My 1st Peyote Ceremony Experience

First I want to mention how serendipitous it all happened. We didn’t go looking for it, it found us. It all happened in Tulum, Mexico. . .

On the first day of the trip my friend & I rented bikes & road into the town strip of Tulum. On our way back I saw a hut that said “Superfoods” naturally we stopped in. There we met a lovely group of people. The man who owns & runs the spot, his coworkers & a group of friends who were visiting.

We ended up hanging out into the evening, smoked some weed & drank mezcal as they passed around a ukulele, singing & dancing in our seats. We exchanged numbers & later got a text invite to a Peyote Ceremony they had planned for the following night. They have a Mayan Elder & Medicine Woman who facilitates the medicine & ceremonies for them. We were told it was mellow & chill, but an all night event into the morning. No sleep.

At first I thought, thaaat seems super intense. It’s easier to say no to something you feel will drastically pull you out of your comfort zone, but the group was so kind & it started to feel like a funnel of events directed us to do it.

The next day, we head out to explore the Tulum ruins when we get a text from our hotel host that we actually didn’t have a room reserved for that night & had to pack up. We didn’t stress for a minute & it was decided for us to do the ceremony. Conveniently we wouldn’t need a place, since we’d be out all night.

Around 7pm we got back to the Superfood spot, showered & began mentally preparing for the ceremony. Several had done it multiple times while it was a shared first for the rest of us. Honestly, I was nervous. A quick google describes Peyote as, “An intense hallucinogen people take to see God.” It comes from a cactus flower. Sacred, ancient plant medicine used to liberate the Self & enhance Awareness. I was worried my headspace would make for a stressful trip but don’t worry, my experience was very peaceful.

We were told to bring fruit as an offering to Abuelo Peyote that would take in the energy & we would eat post ceremony + a candle to represent our intention. There were 12 of us in the jungle, sitting on the ground a top yoga mats & blankets around a fire.

The Medicine Woman begins to explain that we’re all in this together. It’s important that no one leaves the circle & that all of our energy is going to play a role in our collective experience, “If you need to cry, you can do it here. If you need to laugh, sing, dance, you can do it here. If you feel like you need to vomit, try to control it & resist. If you do throw up, the medicine will go into your head & you won’t have a good time.”

No pressure.

The Mayan Elder begins to speak in Spanish, explaining the work that we’re about to do. How it is for the greater good of human kind & Pacha Mama (Mother Earth). We’re asked to decide on an intention for the ceremony & handed a thread to confess our sins into & threw into the fire with a pinch of tobacco.

After we spoke our intention into our candle we lit it & it stayed lit in front of us for the whole ceremony. She begins passing out the medicine. Scooping out a spoonful of dust into our palms. She tells us we don’t get any water to wash it down & to take our time with it.

It wasn’t as bitter or tough to get down as I thought it would be. I was expecting a tea. Later I was told the process we did it in is the OG Mayan way. We were given pieces of raw cacao to “wash” it down.

It didn’t come on strong, but gradual. I didn’t feel high. I felt at total & complete peace & ease, homeostasis. Super aware & present. My mind was super clear with no audible thought.

They began playing music, singing & chanting. In the circle there was a guitar, a few drums & maracas. Of course I didn’t know any of the Spanish songs. Until they started to sing my favorite Sanskrit mantra. I have it tattooed on my leg from my trip to Costa Rica in 2018.

“Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu” it means, may all beings be free, may all beings be happy & may my thoughts & actions contribute to that. Singing mantra is a powerful tool, especially when incorporated with ancient plant medicine. I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt.

Most people don’t know this, but growing up I loved to sing. At 14 my school could only afford to send 1 kid to State, and I was picked.

At 16 I chose a challenging song to sing in front of my family & student body for a Choir concert. II didn’t practice as much as I should have & I choked. It was never easy for me to sing in front of people. There I was on stage by myself. I lost the note and couldn’t get it back due to my shaky voice, trying to hold back tears. I turned off the mic & held it at my side while the music played on. I ran back stage, tears flowing as my choir peers hugged me. That was the last year I sang in choir.

So when the ease & comfort of the peyote set in, with everyone singing together & alone. Taking turns with the drum. I was inspired. I knew one other mantra “Ong namo guru dev namo” meaning “I bow to the wisdom within, I call on the Divine teacher within.”

I turned to my friend beside me, pointed at the drum & asked, “May I?” “Please!” he said. I gently started tapping on the drum & began singing as other joined in. It was amazing!

It was a very freeing, happy moment. It felt really good to sing for & with people again.

For over 12 hours we laughed & danced & sang & looked up at the full moon & stars. Periodically laying on the ground to close my eyes.

As the night went on I laid down to close my eyes for what felt like a just moment when a friend tapped me & said, “It’s time for the blessing,” the Mayan Elder had a kind of leather tool/wand instrument with feathers hanging from it, dipped in what I’m guessing was a kind of holy water. I sat cross legged as he waved it around me & knighted the tops of my shoulders & head.

The sun started to rise & the fruit, soup & beans began getting passed around.

The time came to close the ceremony. We all hugged & discussed our experiences in short. As the Medicine Woman hugged me she said, “You’re voice is amazing. I wish I could hear it more.” Superfoods man sent me off with an life changing elixir that morning of freshly squeezed orange juice, wheat grass & spirulina. As I chugged it I felt it fill every cell.