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Psychedelic Tea – The Healing Power of Ayahuasca
Psychedelic Tea
As the sun sets, Psychedelic Tea , an electrologist, Satara, a substitute teacher, Joaquin, a tattooed massage therapist and Pete, a martial arts instructor, arrive at the UDV temple to drink the sacred brew. They are among the people who call themselves followers of this church — which is a mix of ayurvedic, Buddhist and indigenous beliefs and practices — who believe that ayahuasca combines spiritual and medicinal benefits with powerful hallucinogens to heal their mental health and provide them with new insights.
Like many other plant medicines, ayahuasca contains the psychedelic N,N-Dimethyltryptamine or DMT. While the UDV church doesn’t have a scientifically controlled study to support its claims about healing, there is anecdotal evidence of positive effects from the medicine and recent neuroimaging studies show that it increases blood flow to parts of the brain that control emotions and memory, as well as those that help us connect with others and other realms.
The UDV church’s ayahuasca ritual involves drinking the brew made from two plants: the “mother” Ayahuasca chacruna vine and the leaves of the broom bush Psychotrina caapi. The chacruna has MAO inhibitors that prevent the body from breaking down DMT, so it can enter the bloodstream and have its mind-altering effects. The Psychotrina caapi vine has its own chemicals that induce psychedelic effects, including visual hallucinations and feelings of euphoria.
Psychedelic Tea: The Ultimate Guide to Magic Brews
In the past, psychedelics were used by ancient cultures to create bonds of community and as part of healing rituals. Ahau Samuel, who runs the UDV project Root of the Gods, says one of the most important lessons from those ancient ceremonies is that a drug’s true healing power lies in its larger context.
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