[UA] ayahuasca and Santo Daime

[Mattias Östklint]

This popped up on my usual blog-round

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article3699397.ece

http://www.latimes.com/features/magazine/la-tm-ayahuasca.02feb3,1,6118145.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

"I am deep in the Amazon rainforest, anxiously losing my mind as the world 
begins to disintegrate. Around me, all sense of distance is wrapping 
itself up like spatial origami, slowly shrinking until an entire dimension 
has disappeared. A moment ago, I was surrounded by 200 people dressed in 
white and singing like angels, but now they occupy the same space as me... 
if that makes any sense. 
Wherever I look, that is where I am. I can see everything from every 
angle, all at the same time. In fact, I feel I am everywhere. Outside, in 
the forest, the thrum of frogs and cicadas drowns out the sound of 
shrieking monkeys. Below me, the floor is shimmering, vanishing in waves 
like a spent mirage. Behind, I feel a cold vibration on my neck and sense 
a growling malevolence. I turn and see a red door, bulging at the hinges. 
Overcome with dread, I push hard to keep it closed, and all the while I 
feel a horrible nausea. 
When will this end, I am thinking. And, with sweat running down my 
forehead, how can I survive it? Welcome to the Church of Santo Daime, one 
of the fastest growing religions in the world. Its mixture of 
Christianity, South American shamanism and African animism is proving 
irresistible to thousands of new believers across the globe. But it is its 
central sacrament, ayahuasca, a powerful hallucinogenic brew made from 
rainforest plants - a brew that I have just drunk - that makes the Church 
so appealing to some yet so controversial to others. 
Santo Daime groups believe that ayahuasca, or Daime, as they call it, is a 
manifestation of Jesus Christ that brings them closer to God. Their 
visions, sometimes terrifying, sometimes blissful, help them to make sense 
of themselves, their universe and their god. Theirs is a young church - 
less than 80 years old - but in recent times it has spread throughout 
South America to the US and Canada, the Far East and Australasia, across 
mainland Europe and on to the UK. "
"If all goes as planned, Truenos? nine participants?all seeking his 
psychedelic ?doctoring??will sip a murky, foul-tasting potion and then 
wait, eyes closed in the dark, for it to take effect. Wooziness may be 
followed by nausea, then probably vomiting. For many, a kaleidoscopic 
array of geometric patterns could emerge. Others may be greeted by 
friendly plant-like creatures, gnomes, elves or even a giant 
anaconda?known by indigenous tribes as Mother Ayahuasca, omniscient ruler 
of the plant kingdom?who communicates telepathically. And the really lucky 
ones may be treated to a cinematic review of their lives, each scene 
illustrating a moral failing."


I thought it was an interesting example of a current-day cult on the move.

Mattias Östklint  


The information contained in this email may be confidential and/or legally 
privileged. It has been sent for the sole use of the intended 
recipient(s). If the reader of this message is not an intended recipient, 
you are hereby notified that any unauthorized review, use, disclosure, 
dissemination, distribution, or copying of this communication, or any of 
its contents, is strictly prohibited. If you have received this 
communication in error, please contact the sender by reply email and 
destroy all copies of the original message.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.unknown-armies.com/pipermail/ua/attachments/20080417/cbef32cd/attachment.html