“Have you ever experienced a moment in which you are fully aware; your whole being feels congruently aligned to a greater natural force; and a clear transparent dimension arises where time does not exist and you exist in oneness with everything? Alternative states of consciousness provide an experience of ego dis-identification, a shift in perception and a dreamlike reality, these elements help facilitate processes of self-development. Ordinary states of consciousness arise naturally like sleeping or dreaming while alternative (non-ordinary) states can be induced through practices or substances, some peak states happen as an outcome of certain circumstances like when playing music, dancing or practicing a sport.” (from the research conducted by Paulina Alanis)
Through out the history of humanity psychedelic substances have been used for thousands of years in cultures all over the world, cannabis and certain mushrooms were used by the Vedas in India around 5000 BC. Archeological evidence from the Cupisnique culture (1200– 200 BCE) from Peru depicts mushrooms, feline images and decapitated heads often associated with the use of mushrooms (Walsh, 2009).The plants that contain psychedelic substances vary widely, including cacti, mushrooms, morning glory vines and reed canary grass.
The reasons, methods, purpose and communities that use psychedelics vary widely not only in generation perspectival time frames but also in cultural beliefs and traditions. The shamanistic cultures are the first known to have used psychedelics as a way to heal and to view the future when they confronted conflict or scarcity, and to contact the spirit dimension. These cultures used psychedelics within ceremony, in community, with usually at least one medicine man who used the psychedelic to guide the healing or divination.
As part of my own path for self-discovery I have participated in ceremony and used of entheogens, among other practices. I believe that the possible usefulness of inducing an alternative state with a psychedelic for therapeutic purposes is related to how it opens a person into experiencing your Self by stepping back out of yourself with a striking change of perception and viewing aspects of oneself that were previously unknown as well as the liberation of the mind into its creative capacities. During a psychedelic experience what was previously blocked and needs to be released seems to surface, this material might be intense, hard to digest and assimilate so it is important to have the support, knowledge, capacity and tools to integrate.
Follow the link to learn more about this research study done by Paulina Alanis on the use of ibogaine for transformation: Ibogaine: a therapeutic tool for transformative practice
The post Integral Research on Ibogaine’s Therapeutic Effects appeared first on Crossroads Ibogaine Treatment.
