(PART 5)
PREPARATION & PAGEANTRY “Dieta, dieta.”
I can still hear Maestro Orlando repeating this word to me over and over. For the Ayahuasquero diet is a crucial element of the medicine. What you eat prior to the ceremony, or as importantly, what you do NOT eat plays a huge role in what you receive from the medicine. No dairy, no sugar, no red meat, no alcohol. Those are the basic rules with some variations in between. For Iboga, other than skipping dinner the night of the ceremony and staying away from other stimulants like coffee the day of, you are pretty much free to do what you wish.As far as setting intent, the medicines not surprisingly also have different approaches. For Ayahuasca one is encouraged to think about two or three topics that you would like to explore, or teachings you would like to receive from the ceremony. Generally, one way or another you will almost always find that you receive what you are looking for, though it rarely comes to you in a direct manner. For the Iboga ceremony you are asked to write a list of specific questions of unlimited length that will be read to you for answering at the start of the ceremony. The answers come from your own voice of Truth and are direct and literal.As far as ritual and pageantry there is nothing that quite compares to the transfixing magic of an Ayahuasca ceremony. The music of Ayahuasca is the Icaros sung by the shaman himself. They are sometimes haunting, often beautiful melodies passed down from generation to generation, taught initially by the plants themselves they say. The shaman works with rattles made of leaves, tobacco, cinnamon, rose water, and pours his energy into the ceremony, carrying you to the realms beyond death, partly by the sweat of his labor. His physical manipulations throughout the ceremony have a direct and dramatic effect. You feel indelibly part of something mystical.The iboga ceremony is simpler, quieter, longer. The Bwiti music played has an incredibly high BPM which is somehow soothing for the hyperactive mind. It is almost like having music at such a hectic pace helps the mind to think more slowly… Or at least it entertains the manic, fidgety side of our brain. The shaman’s interaction is more verbal, talking to you during the ceremony in a straight forward and non mystical manner. However, at the beginning of my ceremony, Moughenda, a 10th generation Bwiti shaman, tapped something in the center of my forehead (third eye) that made a tangible impact. It sounded like two nuts slamming together, but whatever it was helped send my mind on the journey of its life. Bassé❤️