My first Ayahuasca ceremony with the Master Dan Reynolds

This Ayahuasca Ceremony was on a Tuesday night back in 2012. I accepted his invitation, and my wife accompanied me because I was extremely nervous and didn’t trust Master Dan. She wouldn’t partake and would ensure nothing strange happened to me.

Upon arriving at the ceremony location, to our surprise, Dan wasn’t alone; he was with other tourists. I heard him say, ‘Hey David, this is the person I was telling you about.’

Finding out that Master Dan talked about me to someone else

This person stared intently and said, ‘Alright, I can feel a strong connection and energy within him.’ Both Dan and David didn’t speak Spanish, so they didn’t worry about watching what they said since my wife didn’t understand English.

Only I could understand, but I didn’t say anything. Instead, mentally I thought, ‘Another crazy one.’

The ceremonial maloca was beautiful, well-kept. As Dan explained the protocol and process that would unfold during the ceremony, I realized that this master conducted his ceremonies completely differently from my experience at 16.

ceremonial maloca
Ceremonial Maloca

The dose is very important in a ceremony

A very small dose compared to my first experience, which gave me a lot of comfort. Although Dan said to me, ‘The ayahuasca I prepare is very potent, you don’t need much quantity, and its taste is quite good.’

When he mentioned the taste, it reminded me of the awful taste from my past experience, but knowing that this ayahuasca tasted good helped me a lot.

This time, I knew that after taking the ayahuasca, it takes about 20 minutes or so for the effects to kick in. So, I was patient, and this time I sat on a rocking chair instead of on the floor.

Dan conducted the opening of the ceremony, everything was very beautiful until the moment came to drink the medicine. I did so, and the taste was very pleasant. Dan didn’t lie.

High technology in an ayahuasca ceremony

After taking the medicine, Dan told me he would use a technology called Hemi-Sync, which helps your brain enter a focused state effortlessly. That’s what Dan told me.

In my mind, I just thought, ‘What a strange shaman, using modern technology combined with rituals.’ I closed my eyes and started to listen to the sound.

It actually brought me a sense of calmness that made me feel sleepy, as I began to yawn several times.

Hemi-sync
Hemi-Sync

The good begins

After about 20 minutes, I heard a sound and opened my eyes. As I did, I found myself running. I was running very fast and didn’t understand what was happening.

I saw myself in the middle of the Amazon jungle. It was nighttime, with a beautiful full moon casting its light over the jungle.

In my mind, I kept saying, ‘Stop running. Where am I going? Denis, stop! Why are you running?’ In those moments, I realized that either the grass was very close to my face, or my face was very close to the ground.

Another thing that surprised me was that I wanted to look at the night sky, but I couldn’t do it as humans normally do by tilting their heads back to see the sky without any problem.

I just couldn’t, and it wasn’t something physically preventing me; I simply felt it as a physical limitation while running.

Mentally, I kept asking, ‘What’s happening? What am I doing in the middle of the jungle? Where is everyone? Where is my wife?’

I kept asking myself all those questions, but I continued running. Eventually, I could see, hear, and smell fire, as if someone had started a fire and was burning plants or wood many meters away. I said, ‘What’s happening?’

Several minutes passed until I reached a point in the forest where there was no grass.

This area seemed as if someone had cultivated it. When I arrived in this area, I stopped, and at that moment, I said, ‘I want to stand up,’ but my body didn’t obey me.

It was then that I looked at my arms, and to my astonishment, they weren’t arms; they were the legs of a feline.

Being inside a black jaguar

I looked at my hands, and they had claws. The color of my skin wasn’t human skin; it was the skin of a black-furred feline with spots, which I could see clearly under the moonlight.

manos-de-jaguar

A wave of fear washed over me, and I said to myself, ‘I must quickly head towards the place where this fire is, as it’s a sign of civilization.

There must be people there, and they will know what’s happening to me and surely help me.’

I ran with even more strength, feeling relieved as I saw the fire getting closer. However, my relief was short-lived because the bonfire wasn’t on the same level as me; it seemed to be in an elevated area.

I cautiously approached to see what was happening, as I started to hear voices but couldn’t understand what they were saying.

As I got closer, I saw a group of five natives gathered around the bonfire.

They had built the fire near the riverbank, and the river had lowered its level, which is why I found myself on elevated ground.

nativos

I felt like about 5 minutes passed, and one of the natives who had been sitting stood up and walked around the bonfire until he positioned himself in front of his companions.

In his right hand, he held a piece of branch. I wondered what this person was going to do.

With the piece of branch acting as a pencil, he began to write something on the ground. It was a combination of symbols and something resembling letters.

Honestly, I was astonished, and I thought to myself, ‘He can write.’ My vision was so acute that when I wanted to see something closer, it was as if my eyes had a zoom effect.

After finishing writing, he quickly moved to stand beside one of his companions, and all five of them began making some strange sounds.

Witnessing something incredible

They seemed to know that something was about to happen, as I could see joy in their expressions. I thought to myself, ‘They’re calling someone or something.’

My skin was tingling, as seconds after the writing, I felt a very strong energy building up. Above the bonfire, this energy began to gather, forming a cloud of smoke.

With each passing second, it grew denser and denser. Then, I heard the sound of thunder, and something emerged from that smoke cloud.

I was petrified, watching what was happening.

When all the smoke disappeared, my surprise was beyond words because before my eyes stood a gigantic being facing the natives.

This being had feline characteristics, black with dark spots, standing on two legs—a humanoid jaguar.

The natives were ecstatic, four of them dancing around, while the one who wrote on the ground was kneeling in front of this being.

ayahuasca ceremony

I couldn’t comprehend what I was seeing. I was truly amazed to the point that I wanted to see more detail, but I didn’t want them to know I was there.

There was a large tree next to me with a sizable branch, so I decided to climb up there and observe from above.

That’s exactly what I did, very slowly and without making any noise, or so I thought.

That’s right. With just one leap, I found myself on that branch, delighted that, as far as I could tell, no one had noticed my presence.

Feeling the power of the gaze

I resumed observing, and I saw as if this being was giving instructions to the natives until something very strange happened.

This being lifted its gaze towards me, and we made eye contact.

ayahuasca ceremony

But his gaze felt like it penetrated my mind. I saw his feline eyes widen, just his eyes, and when I tried to resist, it felt as if something or someone was pushing me.

This caused me to fall from the tree, and a bit of fear overcame me.

So, I had to turn around, trying to return the same way, but I couldn’t find my way back to my group.

I just remember re-entering the jungle with the undergrowth very thick.

Then, I opened my eyes again, and this time, I found myself back in the ceremonial maloca.

I saw my wife beside me, and then Dan asked me how I was feeling. I told him that I still felt dizzy and connected.

I didn’t vomit, but something strange happened when I tried to get up from the chair; I couldn’t.

My legs felt like they weighed a ton. So, following Dan’s recommendation, I waited a bit longer before going to my room.

That’s what I did, and it turned out just as Dan said.

That night, I learned many things about the shamanic world, dispelling myths and discarding lies that unfortunately still exist to this day.

There’s so much more to explore!