A Great Blog

Catching up with the Participants of Metamorphosis

2009-07-17T12:05:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone,
I have ben meaning to add to the blog for a while, but life, as it tends to do, has gotten a little hectic for the past few weeks. I am now back in the Amazon with my family where internet access is a little more sporadic for me. Anyway, as people have been watching the film, some of them have been asking me where the people who participated in the film 2 years ago are now in regards to their healing and spiritual journey. People are interested in finding out the perspective of the Ayahuasca experience with the advantage of time and hindsight. Therefore I have invited the particpants to relate their experiences in their own words as for some, the Ayahuasca experience was a one-time thing and for others, the healing and work continues. Please feel free to add to this if you have any comments.

peace,
Keith

Screening Tonight in NYC!!! Film wins for Best Cinematography.

2009-06-20T13:10:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone.

Just wanted to let you know that the screening of Metamorphosis at the Breckenridge Festival of FIlm was a success. We had a close to capacity crowd with a great Q & A afterwards. The icing on the cake was that the film won the award for Best Cinematography! A great first showing!

Tonight marks the first screening in NYC which is talking place at The Wild Project on the lower east side of Manhattan. Hope to see some of you there!

peace,

Keith

Breckenridge Film Festival

2009-06-16T13:48:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone,

just got back from the Breckenridge Festival of Film where the Metamorphosis had it's first screening. It was a little nerve wracking as this was the first public screening, but the film was well received and we had a great Q & A afterwards. And the icing on the cake was that METAMORPHOSIS won an award for Best Cinematography! Next stop - a screening this saturday in NYC and then on to the Amazonian Shamanic Conference in Iquitos Peru this July.

2009-05-28T12:09:00.007-04:00

METAMORPHOSIS SCREENINGS

Sorry I've been away for while, I've been a little crazed getting ready to release the film. I have some exciting news - the film will be premiering at the Breckenridge Festival of Film (june 11th -14th) on Friday, June 12th. http://www.breckfilmfest.com/home/movie.php?film_ID=2060

The South American Premiere will be at the 5th Amazonian Shamanic Conference in Iquitos, Peru from July 11- 18th. http://www.soga-del-alma.org/conferencesite.html

I just want to say a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported the film and myself during this process. At times it's been a long, hard road, but it looks like I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Hope to see some of you at the screenings.

peace & love,

Keith

Ayahuasca Chronicles

2009-03-12T17:15:00.000-04:00

I have done my fair share of ceremonies. I have drank in 42, and have probably sat in on about 60. I continue to drink the medicine because of the benefits I gain from working with the shamans and Ayahuasca. Some of those being, ridding myself of dark thoughts and energies, detoxifying, gaining incredible insights and universal knowledge, and glimpses into the infinite to name a few.

Lately I have been hearing of other people’s journey with Ayahuasca and their stories continue to amaze me. The power of the medicine, and the experiences people have after returning home are incredible. It constantly reminds me why I made this doc in the first place, to share this incredible experience. I’m adding this post in hopes that other people who have drank Aya will share their experiences here, because they are just amazing to hear.

Fire away!

Back in the Jungle!

2009-03-05T20:03:00.000-05:00

Just got back to NYC after spending 3 weeks or so in Iquitos and the jungle where I participated in 5 ayahuasca ceremonies. It seems as if I am progressing in the medicine. When I started out on this journey of drinking ayahuasca and making a film about it, I thought I had what I regarded as a “healthy” dose of skepticism. I was open minded to the experience, but had my doubts as to whether it was real, or just a reaction to an extremely strong hallucinogenic.

I have now drank ayahuasca 42 times. I would say that when I had the experiences, they were as real as anything I have experienced in this “reality”. The demonic images, spirits dark and light, and glimpses of the divine all seemed incredibly real. But then a few days later the doubts would start to creep in, and I would question the whole thing.

This pretty much went on to one degree or another until my 36th ceremony. That is the night that I drank about half a cup of strong ayahuasca and within about an hour or so, found myself on the floor, screaming for God, and hitting myself because I had found him, or him me. When I say him, I am actually referring to creation, the universe, divinity, enlightenment (and a little bit of fear) all rolled into one. I was on the floor screaming because my ego and sense of self was dissolving and I was smack in the middle of creation as it was happening. It was incredibly overwhelming. When I finally came to my senses a while later, the spirits were talking to me loud and clear, letting me know that “oh yeah, this is real buddy, and you asked for it” They also enlightened me about love (the source), life, and what is important. So I think it is fair to say that from that point on, I was a believer.

That being said, the reason I made this documentary was to help people understand an ayahuasca ceremony and to see people go through it as well as find out why they go through something that can at times be extremely difficult. It was never my intention to try and convince people one way or another if the experience (and the spirits and visions) were real or not, because I don’t think one could ever do that with a film regarding this subject. You have to have the experience. My hope is that the film is the next best thing.

Phew. Back to now. As I said, I just got back from the jungle, where I drank 5 more times. I continue to drink because I feel the experience grounds me, helps me to get rid of dark energies and experiences that I don’t need, and physically cleans toxins out my system. And despite the darkness, it can be exhilarating at times. The more I drink the medicine, the less I need of it, as it stays within my body (this is what the shamans told me.) These ceremonies were intense, yet I was pretty much able to retain my clarity throughout. I am enjoying the process because I am learning to work with the medicine more and more. At times, I can now go in and out of ceremony (the effects of ayahuasca), from being deep in a visual state to complete lucidness. I am learning to relax more, even when it gets difficult, which helps me to navigate difficult terrain (astrally, that is, and physically). I am able to engage with spirits directly, and have some say in how my ceremony goes. And most fun of all, I am able to call on Yano Puma (the black jaguar) who is a protective spirit and who comes into my body to clear out the dark stuff. He’s very fierce, single-minded and decisive - all instinct, so it’s pretty cool to experience. Besides that, I get to meet incredible people from all walks of life, and share the experience with them, which makes it all the better. (maybe not for them, I purge (vomit) pretty loudly at times, but it feels good coming out!
Now, I am back in NY, working on the film, which should be coming out soon. For all of those interested, thanks for your patience. Pura Medicina!

Keith

Heading to the Amazon!

2009-02-07T21:23:00.000-05:00

En la Selva!

Heading to the Amazon!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am heading down to the amazon tonight to be with loved ones and drink ayahuasca! I will not have much access to the internet, therefore this will probably be the last blog for a while. I want to thank everyone who has visited the site. Thanks for your insightful comments as well. This website is fluid, so when I get back, there will be some more changes to come. I look forward to continuing our dialogue and meeting new people on the path. I will post new information regarding the film as it comes up.

Hasta luego,

Keith

The “Making of” METAMORPHOSIS

2009-01-22T19:33:00.000-05:00

The “Making of” METAMORPHOSIS

Now the truth of the matter is that I probably should have started this blog about a year and a half ago, when I started filming “Metamorphosis”. But being the slacker I am, and a bit of an internet/web technology luddite, I am not getting around to blogging about the experience of making this film until...right now.
My intention with this blog is to relate the experience of making this film in the middle of the amazon as well as to discuss my personal (and sometimes harrowing) experiences of participating in Ayahuasca ceremonies.
I welcome any questions and comments as I recall my experiences. I look forward to our discussions related to this film and all things Ayahuasca.

peace,

Keith Aronowitz