Ayahuasca has become one of the most talked-about plant medicines in the world. Once practiced almost exclusively by indigenous communities in the Amazon, it is now attracting people from all walks of life who are searching for healing, clarity, and personal growth. Despite its growing popularity, many questions remain. How does ayahuasca work? Is it safe? Is there scientific evidence behind it, or is it purely a spiritual experience?

In an interview on the Witness the World Podcast, Sam Believ, founder of LaWayra Ayahuasca Retreat in Colombia, shared his personal journey from engineer to retreat founder while offering an honest perspective on both the scientific and spiritual aspects of ayahuasca.

From Engineering to Healing

Before discovering ayahuasca, Sam worked for nearly a decade as a marine engineer in the offshore oil and gas industry. The career provided financial security, but little fulfillment. Although he was earning an excellent income, he felt disconnected from his work and increasingly unhappy.

Eventually, he left both his career and long-term relationship to travel through South America. After settling in Colombia, the distractions of constant travel disappeared, and he found himself facing depression more intensely than ever before.

Remembering a positive ayahuasca experience he had during his travels, he decided to return to the medicine with a clear intention: healing.

Over the following year and a half, he says ayahuasca helped him gradually overcome his depression while also revealing a new sense of purpose. That journey eventually led him and his wife to establish LaWayra Ayahuasca Retreat, where they now help hundreds of participants every year.

What Does Science Actually Know?

Although ayahuasca has gained increasing attention from researchers, Sam believes there is still much that science cannot fully explain.

The brew contains numerous active compounds, including DMT and naturally occurring MAO inhibitors, but reducing ayahuasca to a single molecule oversimplifies its complexity. While researchers continue studying how these compounds affect the brain, many of the long-term psychological changes reported by participants remain difficult to explain through current scientific understanding.

People often experience profound improvements that continue long after the active compounds have left the body.

Rather than claiming to have definitive answers, Sam believes it is more honest to acknowledge that ayahuasca remains only partially understood.

The Role of the Ego

One explanation that resonates with Sam involves the temporary dissolution of the ego.

He compares the process to stopping a heart during open-heart surgery.

The ego normally protects us by filtering our experiences and helping us navigate daily life. However, trauma, anxiety, and negative experiences can cause those protective mechanisms to become overactive.

During an ayahuasca ceremony, that protective layer temporarily softens.

This creates an opportunity to revisit old emotional patterns from a new perspective, allowing participants to rebuild healthier ways of relating to themselves and the world around them.

Whether this process is entirely neurological, spiritual, or a combination of both remains an open question.

Is Ayahuasca Safe?

Safety is one of the most important topics surrounding ayahuasca.

According to Sam, three factors determine whether an experience is likely to be safe.

First, the ceremony should be led by an experienced indigenous shaman or someone with extensive traditional training and lineage.

Second, the medicine itself should be pure.

Traditional ayahuasca consists of the ayahuasca vine and a DMT-containing plant. Some retreat centers add additional psychoactive ingredients to create stronger visual experiences, but Sam believes these mixtures can increase unnecessary risks while moving away from the traditional purpose of healing.

Third, participants should be supported by experienced facilitators who can provide physical and emotional assistance throughout the ceremony.

Equally important is medical screening. People taking antidepressants, those with certain psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia or psychosis, and individuals with specific medical conditions may not be suitable candidates.

Every Ceremony Is Different

One lesson Sam has learned after many ceremonies is that no two experiences are ever the same.

Some ceremonies involve emotional healing.

Others focus on physical release through purging.

Some participants experience vivid visions, while others receive subtle emotional insights without dramatic visuals.

His own recent ceremony began with physical sensations and purging before transitioning into a peaceful state where he felt reassured about the direction of his life and the future of his retreat.

For him, the most valuable part of the experience was not the visions themselves but the lasting sense of clarity and confidence they created.

Physical Healing Beyond Mental Health

Although many people initially seek ayahuasca for depression, anxiety, or trauma, Sam has witnessed numerous participants report unexpected physical improvements as well.

Digestive disorders, chronic pain, autoimmune symptoms, psoriasis, and other long-standing conditions have reportedly improved following retreats.

He is careful not to present ayahuasca as a miracle cure.

Instead, he believes many physical symptoms are connected to unresolved emotional trauma or chronic stress. When those underlying issues begin healing, physical improvements sometimes follow naturally.

His own digestive problems disappeared after working with ayahuasca, despite never intending to address them directly.

Integration Is Where Healing Continues

Perhaps the most important message Sam shares is that ayahuasca is not a quick fix.

The ceremony opens a door, but lasting transformation depends on what happens afterward.

Participants are encouraged to reflect on the insights they receive, make meaningful lifestyle changes, and continue working on themselves through practices such as journaling, therapy, meditation, or coaching.

Ignoring those lessons often leads people back into the same patterns they hoped to escape.

Integration turns temporary insight into lasting change.

Choosing the Right Retreat

As ayahuasca grows in popularity, choosing the right retreat becomes increasingly important.

Sam encourages people to look beyond luxury accommodations or dramatic marketing.

Instead, they should focus on the quality of the facilitators, the experience of the shaman, the purity of the medicine, comprehensive preparation, post-retreat integration support, and genuine participant reviews.

Most importantly, he believes people should trust their intuition.

The retreat should feel like a place where they can safely surrender, heal, and grow.

More Than a Psychedelic Experience

Ayahuasca is often described as a psychedelic experience, but Sam believes that description misses the bigger picture.

For him, the medicine is ultimately about healing.

It helps people reconnect with themselves, process emotional wounds, discover purpose, and approach life with greater clarity.

Science continues to explore how ayahuasca works, while indigenous traditions have trusted it for generations.

Although many questions remain unanswered, Sam believes one thing is clear from the thousands of people he has met over the years: when approached responsibly, with proper preparation and guidance, ayahuasca has the potential to become a powerful catalyst for lasting personal transformation.

Listen to the whole podcast episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4dee815rsnfwam23ArFNEh