YAJÉ : ANCIENT MEDICINE PLANT.

Nature herself is a book full of wisdom. Man has not studied this wisdom much and has been contributing more to her destruction than to than to discovering her great qualities, faculties and wise healing powers for the benefit of humanity.
Understanding nature is not only about seeing it from a scientific or an ecological point of view. We can refer ourselves to the Bible and the book of Genesis, which says; "To you I am giving all the plants of the Earth which produce seeds and all the trees that give fruit, all this you can have for nourishment. And God saw and thought that everything he created was good."
If we consider ourselves open minded people we can reflect about the deep meaning of this valuable information. Obviously not all the plants are edible but we can understand that there are plants that are for nourishment of the body and others that are nourishment for the Spirit. Among this last group are those that are considered by the Indigenous peoples to be Sacred Plants. Many materialists, pseudo scientists and chemists have expanded a negative reputation of the sacred plants calling them drugs that induce fantasy and halluncinations. That reputation has been used to help stop the freedom of the human individual and collective development and to support political and economic interests.
However; "God thought that everything he created was very fine."

YAJÉ (Ayahuasca) is a truely extraordinary plant and although there are many people who are pro artificial substances (chemical drugs) we must talk about and emphasise the virtues and qualities of this plant based on the experience of it for the good of all humanity.
The YAJÉ is a plant that comes originally from and grows in a natural and cultivated environment in all the AMAZONIC ZONE, that is, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil and Peru.
Yajé is in general used by Shamans or Healers for curative purposes. Yajé cures almost everything and is used together with other plants for the purpose that it is needed for. Yajé is a great mind stimulant and a great blood and digestive system cleanser. It produces visions in relation to Amazonian Mythology and life in the Amazon lands. It shows the inner states of each person. Those visions that the sceptics or non-believers call hallucinations are used to interpret wisely by the healers to find out the origins of illness in order to find the way of healing that will be appropriate to the patient.
Generally just using the Yajé and taking it is enough to initiate the healing process but sometimes other plants are given to the patient in order to complete the treatment. Yajé is not addictive on the physical level for people, neither does it cause an upheaval on the emotional level. However, we must take into consideration the amount that is given, this should be perscribed by an experienced healer. We should not to take more than the recommended dose depending on what type of illness or other purposes that it is going to be used for.

On the day before Yajé is going to be taken it is recommended to have a special diet consisting of plain food such as rice, fish, vegetables, or even to fast. The drink of Yaje is prepared is by grounding the woody vine down and then cooking it in water and mixing it with a female plant called Chagropanga.
The way Yajé works varies from person to person according to the physical, emotional and psychological state of the individual. It generally gives symptoms such as relaxation, vomiting, dizzyness, sleepiness, diarria. All these are signs of cleansing. Yajé gives people various types of visions depending on their inner states and can vary from one extreme to the other (ie; from diabolical to blissful, meeting God.) There is no doubt that Yajé awakens certain parts of the mind that are asleep due to the way of life that modern man lives nowadays and many people have experienced and checked for themselves the enormous awakening that was waiting for them. Abilities such as telepathy, clairvoyance and dream interpretation as well as many other things can be accessed through the natural substances that the plant contains. Through the use of this plant in its sacred context we can discover the secrets and ways of an ancient culture that is different from ours and learn its meaning and its purpose.

Nowadays there is much information available through books, films and on the internet especially about the sacred plants that have been used by Indigenous Shamans for millennia.
The plants are sold by mail order to any curious person that wants to experiment, as is the Western disposition, after having read books and accumulated theories as to the chemical contents and types of experience possible from such plants.
After having reviewed much of this information we can say with security that much of it is not founded upon any deep understanding of these plants and their qualities. The Indigenous peoples have developed their understanding and wisdom over long periods of time and they say that these plants came from the Gods and that they were taught by the Gods the correct ways to use them, in what context and under what disciplines.
To be a shaman of the sacred plants is not only to experiment and mix and apply in whatever context or under whatever conditions without first preparing oneself and studying oneself and the plants, getting to know them, how they grow and what is their nature.
It is recommended to approach these plants through people that have understanding about their use, if that is we want to open ourselves to a new way of thinking and understanding the universe in which we live.

The individual who closes his or her mind to new concepts and understanding is at risk of stagnating for life. The best way to go about in this world is without fixation. Throughout history we can see that all those people who keep their minds open to new possibilities are ahead of their time, showing their intelligence and wisdom through their actions and ideas. Often they have had much opposition to their work, but it is due to them, their presence and their sacrifice that we have received many benefits for mankind in the realms of philosophy, science, the arts, medicine and so on.

Now these sacred plants are showing us their secrets. Should we condem them for that? I think that we are better off getting to know them and studying the tree of golden fruit that is life and discovering the unknown.

VASUDEV.

SHAMANIC AND ECOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF COLOMBIA