{"id":1887,"date":"2019-12-30T11:11:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-30T19:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rachellefordyce.com\/?p=1887"},"modified":"2023-04-01T12:43:44","modified_gmt":"2023-04-01T19:43:44","slug":"my-ayahuasca-experience-a-six-part-mini-series-part-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rachellefordyce.com\/creative-inspiration\/2019\/12\/my-ayahuasca-experience-a-six-part-mini-series-part-6\/","title":{"rendered":"My Ayahuasca Experience: A Six-Part Mini-Series (Part 6)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Looking out at the Pacific Ocean. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Day of Rest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Day six was our last day at the resort before we had to leave for the airport extremely early the next morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This day was a much needed day of rest and relaxation, although there we participated in some woo-woo activities later in the day before dinner hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the morning, we had a leisurely, relaxed breakfast, and then we strolled around the resort grounds. I think we even spotted some howler monkeys in some trees near the perimeter of the resort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This day was also to be a three-meal day \u2013 how exciting! And, now that all ayahuasca ceremonies were complete, this meant we could resume consuming coffee! (I typically prefer espresso over coffee, but being in Costa Rica, I had some coffee and I recall it being quite nice.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had massages booked, which was nice and relaxing. However, I tend to prefer massages that work out the tension and knots in my muscles vs massage for the sake of relaxation, and I recall this massage as being way too gentle… so afterwards I still felt like I needed a massage! \ud83d\ude02<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also went down to visit Pacific ocean. It was our first and only time dong so during our stay, which was a shame considering how rarely we’re in the vicinity of such vast bodies of water. We essentially had the entire beach to ourselves by the time we made it down there, and it was simply gorgeous. I took a lot of pictures, including the one at the top of this post. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back at the resort, we also gave the volcanic clay treatment a try. This was self-applied. After an initial rinse in the shower, we were to cover ourselves in the volcanic mud\/clay, which we were to let sit on your skin and dry up after a while. Then, we were supposed to rinse it off, followed by a recommended soak in a cool pool of water before enjoying a warmer pool of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, we did the above. It was an interesting experience, and it left my skin feeling nice and smooth when it was all over and done with. But one thing about that treatment is that I was not expecting the volcanic mud to smell so bad — it was extremely<\/em> sulfuric! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

[ Important lesson\/note<\/strong>: If you ever do a volcanic mud bath or treatment, I recommend that you do so either naked or wearing something that you might not mind parting with afterwards. I was wearing my favorite swimming dress with a pair of bike shorts at the time. Later when I was back home, and despite giving them a very thorough rinse before running them through the wash, the volcanic ash residue that was present on my swimwear infected the entire<\/em> load of laundry and made everything<\/em> smell like a sulfuric volcano! I’ve since washed all those items several times in cold water (apparently hot water and using a dryer makes it worse), and I hung those items outside to dry; and although now at least the smell has significantly dissipated, it is still<\/em> present in a lot of my articles of clothing. So… be warned! Don’t let this happen to you!<\/em> \ud83d\ude02 ]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shortly before we were all to meet outside the maloca where the ayahuasca ceremonies took place, I participated in a symbolic labyrinth. It was a relatively small labyrinth and path. (I posted a picture of it in the previous Part 5 post). When I think of the term labyrinth<\/em>, I tend to think of maze<\/em>; however this path was very predictable and not maze-like at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before I entered the labyrinth, I picked up six stones to bring with me. As I made my way to the labyrinth’s center, I laid down a stone at each of the turning points and assigned to each stone a habit or a trait that I wished to release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the six habits or traits that I wished to release<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n