PUBLISHED August 19th, 2020 06:00 am | UPDATED August 22nd, 2020 12:27 pm
Once a fringe practice, psychedelic plant medicines are definitely having a moment. From ayahuasca to psilocybin (aka magic mushrooms), the potential of plant medicine to spark self-transformation is being rediscovered and scientifically proven.
Here’s the lowdown: research shows that entheogen plant medicines promote neurogenesis and neural plasticity. Since neuron atrophy plays a key role in mood disorders like anxiety and post-traumatic stress, plant medicines can facilitate spiritual healing and render our minds more open to a positive behavioural ‘reset’.
The key to safe treatment is, of course, a structured and expert-led program – and thankfully, there are now wellness services out there where you’ll be in good hands. One such trailblazer in Asia is Behold Retreats, which crafts bespoke retreats in diverse locations such as Peru and the Netherlands. To learn more about the healing potential of entheogen plant medicines, we spoke to the visionary behind Behold Retreats – Jonathan de Potter. Here, he shares with us his life-transforming first experience with psilocybin mushrooms.
Could you tell us about your first encounter with psilocybin?
I had my first psilocybin experience while travelling with two close friends. It was a five-day retreat, after which we planned to spend some time relaxing at a nearby coastal town.
After the usual formalities – sharing of life story and family history, along with psychological and medical screening to ascertain that we were ‘fit for the journey’ – we arrived at the retreat centre on a Thursday afternoon. The format was to settle in on the first night and get to know the broader group; there would be a first ceremony on Friday night, then a second ceremony on Saturday night before leaving the following Monday.
There were eight of us in total, with diverse ages and backgrounds, and also varying in our experience with plant medicine. Some of the guests were highly experienced, others were there for the first time, and there was an elderly lady who had not done any plant medicine in 40-odd years.
The first night we had a quiet dinner and were briefed about what to expect over the days ahead. We went to bed early, meditating and journaling about our intentions for the ceremony the next day.
The following day we ate sparsely, did yoga, and meditated more to embody a calm and peaceful state of being for the late-afternoon ceremony.
What sorts of insights did you gain through the ceremonies?
Each ceremony is unique – some had big breakthroughs on the first night, others on the second night. One of my friends seemingly had no major breakthrough, although upon returning home he made quite radical changes to his lifestyle, which he has sustained now for a number of years.
The elderly lady had an incredible breakthrough. She was shown by the plant medicine how her overbearing and controlling behaviour, which originated from anxiety for the wellbeing of her family, was alienating her from her husband, three children, and six grandchildren. She was so excited to return home with her newfound knowledge and to love them in an entirely new way, it was really endearing to witness.
For me, during the second ceremony I relived repressed childhood trauma that I really had no idea about. I grew up with caring, loving, protective parents, so the thought that I had experienced real trauma as a child came as a huge surprise. And ‘four-year-old me’ clearly identified the event as traumatic, given how deeply the memory was repressed from my everyday consciousness.
During the second ceremony, I was also shown how my unhelpful mental patterns were holding me back from fulfilling my potential.
From reliving the childhood trauma and accepting it, I was left feeling physically and emotionally lighter – and that weight has never returned. I also felt and knew how much my life could improve by being less impatient, and more empathetic and loving. Five years ago, I think I’d have had an allergic reaction to even writing the words ‘to be more loving’, but today I feel – what could be more important?
It’s worth noting that these big realisations don’t arise for everyone when working with plant medicine, but they are common.
How was it like returning from the retreat to the ‘real world’?
What became evident to me through this experience in particular is that while the retreats themselves are memorable, even revelatory events, they aren’t necessarily the right container for making sustained improvements to everyday life.
I feel I would have benefited greatly from having a therapeutic wrapper around the experience, to help me integrate the lessons learned. To have a big realisation is great, but it can be quite discombobulating without the appropriate guidance and support. Upon departure from the retreat, there was a part of me that felt like asking if I could extend my stay for more support. I wasn’t quite sure I was ready to ‘go back to the world’ just yet – even in the company of close friends who shared the experience.
Do you feel that plant medicine, such as psilocybin, can help enhance the quality of everyday life?
I always like to emphasize that by itself, psilocybin or any other plant medicine doesn’t necessarily improve the quality of everyday life. But it absolutely can play a role.
Will Siu – one of our advisors and a Harvard- and Oxford-educated psychiatrist – describes plant medicine as a “non-specific amplifier of the subconscious”, which I think is a great turn of phrase.
To improve everyday life through plant medicine, some necessary conditions are a committed individual, a qualified therapist or guide, and time together to establish the right mindset and environment for the work.
Under these conditions, plant medicine can be an incredibly powerful tool. Research from leading universities has shown it to be highly effective in treatment of common challenges such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and a range of addictions.
A primary factor in these results is that plant medicine promotes neurogenesis: new neurons form and new neural connections are made, enabling communication and reconciliation between parts of the brain that normally do not exchange information. It’s believed that these effects facilitate neurological healing and reset at the root cause, which explains the sustained benefits to everyday life.
This article was written in collaboration with Behold Retreats, an entheogen plant medicine service which facilitates retreats all over the world. Designing bespoke programs for each guest’s needs, Behold provides end-to-end services spanning private consultation, therapeutic support, and post-retreat integration.
All images courtesy of Behold Retreats