Basic Goodness

Life-changing journeys for talented human beings offered by a some zen dude with the brain of an advertising guy and the body of a nightclub doorman. Welcome to Atalwin's blog!

  • Connect
  • Ambien Overnight Mastercard Zolpidem Online India Ambien Ordering Zolpidem Tartrate Buy Online Uk
  • 100 DW website

Surrendering to the vine of the soul

May 30, 2011 By Atalwin Pilon 2 Comments

I am feeling happy, clean and inspired. Kajuyali Tsamani is a Colombian shaman who is touring through Europe these weeks. Last Friday and Saturday night I participated in the beautiful ayahuasca ceremonies he, his family and his helpers perform. It was a difficult, humbling but predominantly amazing experience.

For those who don’t know: ayahuasca refers to a psychotropic brew made by indigenous Indians of the Amazon jungle from a woody vine and the leaves of the chakruna plant. Local medicine men, or shamans, prepare the mixture, and adding different plants to the mixture depending on the nature of the ceremony. Ayahuasca is used by shamans to induce an altered state during which the shaman can look into the future, travel in spirit form, induce healing and remove spells.

The word ayahuasca comes from the Quechuan Indian words aya (“spirit”, “ancestor” or “dead person”) and huasca (“vine”). Together these words refer to the “vine of the soul”. What ayahuasca reportedly does is that it can free the soul or spirit. And that’s exactly what I feel to have seen or learned this past weekend.

I get tired of being heart broken (what is still what I feel like these days). I don’t mean that metaphorically, I mean that literally. I costs me a lot of energy to feel pain, sadness and remorse over and over again. I often wonder if I’m exaggerating or that I’m abnormally sensitive or dramatic. Last week I spent another two full days struggling with facts that my ego finds painful or unacceptable. When I find myself in the middle of the storm it seems impossible to help myself. While my whole body aches, especially my heart (again: literally) the wise words I speak to myself don’t touch base at all. Then at some point, seemingly out of nowhere it flips and I feel space and love coming up.

What I am starting to learn that my experience of life when I’m in a state of surrender is radically different from when I’m in a state of resistance. Unfortunately for me it seems I cannot gently will myself into surrender, I only submit after serious battle. But what I find striking is that the experience I described in the previous paragraph was very similar to the experience I had in the ceremony.

Surrendering is very counter intuitive for the most of us (it definitely is for me). Our egos are preoccupied with its own survival. We will do anything to escape surrendering to what haunts us: the truth. But when we tried everything, really truly everything, then surrender is the only option we have left. That’s probably why it takes us so long to get there. With surrender comes peace of mind. When we realize there is nowhere else to go we arrive home.

During the second ceremony, after my third cup of the medicine the ayahuasca had me finally pinned down to the floor. I was shaking heavily and vomiting violently. But every time the shamans did their healing work a tremendous peace came over me. When new thoughts, worries or fears popped up in my mind, the shaking started again. For hours I had to surrender time after time again, shifting from complete bliss to agony. Bliss, agony, bliss, agony, bliss, agony. Until I got it.

You may also like:

  1. My meditation becomes healing
  2. The Turning Point
  3. We owe it to Anne Frank
  4. 13 Questions to Karim

Filed Under: Basic Goodness Tagged With: Ayahuasca, Beautiful, Healing, Liberation, Surrender, Transformation

Comments

  1. Kathryn Ehnebuske says

    May 30, 2011 at 8:59 pm

    Bliss and agony happening simultaneously seems to break something open – the flood of unconditional love renders both irrelevant and you are free. This freedom touches us all and for that I feel deep gratitude. Thank you.

    Reply
  2. Justyna says

    July 20, 2011 at 9:57 am

    I will always remember the opening lines of the movie “Legends of the fall”: ‘There are people who hear their own inner voices with great clearness and they live by what they hear, such people become crazy or they become a legend’. Surrendering to your inner voices is indeed a great achievement :)’Such people become crazy’ – your agony, ‘or they become a legend’- your bliss 🙂 love J.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

SideAd

Would you like some Basic Goodness in your inbox too?

More than 2,367 awesome people from all over the world follow Basic Goodness. Sign up and join our tribe if you are into courageous living too.
* = required field
Language



powered by MailChimp!

Top 5 Most Popular

  • The black wolf and the white wolf (406330 Views)
  • 12 things every guy should master to become a real man (378595 Views)
  • Using social media as a tool for spiritual growth (152028 Views)
  • Open letter to my teacher Genpo Merzel (82363 Views)
  • I dare you to become more than a coward and a liar (62657 Views)

13 Questions to Joost

13 Questions to Douwe

13 Questions to Joan

Tagcloud

100 Day Warrior Amsterdam Anger Australia Bali Beautiful Beirut Blogging Colombia Compassion Courage Death Ego Fear Frustration good Gratitude Healing Heart Honesty Hong Kong India Insight Inspiration Iraq Journey Joy Karma Liberation Life Love Masks Meditation Personal Relationships Sadness Sam van Eeghen Thailand Transformation USA Vulnerability Warrior Wholeheartedness Wisdom Zen

You may also like

  1. My meditation becomes healing
  2. The Turning Point
  3. We owe it to Anne Frank
  4. 13 Questions to Karim

Are you ready to become a Warrior?

Click the button below and dive into the World of the Warrior. You will find everything you need to know about the course and you can register immediately. Your transformation is important, it's how you will inspire the people around you to follow.

Learn more about the 100 Day Warrior

  • Connect
  • 100 DW website

Copyright © 2025 · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress · Log in