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I’ll never forget the first time I did ayahuasca after doing kambo a few times.  The visuals were so colorful and crispy clear and the experience was nothing but love – I was so blissed out!  I literally had a perma-smile the whole time and the gratitude I felt was fabulously overwhelming.  It was an unforgettable experience!  (Just to note: This was only my experience and I’m in no way insinuating that it’s a typical one as everyone is unique and in different stages in life.  In fact, some may have to do a few more sessions of kambo in order to experience the deeper benefits of using it as a preparation tool for psychedelic plant medicines.)

I share this because one of the MANY things I love about kambo, is how great it is for preparing for ayahuasca, mushroom, and iboga/ibogaine spiritual rituals. The deep cleanse that kambo is known for can increase the body’s ability to absorb the substance fully, giving the mind a deeper experience of the psychological effect.  The Psychedelic Times wrote a great article on ways kambo can enhance the ayahuasca experience.  The first way is purging your digestive tract for a more effective absorption:

Although kambo and ayahuasca both cause purging, kambo’s unique chemical makeup makes it more intense. The main peptide in kambo that causes purging is called phyllomedusin. It causes increased salivation and stimulates smooth muscles to contract, which causes vomiting and diarrhea.

This kind of vomiting allows you to expel digestive juices known as bile, which is secreted by the liver and coats the digestive tract and aids digestion by breaking down fats and allowing them to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

By getting rid of the bile in your stomach and intestines, your body doesn’t have a chance to reabsorb the toxins before they are expelled. This leaves your body ready to absorb and break down the chemicals in ayahuasca.

The second is increasing circulation to facilitate crossing of the blood-brain barrier:

The peptides phyllomedusin and phyllokinin—both present in kambo— are potent blood vessel dilators. As the kambo begins to circulate through your body, your blood vessels will expand, allowing the peptides to cross over your blood-brain barrier more easily. Your blood vessels will remain dilated, and you will experience increased blood circulation for a short time after the treatment. If you take ayahuasca during this period, the active ingredients will reach your brain more quickly after you ingest the tea and more of the substance will cross over into your brain, increasing the effectiveness of the substance.

The third is easing you into psychedelic experiences: 

Kambo has a unique position in the world of psychedelics because it can cause a sense of emotional euphoria or well-being, but it does not cause hallucinations or non-ordinary states of consciousness.

In addition to that, I have another take on how kambo eases you into a psychedelic experience. Most people who are afraid to do psychedelics have a fear of losing control.  And, what’s beautiful about the kambo process, with the intense purging and sometimes very unpleasant symptoms, I have found kambo to be a teacher on how to surrender and let go.  When kambo is at its most unbearable moments, the more you can sit with the process as it runs through the body, the more the mind becomes disciplined to surrender in those intense moments. Therefore, how you learn to mentally deal with the process during a kambo session can be applied to how you deal with a mental process during a psychedelic experience.

The fourth is creating greater awareness of your body before a psychedelic treatment:

The physical symptoms and body sensations from kambo, when experienced with your normal state of awareness, can help you become more aware of your body.  And, at the same time:

…two of the peptides in kambo—caerulein and sauvagine—will stimulate your adrenal cortex. This can create heightened sensory perception and increased stamina and is why kambo was often used before a hunting trip. All these effects create an increased sense of your physical body which can, in turn, help you connect the spiritual ayahuasca experience with your physical existence.

With all that said, kambo preparation isn’t limited to only psychedelics.  It’s also great to do before any kind of self-development workshop or important business events because of the power it has to cleanse the body for a lighter, more focused and clearer mind.  As my previous post stated, the body stores all the things we don’t need that limits us from being fully expressed and living our potential.  So, with a good kambo cleanse, the mind and body are prepared to go with the flow of life and overcome the obstacles that get in the way.  Viva Kambo!

(Kambo Painting by https://rosenfeldtown.deviantart.com on @DeviantArt)