Ayahuasca and Internal Energy | Why do we include Daoist and Tantric Methods in our Retreats?

Why do we practice and include Daoist and Tantric methodologies on our Ayahuasca and Internal Energy retreats? Simply put, Ayahuasca is Kundalini medicine.

Back in the day, by which I mean, a good 5-7,000 years ago, Soma Medicine was all the rage. It was said that a person who had drunk of the Soma had become ‘one with the gods’, and that whole entheogenic revolution essentially kick started human culture, ultimately producing the great Vedic, Tantric, Yogic, and, ultimately Buddhist, systems of spirituality.

Whilst the identity of Soma is still unknown from an academic and anthropological standpoint, we can postulate its mechanism and effect experientially, by comparison to the effects of the Ayahuasca medicine.

Under a careful, guiding hand, Ayahuasca takes us into the presecence of the Gods. Not God, but Gods. and, in the experience of many, the Gods encountered are clearly…oriental- Asian, Indian. We saw similar experiences many times in the 1960s- White, Western Hippies, astounded to be met face to face with Buddha, with Shiva, with Kali…

How can entheogens reliably and consistently take us into the same spiritual realms as encountered by the ancient Vedic and Tantric Sages? Is it ‘in’ the medicine? The fact that it can be encountered on a western pharmaceutical, created in the lab {Im thinking primarily LSD}, as well as via a strange South American medicine seems to suggest that there is an underlying mechanism that is somehow separate from the Western anthropological obsession with Alkaloids. LSD is not DMT, yet both can stimulate a similar God-Revealing experience.

We therefore postulate that whilst there is no denying that entheogenic experience is colored by alkaloids, we suggest an underlying mechanism that is Inherent, not in the plants, but in the human system that injests it. And, the Wisdom Traditions of the world agree. They have been exploring it, and refining their practices and awareness of it for millennia. In India this system is known as Kundalini, and has been dubbed the “Evolutionary Energy in Man’. This extraordinary mystical network has been mapped, explored and understood by the Yogis, The Daoists {Taoists}, the Tantrikas, the Buddhists, and even the Kalahari Bushmen, the Hawaiian Kahuna, and more… The most accurate map of the actual subtle biology of this foundational network for Awakening, comes from the Chinese Daoist and Indian Tantric traditions

The Tantrikas have best understood the devotional, spiritual, and Divine aspect of this network and the Taoists have mapped its channels, tributaries and power centers better than anybody- this eventually became the basis for Chinese medicine. And so, they postulate that we have an Evolutionary Energy, the Kundalini, that lies sleeping in the human system. There are many ways to wake it up, ranging from meditative seated practices, to full contact Internal Martial Arts, to the Entheogens, to mere accidents {often problematic as no clearing has taken place first} Yoga will wake it up this energy through powerful breathwork {pranayama} and complex body postures that engage different energetic structures, and pull open various channels{Nadis} until, eventually, we wake up the Sleeping Serpent, Maha Kundalini, the great Cosmic Serpent of Enlightenment.

Daoist energy work is highly developed, and seeks to stretch, open and fill the psychic channels {Meridians} as well as utilize complex internal imagery, colors, sound and vibration to spin, spiral and smooth the flow of internal energy, until eventually, the Dragon {the Serpent with Wings} Awakens. Ayahuasca works through the human system along this secret network of psychic channels as well. When we encounter difficulties on the medicine, we can be sure that the medicine has encountered blockages along these pathways. These blockages can be caused by and can lead to various physical, mental , energetic and karmic issues. When the medicine meets these blockages within the system, we often have difficulty, experiencing mental, physical, energetic, or emotional disturbance. If, however, we are seeking to clear, to smooth, to create flow in these channels OUTSIDE of the medicine, then we can experience a free flow of energy INSIDE the medicine, leading to a sense of ease, of comfort, of bliss, and, because the energy system is open, ultimately, of full Kundalini awaking, and Liberation itself…

We therefore find our Medicine work smoother, easier and deeper. We find that where first we may have reached certain states on the medicine, these quickly dissipate, and we find ourselves ‘back to normal;, to a large degree. If, however, we stretch, expunge, expand, and fill these psychic channels on a daily basis, we find that we can turn the states into stages of consciousness, permanent or semi-permanent stages of consciousness that abide, build and eventually develop and flourish into Full Awakening. Subtle states of consciousness are facilitated, maintained and opened by the subtle spiritual anatomy of the body. The energy work we teach, practice and guide on retreats and on a daily basis here at Tantraya is for that and that alone.