Acacia Journey January 2023
My most recent....but not my final
Foreword-Whatever your understanding about psychedelics and plant medicine, I want you to know this is not a scientific peer-reviewed study. This multi-part tale is a biographic moment of my life that was enlightening and illuminating. My need to re-visit these moments is part of my continual integration of these experiences and how they positively impacted me. Even as I write these stories, I continue to learn. I hope you enjoy them. Any questions? Let me know in the comments or feel free to chat with me in any way you like. Take care in all you do.
In my last piece on this topic of DMT/Acacia, I mentioned I would talk a bit more about an experience I had facilitating a group and maybe getting around to the 3 Hits Tale. There was so much crammed into a few years that stories keep coming back to me.
That will have to wait for now because the 2nd anniversary of my last visit with The Plant has just passed and I have been thinking about it. Also, I had been toying about a journey in 2025. With 2024 I found the prospect of having my chest cut open enough to deal with. I did have a nice funghi journey before the operation which was very therapeutic.
Acacia dreaming.
I am thinking of the plant as we slide into 2025.
The 6th of January 2023 and the Full Wolf Moon was set to rise that evening. What a great plan and idea to drink then!? No, it was not done on purpose and I did not find out about this celestial happening until, well, it was happening. Yeah, you know how these moments of synchronicity come about.
With a newfound friend who came along for his second journey, I was ready to sit with him, but I was also strong and prepared to drink an adult-sized portion of the plant. I had brewed 40 grams of plant matter each into the brown-purple brew, and we ingested most of that.
My mate, Ro, had not had the plant before, but he had sipped ayahuasca with Soulore "Lore" Solaris and his band of merry minstrels. That’s another tale to talk about as I had once taken part in a large ceremony with Lore. He is now banned for a period due to a kambo/ayahuasca incident in the Northern Rivers where someone died. Allegedly, there was inappropriate care provided, but the powers that be have this in the courts now, so let’s not dwell on that negativity.
Ro was looking forward to a session where he was not in a large group of 75 people or so. We did not have to wear all white either. This was semi-casual, leisure suit-wearing plant drinking.
The day was sunny and blue and a tad windy. Intentions set and accoutrements of the ceremony were nearby where we ingested the Rue and then the Plant. Now it was all about sitting back for a while to see what we would be shown. Our outlook was over some eucalyptus and a garden. The guinea pigs and chickens and the dog (Max) were all nearby and there was a mood of relaxation and anticipation about what was to happen.
My mind drifted and I found myself with my eyes closed and there was a light splattering of geometric shapes coming into view. Blues and reds and greens, moving, changing geometric shapes but all moving in an easy slow way. It’s interesting to note that during the early days of drinking the plant, the onset was so busy and fractious. Things had changed and I was welcomed in for a wander.
Orange, pink, and purple globs and lego-type shapes appeared with my eyes closed. They did not need to be assembled they were assembling themselves.
My eyes open and I was enveloped in this beautiful summer day. Not a cloud and the gum trees along with their brothers and sisters took on some tribal appearance and that soon morphed into smiling leave faces. I was being welcomed by these beings. These trees I loved and I could feel a warmth come over my body that was not from the sunshine. The trees and I were connected down to the roots.
As I wrote a couple of days post journey:
“After a bit, the trees began to sparkle with purple, iridescent blue, treasures. I thought these treasures were hanging off the branches for a time. The trees continued their joyful, happy dance and I smiled. The dancing wondrous trees soon morphed into graceful peacocks showing off their full beauty.”
The plumage was so clear, I could see the eyespots and the feathered beauty of this majestic bird. It was mostly the gum tree that was the bird although surrounding trees made up some of the feathers of this towering, swaying bird. The head of the peacock turned in the sunlight and I caught its eye. In full presentation, this bird was full of spirit and love.
Looking at Ro and his entire being was dappled in these colours. There were spots on his face of many hues that looked like Aboriginal Dot art. I felt a calmness from Ro and there was no need to check his vitals as he appeared to be traveling well.
I was tempted to ask him if he saw the peacock, but I was lost in the vision and words were far from my lips. Ro was breathing and lost in his visions. My concern that the brew was going to be too strong passed and I relaxed into the glow and felt at one with nature.
Billions of years passed in that chair as I communed with the plants and the peacock.
Working through the purge period later is something I wanted to touch on. I was in and out of the smallest room in the house for a wee bit (what is time?). Although it was blue sky and sunshine outside and it was pouring through the windows, the bathroom went totally purple and black. It was deep and dark like a bruise and the walls were a darkness that was real. I thought for a moment I was going to have a visitation from spirit guides I had met before.
From a physiological point of view, scientists have suggested ayahuasca vomiting is a result of higher levels of serotonin, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract, which can cause direct stimulation of the vagus nerve, as well as diarrhea (McManis and Talley, 1997).
First-hand experience has shown me that this purge is much more than a physical reaction. The purge is believed to help eliminate physical, emotional, and spiritual blockages. From first hand experience, I do confirm that belief.
Purging can come quickly, or periodically or sometimes at the tail end of the expereince. There is no set process but for me there is always a healing element around it. Sometimes things that are a bit dark come up while you are vomiting into a bush or a bucket or the loo.
Today there were reminders of my last long-term relationship, the blended family of 6 kids and the darkness I felt back in time when I knew it was over. Some people say there is a 6-month rule in healing from a relationship that has ended. That equation is 6 months for every year together. That’s a rule of thumb, of course. I am feeling pretty clear of any debris.
It is like layers of an onion peeling away and each time I encounter this feeling during a journey I hold it close and examine it and then let it go. It’s not sadness, it’s not trauma, it’s the life I lived and all the emotions and love that were involved in that time.
Or sometimes there is a glow, a light, a beauty that flows through everything from your soul to the planet. That same mantra…..everything is alright.
Things always change.
The Plant has taught me much about living with love in my heart. I am not talking about romantic love but just have that beating within my being. It’s a mighty big task to connect with that love every day in every moment. We have to keep on keeping on.
The wind picked up and the sun started to get lower in the sky. We were also coming back into our bodies. We lounged on the couches for the next few hours talking about our lives. It was good to get to know more and to share my stories. I was seriously impacted from The Plant and felt the rush of serotonin in my body. We ate some fruit and then some other food I had prepared earlier and soothed our bodies.
At one point as the sun was almost gone I went outside and I yelled, “Ro, get out here now!”
The sky was still blue but the Wolf Moon was rising and the stars were shooting across the sky. Ro said, “Are they shooting stars?” or something like that and we both took in the glorious expanse of the sky, moon, planets and the cosmos for awhile. I guess the plant had not finished with us yet because I know damn well there were not 50 comets and shooting stars in that magical sky.
We learned a lot about each other and the stories flowed. Around 11PM my phone flashed a Facetime call from Heather, my second wife, and the mother of my two children. We had not talked in some time and I was reluctant at first to take the call. I was drawn to the synchronicity of just sharing my life story and this call happening on the full moon, so I sat at the dining room table and accepted a video call. I left the call on speaker so Ro could hear what took place because he knew all the back story now.
No need to go into the details of the call but it was touching and human and a sweet connection I was happy to make at that time.
The Full Moon seemed to be doing some work.
For many weeks after this experience, I was moving at high speed. Tina even asked me if I was OK. I seemed to be over-energised. It was a positive time, but I was not as settled as I should be. I was not feeling myself. It was like a part of me had not quite come back yet. In March I took part in a Holding Sacred/Ceremonial Space Workshop and felt grounded after that weekend. I was only a wee bit concerned.
2 years have passed, and I have not been down The Plant path again. These writings do solidify some of the learnings. I know I will visit with the spirits again when I am called.
There is a whisper.
Enjoy the playlist of songs that came to mind as I have been thinking about folks back in Cali.
Sending love and prayers.