With all the hype these days, I would be surprised if you haven’t heard of Ayahuasca. In fact, I bet you’ve heard some pretty wild stories – from traversing dimensions, contacting all sorts of spirits, and perhaps even having visits from our extraterrestrial friends.
But where do we draw the line between something that’s tangibly real, and convincing hallucinations induced by a mind-altering substance? This is what I’m going to address in this article. Are Ayahuasca spirits real, or are they simply manifestations of the mind?
The Connection Between Ayahuasca and Entities
First off, our consciousness is amazing!
There’s so much more to it than what meets the eye, and some of its projections can feel extremely real. With that said, we need to draw a line between an internal process projected outwards, vs an external being that can be perceived under the effects of the medicine.
Many of the things we see while under the effects of Ayahuasca are projections of our consciousness due to the entheogenic properties of the medicine. These projections can manifest as colors, patterns, abstract thoughts, and revisiting old memories.
With that said, having spent quite a lot of time working with Ayahuasca, there’s not a doubt in my mind that spirits are real. Every shaman or medicine man will recognize the existence of spirits because Ayahuasca is one!
But first, we need to iron out what a spirit is.
In the shamanic world, everything has a spirit. Each tree, person, and the elements: Earth, the sun, the moon, etc.
Ayahuasca itself is known as a nurturing feminine spirit, which is where the term mother Ayahuasca comes from. The spirit of Ayahuasca responds to your thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and intentions in a way that can only be understood as having intelligence.
On the other hand, the more common definition is that spirits are entities, or souls that exist beyond the material reality. For example, we may understand spirits as conscious beings like you and I, each with individual identities, personalities, intelligence, intentions, perhaps beliefs, thoughts, and egos.
In this sense, spirits, as individual beings are also certainly real, and a deeply intertwined part of the Ayahuasca experience. The same way that any shaman will recognize Ayahuasca as a spirit, they will also recognize individual spirits.
The thing about Ayahuasca spirits is that encounters are generally profound. It’s never really the case that you have a vague, blurry image of something that could well just be your imagination, because they:
- Are extremely vivid and often prominent with eyes open or closed
- Have an organic nature to them and respond to your intentions, feelings, and actions
- Often accompany deeply intuitive feelings and have a physical presence in the space
- Have different personalities. Some may observe you from a distance while others are mischievous, playful, curious, indifferent, etc.
- Communicate with you in the form of downloads, visions, and insights
What Do Ayahuasca Spirits Want?
Ayahuasca can be viewed as a bridge into the spiritual realms. Sure, the medicine itself is a spirit in its sense – being a conscious, intelligent entity, but it also opens you up to higher realms that are teeming with life.
Similar to astral projection, I see spirits in all sorts of forms during most ayahuasca ceremonies, and I’m certainly not the only one. In my experiences working alongside hundreds of individuals who have sat in ceremonies, a large percentage are convinced that they encountered spirits. Not the vague ‘eh, could have been’ type either, but more of ‘I will not forget this for the rest of my life’.
So let me explain how this works from my understanding…
Spirits are everywhere, but mostly, we can’t perceive them as they exist on another wavelength from us. Generally, it’s the people who are far along their spiritual pathway who acquire the ability to sense spirits. Likewise, people who develop a strong connection with Ayahuasca tend to be more receptive to the Ayahuasca spirits.
The spirits you see during an Ayahuasca ceremony are external beings, or souls that come into the ceremony space to assist. We may or may not perceive them depending on how strong our connection is with the medicine.
Because of the nature of an Ayahuasca ceremony, the spirits associated with it are generally healing spirits that enter the space to:
- Search for dense energies, traumas, and things you’re carrying that no longer serve you
- Assist you in purging something you need to let go of
- Assist in opening your channels and chakras, and removing blocks
- Providing information, knowledge, and insights that are necessary for your self-betterment
With that said, it’s not uncommon for dark spirits to seep through the mesh. As ceremonies are protected spaces, dark spirits from the outside generally can’t enter the space, however, they can come in entity attachments, as people unknowingly bring them into the ceremony where the medicine flushes them out.
Likewise, there are also neutral spirits and many strange, odd, and interesting beings out there that can enter the ceremony space, so you never really know what you’ll see.
What Sorts of Entities Are Out There?
While working with Ayahuasca, I’ve encountered all sorts of things. Let me tell you, there’s so much more out there that most people would never imagine.
But it’s all real.
The first time I took Ayahuasca, I began to perceive some orbs or wisps flying and around me, entering my body and repairing me like I was a mechanical machine. As these wisps left my body, two humanoid beings of pure white light appeared in front of me, reaching into my chest and pulling out this dark goop.
This was my first encounter with a real spirit, but I’ve encountered more than I can count since then. One spirit took form as a colorful, vibrant nonhuman entity that just appeared out of nowhere in crystal clear HD, eyes open or closed didn’t matter.
Other times I have seen angels, lost souls, alien-looking spirits, tall cosmic beings, dragons, deities, energies, orbs, and many strange nonhumanoid spirits, mostly of the light, but many neutral beings too. It’s a mixed bag.
I know… sounds like I’m just making this up, however, these beings are as real as you and I.
Then there’s a dark side to spirits too.
Occasionally, I’ll bump into dark spirits, who feed from our negative energetic outlets such as fear, anger, and depression. One demonic spirit took the form of a black mist with three glowing white dots as eyes. This being was watching me, however, I felt protected in the ceremony space, almost as if there was a pane of glass between us where we could observe one another but not interact.
Likewise, I have encountered dark spirits during astral projection on multiple occasions. One had no form, but a horrifying presence and a tangible voice, others have manifested as dark humanoid shadows – reaching into my solar plexus energy center.
The spiritual realms are teeming with life, and when we learn to tap into them – either via natural abilities or developing abilities, we see a whole range of beings. In a way, this exposes us to their world, where they become more visible to us, and we also become more visible to them. Ayahuasca, of course, is one of the many roads to tap into the spiritual world.
Each entity is a unique individual, just like each person is a unique individual, so we can’t necessarily blanket label them as a type or species.
How Does Ayahuasca Connect You to Spirits?
Ayahuasca is a powerful medicine that does funny things to your brain but is also a gateway to spirit. When you consummate the medicine, you connect to the spirit of the medicine, creating a gateway to other realms of information.
Think of it as if your feet remain planted on the ground, but your head drifts into the clouds. You’re still here in reality and aware of your surroundings, unless perhaps you break through, which doesn’t happen as much as you think it would.
However, while under the effects of Ayahuasca, all sorts of spirits, energies, and entities come through when this gateway is opened. Perceiving these beings can be anything from vague visuals that you take with a grain of salt, to full-blown interdimensional experiences where there is no doubt in your mind that you’re dealing with something real.
In my experiences with Ayahuasca, encounters are often like being hit with a brick. At first, there will be nothing, and within a moment, there will be something in vivid detail, accompanied by a sinking or expansive feeling.
These spirits are often very detailed as if I was watching on a high-definition TV, and they often accompany a feeling, such as a feeling of peace, love, or that intuitively I’m in good hands.
These beings often move organically through the space, observing me, and sometimes communicating with me. They can manifest either as a form within physical reality – which I observe with my eyes open. Or they can be perceived by my 3rd eye, in which case it doesn’t matter whether my eyes are open or closed as they occupy another space outside of physical reality.
Spirits tend to take on forms. From my understanding, this form can change depending on the entity, however, spirits don’t have a fixed form like we do.
Communicating With Spirits During an Ayahuasca Ceremony
When you’re in the spiritual dimension, everything is energetic, meaning there is no verbal communication. Although there have been times when I’ve heard a real voice talking to me in unknown languages, this appears to be out of the norm.
You can’t verbally speak to them, you can’t use your body language, so how do you communicate?
Within the spirit realms, communication is telepathic. When in the presence of an entity that is engaging you, generally, you will just know. Telepathic communication with entities can feel like information is being beamed straight into your consciousness, which has advantages:
- It’s direct, bypassing interpretation, understanding, ambiguity, etc. The information transferred is 100% accurate.
- It’s instant, and the information transferred doesn’t have limitations on time or speed of transfer
- The capacity to acquire information is much higher. You can suddenly understand what might take a long time to learn otherwise
Ultimately, telepathic communication is so much more efficient than verbal communication. While verbal communication is slow and clunky, telepathic communication is instant, powerful, and direct. It happens automatically as it comes straight from your soul nature, bypassing the comparatively inefficient nature of verbal communication.
At times when I’ve encountered spirits, they have beamed me information. Sometimes, this information was profound, sharing secrets of the universe and esoteric wisdom. At other times, I suddenly knew what I needed to do, or what I was communicating with.
Telepathic communication feels like a sudden knowing, and it can kick in strong. Sometimes, visions or insights accompany this communication.
Beings also communicate through vibration. For example, if you encounter a spirit while feeling vibrations of love, gratitude, humility, and openness, the spirit will respond to this energy. If you feel fear, uncertainty, arrogance, or ill feelings towards the entity, it will likely move on or not engage you.
This is why you want to hold a high vibration when you’re encountering spirits, with trust and love, knowing that they will respond to your energy.
What to Do When You Encounter Spirits
If you take Ayahuasca regularly enough, you are very likely to encounter spirits. Usually when this happens, in my experience, it’s quite abrupt. Often the appearance of a spirit accompanies a strong intuitive sensation which is usually positive – knowing that the encounter is a good thing.
When I encounter a spirit during an Ayahuasca ceremony, intuitively I know to let go and embrace it. This can be one of the most difficult parts especially if this is a new experience for you, because it can be a lot to take in.
Sometimes, spirits will give you divine insight, open up channels, or remove blockages. Their gifts can manifest in many beautiful forms as long you allow them to work on you, which is why it’s important to surrender, knowing that you’re in a safe environment.
Sometimes, spirits will send you messages about your future, perhaps provide insights about the errors of your way, or show you a path to become the best version of yourself.
Occasionally, dark spirits pop up, which can be frightening to some people. These spirits generally take the form of black entities that accompany feelings of fear. In some cases, spirits that are attached to people come out with the medicine where they must be confronted and sent to the light. Other spirits of light are likely to join in and help transmute the dark spirit.
Although I have seen cases of possession during ceremonies, this is a rare phenomenon and doesn’t cause harm. People can get possessed by spirits or channel spirits. If this happens, rest assured knowing that you’re in a good place, and the shaman will know what to do.
As long as you’re contacting these spirits from a position of love and joy, only positive things will come from it. Therefore, the most important thing is to be secure and confident that you are safe, and feel love towards any entity that appears. Love is the ultimate weapon.
To wrap up, Ayahuasca spirits are very real. They’re not figments of your imagination or manifestations of your mind. They are real entities that occupy these otherworldly spaces and come through when you consummate the medicine.
Therefore, it’s always important to treat them with respect and openness while projecting feelings of love, humility, curiosity, and gratitude. I’ve learned that respect and tradition are a must when working with these powerful spiritual medicines.