 A few months ago I went through four ayahuasca ceremonies in four days which massively changed my life. But before I decided to attend the ayahuasca ceremonies I had tons of questions about the process, about the expectations, about the potential risks and side effects etc. Luckily I had a chance to speak to a few ayahuasca experts before my first experience so I combined that knowledge and my personal ayahuasca experience to answer the most common questions people have about this plant medicine. Hello Inception fan, my name is Greg Gostin Cardiff founder of your Inception. If you're new to my channel welcome, we talk about brain hacking and ways to boost your cognitive function in a safe and effective manner. Please like and subscribe to join our community. So do you want to attend an ayahuasca ceremony but you're still unsure this is for you? Well let me answer all of your questions you may have right away. By the way I listed the questions in random order so do stay with me till the end. First question, what can you experience during ayahuasca ceremonies? Now since I returned back home from the ceremonies everyone has been asking me about that. Now lots of things can happen during your ayahuasca journey but no matter what happens you will be safe. So you can experience your dad and rebirth, a surgery on your body, you can talk to people you know or don't know, you can travel to places yes also to the space, you can have visions, you can see your past traumas, you can see everything moving very quickly or in slow motion, you can have really vivid hallucinations like when I saw those big spiders crawling around me until I let my fear go etc. You may see wild animals, minions, yes I'm talking about the yellow cardon guys that existed way before the movie. As a matter of fact the guy who came up with the idea about minions saw them during his first ayahuasca experience which I think is super cool. Besides all the stuff that happens in your mind you will of course hear people scream and shout, cry, laugh, yorm, snore, dance, talk and do other crazy things. Of course while puking all over the place is just part of the experience that becomes way too normal after the first ceremony. So whatever happens it is supposed to happen and that's fine. Now the first experience is probably going to be very wild but you will get used to quickly. By the way before going to the next question at the end of this video another video will pop up where you can check my whole ayahuasca experience if you are interested of course. So the next question will you puke and how bad that is? Well I was in a very large group of around 85 people and as far as I can remember everyone puked at least once in their four days of ceremony. I actually didn't puke the very first night but I puked very hard on all other nights. Now while puking generally lasts very long and it can be very wild you can actually feel like you're going to puke your guts out as soon as you stop puking you feel reborn. It's not like puking if you're drunk well not that I would know anything about it but puking while being drunk usually makes you tired you may feel a burning pain your chest etc while my experience at ayahuasca ceremony was quite different. As soon as I stopped puking I felt like nothing actually happened so I continued dancing, crying, or sleeping whatever I felt was the right thing to do. Now everyone will have a bucket which you should have close to you all the time. In most cases this is a lifesaver if you don't want to be the guy who puked all over the place. But I've seen a person who borrowed the bucket from another person because he went to the toilet without his bucket believing he wouldn't puke anymore. Well everyone is pretty friendly there so no worries you can puke in other buckets as well. Now how do you feel during the ceremonies? Are you afraid? Now I would split each ceremony in four parts before the ceremony after you drink your first cup when you get high and at the end. Now I was definitely afraid on the first night before the ceremony which you can clearly see in the video at the end of this one. I was shaking, I was pale and I thought to myself what the f*** am I doing here? And to be honest most our people especially the beginners had exactly the same thoughts so don't worry you won't be alone feeling desperate. Now after I got into the Maloka, yeah that's like a big place where the ceremony happens. I felt even worse because all I saw was about 85 mattresses on the floor each having a big white bucket and a roll of toilet paper. And then I saw a group of shamans praying, singing and dancing which was quite the sight. Anyway after you drink your first cup of ayahuasca you know you have to calm down but your mind will probably have different ideas. So that's quite a nervous part because you're waiting for the effects while trying to stay calm and when you think you've finally managed to calm your mind you hear your neighbor wildly puking another lady screaming and then you're like s*** it's happening. Now the third part starts when you get high. Obviously you don't know when it happens exactly but all of a sudden you start experiencing all the weird things I talked about before and this can be either very funny, very emotional or very very rough. Now it kind of depends on what you see but at a certain moment you probably will get scared again. You don't really feel you're physically in danger but your mind is trying to play all tricks on you and can get quite extreme. Now after you come back from the dead and the ceremony finishes you will probably be calm but it also depends on what you had experienced and how you just feel. Now on my first night I was extremely scared for the next two to three hours but on all other nights I felt pretty good. So that's how my experience looked and many others that I talked to had a very similar experience but you'll have to see what happens to you if you decide to do it. It's going to be fun to hear the stories though. So how to prepare for the ceremony? Well besides eating cleaner which I'll soon talk about, choosing an intention and trying to detox there's not much more you can do. Now I have watched every single video and documentary about Aya and I've talked to experts, I write books and I did everything I could to prepare for it. Then I drank two cups of ayahuasca and bam I experienced some crazy shit that you cannot prepare for not even close. Can ayahuasca help with PTSD, anxiety, depression etc? While there are multiple studies you should check if you have any of those conditions but long story short yes according to Dr. Jeff from Ritmia one of the best ayahuasca retreat centers ayahuasca can be extremely helpful with all of those conditions and many many others. Now I know stories of people who wanted to commit the suicide but ayahuasca completely changed their life and decided not to do it. Also met people who were abused at a very young age and are now living an amazing life mainly because of their ayahuasca experience and what happened after that. Now there are many studies you should check if you have any of those conditions but the best thing to do is to find a great retreat where you'll want to go and tell them what's your condition what drugs you take etc. A quality plant medicine center will tell you if ayahuasca is safe for you and how to prepare for the ceremony in order to avoid any interactions or potential complications. Also consult your doctor of course. Oh by the way I can also tell you that my soon to be wife is a psychologist and she's convinced that ayahuasca is way more effective for treating such psychological conditions than most other conventional ways including psychotherapy. So there is that. Now how quickly ayahuasca kicks in and how long does it work? Well ayahuasca can kick in about 30 to 45 minutes but it can take longer. I need about two hours to really feel the effect on the first night. How do I know that? Because every 45 minutes or so shamans call you to drink another cup of ayahuasca. As a matter of fact drinking just one cup will probably not be enough and they definitely encourage you to drink as many cups as possible. Now I drank two cups on the first night, four cups on the second and third night and I think one cup on the final night. Now once ayahuasca kicked in it worked for a few hours but I don't know exactly how long. According to data though it works for up to four hours but what I know is that on my third night I was high much much longer probably for around five to six hours. So I think that partly depends on how much you drink and how calm you are. Speaking of drinking ayahuasca how does it taste? Mmm it is just delicious. I could drink this hot chocolate kind of beverage every single morning. Nah I'm just joking. Well it depends on the type of brew they make but in general it doesn't taste that well. Well what did you expect? Two random Amazonian plans that will make you travel to the moon and talk to Jesus will be tasty? But it's not that bad to be honest. It has kind of an earthy taste pretty bitter but we can definitely drink it. I guess. I know people who puked immediately after they drank a cup of ayahuasca also because of the taste but they returned back for the next cup and they were able to swallow it. So don't worry you'll be fine. Can ayahuasca kill or cause severe long-term side effects? Well according to my talk to experts no ayahuasca is very safe if done properly in a safe environment and if you follow the basic rules. I couldn't find any cases online of people dying from ayahuasca but in some very rare cases some people reported that for example their depression got worse after ceremonies. Now it's impossible for me to say why this happened obviously but based on what I know I believe those people haven't exactly followed the rules, adjusted their lifestyle or went through enough ceremonies to get rid of their conditions. And this leads us to the next question. How many ceremonies should you attend? One two three four two hundred? Well I attended four in a row because the program was designed in such a way but I think that's quite a lot. I don't think there is a consensus about that but based on my experience I believe the following. If you're otherwise satisfied and happy but you want to explore your mind and soul then I think one two three ceremonies are enough to start with. If you suffer from severe trauma, depression, anxiety and or you think something is wrong with you then I think you need to attend at least three to four ceremonies. Now I didn't suffer from any severe traumas but I still attended four ceremonies in a row and for me that was a bit too much. Now the biggest challenge were not the ceremonies itself but to motivate myself to go back there again and again. Now if you suffer from a trauma then of course it's easier to motivate yourself because you know why you're doing it. So finally it depends on you. Listen to your body and then make a decision. Once you decide you're going to attend a certain number of ceremonies just go for it no matter what because even if it's going to be very hard you need exactly that to get better. Will ayahuasca work for me? While you always hear stories of people saying ayahuasca doesn't work. Now if you go through the experience and someone says this to you you'll probably start laughing because ayahuasca is so freaking powerful it is just hard to explain but some people may not be ready for it and they convince themselves before the ceremony that nothing is going to happen and they block the whole process. Now this can definitely happen but it's very rare and very unfortunate. Now this happens to you this just means you're not ready you're too afraid to discover the truth but I can tell you that in my group of about 85 people I think 83 or 84 people had an amazing experience so I think you're going to be fine. Will I have to repeat the ayahuasca ceremonies again in the future or is it enough to do it once? Well it totally depends. I know people who attended over 300 ceremonies which sounds absolutely insane but then I know people who attended two ceremonies and said they will never do it again because they got their miracle. According to the data from Rhythmia the most well-known retreat center in Costa Rica which I attended as well. By the way you can watch my whole review up here or check below in the description. About 97% of people experienced a miracle after the very first week. Now the center repeat the survey after six months and the number is still about 91 to 92%. This means that the majority of people will only attend ayahuasca ceremonies once but if you want to continue exploring the universe you may want to return. Now honestly after my first ayahuasca week I said never again because it was really challenging for me but now a few months later I can't wait to do it again. I'm just not sure what's wrong with me. So do you have to follow a special diet and during ayahuasca ceremonies? Well what many recommend is to stop taking most supplements and drugs about 30 days before ayahuasca ceremonies. You need to cut down all the processed foods that are high in sugar or fat, the amount of alcohol etc. Now you want to go to ayahuasca ceremonies as clean as possible. During the ceremonies we skip dinner which was a good thing if you don't want to have diarrhea and puke at the same time which can still happen by the way. I was also drinking lots of water and natural juices but not enough that's why I had a bit of a breakdown on the last day. Now it's very important to stay hydrated especially if you purge a lot. That's something you just shouldn't forget. Who shouldn't do ayahuasca? Well if you suffer from schizophrenia you should probably avoid all psychedelics. Also if you take SSRIs or any other antidepressants you should stop taking them before the ceremony but as I said before please consult your doctor first. In general it's not optimal to take ayahuasca if you have heart problems or problems with high blood pressure. Also some retreats do not allow pregnant women to take ayahuasca even though the ingenious people do give ayahuasca to pregnant women. Lastly if you are on your period you will not be allowed to do ayahuasca so keep that in mind. How much does a trip cost? Well this totally depends where you go and for how long. You can experience ayahuasca in the Netherlands for as little as 200 to 300 dollars whereas you can pay over 7 000 dollars for luxury experience in Costa Rica like I did. Do you need to spend so much money? No absolutely not but I also wouldn't want to go to the middle of jungle because if something goes wrong and it can go wrong I wouldn't feel safe and ayahuasca works the best when you're very safe and calm. Will ayahuasca change your life? Well I think it will. It definitely changed mine because of the ayahuasca I started seeing work differently. I believed in things that I didn't believe in just a few months ago and I used to be a very hardcore scientific guy. I'm calmer than ever and I enjoy every moment of my life. I'm more connected to people but I also understand myself better. I've changed a few important habits that I was always struggling with and I could go on and on. The fact is that DMT the psychedelic acceptance in ayahuasca alters your brain's electrical activity and stimulates the production of neurons and whether this is the reason for the change or just the crazy experience you go through I don't know but trust me whatever happens you'll come out a different person. Also better? Well let's find out. Now if you want to check what happened during my ayahuasca experience or why they recommend visiting rithmia watch my next videos up here. Thank you guys for watching and I hope to see you soon again. Stay well.