Not every ceremony is like this, but I wanted to share my favorite ceremony with plant medicines ever - this was at Lesleys house where we will be for the Stream of Miracles retreat. This ceremony started with open eye visions before I even drank... Was pretty interesting.
I was back at Lesley's house in Peru. I was supposed to drink San Pedro 5 days before but I had suddenly become very sick... Thought it was food poisoning at first, but then later realized my wife and I had shared all our food that day and she never even got remotely sick at all. So after 5 days of being super sick I said "Screw it, I'm gonna drink San Pedro tomorrow no matter how sick I am. I'll puke all over the place if I have too... It's supposed to be medicine right? Lets test it out and see what happens!"
That night I had dreams of San Pedro teaching me the nature of good and evil and helping me fight demonic type spirits... San Pedro told me I had caught some bad energy in Cusco that had made me sick - what people call a "bad wind." When I woke up I not only felt healthy again, but I felt super energized and healthier then ever. Any time I had food poisoning in the past, once I got rid of the bug I was still weak for another week, but this was different.
So we headed up to Lesley's house to drink San Pedro. As I stepped out of the cab in front of her house I was suddenly having visions. There were angels everywhere! Giant beings of light singing to me with light shooting out of their hands and mouths into me. They were kinda intense looking - not like what people paint from Bible stories, but kinda intimidating and really powerful looking, but at the same time I knew they weren't trying to harm me in any way. There songs were beautiful.
I gave Lesley a hug to say hello and kept gaping at all the angels everywhere.... They looked just as real and solid as all the people showing up for ceremony! She then introduced me to a Q'ero shaman Louis who was going to be around for our ceremony that day - I had been wanting to meet the Q'ero for a couple years and this was my first time meeting one (he will also be at our San Pedro ceremonies this retreat). I could barely talk to anyone as we all got ready to drink - all I could do was stare at these angels!
So we sat in the maloka and Lesley told everyone about San Pedro since most of them were first timers. I wasnt really listening to her - I was distracted because now there was my dead mother, a cactus man (San Pedro), archangel Michael and Jesus surrounding me on all four sides - all singing to me. I was so confused because I am not Christian at all, but I just went with it.
Lesley then handed me a cup of San Pedro to drink (yes, all these visions were occurring without any psychoactive in my system at all), and I wondered to myself "Do I even need to drink this?" But at that time Jesus came up behind me and put his hands on my back to support me, so I just gulped it down. I then went out to meditate in the garden and the whole garden was still full of singing angels.
A lot happened that day in the garden... Connected deeply with toe' (brugmansia) for the first time, talked a lot to my dead mother and saw her grow angel wings, turned into a puma with condor wings then flew around Cusco (even saw temples in my vision which I later found on a hike a few days later), and when things started to calm down a bit I walked over to talk to the Q'ero shaman. The Q'ero shaman had some mesa cloths (special ceremonial altar clothes) and chumpi khuyas (special carved stones used for energy work). I received my mesa and chumpi khuyas from him that afternoon (besides plants these are my main medicine and ritual tool).
I love San Pedro <3
