The first ceremony begins at dark. The participants come into the octagon spiritual room in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. They sit in a circle and state their intentions about what they want out of the ceremony. The more specific the question they want answered, the better. The doses of ayahuasca are handed out in small cups. Everyone drinks it together, most wincing at the acrid taste that has been likened to “the entire jungle ground up and mixed with bile.” As soft tribal music plays in the background, everyone lies down. They focus their attention and wait.
Articles by Jessica Fromm
Santa Cruz Man’s Goatee Judged Greatest On Earth
For as long as he’s been an adult, Paul Beisser has had a beard. Be it a full and bushy face mane, a chiseled Fu-Manchu or a long and proud Van Dyke, the 58-year-old Santa Cruz postal worker’s chin skin has rarely seen the light of day. It wasn’t until May 23, at the World Beard and Moustache Championships in Anchorage, however, that the world finally recognized the whisker whiz for all his worth and awarded him the coveted trophy for World’s Best Natural Goatee.
