– Two Whole Different Worlds
Words hold power. The words we use shape the paradigms and “doors of perception” that we experience reality through. How we view our world is continually changing through the language we choose to use to describe ourselves, our lives, and our world. Our words hold meaning, which inform our expectations of reality. These expectations create what has been known in quantum physics as the “observer effect”. This is where the expectations of the observer are so powerful that the light of creation aka the photos, move as the observer expects them to move.
Entheogenesis, a term that expands on entheogen, a phrase coined by a group of scholars of mythology and ethnobotanists in the late 1970s. The term blends two Greek words — entheos, meaning “full of the divine, inspired, possessed,” and genesthai, meaning “to come into being” — signifying an embodied state of divine or spiritual inspiration.
Psychedelic /sī″kĭ-dĕl′ĭk/ Adjective Of, characterized by, or generating hallucinations, distortions of perception, altered states of awareness, and occasionally states resembling psychosis.
Suggestive or evocative of an altered or hallucinatory state of perception.
“psychedelic patterns; psychedelic music.”
Of, containing, generating, or reminiscent of drug-induced hallucinations, distortions of perception, altered awareness etc.
Psychedelic, while most commonly used as a term, in so many ways minimizes the profound sacredness and power of the ancient sacraments. “Psychedelic” as a descriptor was created through the pharmaceutical paradigm where most of the transitional isolated molecules we know as “psychedelics” were created in labs. Humphry Osmond was a psychiatrist, researcher, and professor of psychology at the University of Alabama who coined the word “psychedelic” during an Academy event in 1957. He served as a psychiatrist in the navy during World War II and after his service began conducting research on the use of hallucinogenic drugs to treat mental illness and substance abuse. https://www.nyas.org/ideas-insights/blog/the-origin-of-the-term-psychedelic/
We often refer to the isolated synthesized molecules as “designer molecules.” We first heard this term from our mentor don Oscar Miro-Quesada and felt it the most accurate description to date. There are literally hundreds of designer molecules with a huge array of different mind and body altering effects. The safety profile of each of these wildly varies as with all pharmaceutical substances. To be honest almost all of the “designer molecules” were made in labs with the express intention of profit. Most of these chemicals are the brainchild of a pharmaceutical company who was paying the chemist to have a new patent for a new drug. The underlying motivation for pharmaceutical companies then and now is profit before all else. In the last decade this has reached the grossest form with Bayer’s purchase of Monsanto. Now the companies creating cancer forming chemicals are also the companies creating
highly profitable cancer drugs. This is no longer a “conspiracy” but a proven ROI (return of investment) for the Agro-Pharma-Industrial complex.
It goes without saying within the realms of allopathic practice that not all “drugs” are “medicine.” Yet, we need to highlight the same thing with psychedelics. Not all designer molecules that profoundly alter your consciousness bring beneficial impact to your body, mind, heart and spirit. In fact, we find that many of the psychedelic drugs that are being shared widely as “psychedelic medicine,” bring big experiences but little to no lasting benefit. In fact often these big experiences can be dysregulating, traumatic, and/or highly addictive. Did you know that ketamine is highly addictive? I didn’t until we had multiple community members go into intense and frightening self destruction and strange messiah complex storylines after getting on the “medical ketamine” train.
Darcy and I are only interested in what actually brings true and lasting healing. Designer molecules are often the subpar choice compared to the master teacher plants held in reverent ceremonies. They are all downside with no upside. Just because something is called a “medicine” does not in reality make it a medicine. Just because you get really altered, have big visions, and go on a psychonaut cosmic adventure, does not mean that this experience is truly productive. If an experience with the master teacher plants or designer molecules does not over time increase the quality of your life, then taking psychedelics or going to ceremony after ceremony just becomes just another form of by-pass.
What is true medicine? This is a vital question that you need to answer for yourself. There are countless examples from antiquity to right now, of people taking a “poison” thinking it’s a “medicine,” and in the process severely hurting themselves. Without a solid understanding and personal definition of “medicine,” we can unwittingly harm ourselves with pharmaceutical, toxic plants, and combustive combinations of the two. When this happens we leave the experience more fractured instead of more whole. We leave “harmed” instead of “helped.” This can be a tragedy in one’s life that can take years to recover from. (It took me 12 years and tens of thousands of dollars to heal my body from one pharmaceutical. ) These substances are powerful and anything powerful can be either creative or destructive.
In my next blog post I am going to share our definition of Medicine. For on our journey of seeking healing we need to be wise and discerning. The first step to success in any healing endeavor is:
Choose your medicine and your practitioner wisely.
Only you can do this for yourself and it is your responsibility to do this for yourself. However you are not alone and there is so much support for you in reclaiming this inner power and intrinsic awareness. Our prayer is that all of our work can be a source of resource and empowerment for your true healing and awakening.
*Remember to check out our “Resource & Empowerment Guide to Psychedelic Healing” to walk through how to do this.