Facets of Ayahuasca: A Guide to Journeys of Healing, Insight, and Growth

Every day, more people around the world are hearing about ayahuasca and awakening to transform their lives. What about you? Are you drinking ayahuasca, or thinking of drinking? Your first ceremony may be confusing, exciting, nauseating, surprising, scary, boring, or joyous. Whatever it is, every time will differ as part of a larger ongoing process. The plants, or La Medicina, are therapeutic and can stimulate an intense psychological and life-shifting spiritual journey for most people. In this practical guide, you will find must-know key details about ayahuasca. The arc of responsible use covers preparation, ceremony, and integration. You'll find best-practices and insights on archetypes, relationships, energy work, sexuality, related healing approaches, the community, and what it takes to serve medicine. There is also a glossary, list of books and films to explore, and handy before/after checklists when drinking ayahuasca. This guide is by and for non-indigenous persons and modern challenges. It is the perfect companion for those who have taken one journey or twenty with ayahuasca and wish to make the most of their experiences.

Charles Johnston is an organizer of ayahuasca retreats with guides who study with the Ashaninka and Shipibo of Peru and the Yawanawa of Brazil. It is his hope that participants be better prepared and more comfortable with their exploration of consciousness, so they have a greater chance of transformation and healing. Over the past ten years, these same experiences have allowed him to transform from an unfulfilling cultural paradigm narrow religiosity, substance addiction, and materialistic pursuit to an advocate of personal and spiritual transformation. He now experiences life more openly as he guides and teaches others. He has worked at multiple psychedelic detox clinics and retreat centers, spoken publicly and on podcasts, and is guided by his passion of spiritual expansion.

Dario Nardi is a renowned author, international speaker, and expert in the fields of neuroscience and personality. Since 1998, he has taught Anthropology and Computing at University of California (Los Angeles), where he won UCLA s Distinguished Teacher of the year in 2011. His books include Neuroscience of Personality, 8 Keys to Self-Leadership, and Jung on Yoga, among other titles. For over a decade, he has conducted extensive hands-on brain research using EEG technology. In 2014, Dario began work with entheogens in a ceremonial context for personal growth and scientific understanding.

Jason Gentile is a superfood sourcing and nutritional product development specialist, integrative men s trainer, outdoor adventure guide and yoga teacher based in Los Angeles. His passion and professional work with healing plants has taken him around the globe. Over a decade of inner journeys with expanded states practices and plant medicines has helped him cultivate clarity, generational healing, and radical self-acceptance. As founder and training director of Art of Waking Up, Gentile facilitates men s circles focused on grounding, embodying, and implementing insights from medicine work in the LA area as well as self-transformation adventures around Southern California where he lives with his wife and daughter.

Winter Garand is a yoga teacher, certified massage therapist, dedicated self-explorer, and psychedelic advocate. In 2009, she began to pursue a path of discovering the truth of existence. This led her to an ayahuasca retreat center in Peru where she lived for a year facilitating hundreds of participants through life-changing ceremonies. As a result, Winter feels it is invaluable to have the proper tools and space to fully integrate these kinds of transformative experiences. She has come to see a wide spectrum of shadow and light on this planet. With this insight, she has set her sights on embodying practices and teachings from wisdom traditions around the world in order to align herself with our collective awakening into our most joyous expression. She lives in Costa Rica with her love, Joe Garand. Together they are developing a retreat center there, where earth magic meets human evolution.