The Power Of Ayahuasca & Spiritual Awakenings

A spiritual awakening begins when the apparent normality of our everyday life is questioned by us. It is described in terms of “awakening “ because we have been asleep to the needs of the self.

“Suffering compels you to greater depth” -David Deita

This experience of spiritual awakening is seen as the stirring of the conscious energies within our being. Consciousness creates vision, insight, sensitivity, awareness of conflicting states, the cycle of likes and dislikes, pleasure and pain, living in the present, love and compassion.

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Your life’s conditions specifically designed for you to awaken

No matter where we begin — whether we are rich, poor, successful or apparently useless, these were just the necessary conditions that have preceded our awakening of our spiritual journey in order to form the necessary and approbate conditions for us to awaken from. The seeker is the general term applied to a person who is not spiritually awake and in the process of awakening, and from this it means they are looking for a new form other than the structure that was provided by what becomes the sleeping or stagnant mediocre norms.

Suffering is what places pressure to seek the answer

“More than often life has gradually increased our level of suffering until it reached a point where we cannot carry the load.” -Peter Ewart

This weight of suffering or Duḥkha (Sanskrit; Pali dukkha – is a term found in ancient Indian literature, meaning anything that is “uneasy, uncomfortable, unpleasant, difficult, causing pain or sadness”) continually places pressure on our mind to seek an answer. It is because of this natural pressure on our mind we begin to feel lost and question the validity of life, and in particular, the purpose and its meaning.

Why and how does Ayahuasca help us to awaken?

It is in this field that Ayahuasca is seen as a medicine for removing the mind blockages, mental impressions, recollections, or psychological imprints (“Samskara “ Indian philosophy) that we encounter in our life’s journey. This is one of Ayahuasca’s fortes – undoing of the knots in our history of life and revealing shadows and dark spots we had buried.

“The Spiritual Awakening in an Ayahuasca journey is akin to shedding light onto the darkness so that we can see” – Peter Ewart

This release or revealing has trademarks of revelation which is one of the first signs of the spirit being heard and we feel more connected. The large portion of Ayahuasca retreat participants cite this as clear evidence of a sign of spiritual awakening. And it is universally recognized as a sign post on the path with many other traditions.

Very often from an Ayahuasca retreat we walk away with a different perspective and many begin to question and change the fundamental modus operandi of the life. Many have come from a place of suffering (personal, work and social relations), having inherited ancestral baggage and finding their place in the world unsatisfactory. Ayahuasca gives one a taste of other states where we can compare what is of value to our inner world. Remembering this internal scale of happiness is what brings us back to a feeling that has gradually become lost but not forgotten. And fortunately this can still be accessed within an Ayahuasca journey.

10 signs of a Spiritual Awakening

1. You start to see the world in a different light — a shift from external to internal.
2. You begin to prioritize and question what gives you joy and purpose in this world.
3. Actively seeking to replace that which no longer serves you with something that does. Habits, toxic relationships, or work that only serves to pay bills.
4. The feeling of humility and gratitude for what you are shown in a ceremony and learning to live and see we are all in the same boat….compassion.
5. Seeking external help, the gathering of resources to facilitate understanding. This is not only just reading or educating yourself about others’ spiritual path…but also allowing the receptivity of your mind to engage in energies that seek to feed your internal world.
6. Realization of the connectivity of all life and how it feeds you. Contemplating your relationship with the nature, with the Earth and its spirits. Plant medicines like Ayahuasca and San Pedro magnify and emphasize feeling of a synergetic relationship and responsibility to the Pachamamma.
7. Beginning to move through life not by trying to think your way to a new place but by simply accepting anything, being aware of the opportunities that place themselves in front as the process of active path selection. Ayahuasca has the capacity to mystically provide one with different clarity of vision to path selection after a ceremony for some time .. Follow the rabbit of the matrix.
8. Taking responsibility for your thoughts, feelings and actions and beginning to actively repair and develop the way you receive and express yourself. This part requires personal effort and spiritual reflective skills. It requires something from you other than just to drink a cup of ayahuasca and sit back. Through active engagement and attention plant medicines provide you with the sense and meaning of your life story and where it wants to take you.
9. A spiritual rebirth You forgive yourself for all your past shortcomings and those who were involved in your stories. Parents, lovers….everyone.
10. Learning to recognize and follow energies that feed you as opposed to chasing energies that consume you is a major opening in this path of spiritual discernment. It magnifies your feeling of life and self and gives you a glow.

Knitting this understanding back together

Much of the complexity of South American spirituality has been lost and has been replaced with many influences from other traditions including spiritual teachers. This medicine or soma has all the elements within it for rediscovery and reemergence of spiritual truths within its field and it wants to give its understanding freely.

“And the way it teaches is through experience as we are knitting this understanding back together with patience, humility and respect which are the main teachers inside an Ayahuasca journey” -Peter Ewart