How Does Plant Medicine Help You Reach Your Goals?
I just spent a few days hiking in Colorado. Wow! The healing energy of the alpine forests and the joy of discovering one colorful wildflower after the next was just the best! It reminded me that ALL plants are medicine. (Well, maybe not poison ivy.)
On the topic of plants… Recently, a woman wrote to ask how the plant medicines help you reach your goals. It’s an interesting question to answer - because there’s the difference between goals and intentions - and also because you can give explanations that are more scientific or purely mystical.
Here’s what I wrote to her.
The Science
The active ingredient in the medicine creates changes in your brain - in the neural networks connected to the "default mode network.” While on a journey, the default mode relaxes, so that there’s room for more spontaneous activity - i.e. rewiring your brain. You access your subconscious and unconscious mind - which is where all your programming and conditioning are located. In that state, these things naturally shift.
Psychologically, you stop identifying so deeply with your normal identity (your body & your personality) and you often see / feel / know that you're part of something greater. This can have a profound impact.
The Spirit
A journey can be a mystical experience. I view the “niños santos” (sacred children) as divine teachers. You're trusting that the medicine and your Soul / True Essence will show you exactly what you need & take you exactly where you need to go.
The plant medicine holds codes for your transformation.
The ceremony activates those codes.
Integration afterward helps you bring them into your daily life.
Goals vs Intentions
Instead of goals, we work with intentions - and then we release expectations. We'll craft together intentions about what you'd like to heal, release, expand into, or gain new awareness about. An intention is like a prayer. It's a statement of your motivation or direction.
Your intention directs your journey and communicates to your Soul / True Essence what you’re seeking. It helps focus the energies to support you. But then you release expectations and stay open to what unfolds. You can't control the journey. Magic happens in the mystery of it all.
By the way, I’ve recommended this before, but it’s so good - the Michael Pollan Netflix series "How to Change Your Mind” about different plant medicines. Definitely worth watching!