One night is such a short time. It’s the length of time it takes for the sun to rise again. It’s a sleepover. People have one-night stands all the time! One night is such a short time.
But when you’re doing ayahuasca, It’s an eternity.
People have experimented with plant medicine, mainly ayahuasca, will often tell you that they felt called to it for some time before actually partaking in a ceremony. I had a similar experience, and that’s how I found myself in Costa Rica at a STUNNING resort called Rythmia Life Advancement Center.
This is how ayahuasca works: Somehow hundreds of years ago, shamans in South America figured out that if you brew together a specific plant containing DMT (which alone would not have any effects, because the enzymes in your gut would deactivate DMT before it's absorbed) with a specific vine that allows the body to absorb DMT, you get one life-changing journey.
People use it for help with things like depression, trauma for past experiences, addiction, clarity on a specific topic, guidance in life, and so on.
If you are curious to try it, but are afraid of spending a week in the Amazonian jungle— I get it! That’s why I was ecstatic to discover Rythmia— a palatial resort in gorgeous Costa Rica with amenities like: comfortable private bedrooms with all the necessities, a restaurant with addictively delicious healthy food, colonic treatments, mud baths, massages, and of course plant ceremonies guided by highly-experiences shamans who speak English and are happy to hold your anxious little hand throughout the process.
So here is how it went for me (I was at Rythmia for seven days and will only document the four days of ceremony):
NIGHT ONE
I now understand why they say when you die your life flashes before your eyes! That is the only way to describe the first night of my experience with the medicine. DMT is also released when you die, so it makes sense that I would experience it while taking the medicine.
In one moment I was remembering past memories, past lives, forgotten traumas and experiences, and in another moment I felt so connected with nature and the stars. There is like a knowing that falls upon you and suddenly you just understand there is an order to everything in the universe. Cliche, right? Keep reading.
NIGHT TWO
For the first few hours I didn't feel a thing. Then at one point, I felt extreme pain and discomfort in my back, and I had this knowing that it was caused by a surgery I had years before (and forgotten about) where they had to cut a nerve ear my spine. The shaman came over and asked me what was going on. I explained to him what I was feeling and he explained that if it’s in pain, that means it is being healed. By morning the pain was gone, but man was it uncomfortable to endure!
NIGHT THREE
I decided to sit night three out, and take some me-time.
NIGHT FOUR
This was the night that I feel like I “got my miracle” as the Rythmia folks like to say.
I was laying back and I saw myself as a little child. As soon as I saw him I began to cry hysterically.
He asked me, “Why are you crying?”
“Because I’ve forgotten about you,” I replied.
He so lovingly responded, “That’s ok, I’m not mad. But from now on can you not do that again?”
I started to cry even more at that point, and I promised him that I would take him with me wherever I went.
COMING HOME
Watch the video above to see how the plant medicine helped me find my voice and start singing again after returning home.
And I will just say this: you can expect a 2-week minimum period of adjusting after you come back. Re-integration will be weird, to say the least, and the effects of ayahuasca continue to work on you for months and months to come.
Wish you the best on your journey should you decide to experience plant medicine for yourself, and I highly recommend Rythmia for first-timers.
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