Deal Me in Universe. I’m Paying Attention.

I returned to the States from Peru on May 2nd, 2018 after 307 days of travel. In this post, I will attempt to share my incredible experience working with plant medicine in the Peruvian Amazon and where I am off to next.

I believe working with Ayahuasca was and is a part of my path. Although I started my journey in Asia not having a clue what Ayahuasca was, within a couple months I started meeting travelers who had worked with the medicine. I was captivated by their stories of growth and more importantly with the quality of their characters and real life experiences. Almost all of these people had made significant changes in their lives and were living their truths. I remember in Thailand listening to a friend of a friend share with me intimate details of his “shadow side” so openly and honestly with no shame. Sharing with me details that most would never have the courage to share with friends let alone a stranger. He told me about how he used to steal frequently throughout his life, that it was an addiction.That he would take things big and small from both loved ones and strangers. He told me about a profound and petrifying journey with Ayahuasca that had him confront this part of himself. He spoke of how he faced himself, forgave himself, and never stole again. He is now a teacher in Thailand giving back to local communities. After meeting him, I knew I had to learn more about Ayahuasca and that I would someday work with that medicine. After Thailand, I went to India and I was shocked to learn that a huge percentage of my yoga teacher training class had worked with Ayahuasca. One by one, I heard about my friends experiences. I was surprised that many of them, although never having experimented with drugs, had worked with this medicine.

It was so bizarre – once I discovered what Ayahuasca was, I kept meeting person after person who had worked with it. I met a woman in India who told me about her experience at The Temple of the Way of Light in the Peruvian Amazon and how she had worked with women Shaman from the Shipibo tribe. At the time I listened intently not knowing that four months later I would be at that very Temple. After meeting this woman, the coincidences continued… I was invited by two women I became friends with to Colombia to work on the opening of a yoga retreat center and to work with Ayahuasca in the jungle. Then another friend I met, asked me if I wanted to travel with her in 2018 to Peru to do Ayahuasca. Ayahuasca was popping up incessantly! When I got to Australia I met even more people who had worked with Ayahuasca and was invited to attend a ceremony there. Financially and geographically it made a lot of sense for me to do Ayahuasca in Australia. I was already there, could save money, and end my trip in New Zealand, as I had planned. However something was pulling me to consider Peru, a place where indigenous tribes have working with the medicine for centuries. It was a feeling I cannot explain logically but I knew I had to go. I should pause and also share that after spending 6 months on the road, I started developing some anxiety about “coming home.” I didn’t want to go back because I was having trouble integrating all of my experiences and new priorities/beliefs into “me.” It was easy to be whoever I wanted to be while traveling but the real work was in returning to old environments and dynamics. I didn’t know how to show up differently in a  “whole” and authentic way and I needed help. From the conversations I had about Ayahuasca and the online reading I did, I had a feeling it could help me. I remembered the woman in India who told me about the place she had  recommended in Peru and reached out to her. Once I looked the website I was hooked and knew I had to go to the Temple in Peru. In January I signed up for the 3 week deep immersion program in March. As if I didn’t have enough signs already, when I passed through CA on my way to Peru I volunteered at a Vipassana Center in Northern CA. To get to the Center I ended up getting a ride with a guy who happened to grow up the town over from mine in Florida. On the way back he told me is was moving so I offered to help him. As a thank you he gave me a necklace made of Ayahuasca vine – I couldn’t believe it!