Sitting on the edge of an ancient aquifer now filled with lotus flowers and lily pads, we reflected on the juxtaposition of offering the sacred ancient medicine of Iboga; a medicine intended to reconnect humanity with its indigenous roots, here in Portugal; a place where some of the most well known colonizers of the world charted and embarked on their journeys.
From American soil looking across the Atlantic, the wave of colonialism shapes much of the known history of the Western Hemisphere, impacting Indigenous people from Canada to Chile.
From this side of the Atlantic, where known history dates back thousands of years before the prevalent time periods of the Americas, we can see profound and unending change over time. The rise and fall of entire civilizations, the complete transformation of the way different cultures lived on earth throughout time. Sometimes we feel the to live in this modern world may be the most apocalyptic and challenging circumstances humanity has ever faced, but in truth life has for centuries presented the opportunity for growth through extreme personal and cultural change.
This work of repatriating ourselves, wether it’s to our land of origin or to the indigenous soul within ourselves, is the basis of healing generational trauma. In acknowledging the life experiences, pain, journeys, and stories from the last few generations of our ancestry, we are given the opportunity to release any negative impacts these experiences may have on our DNA, and our way of life. Joining hands with the healthy parts of our lineage, removing our children from this cycle and offering a fresh start to the entire bloodline.
To injest Iboga, and take the healing alkaloids of one of the oldest known plant medicines into our bodies, whispers to our cells that there is another way to live. For me, reconnecting to my indigenous spirit, either through ritual, nature, through learning the wisdom and ways of my ancestors, or by using plant medicine is honoring the gift of life. Remembering to have gratitude even in our hardest moments, changes the way we navigate and experience life itself. Our indigenous ancestors had ways of remaining connected to their souls, their strength, and their life purpose during challenges, minimizing trauma and enabling them to solve problems from a place of inner stability.
It is an honor to witness these intact cultural wisdoms resurface across continents, and assist in providing a safe space for these revelations to occur. Ritual, plant medicine, community, and healing have always been integral parts of the human experience, and will continue to be important keys to the sustainability of the human spirit for the next generations.
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