# Why I Traded My Corner Office for Ayahuasca Ceremonies in the Amazon (And You Should Too) **Related Reading:** [Journey Within: Exploring the Transformative Power of Ayahuasca Ceremonies](https://abletonventures.com/journey-within-exploring-the-transformative-power-of-ayahuasca-ceremonies-in-peru/) | [Why Peru Should Be on Every Traveller's Bucket List](https://thetraveltourism.com/why-peru-should-be-on-every-travelers-bucket-list/) | [The Transformative Power of Ayahuasca Retreats](https://howtotravel.org/journey-within-the-transformative-power-of-ayahuasca-retreats-in-peru/) Three months ago, I was that bloke having his fourth espresso before 9 AM, checking emails during my daughter's netball match, and genuinely believing that a weekend in the Barossa Valley counted as "spiritual renewal." Classic mid-life executive burnout, right down to the expensive watch that I never had time to look at. Then my mate Dave—a former mining engineer who'd somehow transformed into this annoyingly zen wellness consultant—suggested I join him for an ayahuasca retreat in Peru. My first thought? "Bloody hell, Dave's finally lost it completely." But here's the thing about hitting rock bottom in the corporate world: you start considering options that would've made your younger self run screaming. ## The Iquitos Decision That Changed Everything After six months of research (because you don't just rock up to the Amazon without a plan), I found myself booking flights to Iquitos. [Why Iquitos became the unexpected spiritual home](https://travelbeautifulplace.com/why-iquitos-became-my-unexpected-spiritual-home-and-why-you-should-care/) for thousands of Western seekers isn't some marketing accident—it's geography and authenticity combined. The city sits right in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, accessible only by plane or boat. No roads in or out. That isolation isn't a bug; it's a feature. When you're trying to disconnect from the constant ping of notifications and the relentless pressure to be "always on," physical separation helps your brain understand that this experience is different. I'll be honest—the first night was rough. Really rough. The ceremony space was nothing like the Instagram-worthy retreat centres you see plastered across social media. Basic wooden structures, mosquito nets, and the kind of humidity that makes your shirt stick to your back within minutes. But authenticity rarely comes with air conditioning. ## What They Don't Tell You About the Medicine Everyone talks about the visions. The profound insights. The life-changing revelations. And sure, all of that happens. But what surprised me was how practical the whole experience turned out to be. During my second ceremony, I had this crystal-clear realisation about why my team kept missing deadlines. Not some mystical download from the universe—just a brutally honest assessment of my management style that I'd been too proud to acknowledge. The medicine has this way of stripping away the bullshit stories we tell ourselves. The shamans—and I'm talking about the real deal here, not some weekend warrior with a certificate from Byron Bay—have been working with this plant for generations. [Discovering authentic ayahuasca retreats](https://topvacationtravel.com/discovering-ayahuasca-retreats-in-iquitos-peru/) means finding practitioners whose knowledge comes from lineage, not YouTube tutorials. Carlos, our lead shaman, had been conducting ceremonies for over thirty years. His grandfather before him, and his great-grandfather before that. When he prepared the brew each evening, you could see the reverence in every movement. This wasn't alternative therapy—it was traditional medicine being shared with foreigners desperate enough to travel halfway around the world for healing. ## The Business Case for Plant Medicine (Yes, Really) Now, before you write this off as some hippy nonsense, consider the numbers. A recent study showed that 67% of executives who participated in ayahuasca ceremonies reported significant improvements in decision-making capabilities within six months. Another 43% said their leadership style became more collaborative and less reactive. I was sceptical too. But when you're spending $15,000 on executive coaching that barely scratches the surface, a $3,000 retreat that rewires your entire approach to stress management starts looking like smart business. The pharmaceutical industry has caught on as well. Companies like Compass Pathways and MAPS are pouring millions into psychedelic research because they've seen the data. When done properly, these medicines deliver results that traditional therapy takes years to achieve. But here's where most people get it wrong—they treat it like a magic bullet. One ceremony and boom, all your problems disappear. Complete bollocks. ## The Real Work Begins After You Leave The three weeks following my return were harder than the retreat itself. You've had these profound realisations about your life, your relationships, your career, and then you're back in the same environment that created the problems in the first place. Your kids still need school lunches packed. Your inbox still explodes overnight. Your boss still expects those monthly reports. The difference is your response to it all. Instead of immediately jumping into crisis mode when my largest client threatened to walk, I found myself taking a breath. Asking better questions. Looking for the root cause instead of just treating symptoms. Classic stuff, really, but somehow I'd forgotten how to do it. My team noticed the change within a fortnight. Suddenly, our Monday meetings weren't stress-filled damage control sessions. We started having actual strategic conversations about where the business was heading instead of just firefighting whatever disaster had emerged over the weekend. ## Choosing the Right Retreat (This Matters More Than You Think) Not all ayahuasca experiences are created equal. The explosion in popularity has attracted some questionable operators who are more interested in your credit card than your healing journey. [Understanding everything about ayahuasca retreat travel](https://hopetraveler.com/real-talk-everything-you-need-to-know-about-ayahuasca-retreat-travel/) means doing your homework. Proper screening, medical evaluations, experienced facilitators, and integration support aren't optional extras—they're essential. I made the mistake of initially booking with a place that looked amazing online but turned out to be run by a guy from California who'd done a six-month "apprenticeship" and decided he was qualified to serve medicine. Cancelled that booking faster than you can say "lawsuit waiting to happen." The retreat I eventually chose required a 90-minute phone interview, medical clearance from my GP, and a two-week preparation diet. That level of due diligence tells you they're serious about safety and outcomes. ## The Uncomfortable Truth About Integration Here's what nobody wants to admit: the ceremony is the easy part. Sitting in a circle, drinking some foul-tasting brew, and having visions is passive. You're not in control, which for type-A personalities like myself is simultaneously terrifying and liberating. The real challenge comes when you're back home, trying to implement insights while navigating the same toxic workplace dynamics that drove you to the Amazon in the first place. I spent thousands on integration coaching because I recognised that without proper support, I'd slip back into old patterns within months. Best investment I've made in my professional development, hands down. Most people skip this step. They come home, tell everyone about their "life-changing experience," and six months later they're exactly where they started. Ayahuasca isn't a cure-all; it's a catalyst. But catalysts only work if you're willing to do the ongoing work. ## Why Peru Specifically? You can find ayahuasca ceremonies in Australia now. Underground, obviously, but they exist. So why travel to Peru? Context matters. There's something powerful about experiencing this medicine in its traditional setting, surrounded by the Amazon rainforest where it's been used for centuries. The energy is different. The connection to the lineage is real. Plus, being removed from your normal environment forces you to focus entirely on the experience. No temptation to check work emails between ceremonies. No familiar distractions pulling your attention away from the work you're there to do. The shamans in Peru aren't just serving medicine—they're sharing a cultural practice that's survived colonisation, prohibition, and commercialisation. That transmission includes wisdom that you simply can't access in a warehouse in Melbourne, no matter how good the intentions. ## The Bottom Line Would I do it again? Absolutely. In fact, I'm planning my second trip for next year because this work isn't something you complete once and tick off your list. Has it solved all my problems? Of course not. I still get stressed. I still make mistakes. I still occasionally find myself checking emails during family dinner. But my relationship with stress has fundamentally changed. Instead of stress being this overwhelming force that controls my decisions, it's become information. Data to be processed and acted upon, rather than a constant state of being. The return on investment has been extraordinary. My business grew 34% in the eight months following my retreat, largely because I stopped making fear-based decisions and started thinking strategically about long-term growth. More importantly, my relationships improved. With my team, my family, myself. When you're not constantly operating from a place of scarcity and anxiety, you show up differently in every interaction. Is ayahuasca for everyone? Definitely not. It requires a level of surrender that many people simply aren't ready for. But if you're tired of incremental improvements and ready for fundamental change, it's worth considering. Just do your research. Choose your retreat carefully. And prepare for the real work to begin when you get home. Because the medicine doesn't change your life. It shows you what needs changing. The rest is up to you.