Animosity and Ayahuasca: The Plague of the Plant Medicine Community
I’ll start by saying that my goal is not to be controversial; it is based on an observation reinforced repeatedly when I interact with medicine communities, both on and offline. I won’t throw the baby out with the bathwater either: evidently there are plenty of healed and wise people in the community, but what I’m trying to highlight is the massive amount of discord I see ( especially in the online forums). It seems quite at odds with the point of taking plant medicine in the first place.
I’m focusing mainly on ayahuasca and DMT communities, as that’s where I’m seeing it the most. There appears to be an ever-growing number of commenters prowling medicine forums with the overarching agenda of showcasing experiential, intellectual or spiritual superiority. Perhaps it’s more opportunistic than that – who knows? Either way, it comes across as keyboard warrior syndrome backed by ‘get out of jail free’ cards in the form of entheogenic CVs.
Medicine forums are drowning in hostility
It seems to have reached a point at which if you share an opinion, anyone who has a different one will spring up to pull it apart, and often mercilessly. There is little to no interest in considering the poster’s point of view, or even simply being comfortable with the perception that the poster has a lot to learn. Can we not at least choose to disagree without feeling so offended that we have to “correct” others “ignorance”?
Manners are scarce and there is limited compassion on display, especially in the larger forums and social media groups. Forum etiquette isn’t really a thing, so the result is a free-for-all verbal boxing ring in which newbies ask questions only to get shot down in flames for their ‘naivety’. It’s hardly a great advert for using entheogens. Even the need to politely pick holes in others’ perspectives is rife; how often is that actually mal-intent masquerading as compassion and enlightenment?
Someone pops up with a story, an idea, a theory, or whatever... and they may as well be stepping in front of the proverbial firing squad. It is astounding how many posts are littered with ‘debates’, when quite often no debate was really called for in the first place. These debates frequently take the form of outright mockery or spiritual gas lighting, but one thing it screams out loud is that if you can’t control the urge to condescend, your medicine work is not yet done. Maybe thus far, plant medicine lost the battle with your ego.
Everyone has an opinion, and most are considered ‘Gospel’
Obviously everyone thinks their opinion is the ‘right’ one or they wouldn’t have settled on it in the first place. However, it seems that not so many are concerned with questioning the source and validity of their own opinions; it’s far easier to assume you’ve nailed it and set about deconstructing others’ opinions instead. So many comments and posts convey the attitude that says, “My way is the only way”. Then there is, “My shaman said this, so this is right” and, “A real seeker would not... [insert poster’s action]”. Here’s a personal non-favourite: “I’ve drank ayahuasca 500 times, so you’re wrong/stupid”.
Quite apparently, degree of experience drinking ayahuasca or smoking DMT does not automatically equate to degree of awareness. In one of the main Ayahuasca Facebook groups, a guy posted a picture of himself topless in a waterfall along with some post-ceremonial epiphanies, and it was a positive post. Yet first and foremost, he was ripped to shreds about his “ego”, since he didn’t have a top on to hide his good physique. Surely there’s a potent irony at play there?
Someone posted another of our articles (6 Reasons Ayahuasca May Not Be Working For You) in the same group, and I knew it was a matter of time before there would be a comment that dosage hadn’t been considered in the article. I wasn’t disappointed. Someone soon said, “Noone ever wants to talk about the problem of dosage.” (or words to that effect). This detail was purposely omitted from the article as the assumption was that the possibilities might occur despite a correct dosage. This illustrates the ‘hole picking’ urge mentioned above.
Intellect is not the same as intelligence
Wielding the sword of self-certified intellect with the aim of condescension isn’t much different to bullying at school, it’s just done more articulately. How you use your intellect is what constitutes intelligence, and compassion often goes hand in hand with intelligence – emotional intelligence, anyway. Is this really how we should be behaving within the one community that could demonstrate the profound benefits of plant work to the world? People will wax lyrical on spiritual concepts all day long, but when it comes to implementing them, the wounded inner child often prevails.
We are a group of people that could lead by example to manifest a healthier collective conscious for the good of the entire world, and instead we are using our intellectual powers to argue and bitch amongst ourselves. There is so much virtue signalling; one even bluntly corrects another for correcting yet another in the “wrong” way. Does this not seem hugely ironic? What’s more, is this really what the plants would want? Their supposed advocates bitching and arguing over them in forums?
Let’s face it: we are all going to have an opinion. But maybe we should be using these opinions and feelings of righteous anger for more constructive ends than self-bolstering. Even if we genuinely do ‘get it’ (whatever it is that we are supposed to get), what is the use in shouting about it? I’m no better equipped to categorically define enlightenment than anyone else, but I get the strong feeling that enlightenment doesn’t manifest as the need to constantly put people in their place for not embodying our version of it.
Healing is a unique and personal process for everyone
If one has learned so much from drinking ayahuasca, why is it so easy to forget that healing, growing and learning is a long and often arduous process? Plant work itself is a personal process with no real tangible milestones or protocols. We all grow at different rates, and maybe the process never stops. How many times in your life have you peeled off more layers of the onion only to discover both deeper truths and falsities you had previously invested so much in? So what’s to say that the future will be any different?
To contradict is one thing, and to condescend is another, but the underlying motivation behind a comment is the most important factor. Discernment is also required, as we can’t always sit back and say nothing in the face of disrespect and ignorance – but healthy motivation combined with genuine wisdom cultivates appropriate answers when they are necessary. Perhaps this article could even be interpreted as an attempt to correct others, but the motivation is a wish for authentic connectivity at a time when we so desperately need to unite and collaborate for a healthier, more compassionate collective conscious.
Don’t get me wrong: I am not perfect, and I have indulged in this behaviour myself in the past; I feel it is probably part of a process. However, it is a choice to grow or stagnate. Perhaps it’s a process of undoing toxic societal conditioning and skewed values instilled by the media, or childhood wounding. Whatever the reason, I can understand those urges. I still sometimes feel frustrated by what I perceive as ignorance when I imagine potentially damaging consequences. But after a lot of self-work and medicine work, I have seen the futility of throwing my energy into a void - even when the goal is to educate. I have also developed more compassion for myself (including my polarities) and can see that it isn’t my job to ‘fix’ anybody else.
There are some pertinent questions to answer
Black and white thinking is a method of controlling the inner and outer environments, whereas open mindedness allows us to learn and grow consistently. Is it not wiser to stop automatically believing that our perceptions are gold?
What if that rude, ignorant poster actually posted just to get a rise? It may not be obvious, but if that’s the case and you energetically engage with that, you’ve been had.
Haven’t we missed the point of medicine work entirely if we are alright with attacking others for not having reached the place we feel we are at, and through none other than the medicine itself?
Are we really implementing the messages of love that the plants so often give us? Conditioning can be hard to undo even after a solid epiphany, but surely we should be encouraging and supporting each other first and foremost, instead of trying to vigilantly weed out perceived stupidity or ignorance?
Uniformity of thinking is never going to happen, so before we pour fuel on any fires, shouldn’t we consider what is hidden within that conjures a need to correct others’ perspectives, and why the urge is so strong? What impact are we hoping for, and do our words benefit the recipient or our egos?
The bottom line is that we may never be able to stop making snap mental judgments, as that’s part of the egoic force that helps us navigate life. However the key is not to automatically believe all of our thoughts, and to commit to overcoming impulses to project them outwards. After all, is it really for us to tell another that their process is “wrong”? Life always has a way of teaching people when they are ready to receive their lessons, so in most cases we should probably consider handing the baton back to life.