The Difference Between DMT and Ayahuasca

As an Ayahuasquera, I encounter folks on the regular that have a rabid love of journeying with DMT. Many come to ceremony with dozens of DMT journeys under their belts, expecting to have a similar experience with Ayahuasca. So let me be perfectly clear: If all you know is DMT, you do not know Ayahuasca. DMT is to Aya what Cocaine is to Coca. That is, they are not at all in the same ballpark. Here’s why.

Extracting a single alkaloid from any complex plant structure does not honor the consciousness and wholeness of the plant. If you extracted just my personal proclivity for talking up a storm, you would not have a clue that I am at times exceedingly introverted and highly introspective. Therefore the separation of one aspect of a plant’s potency does not even begin to give you a full understanding of that consciousness.

Furthermore, let me go on record as saying the recreational DMT usage is not only disrespectful, it’s outright dangerous. Smoking or vaping DMT is like riding in an airplane without a pilot. Sure, it might be a fun adventure, but there’s a good chance you’ll crash and burn. Even more dicey, you might not know it until you’ve manifested multiple challenging reflections that you don’t even know are connected to the unconscious usage of DMT.

Let’s explore why one is a sacred experience, and why the other is risky, if not outright blasphemy.

There are No Short Cuts with Sacred Plant Medicines

Back in the early days of my love affair with Ayahuasca, a dear friend who is a bit of an alchemist perfected the art of extracting DMT from the Mimosa plant. I embarked on many a journey, at first in a more recreational way, and later in more intentional and sacred way. By and large, my journeys were beautiful and deep and multi-dimensional.

Yet I couldn’t help but notice a decided difference between the 15 minute DMT cosmic explorations and the 6 hour deep-dives with Mama Ayahuasca. One was decidedly more mental, the other deeply felt. One was a blast off into the multiverse, the other a journey both inward and outward, full of discomfort and purging and difficulties. But the latter was actually healing. Deeply, profoundly transforming. While DMT did have things to teach me about consciousness and our role within it, there was no tour guide. Ayahuasca was not there to drive the spaceship, and through careful witnessing of my own journeys, and those that came to circle with lots of DMT experience under their belts, I began to see a bigger story unfold.

People who love DMT are quite often very defensive about this habit. That’s the first sign that perhaps there’s more to the story. There was a gentleman that came to sit with my teacher and me many years ago that was the catalyst to my awakening with the dangers of DMT. He was a sweet soul, very intelligent, but had been heavily using DMT. He was battling a serious rage addiction, finding himself lashing out at random times, sometimes so blindly full of anger that he would blackout and lose awareness of his words and actions. He came to Aya for healing and insight.

What I saw that night absolutely derailed me. As he purged, streams of dark energies and entities came flowing out of him. Aya was there with me, narrating what I was witnessing. This is when she first schooled me about DMT.

DMT, she told me, is a complete dishonoring of the plants from which it is extracted from. It’s like using a woman for her body, without acknowledging or honoring the whole person. It’s a violation, and there are definitely repercussions. These almost never show up immediately in the actual DMT experience. That would be too obvious and convenient. No, this karma shows up in various aspects of lives, rather mysteriously, but still ever-present. For the soul aforementioned, it manifested as anger. For others, illness, sadness, confusion, and always unconsciousness.

That last piece is the key to the puzzle: Unconsciousness. Those who do earnest work with plant medicines and truly integrate those experiences become more conscious over time. Those that recreationally abuse elements extracted from plants do the opposite.

To Read More About Shamanic Duties and Responsibilities see: What It’s Like to be an Ayahuasca Shaman

And if you fall into the latter category, I suspect you’re already crafting the angry email or response to this accusation. Don’t bother, as you will only be proving this point. It’s not ubiquitous, I know there are exceptions, but why fly a plane without a pilot when the sacredness of the medicine itself is so much more powerful, alive, and healing?

Why Travels with DMT are Dangerous

Most of us don’t have the faintest idea about the spiritual world, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Many who abuse substances like DMT insist it’s just an innocent experience of an altered consciousness. But what you don’t know can actually hurt you.

The spirit world is just as complex as our tangible one. And if we don’t know how to create a safe container for ourselves, we are Velcro to the myriad of energies. It isn’t always obvious when we pick up a hitchhiker, either, so this is very tricky business indeed. Take the gentleman I referenced above. He was working with DMT regularly, having a good ole time in the cosmos. It never occurred to him that his increased issues with rage and instability might be related. But substances like DMT completely crack us open; we become staggeringly vulnerable and often unaware of how energies might swoop in and start feeding on our life force.

This all sounded very far-fetched to me once upon a time too. But after witnessing the ramifications of unconscious and unsafe altered spaces, there is no longer an ounce of doubt inside of me. Couple this with the awareness that plants require our reverence and discernment, in part to honor them, and in part to honor us, and it’s clear that “fun times on drugs” can result in painful karmic lessons.

Is it Ever Safe to Work with DMT?

Everything I wrote above is my experience, and as with anything in the spiritual space, it’s a perspective, not an Absolute Truth. I can certainly hold that there is a way to be conscious, respectful, and sacred about working with DMT. This is hardly the norm, however, but I honor those that break the mold. Just don’t let these exceptions fool you into thinking you qualify if you’re not mindful of creating a protected container, and staying in deep communication with the plants themselves. Ignorance nor arrogance protect us. Listening, awareness, and reverence does.

If you have a connected relationship with plants like Mimosa or Chacruna, and you work with them as partners to extract their medicines and seek their wisdoms, good on you. But if you’re doing this with any ounce of egotistic desires, agendas, or lack of awareness, there will be repercussions.

My perspective is simple: I have zero desire to work with a chemical extraction when the plant itself is so alive, so powerful, so protective and wise. I prefer to imbibe with a spiritual being, not a synthetic or manipulated substance. But all roads lead to awakening, and anything can be sacred—as long as we make the effort to treat it that way.

Journey well everyone, thank you for reading.

Next Article: The Differences Between Ayahuasca, Iboga, and Ibogaine

Tina “Kat” Courtney, The Afterlife Coach, has worked with Ayahuasca for 16 years, with a decade as a shamanic apprentice. She works as an Ayahuasca and Psychedelics Coach, guiding others through the integration and preparation process with all sacred plants and master plant dietas. She’s a transformational junkie with a major love of polarities, and she adores helping others love their darkness too.