Healing Our Society

I sometimes wonder if we realize what we are doing to our bodies an our minds any more. I just heard recently about a 90+ year old man in Tennessee who refuses to take pharmaceuticals and has taught himself about herbs instead. It makes so much more sense to me that we can use what is all around us naturally instead of putting processed chemical concoctions into our bodies. So much of that knowledge of the plants has been lost through growth and technology. It used to be that the medicine man, or the shaman, or the village healer held a special place in the tribe, but now days, it's the celebrity or the athlete who is held in the spotlight.

I hope to see a shift in our culture someday back to the time in life when we didn't have  everyone around us trying to make a buck. I think we were all put on this earth to help each other and support each other, not try to take things from each other. It seems to me that societies that have less money seem to be happier all around. I think it's because they're not so caught up in the idea that the amount of money they have somehow determines their worth as a person. I think we put far too much value on little pieces of paper in our society, money, college degrees, their just pieces of paper that we give an arbitrary meaning to.

I know so many smart talented people that don't have a piece of paper that tells the rest of the world that they're smart, so they work in bars or restaurants, or some other hourly job that let's them barely scrape by. I see this and I think about how much these people have to offer to the world, but because they don't have that piece of paper, that will go unnoticed by most of the world.

We don't have to have prestigious jobs or nice cars or big houses to be good people. There is beauty in simplicity that this world seems to have forgotten. It's funny to see the reaction people have when I tell them that my family has one car. There is this look of shock and disbelief hat two people can survive in this world with one vehicle. But for us, we don't need another car, would it be nice to have, sure, but it's not a need. does it take additional planning and a little forethought on our parts, of course, but we make it work.

We assign these arbitrary statuses to things instead of actions. a car is a status symbol, not a compassionate heart. It's time to start rewarding compassion again and stop letting things dictate our lives.

The War on Consciousness Debate

There has been a lot of debate recently about the decision by TED to remove the the TEDx talks given by Graham Hancock and Rupert Sheldrake from the TEDx YouTube channel.  The original TED Scientific Board's Statements said "Rupert Sheldrake bases his argument on several major factual errors, which undermine the arguments of talk." and "Grahm Hancock's talk, again, shares a compelling and unorthodox worldview, but one that strays well beyond the realm of reasonable science." 

Both Rupert Sheldrake and Graham Hancock responded to the statement's issued by the TED Scientific Board, and Graham Hancock very publicly took to social media to assert censorship.

In response to the outcry of censorship, TED re-posted the talks on it's blog with the "warning" that the talks are both provocative and have factual problems with their arguments.

View the original statement from TED's Scientific Board, the responses by Graham Hancock and Rupert Sheldrake on TED's blog Open for discussion: Graham Hancock and Rupert Sheldrake from TEDxWhitechapel

The TED's revised statement regarding the talks can be also be found on TED'sGraham Hancock and Rupert Sheldrake, a fresh take blog.

I'm not going to try to argue who was right and who was wrong here, there is a place for that in the discussion forum on the videos. I applaud TED for re-posting the videos for people to see,  it's important that we look at other peoples viewpoints, take them all in, think about them, and form our own opinions. 

Did TED exercise censorship when they removed the talks, do the talks delve into the realm of pseudo-science, is this all just a great big misunderstanding that got blow way out of proportion? Watch the talks and decide for yourself, let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Awake in a Sleeping World

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I look around me and see so many people that are asleep. They are content to live their lives believing what they are told and sleepwalking through life. We all awaken in our own time, and we cannot hold it against those that are still asleep.  I look at my experiences with Ayahuasca, and I realize, it's not a quick fix, there is so much work that needs to be done after returning home. It's kind of like antibiotics, if you stop taking them too soon, the bacteria just comes back stronger. 

For those of us who have had psychedelic experiences, if you have ever tried to explain a journey to someone who has not experienced psychedelics, you find that you are unable to make them understand your experience. It's like trying to explain the color yellow to a blind person. Many of us become frustrated when trying to explain the idea of using something that is illegal as medicine, as so many people have very defined views of psychedelics as being bad because they are illegal. Because these medicines are illegal in our society there is a fine line that many of us walk. 

We must maintain a balance between our journeying and our daily lives, particularly if we work in conservative while-collar jobs. I find that when working around people on a daily basis that are, for the most part, still asleep, that I must temper my experiences and be aware of who I am talking to and how in depth I go about my experiences. When discussing my Ayahuasca journeys, I find that I have slightly more lee way, as there are so many people that are still unaware of what Ayahuasca is as opposed to psilocybin or LSD. 

Often times after a psychedelic experience, people continue to feel the connection that we all have to each other and the world around us, but something we have to realize is that although we have changed, the world around hasn't. There will still be people in the world who are  selfish, arrogant, and angry. We must have compassion for those that continue to live in the world surround by their drama, their pain, their anger, or those who are simply still asleep.

Healing With Ayahuasca

In 2004 National Geographic published the article Peru: To Hell and Back, quite possibly one of the most well known articles ever published about Ayahuasca. I think this article is as important today as it was in 2004. The article shows a unique insight into the spiritual healing that can take place with Ayahuasca. 

The belief and culture of the West impresses upon us that we must cure the physical symptoms, but often times there is an underlying spiritual or emotional issues that also need to be dealt with. Ayahuasca allows us to face those issues head on, but like any other kind of healing, it is not a quick fix. There is still work that needs to be done, recognizing the issues is just the first step

The key is to take the lessons that you learn during the experience and implement them into you daily life. It's easy to say "I want to be patient" or "I want to be less of a control freak", the hard part is being aware of the opportunities that you have in your life to be patient or let go of that control.  

Being aware of what triggers behavior is a key part to healing. When I find myself getting impatient or trying to control a situation that is clearly out of my control, I step back, take a deep breath, and recognize the moment for what it is, an opportunity. It takes time and practice to make a behavior an integral part of yourself.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't have all of the answers yet, but I have seen the positive changes in my life since my return, for me, that is all I need.

Psychedelics as Medicine

Our society has spent decades teaching us that drugs are bad. Many of the children of the 80's and 90's can vividly remember Nancy Regan telling us all to "Just Say No". But recently there has been an increased interest by the scientific community in the use of psychedelics for use as treatment from everything from mental illness to helping cancer patients deal with end of life anxiety. Perhaps we are coming to a crossroad of science and spirituality with this new research.

Understanding Of The Universe

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Many of us, myself included, spent a good portion of our lives looking at the universe and trying to understand it from the perspective of others. We are taught by our parents and our society that there is a way that things are supposed to be done. So what do we do when the agenda of our society does not meet our expectations, and we are no longer satisfied living our lives the way we are supposed to?


“You have to take seriously the notion that understanding the universe is your responsibility, because the only understanding of the universe that will be useful to you is your own understanding.”
~Terence McKenna

Raising Your Consciousness

Consciousness is defined as the state of being awake and aware of one's surroundings, but how do we become conscious and aware? The idea of consciousness is not a passing stage in our world, people have been seeking ways to expand their consciousness for thousands of years.There are many ways that a person can become more conscious, a quick Google search will give you over 4 million results that you can explore, today I want to look at two specific ways that a person can become more conscious.

• Explore your mind 
• Be aware of your language 

What is Reality

The dictionary defines reality as the quality or state of being actual or true. Even though there are there are certain facts generally accepted by most people as being true, so much about life and the world around us is open to interpretation. Our language and our perceptions both contribute to the way that each individual defines their reality. Due to the subjective nature of reality, it is possible for an individual to change their reality by changing their perceptions and the language that they use in their lives.

Back Before Science Explained Away All The Magic

As a child our minds are open and anything is possible. We have imaginary friends and we believe that a rocket ship made out of a cardboard box will take us to outer space. As we get older, we incorporate everything that we are taught into our reality, and slowly our sense of what is possible begins to narrow. We no longer spend time with our imaginary friends, we no longer believe that our cardboard rocket ship will take us into space. We are told there is a specific way that we are supposed think and be. Science begins to explain away the magic.

Preparing to Return Home

My intention going into my third and final ceremony of this journey was to gain the insight I needed to return home. I knew that as I prepared myself to return to my family, my job, and my everyday life that I would need insight to incorporate all that I learned into my being.

Learning To Be Still with San Pedro

It continually amazes me that the teacher plants will always give you exactly the amount you need, regardless of how much, or how little you intent to take.

The Gentleness of San Pedro

After the intensity of Ayahuasca, I was looking forward to the gentle teaching that San Pedro had in store for me. Before drinking San Pedro I had a session with an amazing energy worker, Paul, and walked into the world like I was looking at it for the first time, colors were vivid and I was noticing things that I had taken for granted. It was a good start to my first experience with San Pedro.

The Night I Died

My intention going into my second Ayahuasca ceremony was for emotional and spiritual healing. I drank less for my second ceremony, but I believe that Ayahuasca will give you the experiences you need, regardless of the amount you drink. As I began to feel the effects of the medicine, I again fell a strong sense of connection with the people and the world around me, then I felt an overwhelming sense of peace, like I was pure energy. Once Ayahuasca had given me the peace I needed, the real teaching began, it was time to strip away the ego and the fear, and learn to surrender to the  medicine.

My First Ayahuasca Ceremony

I was nervous all day before my first ceremony, there was anxiety in not knowing what to expect, and I was will battling with the need to control the events around me. Around 8pm we gathered in the maloca, it was dark and the moon was just a sliver. Ignacio, the Ayahuascero, prepared the medicine by singing over it and blowing mapacho smoke into it. I knew that I was about to experience something unlike I'd ever experienced before. The part of me that still wanted control was hesitant to drink all that was given to me, but I did drink the whole cup. I went back and sat on my mat and waited for Ayahuasca to come to me. When she did come to me, it was first to cleanse me. I could feel the sweat pour off of me as I sat in the darkness, then I was able to purge. It felt as though Ayahuasca gathered up all of the negativity inside me, and the purge was the physical manifestation of the negative energy leaving my body. Then my journey began.

Beginnings

When I got to Iquitos and met my hosts, I knew that I was home. Even though we didn't speak the same language, we were able to communicate, there was such a sense of love. My first experience with the medicines of the jungle was a tobacco purge - mapacho tobacco that has been boiled and mixed with a small amount of instant coffee and sugar - used as a cleanse of both physical and spiritual negativity.

The Journey begins

I first learned about Ayahuasca when I met my husband. A year after we got married, he went to Peru to drink Ayahuasca and learn from the medicine and the jungle and came back a changed man.