This post is one in a series of real-life psychedelic stories, where fellow psychonauts share their experiences of personal growth, psychological healing and self transcendence.
Hello fellow warriors.
I was going to continue talking about my past experiences with plant medicine ceremonies, but I will be going to a ceremony next weekend, so I thought I would instead write about the “pre”, “in” and “post” experiences over the next few weeks. This will give me a chance to tell you about the raw and unedited process of how I do it while it is viscerally fresh in my mind. Hopefully, this will give you some insight into why it benefits me, and how psychedelics have helped me reach a profound level of healing.
I have decided that October, the month of the changing season, is going to be the month of self-investment through ceremony, allowing me to change and evolve, just like the season itself. As I watch the green leaves change to golden yellows, burnt oranges, and deep reds, I remind myself that change is constant, and it gives us the space we need for regrowth. I notice the days getting shorter and the nights getting colder, and this reminds me that we are all part of a wonderful and awe-inspiring cosmic dance that we all too often take for granted. I dedicate this time to healing, and I invest in it very seriously.
As I try to heal, I also hope to educate people about plant medicine, and how it is not a drug, it is not a party, and it is not an addiction. The word psychedelic seems to conjure up the naive assumption by most that one who goes into a plant medicine ceremony is doing it to “get high”!
Screeeeech! HALT! Now let’s clean that stigma up, hey?
Unlike other substances, Plant medicines are not a recreational indulgence or a chance to escape our responsibilities. They are used to reach profound healing and personal growth. Soldiers, rape victims, domestic violence victims, and sufferers of trauma from other tragic circumstances have been profoundly healed while using plant medicine. The more a participant respects the foundations, the cultural significance, and the heritage of how the plant has been used over the course of human history, the more the participant will experience a deeper journey, and a deeper, more profound healing.
Plant medicine is a journey to your own inner dark side, a place to ask “how did I bring this suffering/ circumstance/ situation into my life?”, and “what role did I play in bringing this to fruition?”. To sit with one’s shadow is no party, and takes hard work before, within, and after the ceremony.
This is why preparation is so important. I have already started to prepare myself physically for my upcoming ceremony. This entails a diet change, a caffeine surrender, and a conscious choice to eat, breathe and interact with only clean, basic, and positive things, respectfully. I also try to prepare myself mentally by bringing a sense of mindfulness to everything that I do – whether I’m taking a shower, or shopping for groceries, I try to do it with a sense of clarity and awareness. This helps me to develop the right mindset for my ceremony, and it should help me to observe and surrender to the psychedelic experience more easily.
So as I sit with my first, but well known, headache due to cutting out caffeine; as I smell fresh-cut veggies broiling naked in the oven; as I boil water to steep tea bags filled with cleansing tonics to help me present myself as my cleanest self possible, I am excited.
The more I go into ceremony, the closer I become to maintaining, after my experience, behaviors that help me show up as my best self for me and all who I interact with. It’s a slow and deep process, not for the faint-hearted. Psychedelic integration is an ongoing process, and it can take weeks, months, or years – but when we integrate our learnings into our day-to-day lives, the results can be truly transformative.
I recognize the energetic respect I am willing to invest in my healing, but also the conscious choice to respect the power of plant medicine. With this preparation, I honor the lessons I have learned on my short journey in recovery, and the power of respecting that we are all energy. The more I respect, the more I receive respect in return.
I am inviting an abundance of good fortune to come to me as I respectfully honor the gift of healing which I will be honored to receive as I go on my journey next week. The caffeine, the wine, the cheese, the loud music, the chocolate, the crowds, all of these sacrifices will be there again when I come out of journeying, things which seem so mundane in comparison to what I will be uncovering in my ceremony ahead, all of it a blessing.
Through preparation, dedication, and intention, I develop a sense of respect and reverence for plant medicine and what it has to offer. It is important not to take these things lightly – they will guide you on a profound inner journey that could change the course of your whole life.
So invest my wonderful people, invest in something that you know ultimately brings you complete satisfaction. Any discomfort, worries or reservations you may feel can be made part of the whole journey – Then it doesn’t seem so bad when you know it is part of your path to your highest good.
Be resilient. Evolve.
Champion yourself and take that first step on your journey to becoming your best possible self.
Love and light.
