Where I Stand on “Plant Medicine” (also known as Psychedelic Drugs)

 

As the plant medicine trend has evolved and reached almost every corner of the new age and spiritual end even religious world, I have had many people seek advice from me on whether this is a good or bad thing, because they hear convincing testimonials and even scientific studies that may conflict with things they may have thought or feel inside. 

If you don’t know, I come from Southern California. I grew up at the beach and later I lived in Los Angeles for 11 years in the heart of La La land, where the hope of stardom and dreams of elevating beyond the stars are in the water and the air. All this co-exists alongside large spiritual epicenters of religion and new age spiritual communities. I did my hypnotherapy training and my yoga teacher training in Los Angeles with all kinds of people from every walk of life. Many of my friends in those trainings were former drug addicts –heroin, cocaine, LSD--you name the drug. In the new age community I knew many people who did Ayahuasca or other psychedelics that they call “plant medicine.”

I also hung/hang around some really cool old yogis who were hippies back in the 1960s, and as they describe it, at that time many people thought that mind-altering drugs were a shortcut to spiritual enlightenment. Understand that this was incredibly exciting! But by the later 1970’s, they realized after initial promising expansion then disappointment, that hallucinogenic drugs were not the key or the path. Many such old hippies have described this to me. 

Let it be known that I have never done any drugs myself, though I have suffered from addictions and harmful mental patterns in the past and I understand the desire for a shortcut out of the pain. Luckily, I found kundalini yoga 17 years ago, which is the ultimate and purest shortcut to enlightenment. It cut lifetimes of repeated pain from my dance card. I also began shamanic hypnotherapy journeys about 14 years ago too, which (according to those who know) are better than any drug-induced journey, and without damage to the brain. Also no peeing your pants or vomiting on yourself.

I don’t pretend to know all about psychedelics, but I know that for every testimonial about how great they are, I can produce quite a few people who can give you an opposite experience, or just tell you that there are just as good or better options. I believe every person should be able to make their own choices. I think it’s essential that each person be able to get their own answers on what is going to be edifying, or not, for them.

I personally know that Ayahuasca and similar drugs are not for me. At this point in my life and my practice, my body is so purified from all the kundalini yoga that I have done, that it would fry my nervous system and my nadis. I know this. I also know how to journey to non-ordinary reality any time I need to talk face to face with Jesus or hug my inner child or swim with sea turtles and get a transmission mind to mind. While psychedelics may make this kind of journey available to some people, the drug has its own limited consciousness and I don’t like to be limited by anything.

I do have friends who partake, and we just agree to disagree. The important thing I am trying to suggest is that it is VITALLY important for anyone on the spiritual path to get to the point of awareness—through their meditations and daily practices—where they are not able to be manipulated by marketing or any person.

Ayahuasca, (or San Pedro or any of the other similar drugs by other names) which is marketed as a spiritually expansive, ceremonial, “mother” vine is in fact a psychedelic drug. People say (and there are now even documentaries that say so) that one psychedelic trip/ceremony can repattern your brain forever, etc--but do you know anyone who does it just once? Eventually they end up having to go back again and again to get what they were chasing in the jungle. With Shamanic Hypnosis you can do 10 equally epic sessions* for less than a ticket to the amazon, as well as increase your connection to the true Mother (Our Heavenly Mother) and Father, and dare I say, to the true vine, Jesus Christ.

As for ayahuasca micro-dosing (the latest trend to become an MLM), I suspect that there is more money making and marketing than spiritual healing going on there. But I don’t pretend to be an expert. What I do know a lot about is Kundalini Yoga, the ancient science of God realization, and I recommend that you try micro-dosing it instead. 3 minutes of Sat Kriya. Try it every day. It’s cheaper. It will change your life, your vitality, and en-light-en you. 

I do want to acknowledge and recognize the deep hunger that people are having to expand and to go beyond the limits of this world--and also the desire to make big changes and fast. I feel you! I have never been a micro-doser of healing. And there is a great need right now for fast big changes. I believe that ceremony is an essential part of that happening. We don’t have much ceremony in our Western, modern lives but it is something people are seeking.

For 14 years I have offered shamanic journeys in therapeutic one-hour sessions and only occasionally at my yoga retreats have I done ceremony. However, seeing the need, I now offer in-person NO DRUG ceremonies and retreats for people looking to find their purpose on this planet (vision quest), or for people who want to expand or do deeper inner healing work. Some spiritual preparation is required beforehand and it will vary person to person. Some ceremonies can take a few hours or half a day and some will require several days and assistance from helper shamans. Call for a consultation if this is what you seek.

I also train men and women in therapeutic shamanic journey facilitation-- a technique I call SHIFT. It is basically a shamanic hypnotherapy school, and it's Christ-Centered. It's the only school of its kind. If you are interested, go to www.shift-training.com. We only start new people once, sometimes twice a year and an opportunity is coming up.

Meanwhile, I am still working on my forthcoming book titled The Christ-Centered Shamanic Woman. It’s a guide for women to help them discover, enhance and practically apply their spiritual gifts where they are at. And much more!  The writing is going slow (says my judge). So pray for me if you want it out faster!