Ayahuasca: How to have a positive, transformative experience - a simple, practical guide

This is not an exhaustive tutorial, just a recap of what worked for me, why it worked, and how to duplicate my experience if it resonates with you. This is NOT meant to be "everything to everyone."

Mother Ayahuasca is no joke. This experience is not for the feint of heart. You should ABSOLUTELY consult with your doctor before going. This is not medical advice, just a recount of my story.

DISCLAIMER: This article is not medical advice. Ayahuasca is as intense as people say. Furthermore, there are bogus “retreats” out there as well as charlatans and grifters. Do your homework, and leverage trust networks. This article is also written with the assumption that you are otherwise healthy, grounded, and oriented. Ayahuasca will not save you, that is not what it is for. Furthermore, I assume that you are reading this because you have felt called or been invited, and are doing some research to optimize your experience. Because of this, I will not be addressing more basic questions like “who should and shouldn’t go?” This information is provided for educational purposes only, and should not be considered therapeutic, medical, or spiritual advice. They are merely my reflections on my experiences, and what worked for me, and why. You should always consult licensed medical professionals and never do anything illegal.

Looking back on my experiences, I would say there are two primary factors in having a “good” Ayahuasca trip.

1. Preparation

2. Selection

Both are equally important, but let me first give you a high level overview of what I mean.

Preparation is exactly what it says on the tin; the more prepared you are for the journey, the more you’ll get out of it. There’s no one preparation protocol, so it’s easy to get wrong and certainly what works for one person won’t work for everyone. But I’ll walk you through everything I’ve done to prepare, and explain why it works.

Selection, on the other hand, comes down to choosing the right resort, retreat, or shaman for you. As I’ve been researching for my book, Welcome to the Psychedelic Renaissance, I’ve learned more about how different facilitators and practitioners approach these plant medicines. More on this soon.

Be Prepared

Plant Medicine Experiences

There are people who jump in the deep end, and their first brush with psychedelics is Ayahuasca. I do not recommend this. There are a few reasons; first, if you’re not familiar with psychedelics and what it takes to surrender to the process, you’re likely to spend a lot of time fighting the experience and “learning the ropes.” This means you won’t get as much out of the experience as you otherwise might. Second, and related to the first, is that all these plant medicines seem to have an intelligence of their own, or they activate some unconscious evolutionary self-cleaning algorithm. I saw one person describe psychedelics as “defragmenting your hard drive.” Ah, tech bros. But the analogy fits. If you haven’t done some low level “defragging” yet, then Ayahuasca might be overkill. You gotta work up to that full system reset.

I “practiced” with psilocybin experiences for several years before going to an Ayahuasca experience. One of the most interesting things about plant medicines is that how you use them (intention, setting) strongly impact the experience you have, and what you get out of them. I’ve had Burners (people who go to Burning Man) insist that psychedelics have ZERO therapeutic or spiritual use, that they are STRICTLY for fun. That seems like an odd ego defense, and is not at all supported by the science or anecdotes. In general, my interpretation is that these people realize they have a lot of work to do, but aren’t ready to do it. Thus, I think it’s best if you go in “knowing the ropes” so to speak.

For me, at-home practice was a good start. My very first psychedelic experience blasted me off into realms unknown, where I witnessed a cosmic spider that told me “the universe wants to understand itself.”

I was also visited by Miller’s ghost (from The Expanse) who told me “this is important” referring to my writing, “we keep coming back to this.” So now I focus on my writing.

There’s a ton of healing and spiritual growth you can do with milder, gentler plant medicines, such as mushrooms. Learning what ego death feels like, feeling your body and time itself dissolve into nothing, to be a mind unmoored, is important. In those respects, Ayahuasca is not unlike other plant medicines.

I had also gone to a psilocybin retreat before an Ayahuasca retreat, which meant that I was also familiar with the ceremonial setting and process. This dramatically reduced my anxiety going in.

Eat Right

Once you’ve got some some plant medicine experiences under your belt, you’ll need to know the logistics of Ayahuasca specifically, namely a special “purification” ritual called the dieta. You’re supposed to start your dieta about a month before your ceremony. The dieta has a lot of spiritual language baked in; you must “lighten” your mind and body by changing your diet, abstaining from alcohol and sex, and quitting caffeine.

Like many religious diets, there’s a deeply practical element to this. I used Claude (AI chatbot) to talk through the dieta recommendations and noticed a pattern: the dieta is a HIGHLY anti-inflammatory and antihistamine diet. This “lightening” of the mind and body is meant to improve your GI health, reduce inflammation, and prepare your body for the shock that’s coming. Fortunately for me, I had already mostly switched to an anti-inflammatory and antihistamine diet as I had been struggling with a chronic H. pylori infection for years, and was recovering from an intense round of antibiotics.

It would be impossible to fully convey these diets to you in one blog post, but I can recommend a couple of books.

• The Science-Backed Anti-Inflammatory Diet for Beginners: A Hassle-Free Guide and Simple Meal Plan To Enhance Immunity, Optimize Gut Health, and Reduce Chronic Pain at Any Age: This book just came out in 2023 and is amazing.

• The 4-Phase Histamine Reset Plan: Getting to the Root of Migraines, Eczema, Vertigo, Allergies and More: This book also saved my life.

But here’s my heroic attempt to distill a year’s worth of diet and nutrition learning into a few paragraphs, and tie them to the dieta.

Fresh foods only. No smoked, dried, fermented, aged, or pickled foods. Cured meats, beer, wine, sauerkraut, all of these foods are extremely high in histamine. Normally, this isn’t a problem. For people with healthy GI tracts and functioning livers, your body produces enough DAO (Diamine Oxidase) to break down histamine. However, just because your body can break it down doesn’t mean that it is easy on the body. The rule of thumb “fresh foods only” is a shorthand that solves a lot of problems. Freshly cooked potatoes and vegetables, fresh fruit, clean smoothies, and so on. This is good as it includes much restaurant food - you can still eat sushi, just go light on the soy sauce (which is fermented). NOTE: This rule means “fresh cooked” not “raw.” For instance, one of our go-to meals at home is salmon, sweet potato, and asparagus. Simple, whole ingredients, cooked fresh.

Cut out dairy, wheat, and red meat. This one is much harder, particularly for Westerners. All the diet and nutrition books I’ve read are constantly harping on how bad these foods are for you, especially in America. It has to do with the specific breeds of our cows and our hybridized crops. As it turns out, our Frankenstein experiments on agriculture have negative consequences! Sugars and other specific compounds in American dairy cows cause systemic inflammation, our wheat causes “leaky gut” (which is way worse than it sounds), and red meat is harder on the guts. Again, I had already largely cut these out of my diet, though we had been adding some red meat back in. It still leaves quinoa, fish, brown rice, and plenty of other great foods.

High fiber diet. This one change was perhaps the most important, and easiest change. Before I cut out wheat, I was getting plenty of fiber through whole grain breads. Love that stuff. My stomach, however, doesn’t. Neither do my guts. My dietician taught me the rule of thumb, which is 30 grams of fiber per day. Even though I’ve always eaten relatively healthy, I wasn’t getting that. When I actually tracked my fiber intake, and adjusted up to that amount, my whole life improved. Better sleep, less pain, more mental clarity, less anxiety. This one intervention alone proved to me how utterly central the “gut-brain axis” is to physical and mental health.

Quit caffeine. This was the hardest. I had been drinking coffee daily since I was about 22, and like all things I’ve done in life, I quit the hard way. I went cold turkey and “white knuckled” the experience of withdrawals. I called it a “Pyrrhic victory” over addiction. Headaches, body aches, mental confusion, sleep disruptions—I had the whole works. The worst of it lasted about 5 days, but at the end of 2 weeks, I actually felt markedly better than I had in a long time. Caffeine and Ayahuasca do not mix.

Ayahuasca is very hard on the stomach and guts, so the healthier they are going in, the less difficult your experience will be. Furthermore, many of these foods can interact with the medicine, creating spikes in blood pressure that can be dangerous for at-risk people. Lastly, some shamans include tobacco either in their brews or as rapé (a snorted form of tobacco that burns like hell) which can further increase blood pressure. Deaths associated with Ayahuasca are rare (58 reported globally in the last couple decades) and sometimes there are misattributions or mistakes in reporting, but they do happen. Tobacco poisoning, pre-existing health conditions, and mixed substances seem to be the most prominent causes.

If you engage enthusiastically with the dieta (which you should anyways because you’ll be healthier and happier, IMHO) and you have prior experience with plant medicines, you’ll be as ready as you can be. A third kicker I’ll add to prep work is this: the more healing and spiritual work you do beforehand, the more equipped you will be to understand, interpret, and integrate your experience. It’s not strictly required, though. For many people, an experience with plant medicine is the beginning of their healing and growth journey, not even the midpoint and certainly not the end.

Now, some of you might be wondering “Isn’t knowing WHY you’re even going critical? Isn’t intention important?” I will say no, ironically, you don’t need to know why you’re going. I didn’t. I was invited by the founder of the retreat and I felt called by the medicine. Something in my biology or evolution, or maybe soul or a dark goddess, called me. I felt like I needed to go, and I answered that call. I figured out why I was there once I was in it. The medicine can speak for itself. I did not have a totally cavalier or blasé attitude about it, and because I’d been to a retreat before, I understood the process, and perhaps most importantly, I trusted the process and the facilitators. I went in knowing that it would be a profound, transformative experience, and beyond that, I just surrendered to the process. Curiosity and openness are far more important than intention. Even as our facilitators say—in some respects Ayahuasca is easier because this medicine has its own agenda for you. It will show you what you need to know, and it won’t be shy about it either.

Selecting for Chemistry, Competence

Selecting the right resort, retreat, facilitators, or shaman is critical. This phase of the blog is going to be a bit more nebulous. I’m not like those rollercoaster buffs who systematically go and ride every rollercoaster in the world, and can talk sagely about which theme parks are best for which rider. I’ve been to exactly two retreats, and they were at the same location with mostly the same team.

What I have noticed, however, is that people tend to find their preferred “favorite” people and places to go, and once they land at a facilitator or retreat they like, they go back all the time. Most retreats offer introductory Zoom calls and exploratory sessions. Use them. Pay attention to the vibe. Do you gel with these people? Are they reputable? Do you feel the alchemy of growth? Trust your gut.

There is a sort of “retreat magic” that seems to happen, and I’ve experienced it myself twice now. Whichever place you end up at, the mix of people you’ll interact with there are not there by accident. Whether it’s post-facto meaning-making or the will of Source conspiring to bring the right people together, or perhaps some melding created by the process itself (or all of the above), so long as you’ve done your homework and due diligence, you will almost certainly have the experience you need to have.

Now, I don’t want to leave you with the sage advice of “just trust the universe bro, it will be fine.” So in the spirit of objective behaviors that you have control over, here are some tips:

1. Look for retreats that offer exploratory calls. Any place that doesn’t offer “getting to know you” sessions would be a huge red flag for me. Pay attention to the competence and communication skills as well as the vibe you get.

2. Do some research about the retreats. Where are they physically located? Do they have a referral network? What is the legal status? Ask a bunch of questions and step into the role of investigator. You’re a private eye trying to suss out whether or not this place is safe enough for grandma.

3. Talk to friends and family. Most people will be skeptical, but there will be a sort of wry knowingness. If people react with mild curiosity, that’s a good sign. If they say “you should absolutely never do that” it could be that they are reacting to something in themselves, but it’s also possible they are trying to protect you.

4. Talk to your doctor and therapist. Interestingly, most therapists that I’ve heard about are at least skeptical of plant medicines, if not outright hostile to them. I could speculate about why, but at the same time, it’s another source of information.

All those are good, boilerplate, “first steps” but really what it comes down to is skill, experience, and competence of the facilitators.

What is a facilitator? They have different names in different cultural contexts. Sometimes they are called “guardians”—a term meant to confer that they are the protectors of you while you’re vulnerable. In more traditional settings they are called taitas and mamas. To our Westernized perspectives, we sometimes say shaman, guru, or medicine man/woman. I tend to use the more generic, clinical term “facilitator” because that is a hypernym for what all these people do. They are spiritual doulas, and the most appropriate verb for their action is facilitate. They enable your experience.

So, objectively speaking, what makes a good facilitator? First of all, the best experiences are ones where there are multiple facilitators. Everyone brings their own experience, ideas, energy, and chemistry to the experience. But, breaking it down:

1. Experience. How much experience does the facilitator have? At my first retreat, one of the facilitators had been a musician and facilitator for more than 15 years, across nearly 200 ceremonies. By that point, they’d seen and done it all. Learning under different shamans and leaders, using different plant medicines. This comprehensive experience transmutes into someone who brings a ton of valuable experience, security, and wisdom to facilitation. Experience doesn’t always result in Yoda-like sage wisdom, but it often does. As they say, there’s no teacher like OTJ training!

2. Communication. I’m a pretty good communicator. But the calm warmth and clarity of communication from the most experienced facilitators I’ve met is astounding. When they talk with you, you feel like the only person that exists to them. They have this uncanny ability to give you undivided attention beyond what you’ve ever experienced. It’s almost like they become the perfect hybrid of parent/teacher. When you need them, nothing else exists. This is critical because once you’re in an altered state, their ability to pay attention, see where you’re at, and give you what you need is absolutely critical.

3. Humor. The best facilitators I’ve sat with all have great senses of humor. Not the same sense of humor, but this seems to be a proxy for how comfortable they are, how much they inhabit their own skin, and how mature they are. Some laugh out loud, unbridled and bright. Others have a more understated wryness. But whatever it is, a good sense of humor seems to be an excellent proxy for good facilitation. It’s true that some are more serious, stoic even, and that may be the energy that some people want. But for me, I have had excellent experiences with facilitators who smile and laugh a lot.

Trust is absolutely paramount. If you get a bad vibe or find you don’t fully trust the retreat coordinator or facilitators, don’t go. Being in an altered state makes you extremely vulnerable, and the experience can be extremely challenging. That means that, whoever you’re working with, you need to be able to go in with trust and the ability to surrender to the process. I would be suspicious of any retreat or facilitator that does not emphasize the importance of trust and safety above all else.

Here’s the reasoning for that last assertion: the medicine has a mind of its own. Again, I don’t know if it’s a cosmic spirit or your own brain running a defrag program (I once asked the universe this question, whether it was coming from “out there” or “in here” and the answer I got was “What’s the difference?” Well played, universe. Well played)—but either way, my point is that the medicine will work its magic. The facilitators are there mostly just to provide safety, guidance, and to help shape the experience. If you’re preoccupied with fear and insecurity the whole time, first, you’re going to have an awful experience. Second, you simply won’t get as much out of the experience as you might otherwise.

Final Thoughts

Obviously, this is a lot to try and capture in a single blog post. I had to use a very large, simple crayon to gloss over “healing and spiritual work” for instance. But, having had a handful of experiences myself now, plus interviewing people with far more experience than myself, these are the highlights that I would focus on if, say, I were to give advice to a friend going for the first time. I’ll end with a few more “pro-tips” now.

Pro-Tips

1. Arrive a few days early. In my case, going up to Denver, Colorado, meant that I needed to acclimate to the thinner air. Plus travel just saps all my energy. I don’t like airports or airplanes, and the frantic effort of getting from place A to B is exhausting. In fact, some retreats explicitly instruct you to give yourself a couple extra days to travel. There’s a good logistical reason for this too; sometimes flights get delayed, luggage gets lost, and so on.

2. Stay a few days later. One of my friend stays for about five days after her retreats, down in Costa Rica. After an intense psychedelic experience, she’s not in a rush to get back to the grind. She spends a few days surfing, just being. This is great advice for integration, as you’ll be up in the clouds for a few days after (functional, but still definitely experiencing integration). Plus it’s nice to give yourself some time to recover.

3. Consider a laxative 24 hours before. Traveling is hard on my guts so I got constipated before my Ayahuasca ceremony. I could not imagine a worse experience, so I got myself a senna leaf (sennoside) based laxative. This is the active ingredient in Ex-Lax and Prunelax. It operates on a similar principle to prune juice, but with a stronger impact. I was “pre-emptied” for my first Ayahuasca ceremony, which made it far more comfortable. I have no idea if any facilitator or shaman would approve of this! But it worked for me.

4. Consider fasting as well. Or at least eat minimally. For my second Ayahuasca ceremony, I had been pretty hungry and I ate right up to the last minute, which did not give my body adequate time to digest. As a rule of thumb, I will in the future give myself at least 6 full hours of fasting before going into ceremony. Ideally 8. Three or four hours was not enough. The emptier your body is, the more physically comfortable the experience will be, which means you won’t be preoccupied with GI discomfort, such as reflux or diarrhea.

None of these final points are strictly required, but after my experiences, they are definitely strategies I will return to.

What about integration?

It would be irresponsible for me to not mention integration. After all, all the research and interviews I’ve conducted point out the importance of integration! The new model to replace “set and setting” is “screening, setting, and support”—and support includes integration!

Integration is its own entire topic, and while it is important, it seems to happen on its own, particularly if you’ve done your homework. For many people, whether or not they are conscientious about integration, Ayahuasca seems to set them on a new path of healing and growth. This seems to occur irrespective of intention or effort to integrate. As I said, this medicine in particular seems to have a mind of its own. It will tell you if you need to come back, if you’re done, and what you need to know. Particularly if you’re approaching it from a healthy, oriented, grounded place.

All I’ll say on this is that I brought my laptop because I’m a writer, and that between journaling and talking about my experience with Claude, I was able to do integration pretty well. I have no idea if this would work for anyone else, but one of the facilitators saw this over my shoulder one day and was like “Claude journaling!” So I guess I’m not the only one who uses AI as an interactive journaling tool. If you’re interested, let me know and I can write a second post about that.