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The Medicine Path
Last week a friend asked me whether I think he should do plant medicine and what benefit I’ve received from doing it myself.
The problem is most people are looking for a straightforward answer: is it good or bad? Is it worth it or not? What tangible things did you get out of it?
I’ve come to learn it is far more nuance than a simple yes or no.
I told him that whilst I could not give a straight forward answer, I would share my journey and maybe therein will lay some insight for him. It opened a whole conversation around the path of medicine I have been on since 2019 - some of which I want to share with all of you.
Note: Just because I have done various medicine ceremonies doesn’t mean it is the right tool for you. It is one tool available within a range of tools that offer healing. Only you will know when the time is right if you get the calling to explore this path further. If you don’t, that’s ok too - it doesn’t make you any less capable of healing or any less spiritual. For some people plant medicine will be part of their life path in this incarnation and for others it won’t be. Both are okay.
Over the years I have had the blessing of working with multiple medicines such as Psilocybin, Mother Ayahuasca, Huachuma, MDMA, Cacao, and LSD. Today I will share about Ayahuasca and medicine in general.
Medicine works in mysterious ways…
My calling to do Ayahuasca started long before I turned up to the jungle in 2019. It had already began to do its work in my life before arriving at the ceremony. The medicine will start its work long before you step into the ceremony itself. From the moment the seed is planted for the desire to even get slightly curious about it - it has started working. Maybe even before that.
For me 2019 was a deeply transformative year.
It was the year I shifted from working on my mindset (reading lots of personal development books, attending seminars/webinars etc) to turning inward and diving into understanding and healing my emotional landscape.
It was in November that year that I attended SpiritQuest Sanctuary in Peru for ceremony.
Nature’s Wisdom
There is wisdom in all of nature.
Each element of nature has something to teach us.
Receiving its teaching requires us to let go of the wisdom we think we have in our heart, mind, and soul and to open up to Source - the essence of creation itself.
Source is in all things everywhere.
We can draw upon aspects of its wisdom from different elements of nature. We are connected to nature. Medicine can help us deepen that connection and access new wisdom and perspective.
Letting Go
I thought I was open minded when I went in to the ceremony. But I also went in with a whole list of questions I wanted answered about my life.
I woke up the morning after the first ceremony and received no answers.
I was pissed.
And there was my first lesson:
Let go of control. SURRENDER.
Maybe those questions seemed important to me but they weren’t the ones I needed answered in that moment. There were other lessons that needed to be taught. This first experience humbled me and set the tone for the rest of the week.
The thought that crossed my mind during the sharing circle that morning was;
“How arrogant of me to walk into ceremony expecting Mother Ayahuasca to follow my lead and answer all my questions. She is ancient and carries deep wisdom. How could I possibly think I know better than Her?”
As we got deeper into conversation last week, my friend also asked me about what I thought a “bad trip” was. I shared a couple of examples of people who have had bad trips whilst I was in the room.
To me a bad trip is essentially about not letting go.
Imagine when you take the medicine you enter a flowing river. It is carrying you towards the edge of the cliff into the waterfall of unknown and you will free fall.
A bad trip will begin to occur when you try to claw your way against the current in the opposite direction because you are afraid of what you’ll find on the other side of that cliff when you enter the waterfall.
If you simply let go and let the water (medicine) carry you, you will have the experience that is meant for you. If you’re fighting to control the medicine, where else are you holding on to control in your life? Probably everywhere.
Some people will attend ceremony because they want to check it off their list and brag to their friends about the experience they’ve had. Mother Aya is acutely aware of your intention. She will not entertain you if you go in with that intention. I have heard stories of people taking it and nothing happening at all.
Maestro Don Howard says 2% is about what is in the cup. 98% is in the integration thereafter. It is not necessarily about the epiphanies during the ceremony itself but rather planting of seeds that happens during this time, which then will bloom at different times in your life.
As the journey of life continues to unfold for me I recognise that these epiphanies comes at various times through subtle intuitive nudges. As my soul brother and spiritual mentor once put it:
“Everything is one continuation. The next step is a natural extension of all the previous steps. There’s no line of demarcation between the end of one ceremony and the next one. As the Osho tarot deck I use emphasizes, “The pilgrimage itself is the sacred place.” The journey never stops. Looking for the ultimate ceremony? I offer you the ceremony of life!” - Parker Sherry
The Lessons
Ayahuasca has taught me so much in the last few years inside and outside of ceremony. Here are a few lessons I feel in my heart right now:
“Serve in silence”. It means doing things for people without the attachment of recognition or acknowledgment. I am using my life as a platform to better the collective and help them through the ascension process.
Surrender to the flow of life. You are not in control. The Universe works in mysterious and magical ways. You don’t have to know how the magic works to enjoy the show.
I am here to open people’s heart so they can see the world through love again.
Your body is a vehicle for consciousness - respect it.
Deeply listening to others is a gift and a form of healing for them.
Patience – the plan will be revealed at the right time.
Where you are right now is right where you are meant to be in life.
You are being divinely guided and protected each step of the way. You were never alone.
Your sole soul purpose is service. This can take many forms and is unique to each individual. Whatever it is for you is your destiny.
Do not judge yourself or compare yourself to others. You are ok just as you are.
You were brought here by grace. Grace is the invisible hand that carries you through life. Trust her. You’re sitting on her palm right now.
Humility – realise you know nothing and everything all at the same time.
Mother Aya is a great teacher, great listener and great healer.
Mother is really me but in a different form.
Maybe I served as plant medicine to heal others in a previous life and now it is my turn to be healed by Her.
The circle of life.
The Highest Good
The medicine path is not only for your benefit but for the benefit of all.
The medicine path doesn’t have to include medicine in the form of ingesting something external. I’ve realised that you become the medicine by alchemising the darkness in your life into light.
By committing to heal you will heal the sickness in yourself that is stopping you from feeling the fullness of love and connection to everything and everyone.
Your vibration will then shift towards empathy, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and love. As a result, that vibration will spread to those around you and have a domino effect on them. Healing begins with ourselves.
So, should you do a medicine ceremony?
I would never tell anyone to do it, I can only share my humble experience and that experience will land however it will land with you. Me simply sharing my experience is the medicine working through me to you. It is working among us right now.
Consider journalling on the questions below and you may begin to sense your answer.
Journal Prompts
Where is your desire coming from? Is it a deep intuitive calling or something you want to explore because you think you should or have heard its cool?
Are you doing it to escape from something?
Are you doing it because you want to fix your life? Medicine isn’t a magic solution that will fix everything. Only you can truly fix your life.
Want to work with me?
If you’re craving a safe space to explore your identity more deeply then find out more about working privately with me here
With love,
V
I knew you were one of my plant people ❤️
Mamma A, Grandad P, all the lil frogs and beautiful fruits have changed my entire life, what a lovely read and reminder—thank you. Ayyo ✨