Growing numbers of people are flocking to churches in the U.S. that center their practice around giving parishioners a psychedelic brew known as ayahuasca.
HILDALE, Utah — The tea tasted bitter and earthy, but Lorenzo Gonzales drank it anyway. On that frigid night in remote Utah, he was hoping for a life-changing experience, which is how he found himself inside a tent with two dozen others waiting for the psychedelic brew known as ayahuasca to kick in.
People are also reading… His journey to this small town along the Arizona-Utah border is part of a growing global trend of people turning to ayahuasca in search of spiritual enlightenment and an experience they say brings them closer to God than traditional religious services. Many hope the psychedelic tea will heal physical and mental afflictions after conventional medications and therapy failed. Their problems include eating disorders, depression, substance use disorders and PTSD.
"Our knowledge is kind of limited," said Anthony Back, a professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle."There is not as much information about safety as the regular other medical treatments that you might get if you went to a regular doctor in the United States."It was dark as the Hummingbird ceremony began on a Friday night in October, except for flickering candles and the orange glow of heaters.
Those who drink ayahuasca report seeing shapes and colors and going on wild, sometimes terrifying journeys that can last hours. In this dreamlike state, some say they encounter dead relatives — one woman saw family members who had died in a car accident — as well as friends and spirits who talk to them.
"If he's already sick and he's been placed on all these medications that have side effects, what do we have to lose? … It might stop the progression of the illness," she said."It might help him … accept things more without the anger." "I felt like I needed something more, like I needed a stronger breakthrough. So this is the next step," she said of ayahuasca."Hopefully it's the last step."
Some people spend thousands of dollars taking ayahuasca at five-star retreats in the Amazon. In the U.S., the movement remains largely underground, promoted by social media and word of mouth. Some ceremonies occur at supporters' homes, Airbnb rentals and remote areas to avoid law enforcement scrutiny.It has no written text and relies primarily on Davila's prayers, chants and songs, in Spanish and the language of the Kamëntsá people, to guide participants.
Since holding the church's first ceremony in Joshua Tree five years ago, Close has seen Hummingbird's numbers grow and its demographic change — mostly from young hipsters to older, working-class people desperate for mental health treatment.
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