While some people attend medicine ceremonies to treat specific ailments, others trying ayahuasca for the first time are simply curious to experience its hallucinogenic effects. With its wide range of healing benefits, ayahuasca is a panacea for all kinds of mental, emotional and spiritual afflictions. Often giving drinkers more than they bargained for, this sacred jungle tea has helped millions of people find inner peace, often in the most surprising and unexpected of ways.
Contents
Ayahuasca and Kundalini: Getting More than you Bargained For
For some individuals, drinking ayahuasca opens up the mysterious world of kundalini, which is an ancient Sanskrit term which refers to the primordial psychic force that lies coiled like a serpent in the root chakra at the base of the spine. (1)https://www.ananda.org/yogapedia/kundalini/ In yogic circles, awakening the kundalini is believed to be the gateway to spiritual enlightenment and it is often the lifetime commitment of a yogi to engage in spiritual practices that will help stir this “serpent power” so that he may become a fully-realized being.(2)https://www.ananda.org/yogapedia/kundalini/
Although people tend to talk about “kundalini awakening” as being the apex of spiritual enlightenment, there are in fact many different kinds of kundalini experiences that are not necessarily experienced as full blown “awakenings.”(3)https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/article/kundalini-awakening This means that although kundalini awakening tends to be associated with strict meditation and yoga practices, there are actually various ways that a person can experience these “mini” kundalini stimulations, including through the ritual consumption of ayahuasca as well as other popular hallucinogens including mushrooms and peyote.(4)https://journal-ems.com/index.php/emsj/article/view/123
Raising Our Spiritual Vibrations with Plants
Ayahuasca drinkers who have had “kundalini experiences” during ceremony report feelings that range from a warm tingling at the base of the spine to out-of-body experiences and full-scale awakenings.(5)https://myree.com.au Yogis and psychonauts alike attribute these sensations to increased prana (lifeforce energy) in the root chakra, while others claim that ayahuasca has given the kundalini an “electric shock,” jolting it out of its dormant state, thus enabling it to partially rise up the spine and inducing sensations of bodily warmth and movement as well as improved spiritual sensitivity.(6)https://www.quora.com/My-Kundalini-got-activated-after-taking-DMT-and-is-very-aggressive-now-I-dont-know-how-to-deal-with-it-or-make-it-subside
Since ayahuasca is a medicine that works at healing the deepest layers of our psyches, it is unsurprising that it should awaken our kundalini which – like ayahuasca – works by raising our consciousness and spiritual attunement.(7)https://www.centreofexcellence.com/kundalini-awakening/ This means that, although the shamanic rituals involved in ayahuasca healing may appear very different to yogic routines aimed at raising the kundalini, both modalities secretly share some common links. One of the ways they do this is that they work at clearing away old wounds and traumas so that we can become better versions of ourselves.(8)https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/article/kundalini-awakening
According to both Amazonian and yogic belief systems, personal and inter-generational trauma can become trapped in the subtle body holding us back from our true potential and capacity for spiritual growth.(9)https://books.google.com.gi/books?id=o_-tQgAACAAJ Ayahuasca works at raising our awareness through purging and releasing old psychic dross that has been weighing us down in our everyday lives. This is precisely why shamans celebrate “la purga” (purging) since it is believed that every time we purge, we are letting go of some emotional or physical toxin that has been detrimental to our overall health and wellbeing.(10)https://www.braveworld.cc/serpent-dna/ The healing and “lightness” that often accompanies us after an ayahuasca ceremony is usually the result of some energetic shift that has taken place within. Although many will register this transformation with no other accompanying physical sensations, others report feeling a warmth or tingling in their root chakra, while some even claim that they have felt the kundalini travelling all the way up their spines and opening up their six remaining chakras.(11)https://forum.dmt-nexus.me/threads/ayahuasca-and-kundalini.352470/
Whether an ayahuasca drinker feels low-grade tingling in their spines or a large serpent travelling up their chakras and awakening their kundalini, the medicine’s transformative effects are indisputable. With many people making miraculous breakthroughs in their life-long journey towards healing and wholeness, ayahuasca is increasingly being credited as one of the fastest ways to raise the kundalini.(12)https://tantraya.com/blog/ayahuasca-and-internal-energy While this may sound promising to spiritual seekers who long to shed their worldly personas to achieve enlightenment, the harsh reality is that awakening with ayahuasca is extremely rare. Instead, drinkers are more likely to experience “mild” kundalini episodes that hint at the possibility of future spiritual development rather than attaining full-blown enlightenment in one or two sittings.
This does not mean that ayahuasca drinkers aren’t able to make profound progress on their spiritual journeys without a kundalini experience (they are!) and this is precisely why attending a single ceremony is often enough to transmute and transform many decades of accumulated trauma and dis-ease without any accompanying kundalini experiences. Stirring the kundalini should never be the aim of an ayahuasca ceremony and if one is fortunate enough to experience any kind of kundalini awakening while in ceremony, it should be treated as a lucky side-effect rather than a “high” or “peak experience” that one is chasing.
In fact, kundalini can be so subtle that an ayahuasca drinker may not even realize that they’ve experienced this primordial energy during a ceremony since they’ve probably been expecting something more “obvious” and apparent. More “understated” kundalini occurrences usually take place when a drinker has visions of snakes which are believed to be a visual manifestation of the kundalini, not to mention the animal vehicle of ayahuasca.(13)https://www.braveworld.cc/serpent-dna/ Simply put, ayahuasca is a “kundalini medicine” and like many other entheogens, it is credited with spurring the birth of human culture and civilization.(14)https://tantraya.com/blog/ayahuasca-and-internal-energy This is because it is associated with the serpent which is the wisdom of transformation, change, rebirth and eternal being. It is the symbol that unites the medicine world of ayahuasca with the kundalini of yogic lore, allowing us to understand and integrate two abstract philosophical concepts using a single archetypal image.
“Serpent Power” and the Evolution of Consciousness
Although more research needs to be done, anecdotal evidence suggests that there is a profound link between ayahuasca consumption and the stirring of one’s primordial life force (the kundalini).(15)https://www.braveworld.cc/serpent-dna/ This might explain why both ayahuasca and kundalini have been traditionally represented by and associated with snakes (ancient harbingers of transformation and medicine).(16)https://thetaoist.online/meeting-my-kundalini-energy-for-the-first-time-dadd9f16a2c8
In yogic thought, the kundalini – also commonly referred to as “serpent power” – is associated with Shakti, the primordial feminine energy that animates and vivifies all natural phenomena.(17)https://hridaya-yoga.com/the-types-of-kundalini-shakti/ In Amazonian cosmology, ayahuasca is said to be the gift of the great serpent-deity, Ronin, who is believed to be the common ancestor of all Amerindian people and responsible for bestowing ayahuasca with its transformational medicine. As a messenger from beyond, Ronin is the force that gives ayahuasca its medicinal properties and can help us understand why serpents are both bestial representations of the vine as well as the spiritual agents of its primal power.(18)https://d.newswise.com/articles/the-cosmic-serpent-dna-and-the-origins-of-knowledge1
Thanks to ayahuasca’s connection with Ronin, people who drink the sacred vine are given the opportunity to connect to the primordial forces of the universe, which are also believed to lie dormant in the spiritual realms of the human body.(19)https://hridaya-yoga.com/blog/kundalini-shakti-kundalini-yoga/ By drinking ayahuasca, a person’s “inner serpent” is stirred and awakened by the spirit of the vine during their communion with the medicine.
Connecting to the spirit of ayahuasca allows us to unlock the cosmic power of nature which is also secretly contained within the subtle anatomy of the human body in the form of kundalini.(20)https://hridaya-yoga.com/blog/kundalini-shakti-kundalini-yoga/ This means that whether we experience the movement of the serpent as a tingling feeling in our spines or in awe-inspiring visions of snakes – or a combination of the two – ayahuasca has the ability of stirring our spiritual depths because its serpentine nature matches the nature of the kundalini which is like our own inner serpent that lies coiled at the base of our spines.
Since Ronin is the creator of all phenomenal life, his spirit can express itself at both the gross and subtle levels of existence which is why the kundalini is a perfect metaphor for the anaconda-god, whose role in spiritual healing has been revered for millennia.(21)https://www.braveworld.cc/serpent-dna/ As per Vedic lore, kundalini experiences can induce a whole range of mystical sensations and spiritual visions, which includes awakening from the illusion of duality.(22)https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/article/kundalini-awakening Similarly, native Amazonians believe that without serpents, the human race wouldn’t have the capacity to access spiritual wisdom,(23)https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/yacumama-the-myths-around-the-mysterious-giant-serpent-that-dwells-in-the-amazonian-waters echoing an ancient Chinese belief that credits serpents as being the benefactors of all occult knowledge.(24)https://www.everand.com/book/431413081/The-Occult-I-Ching-The-Secret-Language-of-Serpents
Kundalini, Ayahuasca and DMT
According to botanists studying the chemical composition of ayahuasca, hallucinations are bought about the plant’s DMT content.(25)https://www.rickstrassman.com/publications/the-spirit-molecule/ DMT (N, N-Dimethyltryptamine) is also naturally manufactured by the human brain and is believed to be responsible for producing altered states of consciousness, however, we are only able to have extrasensory experiences after ingesting plant-derived DMT.(26)https://www.rickstrassman.com/publications/the-spirit-molecule/ This is because plants contain exogenous DMT which differs from the endogenous DMT present in the human body.(27)https://www.quora.com/Do-our-brains-produce-DMT-when-we-sleep The latter category of DMT is what allows humans to have mystical experiences after they have imbibed ayahuasca while the former is believed to be released during REM sleep.(28)https://www.quora.com/Do-our-brains-produce-DMT-when-we-sleep
The DMT present in ayahuasca is credited with the plant’s ability to open us up to spiritual dimensions which allows us to make contact with spirit guides and converse with deceased ancestors. It also bestows us with other mystical abilities such as the power to predict the future and read minds.(29)https://www.rickstrassman.com/publications/the-spirit-molecule/ While western scientists dispute the modern neural function of DMT, research by the neurobiologist Andrew Gallimore suggests that DMT might once have been an ancestral neuromodulator once secreted in psychedelic concentrations during REM sleep.(30) … Continue reading This discovery might explain why dreams play such an important role in Amazonian cosmology and helps us to understand why the dreamworld is often credited with being the source of all indigenous plant-wisdom, not to mention the repository of native mythology and oral traditions.(31)https://ayahuasca-retreat.com/origin-of-ayahuasca/
As we continue to stray further away from our ancient connection to the spirit world, so we have lost our ability to spontaneously manufacture psychedelic quantities of DMT during REM sleep. Besides drinking ayahuasca, there exist yogic practices that originate in the Himalayan regions of Tibet and India that can help facilitate DMT production without the aid of plants, bringing us closer to the original, primordial state of our earliest ancestors.(32)https://www.reddit.com/r/KundaliniAwakening/comments/1c03bpy/kundalini_and_dmt/ These yogic techniques enable practitioners to work towards raising their consciousness so that the kundalini may be aroused and union with the godhead achieved.(33)https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/article/kundalini-awakening The main difference between these arcane yogic practices and ayahuasca consumption is that ayahuasca provides a quick – and relatively easy – route towards “kundalini experiences” while many of the methods espoused in various schools of Tantric and Vajrayana yoga require initiation by a guru, not to mention years of devoted practice in a monastery or ashram. (34)https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/article/kundalini-awakening
The “Spirit Molecule” and Modern Mysticism
Dubbed the “spirit molecule,” American scientist Rick Strassman posited that DMT was produced by the pineal gland, which has been known as “the seat of the soul” since ancient times. (35)https://www.rickstrassman.com/publications/the-spirit-molecule/ Ancient cultures living as far apart from each other as Mexico and Egypt have depicted people with serpents coming out of their third eyes, the physical location of the pineal gland and the final destination of the kundalini once it has been successfully raised. (36)https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/article/kundalini-awakening This further reinforces the role of serpents and kundalini in producing mystical experiences and underscores the link between ayahuasca and psychic powers. (37)https://tantraya.com/blog/ayahuasca-and-internal-energy
Feeling as if serpents are emerging from one’s third eye (i.e. one’s pineal gland) is a common sensation while under the influence of ayahuasca.(38)https://www.newswise.com/articles/the-cosmic-serpent-dna-and-the-origins-of-knowledge1 The third eye forms part of our subtle spiritual anatomy as humans and allows us perceive the non-physical dimension of reality, enabling us to pierce the veil between the world of spirit and the world of matter. (39)https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/article/kundalini-awakening This “expanded vision” might explain why many ayahuasca drinkers have reported seeing and having conversations with serpents or serpent-like beings during ceremony. (40)https://d.newswise.com/articles/the-cosmic-serpent-dna-and-the-origins-of-knowledge1 Even if the serpent communicates distressing information, the ability to ask questions and converse with these medicine-beings in the first place is said to be highly auspicious because it allows drinkers to gain access to a treasure trove of information about their inner lives. (41)https://d.newswise.com/articles/the-cosmic-serpent-dna-and-the-origins-of-knowledge1
As previously mentioned, the creature most often associated with the spirit of ayahuasca is the snake and it is not uncommon for people under the influence of ayahuasca to have hallucinations of snakes.(42)https://d.newswise.com/articles/the-cosmic-serpent-dna-and-the-origins-of-knowledge1 It is unarguably the creature most spoken about in ayahuasca visions and is reported by both experienced and novice drinkers alike. Many people even report feeling snakes crawling over their bodies and across their eyes while in ceremony.(43)https://www.braveworld.cc/serpent-dna/ Shamans explain that having visions of snakes is a positive omen because it suggests that contact has been made with the spirit world and it is only through the grace of the spirits that we are able to make progress on our spiritual journeys.(44)https://tantraya.com/blog/ayahuasca-and-internal-energy
Since ingesting ayahuasca is believed to unlock the doorway to the infinite (the macrocosm), we are also able to access the limitless nature of the soul at a microcosmic level since ayahuasca helps to lift the veil between what is inside us and what is outside of us.(45)https://tantraya.com/blog/ayahuasca-and-internal-energy Similarly, kundalini awakenings allow us to perceive the all-pervading Oneness that lies behind the illusion of separateness and duality, helping us to become aware of the supreme, infinite creator.(46)https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/article/kundalini-awakening Serpents play a fitting metaphor for this psycho-spiritual phenomenon which is why for millennia, they have served as a bridge that link the primal power of nature with the transcendent force of the cosmos.(47)https://d.newswise.com/articles/the-cosmic-serpent-dna-and-the-origins-of-knowledge1
Both spiritual and chthonic, serpents are the perfect metaphor for the awakening of the kundalini, which, untapped, remains buried in the depths of the psyche for the remainder of our lives. Similarly, without drinking ayahuasca, countless traumas, memories and illnesses would remain unresolved since it is the sacred vine that helps us to uncover the origin of all dis-ease, providing us with the tools we need to transmute and heal our misgivings once and for all. Ayahuasca allows us to dig up, throw out – and throw up! – what is no longer serving us, enabling us to inch closer towards our goal of mental clarity and spiritual self-mastery.
Since the ultimate aim of the Dharmic religions is to transcend the endless cycle of life and death to achieve liberation, it is important to continue to purify oneself on all levels so that spiritual perfection can be attained. Likewise, indigenous Amazonians believe in the continuous quest for inner harmony and purification through the ritual consumption of ayahuasca, which enables us to embody the highest level of plant-like purity and profound cosmic wisdom
Final Thoughts
For a brew that offers a wide range of therapeutic benefits to drinkers, it may come as no surprise that ayahuasca is able to initiate people into the mysterious world of the kundalini. With its coiled tendrils and gnarled roots, even the vine’s appearance is reminiscent of a serpent’s lithe, twisted body while its entheogenic effects take drinkers right into the heart of their own spiritual potential, giving them the keys that may help them undo all the “knots” that keep them bound up in old destructive patterns of behavior.
Whatever a person’s personal reasons are for turning to ayahuasca, there seems to be a general consensus that imbibing “the vine of the soul” can help aid a person’s spiritual growth and development, which, in turn can ignite the kundalini, leading to a whole range of different “kundalini experiences.”
References
↑1, ↑2 | https://www.ananda.org/yogapedia/kundalini/ |
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↑3, ↑8, ↑22, ↑33, ↑34, ↑36, ↑39, ↑46 | https://isha.sadhguru.org/en/wisdom/article/kundalini-awakening |
↑4 | https://journal-ems.com/index.php/emsj/article/view/123 |
↑5 | https://myree.com.au |
↑6 | https://www.quora.com/My-Kundalini-got-activated-after-taking-DMT-and-is-very-aggressive-now-I-dont-know-how-to-deal-with-it-or-make-it-subside |
↑7 | https://www.centreofexcellence.com/kundalini-awakening/ |
↑9 | https://books.google.com.gi/books?id=o_-tQgAACAAJ |
↑10, ↑13, ↑15, ↑21, ↑43 | https://www.braveworld.cc/serpent-dna/ |
↑11 | https://forum.dmt-nexus.me/threads/ayahuasca-and-kundalini.352470/ |
↑12, ↑14, ↑37, ↑44, ↑45 | https://tantraya.com/blog/ayahuasca-and-internal-energy |
↑16 | https://thetaoist.online/meeting-my-kundalini-energy-for-the-first-time-dadd9f16a2c8 |
↑17 | https://hridaya-yoga.com/the-types-of-kundalini-shakti/ |
↑18, ↑40, ↑41, ↑42, ↑47 | https://d.newswise.com/articles/the-cosmic-serpent-dna-and-the-origins-of-knowledge1 |
↑19, ↑20 | https://hridaya-yoga.com/blog/kundalini-shakti-kundalini-yoga/ |
↑23 | https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/yacumama-the-myths-around-the-mysterious-giant-serpent-that-dwells-in-the-amazonian-waters |
↑24 | https://www.everand.com/book/431413081/The-Occult-I-Ching-The-Secret-Language-of-Serpents |
↑25, ↑26, ↑29, ↑35 | https://www.rickstrassman.com/publications/the-spirit-molecule/ |
↑27, ↑28 | https://www.quora.com/Do-our-brains-produce-DMT-when-we-sleep |
↑30 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N,N-Dimethyltryptamine#:~:text=Neurobiologist%20Andrew%20Gallimore%20(2013)%20suggested,sleep%2C%20a%20function%20now%20lost. |
↑31 | https://ayahuasca-retreat.com/origin-of-ayahuasca/ |
↑32 | https://www.reddit.com/r/KundaliniAwakening/comments/1c03bpy/kundalini_and_dmt/ |
↑38 | https://www.newswise.com/articles/the-cosmic-serpent-dna-and-the-origins-of-knowledge1 |