Ayahuasca / Yage, a  journey. September 2024 

In January 2019, I embarked on a journey with Ayahuasca in search of healing, although I was initially uncertain what that healing would entail. A few years earlier, I had been working with a competent therapist for nearly a year, which proved beneficial as I grappled with overwhelming emotional challenges—many stemming from intrusive memories and feelings related to military combat experiences from a decade earlier. Although that therapeutic work led to significant improvements in my mood and behavior, I recognized that a deeper issue remained unresolved, one that could not be fully addressed through psychotherapy alone.

Toward the end of 2018, I encountered an eye-opening podcast interview in which Ayahuasca was reintroduced into the conversation—not merely as an alternative treatment, but as a source of knowledge, wisdom, and profound healing. The discussion highlighted its role as a scientific mystery, offering military veterans like myself hope in overcoming trauma.

My initial exposure to Ayahuasca dates back to my childhood in Lima, Peru. Growing up, I heard contrasting narratives about the plant: on one hand, it was described as an ungodly practice associated with illiterate people of the Amazon; on the other, it was revered as a potent spiritual tool. These conflicting perspectives compelled me to seek a deeper understanding.

Now, after more than five years of integrating Ayahuasca—or Yage, as it is known in the Colombian Amazon—into my life, I have come to view it as both a spiritual culture and a powerful instrument for expanding consciousness. As my teacher, Taita Hector Ortiz, often reminds me, it is “a powerful spiritual tool among many others.” I became his disciple only a few years ago, and my initial Ayahuasca experience remains one of the most transformative moments in my life, rivaled only by witnessing the birth of my first child. That experience marked the beginning of a new chapter—one filled with work to be done, knowledge to be gained, and wisdom to be earned.

Today, I see Ayahuasca as a spiritual path dedicated to the expansion of consciousness—a practice and discipline that, while powerful, is one among many tools for healing and personal growth.

Giampiero M. Scattolon