Plant Medicine

I’m about 2 hours into my magic mushroom journey. I’m past the point where my muscles have turned into butter and all I can do is lay on my couch and let the medicine do it’s thing. I’m also way past the point of feeling the fungus being absorbed by my body and watching as the thick piled rug on the floor starts to sway hypnotically like a cornfield in a gentle breeze. I’m at the point that I like to call the “wisdom phase”.

I start to feel like I’m turning into a castle or fortification of some kind… It’s hard to explain with psychedelics if you haven’t ever used them, but like in a dream state your energy is free to morph into whatever is imagined. I like to think that plant medicines have their own intelligence and they like to give you visual ways to back up some sort of truth that one has been seeking. Maybe because it’s easier for our brains to incorporate or remember the information if it is shown to us in this manner.

Back to the castle (which is I) and I start to feel a shadowy and slightly menacing presence. My rational brain, which isn’t ever entirely disabled by the mushrooms, kicks in… I don’t like this, what if I’m about to start a bad trip etc. I felt slightly nauseated by the onset of worry and remember that fighting the medicine or what it’s trying to teach can lead to a less than pleasant experience. So I relax and merely observe what is being shown to me. It’s as if this shadowy entity is trying to get in to my castle, trying over the walls and through the windows, constantly chattering and jeering “Here I am, what about me?”. I believed for a moment that it would finally intrude through an open door, when my vision promptly showed me a door slamming in its face. It was accompanied by a stern “Goodbye”, presumably coming from whatever consciousness was guiding the visions. The shadowy character disappeared, for the rest of my time with the mushrooms that evening.

In that moment I realised that this was a visual representation of “The Monster”. I have written about this character many times in my blog. There’s plenty of labels for him: the ego, our lower selves, maybe even the devil. I have been taught how to deal with it, but that vision was now firmly engrained in my memory, that we just need to stop him in his tracks. Close a door on him, Silence him, and he will lose his power.

This has been crucial in my energy work of the last few years, and I believe it always will be. It was great to have this vision though. It reaffirmed in my mind that I was on the right track, and was greatly encouraging.

This is how plant medicines tend to work, for me at least. Little moments of clarity on certain subjects and little bits of wisdom that just stay with you. For me, the best thing about them is that it just pushes me into a realm outside of my ego, away from the monster. Away from concepts, constructs, knowing, understanding and more towards feeling, accepting and loving. I can’t say whether one is transported to a realm with wise spiritual entities (although many people who use psychedelics would say so), but the very fact that our ego is temporarily disabled gives rise to so much more wisdom and emotions. When I cry on mushrooms, and I do regularly, I can really let rip. The pain coming from my heart is almost ecstatic in its intensity, it’s like I can feel the energy behind it all ripping through my being and creating space for energy and love to flow into. And when I laugh also, it’s childlike and full of glee, coming deep from the belly and spilling upward through my energetic channels, like a metaphysical salve to heal the pain I experienced moments ago that left me raw. And the dancing, oh wow!!

Plant medicine can be very silly, stern, frightening and enlightening… all in the same trip. I can see why some people are sceptical or outright afraid to experiment. And here I would issue a word of warning. They aren’t without hazard and they should be approached with a great degree of respect and humility.

It would seem reasonable to say that if there is an inner calling to experience this, then go with it. Many say that you can feel called to do certain plant medicines, whether it be ayahuasca, mushrooms, peyote or any number of other psychedelic substances.

As I’ve mentioned ayahuasca, I will go on to say that for the stronger psychedelics it would certainly be wise to attend a proper ceremony with a trusted shaman. They help to guide one through the often uncomfortable experiences and help to hold a safe space for the journey.

I hope to write much more on this topic, share experiences and some insights that came of them. To close this short post I’d like to say that it was my hope before my first experience with Ayahuasca, that this powerful plant medicine would fix me immediately. That it’d be a one shot healing and I’d be in bliss for ever after! What nonsense that was, I laugh at that thought now. I’d say that plant medicine has been enjoyable and helpful on my path, and maybe it’s helped me to shed layers from my ego. My spiritual journey was FAR from over, in fact experiencing entheogens* may well cause the start of a long journey. It would be wise to note that if you’re not ready to have a serious look at your “stuff”, they may not yet be your way to go.

*en·the·o·gen

Definition of entheogen

: a psychoactive, hallucinogenic substance or preparation (such as psilocybin or ayahuasca) especially when derived from plants or fungi and used in religious, spiritual, or ritualistic contexts

Scholars of religion often call them entheogens, from the term "god within."

— Jeremiah Creedon

As always, be safe and wise on your journey, and remember that nothing beats learning how to work with your own energy on a daily basis. This has ultimately been my salvation.