The Call of Ayahuasca — Why We Seek the Vine of the Soul
- Soul Journey
- Jul 1
- 6 min read
In the quiet whispers of the jungle and the restless longing of the soul, many people find themselves drawn toward ayahuasca—a sacred plant medicine used for centuries by Indigenous tribes of the Amazon for healing, vision, and connection. Often referred to as "la medicina," this brew is much more than a psychedelic substance; it is a teacher, a mirror, and a gateway into the deepest recesses of human consciousness.
Why Someone Might Seek an Ayahuasca Experience
People come to ayahuasca for many reasons:
To break free from cycles of depression, anxiety, addiction, or trauma.
To reconnect with a sense of purpose or meaning.
To grieve, to remember, to forgive.
To understand themselves and the universe more deeply.
Or simply because something inside says there's more.
In a world that often values numbing over feeling and performance over presence, ayahuasca offers a radically different approach: it invites you to feel everything—not to escape life, but to fully enter it, stripped of illusion.
What’s in Ayahuasca? The Plants Behind the Vision
Ayahuasca is traditionally brewed from two plants:
Banisteriopsis caapi (the ayahuasca vine): This vine contains MAO inhibitors, which allow the psychoactive compound in the second plant to become orally active.
Psychotria viridis (also known as chacruna): This leaf contains DMT (dimethyltryptamine), a powerful molecule naturally produced in the human body and associated with dreams, near-death experiences, and mystical states.
Alone, neither plant produces the full visionary experience. But together, they unlock a portal—one that opens not just to other realms, but to the deepest truth of the self.
Where It Grows & How It’s Prepared
These plants are native to the Amazon rainforest and are deeply interwoven into the spiritual and medicinal traditions of Peru, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador. The preparation of ayahuasca is a sacred ritual in itself. Leaves and vines are harvested with intention, prayers are offered, and the slow cooking process—often taking hours or days—is guided by experienced shamans or facilitators who carry deep respect for the spirit of the medicine.
It’s not simply a brew. It’s a ceremony.
Spiritual Connections Commonly Reported with Ayahuasca
Participants often describe the experience as meeting a profound spiritual intelligence—sometimes visualized as a feminine presence, the "Mother Ayahuasca." Encounters may include:
Past life memories
Communicating with ancestors or spirit guides
A deep sense of being held by the Earth
The dissolving of the ego or false self
Insights into one’s purpose, path, or karmic patterns
Emotional and energetic purging (crying, vomiting, shaking)
It’s not always beautiful—it can be terrifying, humbling, raw—but it is often life-changing.
Preparing the Body: The Physical Dieta
Ayahuasca demands respect, and one of the first signs of readiness is how seriously someone prepares.
Physically, this includes following a dieta:
Avoid red meat, pork, fried and processed foods
Eliminate alcohol, caffeine, and recreational drugs
Cut out refined sugars and heavy dairy
Abstain from sex and sexual energy (to conserve vital force)
This is not just about digestion—these choices support energetic sensitivity and clarity. When the body is clean, the messages are clearer. The purge is less violent. The integration is smoother.
Preparing the Mind: Nervous System Regulation
What you bring to the medicine, it magnifies. If your nervous system is dysregulated, fragmented, or overwhelmed, the experience may be too much, too fast.
This is why nervous system preparation is non-negotiable. Practice grounding breathwork. Create daily stillness. Learn to be with discomfort. Notice your triggers. Befriend your thoughts. Spend time in nature. Limit media and overstimulation. This isn’t just "self-care"—it’s the training ground for meeting yourself in ceremony.
Without this prep, you're handing your deepest, unfiltered thoughts and emotions to a cosmic amplifier. And that can be deeply destabilizing.
Preparing the Spirit: Intention and Surrender
Spiritually, prepare by reflecting on:
Why are you called to this work?
What are you ready to release?
What truths are you willing to face?
Create rituals of quiet, journal often, and let your dreams speak. Be willing to surrender the idea of control. This is a path of trust, not willpower.
Ayahuasca does not give you what you want—she gives you what you need.
How Ayahuasca is Portrayed in Media & Culture
In movies and pop culture, ayahuasca is often reduced to a dramatic, drug-like spectacle: visual hallucinations, jungle puking, or instant enlightenment. Shows like The Joe Rogan Experience, Nine Perfect Strangers, and Chelsea Does portray the medicine as intense and mysterious, but often without nuance.
This portrayal can lead people to seek a quick fix, a spiritual shortcut, or an exotic thrill. But true ayahuasca work is not a spectacle. It’s sacred. It's humbling. It's a long road.
What the media rarely shows is the integration—the months and years of inner work that follow the ceremony. The way your relationships change. The grief that arises. The lifestyle shifts required. The soul that awakens.
What We Are (and Aren’t) at Soul Journey
We frequently receive calls, messages, and questions from people curious about ayahuasca and other plant medicines. At Soul Journey, we do not recommend, facilitate, provide, or refer individuals to access these substances. That is not the role we play, and we honor the sacredness of this work by never rushing the process.
If the medicine is truly meant for you, it will find its way into your life organically. When the time is right, the opportunity will arise natively and with clarity.
If you find yourself actively seeking, questioning, or feeling desperate for a breakthrough, we invite you to pause. Ask yourself honestly:
Am I seeking a quick fix?
Am I truly ready to do the soul work needed to bring myself into alignment—whether or not the medicine ever comes?
If what you're seeking is truly seeking you too, then the best thing you can do is relax, pause, prepare your temple, and create a life and internal space where it can meet you with grace.
A Word of Caution: Not All Who Pour Are Called
As interest in ayahuasca grows, so too do opportunists. We feel a responsibility to warn our community about predatory or poorly trained facilitators who offer access to these powerful medicines without the context, guidance, or integration support that is essential to a safe and transformative experience.
Be discerning. If someone offers you access to "the medicine" without talking about your spiritual preparation, your nervous system regulation, or your emotional readiness, take that as a red flag.
Look for a shaman or facilitator who understands the spiritual and energetic dimensions of this work—not just the chemical compounds or a checklist diet. Be wary of someone who tells you what you want to hear instead of encouraging you to truly prepare.
An AI tool like ChatGPT can easily provide you with a fasting schedule. But no algorithm can guide your soul through the unraveling of lifetimes. You need someone who walks with wisdom and humility.
While we at Soul Journey do not offer access to or support for acquiring plant medicines, we do offer deeply supportive preparation and integration. We can help you:
Regulate your nervous system
Establish embodied safety and presence
Clarify your intention
Hold space for the confusion, emotional waves, and spiritual openings that often arise weeks or months after ceremony
This isn’t about selling a shortcut. This is about supporting your evolution.
The Journey Begins Long Before the Cup Is Raised
If you’re feeling the call of ayahuasca, know that the journey begins not in the jungle, but in your everyday life. In what you eat. In how you rest. In your ability to be present with yourself.
Ayahuasca is not about escaping reality—it’s about becoming more deeply human.
And sometimes, the greatest ceremony is the one you live every day.
Curious about plant medicine integration, nervous system regulation, or somatic practices for spiritual preparation? At Soul Journey, we offer grounded, heart-centered resources to help you prepare for any inner journey—plant medicine or otherwise. Reach out to explore our classes, meditations, and embodied practices that support sustainable transformation and soul alignment.
Are you ready to realign with your highest self?
Book your session today or call to find out more.
We are located at:
1600 Sarno Rd Suite 217
Melbourne, Fl 32935-4938
MM45205
