Some people wonder how to maintain the lightness and extraordinary sense of well-being after doing ayahuasca. Well, I don't think it's possible to stay that light forever. We eventually do become grounded again.
We can integrate our lessons, and the method of doing so depends on the person. I'll describe my own process.
It's been three months since coming back from Peru. There have been ups and downs, but so far I have been able to come back up again to a feeling good set-point. It is NOT the same feeling I came home with. The first two months, I felt very expanded and like life was limitless. I still had enough of my head on my shoulders to be reasonable, thankfully.
As soon as I got home I intuitively knew I had to focus on self love and self acceptance. Ayahuasca showed me how to feel pure love and acceptance toward myself, but it was up to me to learn how to do it for myself. I did whatever actions I needed to do to express this love to myself. And I made sure that my thoughts toward myself remained loving. I knew that this was the most important thing in the world.
I also pray. A lot.
It so happened that I started a beginners class in shamanism the week after I got back home. In this class we participate in several healing rituals and receive the Munay Ki. On top of this, I listen to Christina Pratt's podcast Why Shamanism Now?. My spiritual faith has grown significantly and I integrate certain practices into my daily life to build that connection. Prayer, reflection, daily rituals, communing with nature when possible, sometimes meditation...but mostly prayer.
When I'm feeling down or off balance, I use Florida Water and palo santo. I am sensitive to this stuff! (I tried to get mapacho tobacco but I could only find one vendor and it's so expensive.) I already knew Florida Water calmed me before going to Peru. I started falling in love with its scent after associating it with shamanic healings in the US. I used to put it all over me before the ayahuasca ceremonies. Then, during one particularly difficult ceremony in Peru, someone sprayed it on me. Feeling the vaporous sent around me was like being embraced by love and kindness. It also immediately cleared out whatever negativity I was going through.
Back home, I take baths with Florida Water. Sometimes before bed, I put it on my power center, heart, and third eye. Then, with my body under the blankets, I spray it over myself before sleeping.
Sometimes I burn palo santo and smudge myself with it, circling it around my body. Then I circle it over all of my chakras. The clearing effect is palpable.
I light candles. I also burn incense, which brings me connection (to myself, to spirit, to the present) and relaxes me.
I try to stay with whatever I'm feeling, whether it be anger or sadness or heartache or whatever. But I also make sure my thoughts are not being carried away to the point that they bring me down. I reframe my thoughts when possible. There is a balance there between staying with how you feel and changing how you think. You don't want to do one to the point that it overpowers or takes away from the other. Feeling is important because you need to feel suppressed emotions before being able to let them go. Thinking is important because we want to make sure our thoughts are healthy.
Other than that, listening to my heart, listening to my intuition, and regularly connecting with healthy, like-minded friends. Focusing on doing what I love...
Yup. That's about it.
UPDATE: I've also discovered that mindfulness is crucial to taking me back to that clear-headed feeling space. This clarity is essential to feeling the inner peace and joy that I felt after doing the ayahuasca ceremonies. It seems that once I am clear of the all those thoughts clouding my perspective, I am able to more easily introduce more positive thoughts and ideas such as self love, etc. I've also discovered that mindfulness takes me back to what needs to be taken care of in the here and now rather than sitting with ruminating thoughts and feelings. Without ruminating thoughts and feelings, we feel clear, and when we feel clear we want our outer world to reflect how we feel inside, and when we want our outer world to reflect how we feel inside we take right action!
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