Media Consciousness Medicine

Consciousness Medicine: Indigenous Wisdom, Entheogens, and Expanded States of Consciousness for Healing and Growth

A comprehensive guide to the safe and ethical application of expanded states of consciousness for therapists, healing practitioners, and sincere explorers

 

Psychedelic medicines also known as entheogens are entering the mainstream. And it’s no wonder: despite having access to the latest wellness trends and advances in technology, we’re no healthier, happier, or more meaningfully connected. Psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, and LSD—as well as other time-tested techniques with the power to shift consciousness such as drumming, meditation, and vision quests—are now being recognized as potent catalysts for change and healing. But how do we ensure that we’re approaching them effectively?

 

Françoise Bourzat—a counselor and experienced guide with sanctioned training in the Mazatec and other indigenous traditions—and healer Kristina Hunter introduce a holistic model focusing on the threefold process of preparation, journey, and integration. Drawing from more than thirty years of experience, Bourzat’s skillful and heartfelt approach presents the therapeutic application of expanded states, without divorcing them from their traditional contexts. Consciousness Medicine delivers a coherent map for navigating nonordinary states of consciousness, offering an invaluable contribution to the field of healing and transformation.

Auszug aus Kapitel 10: Entering the Unknown - Journey into an Expanded State:

The Four Phases of a Journey 

Even though each person’s inner experience is unique as well as nonlinear and will not necessarily adhere to this map, most journeys tend to follow a basic arc that can be roughly divided into four phases: the entry, the immersion, the reflection, and the return. The descriptions of the four phases offer a broad map, while the specific types of experience that can occur are examined in detail in the following chapter. Each of these phases consists of their unique intensity, characteristics, and insights. 

The Entry 

Once the guide and journeyer are settled in their location with everything in place, they are ready to begin the journey. The first phase of the entry begins as soon as the technique is engaged. If it is a plant medicine ceremony, the journeyer takes the sacrament and the guide may begin to sing. If it is a sweat lodge, the flaps are now closed. If it is a dance retreat, the music is beginning. If it is a vision quest, the journeyer sets up camp in the wilderness and speaks their intention. It is now time to surrender to the experience, however it may unfold. The journeyer will begin to observe changes as they become accustomed to new internal conditions within their physical and emotional experience. If they are in a sweat lodge, this phase consists of acclimating to the darkness, the heat, the crowded conditions, and one’s breath. Hearing other people’s prayers begins to create a sense of community, trust, and bonding in the shared moment. If they are on a vision quest, this is the first day. They may feel their solitude as it triggers old wounds or basic fears around survival. Alternatively, they may experience a feeling of liberation. If the journeyer has taken a psychoactive sacrament, they may begin to feel unusual physical sensations: tingling, buzzing, warmth, relaxation, or waves of emotion. As unknown physical and psychological effects occur, fear often arises. Facing an unknown situation may call forth a habitual coping mechanism. One’s ego defenses may be mobilized and activated. It is normal to be concerned for one’s well-being as perception changes and expands. Especially during this phase, it is the job of the guide to help the journeyer feel safe. This is the time for the journeyer to breathe deeply, relax, and trust the process and their guide. In the case of a ceremony with a psychoactive sacrament, the journeyer can now focus on relaxing the body and recall their intention for the experience. They can surrender to the reassuring presence of the guide as the guide begins to sing, pray, or silently tend the space while the substance begins to take effect. Feelings and emotions, memories, and thoughts will begin to rise to the surface. This moment can feel overwhelming and frightening or familiar and enjoyable, or all of the above. Consciousness has begun to expand.

The flap of the lodge is closed now. We sit in total darkness. A pile of stones sits in the middle of the lodge emitting an incredible heat. My body warms up quickly, and I begin to sweat. I pace my breathing and relax my body. I duck my head down to catch some cooler air. My neighbor is breathing heavily and making grunting sounds. She is new to this ritual, and I sense her apprehension. Marilyn’s chants fill the small space, and somehow it makes me feel safe. People begin to share their prayers. I listen to each of them, sensing the sincerity of their words. My neighbor tells of her mother who is preparing for surgery. My friend across the lodge cries when she shares about her youngest daughter. I sense how the heat is softening each of us, both physically and emotionally. As the heat begins to penetrate into my bones, I feel myself surrendering as my emotions rise to the surface of my awareness. I speak my prayer, words for my sister and her cancer treatment. I feel my wish for her healing and my love for her life.

Immersion

The second phase of a journey is the immersion, which includes the journey’s greatest intensity. At this point a journeyer may feel they are being flooded; they may feel carried by the experience rather than being in control. Deeper dimensions of psychological and energetic content may begin to churn, and the journeyer might feel afraid as they enter a space that can feel chaotic. The ego may grip even tighter to avoid disintegration. The journeyer may feel stuck and confused or overwhelmed and panic-stricken. Alternatively, perhaps the journeyer’s ego defenses are now beginning to relax. Aspects of the psyche and unconscious reveal themselves in mysterious and unpredictable ways. The journeyer can feel intense emotions, see vivid images, hear voices, or have memories emerge as the material of their deep, inner world is accessed. Journeyers may open the wounds of their past. They may experience cathartic struggle, anger, or frustration. Emotional contractions may release as consciousness shines onto specific aspects of their lives. At times, prenatal or birth memories surface. Journeyers can experience also synesthesia, as their sensory inputs flow into one another and overlap. The dissolution of the ego structure opens us up into an experience of a transpersonal nature. Journeyers might find themselves in cosmic contemplation, seeing the matrix of creation as an ongoing wheel of eternity. There can be a sense of majestic liberation, infinite beauty, or authentic belonging. Shape-shifting into animals or connecting with material from past lives can take place. Experiences of collective or cosmic consciousness become available. They may even experience a sense of the divine through visions or through their body. Some people tune into a sense of celebration, dynamic vitality, and passion. Others might find themselves exhausted by the complexity of the human predicament. During this phase, many people feel they finally understand their place in the universe as they realize love as the force of creation incarnating their life. They may experience a profound clarity of mind or settle into an inner stillness. Sometimes a sense of overwhelming acceptance and compassion arises as a journeyer contemplates the ephemeral preciousness of their life. This can be a time of floating and resting in this sense of ultimate wellness. The varieties of possible experiences in this phase are infinite.

I am in the Amazon jungle in the middle of an ayahuasca ceremony and my visions are slowly intensifying. Neon green and pink insects are vibrating as they multiply across my awareness. The eyes of an emerging jaguar glint black and gold. I feel dizzy, unable to breathe as fear for my survival overwhelms me. It is almost more than I can handle. But I recognize this place, and begin to breathe into my belly, feeling for the floor of the maloca below me. Suddenly my visions shift and soften. My body relaxes, and I feel my breath grounding me on the earth. I am okay.

Reflection

The third phase of a journey is that of reflection. This phase emerges when the intensity of the experience begins to subside and the journeyer’s inner witness reappears. The journeyer is now on the other side of the cathartic immersion and may begin to regain awareness of the other people in the space. This is a time when insights are revealed and one begins to reflect upon the richness of what has taken place. There may be visceral realizations or cognitive understandings as the content of the previous phase begins to fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. These realizations are often felt as embodied truths, without any need for them to be logical or rational. A journeyer may reflect on people, situations, and other aspects of their life from a larger perspective. They may realize how teachers, friends, and other influential people in their lives mirror their state back to them. Complex situations can be understood in their intricacy and for their value toward growth. As we reflect on the myriad connections in our lives, we may experience overflowing gratitude. Alternatively, we may perceive the absence of meaningful connections and recognize a sincere need for community. 

 

My dance teacher enters my awareness. She is such a challenging woman sometimes. At this moment, I feel her passion and love acutely. She encourages me toward gifts I didn’t know I had. I now understand why I brought this challenging woman into my life: to push me to excel and experience my capacities to their fullest extent. My familiar irritation toward her transforms into heartfelt gratitude as I recognize her role in my life, a role I was evidently ready for, as I sought her out myself. I did not know, consciously at least, how her presence would become paramount to my own empowerment. I appreciate my own unconscious intelligence. I smile at my inner resolve to grow and the mysterious way it all takes place.

Emergence

The fourth phase of a journey is that of emergence. The emergence consists of return back to normal reality. If the journey included medicine, the journeyer begins to return to normal perception. The journeyer begins to hear the music, the silence, the songs, or the prayers with greater appreciation. The journeyer’s sensations will return to normal though they may feel tender or even quite raw. If this is the last day of a vision quest or the last couple days of a meditation retreat, one instinctively begins to reorient oneself toward completion. Some people have a difficult time returning to normal reality while others simply feel relief. A journeyer may have experienced a wide range of insights and realizations in regard to their relationships or their life’s purpose. There can be a feeling of renewed clarity and inner purity. If they have connected with challenging emotions, they often feel too fragile to interact, challenged in their capacity to communicate, and somewhat disoriented. At this point, perception is still enhanced and it is normal to feel highly sensitive. They will need a compassionate guide to help them through this phase and gently support their delicate state. This is an appropriate time for rest. This last phase keeps unfolding into the following days and weeks, as the experience begins to inform one’s day-to-day life. This is a time to be comfortable and cozy as one slowly reorients to the external world. Even if the experience has been positive, the journeyer may feel anxious or sad at this time. It is crucial to simply remain open to what is, as consciousness returns to a more familiar state. At the end of a silent meditation retreat, there is often a ritual signaling a return to talking. At the completion of a vision quest, people may gather around the fire and share their visions with the guide. At the end of a sweat lodge, people may rinse themselves off with cool water and lie on the ground. As a medicine journey comes to its end, people may gaze at the altar and reflect on their experience or enjoy a state of open awareness. Immediately after an individual journey is not necessarily the time to discuss the content of the experience. This is a time to eat some food and drink some tea, to rest quietly, or to gently connect with others.

I am at the end of a group Holotropic Breathwork session. After an hour of intense movement and visions, my breath has now returned to normal. The music is soft, spacious, and melodic. My body relaxes, sinking into the support of the floor and the pillows surrounding me. I hear people nearby sighing, quietly crying, and taking long, deep breaths. I am coming back to my awareness of everything around me. I feel exhausted yet fulfilled. Tenderness fills my heart.