The first time Dalia* tried ayahuasca, she felt nothing. The second time, it transformed her. It was 2017, and she had traveled with a group of strangers to a lodge near Barcelona. Each person was seeking something—some were desperate to break free from addiction; others saw it as a final effort to endure severe depression. Dalia, a therapist in her early 30s, wanted the brew to help her cope with the recent loss of her mother. “I felt completely alone back then,” she said. “And in a way, I think we all did.”
The session, organized by an organization called Inner Mastery, started with participants discussing their intentions before consuming ayahuasca. The traditional Amazonian mixture, containing the potent psychoactive compound DMT, alters perception and self-awareness. Many who take it describe revisiting buried memories or unresolved pain.
Shortly after her first dose, Dalia began yawning without control, then sobs rose from her throat. She vomited, and then the visions started. Like many others, she felt as though part of her was fading away. Several images appeared—but toward the end, one vision revealed the financial stress that had tormented her for years. She understood then that money was merely an illusion. A deep calm followed.
By the next week, Dalia resolved to train with Inner Mastery to guide others through similar experiences. The organization provided instruction for those wishing to work with ayahuasca, though the courses had a steep price. “I felt drawn to something greater, and it pushed me to pay,” Dalia explained.
Inner Mastery operated worldwide, with locations in 14 countries and frequent events elsewhere. Its sessions, held over weekends, attracted over a hundred dedicated members who not only took ayahuasca but trained to lead ceremonies, reshaping their lives around the group. “It was like becoming part of a family,” Dalia said. Others echoed this, describing a kinship among outsiders searching for meaning. “Most of us were misfits,” said Adrián*, a longtime attendee. “People outside just followed routines, like NPCs. Inside, everyone wanted to mend the world.”
The founder, Argentine entrepreneur Alberto Varela, established Inner Mastery in 2013. Often clad in white with unruly gray curls, Varela would hold long speeches from a seat resembling a throne, his voice swelling and fading. He called Inner Mastery the first global network for ayahuasca.
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