There's always interesting healing going on in Peru. I miss the country very much. I have not had an opportunity to visit this year =( But when I am there, I locate different healers to take the sacred medicine. It's legal in the country, so they don't bother you at all =) One thing I can tell you is that not every person there claiming to be a real shaman, is a shaman. It's so much "ayahuasca tourism" going on there, anyone can call themselves a shaman, and get that american dollar for a retreat, etc.
Depending on the Amazon city you wish to visit, there's things that you need to be aware of. You can travel to Pucallpa, Iquitos, Tarapoto, or Madre de Dios. Iquitos is by far my favorite, as the entire area is surrounded by the various rivers and amazon river as well. You can only enter by boat or by plane. So keep that in perspective for a moment.. levels of negative energy can't enter, as a car will never be able to drive on in =) You wont see a mcdonalds, a starbucks, or anything like that, thank god! But, the tourism is high, and a lot of westerns there to take the medicine with various different healers. There are some healers who are just about the money, and charge about $100 per ceremony, or even get you stuck in a retreat for $3,000 or 3 weeks or so. Watch out for those guys! I personally only work with a handful of healers throughout the country, and their reputations for healing are known all over the world. You just have to weed out the bad healers from the good ones, like you select a doctor at a hospital. I remember my first trip there, I phoned a shaman to meet up with him, and his assistant said that he was at the casino. Casino? Are you serious? Yes, he was serious. It finally came out later, that particular healer had some bad demons in him, as he raped some Canadian females during an ceremony, and had to make a public apology about it. That has been forgotten, and time has moved on, for him, but not for the poor victims.
Another thing to be careful of is buying any ayahuasca in the local markets. DO NOT DO THAT! For obvious reasons. You dont know whats in it, and a lot of the times, it is not what it is supposed to be. If you happen to travel to Pucallpa, its a bit more deforested than Iquitos, but its an interesting place. Most of the healers get their ingredients shipped there from iquitos, to make their medicines. The Shipibo Tribe makes the best medicine that I have ever tasted =) They have a unique aspect within their ceremonies, as they are within a tribal context, singing their icaros as a family, and without religion being an aspect of the ceremony. Some modern healers incorporate the Jesus Christ aspect into their ceremonies, which alters the energy in the ceremony. So I personally choose to work with the Shipibo people, or someone who does not add any aspects of religion (man made thing), within any of their ceremonies. I hope that makes sense. The shipibo medicine also keeps the recipe basic. They don't add Toé (I've only met one shipibo shaman who does, and he was in iquitos). Toé is very toxic and really gives you some stomach pains during ceremony, and will have you purging from both ends a lot. It does make visions quite interesting, but no use adding it in the brew, as it's not needed. For those who add it, they want to give more visions to their clients, to guarantee a return trip by the client, and a great review. There was one shipibo healer that I worked with for one occasion who used that, and never again will I take any medicine with Toé included. You survive, but the trip is more brutal than what it needs to be. I was throwing up stomach acid, from throwing up so many times, and had to take it easy for a few days after the ceremony. For someone just starting out, I wouldn't recommend it. Thankfully, I had years of exp before trying it out with that healer. My first ceremony though, almost a decade ago, I had Toé in the brew and it really added a burst of visions and difficulty in piloting as it knocks you into some deeper levels of consciousness, and rips you out of your body. If you're trying to do any special work, especially guiding others, it's a bit hard, as others would find it difficult to navigate.
Tarapoto is also nice, and beautiful waterfalls. I visited there, but didn't make time to do ceremonies in that region. Madre de dios is probably where I'll head to next, as I have not been there yet. There lives an upper banco shaman there, who is a high level shaman. The upper banco shamans are the real deal, stick to the diet, as high as they go shamans. They are the ones who had a calling to it as a child, and have been practicing for several decades with the medicine. Most upper banco shamans, for the few who do remain, do not speak very much, and stay out of the spotlight. They have my deepest respect.
Overall, you'll have blast throughout the country. Just always keep your eyes open. It's easier to rent an apartment, than pay so much at a hotel per day. You can also stay in the Amazon if you wish, and come into the city when necessary. After you take the medicine, you'll go through the integration stage, where you figure out and integrate all of the data you received during the ceremony. You'll then formulate how you're going to put that knowledge into action. Certain friends you will disassociate with, foods you won't eat anymore, etc. For all those that have had geninue aya, they know what I mean.
Get your plane ticket, and take a leap of faith and get out there! Food is also amazing! Coastal food (lima), Andean food (Cusco), and Amazonian food. All are delicious. Sadly, I still have not found any Peruvian restaurants in the states that offer any Amazonian dishes.
One more thing, I have typed a novel already.. But Cusco has healers as well, who work with the Coca leaves. They will tell you some very interesting things. You can find some of the best healers, diviners in that region with the Q'eros people. You also have some westerners having aya ceremonies there, but the prices are terrible.. Shaman shop was the name of the place. I think it was $150 a ceremony, as I saw it on a sign hanging from their front door... again, its a business for some, as westerners own that shop. But you're welcome to bring medicine there with you, if you happen to find a healer genuine healer who has worked with it, and willing to assist you with the ceremony. Just keep in mind, I wouldnt do any ceremonies within the first two weeks there. The oxygen is very thin, and it'll take your body a short time to acclimatize itself to the lack in oxygen. This could pose a problem in an aya ceremony, if your body has not acclimated to the changed in the environment yet.
Good luck, and follow your dreams. If you're doing that homemade ayahuasca stuff, be careful. you're not under the care of a shaman, and can open yourself up to attack. Imagine the world of the shaman, as being a live, real world. A world that is more real than this one. We all wish to connect to this world, and we see it with what we presently have. Everyone wants to get on the internet, and speak with others by phone, send photos etc. Then you have hackers, who go online, to cause problems to those who don't have a firewall up, and/or proper anti-virus setup. So imagine that shamanic world is being like that. You taking the medicine is logging you into another world, a world that is not familiar to you. Without the proper training, and knowledge of spiritual protection, it IS a dangerous place. Bad shamans (Brujos) are able to send darts, which can attack you, and get you sick, and create other issues as well. I highly recommend having palo santo, mapacho, agua florida, to name a few. Bad spirits like to come out, when you "login" to your ceremony, as you're opened up those sacred doors to your soul, and they're hungry for more power and control. Just be careful. I'm off to bed. Good night.
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