Landing
111th Edition
Happy Spiritual Monday
It feels as if the previous couple editions - sporadic, yes - have been a bit messy, ungrounded. My heart and soul have felt a bit the same since we shipped out of the big smoke and landed in the north. But yesterday I had an experience of landing here fully. And it feels beautiful.
No Expectations
A dear brother of mine who has recently returned to Australia from overseas travel made it known to me awhile back that he spent time in the jungle in Mexico this past year and that he had taken up an apprenticeship to serve toad medicine. He offered to hold space for me when we were both in Sydney and the timings didn’t align.
Then I saw him up north and he informed me he has begun a 9 month Zenthai Shiatsu training and needs bodies for practice. Naturally, I volunteered and it was perfect as I was about to practice with his teacher and the founder of the methodology.
We set a time - Sunday at sunrise - for a zenthai session, and he softly mentioned that perhaps we could add in a little bit of medicine to the mix. I was intrigued but not expectant.
Saturday, I was a student in a workshop on Zenthai and lower back pain with Gwyn, the legend. His vibe is amazing, and the session was awesome. Leaving the studio, I felt much lighter, relaxed and inspired.
Sunday morning was sure to be an epic Zenthai master session, and around the fire in a teepee on top of it all. I was stoked.
When I arrived for the sunrise session, I was greeted by my mate and another brother who lives on the property. They are both epic humans, and much more, so I was stoked to see them. However, I immediately sensed that this morning was not gonna turn out the way I had thought.
What followed was a beautiful, high dose journey into the centre of infinite creation with a beautiful medicine on incredible country. The morning activities ran longer than planned, were more beautiful than planned, and when I left, there was a tangible shift in my being.
None of this could have occurred if I had been overly expectant or attached to said expectations, so I am grateful to have held an open mind for the day’s events.
Bufo
It has occurred to me over recent weeks that many of my readers may not have had exposure to the same info, experiences and educational opportunities I have had. While this statement may seem obvious, truth is that I have a habit of assuming that if I know something, everyone must.
In saying this, I realise that not everyone would have had an experience with Bufo or even know what it is necessarily. So I’ll briefly explain.
“Bufo” or “Toad” is a substance that evokes an incredibly blissful psychedelic experience in the participant. The medicine itself is harvested from the Sonoran Desert Toad, bufo alvarius, and then smoked or vaporised to bring us into oneness with God.
The chemical constituent of the ceremony is 5MEO-DMT, or what is described as the most potent psychedelic substance available to mankind by some.
The world today gives us the fortune of having things such as ayahuasca in an almost mainstream vernacular, where more people are familiar with the term by a majority vs 10 years ago when it was less known in the public eye.
The active chemical component in ayahuasca is N-N-DMT, a different form of dimethly triptamine that evokes miraculous visions and sensorial experiences for the participant.
Bufo is a different experience altogether, for anyone who is familiar with the ayahuasca brew, which can be an overnight experience. The delivery mechanism for the brew is through digestive absorption, which takes longer to take effect, versus the bufo which is smoked and takes effect immediately lasting maybe 10 minutes maximum. It’s wild.
I won’t spend too much time detailing the effects here as they are widely published by countless other psychonauts with more information and experience than myself, I will simply share one more point.
I have had the great pleasure of working with psychedelics for over 25 years - although initially my initial “working” would more truthfully be described as partying with an inquisitive mind. The early years were fun, but they did alter my mind and senses.
In more recent years - say, the last decade or so - I have worked in a ceremonious matter to engage with these medicine allies to grow. They have been tools for self development, processing of experiences, clearing and much more.
Several of my teachers stress that we are the lucky ones who get to taste the medicine, for not everyone can or will. In this way, it is said, our purpose is to share the lessons, insights, visions acquired while in the journey space.
Sharing and Grounding
It probably goes without saying that I always have been, remain today, and will likely continue to be a psychedelic advocate. Science and studies are starting to show and prove what I’ve felt for many years regarding the benefits and merits of some of these magic substances.
It’s rare that I choose to quote studies here, because studies are usually biased by the financiers.
That said, there is a wealth of studies coming out that show just how powerful the substances and experiences that goes with them can be to radically alter human beings’ mindbodyheartsoul. They are tremendous.
And I don’t refer to them as drugs, especially since most of these medicines are plants, teas, extracts or similar. I also don’t like to refer to them as drugs because that would place them in the same company as the pills that the majority of modern humans unconsciously consume via prescriptions daily. These substances, I’m not a fan of, and they tend to be more of a lifelong subscription model that may give minor respite from symptoms versus medicines which can have dramatic effect with as little as one session.
Anyhow, my session:
This sitting with the toad was profound in that I have been in a bit of a dark spiral lately with the unsettled feeling of nothing settled in our new life. I came into the teepee in a not so high vibe state, and when I left, I felt a reconnection to essence, to life, to love. I was reminded that it is a gift to be alive, and we all hold music within us.
The feeling of being lost, or listless in life is such an interesting thing as it negates the magical existence of our soul’s choice to inhabit a body and play in this realm for an amazing journey to explore our human senses.
Medicine ceremonies can be a powerful factor to remind me of my purpose in this body. I’m here to share my music, my medicine, whatever and however that comes to be. For me, the answer is always sound - voice, instrument, song, noise.
I’m blessed to have been reunited with this sense of connection, and already I feel more present for my family, my friends and whoever I shall have the pleasure of encountering in the future.
Perfect timing too, for I am stepping back into the ring on Wednesday evening to teach my first class in 7 months to new students who haven’t experienced my medicine.
Lastly, it goes without saying that I would never blindly recommend someone to engage with psychedelics in the way I have, or to see them as a cure all for all life’s woes, but I am always open to discussing and sharing my experiences - either directly or indirectly, as I have always aimed to share some of my experiences with my students in a way that gives them a taste of the space where I have had fortune to journey to in my life.
And so it is, with love.
Landing