WAKE CIRCLE INTEGRATION JOURNEY RESOURCE
Well done for completing your plant medicine ceremony or retreat!
Partaking in a master plant-teacher medicine ceremony in itself requires profound courage and there are still relatively few people in the world who are willing to step into the unknown to look into the deepest corners of their hearts, minds, and souls to face their greatest truth. It is important as a first step to simply acknowledge the initiation that you have undertaken and the door you have opened to your evolution. It is for this reason that this initiation is often called the shamanic hero’s journey.
Blessings to you for doing the work that heals not only you and your family but also contributes to the evolution of our collective consciousness.
The following document is to support you in your integration journey and to provide a road map and a basic toolbox to assist you as you step into the driving seat of your magnificent journey.
(Please note that this resource is a work in progress and still being refined, if you would like to question, suggest or add anything to this resource please email me at connect@hymnj.com)
Each person’s experience with sacred plant medicine is completely different, and there is ultimately no one-size-fits-all roadmap to how your integration journey should unfold. For some of us, this experience is the game changer for the entire course of our lives which may include significant changes in our career path, where we reside, our significant relationships, and even our identity. For others, this experience will simply be about healing and appreciating the life we already have with a more encompassing sense of perspective and appreciation. For many, this will be the profound initiation into our spiritual journey which might inspire us to embody the experience of enlightenment and divine connection into the way we live our lives. For most, this will be the wake-up call to do the necessary healing work around our traumas and issues so that we can become the fullest embodiment of our potential. The most powerful gift that this experience can provide for us is the realisation that we are ultimately the authors of our own lives no matter how powerless, lost, hurt, or broken we may have once felt before.
-Let this experience be the turning point in your life’s journey, the new chapter of living a life of purpose and whole-heartedness-
A deep dive plant medicine ceremony is described as a peak life experience, it can be exponential and deeply profound however if we do not change or transform fundamental things in our lives exponentially and in a profound way the greatest opportunity of our lives will be missed.
These changes can be as simple as becoming a genuinely open-hearted or compassionate human being, telling the truth in areas where we were once deceived, or becoming selfless in our lives if before we were more self-centered- these would be exponential and profound possibilities that would have a ripple effect on the world around us. The most important work we can do, however, is resolve any self-created suffering, self-sabotage, and victimhood.
In medicine, we are momentarily liberated from the constraints of the stories and narratives that once defined our existence and personalities. We are given a temporarily expanded sense of perspective about the nature of our lives, the Universe, and God. This is the opportunity to rise and thrive to become the fullest expression of what we can be. We have the power to become conscious creators of our own stories.
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUR ‘INTEGRATION’ JOURNEY?
Experienced medicine facilitators and journeyers all agree that the integration journey is one the most important part of the process and yet it is often taken for granted or overlooked. It is easy to become enraptured by the peak experience of the medicines and the magic of the ceremony such that the notion of mindful and deliberate integration might seem tedious, difficult or even unnecessary. It is important to ground our experience into reality or it will be left in the air.
The bottom line is that a plant medicine experience is not an instant fix which is why this next part of the journey is called: ‘doing the work’ The ceremony experience however profound will eventually mean very little if that transformation is not embodied into our everyday life as a permanent practice or a new way of being. These medicines are not a cure for our afflictions but rather a window to a new way of living.
So how do we embody the realisation, insights, downloads, teachings, and healings into our physical reality? This inquiry can leave some of us feeling challenged especially when we experience a dissonance between the possibility that we have seen and felt in our ceremony and the reality that we often have to return to. The success of your integration process ultimately depends on taking daily actions that requires application. This ‘work’ will mean the difference between simply having had a deep mystic experience that we can speak about one day or shifting ourselves in a way that fundamentally changes our quality of life and the way that people experience us.
THE OPPORTUNITY OF NEUROPLASTICITY
It is widely understood that one of the main biological effects following a plant medicine ceremony is that we are left in a heightened state of ‘neuroplasticity’. Neuroplasticity, also referred to as neural or brain plasticity, describes the brain’s capacity for growth and reorganization of neural networks. It involves the brain being rewired to operate differently than it did before.
These are some of the characteristics of heightened neuroplasticity that we may experience after a ceremony:
Renewed sensory awareness– we taste, smell, and feel things as if experiencing them for the first time.
Intensified vulnerability– we feel all our emotions so much more openly and intensely.
Sharpened intuition– we have an elevated sense of understanding, empathy, and insight which leaves us in a deep inquiry and reflection about our lives.
Expanded courage– we are charged with a sense of purpose and connection to our primal body.
Taking advantage of this renewed state of our nervous system and brain is what the integration journey is all about. Neuroplasticity is the capacity of our brain cells to change and create new neural pathways in response to triggers, stimuli, and situations. This state can help us cultivate new habits and behaviour through activities and practices that will contribute to our well-being no matter what our age is.
Exposure to trauma can be life-changing – and researchers are learning more about how traumatic events physically change our brains. These changes are not happening because of physical injury, rather our brain appears to rewire itself after these experiences. You can help heal this process by practicing rehabilitation activities. There is a powerful window after your ceremony regarding neuroplasticity to positively rewire aspects of your brain. Every time you take a different step, say a new word, have a hard conversation, or take a new action, the brain makes new connections. This process will be accelerated by working one-on-one with an integration coach.
Neuroplastic change is associated with the feeling of being rewarded while engaging in a new task. A new willingness to learn and expand has been profoundly noticed in most studies conducted around psychedelic medicines. One could say that for the next twenty-eight days, you are going to have the superpower of change.
For the many who battle addiction, who regularly procrastinate or who struggle with self-discipline this is the most ideal time to break that behaviour mould and cultivate an entirely new way of being in any area of your life. The invitation is to put all your energy into a new and achievable habit or action every single day for the next four weeks rewarding yourself each time you do it and then see what happens.
Be Mindful!
It is important to be mindful that the danger of being in a heightened state of neuroplasticity can also be conversely true, that in the weeks following your ceremony if you return to old behavior and habits that are disempowering and unhealthy, you run the risk of compounding these patterns even deeper into your nervous system. There are many ‘very experienced’ medicine journeyers whose lives continue to be untransformed and unhealed no matter how many ceremonies they do, all they seem to gain is more spiritual insights and resilient egos.
There is a belief in many shamanic traditions that if you do not follow the instructions given to you by the medicine and your higher calling there will be increased difficulty, misfortune, and even illness on your path for resisting your evolution.
INTEGRATION ROAD MAP- THE FIRST FOUR WEEKS
It is important to be mindful that landing from a plant medicine journey, particularly from a full retreat takes at least three to four weeks, depending on the degree of transformation shifts can take up to three months, even a year to fully settle. Change and healing can be unsettling experiences as our nervous system acclimatizes to a different way of sensing the world.
The first week after the ceremony is simply a time to physically recover and land back in the world. While you will be fully functional in your daily routine and commitments, there will be a sense of still being on your journey. It is important at this time that you stick to your dieta for at least 48 hours to a week after the ceremony.
Please Note!
Consuming mainstream medications or drugs directly after the ceremony is dangerous and will make you highly susceptible to adverse reactions. The taking of pain tablets, sleeping medication, mood-altering drugs like SSRI’s as well as any synthetic recreational drugs could result in serious injuries. Always consult your facilitator before taking any medications, this includes any herbal mood-regulating substances. Likewise be mindful of the foods you start consuming, if you rush back into eating processed foods, drinking alcohol or caffeine drinks it can cause physical discomfort.
There are many gentle natural medicines and supplements available to support your body in your integration journey. This is a good time to nourish your body with healthy organic food and water, spend as much time in nature as you can, and of course, get good sleep. Supplementing the body can also help with recovery: magnesium in particular is a good mineral to replenish.
The second week of integration is an ideal time to simply assimilate your experience. This means taking actions on your own that are about processing the journey such as: journaling, getting one-on-one coaching, walking in nature, and spending as much time in personal reflection as you can.
The third week is a powerful week for recreation where we can dream, plan and create which then leads to the fourth week being a powerful opportunity to start taking action. It’s important to give enough space to process and land especially before we take actions that could bring significant change to our lives. The bottom line however is that it is only taking in taking big actions that we will ultimately transform our lives.
This does not mean that the road ahead will be plain sailing, for some it will likely become a very bumpy and even hair-raising journey. You will need allies and a toolbox of practices to support you in this unfolding adventure.
FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER
The first month of our integration journey is called a ‘grace period’. We hold a grace period of at least twenty-eight days after the ceremony before making any life-changing decision that wasn’t already in the process such as ending a relationship, quitting your job, or making a huge new commitment. Give yourself time to settle and integrate your transformation before you pull the trigger, all the clarity and purpose will still be there if it is grounded.
Likewise, we strongly advise that you do not enter into any romantic, friendship, or business relationships of any kind with any of your fellow participants or facilitators in this grace period. The ethos of Wake Circle is specifically to create safe containers dedicated to each person’s transformation journey and as such we hold sacred space for each other as community brothers and sisters mitigating any kind of personal opportunism. We do provide other spaces for personal networking and social interaction but now while we are internally processing and our hearts are raw and open we respect each person’s sacred process with absolute reverence. This period is there for a very specific reason and in the context of Wake Circle will have consequences if not respected.
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS: THE PROCESS IS STILL UNFOLDING
While some experiences are instantaneously life-changing with crystal clear clarity and unmistakable awakenings, other experiences can initially leave us with questions and uncertainty. Old paradigms and set beliefs are often challenged and what we experience can also be so foreign and contrary to our expectations and understanding that initially we may not be able to comprehend the experience.
It is common for a minority of first-time participants to report that they didn’t experience anything at all other than physical and emotional sensations. And if you are one of these people it is essential to understand that what we may consciously comprehend in terms of the highly anticipated visions and insights is only the tip of the iceberg of the entire plant medicine journey. While we may have been in a very deep process with the medicine, the conscious mind does not always grasp what is going on. The actual healing work of medicines such as Ayahuasca, Psilocybin or San Pedro occurs predominantly in our subconscious realms and in our physical body: activating the release and healing of energetic and generational trauma, releasing dormant and residual emotions, cleansing toxins from the body and the downloading of ‘new codes’ -(which is another way of saying that we receive messages and understandings that we are yet to decipher).
In this regard time and sleep are two of the most important ingredients for our integration journey because it is here where the experience starts to land and where the seeds that were planted in our ceremony slowly start to take root and fruit in our lives.
It is vital to trust that what we have experienced in our medicine ceremony is exactly what we needed at that time and place in our lives. Your medicine journey will continue to unfold for the next few weeks or even months as this remarkable intelligence continues to guide us. By partaking in this ceremony and doing this work we set in motion a domino effect, a chain reaction in a new direction and this will look different for each person. When we have rigid expectations of how transformation or awakening should look we often don’t even notice the significant shifts that are currently taking place in our lives.
The bottom line is that we always get what we need.
WHAT KIND OF JOURNEY DID YOU HAVE? UNFOLDING POSSIBILITIES
There are of course so many different kinds of journeys each person can have. It is important to never compare your journey to another as you are a unique soul and your experience is unique to the unfolding of your life path.
There are as many variations of potential experiences as there are chakras in the body and it is valuable to look at the plant medicine experience as a cleansing and awakening of these energy centres or chakras. In a plant medicine ceremony, we get to experience some or all of our chakras being fully purged and re-activated and through this, we can experience ourselves at our fullest power and presence.
If we look at the qualities of each chakra we might begin to understand the nature of work that could potentially have unfolded with our sacred plant teacher experience.
ROOT CHAKRA
The root chakra which is located at the base of our spine represents the lower unconscious domain like the roots of a tree buried deep beneath the earth. It is responsible for our sense of security and stability and when this is activated in our plant medicine ceremony our work is often about facing deep-seated guilt, fear, and insecurity such as childhood and early developmental trauma.
Dormant, dark and hidden memories can surface particularly around times in our lives when we were powerless. Some of those memories and experiences can be ours, others can be passed on to us through our generational line. The bottom line is if we are experiencing them, they are always ours to process and bring into the light of healing. It is important therefore not to disassociate from a memory or experience with the excuse that ‘it’s not my pain’ or ‘it’s not mine to carry’. Anything we inherit from our generational line and our environment is ours to transform. This is the process of assimilating lost fragments of ourselves and in shamanic terminology is known as soul retrieval.
Purging
When Ayahuasca in particular works on our root chakra purging can sometimes occur ‘southwards’ through the release of our bowels and while this can be uncomfortable and even embarrassing it is potentially the deepest physical and subconscious healing we can get. It is also considered a humbling experience, that if we resist the vomit purge it will still come out South.
Chants
“Mother I am calling out to you, bring my children back anew, light and dark.”
“Roots so deep roots so strong, roots hold on forever, hold on.
Stand firm on solid ground, let your roots grow way deep down,
and have no fear for the earthy mother is here.”
Integration
The integration journey around the root chakra is often about being willing to embrace the darker aspects of ourselves that we have surpassed, denied, and projected onto others. This is called shadow work and is the integration process of seeking to become whole again to unfold our greater potential in this world. The endeavor here is to face what we have always avoided, to embrace what we have always vilified, to acknowledge and take responsibility for where we kill off love in ourselves and with others. Shadow work itself is difficult but hugely rewarding.
Recommended support reading
The Dark Side of Light Chasers- Debbie Ford
Shadow Work Journal and Workbook: Robert C. Payton
When we work on our root chakra we strengthen and activate our base or foundation for life and sense of inner security which grounds us and makes us resilient to withstand all of life’s challenges. When the root of the tree is strong then the fruits and flowers will be robust and fragrant.
SACRAL CHAKRA
The sacral chakra is located just below the belly button and is responsible for our sexual and creative energy. When we are secure in our root chakra, our sacral chakra can then flower and open into an experience known as the kundalini awakening. When the sacral chakra is activated in a plant medicine ceremony it can sometimes be experienced as a powerful and even overwhelming surge of sexual energy running through the entire body which can even be embodied in the form of a snake, a panther or other primal creatures. This energy centre is often suppressed and controlled, particularly in the feminine and its rediscovery and reawakening can be deeply liberating particularly in shedding limiting self-beliefs, and inhibitions; and healing the disconnection caused by sexual abuse, trauma, and shaming.
Purging
Purging this chakra can be expressed through shaking, tremors, and sensual movement rekindling our relationship with our primal body. There is also an aspect of healing for the feminine, particularly in Ayahuasca where she can go to work on clearing out and healing the womb which is experienced with uncomfortable and physical sensations.
Chant
“Feel body, heal body, channel divine,
walk body run body this is your time,
speak through the spine, through the limbs and the mind,
up through the head, let your heart be your guide,
sweat body, swim body spiral in space,
leap body, dance body, this is your place.
Hang in the heavens and role on the ground,
give birth to existence and bring forth your sound”
Integration
Reconnecting to the intelligence and intuition of the body is what this journey is about. Practices such as yoga and in particular kundalini yoga are powerful accesses to our expansion and focusing of our creative energy. Embodied tantric practices is also a powerful spiritual path that some may wish to explore.
Clearing out and awakening our sacral chakra is a powerful and deeply personal experience, rekindling our sensual relationship with our body and our tactile relationship with our physical world. In the plant medicine ceremony space, it is vital however not to collapse romantic narratives about others into our process, this awakening is a personal experience that is about our own creativity, sensuality, and personal power. We liberate ourselves from clothing that hides our bodies, we liberate ourselves from the words that shame and constrain our expression, and we open our bodies to movement, dance, singing, touch and the physical experience of nature. We open ourselves to primal rapture.
Recommended Reading
The Heart of Tantric Sex- Diana Richardson
The Wild Woman’s Way- Michaela Boehm
SOLAR PLEXUS CHAKRA
The solar plexus chakra is located in our stomach area and is responsible for confidence, self-worth, and willpower. This is another energy centre that when activated by plant medicine can connect us to our primal body, particularly as regards to accessing our deeper courage, anger, personal power, and primal intuition. It is often invoked in the ceremony through the shakes of the rattle, the beats of primal drumming and chanting which can awaken in us the energies of powerful spirit animals- lions, tigers, jaguars, gorillas, wolves.
Purging
Clearing out this chakra often relates to what we hold in the stomach, and what we release into our sacred bucket can often be connected to the burdens, limitations, pain, and other toxins we carry in our lives.
Chants
“Soar like an eagle, roar like a lion, sing like the whales with their ancient rhymes, call to the wind like wolves running wild, feel the earth move in your soul.”
When we liberate this chakra in ceremony we begin to experience the true source of our power in life and this can sometimes be expressed through primal movement or animal sounds such as deep growls or roars. When we activate and clean out this chakra we begin to find our power and courage in life again, that can carry us through fear, pain, failure, and disappointment. It is also willpower that can pull us out of addictive behaviour patterns to foster new empowering practices instead.
Recommended Reading Sources
Women who run with Wolves-Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Tony Robbins- Awaken the Giant Within
Iron John- Robert Bly
HEART CHAKRA
The heart chakra is located near our heart in the centre of our chest and is all about our ability to experience our emotions, to feel love and to show compassion. This is a powerful energy centre that plant medicine will often go to work on in the ceremony, bringing all unresolved emotions and memories to the surface to be felt, experienced, and fully processed. When we experience heartbreak, disappointment and loss it can be so overwhelming that we close our hearts off from any further risk in life, making us hard and cynical and leaving us disconnected.
Purging
Deep breathing can be activated through this chakra and purging can often happen through tears, crying, and sobbing. The invitation that the medicine gives us is to heal by allowing ourselves to feel deeply again, to become open to all our emotions however painful or uncomfortable.
Chant
Prayer of Hooponopono
“I’m sorry, Please forgive me, Thank you, I love you.”
“Don’t trade anything for human connection, we were made to feel everything.
Feeling is your healing, let it rise, let it flow, then let it go.”
“Open your heart, open to feeling, open understanding, set aside all reason, and let the sun shine, the sun that’s hidden inside of you.”
Integration
By feeling all our emotions we find our healing and our ability to connect deeply to life and others again, to feel love and compassion, and to trust the wisdom of our hearts. We lean into the messiness of life by allowing ourselves to be vulnerable with others and to allow ourselves to be received in our imperfection.
Recommended Reading
Atlas of the Heart- Brene Brown
The Body Keeps Score- Bessel Van Der Kolk
Permission to Feel- Marc Bracket
THROAT CHAKRA
The throat chakra is located in our throat area and has to do with our ability to express sound and communicate. When the medicine goes to work on this chakra we begin to deal with all the aspects of behaviour and beliefs that constrain our authentic expression: the secrets we keep, the lies we tell, the requests we do not make, the constraints of politeness and considerations. The throat chakra has everything to do with our truth and how we can strangle and suppress it with dishonesty, inauthenticity, manipulation, conformity, politeness, self compromise and doubt.
Purging
When this chakra is activated purging can occur through the making of sounds, moaning, and singing. By breaking the constraints on our expression we are opening and healing the entire area of this chakra.
Chant
“Sing your way through, you can do it, find the courage in your sound to lift your body from the ground.”
Integration
This integration process is about speaking your truth, singing your song, and finding your expressions in your daily life. For some of us this simply means learning to communicate openly about things we have been quiet about, to powerfully assert our boundaries or to be able to articulate our needs and requests. For others, this can mean expanding our greater creative expression through singing or speaking poetry. The voice is a powerful tool for healing and for self-regulation. Joining a song circle and experiencing communal singing or getting a guitar and learning songs, getting singing bowls and learning chants, mantras and toning for meditation. All are powerful practices to expand this chakra power.
Recommended Reading Sources: Learn more about expanding and opening your throat chakra
Vocal Medicine: Transformation through Sound- Kathleen M. Karlsen
Chants of a Lifetime: Searching for a Heart- Krishna Das
THIRD EYE CHAKRA
The third eye chakra is located between our eyes and is responsible for intuition and our capacity for visions and deeper sight. The Pineal gland embedded deep in the tissue of the human brain is considered to be the physical location of this chakra and is even known as the seat of the soul. Activation of the third eye chakra in a plant medicine ceremony is commonly experienced as vivid and highly detailed visionary states and it is the effect most commonly associated with the psychedelic experience. Fractals, colours, symbols, messages, downloads, memories, creatures, and otherworldly dimensions can all be experienced through the deep sight of our third eye chakra. These visions can be both dark and challenging but also extraordinarily beautiful, magnificent, and illuminating. The things we see are often beyond what our mind can comprehend as we briefly glimpse into a world beyond our own memories and knowledge.
Purging
Purging this chakra has often to do with surrendering the need to control, thoughts and judgments and allowing our mind to subside.
Integration
Integrating the opening and activation of the Third Eye Chakra from a shamanic perspective is ultimately about fostering the connection to our deeper intuition and dream states. It is about learning to ‘tap in’ when we need wisdom, guidance, and support. For some people, this is achieved simply in their meditation practice, for others it comes through more activated practices such as breath work and shamanic drumming journeys. The third eye is also activated in our dream state and learning to navigate our dreams is another powerful shamanic practice. What we are learning is how to access an altered state in our daily lives without necessarily depending on plant medicine. Plant medicine simply shows us where the door is, and we must learn how to go through it whenever we need to.
Chant
“Aum”
Recommended Reading
Third Eye Awakening- Ella Hughes
Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming- Stephen LaBerge
CROWN CHAKRA
The crown chakra which is located slightly above heads represents our spiritual connection to ourselves, others, and the universe. When all our other six chakras are activated and alive this chakra lights up to become our aerial into the spiritual dimension which we can experience as a direct and felt connection to God, Oneness, or the Universe. This can be felt as profound Love and deep Presence. In this state, all our activated chakras become united in a singular ecstatic experience of being.
Purge: Purging this chakra is mainly to do with dis-identifying from the mind (past and future) to become wholly present in the singular experience of existence. This is sometimes experienced as an ego dissolution where all the aspects of our identity and personality dissolve and even shatter. This can initially be a painful or uncomfortable process that for some can even feel like dying. Beyond this death we break through into the blissful space of eternal light and love. It is about learning to die before we die to perceive or experience the eternal aspect of ourselves, that which we call the soul. In this illuminated state, our bodies are no longer experienced simply as a vehicle for our identity but rather a channel through which unified consciousness is felt and expressed.
Integration: After a profound plant medicine journey if we get to experience the awakening of our crown chakra we might endeavour to find ways to rekindle that connection in our lives and keep it present. Daily spiritual practices such as meditation can be a powerful access. It is important to understand there is however a reason why we do not walk around in our daily lives with our crown chakras permanently activated, for like flowers that bloom in nature it is a temporary moment of fruition and delight. For the most part integration is simply about remembering nature who we are and bathing in the gratitude of such knowing even in the difficult, challenging, and triggering times. There is no more powerful a practice simply than gratitude and no more powerful a service than to foster in the world through the giving and receiving of love with all whom we interact with.
Chant
“I am light, I am light.
I am not the things my family did.
I am not the voices in my head.
I am not the pieces of the brokenness inside.
I’m not the mistakes that I have made.
Or any of the things that caused me pain.
I am not the pieces of the dream I left behind.
I am light.”
Recommended Reading
The Power Of Now- Eckhart Toll
AWAKENING THE CHAKRAS- CONCLUSION
As one can see there are as many variations of potential experiences with plant medicines as there are chakras in the body. Our intention in awakening our wholeness and potential is to work on opening up and activating all our chakras. We mustn’t fixate on certain chakras whilst avoiding others which is a common issue with the Western fragmented mind. Our enlightenment and our healing will be inauthentic and unsustainable unless we deal with all the aspects that we avoid and disassociate from. The dark and mangled roots of a tree are just as important as the fruits and flowers above, there is no one without the other. This is why doing multiple plant medicine ceremonies along with rigorous integration periods is necessary to work through all our chakras. This work cannot be done in one ceremony sitting or one retreat and it is not done in isolation only with plant medicine, other spiritual and healing modalities must be included for the work to be truly transformative
The miracle of the plant medicine experience is that we can gain a temporary experience of enlightenment as if all the lights and circuit boards within us get switched on. We get to experience a brief glimpse of our own true potentiality and for the moment we can gain divine understanding and consciousness. Reading the opening chapters of Eckhart Tolle’s Power of Now, where the author gives a powerful account of his spiritual awakening, bears remarkable similarity to what can be encountered as we emerge from the plant medicine experience. We can experience being fully reborn into the present moment and awareness of our consciousness, we perceive the utter remarkableness of life around us as if seeing, tasting, and hearing for the first time. We can feel the infinite sense of peace and bliss that is and has always been within us. True wisdom becomes accessible to us and we are naturally able to understand fundamental things about ourselves and our Universe that we had never fully understood before. We can sense our deep and fundamental connection to nature and all sentient beings around us. We are also able to hear our souls deeper the calling and purpose of why we are here and what we are meant to do in this earthly incarnation. In the weeks and even months following the ceremony, there can be a sense of inner glow of joy and calm that stays with us. People may notice that there is something different about us, a sense of freedom and ease where we are naturally more loving, less serious, and more connective. Over time these attributes begin to fade as our ego starts to take over again as it naturally does.
What plant medicine ceremony offers us is a temporary window to our potentiality. If we are fortunate enough to experience this enlightenment firsthand, our journey of integration is now to actively cultivate it into our lives through deliberate and conscious practice. We need to do the work of constantly clearing and activating our chakras. While it is unlikely that we will be able to reach the level of chakra activation that we experienced in our plant medicine ceremony, we can certainly come close over time and through mindful practice.
BAD SEEDS, ROMANTICISM AND EGO
It is vital to keep in mind that not every notion born in a ceremony is literally accurate and not every message or feeling we experience in the medicine may be correctly understood. Our unhealed ego can easily hijack our ceremony experience, a feeling or a message can sometimes get distorted, misinterpreted, and eventually become problematic. In our integration journey, it is important to identify the bad seeds early on and remove them with gentle but firm discernment.
As a rule of thumb if a ‘message’ or a ‘revelation’ comes from any place of fear, lack, or neediness it means there is still work we need to do. Particularly when our message or realisation has any form of romanticism imbued in it, it usually means that our ego managed to weave its way into the experience. In the plant medicine ceremony, we trustingly open ourselves up to ecstatic and divinely euphoric states, we open our hearts to the greater aspects of love and connection and in some cases, our kundalini energy can also be awakened. These are all beautiful, liberating, and very powerful energies to work with and explore. When these energies and feelings collapse with our personal needs, our unhealed trauma and narratives for attachment or self-importance things can invariably go awry.
In certain cases with very powerful medicine ceremonies, we can find ourselves facing very dark aspects of ourselves and existence which in rare cases can trigger the onset of paranoia and delusions of fear. This is most often a deflection from our own unhealed and repressed trauma- we do not want to deal with the darkness inside of us, so we focus on the world around us. This can be further inflamed by fear-based religious belief systems that we have been conditioned with from a young age. When we start to perceive an overwhelming sense of evil and danger in the world around us, it is a strong indication that we must turn our attention inward, to heal ourselves first and get help. If the insights and messages we got from our journey are causing us to disconnect from loved ones and we are isolating ourselves, professional guidance is urgently needed as we could potentially be entering psychosis.
The purpose of these medicines opening ‘Pandora’s box’ and bringing darker feelings, memories, and visions to our attention is ultimately for us to bring light, love, and healing to it- this is the work of integration. Plant medicines ceremonies will never cause psychosis in themselves, but they certainly can inflame or reignite preexisting conditions if not mindfully managed. You must get in touch with a trained professional or your facilitator immediately if you feel you could potentially be having a psychotic break or entertaining any thoughts of self harm.
There can also be a romantic idealisation of self around the medicine calling that can take on the qualities of a messiah complex, the feeling that ‘I am special as I am here to save the world’. The reality is that the medicine beckons the Christ consciousness in all of us and we are all called to make a difference in the world.
We can likewise romantically idealise our connection with the facilitators or other participants misunderstanding the context of universal brotherly and sisterly love and the feelings of divine ecstasy. We can also believe that we are receiving messages or visions about other people and what they should be doing or what is wrong with them. Generally, when our messages or visions involve other people, it means we are disassociating and distracting ourselves from dealing with our process, evolution, and greater path. These are some ways our egos can distract and hijack our genuine process.
This is why developing any form of friendship, romantic, sexual attachments, or even business connections in the course of ceremony work or during the integration period thereafter in Wake Circle is discouraged and prohibited. Likewise, the delivering of messages, prophecies, or advice to others especially without the specified consent of the other person is cautioned. It is a rare ability to distinguish one’s own projections and motivations from what we see about others. If you do wish to walk the path of energy healer, seer or shamanic facilitator there are many important initiations ahead of you before you can lay your hands or your words on another.
A Wake Circle medicine ceremony or retreat is likewise not a space for hooking up, networking, or any form of self-aggrandizement, we come to these circles strictly to deal with ourselves, to commune and heal in prayer with each other as brothers and sisters, holding the space of undifferentiated and unconditional love for all. The purity of the space we can hold for each other, forgoing any personal opportunism, speaks to the depth of safety and integrity of the ceremony.
The Wake Circle mantra is “The safer the space, the deeper the journey, the greater the healing.”
ALLIES AND SUPPORT
If you have a big journey of transformation ahead you will need many allies in both the physical and nonphysical realms. A significant part of any shamanic path is about finding your allies, guides, and support; the same is true for your integration journey. Just as you probably had a powerful container holding the space of your ceremonial journey, you likewise need to have a container of support and guidance in which to unfold your integration process. The more support you have the more effective your work will be. This is especially true if you have a challenging environment that you are returning to. Transformation is an ongoing process, we slip, we sometimes break our commitments and what is most important is that we clean up what needs to be cleaned up and we recommit and start again. It is important to have a safe space where you can be heard, understood, and supported.
ONE-ON-ONE INTEGRATION COACHING
Getting private integration coaching is certainly the most powerful way to fast-track your process. The process of integration involves collaborating with a coach to navigate and comprehend the effects of the psychedelic encounter, tackling any confusion that arose, and harmonizing your life with the newfound perspectives and ways of existence. While participating in a sharing circle might offer some advantages, it serves as an initial step toward integration. Extensive processing is crucial to grasp the experience fully and synchronise your actions with fresh insights.
Coaching plays a pivotal role in aiding plant medicine integration by offering a haven for individuals to unravel their emotions and experiences within a non-judgmental and supportive setting. It’s possible that the psychedelic experience didn’t unfold as anticipated, leaving feelings of sadness, isolation, or misunderstanding. Coaching assists in processing these emotions, comprehending the Ayahuasca encounter, and fostering the development of coping strategies and behaviours aligned with the acquired insights from the journey.
Moreover, coaching contributes to psychedelic integration by addressing any residual trauma or emotional scars that the plant medicine might have unearthed. Plant medicine often surfaces unresolved emotions and experiences, necessitating further processing and healing. The insights gleaned during the Ayahuasca journey can serve as a guide for personal growth and transformation, yet the continuation of personal development and inner work ultimately rests in your hands.
THE INTEGRATION TOOL BOX & COMPLIMENTARY MODALITIES
There is no question that people whose expansion and healing are the most palpable and exponential are those who engage in complimentary transformational modalities and build a powerful toolbox of personal practices. The quality of the work we do on ourselves is determined by the quality of the tools we use and the effectiveness of the processes that we engage in. Remember that the plant medicine ceremony is less of a cure in itself and more of a window into our potential. Here are suggested tools, modalities and transformational experiences that may complement your integration process.
Meditation
There is no question that meditation is one of the most powerful tools for regulating one’s nervous system and cultivating mindfulness. Here we can access deeper realms of conscious awareness, wisdom, and of course, and profoundly deep sense of inner peace. While there are many easily accessible forms of meditation such as guided audio tracks that you can download from the internet there is nothing that beats taking on an established practice such as Transcendental Meditation (TM) or Vipassanna.
Yoga
Our bodies are the vessels through which we experience this physical reality. It makes sense that taking on a holistic physical practice can only enhance our sense of personal power and greater awareness.
Mankind Project- Warrior Weekend Training
For any man wanting to address their masculinity and heal their male lineage, this is an extremely powerful course. It takes place as a weekend experience where working with other men we get to address and heal the aspects within ourselves that keep us from our full power.
Woman Within- Weekend
Woman Within is the female version of the Mankind project that is likewise about healing and awakening the feminine spirit.
Landmark Education Worldwide- The Landmark Forum
This is an extraordinary transformation weekend workshop that is about confronting our own in-authenticities and becoming a powerful cause in the matter of our lives and the world around us.