How Sacred Plant Medicine Transformed My Life

“As a psychotherapist I now believe that until you decide to tackle the source of your true disconnection from your Soul, any other therapy is simply putting a band aid on a deeper wound”.

Healing is a journey. Awakening to our Divine Nature unfolds as we encounter, embrace and decipher the meaning of the experiences of life. Whether we understand or recognize it at the time, all of our challenges possess the potential to reawaken us to our Divine Nature.

Our human journey necessitates becoming adventurers of our inner landscapes. We are here to unravel the misconceptions, misperceptions and misunderstandings that limit the experience of a purposeful and fulfilled life.

Personally, I have come to truly appreciate these challenges as the “grist to the mill” of my spiritual awakening.

With hindsight, I now understand that my emotional wounds served as powerful catalysts for growth.

Moments of Realization
As a mind-body psychotherapist as well as a naturopathic doctor, you might say that I had hit a spiritual wall. Personal development, self-analysis and spiritual practices had played a major role in my life. But I yearned for a quantum leap that would allow a greater spiritual connection.

By chance I stumbled upon an article that described the profound transformation that occurred from an experience with the Amazonian plant medicine called Ayahuasca.

I am a firm believer that everything in life happens for a reason. I felt like this was a sign. I intuitively knew that this experience could offer the profound personal insight and spiritual growth that I was seeking. Packing my long-standing psychological wounds into a suitcase, I headed off on my travels in search of this deeper connection.

Sacred Medicine
They call the plant medicine known as Ayahuasca, sacred medicine. It is an herbal brew made from two very special plants found in the Amazon. The indigenous peoples that has been using this brew for thousands of years for spiritual insight and healing. It is conducted in a ceremony guided by traditionally trained shaman.

One of the ingredients of this tea is a vine, Banisteriopsis caapi, or the ayahuasca plant (which means ‘vine of the soul’ or ‘vine with a soul’). The second ingredient is chacruna (Psychotria viridis) a plant that contains a relatively high amount of the psychoactive molecule DMT.

What the purpose of Ayahuasca? The combination of these two plants opens a window into extraordinary states of consciousness. These inner journeys facilitate an ability to access a profound perspective of one’s Self as well as psychological and physical healing.

Over the past decade the use of Ayahuasca has attracted people from all over the world. Not only academic researchers have shown an increased interest, but also people seeking greater self-awareness and spiritual awakening.

Exploring Other Dimensions
My first encounter with this spiritual brew was in Peru. The experience in the Amazon profoundly changed my life perspective and gave me an entirely new vision. I knew I had embarked upon a new path in my life and I was drawn to deepen my experience.

The next unfoldment of my journey happened when I watched the documentary, The Reality of Truth. It explored Ayahusaca medicine and featured a unique healing center called Rythmia in Costa Rica. I knew this was the next stop on my personal journey.

Rythmia Life Advancement Center a unique luxury resort with a very special mission. It is a powerful healing environment combined with a spa experience along with Ayahuasca ceremonies. It is the only medically licensed plant medicine retreat center in the world.

The combination of massages, hydrotherapy, organic food, yoga sessions, meditations and educational classes combined with the experience of the plant medicine ceremonies facilitated an access to deep insight, creativity and psychological and physical healing.

Healing a Deep Wound
The Rythmia experience opened portals of healing and transformation for me. Many profound things occurred in my journeys. I was able to tap into deep psychological healing.

These deep inner explorations allowed me to access the limitations and misperceptions that I had been programmed with from a very early age.

I discovered that many of our limiting beliefs are merely the leaves on a tree. Resolving persistent stressors, personal difficulties and illnesses require getting to the real roots of the issues.

My personal experience of feeling disconnected from a loving and safe world began early in my life.

As it turns out, my birth trauma was a major imprint of how I perceived my world. I had always known in my conscious awareness that this experience had deeply affected me, but I never had the ability to explore the greater ramifications of its impact on my relationships and self-esteem. I discovered that my mother’s 24-hour labor had been difficult for her and me. I felt trapped, suffocated and terrified. It felt that I was dying. When I was finally born, I was quickly taken away…no bonding…no breast feeding. I was alone, abandoned and traumatized!

That’s a lot for an infant’s impressionable nervous system to experience. It had a lasting imprint on me. Vulnerability was a risk; opening my heart was dangerous. Unconsciously, these imprints ran my life.

New Connections and Pathways
Through the experiences of the plant medicine ceremonies, I was finally able to re-connect to my soul. It was profound beyond what words can express. I felt re-aligned to the flow of Life.

Something unexpected happened to me after this journey that totally validated the deep change that had occurred.

Tthroughout my life, I had always yearned to sing. But it was evident that a singing career was never in my future. I couldn’t even carry a tune. Tone deaf was an accurate description if my singing abilities.

After one of my Ayahuasca journeys, I ventured off to the ocean to enjoy a chance to float in the calm ocean waters. I don’t know why, but I suddenly begin to sing. And to my utter amazement, a beautiful voice emerged! I couldn’t believe it! I could sing, hold a tune and even reach high notes. This was a truly miracle! My singing voice has been permanently transformed! I sing all the time now…in tune!!!

The transformation of my voice was an undeniable validation of the deep healing I received from my Ayahuasca experience.

I believe that Ayahuasa has a sacred purpose. It is to reconnect us with our Self and with the Love and Peace that flows through all life. The spirit of Ayahuasca is now travelling all over the world assisting in the global awakening of consciousness.

The Song of the World
One of the shamans who guided the ceremonies told me that the sacred medicine allows us to shed our conditioned reality and restore our true connection with nature. The medicine opens a doorway of perception, an inner journey, healing wounds and misperceptions so we can once again align with our Soul and our Heart.

As a psychotherapist I now believe that until you decide to tackle the source of your true disconnection with the universe, any other therapy can mere point the way to lessons that need to be learned. But words and intellectual concepts cannot provide a direct experience and deep transformation.

This sacred medicine is a loving gift from the Spirit of Ayahuasca to our modern, materialistic culture. The indigenous peoples of the Amazon are sharing their healing medicine with those of us who seek true inner peace and the direct experience of our Divine Nature.

People come to Rythmia seeking healing. During the one week program, I personally witnessed people resolving PTSD, abuse, addictions, and emotional traumas, physical illnesses. People shared with me that they were able to connect with their creative nergies, discovered a greater purpose and healed their relationships. When you truly connect to your Soul, all things are possible!

I am truly blessed to have been guided to Ayahuasca and to Rythmia. I have a new found vision and clarity. I am grateful to be able to share my experiences and encourage people to discover the special magic that awaits them at Rythmia. It’s no wonder why people from all over the world are attracted to this very special retreat center.

Open to the Unknown

It is only natural for people to have many apprehensions when considering journeying with Ayahuasca. Stepping into the unknown seems like risky business. But I would urge all those seeking this path to trust and move beyond the fear. This medicine has the power to clear the illusions that hide our Souls. The journeys are always unique and always unexpected but always for our healing.

Everything in my life is now flowing perfectly. My brain has changed. I am more relaxed and Ayahuasca has given me a re-wiring of my neural networking that has changed my perception of reality. Letting go of fear has taken me to a fundamental healing place in my life where there is a release and flow of energy.

Rythmia is so unique. It is a place embraced by the beauty of nature, offering a time of rest and renewal from our stressful world. But most of all, Rythmia is a sacred place where people awaken to their beauty and the beauty of Life.