Why You Might Feel "Nothing" During an Ayahuasca Ceremony?

It is a question that comes up more often than you might think. About 5% to 10% of people sit in a ceremony and feel very little, or even nothing at all, during the initial hours. While this can be frustrating, it is actually a profound part of the introspection process.

🔒 The Protection of the Subconscious

Usually, this happens because a person has very strong mental stamina or what we call a "Type A" personality. These are individuals who are used to controlling their environment and have built up incredibly strong mental constructs over their lives.

Most people arrive at a retreat believing they are ready to surrender.
However, true surrender is much harder than it sounds once you are actually confronted with the power of the medicine. Your autonomic nervous system can instinctively go into protection mode, blocking the Plant Medicine from being felt because your being is not yet ready to let go.
This is often driven by an overriding subconscious that is trying to keep you safe in the only way it knows how: through rigidity and control.

If you come with very specific intentions or think you can direct how the Ayahuasca should work, you are essentially trying to stay in the driver's seat. The medicine requires a softening of the emotional and energetic body that a "controlling" mind simply won't allow at first.

😌 The "Cabin Effect" and Letting Go

There is a common phenomenon where a person feels nothing all night, gives up, and goes back to their cabin. The moment they lie down and think, "Well, it didn't work tonight," the experience suddenly floods in. This happens because, by giving up, they finally let go of the expectation. They stopped trying to "do" the journey and simply started being.

When you stop trying to control the Yagé, your body finally relaxes. That softening is what opens the floodgates. The medicine was already working the entire time, but it was your internal resistance that acted as a shield. Understanding this is a major part of your spirituality and your path toward transformation.