Ayahuasca, a psychedelic brew from the Amazon rainforest, is entering the Western lexicon through the popular media, the internet, and first-person reports. Considered a medicine by practitioners, the tea has great therapeutic potential that is just beginning to be studied. As a result of her own personal experience with ayahuasca, Dr. Rachel Harris was inspired to research how this medicine was being used in North America in the largest study of this kind to date. Listening to Ayahuasca describes her findings, including miracle cures of depression and addiction, therapeutic breakthroughs, spiritual revelations, and challenging or bad trips.

As a research scientist and psychotherapist, Harris wanted to know what happens in the days and weeks following an ayahuasca ceremony — if people find lasting relief from depression and anxiety; if those with alcohol problems permanently stop drinking; if transcendent experiences with ayahuasca translate into a more spiritual life; and more.

In Listening to Ayahuasca: New Hope for Depression, Addiction, PTSD, and Anxiety, Harris not only shares compelling firsthand accounts of the medicine’s healing effects from her groundbreaking research, she also shares her own personal experiences with ayahuasca and explains how she has integrated them therapeutically into her life.

Her first experience with AYAHUASCA Rachel had a shared death experience. She experienced death with her dad she felt as though she was going with him. From this shared experience she woke up with questions on what it was that she experienced.

Rachel heard a female voice come to her. She asked a religious professor what the voice could have been and that even the experts were stumped.

Rachel started research on AYAHUASCA medicine. She interview shamans they told her get the truth about what the AYAHUASCA is.

She found out that in her studies that people took real positively to the medicine that has helped them through life. In her study she also found people that weren’t too keen on AYAHUASCA. There were stories about it how it didn’t help. Even though they had a difficult time during the ceremony they all said they still learned something.

Therapeutic value after effects were that they were more compassionate people over health changed.  They exercised better they ate better they felt more with the earth.

The book goes into detail about how the medicine can be used and be more effective. Also the medicine made people feel as though a presence was with them.

Some she followed up with years down the line and they stopped all of their bad habits. The medicine is meant to be used during a ritual setting.

The powers of the medicine a shaman is present during the ceremony to guide the ways of the AYAHUASCA.

The book itself is more about how the people use the AYAHUASCA and what role it plays in their life. Also what happens in the brain on the medicine and what neurological changes in the brain were made.

Some of the other breakthroughs of the medicine were that people who were chronically depressed were able to break free and get their lives back on track. The downsides is that it won’t work for everybody and that when testing the medicine to ask questions.

Key things of the research opens up the opportunity to make changes in their life. It is always good to be involved with your therapist. Both of you can learn together different techniques. Therapy as a whole opens you up to the possibilities.