Read this if you’re Googling for ayahuasca
Guess the most common Google search term related to my website?
According to the handy stats report I get from Google, it’s ayahuasca, or variations of it: “ayahuasca retreat near me,” “ayahuasca shaman,” and so on. I don’t know how the little man in my computer works, but he often points my way even though I don’t offer or mention that anywhere in my materials. It’s a little weird to me that this is what people are googling so often because, whether they know it or not, it’s like typing “massive spiritual experience” or “psyche dismemberment” into a search bar. I get it, but I worry a little for the people who are hungry for intense healing and trying to find it via Bing or whatever, especially when there are other options.
For sure, there is overlap, a long history between shamanism and psychedelics. However, people tend to conflate shamanism with psychedelics. Shamanic healing — the umbrella term for cross-cultural indigenous or traditional ways of approaching health on all levels — is our collective, original method of resolving trauma and navigating major life events. It offers incredibly deep support including techniques like soul retrieval, usually without intense medicines. I’m guessing our ancestors didn’t go for the psychedelics every time something happened, but they did need other support and ceremony in their day to day: when seeds…
