Plant Medicine

I’ve been working with Master Plant Medicines since 2005, assisting hundreds of people with their pre-ceremony preparation and post ceremony integration. 

With the booming interest in plant medicines, comes the responsibility of working with a formally trained and experienced guide to have a meaningful, safe, and deeply transformative experience, and one that will continue to support your growth long after the ceremony is over.

You may already know which plant medicine you are being called to sit with. Or, you may be in place of feeling the call, but not sure which one is right for you at this time in your life. I can help you determine which plant is best.

The proper approach and why plant medicine preparation and integration is essential:

Preparation

The moment you commit to one of the master plant medicine ceremonies, the ceremony has begun. What you do prior to the actual “sit”, and how you prepare yourself, will largely determine what you encounter during the ceremony itself. 

Understanding that the master plant medicines are not just substances, they each have associate spirits with a high level of consciousness, who are here to assist humanity in our evolution, is vital. They are teachers, visionary guides and healers, known by the indigenous people as elixirs that carry with them the intelligence of the Universe. Always approached with reverence and taken as a sacrament, with purposeful intent, plants medicines were only communed with when the individual was “called” and prepared properly.

It’s important to see working with plant spirits as a reciprocal relationship with something Divine and Holy. We will receive to the level of what we put in. We may not always get what we are asking for, but we will get what me need. And, like any good teacher we will be asked to work for “it”- to give something in return, by eating cleaner and having sacrificed some of our comforts. 

During the preparation sessions we will address the following areas, developing a suitable an appropriate plan specific to you.

Cleaning Your Vessel/Diet Preparation

The reasons behind the diet is two fold. One, to enter into the experience as “clean” a vessel as possible so you can connect deeply with the medicine. Two, to prevent possible physical, psychological, and medical side affects.

Density of certain foods, prevents the flow of energy of plant medicines and makes it harder for them to work with you, and may create a more challenging experience. Coming to the ceremony with a detoxed and cleansed body will allow the medicines to work with more ease and on more expansive levels. Purifying the body purifies your mind and energy field, creating heightened states of awareness.

Your current diet will determine how far out the cleansing diet should begin.

While there is a lot of varying information on an appropriate diet leading up to the ceremony, as well as post ceremony, there are definitive foods, beverages, supplements, substances, herbs and pharmaceuticals that should be avoided, and certain ones that are absolutely contraindicated for medical reasons. We will discuss all of these in our session/s.

Mental/Psychological Preparation

Alongside giving up certain foods and substances, it’s advised to do a kind of “mental” diet as well. This means avoiding spending a lot of time consuming social media and dark media, while being mindful of what we are consuming with our minds. 

Journaling and mapping our psychological processes, triggers, beliefs, wounds and traumas is a big part of the cleanse, and the “putting in the work”. Mapping our subconscious opens inner doorways to self understanding and the origins of unresolved. Maintaining a quieter, more meditative life, a minimum of two weeks, but ideally a month prior, leading up to the ceremony is key. 

Intentions and Spiritual Preparation

Getting clear on why you are coming to a plant medicine and what you wish to gain can be a process of distillation. Having clear intentions is important, while surrendering to the process and coming with an open mind and open heart to receive what you “don’t know” and “don’t know you need” is actually more important. Striking a balance between the two can be tricky. I will help you navigate this so you are equally prepared and surrendered. 

Finding the right facilitator and ceremony for you

Choosing the right ceremony, setting, facilitator and group is another crucial decision.

Questions to bring forward when finding the right ceremony:

Is the facilitator formally trained? 
Are they reputable? 
How many years have they been leading ceremony?
Where does the plant medicine they serve come from? 
Was the plant harvested and prepared in a ceremonious and sustainable way?
Is the plant medicine combined with other plants? If so, with what?
How many are in the group? 
Is there a medical screening on each participant?

Integration

“The act or process of bringing together components of energetics or information into wholeness, and into a unified, functioning unit.”

The lessons and healing we gain from plant medicine ceremonies are only as valuable as our ability to apply them in our lives outside of the ceremonies themselves. 

Integration is where the rubber hits the road, the spiritual intersects the physical, and the various facets of your ceremony come together. This is the how and the when that your transformation actualizes, and the recalibration of your life really takes form.

Integration of insights and lessons presented during a plant medicine session, is a lifelong process.

Guided and intentional integration sessions help bring clarity and deeper understanding to the visions, symbols or messages you received during the ceremony. 

Shamanic counseling is designed to assist you in bringing these insights into your daily approach to life, along with your spiritual practices, in ways that are appropriate, authentic, natural and practical for you. 

Integration is best when taken slowly and progressively. Together we’ll map out a pace that supports sustainable, graceful and mindful change in your life.

Immediately following a ceremony there can be an urge to make small and/or major changes in one’s life.  On one hand it is encouraged to begin applying the insights and guidance you received during the ceremony as soon as possible. And on the other hand It is highly encouraged to not make major decisions and life changes immediately following ceremony. Instead making your integration process as graceful as possible, by taking a progressive approach.

The time right after ceremony is a very precious time. You’ll want to make sure you give yourself a few days before jumping back into your life. You will have just had a powerful experience that requires space and time for energies and insights to settle in. 

Something I often witness, or hear about, is people wanting to share their experiences with others, but they don’t receive the understanding or the response they are hoping for. Projection from others can cause a doubting of one’s experience or a muddled feeling. Integration sessions provide a clear container for you to share, talk through and keep the insights gained alive, while the deepening of insights inform your inner being and transformation. 

Preparation and Integration sessions are offered as single sessions or can be purchased as a package. Please email me for rates.

I look forward to assisting you in your journey with the Plant Medicines.