(The effects of using ayahuasca for (highly) sensitive people)

In my opinion it may be unwise for (high) sensitive people to use ayahuasca. In the article below I want to explain why I came to that opinion. I am very impressed by the effect of psychedelic drugs including ayahuasca. I see what it brings to people. I know from my own experience that life can be tough and the use of these resources can help to see things from a different perspective.

Originally ayahuasca was used by indigenous tribes in South America. The consciousness of these people is different from ours: there is a very strong group consciousness and a deep experience of the surrounding world as a living thing. The worldview is magical.

Under the guidance of experienced shamans, it was used to connect people deeper with nature. It is very intense and immediately present there in the form of the jungle. The outer reality of the jungle is just as alive there – and meaningful – as the inner reality. This results in a deep and natural link between outer and inner reality that is almost unimaginable for urbanized Western man.

The result is that newly discovered inner dimensions are naturally grounded there; they not only provide a deeper insight into themselves, but also into the surrounding nature. The idea of ​​fleeing from reality as we know it in alienating modern society is therefore hardly possible. The strong group consciousness and the deep connection with nature exclude this.

However, due to the popularity in the West, a complete industry has arisen around ayahuasca whereby this original goal is completely forgotten. There is a lot of poverty in South America; Ayahuasca is a way to make money from rich Westerners. The use of ayahuasca has been taken out of its natural context here and it is being used in a totally different way. We did not grow up here with the jungle, but mostly in the city, so we miss the obvious connection with the earth. Here individuality prevails instead of group consciousness; we view the world around us as mechanical rather than magic.

If we take this medicine from that alienation and without proper one-on-one guidance, this can easily lead to a loss of grounding.

Sensitive people in particular can come into contact with all sorts of astral energies, which means that using them is very dangerous.

I left the subject for a year because I felt that I had no right to write about it, because I have never used it. But, I still think a different perspective is important and that’s why I share my thoughts about using ayahuasca.

Earthing spirituality

Two years ago I spoke to a (sensitive) young man who had started organizing ayahuasca ceremonies. He said that he totally entrusted his life to “Mother Ayahuasca”. He trusted this not only during the ceremonies, but also during his everyday life. I understood that ayahuasca was a flight for him to take responsibility for his life. His story made a big impression on me. His life was in fact a mess! He still lived with his parents because he had debts. He no longer saw his children and was in the middle of a lawsuit with his ex. The fact that he worshiped this medicine as a god shows that this medicine can be used in the wrong way. Yet there are also many beautiful, positive stories from people. Especially if you get stuck in life it can cause an opening. The positive stories I hear are from people who want to feel right and want to land in their body instead of wanting to transcend it. It also gave them broadened insights that helped them further.

However, what I mainly hear around me is that these insights are very difficult to integrate into daily life, and many people with a degenerating feeling are left behind. If you want to use ayahuasca you must be strong in on firm ground.

This is also not entirely without risk, not all providers are competent and able to act correctly. No matter how competent they are, you are responsible for your own (mental) health. Always ask yourself if the person who guides you really understands you. Does he (or she) really have insight into the process you are in?

In addition to good guidance, it is necessary to seek contact with nature. When we discover new layers in ourselves, we always need the living nature of the earth itself. Without it we cannot connect the new energies in ourselves with the earth, and they will pull us away from the earth. Good grounding means that your inner reality is connected to the outer.

For example, if ayahuasca gives you a unity experience, that unity experience is reinforced when you walk around in a forest. You will then begin to feel that the forest, with all its living beings, is one and you belong in it. The unity experience then gets a place in your earthly life; your earthing deepens.

If you stay in the city, with all its squares and walls, then you cannot ground the experience and the experience will start to alienate and can lead to a state of psychosis. Or you want to experience that unity experience over and over again, you think you need the means for it, and this way an addiction can arise.

A sober friend of mine had mental problems weeks after participating in an ayahuasca ceremony and was suffering from a psychosis. She therefore advises people not to use ayahuaca because you don’t know what it does to you.

Dare to be vulnerable

I would like to explain why it is not wise for (highly) sensitive people to go or continue using ayahuasca.

As a (highly) sensitive person you are very open, you feel a lot about your environment. You may have to deal with fears because you are too open. Your energy field will become even more open due to the use of ayahuasca, which will actually pull you away from yourself and your earthing. Psychedelic agents can give you temporary insights, but they are unfounded. The point is precisely to bring our Soul energy closer to the earth. Not out of your body, but deeper into it. We all need real connections and sometimes you can experience a connection through these means. But if it is not human enough, then you will be removed from humanity and human connections.

It is better to stop using those means and to experience your feelings of connection, depth and meaning in contact with others, and the earth and its living nature, and to open yourself to it. Especially when we have an independent, autonomous side, it is about connecting that originality and originality in deep contact with others. Daring to open up for this is of great importance. Ayahuasca brings you very nicely into your own world, especially if you are sensitive, you can come into an ecstatic state of consciousness. You feel wonderful and enlightened and detached from the earth, but it is not connected enough, although it may feel as though it is the earthly reality!

It is precisely the intention to live through your vulnerability and fears in relationships with your fellow humans and the world. That is the solution! The solution is not to stay in your own world, but to develop autonomy in solidarity. Daring to say “no” is important in a relationship. Do not break the relationship once you lose your autonomy. It is better for you to lose your autonomy and feel what that does to you, and then to set your limits again, than to float in that loose world, because nothing ultimately comes out of it. You might think that, but it is not connected to the earth.

The right balance

My identity was not confirmed in my youth, I was not seen as a young girl. I always felt misunderstood and had to figure myself out in order to survive. I fled up with my soul energy. As a result, I did not develop my own personality and I power. This caused many problems later in life. My problems and my fears are different from those of the average person. When I talk about the right balance between our personality and the larger whole, you see that for most people the balance has turned out more to the personal side, namely: you are born as a person, you are one with the whole and you feel unity in your being. Then you are born to people who do not reflect this. They are wounded themselves, you feel that you are not loved for who you are. High demands are placed on you and you start behaving the way the people around you want you to behave. If you have done this long enough you will be rewarded and praised and loved for your achievements, but you have also become very far away from yourself. Then a personality emerges which some call an ego. You will adjust and you will forget who you are! You cannot shake this off for a moment because blockages have arisen which makes it difficult to experience your true self again. It is therefore not surprising that many sensitive people take flight to ayahuasca at a young age. We live in a difficult broken world. It is painful to be here, it is not easy. So you tend to be anesthetized or you are looking for another way out. That is understandable but not the solution.

Why Ayahuasca? Imagine using ayahuasca. Then ask yourself why you want to use this medicine. Why do you think you can only obtain the insights or experiences you are looking for with the help of this medicine? What conviction is behind that? Try to let go of that conviction. Imagine that the universe is constantly trying to help you, constantly trying to give you the wisdom that you are looking for. Imagine that all wisdom is already in you. That you just have to stop stopping that help. You do not need ayahuasca to come to self-knowledge, only the willingness to face the dark sides of yourself lovingly and without judgments. Say really “yes” to yourself. This is the deepest reason why you want to use ayahuasca: somewhere there is a “no” in yourself. Somewhere there is a blockage, you suppress something. You think you need ayahuasca to resolve that blockage. That is not true; feel where that no is, let it go, change it to a yes so that it starts flowing again. The following exercise can help you with this.

Exercise: Connect with your Higher Self

I share a wonderful exercise below. I teach you how to make contact with your “Higher Self” in an earthly and safe way. If it’s possible play this rol play together with someone.

Your Higher Self is your source of wisdom and unconditional love. It is the part of you that knows life well and has a lot of knowledge about it. We can consciously choose to make contact with this source within us.

Your source of love or also your Higher Self is with you 24/7 and loves you unconditionally. Now imagine that your Higher Self sits a few meters away from you in a chair. She calls you by your name and says, “I see you Ellen.”

Are you ready for your own love? Can you get her closer?

At your pace, you now invite her to sit closer to you. She takes your hand and puts it in hers. She gently caresses your hand and you caress her back. It still feels awkward and strange in your first contact.

After a while you let go and your Higher Self sits down in the chair a few meters away from you. Feel the difference in your body now. Do you feel more present?

Rolls reversed:

You now play your Higher Self, and the other plays your “little self.” Look and feel what this change of place does to you. You now see yourself with all your tiredness and pain. This can be very confronting. Ask if you can come closer. If the other does not want that then accept that. Don’t force anything. If you can come closer, see how you can do this as gently and lovingly as possible. Look lovingly into your smaller part and take his or her hand. After a few minutes you say goodbye again. This is a very powerful exercise that has changed my life.

Ayahuasca now banned in the Netherlands

The above exercise is much more earthy and softer than the horse tranquilizer ayahuasca that has been banned since 1 October 2019 because of the psychoactive component DMT, which is considered a hard drug. This ban did not come without reason. Both in the Netherlands and abroad people died during or shortly after an ayahuasca session. The prohibition on ayahuasca does not mean that it has not been used since, since there is no control over ayahuasca use that is too much of a hassle, the ceremonies will still take place or with other components. Psychedelic agents, such as ayahuasca, open the channel to your subconscious mind wide, allowing repressed memories to overwhelm you. There is no short cut to happiness, not even via ayahuasca or any other medicine. Life itself is a spiritual initiation if you have an eye for it. All your experiences in life are valuable. Your heart gradually opens when you see suffering in the world and with your loved ones. You develop self-love when others didn’t give it to you. You thereby experience that you have the source of love in you, so that you can embrace your inner child that was not seen and loved enough before. You become your own father and mother that you missed in your childhood. This all happens in your safe arms with soil under your feet.

Written by:

Ellen Worm www.lightworker.eu  en

Gerrit Gielen  www.gerrit-gielen.nl

Image: Artist unknow