Experience Details:
Experiencer: Pedro Veintimilla, a neoshamman who guides people on psychedelic trip. Also one of my Instagram followers who agreed to do a zoom interview in 2023.
Psychedelic: Ayahuasca, a psychedelic tea made from a vine (caapi) and leaves (chacruna). The leaves contain DMT, while the vine contains compounds that act as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), which block the body from breaking down DMT. When brewed together, the vine allows the DMT to reach the central nervous system, creating the profound psychedelic experience. The term “Ayahuasca,” literally means "vine of the soul" in its original Quechua language. Traditionally, the tea was used in South American healing and spiritual ceremonies as far back as 1,000 years ago.
Experience Summary: Pedro initially experienced ego-death—he felt that he was very far from where his physical body was, he could not hear the people that were one around him, and finally he lost sense of his physical body. So where and what was he afterward? Almost immediately, he then became a “bubble of light in an ocean of light,” which felt very “blissful.” He felt like part of the light, but described himself as “delimited,” or having boundaries.
Interpretation of Phenomenon Behind Experience: My interpretation is that he experienced becoming an individual energy spark inside the source energy — which is described in past life regression sessions, and near-death experiences. The energy sparks always have a distinct point-like or particle-like form, which separates them from the larger source energy that has a more fluid or field-like form. They’re also described as being separate individuals, despite being able to dissolve back into source energy. This might be why Pedro felt a sense of being separate, perfectly portrayed by his descriptive analogy of being a “bubble of light” in an “ocean of light.” When you think about it, a bubble has edges, specific boundaries that separate it from the environment. This is the kind of separation Pedro described as being “delimited,” which means “having fixed limits or boundaries.”
Experience Report:
How I Got Report: Interviewing My 2023 Instagram Audience
In December 2023, while I was on vacation in Riviera Maya, Mexico, I decided to do some 1-on-1 zoom interviews with my Instagram audience—all so I could learn more about them and address all their questions in my then book (the book became this).
Screenshot from my instagram story asking people to come on zoom for an interview.
During one of these interviews, some people started telling me about their psychedelic ego-death experiences. One of these people was Pedro Veintimilla, a neo-shaman, who dedicated himself to guiding people on their psychedelic trips. Although, this time, he told me of his own guided experiences.
While we were on the subject of “near-death experiences,” he said that he had a “very deep and profound Ayahuasca ceremony.” One that was tied to this topic of life after death. I asked him whether he experienced “knowledge of what happens after we die.” This is what he responded, and how the rest of our conversation went…
Experiences Ego-Death
“Pedro: I experienced death. Like being really, really far from where I was. I could not hear the people around me anymore, or the Shaman. I could not feel my body.”
Becomes “Bubble of Light” in “Ocean of Light” — 🪷 Feels Blissful
“Pedro: Then I felt like I was a very bright bubble of light in an ocean of light, being in a very blissful state. Until I realized where I was and I was like, ‘Holy fuck, I wanna leave. Take me back.’
Bruno: Why would you want to leave that?
Pedro: The attachment, that’s the moment the attachment hits, I was like ‘Oh my god my family, my place, oh no what’s gonna happen oh no I need to go back.’”
Feels Sense of Separateness or Individuality from Light (As Bubble), Yet Still Being Part of the Light
“Bruno: And did you feel like there was a big separation between the bubble of light and the ocean of light or was it more unified?”
Pedro: It was delimited. I could feel that I was part of it, but I was different than the substrate.”