With all that was going on in my life I decided this was the perfect time to go experience ayahuasca, also called Yage in Colombia.

The owners of the hostel charged me $20 and it would include ride, to and from the shaman’s place and the Yage. I picked the Hostal for the experience I was going to get through word of mouth. Moreover, places costing you higher within and outside of Colombia aren’t the best and authentic, when it comes to an experience that will remain with you for a lifetime.

We arrived before 5:30pm when there was still some daylight so we could acclimate ourselves to the place, as for the whole night we were going to spend at the place with no electricity and lights. The tents were divided into two sides, women to the right and men to the left. Each one of us brought a hammock, a toilet roll, a blanket and a liter of water bottle. We sat around the fireplace where we were given briefing on how the night would go, how we were not supposed to throw up under the tents but had to walk out to the woods and purge there. The toilet was good 100 to 200 feet away from where we’re under the tents, it was quite a long walk. We were asked not to use flashlight from our phones as it would interfere with our experience negatively, but the screen light from the phone would be ok.

The shaman came around 8:30pm and started his rituals with what was going to be a ceremony. Until that time I was talking to the people who were going to take Yage that night. By 9pm Yage was ready to be consumed. Men finished taking it which was around 9pm, it was 9:09pm when I took my Yage. It tasted bitter, but I kept it in. I went to the hammock and laid there, knowing that it would take 30mins to take effect. Then exactly at 9:40pm, I saw a lot of beautiful colors, but with it I also experienced a need to throw up. So I took my phone, and just as I stepped out of the hammock, I realized that I wasn’t able to walk, I was weak and losing my balance. I slowly started to walk, and just at reaching the edge of the tent my urge to throw up became stronger. Change of plan, I thought. I took a few steps forward and then walked towards the woods to the right where it was ok for the women to throw up.

Now in the woods I stood holding on to the tree with one hand and holding the phone with the other, just to be sure where I was with the little light I could get from the phone screen light. Just as I got ready to throw up, I saw three headed horses or ponies on my left. I started to look away, as much as I wanted to engage myself in looking at it more closely, I was scared, and chose to look away and started throwing up. I was mumbling to myself ‘this is not what I signed up for’, ‘I don’t want this’, ‘I need help’. I remember saying these words to myself, I was moaning as if in lot of pain. I noticed some of the shaman’s people walking around to ensure we were all ok and they would come close to us and use their incense pots swinging them around our heads to remove all the negativity. The whole purpose of the purge experience is to remove all negativity from within. The purging could take any form, like vomit, diarrhea. Thankfully, I did not have to go to the toilet, as I was predominantly a vegetarian and in the last month was totally detoxed, which in my opinion helped with not having the need to go to the toilet.

Just as I looked at my watch it was already 11:18pm. I then decided to walk towards my hammock and then laid down. A few minutes into it, I could feel vomit coming, and I had to step out to my right towards the woods, which I did with help of a female helper. I sat down near the tree and threw up. Just as I threw up, the most amazing thing happen to me. I saw both Kali Maa and Shirdi Sai Baba on the floor as I was throwing up.

We had to set intentions before taking Yage (Ayawausca). My first intention was to bring courage and happiness to my life. perhaps these visions were a response to my intentions I set up. I have been now meditating for over 6years, and this was a validation for me that I was on the right path, that is the path of spirituality.

As much as I was scared at the time to see the visions of two powerful gods, I laid down on the grown dog on my belly and for the first time I realized that power of Mother Earth. It gave me a lot of healing that I never before experienced. I thanked Mother Earth, and Mother Yage for all that I was experiencing. I remember very vividly how I was speaking to myself that I was thankful to everyone taking care of us there, and life in general.

As I lay there experiencing all of this, I heard a loud laughter around me and felt my death and people laughing. It was actually the crickets chirps sounding like people‘s laughter. It was one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had. For the first time I experienced death and wouldn’t want my enemies to go through this experience. I then saw a field filled with people in white clothes and I sat on a stair overlooking the entire field. It seemed like a spiritual place of workship of some sort.

I looked at my watch and it was 12:38pm. Now was so exhausted, that I found my way back to the hammock and lay there until the morning 6am. I remember coming back to a very soothing music playing that the Shaman played on his guitar, and others accompanied on both drums and mouth organs. I remember dancing to the music laying in the hammock.