"Our perception of death profoundly shapes our experience of life. It's crucial, then, to confront the discomfort, to let the ego die, and to embrace the ancestral path of self-discovery and spiritual awakening. This raw and unfettered journey returns us to the essence of what it means to truly live, preparing us for the ultimate transition with openness and peace."
Rev (Dr.) Cynthia Ramirez Lindenmeyer
Awaiting my turn to drink from the communal Ayahuasca cup, I find myself contemplating the journey ahead, akin to a metaphorical death. This moment, I realize, is about more than just releasing emotional burdens; it's about encountering Mother Ayahuasca, the Divine Spirit, who promises to guide me across the realms of higher consciousness. A part of me wants to leave the sacred space, reminiscent of my younger self who often ditched Communion at the end of a Catholic Mass. Yet, once I gulp down the sacred drink, there’s no turning back. Realizing that I am all in and there’s no backing out seems daunting. Like life. For once born, there’s no escaping death. There’s no evading the heartache, grief, and suffering that will occur. In this moment of reflection, I'm reminded of Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday globally acknowledges our mortality, marking foreheads with ashes as a solemn reminder: "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return." This ritual, once a cornerstone of my faith as a pastor, now feels constricted, almost too simplistic in its scope. In contrast, Ayahuasca ceremonies offer a raw and transformative experience, purging the old to prepare for death in a manner that seems more aligned with the essence of spiritual awakening.
Our Paleolithic ancestors did not measure their life by age expectancy, gross domestic product indexes, or accumulation of stuff. They viewed death as a liberation from the physical form, a journey of the spirit. We criticize their brevity of life while overlooking their passion for living, a preparation for what lies beyond.
The Ayahuasca journey facilitates a similar liberation as the body relinquishes its shackles to past teachings and experiences, purging false narratives and communing with ancestral spirits. Like bursting fireworks, the light of the inner being explodes into the realm where the shaman awaits. Acceptance of death, which Ash Wednesday services seek to invoke symbolically, is vividly actualized through the Ayahuasca ceremony.
The rituals of the Christian Church, in their efforts to embrace death, often fall short due to their reliance on a dualistic theology of Heaven and Hell, Right and Wrong, Us and Them. Mother Ayahuasca transcends these binaries, revealing a unity of all consciousness. In her realm, everything is interconnected: the trees, the birds, the snakes, and the Earth (Pachamama). This revelation challenges and expands our understanding of life and death.
Our perception of death profoundly shapes our experience of life. It's crucial, then, to confront the discomfort, to let the ego die, and to embrace the ancestral path of self-discovery and spiritual awakening. This raw and unfettered journey returns us to the essence of what it means to truly live, preparing us for the ultimate transition with openness and peace.