Plant Medicine
AYAHUASCA
What is it?
Ayahuasca is an Amazonian plant mixture that is capable of inducing altered states of consciousness, usually lasting between 4 to 8 hours after ingestion.
The main ingredient of this jungle tea is a vine, Banisteriopsis caapi, which like the tea itself is also called ayahuasca (which means ‘vine of the soul’ or ‘vine with a soul’). The secondary ingredient is either chacruna (Psychotria viridis) or chagropanga (Diplopterys cabrerana), plants that contain a relatively high amount of the psychedelic substance DMT.
What does it contain?
Dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, it is neurotransmitter found in all human beings an is found in the brain, blood, lungs and other parts of the human body. There is strong evidence pointing towards the pineal gland (“the third eye” in esoteric traditions), located in the center of the brain, as the main factory of human DMT. Apart from human beings, DMT can be found in every mammal and in a variety of plants.
What does it do?
Ayahuasca induces a psychedelic, visionary state of mind and this effect is employed by various people for various reasons.Shamans or medicine men take ayahuasca to communicate with nature or to see what is causing a patient’s illness on a spiritual level.
What are the benefits?
People who have been healed from comprehensive problems, like addiction or depression, during one or more sessions.Ayahuasca is not a miracle cure in the sense that you drink the brew and all your troubles have vanished within a couple of hours. It is a miracle cure though, in the sense that it brings unconscious and seemingly other-worldly processes to surface, which enables you to work with it while the effects last.
KAMBO
What is it?
Kambo is harvested from the poisonous secretions of the Amazon tree frog, Phyllomedusa bicolor. Kambo is traditionally used to remove “Panema,” or negative energy, which is said to result in numerous health benefits such as gaining strength and maintaining health. It also aids with mental illness and addiction.
What does it contain?
Research conducted since the 1980s has shown the chemical makeup of kambo to contain many short chains of amino acids, known as peptides, that are active in the body, including phyllocaerulein, phyllomedusin, phyllokinin, sauvagine, dermaseptins, adenoregulin, deltorphin, and dermorphin. These affect gastrointestinal muscles and blood circulation as well as stimulate the adrenal cortex and pituitary gland in the brain.
What does it do?
The peptides from Kambo have incredibly diverse effects in the body. They are absorbed directly into the bloodstream through burns in the skin.
What are the benefits?
Properties of kambo peptides suggest it may be a promising treatment for the following conditions:
- Intense and immediate purgatory effects that removes toxins from body
- Relieves stress and anxiety
- Depression
- Chronic pain
- Addiction
- High blood pressure
- Cancer
- Bacterial, fungal, and viral infections
- Migraines
- Blood circulation
- Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease
- Vascular insufficiency problems
- Organ diseases
- Fertility problems
- Deeply rooted toxins
- Negative energies (traditionally known as “panema”)
San Pedro
What is it?
San Pedro (Trichocereus/Echinopsis pachanoi), is a columnar cactus native to the Andean mountains of Peru, and Ecuador. Its use dates back to 2200 BC.
What does it contain?
San Pedro contains mescaline, one of the longest-studied psychedelics in the world. Its effects have been described as empathogenic (experiences of emotional communion, oneness, relatedness, emotional openness), similar to MDMA, and potentially life-changing, promoting radical introspection, healing, and a sense of wonder and awe.
What does it do?
Mescaline binds to virtually all serotonin receptors in the brain but has a stronger affinity for the 1A and 2A/B/C receptors. It is structurally similar to LSD. Like other hallucinogens, the psychedelic effects of mescaline are likely due to its action on serotonin 2A receptors. It also has an affinity for the dopamine receptors.
What to expect?
Notice effects within 15-40 minutes of taking San Pedro. May take 3 hours to peak, can take another 3 hours to come down, with the whole experience lasting 10 hours or so—although there’s usually some kind of afterglow. Residual stimulation could make it difficult to sleep after the primary effects wear off. The onset is generally accompanied by drowsiness or dizziness, often with a sense of tingling or electricity in the veins. There may be nausea, vomiting, and perspiration during this time. Common visual effects include whirlpools of colored light, flashes in the peripheral vision, kaleidoscopic patterns, and white, ghostlike outlines around people. Ordinary objects in your surroundings may appear more interesting, beautiful, and amazingly mystical. Accompanying this may be clear and connected thought, self-realization, empathy, and euphoria.
What are the benefits?
- Open the subconscious “like a flower.”
- “Helps us to heal, to grow, to learn and awaken, and assists us in reaching higher states of consciousness.”
- Enhances creativity
- “Out-of-body journeys” are common, often to real-world locations
- Helpful for strengthening interpersonal bonds or patching up family relationships. Its empathogenic qualities, instill a “sense of universal understanding, a connection with other people, and the ability to come together and work out problems”—even problems that are usually suppressed. Many remark on a newfound emotional fluency, an ability to express their own emotions and identify the struggles of others.
- A sense of unity with oneself, with other people and the natural world, and with all of existence at large.