"Privileged" Amazon Ayahuasca Journeys?

So i keep hearing of people signing up for these very unique excursions deep into the Amazon in order to take part in one or more Ayahuasca ceremonies with a trained shaman, and others seeking the same kind of enlightenment.

Eg: http://video.google.com/videoplay?d...1&ei=8LicSdXZBI3m-AHf8O3uDw&q=docid+ayahuasca

what I'm wondering is where do you sign up for this stuff? The guy in the video describes having to write an essay to get approved and being subjected to 6 months of preparatory work before actually going. I like that because it gives it a certain legitimacy... i can imagine there are a lot of hoax or bad shops out there. Anyway please let me know if you have any information, this kind of experience would be a dream to me.

 

personally i find it absolutely absurd that people are turning Ayahuasca into some sort of vacation getaway... and that it's gaining this "spotlight" from shows such as Celebrity Ayahuasca and such

 

haha Celebrity Ayahuasca!? wtf?

I don't know about a vacation getaway, the experiences im hearing of seem to be far from a vacation and more like a spiritual awakening and/or cleansing. I just want to do a drug in a more organized setting with people who have been using it their whole lives to attain a very legitimate goal. And if the Amazon jungle is anyone's idea of a vacation they might want to re-think their current living conditions...

 

vacation may have been the wrong word.. touristy?... it's sad to see tribal traditions belittled to a tourists adventure.. these are deep rooted psychedelic rituals that have been untainted for their entire existence until now.. making money from whoring out their deep rooted traditions

 

yeah i agree with you completely! thats the kind of thing i want to stay away from. I was just wondering if anyone out there knows of some more legitimate kind of experiences. Its just that i kind of feel like ive been doing hallucinogens haphazardly and without proper focus. Wouldn't that be blasphemy to these traditionalists? wouldnt they rather provide the proper guidance so that we may incorporate these wonderful experiences in our society? I think we definitely need some kind of wake up call and this might be a good one. maybe i'm wrong i don't know

 

Firstly, a "tradition" is something completely made up. What relevance does it have to anyone who isn't a part of it? Why would you want to make something that can greatly change a person's life into something exclusive and only available to those few who follow some made up rules?
Why does it matter that these things get turned into tv shows and what not? Please look at the world we live in. As far as i am concerned that is irrelevant. What matters is the experience and what someone can extract from it.
Further than that i would say anyone with gripes about something so supposedly wonderful becoming more accessible to people seriously rethink their stance on this issue. Just a thought I don't mean to offend anyone.