André is a sweet, caring, motivational smart individual.
A dreamboat of a human, some might say, but more the courageous captain of a remarkable ship—a life lived fully, and Freedom first.
I met André at a Church academy, where I only stayed for two days because it scared the living daylights out of me. André, on the other hand, stuck around, inspiring everyone he met. After he left, he went on to do a full 180 with his life. Still the same love in his heart, but with a very different outlook.
And this is his story.
Andre was born and raised in South Africa. A naturally adventurous soul, he’s always wanted to travel the world and gain experiences outside of his own culture and setting, he wanted to learn and grow, as anyone in their twenties should be doing…
His journey started in the United States, where he began to work for the Walt Disney company after they sponsored his visa. And just like that, at the young age of 22, fresh out of school, he found himself on the threshold of a new life - two bags in hand, and a heart full of hope.
Everything went great, André was living the dream. He worked at Disney World, the Most Magical Place on Earth, met a charming young man, fell in love, got engaged-- “yes in front of Cinderella’s Castle,” married him on the banks of the Mississippi River, in New Orleans, and found happiness through it all. They had the house, the cars, the motorcycles, even a sailboat. They traveled all over this beautiful country, one could even say they were living the American dream. After Disney, Andre embarked on his next traveling adventure, working on Cruise Ships, and soon ticked off over 35 countries on his travel list. He and his husband truly had everything going for them. But on the inside, Andre wasn’t happy. Always wise beyond his years and keenly attuned to the world, he began to do more research and gained more clarity on mental health--he was suffering from depression and anxiety. Of course, being a boerseun, one is not to talk about these things, not ever. Man up and carry on, that’s what they would always tell him.
Then, in 2018, the World he knew began to change again. In fact, it was about to turn upside down entirely. Almost overnight, Andre lost it all, went through a painful break-up and lost his job, suddenly finding himself, alone in a foreign country, with little to no support, even homeless at one point, he refused to give up or to move back to Africa.
For all the pain, and perhaps because of it, too, he was entering his return of Saturn and these stormy setbacks came with a silver lining: he began to ask the bigger questions that would eventually set him free, like what is happiness, truth, and how does one go about finding that, might it really be on the inside, beyond the bullshit stories and rejection he has always carried, perhaps? Then came the next big thought, in the form of a most deceptively simple conclusion: “What the heck,” he thought, “I’ve already lost it all. It might be a perfect time to go on a life-changing adventure. He couldn’t know then exactly how life-changing this would be, but his intuition led him well. So, he decided to go on a two-week Spiritual journey in South Africa, deep in the throes of what New Agers would call “The Return of Saturn” and “the Dark Night of the Soul”
“Healing childhood traumas, rejection issues, abandonment issues, bullying, mental abuse, and all sorts of bad juju we get attached to in this life, now was the time to face all my demons head-on and see who would make it out alive on the other side.”
And so, André found himself in flight again, bags in hand and on his way to South Africa, meeting his best childhood friend in Cape Town to start this life-changing adventure.
They set off to find and meet South Africa’s top Shamans, Guides, and Healers (He for sure didn’t even know these people existed), as he believed he needed to be healed on the inside and did not want to take any pharmaceutical medicine to help him deal with his growing major life crisis causing more depression and anxiety. Being a true scholar, he has read countless articles and watched many documentaries on how plant medicine or, more importantly, Ayahuasca – could reset your mind and help you find your Truth in today’s world.
His first few mushroom ceremonies were quite intense, he didn’t really know what the heck he was doing, or what was going on, all he was told was to meditate and get clear intentions he figured – only crazy people take drugs to solve their problems, for him it sounded really bizarre, yet, he still went full steam ahead, remarkably his first 5g Mushroom ceremony would soon become a brand new foundation, to shatter all his believes of himself and to understand just how much stuff in this life gets projected onto us, that was never ours to carry, but it was all building up to the last and the most important Ceremony with Ayahuasca, after months of planning, this was finally his date with destiny or as they would say “His Appointment with Grand Mother Ayahuasca”
In Shipibo traditions (a South American Indigenous Tribe), they say the Medicine finds you (refereeing to Ayahuasca that is): it’s been served for hundreds of years in countless tribes of South America and Central America, it’s highly sacred and respected by all tribes.
So, away they went yet on the most important ceremony that would change his life forever, deep in the Drakensberge - after eating veggie soup and fruit for days, meditating, building mandalas, taking LSD, sitting around campfires, eating magic mushrooms, connecting with incredible healers and psychics, drinking strange potions and most importantly building an understanding and opening up for what’s about to happen; he was finally ready to meet Grand Mother Ayahuasca, at first, he was extremely nervous, he’s never really done anything like this (especially growing up a Christian in an Afrikaans home). Rumor had it that this medicine is not for everyone, yet it’s gained a Word Wide reputation for being the drug that can truly change your life, and being a die-hard rebel, he wanted to see what the hype was all about.
The night of the ceremony there was strange dreams, mystical creatures, a feeling of love, a setting of compassion and truth as the night fire tells a story that’s been told for thousands of years, as a true roller coaster, she took Andre to place he never knew excited, some full of unexpected surprises, and some not so nice places, but the medicine teaches you what you need to learn, needless to say, it was truly the most Magical and life-transforming experience he has ever done sitting in a ceremony that weekend. Topping his younger Church days when he repented, better than sex, seeing the Northern Lights or Hiking up an Ice Glacier or stepping foot on five continents.
That weekend retreat changed André to his core, he had to overcome and face some of his deepest darkest fears, traumas and disappointments and depression with the help of Ayahuasca, and in return it has led him to a much happier life, looking back it has taken him almost 4 years to integrate what the medicine has taught him those two nights, living an overall fuller life and being present. Ayahuasca tends to do that, some even say it’s like doing 10 years of therapy when you drink the potion in a Ceremony. And Andre can attest it changed his life 180°.
He now has a deep respect for Plant Medicine and its Spiritual helpers, he still continues to take Ayahuasca and sit with Shamans from all over the world. His passion for psychedelics continues to grow as it is becoming more and more acceptable around the World. André is also not saying you should go drink this “magic potion” to solve all your problems as much of the work continues after you drank the plant-like tea substance that taste like a blended frog and muddy water, but it’s a very sacred plant medicine that should be respected, and most importantly it’s not for everyone, and make sure you do your research.
When asked which rebel in life inspires him, he did not disappoint.
Terrence Mckenna and Ram Dass
- Why? Well, they both were top scholars in their field, one atop Harvard professor, and the other an Ethnobotanist and Mystic - both understood the importance of LSD, Mushrooms, and Ayahuasca, and to fundamentally connect to your deeper self by accessing the subconscious mind and understanding that everything is connected, we are our own healers.
Today André lives in Miami, and visit South Africa frequently, to spend time with his biggest supporter - his Mum and Twin Sister, and two nephews, he’s much more content, present and made a spiritual practice that works for him, combining Shamanistic teachings and found that being much more fulfilling than being religious. He now shares his story of healing with others, as he hosts plant ceremonies in the USA and South Africa, teaching ancient old Shamanistic modalities and how to find one's true self.
He is currently studying Clinical Hypnotherapy in Los Angeles and he just opened his own healing practice WWW.AKAALSOUL.COM in Miami and is soon launching in South Africa, André has never felt more excited about his future and all his crazy endeavors - being the captain of his much daring and unconventional life.
André is one of a kind rebel. Growing up Gay in South Africa in the 90s and early 2000s was not for the faint-hearted, as he tried to commit suicide – twice, being in the Christian Ministry did not help either, but these experiences were absolutely necessary. His only regret was he gave way too many fucks about what others thought about him and NOT LIVING HIS OWN TRUTH.
He wants to keep exploring the world and meet like-minded people, through this; he hopes to show people that it’s okay to leave everything behind and go find yourself; Make mistakes, fail, learn and trust the Process th
at’s how you learn, grow and change your own frequency and that of the World we live in, and to never, ever settle for the box the World wants to put you in, and to remember you TOO CAN BE THE LORD OF YOUR OWN DOMAIN.
“BE HERE NOW, BE NOW HERE” - Ram Dass
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