As an American journalist who has lived in Colombia since 1977, I have made five extended field trips to the lower Putumayo River region to study yaje practices under the tutelage of the respected Siona shaman, Don Pacho Piaguaje. During these visits, which each lasted a month or longer, I took yaje regularly once or twice each week, and it was only after many yaje sessions that I was finally able to make sense of what I was seeing. At the same time, the yaje itself has made me keenly aware of the limits of my understanding. Therefore, I must caution readers that what I am about to say about the nature of yaje is based largely on my highly subjective experiences, supplemented with insights and observations gleaned from Don Pacho and other yaje shamans I have met. With this caveat in mind, I will start by saying that yaje is a truly remarkable psychoactive vine. After taking the drink many times, I fully agree with those Natives who say yaje is a living presence with a remarkably strong and vivid personality. It is not unusual for the spirit of the vine to appear in one's visions and announce that it is a direct channel to a superior being God, Nature, Spirit.