My First Ayahuasca Ceremony with Master Dan

Upon arriving at the ceremony location, to our surprise, Dan was not alone; he was with other tourists. I heard him say: "Hey, David, this is the person I was telling you about."

Discovering that Master Dan spoke about me with other people

This person looked at me intently and said: "Well, I sense a strong connection and energy within him." Dan and David didn't speak Spanish, so they weren't concerned about paying attention to what they were saying, since my wife didn't understand English.

Only I could understand it, but I said nothing. Instead, I mentally thought: "Another crazy thing."

The ceremonial maloca was beautiful and very well maintained. While Dan explained the protocol and process that would unfold during the ceremony, I realized that this master conducted his ceremonies completely differently from my experience at 16 years old.

Dosage is very important in a Ceremony

A very small dose compared to my first experience, which reassured me greatly. Although Dan told me: "The Ayahuasca I prepare is very potent, you don't need much quantity and it tastes quite good."

When he mentioned the taste, it reminded me of the horrible taste of my past experience, but knowing that this ayahuasca tasted good helped me a lot.

This time, I knew that after taking ayahuasca, the effects take about 20 minutes to appear. So I was patient and this time I sat in a rocking chair instead of on the floor.

Dan conducted the inaugural ceremony; everything was very beautiful until it came time to take the medicine. I did so, and the taste was very pleasant. Dan wasn't lying.

High Technology in an Ayahuasca Ceremony

After taking the medicine, Dan told me he would use a technology called Hemi-Sync, which helps the brain reach a state of effortless concentration. That's what Dan told me.

In my mind, I thought: "What a strange shaman, using modern technology combined with rituals." I closed my eyes and began to listen to the sound.

It actually brought me a sense of calm that made me feel sleepy and I began to yawn several times.

The Good Begins

After about 20 minutes, I heard a sound and opened my eyes. When I did, I found myself running. I was running very fast and didn't understand what was happening.

I saw myself in the middle of the Amazon jungle. It was night, with a beautiful full moon illuminating the forest.

In my mind, I kept repeating: "Stop running. Where am I going? Denis, stop! Why are you running?" In those moments, I realized that either the grass was very close to my face, or my face was very close to the ground.

Another thing that surprised me was that I wanted to look at the night sky, but I couldn't do it like humans normally do by tilting their head back to see the sky without any problem.

I simply couldn't and it wasn't something that physically prevented me; I simply felt it as a physical limitation while running.

Mentally, I wondered: "What's happening? What am I doing in the middle of the jungle? Where is everyone? Where is my wife?"

I kept asking myself all those questions, but I kept running. Finally, I could see, hear and smell fire, as if someone had started a fire and was burning plants or wood many meters away.

I said: "What's happening?"

Several minutes passed until I reached a point in the forest where there was no grass. This area looked as if someone had cultivated it. Upon arriving, I stopped and, at that moment, I said: "I want to get up," but my body didn't obey me.

It was then that I looked at my arms and to my amazement, they weren't arms; they were the paws of a feline.

Being Inside a Black Jaguar

I looked at my hands and saw they had claws. The color of my skin wasn't that of a person; it was that of a black-furred feline with spots, which I could see clearly under the moonlight.

"A wave of fear invaded me and I told myself: I must quickly head to where that fire is, since it's a sign of civilization. There must be people there who will know what's happening to me and will surely help me."

I ran harder, feeling relieved to see that I was approaching the fire. However, my relief was short-lived, as the bonfire wasn't at my level; I seemed to be in an elevated area.

I approached cautiously to see what was happening, as I began to hear voices but couldn't understand what they were saying.

As I got closer, I saw a group of five natives gathered around the bonfire. They had made the fire near the riverbank and the water level had dropped, so I found myself on elevated ground.

I felt about 5 minutes passed and one of the natives who was sitting stood up and walked around the campfire until positioning himself in front of his companions.

In his right hand he held a piece of a branch. I wondered what this person would do.

Using the branch like a pencil, he began to write something on the ground. It was a combination of symbols and something resembling letters.

Honestly, I was stunned and thought: "What is he writing?" My vision was so sharp that when I wanted to see something closer, it was as if my eyes had a zoom effect.

After finishing writing, he quickly moved to stand next to one of his companions and all five began making some strange sounds.

Witnessing something incredible

They seemed to know that something was about to happen, as I could see joy in their expressions. I thought: "They're calling someone or something."

I felt a tingling on my skin and seconds after he wrote, I felt a very strong energy accumulating and over the bonfire, this energy began to accumulate, forming a cloud of smoke.

With each passing second, it became denser and denser. Then, I heard the sound of thunder and something emerged from that cloud of smoke.

I was petrified, watching what was happening.

When all the smoke disappeared, my surprise was great because before my eyes was a gigantic being in front of the natives. This being had feline characteristics, black with dark spots, standing on two legs, a humanoid jaguar.

The natives were ecstatic, four of them danced around, while the one who wrote on the ground was kneeling before this being.

I couldn't understand what I was seeing. I was so amazed that I wanted to see in more detail, but I didn't want them to know I was there.

Next to me was a tree with a considerably large branch, so I decided to climb up there and observe from above.

That's exactly what I did, very slowly and without making noise, or so I thought.

Indeed. With a single jump, I found myself on that branch, delighted that, from what I could see, no one had noticed my presence.

Feeling the Power of the Gaze

I resumed observation and saw how this being was giving instructions to the natives until something very strange happened.

This being looked up at me and we made eye contact.

But his gaze pierced through my mind. I saw how his feline eyes enlarged, only his eyes, and when I tried to resist, I felt as if something or someone was pushing me.

This caused me to fall from the tree and a bit of fear invaded me.

Then I had to turn around, trying to return by the same path, but I couldn't find the way back to my group.

I only remember having re-entered the jungle with very thick undergrowth.

Then I opened my eyes again and this time I found myself back in the ceremonial maloca.

I saw my wife next to me and then Dan asked me how I felt. I told him I still felt dizzy and connected.

I didn't vomit, but something strange happened when I tried to get up from the chair; I couldn't.

I felt my legs as if they weighed a ton. So, following Dan's recommendation, I waited a bit longer before going to my room.

That night I learned many things about the shamanic world, debunking myths and discarding lies that unfortunately still exist to this day.

This first ceremony with Master Dan marked a before and after in my understanding of sacred medicine. The experience of transforming into a black jaguar was not just a vision, but an awakening to my true spiritual nature and my ancestral connection with the feline realm.

The encounter with the humanoid jaguar being and the rituals of the natives showed me that there exists a parallel world of knowledge and wisdom that transcends our ordinary understanding. That night I understood that my path as a healer was just beginning.