The complete story
The first night of the retreat takes time to unfold for Chems. After the second dose, he describes feeling as though his thinking mind had finally moved away.
He then describes a dizzying descent and a sense of being tiny before the beauty of the universe. It is an inner perception he compares to a painting revealing itself before him. He stays with the beauty he sees. At the next morning’s sharing circle, he says he felt safe, as though in a cocoon.
The second night leaves him with an account that is much harder to begin. Chems speaks of a profound shock. Among the images he describes is an octopus playing a harp whose strings seem connected to his belly. He feels his body being worked on and twisted by the experience.
At an ayahuasca retreat, Chems first struggles to describe a profound shock. At the final sharing circle, he finds an image: a journey with his heart, supported by the group, the music and the singing.
On the final morning, he says he already feels much better than the day before. He also feels that he will need time. He decides to take that time for himself and let the days pass before knowing how this experience will unfold in his life.
He feels as though something has been removed deep within him, leaving an emptiness he still notices as he speaks. What he expresses strongly is the place of the group, the music and the singing in the depth of the work he experienced. He ends by thanking the people around him.
