For many first-time visitors, ayahuasca arrives surrounded by uncertainty. People hear dramatic stories, see intense reactions, and wonder whether the medicine is truly healing or simply overwhelming. According to Sam Believ, founder of LaWayra Ayahuasca Retreat in Colombia, the answer depends entirely on how the medicine is approached. In the right setting, with the right preparation and guidance, ayahuasca can become one of the most powerful tools for emotional healing available today.
What Ayahuasca Actually Is
Sam explains ayahuasca in very practical terms: it is a traditional brew made by cooking two plants together over several days until they form a thick medicinal liquid.
One ingredient is the ayahuasca vine, while the second is a plant containing DMT, the psychoactive compound that creates the visionary aspect of the experience.
The vine itself plays a crucial role because it allows DMT to become active when taken orally. Without that interaction, the experience would not unfold in the same way.
For indigenous communities, however, the chemistry is only one part of the story. For thousands of years, the brew has been treated not as a drug, but as medicine — something used intentionally for healing, guidance, and understanding.
Why Every Experience Is Different
One of the most important lessons Sam shares is that ayahuasca rarely matches expectations.
Some people expect strong visuals and receive emotional clarity instead. Others expect insight and find themselves confronting physical discomfort, old memories, or powerful body sensations.
He often explains that the medicine seems to respond less to what a person wants and more to what they currently need.
That is why two people sitting side by side in the same ceremony can have completely different experiences.
One may feel deep peace while another moves through fear, grief, or intense internal questioning.
Why Purging Is Often Part of the Healing
For newcomers, vomiting is usually one of the biggest fears.
Yet once people experience it, many describe purging as one of the most meaningful moments of release during ceremony.
Sam explains that physical purging often arrives together with emotional release.
A difficult memory may surface, followed by vomiting, and afterward the emotional charge surrounding that memory often changes.
What felt heavy becomes lighter.
What felt trapped becomes mobile again.
This is why traditional ceremony does not treat purging as a problem, but often as a sign that something important is moving.
Why Safety Depends on Preparation
Although ayahuasca can be deeply healing, Sam emphasizes that it is not for everyone without exceptions.
People with schizophrenia in the family, serious heart conditions, or those taking certain medications — especially antidepressants — need special caution.
The medicine itself is not inherently dangerous for most healthy people, but interactions with medication can be serious.
That is why retreat preparation includes dietary guidance, medication restrictions, and clear screening before arrival.
For an average healthy person, however, he considers ayahuasca extremely safe when served correctly.
Why the Shaman Matters So Much
A major part of that safety comes from the ceremonial leadership.
Sam strongly warns against drinking ayahuasca casually, alone, or with inexperienced facilitators.
In his view, the presence of a real indigenous shaman is not simply cultural decoration — it is central to physical and emotional safety.
A trained shaman understands dosage, pacing, energetic shifts, and how to guide difficult moments during ceremony.
At LaWayra, cups are spaced carefully across the night to prevent people from going too deep too quickly.
That pacing is deliberate: too much medicine too early can make the journey overwhelming rather than productive.
Why Experience Matters More Than Labels
One of Sam’s strongest concerns is the growing number of people who begin serving medicine after very little training.
He believes the global popularity of ayahuasca has created situations where people present themselves as guides without having the depth required to hold ceremonies responsibly.
For him, true ceremonial authority takes years — often decades — of training inside indigenous lineages.
Someone may look spiritual, speak confidently, and still lack the knowledge needed when a ceremony becomes difficult.
That is why he advises people to choose retreats based on lineage, experience, and long-term reputation rather than appearance alone.
Why Depression Often Changes After Ceremony
Sam’s own relationship with ayahuasca began during a period he now recognizes as depression.
He had not been formally diagnosed, but emotionally he knew something was wrong.
His first deeper experiences with medicine did not instantly solve life, but they did something equally important: they removed enough pain for him to see clearly.
That clarity then made change possible.
He often explains that depression is not always random chemistry.
For many people, it is connected to suppressed emotion, dissatisfaction, fear, or unresolved life patterns.
Ayahuasca does not simply numb those feelings — it often reveals them directly.
Why People Call It Years of Therapy
At retreats, many participants describe one week of ceremony as feeling like years of therapy compressed into a short time.
Sam understands why.
In ordinary life, people often avoid uncomfortable thoughts for years.
Inside ceremony, those same thoughts can become impossible to ignore.
But unlike ordinary rumination, the medicine often adds perspective.
Pain appears together with meaning.
Patterns become visible.
What felt chaotic starts to make sense.
Why Integration Is the Real Work
Despite all the intensity of ceremony, Sam repeatedly says the most important part happens afterward.
A powerful experience alone does not change a life unless the person begins applying what they saw.
That is why journaling, walking in nature, meditation, silence, and reflection are all encouraged after retreat.
Sometimes integration means making large changes.
Sometimes it means doing nothing dramatic at all — simply allowing new understanding to settle.
But what matters most is not losing the insight immediately under everyday noise.
Why Modern Life Makes This So Necessary
One reason Sam believes ayahuasca resonates so strongly today is because many people rarely stop long enough to listen to themselves.
Modern life encourages productivity, distraction, and constant stimulation.
Very little space remains for internal reflection.
Even taking one week entirely for healing feels unusual to many people.
Yet he believes that lack of pause is one reason so many people struggle emotionally.
The retreat environment itself becomes healing because for many participants it is the first time in years they have truly stepped away.
A Tool, Not a Miracle
Sam is careful not to present ayahuasca as magic.
It does not automatically create happiness or permanently remove pain.
What it often does is interrupt automatic suffering long enough for new choices to become visible.
For some, that means healing depression.
For others, addiction weakens, anxiety softens, or emotional direction becomes clearer.
But the medicine still expects something afterward: honesty, patience, and willingness to continue the work once ceremony ends.
Listen to the whole podcast episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCjXIHLqh0c
Sam Believ is the founder and CEO of LaWayra Ayahuasca Retreat, the best-rated Ayahuasca retreat in South America, with over 520 five-star Google reviews and an overall rating of 5 stars. After his life was transformed by Ayahuasca, he dedicated himself to spreading awareness about this ancestral medicine to help address the mental health crisis. Sam is committed to making Ayahuasca retreats affordable, accessible, and authentic, with a focus on care, integration, and the involvement of indigenous shamans. He is also the host of the Ayahuasca Podcast.