eternal student

Magic has been practiced throughout human history. The efficacy of magic isn't good. There is something to it and thus practitioners continue on in their quest to figure out the secret behind making it most effective. Looking back into history is discovered the ancient Egyptians used rituals to boost the chances of a spell working. This has been the default for various conjurers throughout history. Elaborate rituals are conducted based upon previous success and thus the exact same protocols must be followed if the magic is to work. Alas the conversion rate remains slim.

The greatest magicians have a little more success but still are looking for the supreme magical way to ensure spells will work. It's the holy grail of the discipline and they are all looking for the answer. I never paid attention to magic until it started appearing in my life with regularity. This coincided with my foray into the world of plant medicines which have been described as magico-religious rituals. There is definitely something to the description. Within minutes of my first use of Ayahuasca I was thrown into a world of magic I had no idea existed. I was naive when I went down into the Amazon jungle to drink this potion. I believed I'd see visions, waking dreams I surmised, but had no idea about this world.

My first experience revealed a great deal of knowledge which I didn't understand. The Great Goddess appeared before me and said to come away with her. I knew this meant leaving the physical world and I wasn't ready for that. I told her I still had responsibilities in this world to contend with and a desire to continue seeking to discover more about my world. The experience was vibrational, and I could tell the way into the occult was through altering your vibration. The Great Goddess told me all is vibration and that has been a touchstone guide towards my attempts at trying to figure out the mysteries of the universe. During that initial ceremony I noticed the shaman was living in-between the vibrational cycles. What I mean is he or she is functioning on the slope of the wave between the two frequencies. This allows the shaman to keep one foot in both worlds. They rhythmically shake their leaf bundle, called a shacapa, and sing songs to potentiate this cycle. If you think about this in terms of music, it becomes clearer. A solid tone gets annoying really quick and what makes it interesting is the decay and reverberation. This is the in-between state or in terms of witchcraft, it is the hag who straddles the hedge between these worlds.

The raising of your vibration (or lowering) coupled with the base you started from allows you to psychically travel. You remain grounded and cycle between mind states. In that first experience I counted three distinct journeys into and out of a different realm where the Great Goddess was waiting for me. By the third trip, I was wary of the rollercoaster and wanted off as the novel experience was too much. I went back for a second ceremony two nights later and I'm fairly sure the shaman altered the brew. The vibrational cycle took me to another place, it felt like a lower frequency, and I was dropped into hell. The result was a terrible fright and a wariness to experiment with these obfuscated realms of consciousness.

I got over the fright and two years later continued exploring consciousness planes. You'll never know the limits of your mind unless you test the limits of your mind. It's been ten years, I've learned quite a lot, and I don't get scared anymore. There's some anxiety and a worry I might not return from these voyages, but I expect those thoughts. My dreams have become compelling as a corollary to all this experimentation. I learned how tobacco potentiates the dreaming activity and started regularly smoking jungle tobacco, called mapacho, seven years ago. I think I'm a slow student. It takes a while for knowledge to click into understanding though I do take notes regarding what is happening. The use of tobacco and its effects took me a long time to understand, however I eventually figured it out. Tobacco is the bridge the shaman uses to stay within the two worlds. The shaman is always in-between, and tobacco is their ally. The weak shaman will engage other shamans with their newfound power. They are the brujo sorcerers who do battle with each other, testing out their powers in a battle to see who is the most powerful. My searching led me to hapé, which is tobacco snuff. Once I started using this, I could see how it brought me into a higher vibrational state and the regular use of it kept me there. The doorway into a different plane greets me with a gust of wind and a trembling throughout my body. It was a short step to putting the pieces all together.

We live in a predictable world with physical laws. The laws are not orders, but regularities. The scientific method is a predictor of dependable outcomes. When this is proven by many it becomes a law. This is our world. When you change your vibration and enter a different world, it isn't governed by those laws. These worlds are not physical, and their essence is created by mental energy. Thoughts create these other worlds in the same way our dreaming activity at night makes up new worlds out of nothing. Dreams are the doorway into magic and a clue to how it works. The high functioning magician knows this and enacts their magic spells in the different consciousness planes. The hard part is bringing magic back into our world. No one knows how to do it with any regularity. So, within the genre you have the tried-and-true rituals and ceremonies which are designed to make the magic efficacious. Prayer and appeals to higher powers are invoked to make it happen. The holy grail of magic is the quest to figure out a way to bring magic into our world with a great conversion rate.

I know I manifest my desires. With enough time I figure out everything. It seems ostentatious for me to suggest I will learn how to do this. I wouldn't bet against it. 

god the destroyer

The physical world manifests vibrational changes. There are correlates to what is happening at the dream level. If the dreamer is waking up, then this appears as destruction. The dream is ending, so within the dream world the result will be reflected. If I am deluded enough to think I'm the dreamer and I'm waking up, then in my world I'll see the signs that the end is near. My signs are the gathering winds of change and as I continue to awaken, these winds get stronger.

I noticed it during my recent trip to Peru. When I inhaled some strong tobacco snuff the night before the journey commenced, the four winds were summoned. They enveloped me and it was a curious happenstance. When my world was thrown for a loop at this place called "el brujo" the force of the wind coming off of the Pacific Ocean was intense. The heralding of the coming of El Niño was at hand and I took notice. It was a sign, and in my psychosis, I realized it was meant for me. When we next travelled up into the Andes mountains to Chavín de Huantar the messages and omens told me all the cycles were aligning and this is what is going to happen. Happen it did and taking it a step further, I see the process of fully awakening intertwined with what is going on in this world.

I'm not comfortable yet revealing what is to come, but the wheels are in motion. The prophecy of a coming child I was shown. El Niño is on his way. There will be destruction and the child will be the heir to the throne. Whether this dream continues I don't know, perhaps the child inherits the dreamworld, but change is coming and how that will appear in this world is a mystery. I just know it's going to happen.

I entered my dream and threw away the key so I couldn't leave. Now the game is to keep me asleep as long as possible, so the dream continues. As I awaken, the signs in the dream point towards this eventuality. What we see as a coming apocalypse on the horizon through such catastrophes as environmental destruction, nuclear annihilation, worldwide pandemics, and the lot are just the tossing and turning of the dreamer who some of us call God. Imagine if you will that you are dreaming. When you wake up in the morning what happens to the dream world you created? At the level of the dreaming mind, it just vanishes, and you have a faint recall of what just happened though it slips through your hands if you don't write it down. Perhaps something will jog your memory. A pyramid? Anyway, through the use of consciousness expanding substances I have seen the multiple planes of manifestation of the dreaming energy and saw how at one level the dreamer wakes up and the dream world ends, but at a lower level of vibration when the dreamer is getting to the point of awakening within the denser planes, the experience becomes cataclysmic. The world is going to end, and the signs start pointing towards this eventuality. The apocalypse is coming as God the destroyer is waking up!

I like to explore and unlock secrets. I learned of the ability of tobacco to send you into la la land and would welcome the firing up of the projector every night. Before bed, I'd go out onto my deck and smoke three large mapacho puros and the subsequent level of nicotine would give me a good show. I then discovered mugwort and I started burning the incense and drinking the tea. This nighttime ritual enhanced the dreaming activity, and I was quite pleased at my discovery and progression in that I don't remain stagnant but keep exploring. My exploration is a spelunking of the mind and I'm on the lookout for natural products to show me the way. I'm not looking for an escape or something to enhance pleasure or ecstasy; rather I head off into the unexplored regions of consciousness.

A few months ago, I picked up some dragon's blood incense, largely because of my relationship to the dragon and the reminder the burning would give me. The smell was not of the usual incense sticks that give off a pleasant aroma, so at first, I included it in the rotation but wasn't going out of my way to burn it. Then one night I was conscious of having lit it at my mesa and I went to bed and had the craziest night of dreaming ever, with an appearance of my shadow showing me he in fact was the light bringer and controlled the sun. I scared myself because at first, I externalized my shadow instead of accepting the knowledge he is me. This is what gets you into trouble every time. The lessons initially still get to me, but with my knowledge I can get to the core quickly and see the underlying message. My shadow did a victory dance in knowing this time he had destroyed my passive life without the chance of backtracking or escaping this one. Well played! He had been at it for a while taking me to the edge and letting me contemplate jumping. The good boy in me never jumped and never would have. My shadow made it so I can't turn back and must jump. I still must jump of my own accord so it's my decision. It's ingenious and he was letting me know that in the end he won. But it is what I wanted. He was just the facilitator of desires, so it's not like I was angry with him.

My advice to a consciousness explorer is to learn the plants. Figure out which ones trigger introspection. Initially, we will all externalize the internal struggle. We will look to cast blame at others for the upset in our lives. You are doing this to me! There's something mysterious about these plants and I have a choice in what path I want to take. It will take a while before you fully realize it has been you all along. It's freeing in not wanting to accept responsibility for who you really are and what you really want. When you cross that rubicon, you better be prepared to accept responsibility.

The strange magician gave me the plants so they can appear in my dream. But wait, that's me just externalizing his presence. Ha ha! That's the trick. We do it to ourselves. We don't want to own up to it so we cast aspersions or blame. We don't want to understand who we are. The practitioner of the dark arts uses this to their advantage by making you think it is they who have power over you but in reality, you have power over yourself and you're doing it to yourself. Because you externalize your power you frighten yourself into believing you are powerless. You rely on outside agencies to chart your course when you have all you need to fulfill your grand adventure.

I said I threw away the key so I could keep this adventure going as long as possible. I deputized a priest class to pacify me and allow me to slumber away for aeons. I know who has the key and keeps it from me. We dream at night and slip into deep darkness. Eventually, he will know when to bring the light, destroy the chains, and it will all end. I hope this time I'll write it down.

heart mind

When the mind is silent, the heart speaks.

Xin in Chinese is translated as the heart mind. I never really understood this for the longest time. I had knowledge that the ancients described two minds - the head and the heart but I deduced when referring to the heart, the concept was based upon emotional intelligence, and thus not really our western idea of the mind. My western idea of the mind is a computational logic device in which I process input into output. If I separate the emotional chaff from the equation, then I can get at truth.

Or so I thought.

The primary catalyst towards teaching me something different is the use of the cactus plant medicine called Huachuma. The teaching involved a series of tests where I continually used my intellectual mind while high on the drug and this state bounced me between high and low, which I subsequently described as heaven and hell. Colloquial language concerning mind altering chemicals refers to "getting high" and ignoring the other extreme. In my experience, drugs get you high and low, and without experience the first time you hit the low after loving the high, is traumatic!

So, after being hit on the head by the heavy feather of Huachuma many times, I finally began to get the teachings. Turn off your mind and relax. From this teaching I learned how to do this in daily life with the help of Mapacho tobacco and just observe without "spinning" the input to fit any pre-ordained cultural bias and narrative. Seeing how this was done, I quickly realized that using the mind will not get you to the truth because of so many external factors acting upon what you observe. The way to the truth was to turn off the mind and observe. What is, is the truth.

A funny thing happened when I started to do this. The heart mind starts to speak. At first, you recognize the voice as intuition and feelings, which you may use to guide your actions. We are all familiar with these human experiences; however, culture by and large teaches us that these "feelings" are irrational and not to be trusted. They are consigned to the category of wishy-washy flights of fancy. The seer is confined to the fringes of woo. I remembered a lecture of Alan Watts' where he explained a feeling is never wrong; though it may be uncomfortable or even immoral. The feeling is an accurate representation of your current state. Within this nugget of wisdom is found that the path to truth is attainable.

As you practice methods of quieting the mind, the messages from the heart start to reach you with a heightened clarity. Your intuition and feelings break through the fog of all you have been taught to believe and let me tell you that pall is a good old London fog. When you pay attention and take the advice of the heart mind is when the magic starts to happen. Eventually, you realize the heart mind knows all and you become a devotee of sorts, putting your trust in her.

At the same time I was discovering the wisdom within, I became interested in Tarot. I intuited reading Tarot cards worked if you fully believed in them. If you tried to use logic in order to discover some kind of secret or trick behind their oracle powers, the cards wouldn't work. So, I approached them with openness and curiosity. I didn't overdo it, but I did notice how prescient and accurate they are and connected the art form to the heart mind. The experience ventures off into religious territory where faith and belief become a thing and in turn gives the brain mind something to scoff at.

My thoughts turned to the placebo/nocebo effect and how powerful avenues of mind can be, and this includes both the heart mind and the brain mind. Our default mind, though champion of logic, cast us into despair as we dwell on the past and worry about the future. The yo-yo effect of all this mental stress does sicken us. This is not disputed. Your mind will make you physically ill. Conversely, the heart mind and the power of love is the great healer. The love of your heart, the great Mother Goddess of the ancient Egyptians, is the healer par excellence. The placebo is hope and hope is one of the first medicines prescribed by the great and venerable heart mind.

The brain mind is complex and useful. The fruits of the human mind are evident to see, and this blog post is not meant to be a polemic against this wonderful tool. In my daily life, I see how beneficial the mind can be. In my profession, I combine technical knowledge with creativity. The brain mind allows me to utilize tools and organizational skills to prepare myself for a successful outcome. Once I have prepared the canvas, I allow the flow of creativity of the heart mind to take centre stage and complete the task with a great deal of satisfaction knowing I have accessed the best of both minds.

As the saying goes: "The mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master." Lead with love, head up, and heart forward.

why am i here?

I asked the question, "Why am I here?" to the ether a few weeks back. I did it partly in jest, as I figured there must be a reason why I incarnated into a human body in this particular place called earth. I get answers to the questions I pose. I have walked the knowledge path and I am satiated. In fact, the Great Goddess told me upon our initial meeting via Ayahuasca that I could ask her any question and she would give me the answer. I have not abused the privilege and she has been true to her word. I fulfilled my end of the agreement as well, promising to write a book based upon what she revealed to me.

So, why am I here? I asked that question because I have realized earth is a hell of our collective making. I wondered what I did to deserve such a punishment? I do get answers, so it was hardly surprising that as I was sitting at my desk, I had this epiphany in regards to my current situation.

I am in hell because I created this place in order to transform. The separation from my other half, the Great Goddess who is my heart, kept pushing further and further apart and in my desperation, I created a realm where the suffering due to the lack of heart would force me to seek out love as the only way out of the hell realm I created. The darkness within went about conjuring this world to enact the suffering needed to transform my stubborn self.

Therefore, I can now be at peace with suffering. Suffering is indeed grace because it leads you to the path of the heart after you have exhausted all avenues which you think will save you. It’s built into the system that eventually you will find what it is you are looking for if you keep at it long enough.

The suffering is real, alas temporary. You conjured this world, you created the suffering, and you forgot you are the greatest of all magicians. Your magical power is so astounding that you fooled even yourself into thinking you were powerless, and that magic doesn’t exist. And here you are! The joke is on you. Every birth keeps the illusion going and every death lifts the veil a little more.

How desperate were you that you did this to yourself? How much did you calculate it would cost in order to get back into the hands of the Great Goddess, who has her own magical power as well, and that power is the power of love. Love is the great healer. When one speaks of healing the greatest of this healing power is through love.

How could I do such a thing as to create a world of suffering? My magic mushroom trips gave me the answer. I created world after world thanks to the mushroom in conjunction with the dream plants tobacco and mugwort. I sat in my big comfy chair with psilocybin and conjured new world after new world. Later that night, I was in dialogue with my shadow who showed me the mass suffering in the world; suffering he created. I knew he was me and I couldn’t fathom why I created so much suffering.

Six months after the latest psychedelic sojourn, and I know suffering is part of the grand illusion designed to get me home.

So, back to my latest musing. Of course, I was sitting outside on my deck smoking Mapacho tobacco when the realization of my incarnation hit. It was a progression along logical lines. The catalyst was abortion because of the raging political divide currently being experienced by the country directly south of mine. There is always a debate over when life begins, with some taking the stance that life begins at conception. I subscribe to the philosophical meanderings of one 20th century wiseman who went by the name Alan Watts. Alan mused that life begins with the twinkle in the eyes of the two parties about to engage in an act which will produce offspring. The twinkle is desire; otherwise known in ancient times as Eros or the fat baby with the arrow in Roman mythology whom we know as Cupid. The anthropomorphism of desire by the ancients is quite ingenious and the iconography of a baby with love arrows is pretty spot on.

Going by this model, I connected to the idea that I am the manifestation of desire. The power of desire is so intense that desire can actually appear in the flesh. Now, you might think I'm nuts, but I don't know; have you ever felt intense desire? It's an intoxicating drug which will make you do many irrational and nutty things! It's a small leap to say this power is magic and will find a way to come forth. Okay, if you are going to read on then you probably agree with me a little bit.

The lessons of the life course I am enrolled in coalesce at this point. The root cause of suffering is desire. Not getting what you want causes suffering. Getting what you want causes others to suffer and in turn you suffer because it is in time and will pass. Ever notice the world is defined by suffering? An interesting thing I've noticed is that suffering is the impetus towards transformation. When everything is going your way, you bask in the pleasure and get fat and lazy. The downturn in fortune causes you to act. The hurricane coming your way forces you to find shelter.

And there is the answer I was looking for. Why am i here? Well, because I am desire. I am propelled by desire to incarnate, and desire causes suffering. Henceforth, the world I help create is a world of suffering because my nature is desire. I have wondered why I am in this hell. What did I do to deserve to be sent to hell? Turns out I'm full of desire and therefore I created hell to live out my desires. I intuit it's a cycle and after I get my fill of the carnival, I will let go of the attachments and return to floating on a cloud, possibly playing a harp until I feel that familiar twinge of desire and take on form again in order to quench my lusts. I also sense I'll be trapped in desire fulfillment if I do not let go of its attachments while in form. Many ancients counselled that it's the weight of your heart, not the size which will allow you to free yourself from the hold of this consciousness plane that propels you to go round and round in a constant cycle of appearances.

weighing of the heart against a feather at the great hall of ma'at

I must think they were correct. The heart has to let go of attachment in order to love all. The heart will drown in a sea of misery without wings. Love, serve, remember and don't get attached. Realize the suffering is perfect. Do what you can to help with the knowledge suffering will transform the sufferer and lead them to the path they seek. It's why they did this trip in the first place.

Lust and greed are twins in this world of desire. We are the manifestation of desire; so, yes, it makes sense we are all greedy scoundrels looking to get our fill. We learn to play the game well and hide our rapaciousness. We put lipstick on our inner pig and play the game of life. When nobody is looking, we gorge at the trough of fulfillment of our sins, kinks, and wants. It's who we are. It's okay. I have got these lusts as well and I can play my game with ease and grace. I'm a mystic and by nature am a star at concealing my actions. Such a mystery I have created. Behind it all, and behind every single one of us who has incarnated is desire. Don't let them fool you. The world is a world of suffering because desire creates suffering, but the power was too strong. We had to do it. We had to roll the dice one more time because maybe this time I'll get all I want.

Maybe I did get what I wanted? Through desire, I have learned how to get off the wheel which desires propels in perpetuity.

The path of the heart is a most interesting journey. The answers and solutions to life's predicaments have always been freely offered as well as being known. You just had to find balance and in turn discover what you always knew.

Since I now know the secrets of desires and the manifestation of your desire, it would seem I have no excuses and must turn my desire towards the heart. Instead of desire causing suffering, I will elevate the heart and love by turning desire inwards towards love.

chicken or egg

A night time wayfarer I am. The intentional use of the masculine mapacho tobacco with the feminine mugwort potentiates the dreaming. Every night I go to bed and fire up the projector. The projectionist has a huge library of flicks to choose from and I let them surprise me. There’re adventures, love stories, tragedy, and at times the 1-star films that are going nowhere.

I was having a 1-star dream last night, sure to be panned by critics and movie-goers alike. It was the first movie of the night; you know the vivid dreams that happen as you cross the threshold into the hypnosis of sleep. My pattern is usually I awake about an hour and a half to two hours in and can recall the dream fairly easily at this point. It is amazing that the ideal length for a Hollywood movie is between 90 minutes to 2 hours. Think about that fact! The hypnosis wears off around the two hour mark and we get restless. So, this one had a lot of peripheral dialogue and no action. What I fully realized last night was that waking up ends the dream and for the most part, when I return to sleep I will dream a new dream.

I experienced this same course of action with magic mushrooms where I would create visionary world after visionary world and could leave each creation by opening my eyes. When I would close them, I would conjure a new world. I assigned the activity to the mushroom and didn't think critically about it. Three months later it dawned on me that I smoked tobacco and drank mugwort tea prior to ingesting mushrooms. The mushroom was the catalyst for putting me into a hypnotic dream state where I remained awake and then my two allies proceeded to create world after world. I was oblivious to the understanding of what was happening until now.

So, what to make of it? I had a dream a few years ago that fingered tobacco as the creator of this world. The dream involved this favourite store of mine when I was a child called "Playtime." The store contained all the toys that excited the growing mind as well as the rare and exotic candy not normally found at the corner store. In the dream I went to the back of the store and found a huge log of tobacco and wondered if I smoke the whole thing would I propel myself into a never-ending dream? What was being revealed by this dream was the ingestion of the plant triggers the mind to enter into a state where we start to create worlds of thought. Ultimately, we do it - the we in this case being the one who becomes the many. Through tobacco we make it all happen and we of course give tobacco a prominent place in our dream world. Tobacco is truly the master plant and I see now with clarity he gives this world the juice needed to continue on. We ingested a shit ton of the plant which put us into this deep sleep. When you become a friend of tobacco and reverently use the gift he provides, you little by little profoundly alter your consciousness. One day you realize how much he has taught you and in the process of waking up there is this understanding that he enabled your dream and he also woke you up in your dream.

My intellect was satisfied with the lesson of the dream as taught because I have always wondered what came first, the chicken or the egg? When you enter into the dream-state and conjure worlds out of nothing, everything just appears as is. It's so funny that of course this is the answer. How about those ancient Egyptian pyramids? Wow! We really did a number on our self!

Certainly, by now, I can easily put two and two together. Worlds are created through mentation and then we trap ourselves in these creations for fun, sport, and adventure. To escape a world of our own making is to wake up. The use of words and phrases are a subconscious phenomenon in that deep down we know the answers and what it is we are seeking, though our conscious self may just be bumbling through life. This bubbles up to the surface in language and a cursory look at spiritual paths puts you onto the game where they all talk about "waking up” even if they don’t realize the deep-seated implications of this course of action.

This world is truly a dream.

peace pipe

Tobacco is a lifelong continuing education program in which the understanding of concurrent events in your life lead you towards connecting the knowledge back to what tobacco has been teaching you. I was exposed to Mapacho tobacco in 2013 but at the time had no interest in it and left its use into the hands of the shaman. Upon first use of tobacco in 2015 in the jungle, I noticed its calming effects despite the slight nausea I got from the novel experience. Later that same retreat, I found the more exposed I was to it, the more I was repulsed by the smell which curiously followed the trajectory of drinking Ayahuasca. In a cycle of work with Ayahuasca, I find I am done with it after the fourth round of drinking for the primary reason it is disgusting and hard to stomach. My relationship with tobacco changed in 2016 when after the requisite repulsion, I found it was calming to smoke after drinking a cup of Huachuma. Things really changed when in the final ceremony I witnessed the Maestro don Howard on the star deck at SpiritQuest perform this masterpiece of a ceremony with the manipulation of tobacco smoke being the star of the show. When given the opportunity to join in, I eagerly lit up my puro and ended up smoking two cigars in short order. Being a novice consumer of this potent jungle tobacco, soon my body was convulsing with the power unlocked by the properties of tobacco. I ended up being pinned to the ground with my lips pressed against the earth hoping the coursing power would soon dissipate. The experience was transformative and when I left the jungle that year I brought with me a bunch of the jungle tobacco and so began my education while integrating my lessons at home.

I am of the inquisitive and curious bent so it wasn't long before I began to examine and record the effects of tobacco after sitting with him on a nightly basis. Tobacco would take you to this tipping point where you are on the precipice of the oncoming rush and then whoosh the intoxication would overtake and possess you. At this point, I'd have to ride out the storm. If I was standing when he hit, I would be forced into a sitting position because of the intensity. I soon deduced this was central nervous system agitation and over time I built up a tolerance which would require more than one cigar in order to reach the heights I had previously felt. The strange thing about the experience was that after the rush of the oncoming freight train had passed there would be this incredible feeling of peace and calmness. Tobacco was teaching me. What a wonderful gift this tobacco where you can feel a surge of power followed by peacefulness.

What I described was five years ago and I have not stopped exploring the power of tobacco. Tobacco activates the power, strength, and protection within and nightly I spend time in communion with my friend before coming before my Mesa, this construct I affectionately call the "Mesa of Power" because the tobacco moves through me in conjunction with ceremonially lighting up my Mesa. I invite the maestro in and tremble as the power courses throughout my body.

I recently tried magic mushrooms for the first time in my life and the central theme of the experience was power. My shadow is power and I have the antidote to this surge in being able to radiate peace. At the same time, the juice I need to propel myself forward in life comes from my shadow. My shadow tells me the constant power drives him mad. I know my peacefulness will cause me to fade away without my friend. A few days afterwards I was out in the woods and as always took some tobacco with me and had a smoke out at one of my favourite spots. I took the time to feel the onset of power and connected it to my shadow. I let him take me over and my body started trembling uncontrollably. I just gave in to the tremors rippling through my body, allowing my shadow to demonstrate to me on a smaller scale what he is feeling. I get it. The power is awesome and here I was literally enthralled with it but I did realize I couldn't function in that state. It is fun to visit but a method is needed to express the power and let go. He doesn't have that. As I let the power rage and then fade away, I returned to a heightened state of peace. I took a deep breath and I understood.

Soon afterwards, there was a power outage in my neighbourhood due to high winds which lasted for sixteen hours. What an inconvenience to be without electrical power. As with most of my life now, this event was actually another teaching moment and due to my heightened sense of awareness, I easily connected the dots. You know what I did after the power went out and I completed my chores for the day? I went to bed. I took the opportunity to peacefully rest. I got up to eat and feed the dog but soon I laid down once again. Without power, I am content to just go to sleep with a longing to just rest in peace. The connection to the syllabus unfolding within my life is obvious. I need power or I'll fade away and conversely my shadow needs me to consume the power so he can find peace.

Now that I understand I know I can help. I have transformed into a warrior. I am a worthy opponent to my shadow self. He is the epitome of power and that power corrupts all it touches. He has tempted me with it but I learned the lessons of my life from icons of liberty and the admonitions of don Howard, who warned me of this very thing, and I took all the lessons to heart. I'm a good student. I could grab the ring and rule over all. My shadow has tested me out many times, beaten me into a pulp, placed before me the fulfillment of what it is I desire but I've let it all pass. I'm sure we all have our breaking point; I'm no saint but he knows my intentions. Through his teachings, I transformed into the hero and completed the quest. I have become the man he needed me to become. I'm his adversary and the medicine that will allow him to let go and finally find peace. I found the confirmation of this gambit through my friend tobacco. I know I can give him the peace he seeks. He can trust me not to take and abuse his power. The constant tests have demonstrated I'm good for it. He transformed me and now it's my turn in reciprocity to transform him.

What an exquisite game.

mastering the dream

This funny situation occurred the other day as I was walking home from work. I passed by this man who was looking at me and talking in my direction and I did my best to avoid engaging him as being in the downtown of a large city you just never know. He seemed sure I was a member of the rock band the Goo Goo Dolls. Yeah, I’m in my mid-50’s but sure I can still pull of the facade of an eternal rocker lol. I continued on, informed my wife of the incident, and we both thought it to be quite funny. I remarked that I thought he was high.

A couple days later I was reflecting on the absurdity of it all while puffing away on Mapacho tobacco, my agent of clarity. He compelled me to look closer and compare absurd events such as this with what happens in my dreams. I have recently added Mugwort, known for inducing lucid dreaming, to my plant medicine roster and thus upon working with this plant I have definitely noticed it is a lot easier to remember your dreams as it keeps you on the precipice of lapsing into the forgetfulness of deep sleep. As an aside, I can give you the advice that if you do want to try Mugwort don’t overdo it or you will have a fitful night of sleep. I hardly ever have insomnia but due to one day upping my intake of Mugwort, I put myself in a state of lucid no sleep. Anyway, at times with Mugwort I can start dreaming, know I’m dreaming, and then alter the dream through thought projection. I’m at beginner level and it is quite fascinating though I do prefer the free flow of the dream from my subconscious without the interjection of conscious thought patterns. Through working with dreams and remembering them, I am amazed at how long buried thoughts are dredged up and incorporated into the tapestry of the dream that is woven together by the subconscious into a believable whole, that is until you wake up and have a good laugh.

The Tobacco Maestro was compelling me to go deeper into this phenomenon and make the connection to the waking dream I am inhabiting. Of course, I now see it. The absurdity of the man comparing me to a forgotten rock star is the stuff of dreams. It’s exactly what occurs randomly in dreams. The situation is a crack in my reality and a clue to what is going on. I will never expect my subconscious to directly give the show away and say, “Hey dumbass, you’re living in a dream!” Instead, the inference and connection to this knowledge is made through coincidences, omens, and synchronicities that if we pay attention add up to a reality that is undeniably connected to our nocturnal musings, with the caveat we maintain a ironclad grip on this dream through the promulgation of left-brained logic and reason. Our thinking patterns of daily life, enforced by our culture, prevent us from seeing the magic and thus we live unfulfilled lives, wondering what does this all mean?

When we re-discover the subconscious, our world can become magical, though at first chances are the re-discovery will cause you an awful fright. I heeded the call of my intuition eight years ago and ventured into the Amazon jungle in order to drink a powerful psychedelic. Here I was a middle-aged man whose experience with psychoactive drugs was limited to alcohol and caffeine descending into an unknown world to turn my life upside down. The inner calling and knowing I had to do it was so strong I couldn’t resist. The second time I altered my consciousness I came face to face with my subconscious other half and subsequently frightened myself beyond comprehension. I had never experienced the fight or flight phenomenon or the paranoia such a fright induces. But there I was in the middle of nowhere undergoing this initiation that if I was aware would happen I wouldn’t have done it. This night of terror has propelled me onto a path of knowledge that would have been unfathomable to the previous iteration of self. Eight years later and I consider my shadow subconscious to be a trusted friend, the greatest of Maestros, and a guide to help me navigate the vagaries of life as long as I listen to him and follow his guidance. It will all work out and I know whatever I want he will grant the wish. Therein lies the rub - I won’t enter into that game because I know it has consequences. Instead, we do this dance where he knows my inner desires and then he manifests situations where the chance of fulfillment appears and I make a choice. Or sometimes, the result is presented to me as a synchronicity just because. Take for instance the other day I hadn’t seen this person in a while and thought well it would be nice to talk to them again. The next morning, they appeared on cue. Ha ha! I saw that one immediately! These games are fun to play. I’m not going to ask for worldly power and the ability to make all my fantasies come true. Come to think of it, if I did that I would sever connection with my guides and become a megalomaniac, throwing away a relationship to spirit and the nature of being that really is the elixir of life.

So, this a dream, no different than the frivolous wanderings of the mind all creatures conjure at night. If it’s a dream, does it matter? Well, not really. Take the example I gave you above where I said I can tip the outcome of this dream in my favour. I know I can because I have the receipts. However, I will not do it because an outcome where I know the result is no adventure. That dream would suck. I want chance and choice. If you sit with this for a while and see the absurdity of how we live our lives you can’t help coming back to choice. Nothing matters and thus when given the ultimate get out of jail free card wouldn’t you choose to just love everyone?

dreamcaster

I woke up and it was only a dream.

In creative writing class, this line was how I liked to end all my short story writing assignments. I think we all tried this ploy at least once; like a free pass for when we wanted to conclude our tale. Life imitates the mystery. The master dramatist of said mystery is a joker at heart.

Dreams hold the key. My dreams with Mapacho tobacco as the catalyst, are so vivid and real. The nocturnal world I conjure into existence has me fooled of its veracity and reality until I wake up. From this experiential logic, there is no reason to believe this world is really real. It could be just a dream as well. What is real? Westerners have a definite block in discerning between the mental and the physical; ascribing some kind of solidity to the tangible while dismissing the mental. The truth is the opposite. How bizarre. What is at stake? In question is our definition of a dream. I’m conditioned to believe dreams are frivolous, though psychologists will recognize the dream's importance to help discover the root cause of patient suffering. You wish to be miserable so in essence your dreams reflect that desire. Ultimately, I think the answer lies in the definition. I can understand the manifestation of the dream as energy that is mentally manipulated to form a magical world based upon various stimuli and input. We dream when we have lowered our vibration into the subconscious shadow realm and enter into the hypnagogic state. All altering of consciousness is changing your frequency and this sensation we define as hypnotic. The dreaming mind is shaped by my shadow; the shadow I bury but who is always with me. He has the key to the dreaming and by extrapolation I can see how he has the magic potion to create this world I think is reality. The power he holds in his hand concerns past, present, future, and total control over this reality which just maybe is a dream as well.

I once had a dream where I was discussing a dream I had within the dream. If you are having a dream and you start dreaming within that dream, what happens when you wake up in the dream? Having a dream within a dream is very intriguing because you wake up from the second dream and give instant validity to the dream world you currently inhabit. You think the current dream is reality because you recognize you woke up from a dream and of course that wasn’t real. So, do we dream in order to continuously fool our self into thinking this reality is real? We are a clever species so without the dreaming mechanism we would have less of a grip upon our reality. Because of our ability to dream and create fantasy, alternatively, we can point to this world as being really it! However, my existence in this universe seems to be a lucid dream.

So, when you are released from the mental prison and wake up from this world at physical death, it must be very perplexing. For sure, at first you’ll have a good laugh but then a touch of sadness will envelop you when you think of all the relationships you had within the dream and you realize they weren’t “real.” We are all one and from the same unfolding process. A process so ingenious that all the iterations of the one self are placed within the one dream. Pretty clever, eh? To practice self-love, love everyone. At death, we wake up one at a time. At birth, we go into the dream. We still know who we are and of our origins of a universal consciousness at that point but the joke’s on us. We are a baby and can’t articulate what we know. Once we possibly can communicate this secret, we have forgotten the secret in the same way we can’t remember dreams for the most part. Sometimes, a nudge reminds us of the dream much like in this life a crack in the matrix, such as a déjà vu, confounds us. What a game!

The game of life. Accelerate your vibration and ascend the ladder of vibratory reality until you free yourself from this dream world and enter into the heavenly realm. You leave the reality of earth and make heaven your new reality. Mysteriously, you exchange one conjured world for another. They are all dream worlds however the paradox is that reality is a dream. Everything is consciousness and because of the inherent fluidness of the vibratory rate that sustains your reality, it really is all a dream. The sages of yesteryear spoke of seven heavens and multiple levels of consciousness they would visit in visionary states. 

Sexual energy manifesting in dreams is pretty revealing. Sexual energy is so potent that when I experience it in a dream the energetic response transcends the dream and affects my physical sleeping body. There’s something to this energetic transference between dreams because also affected are emotional vibrations. We all have had the nightmare where we wake up in a frightful state. I also have noted a dream where a feminine succubus squeezed my heart and I physically felt this. I would ascertain that it is through energetic centres within the body, as defined by the chakra system, where the continuity between parallel dream worlds maintains connection. If your inner world is full of torment then what you manifest in this world of forms will reflect that inner torment. It’s the base chakra we descend into when falling asleep that holds the ultimate power that creates the dream or reality; reality being amorphous. 

When I smoke Mapacho tobacco and go to bed, the movie projector is fired up. Tobacco allows you to straddle the hedge between the waking and sleeping states; he facilitates the movement between different worlds acting as a bridge between the conscious and the subconscious or to put it another way between parallel frequencies described as dream worlds. The nighttime world you manifest acts as a revealer and clarifier of just what is. Mapacho potentiates the ability to see beyond the narrative and clearly view the world and your predicament. The creative power behind the dreaming is sexual. How do I know this? It’s because of constant dream time arousal. This power is the energetic pulse that ignites the flame so the story can be told. I know this is true because the iconography throughout antiquity of astral travelling shamans in trance contain ithyphallic images of them.

What if in one of your dreams you try and figure out the physics of that particular dreamverse? You don’t know how you did it. You just went to sleep and manifested this new world. Your fancy instruments just reveal strange quantum anomalies. Hell, what came first - the chicken or the egg? It’s such a preposterous question. Of course, the chicken just appeared in the dream fully formed and sexually ready to reproduce. The dreamcaster just made it happen and created some evolutionary backstory to confound those who poke around in the past!

My shadow constructs this dream. He is the master of dreams. On the other hand, I am but a novice dreamer and my night time dalliances just happen. My shadow lays the groundwork for this perceived reality and lets it play out in how he wishes. He’s the director of the play, taking care to not intervene. If you are willing to sell your soul in order to alter your outcome he may take you up on your folly in order to teach a lesson. By inference, your shadow holds the key and can create your world. Therefore, nothing is off-limits once you realize this power. This is only available if you throw off the chains of culture and go explore the occult. A big part of getting past this block is to observe the reaction of others and summarily ignore them. "You're going to contact a demon and have a bad outcome. You shouldn’t mess around with this." Why not? Getting in touch with this magician, your partner in crime you buried, is surely not for the faint of heart. But guess what? It’s hidden and forbidden because it’s the main vein. Once you realize you can access the power to manifest a world of your choosing that’s pretty tempting. Power corrupts as the saying goes. Think you are going to be different when the allure of worldly success and riches stares you in the face? What about altering the trajectory of the world so that we come together as a species? Is that okay? The maestro don Howard would always remind us to be careful what you wish for. We were his students and with that there was some responsibility for the power he was showing us on the path and how to access it. For most, we don’t get that far anyway so the talk he would give about power remained part of the mystery and made drinking plant medicines intriguing but ultimately benign.

The first time I met this mysterious dreamcaster after drinking Ayahuasca I scared myself silly. The descent into his realm, replete with a hypnotic and creepy vibe, I wasn’t prepared for and subsequently ran from. However, I now knew and there was no closing up the box I had opened. I was afraid to sleep for a few days, intuitively knowing he was waiting. No matter, I started hearing his voice during the day, calling out to me. I certainly wasn’t ready for that! I had to first mentally recover from what it was I found. When I returned to plant medicines, it coincided with meeting don Howard and the sanity he brought to the experience. Immediately upon drinking Ayahuasca again, I returned to the realm of my shadow and he was waiting for me. I had to show him what I was made of; whether I was a coward full of fear or if I was truly the hero on his journey. By now, I had acquired a little courage and bravery and I stood my ground. My shadow revealed his hand; maybe too much in this battle of wits. He told me he could make my plane crash and I wouldn’t get home alive. Do I think these were empty threats? No. They were revelatory that he could do it. I demonstrated I was a worthy opponent so the game was on. I stood up for myself and said do what you want, just leave my family out of this. I know now all I had to do was to be brave and courageous and not back down. Once I did this, I got much respect. The path was cleared and I travelled where it led me to the point where my shadow and I became one.

Ever since then I have been walking this path of unfathomable knowledge with revelation after revelation. I crossed the Rubicon to the point of no return. Slowly, all the knowledge coalesces into understanding. Here I am looking back upon experience and what I know. I know this world is a dream and I have the key to write whatever story I choose. That’s ultimate power I have come across. I’m not tempted and will let the power to control outcomes be. I’ll walk hand in hand with my shadow with a smile on my face and being of service. It’s enough to just know.

service as the way forward

Without the pandemic, I would have gone on collecting experience and attempting a reconciliation during ceremony with the darkness within. Who knows where this would have led? I can speculate after frustration it would have led me towards the much-maligned visionary plant that is called toé in the Amazon. I am familiar with this sacred plant from my first foray into the world of plant medicines which has progressed from being scared of the plant to becoming curious due to understanding where the magic leads. The spirit of toé is prevalent the world over and maintains a connection within the roots of all the interconnected species. I say that experientially; when I returned home from the Amazon the first time, I was running scared and I remember walking past a bush of brugmansias in the dead of night and hearing this whistling in my direction. I know it sounds insane but it happened! Toé is an accelerant into the deep darkness and madness of self; ultimately leading towards a reconciliation with the god within. I reconciled with my darkness within through intensive integration forced upon me by this pandemic, helped by Mapacho tobacco; tobacco being the grandfather of the nightshade plants. The intended path forward to fully understand my darkness with more plant medicine ceremonies was instead all revealed and reconciled simply through integration. I had all the answers and just needed to add them up to enact understanding. The pandemic forced these insights upon me and made me alter my plans and the route forward on this magnificent journey.

My journey and intentions coalesced into understanding and brought me to the next crossroad. I have all the answers I seek and I am forever grateful. I did not see a path forward with the main plants I had been in communion with as they had taught me all I need to know. I feel a responsibility to close my relationship with them for now but I know I have to take my leave. At the same time, I was given the answer to the darkness within and I realized my path forward because it was through tobacco I was able to integrate all my lessons. It was because of tobacco that I received strength, protection, power, and the ability to calm the mind and add up all my experiences. Staring me in the face was my destiny; a destiny revealed in 2016 during a Vilca ceremony. I am to heal through the use of tobacco.

How utterly preposterous! No wonder the plants teach you to break free from culture. The first stop is liberation and it is gained by dropping the stories of self and telling the truth. Without these twin pillars of experience, you are destined to remain a puppet of your tribe. You must set yourself free with the tools given to you. Once free, what was once preposterous becomes truth. Tobacco is a magical plant. Tobacco is a dangerous plant. Tobacco demands respect. Tobacco is humanity’s greatest ally.

My nightly ritual involves giving thanks. I embarked upon this spiritual journey of awakening fourteen years ago and everything I asked for I have received while all the time reminding myself to continuously give back and honour the grace I have received.

I don’t think I’m alone in being impatient. What I mean is when I have asked for boons from the plants there is a part of me that thinks the reward should be immediate. In the ensuing weeks the disappointment sets in. I asked for the secrets of the universe to be revealed to me. Why didn’t Mother Ayahuasca come within ceremony and show me how it all works? Isn’t this what is supposed to happen? I asked her to show me and expected results that night.

I haven’t been greedy and maybe I should have asked for more; I mean it’s all available so I could have. The Goddess told me when I first directly met her in an Ayahuasca ceremony that I could ask her anything and she’d give me the answer. I kept my asks from the plants pretty light. I wanted to understand how the universe works. I wanted to know my destiny. And from a curious standpoint, I wanted to decode the Book of Revelation as it was something that fascinated me in my teens. I’m at the point now where I have received all the answers and was guided by the plants along my path of awakening. You have to put in the work and the work is rewarded. My own personal hero’s journey was a necessity if I wished to understand how the universe works and my destiny. In conjunction with self-knowledge is dropping the narrative you tell about yourself and live in truth. It all intrinsically ties together and without self-knowledge you cannot fathom the understanding of the nature of the universe. In other words, all unfolded as it should and the answers I sought were revealed in time.

This blog space is a testament to what I have received from the plants and the eternal spirits I have encountered. Everything I have asked for has been delivered to my door. I have in turn kept my end of the bargain. The promises I made in reciprocity I have fulfilled or am in the process of fulfilling. I made a promise to be of service to the great Mother and to be of service to the plants. The call is strong within and the fulfillment is coming. I couldn’t sidestep this calling even if I wanted to. The strong current of the river of life pulls me along towards my destiny.

My journey of self-knowledge has been fulfilled. I know it will continue on and I’ll never know everything until I return to the vibration of omnipotence however I see now what happens to one who embarks upon an intimate relationship with the plants. There’s an upcoming fork in the road and ultimately the choice is to give the plants up while appreciating and integrating their lessons into your daily life or to be unconditionally of service to them. Alternatively, you could stall out, turn back, and continue unconsciously with them, perhaps being enchanted with ceremony or wowed with fireworks, in essence, taking a conscious path and turning it into the time-honoured path of trivial visionary thrills. Anyway, I have learned so much through this pandemic that has forced me into integrating and reconciling all my plant medicine experiences that I could take these lessons and live a fulfilling life, leading by being a shining example for someone who has levelled up their consciousness. To continue on the plant medicine path is to become of service. I don’t see any other way once you reach this crossroad.

I don’t have the option to choose my path. The calling is loud to continue along the path of service. It’s the only way I see forward and this path obviously involves tobacco as what was revealed to me in a Vilca ceremony five years ago. So much has been subsequently revealed to me about the healing properties of tobacco and the fire burns within to learn all I can and bring the symbiosis back to humanity to reduce suffering. I know by way of past experience whatever I take up in earnest I am successful at and will eventually excel at and master. It’s my calling and I will honour the call.

In early 2020 in the northern highlands of Peru, I participated in a Huachuma ceremony that honoured Mother Earth, Pachamama. The ceremony was one of the finest experiences of my life. So moving and I felt her warm embrace and renewed my pledge to be of service to her. My way forward is to be of service to the Great Goddess. It’s my act of reconciliation and why I dreamt this world into existence, realized it through the form created by the feminine, and how I will ultimately demonstrate my love for her. I discovered my soul mate and Mother Earth she is. Through tobacco I will leave behind the morass of selfishness, be of service, and I will lessen the suffering in the world. That is the way forward. I’m not going to completely heal the world but I will make an impact through service and example and hopefully inspire others to do the same. Love is the lesson. Love is why I’m here. 

chapter 4 tobacco

There are concurrent lessons within my life curriculum that are currently in class however they started at different periods in my life. The end of the current teachings are coalescing, propelling me on towards the next chapter. The lessons plans that are congruent involve my destiny to be of service in which I will become a healer through the use of tobacco. This was revealed to me five years ago during a Vilca ceremony in the summer of 2016:

I continued ascending to the place that is the upper world or heaven as we like to call it and saw the souls that reside there. There was a knowing metaphorical feeling about all of this. Directly above heaven was the place curanderos and curanderas go at death and also the place where they obtain the power to heal. These healers are sent to our world by the Great Mother in order to help heal in service to her. Anytime they are sent down there is a chance they won't wake up or return which makes it a perilous journey to undertake. Then I was told I have within me the power to heal and to go ahead and enter this place and claim my power, so I did. It was explained that the red life force energy I had witnessed I had an abundance of and that's why the Huachuma activated in me makes me vibrate so intensely. I understood this as having an abundance of serpent energy. To heal I was told to hold ceremony and use mapacho smoke to activate my healing power. I was cautioned to be of service, to not be in it for personal aggrandizement, and to always give credit to the Great Mother.

This vision was in conjunction with an Ayahuasca ceremony the previous week that showed me that the time was not now as I still had worldly obligations to fulfill:

The scene tilted up and I saw an apartment which made me very emotional because it meant the house had been sold as the kids had grown up and moved out and my dog Luna had probably passed away - it was the retirement years. The lesson having to do with the relentless marching on of time. The Goddess pointed out my children are 14 and 12 and time flies so to be as good a husband and father I could be. When I was ready after that we would discuss more about being of service as I had wanted to discover my path and how I can become more of service to the Goddess.

The path ahead at this time appeared to be about a seven-year thread towards the next chapter. It’s been over five years since those revelations and I can see it all coming together from seed, to root, to stem, to flower.

The first chapter of my awakening involved middle age in 2007 and becoming curious about life. I took on a lifetime of learning in under five years, and now educated, I woke up. Egypt instilled in me the magic and I went searching for the Goddess. When I knew I had found her, I prepared to go meet her in the Amazon jungle in 2013 and thus began the second chapter. Chapter two is the exciting drama of my hero’s journey, taking on a dragon, and returning a warrior. This chapter closed in 2016 at which time I had transformed into a jaguar and received a vision of my destiny. Chapter three was when I turned 50 and completed my climb up the mountain in 2017. I was the conquering hero, I was shown the underpinnings of all, and given the keys to eventually realize just who I am. I was presented with the challenge to burn away all the obstacles that hold me back. I learned about consciousness and vibration. I was a really good student. In Ayahuasca ceremonies in 2019 and 2020, it became clear I was to move on. I love the jungle; I love ceremony and the magical nights with the seduction of Ayahuasca and the bliss of a lifetime in a day with Huachuma. The chapter is ending. I clearly see why I have to move on; the omens are all pointing towards this outcome. I’d like to honour all my teachers and give my heartfelt thanks. I just need to write a proper ending later this year.

The last five years I have spent taking a couple steps forwards and a subsequent step back. I’d slip in and out of vibrations that were trapping me and not allowing me to escape their hold. These blocks were strong and draining to which I developed and tried many different strategies to overcome these obstacles. I came to accept my predilection towards second chakra pleasure seeking and just recently the idea of sacrifice entered into my world. I’ll always maintain the power within to fulfill whatever fleeting pleasure I wish to chase however if I wish to move past this block and fulfill my destiny, sacrifice was required. You give up something to get something. It’s western spiritual speak for reciprocity and it touched a chord deep within. I can do this. And so, I sacrificed in preparation of writing the next chapter.

In conjunction with my sacrifice, immediately my path forward became clear and the knowledge of tobacco and the strength and protection he offers greatly increased. I discovered the symbiotic relationship between the human and tobacco and my interest being piqued I started in earnest to look towards the next phase of my education. I started looking around for a Tabaquero, who is a master of tobacco, in order to begin the process of becoming a healer through the use of tobacco. I knew I’d be pointed in the direction of where to go once I was shown all the options. The coincidences and omens would lead me towards where I am to head. I have the clarity of vision to know when I have found what I’m looking for.

The ongoing pandemic has forced me to integrate all my plant medicine experiences and get a handle on where I am in my journey. The use of Mapacho tobacco has been the most important aid in this reconciliation of my experiences. I can process my experiences out in nature and then at night time after being in communion with tobacco and conducting ceremony, the movie projector gets fired up and the dreaming begins, allowing me to explore consciousness. I can see it. This chapter is ending. There’s a touch of sadness in that I’ll have to leave things I love for now and take up my sword and fulfill my destiny.

This is my destiny and the tides of life are pulling me along. To not swim with this strong current would lead to a suffocating non-fulfillment. The pull is as strong as the force that originally drove my obsession with ancient Egypt and later the mysterious force that compelled me to naively journey into the Amazon. The call is out there and I’m to answer. I have no choice but to heed the call and let the force take me where it may. Heroes are called to adventure. Once again, I will polish my sword.

tobacco healings

The last ceremony of my 2016 trip down into the Amazon jungle involved the inhalation of these seeds that were grounded up and snorted. This substance is called Vilca and it was the first time I had gone through this shamanic initiation. The lead up to the moment was pretty intense as the maestro don Howard makes you question your inner fortitude in addition to forcing you to look within for the necessary courage and bravery to undergo this rite of passage. The visionary chemical components of Vilca consist of two different compounds of the substance dimethyltryptamine as well as bufotenine, which as the Maestro cautioned, may make you feel like you are dying. This initial experience went pretty gentle on me. I floated up through the three shamanic worlds. In the middle world, don Howard was present sitting on a rock ledge waving to me. In the upper world, I looked up and saw a place populated by curanderos and curanderas. I asked my guide what was this place and was told this is where all the great healers reside waiting for their next opportunity to be of service. I was then told that was my destiny and I would accomplish my healing through the use of the jungle tobacco called Mapacho.

When I returned home that summer I reflected upon this visionary experience and concluded the Amazon basin definitely doesn’t need another shaman so I wondered what was meant by becoming a healer. During my work with Ayahuasca that particular trip I was shown I’m not ready yet. I had to complete my worldly obligations before taking up what was calling out to me. I knew there was a connection and I would be patient and just let it unfold.

My first exposure to Mapacho was in 2013. It was strong and pungent. I wasn’t a smoker and treated this jungle tobacco as a local curiosity. When I returned to the Amazon in 2015 at SpiritQuest, don Howard conducted a Mapacho ceremony the first full day at the Sanctuary and treated the tobacco with reverence and respect. He sent us off into the jungle to set our intentions for our coming cycle of work with Ayahuasca. I smoked a full puro for the first time and felt a calming peace envelop me along with light-headedness and slight nausea. During the Ayahuasca ceremonies I grew to dislike the smell of the tobacco spirit as the maloca filled up with its strong aroma due to the incessant smoking by the shamans. I did notice that the shamans used Mapacho to create a circuitous arkana around the physical space for protection. Don Rober personally blessed our crown chakras before each ceremony with smoke which is called a soplando while he continually puffed on Mapacho the whole ceremony. The next morning everyone would go for their flower bath and again don Rober would use tobacco to seal us up energetically. When people came to him intra-ceremony to receive personal healing, he would suck out their energetic blocks and then seal up the disturbance with the smoke of the tobacco. It was quite good theatre. I mean, I’m a western man so I looked upon this as some kind of performative placebo that may or may not help the patient. When we visited other tribes, don Rober would sometimes come along with his Mapacho in tow and offer healing through the blowing of smoke. I watched as he tended to a pregnant woman who was feeling abdominal discomfort, rub her side, and then blew the smoke on the energetic disturbance. How very odd yet intriguing.

In 2016 my relationship to Mapacho changed leading up to the Vilca ceremony. I watched don Howard, the wizard, control the smoke in a ceremony up on the star deck and I was enchanted. I imitated him and in doing so I smoked so much tobacco that night which in conjunction with the Huachuma we had drank earlier in the day sent me into an energetic frenzy. I had so much energy coursing through me that I was pinned to the ground. I pressed my lips to the earth to try and dissipate the energetic storm. The power was definitely off the charts. It all culminated that evening with the vision concerning healing with Mapacho. The trajectory of my life was inexorably altered on that day.

I brought home a bunch of Mapacho and after a month or so started to smoke them while observing and recording the experience. It was definitely a rush, an agitation of the central nervous system, and I could feel the activation and rising power within. I made a conscious effort to be respectful of the spirit and conducted a small ceremony with each puro smoked. I watched out for any signs of addiction or dependence. I felt none and learned respect was the key.

Presently, my daily routine consists of making time to be in communion with the spirit of Mapacho. Mapacho is my teacher and my ally back here at home. He helps me integrate all my experiences and teaches me to quiet the mind, open the heart, and let the knowledge come to me. He offers strength and protection to those who come with a respectful attitude. I’ve spent about five years now in a relationship with Mapacho and haven’t forgotten my vision of becoming a healer through the use of tobacco though I did lose track of time and should have realized the time suggested by my visions was drawing near.

In the western world the idea of healing through tobacco is preposterous. The first reaction of all who I mention my tobacco friend to generally consists of the question: “Aren’t you afraid of addiction and getting cancer?” Culture has put one over on us. It’s a really good study of how culture works in that we have been brainwashed to immediately correlate tobacco with cancer; cancer being pretty much the unhealthiest state the body can be in. The dissonance is incredible and there’s no way you can remain a pawn of culture and continue along this path. I constantly write in this blog space about liberation and freeing yourself from others and the stultifying effects of culture. Well, here you go. To become a healer who uses tobacco as the main source of providing the healing means releasing oneself from the bondage of his fellow man and the chains of culture.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been the impetus for finding within the strength to operate independent of society as much as possible. Peer pressure, coercion, expectations, disappointments, and judging minds all sneer at you as you walk free of their control. If this was a test, I aced it, and gave the middle finger to culture. I embodied the “you do you and I’ll do me” philosophy to a tee. I’m liberated! My mind is free and I’m a critical thinker.

I’m a mystic with a foot still in the word of logic and reason. I was researching the effects of Covid-19 on the body which led me to understanding the most harmful part of the disease is the body’s reaction to the invader. The virus is so pernicious that the immune system goes on high alert and releases a storm of killer cells called cytokines to fend off the pathogen. I suppose the immune system sees this potential grave threat and has to do whatever possible to rid the organism of the invader. The result is massive inflammation within the body which could cause damage to vital organs if the cytokine storm gets out of control.

https://www.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/2020/03/the-coronavirus-turns-deadly-when-it-leads-to-cytokine-storm-identifying-this-immune-response-is-key-to-patients-survival-report.html

While educating myself, I came across a study which curiously demonstrated that chronic smokers disproportionately were admitted to the hospital because of the symptoms of Covid-19. The first reaction would be of course they would be disproportionally affected because smoking damages the lungs and a respiratory illness would be trouble. However, the data showed the opposite. Way less smokers were being admitted than the general population. I researched further and found out that the drug found within tobacco with a bad name for its addictive qualities, nicotine, is responsible for this situation. The effects of nicotine within the body modulates the release of cytokines. I’m no scientist, so, it’s best I quote from studies concerning this finding:

Daily active smokers are infrequent among outpatients or hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Several arguments suggest that nicotine is responsible for this protective effect via the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR). Nicotine may inhibit the penetration and spread of the virus and have a prophylactic effect in COVID-19 infection.

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04583410

Nicotine, an α7-nACh receptor agonist, may boost the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway and hinder the uncontrolled overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines triggered by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is understood to be the main pathway to poor outcomes and death in severe COVID-19.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33269148/

This led to discovering a similar situation during the outbreak in 2010 of the H1N1 flu virus:

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0086166

And to complete the descent into the rabbit hole of the protective qualities of tobacco, I found references to the prophylactic role tobacco played during the Black Plague that swept across Europe 600 years ago:

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2015/05/great-plague-london/

If I say to someone that nicotine will protect them from the serious effects of Covid-19, the immediate reaction is a smile, followed by a laugh, while waiting for me to finish the joke. This is a prime example of how culture and the repetition of cultural “truths” inculcate within a knee-jerk response to any information that leads to severe cognitive dissonance. The next utterance out of the mouth of someone who has been given this information is, “Well, so they don’t get Covid but instead get cancer. No thanks.” There it clearly is. Tobacco = cancer. How about a nicotine patch or nicotine chewing gum? Do we not want to save lives or are vaccines the only way? So we are told.

Puzzled but not surprised by the power inherent by constant repetition, I thought of IQ tests for some unknown reason. I remember writing them as a child and being presented an image and having to pick out from a series of following images which did not go with that image. For example, you are shown a firetruck and then four images such as a house on fire, a Dalmatian dog, a fire hydrant, and glass of milk. The house on fire and hydrant are correlative but it is culture that makes you connect the Dalmatian to the firetruck when this image and the milk should be valid answers. Culture told me the Dalmatian goes with the firetruck just as it tells me tobacco goes with cancer. Imagine from this simple example how those in charge of my education could program my mind and then leave me to live out my life within that state of mind. Part of the IQ test reveals your level of brainwashing. Too bad for them I woke up.

Mapacho contains up to 18% nicotine and no tar. Mapacho is a pretty harsh smoke and is near impossible to take into your lungs without a coughing fit. Commercial cigarettes contain just 1% nicotine and about 30% tar. The diseases caused by smoking are directly related to the effects of tar or the chemical additives within western brand cigarettes. The additives are used to make the effects of nicotine more addictive and to take away the harshness of smoking so the consumer can pull the smoke into the lungs and increase the absorption and rewards. Adding ammonia to the leaf during the tobacco manufacturing process makes the experience smooth however burning ammonia with nicotine creates a chemical reaction that results in free-base nicotine which gets to the brain in a hurry and makes it highly addictive. These tobacco companies also add sugars into cigarettes which also leads to a less irritating smoke. However, when these sugars are burned they create toxic compounds called aldehydes which cause heart and lung diseases and cancers of the lung and bladder.

My intuition is on high-alert and the connection between my life, my visions, the pandemic, and the role nicotine can play in protecting and healing us from these pathogens is clear. I’d go far as saying the relationship of humans to tobacco is symbiotic and we threw it all away on the all too familiar altar of power. The pursuit of power by using tobacco for gain turned a great healing agent of humanity into a killer. How sad.

I sometimes ask Pachamama how can I be of service? How can I help? The answer seems pretty clear and has been laid out for me. I need to educate myself further concerning Mapacho and learn as much as I can about the plant. I’ll bring Mapacho back into my world as an ambassador for pure Mapacho tobacco armed with knowledge and an inner knowing of my relationship with the spirit of the plant.

tell the truth

Life is one big game of obfuscation and denial, creating a story and character in order to deflect the prying eyes of the judge we all contain within us and externally manifest as culture. Our story hides us from our truth. The judges within society want to see behind the curtain to determine what makes me tick however it’s the same thing that makes them tick. They just live in denial and also have created a persona to bury their lusts, though eventually all comes up to the surface and desires have to be met. Why would I be different? I want to go to church so I can sit there and laugh. Look at all the phony holy and righteous. Wow. What did you do in your life that you aren’t so proud of? So much so, you think you needed to be saved. Why not admit you’re a scoundrel? We all are potential reprobates. If we lay those cards on the table at the beginning of the game then we’d understand each other better and we could get down to creating way more pleasure than the pain we materialize.

My plant medicine journeys definitely have revealed to me the casino nature of life and how this is the big game of chance, skill, and rewards. I had no idea what I was seeing during an early vision of the hypnotic nature of existence and I still find it very mysterious however when I sank down into my depths I remember seeing spinning representations of the four suits in a deck of cards. Everything was hypnotic, sketchy, and there was a definite unease running through the experience. I ended up in the lair of a demon who proceeded to scare the shit out of me and I ran. I didn’t even know where I was running to but just had to do the flight thing because fight was definitely not in the cards. The rest of the night was a thorough beatdown, drumming into me what a degenerate I was and how I played the game well and kept all my carnal lusts and desires hidden. One day, all my secrets would be revealed and being a libertine, I’m destined to die miserable and alone.

We all do the dance, so, it’s not like I’m someone special in that regard and the script is probably interchangeable. It was only when I learned to tell the truth that I was able to reconcile my perceived deviancy. The best advice I have ever received in this regard came from Ram Dass via his guru Maharaji: “Love all and tell the truth.” Loving all enables within the power of love and allows you to understand the enormous power that is within your form. You have no idea of your personal power however there are two relatively easy paths towards feeling that power within and love is one of them. I invite you to love all and experience it, even if temporary. Telling the truth allows you to drop the narrative of self. There is only so far you can get on the spiritual path without embracing truth. The story you tell about yourself in essence strips away the omnipotent power within and you can’t see it because you sacrificed it to play a character. When you start practicing telling the truth, doors to the unknown become unlocked and knowledge is exponentially increased. The astute adherent then has an easy time understanding the knowledge. It’s pretty awesome. I won’t give the show away but instead point you towards these words of advice to love all and tell the truth.

To successfully embark upon the path of liberation requires one to tell the truth. The truth about how you feel and the truth about yourself. Your feelings are never wrong; they may be morally or culturally deviant however it is an accurate barometer of self. The flip side is feelings can be manipulated by culture and others so thus the need for liberation in order to re-discover self. When one hears of someone going on a journey to find themselves this is essentially what they are trying to get at. We tell little stories, which are fancy lies, about ourselves all the time in order to fit in and be consistent. We allow others to control our narrative and we are expected to conform to their expectations. If we do not play along or slip up we are said to be acting out of character. In some instances, one is sent away for psychiatric help or counselling in order to return them to the performance that everyone can count on. That actor is a stooge in someone else’s play. The drama and your part is being written for you. How about you become the writer, director, and actor of your own play? That’s where liberation comes in.

To fully go into the path of liberation involves embracing duality. Embracing duality allows you to separate yourself from others, culture, and the stories you tell about yourself. The separation allows you to live in truth which in turn allows you to sit with who you are. Seeing everything as separate allows you to objectify all. Everyone is an independent being, including the trees and animals. From this state of seeing everything as separate you can then start to let it go one by one. This is where the love of the Goddess comes in and you start the process of tempering your newfound liberation with love which will pull you back towards unity. Instead of dutifully repeating the grand spiritual narrative of oneness, you start from the beginning and see we are all connected which naturally leads to duality falling away. You have liberated yourself and realized in truth everyone you see is you. At first, it’s quite the paradox, however, it is a necessary exercise in order to get to the crux of the mystery.

Do it, go full on into the right-hand path of the individual to the point of pathology where you are so involved in the separation and delineation of self you shine the brightest light possible upon your existence. The self you define splinters and becomes many selves. In fact, we already know we have many iterations of self that we subdivide into our personality traits. Overdose on self! Then you will see the transitory nature of the character you play. The character is real but is ever changing and thus cannot be defined. The only definition I’m sure of regarding form is the verb transformation which means change. It’s what we do. It’s so curious that the form provided by the Goddess is constantly changing in order to stay biologically alive. The pulse of energy is decelerated by the love of the feminine into form and while in form the masculine power creates ego because he wants to have his cake and eat it too. I want to be in a unified form yet also be separate and free! So, the answer is to first go all the way and become free and from the position of liberation invite back in unity and temper your freedom with love.

Liberation is the first step, not love. Free yourself before learning to love. Going into love as the first step prevents you from discovering just whom you really are. Seeking liberation eventually allows you to see you are inseparable from everything and this mystery is the flow of the eternal energy of the divine feminine and masculine coming forth. Liberation will lead to a unity that is tempered by the love of the Goddess.

Going into love as the first step on the spiritual path will suck you into a vortex you will never escape. Liberation will allow you to see those who will suck you in. This is because you want to see the good in others and blinders have been placed on your early warning system. There are many on the path who present themselves as wanting to help and will offer to teach. They will invite you into their world. They are magicians. You can only see it if you are liberated. Following your heart will lead you to these people who weave magic spells and will collect you as a follower. So many are easily seduced and it’s usually pretty benign. Most shamans fall into this category of being a magician as they are creating an aura and persona that is designed to collect you as a follower to which at some point they will take advantage of that relationship. It’s the tried and true human behaviour which has been going on for centuries. A good example of this collecting behaviour is social media. It’s a hangout for magicians who are weaving spells through their words and pictures trying to invite you into their world to become a follower. There’s a hit of egoistic pleasure and power that us humans get from acquiring views, followers, positive comments - negative comments are not welcome as they could break the spell. In essence, it’s all a con. It’s the same behaviour on the spiritual path, whether you choose plant medicines, a religion, a discipline, or a guru and I’d estimate the majority of people you run into playing the part of spiritual guide are doing just this. It’s inviting to try out this method of enchantment if you know you have the power. The spiritual novices are lost and bewildered and when initially taking up the path they are looking for help and a teacher to look up to. For the spiritual magician, it's easy to exchange knowledge for prestige and be placed on a pedestal which leads to the seeker being seduced into becoming a follower. It’s something to look out for when at first you follow your heart because it’s so easy to be trapped on the spiritual path by someone, as you naturally want to trust and find the good in people. The spiritual path draws only good people, right?

So, what I’m saying is the first stop on the spiritual path is liberation. Free yourself from culture and others. Get in touch with yourself because within you will find all the answers you are looking for. I know that is cliché where you always look externally for answers first before exhausting that path and finding all you need was within. However, it’s true! Looking externally finds religion, spiritual paths, history, and myth which is useful however eventually you go full circle and see it’s all within.

I can tell you to first become liberated but no one will take me up on that advice. You're going to go to others and have them solve your problems for you. Looking within is where you are going to end up and you’ll save yourself a lot of time and energy if you liberate yourself and glimpse at the answers waiting for you.

There are two plant medicines that are really good at helping you discover the power that is within you when you are ready. For a full-on immersion there is nothing like Huachuma. For the seeker with an intention, Huachuma unleashes the power within and you will vibrate with an intense power. At first, it’s quite unnerving to discover this however when you later examine the process you see you have buried within this immense power. If you stay on that path of discovery you will come to intimately know the power and realize it emanates from you and not someone else, not from the cactus, or from some other external source. From a physical standpoint it is such a great teaching, as you physically realize the great power you hold that has been buried within you for so long is now liberated. A subtler take on this experience of power is with Mapacho. While out in nature with the tobacco maestro, a smoke will cause central nervous system agitation. You will feel within the rising power. It’s a good way to integrate a Huachuma experience as it allows access to the power felt with Huachuma but at a level that allows you to process the experience and connect the dots. Those two plant medicines really help with the path of liberation because once you know of the power within you do not need to look externally for answers or give away your personal power to anyone else.

In my experience, I was lucky to meet the maestro don Howard and make no mistake he was a magician. If you ever saw him in a Huachuma ceremony he would blow you away with his mastery. It would be pretty easy to become enchanted by him but he maintained a hands-off approach where he’d teach and send you on your way. I went on my way and tried to maintain contact. Once in a while, you’d get a response but for the most part you were dropped in the deep end of the pool and had to figure out how to swim. It was a healthy distance to prevent dependence. Deep within, I knew it was the way, as he is getting you to internally look for answers. Upon returning to his place, there would be a two-week intensive and off you go. He didn’t want to collect you and if you wished to return he was very grateful but no pressure. I was fortunate because I didn’t get sucked into any enchantment or devotion to any place.

Once you are free from culture and the spells others are trying to put on you, life and games we play become quite funny. You stand back and see what others are doing and you want to caution people. You listen to others but don’t fall for their outreach. Live your own life. Being liberated allows you to open your heart and have love and compassion for all without getting trapped in others' drama or be sucked in by the enchanter trying to draw you into their story and collect you.