The reluctant shaman is the safe one. The one who rushes the process and is arrogant enough to assume they can bypass the protocol that’s existed for thousands of years—he/she is dangerous.

I have never met a facilitator that lacks traditional training that is not coming from ego. This is tricky, as many of these folks truly are well-intended. Many also have a sincere connection to the medicine. None of that matters if the energies of a ceremony blast through the cosmos and send participants into a frenzy, only to find they are left with an inexperienced and bamboozled guide who is faking their way through the process.

When we are deep inside Ayahuasca’s embrace, we are cracked open and oh-so vulnerable. If the person that comes to us in assistance is terrified, inexperienced, or otherwise does not trust that everything is going to be ok, that is deeply felt. I have watched helpers go with sincerity to assist someone in a deep process, but without the tools to do so, and it can go horribly wrong.

We have to know what we know, and even more important, be humble enough to know what we don’t know.

My teacher would tell me if we are not as grounded as the earth itself, connected to our beingness and trusting the medicine to our core, we have absolutely no business helping someone else through a challenging altered space. Remember how the road to hell was paved? Right-o—good intentions.

Why Paying $6k for a Weeks-Long Program Does Not Make You a Shaman

Thousands and thousands of people are hearing the call to facilitate ceremonies these days, and that’s a beautiful thing—the medicine doesn’t reproduce, she recruits. And it will take an army of us to continue to transform consciousness.

Because we humans tend to lack patience and are uber fond of the turbo-route, there are multiple courses and programs showing up that promise to teach and train participants in a matter of weeks or months. These programs may contain valuable information and experiences, but no one becomes a master of anything in a matter of weeks or months. The well-meaning programs in this category are at best a place to get started in the path, and at worst a scam to give a false sense of mastery in exchange for a hefty fee. Regardless, folks that graduate from these programs often know little more than people who have drank 30+ times as participants.

The point is, these courses can be valuable as a knowledge-share, but they do not under any circumstance have the authority to name you a shaman or facilitator. That always, always comes from the plants. And it always, always comes from YEARS of experience.

There is no shortcut to becoming a doctor, a lawyer, a psychologist, or a professor. And there is no shortcut to spending years and years understanding the nuances of energetic and spiritual communication + protection.

A Call to Participants: Are There Exceptions to This Rule? Yes. But Don’t Risk It

To those very rare, very few among us out there who just innately came into this world knowing how to hold sacred space, how to navigate the wildly erratic energies of a plant like Ayahuasca, and how to keep themselves and others safe in perilous and vulnerable altered experiences—bless you to pieces. You are a unicorn and I honor you.

As a sitter, however, I personally would never trust my safety to anyone who hasn’t done the work. Plant diets are a must, otherwise the mystery of plant consciousness still prevails, and safety cannot be guaranteed. A lineage is a must – otherwise there is no firm foundation to use for self discovery. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of ceremonies are also pivotal – otherwise there are just too many mysterious scenarios that the facilitator won’t know how to handle. Sitting next to my teachers for 10 years helped me know I can handle whatever Ayahuasca throws my way. But even then, my training is never really done.