Many people discover ayahuasca while searching for answers. Some are looking for relief from anxiety or depression, while others simply feel disconnected from the life they’ve built. For Sam Believ, founder of LaWayra Ayahuasca Retreat in Colombia, the journey began after years working as a marine mechanical engineer in the offshore oil and gas industry—a career that provided financial success but left him feeling emotionally unfulfilled.
Today, Sam oversees one of South America’s highest-rated ayahuasca retreats, welcoming hundreds of guests each year. His story demonstrates that healing isn’t always about escaping your past. Sometimes it’s about finding a new way to use the skills you’ve already developed.
Success Without Fulfillment
Working offshore offered many of the things society tells us to pursue. The pay was excellent, the career was respected, and the opportunities seemed endless.
Yet despite achieving financial stability, Sam found himself struggling with depression and a lack of purpose.
Looking back, he believes the demanding nature of offshore work often disconnects people from their emotions. Long rotations, high-pressure environments, and extended time away from family can leave little room for self-reflection. While many workers become exceptionally resilient, they may also lose touch with the deeper questions that give life meaning.
Ayahuasca didn’t immediately solve those problems, but it helped him recognize them.
Finding a New Direction
After his first experiences with the medicine, Sam began feeling drawn toward a completely different path.
Rather than receiving a detailed roadmap, he describes the process as a series of meaningful opportunities that appeared at the right time. One experience led to another, eventually bringing him into contact with indigenous healers in the Colombian Amazon and introducing him to the traditions surrounding ayahuasca.
What began as helping organize small ceremonies on a countryside property slowly evolved into a full retreat center.
Today, LaWayra welcomes guests from around the world, offering guided ceremonies in a setting that combines traditional indigenous practices with modern comfort and professional support.
Healing Is an Active Process
One message runs consistently throughout Sam’s philosophy: ayahuasca does not do the work for you.
Instead, it reveals what needs attention.
He often describes the medicine as giving people homework. The ceremony can provide powerful insights, emotional breakthroughs, and temporary relief from long-standing struggles, but lasting transformation depends on the choices participants make afterward.
Whether someone is working through depression, unhealthy habits, relationship challenges, or simply searching for greater meaning, integration remains essential. Reflection, lifestyle changes, therapy, and continued personal growth are what transform a meaningful ceremony into long-term change.
Leadership Begins with Self-Awareness
One of the more thought-provoking ideas discussed during the conversation is the role ayahuasca could play in leadership.
Sam believes many people pursue positions of power while carrying unresolved emotional wounds. Rather than seeing leadership purely as authority, he argues that genuine leaders should first understand themselves.
His broader point isn’t about politics—it’s about self-awareness.
When people become more conscious of their own fears, insecurities, and motivations, they often develop greater empathy for others. Many participants describe leaving ceremonies with a stronger sense of connection, compassion, and responsibility toward the people around them.
Whether or not someone agrees with that perspective, it highlights a growing interest in emotional intelligence as an important quality for leadership.
Science and Spirituality Don’t Have to Compete
One reason Sam’s approach resonates with newcomers is his balanced perspective.
Although he acknowledges the spiritual dimension many people experience during ceremonies, he avoids claiming to have all the answers.
Instead, he views ayahuasca through multiple lenses.
Modern research continues exploring its effects on neuroplasticity, emotional processing, and mental health. At the same time, many participants report experiences that feel deeply meaningful or spiritual in ways science cannot yet fully explain.
Rather than forcing one explanation over another, Sam believes both perspectives can coexist.
A Different Kind of Engineering
Perhaps the most interesting connection between Sam’s former and current careers is that he still sees himself as an engineer.
As a marine engineer, he repaired machines and kept complex systems functioning properly.
Today, he helps create an environment where people can begin repairing aspects of themselves.
The work may look very different, but the mindset remains surprisingly similar: identify problems, understand systems, and help restore balance.
The Journey Continues
Despite helping hundreds of guests every year, Sam doesn’t describe himself as someone who has reached the finish line.
Running a retreat, raising a family, producing a podcast, and supporting a growing team brings its own challenges. Like everyone else, he continues learning, adapting, and searching for balance.
Perhaps that’s one of the most valuable lessons ayahuasca offers.
Healing isn’t about becoming perfect. It’s about becoming more aware, more intentional, and more connected with the life you’re already living.
For many people, that shift alone can become the beginning of lasting transformation.
Listen to the whole podcast episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/59ylILeSe758BDwyHDYCQt