasca

“A total of five religious groups now are allowed to use the hallucinogenic in their ceremonies. Thanks to Health Canada, some folks in Quebec and Ontario are one step closer to finding god, as three more exemptions have been granted to religious groups to allow them to import ayahuasca, a powerful and controversial hallucinogenic, according to a report by Global News.”…

Wade Davis on the Popularization of Ayahuasca and the Climate Crisis

Wade Davis tells Reality Sandwich about how the use of ayahuasca among more modern, urban circles is not necessarily illegitimate, and poses challenges that must be discussed. He hopes to spark that conversation at the World Ayahuasca Conference this spring, where he’ll be giving the opening keynote speech. He spoke to Reality Sandwich about some of the central themes he’ll address and what he’s thinking about most now with regards to the popularization of ayahuasca around the globe…

Ritualistic Ayahuasca Users Tend to Have Positive Health and Psychosocial Well-being

“New research provides evidence that the ritualistic use of the psychedelic drug ayahuasca is not a significant public health concern — and could in fact have potential benefits. The study has been published in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs…”

Ayahuasca, Mental HealthArtful AlchemyMarch 3, 2019Ayahuasca, Psychology, Health, ICEERS, Research, Studies, Survey, Traditions, Risks, MAPS

From Bank Robber to Shaman

Steve Hupp was a stone-cold career criminal. And by his own admission, he was “damn good at it,” too. “I was a bank robber, a car thief and a lot of other stuff. I was the worst kind of offender you could face because you would never know I was coming, and you usually didn’t know I was there till I was gone.”

AyahuascaArtful AlchemyDecember 22, 2018Ayahuasca, Shaman, Drugs, Peru, Addiction, Depression, DMT

Plant Hallucinogen Holds Hope for Diabetes Treatment

“Modern techniques have revealed that one of the compounds underlying these mystic experiences is the psychoactive drug harmine. What these first users of ayahuasca couldn’t have known was that, one day, this ingredient in their enlightening brew would be positioned as a key to treating diabetes…”

AyahuascaArtful AlchemyDecember 22, 2018Diabetes, Ayahuasca, Harmine, Amazon

Ayahuasca for Addiction? That's a Trip

So, what about using ancient plant medicines to treat addiction? It may seem completely contradictory to treat someone who has a substance use disorder with a psychedelic drug that may induce hallucinations, but there's emerging evidence to support this approach…

'They're killing us': World's Most Endangered Tribe Cries for Help

Logging companies keen to exploit Brazil's rainforest have been accused by human rights organisations of using gunmen to wipe out the Awá, a tribe of just 355…

Ayahuasca, PoliticalArtful AlchemyDecember 9, 2018Amazon, Ayahuasca, Brazil, Tribes, Human Rights, Awá, Campaigns

Ayahuasca for PTSD: Interview with "From Shock to Awe" Producer

“In this interview with the From Shock to Awe co-creator and producer Janine Sagert, we discuss whether ayahuasca is a “cure” for PTSD, where the film’s subjects are now (and if they’ve drank any more ayahuasca), the inspiration behind the film, and more…”

Ayahuasca, Mental HealthArtful AlchemyDecember 1, 2018Interviews, Ayahuasca, PTSD, Documentaries, Plant Medicines, Healing, America, Ceremonies, Laws, Peru, MDMA

Psychedelic ayahuasca works against severe depression, study finds

"Leon" is a young Brazilian man who has long struggled with depression. He keeps an anonymous blog, in Portuguese, where he describes the challenge of living with a mental illness that affects some 300 million people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization…

AyahuascaArtful AlchemyJuly 3, 2018Ayahuasca, Depression, Mental Illness, Drugs

Dutch Freedom of Religion on Pause for Santo Daime

“Judgment of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal in the criminal case public prosecutor/ members of the Santo Daime church Amsterdam…”

Ayahuasca, PoliticalArtful AlchemyMarch 16, 2018Ayahuasca, DMT, Santo Daime, Netherlands, Laws

Ayahuasca is Changing Global Environmental Consciousness

Guardian Interview with US scientist Dennis McKenna on powerful Amazon hallucinogen, plant intelligence and environmental crises…