Ayahuasca: A Key to Higher Awareness?

Ayahuasca is a psychedelic brew made with Banisteriopsis caapi vine and a DMT containing shrub with other various plants. The use of this concoction is common among indigenous spiritual ritual in Central and South America. The effects of ingesting are said to be an enlightening and euphoric experience. Many users of the psychedelic drink claim it causes a spiritual enlightenment and overall feeling of betterment and higher understandingof their lives and meaning. The psychedelic effects of ayahuasca include visual and auditory stimulation, the mixing of sensory processes, and psychological introspection that may lead to great elation, fear, or illumination. The not so enlighten and pleasant effects include intense vomiting follow ingestion and a general feeling of distress and anxiety. For these reasons spiritualists and indigenous shamans recommend that ayahuasca be taken in the presence of other people or a trained shaman. While DMT is generally illegal internationally, versions of ayahuasca that are absent the DMT containing bush are still psychoactive and are universally legal.