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Eboga Sub-Pages: Eboga & Ibogaine | Healing & Suitability | The Eboga Experience | Bwiti & Initiation
Personal Observations by Lee Albert:
The following observations are based on the personal experiences of Lee Albert over a 10 year period using eboga dealing with childhood trauma (and not chemical dependence) and are not in any way intended to be a definitive statement on the healing power or process of eboga. Obviously others hold different views, as well as different sceanarios, and these should be taken into consideration. However, it is my hope that what follows helps create a sense of balance and minimises false expectations.
Healing & Insight
Eboga is not a simple healing system. It is, when used psychospiritually (in the experience of this author), an ongoing process where healing, if attained, occurs when the corresponding changes in awareness and personal behaviour have taken place, i.e., it can take years before certain areas are healed in order to lead to deeper learning and understanding. At the same time insight will most certainly be attained into ones condition along the way.
In that sense Eboga is primarily a teacher (via spiritual contact and real life synchronistic events) that gladly heals (or guides one towards healing & acceptance) once the lessons have been learned and the psychological environment created, and may therefore be inappropriate for those simply seeking a quick fix as it requires powerful intention and determination on the part of the seeker. It also requires a willingness to radically change ones life in line with ones fundamental needs. Claims made regarding the healing power of eboga are not unfounded but should be put into context.
The use of other methods may also be beneficial, preferable or necessary depending on the person or the issue at hand, e.g., PTSD (which eboga can uncover and in time possibly heal) may be too painful to deal with in the short term and may best be complimented by other forms of therapy. It is best to keep an open mind and consider the power of other treatments also - see The Peace Drug by Tom Shroder, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, November 25, 2007; Page W12 (Post-traumatic stress disorder had destroyed Donna Kilgore's life. Then experimental therapy with MDMA, a psychedelic drug better known as ecstasy, showed her a way out. Was it a fluke -- or the future?). Without this openness sought after healing may never be achieved.
Warning:
Exposing trauma may precipitate adverse psychological conditions until fully treated. Proper psychological support is required before, during and after eboga use.
Healing & Spirituality
For those who are interested in exploring and healing their past and/or developing their spirituality eboga offers what is perhaps an unparalleled means to do so. It is no accident that it is often referred to as the tree of life.
Unlike other plants which bring us to angelic heights, eboga brings us into our own depths. It is a miraculous plant which, when used correctly, can help heal a traumatic past and forge a loving and peaceful future.
However, to be effective one needs to be willing (in part) to face one's past alone and to come to terms with one's projections onto others. As the eboga path is a painful path these are important considerations.
It is also worth noting that eboga is, in many ways, a homeopathic healing medicine as life events will unfold that in some way emulate the past trauma that requires healing. Thus, huge responsibility is required to own one's feelings in order that Eboga can bring one deep into the source of ones pain rather than overly projecting the source of that pain onto others. An analogy can be made with the lancing of a boil. It must first come to the surface before it can be excised.
In addition a period of integration following treatment is essential before the fruits of ones healing are integrated. Depression is not uncommon (in fact it is to be expected) as the exposing and healing of a part, or all, of a given trauma may lead to a build up and release of associated memories etc which may be too overwhelming to deal with in a short space of time following treatment. Emotional and psychological support should be considered as one is quite open and vulnerable following treatment, making the impact of rising material all the more intense.
Eboga is at times a very painful process which can lead to moments of complete and utter despair. For this reason the use of other methods such as MDMA psychotherapy, emotional release, breathwork, Primal Therapy or counselling may help to relieve some of these experiences and facilitate a faster resolution of the underlying trauma.
Of course, nobody is perfect. It does take time and patience. It also takes huge personal sacrifice, learned humility and a willingness to feel compassion for those who have hurt you. It is by no stretch of the imagination a walk in the park.
Still Interested?
Those who consider this path please be aware that we are all different and the experience of one will most definitely not be the same as the experience of another.
To begin with eboga should not be taken without proper medical support in place - see Manual for Ibogaine Therapy, Screening, Safety, Monitoring & Aftercare by Howard Lotsof & Boaz Wachtel, USA. It may also be wise to combine eboga with emotional release therapy and one to one counselling in order to deal with the blockages in emotions which can occur as well as to help in seeing through the darkness that one is faced with and which negatively affects ones relationships. Intention is everything and a lack of willingness to come to terms with broken relationships (even if only to face them on an inner level) a serious hindrance on the path.
Low & High Doses
Eboga/ibogaine (see Ibogaine Forms) can be used at different dose levels with different results. The experiences at low doses and high doses are quite different as at the low dose level one retains a lot of ego/shadow & body control. At the higher dose levels the ego/shadow & body control is mostly disabled. As a result, generally speaking low doses allow for outside intervention, high doses do not. For low dose treatment observations see: The Healing Journey - Chapt. 5, Fantasy & Reality by Claudio Naranjo.
An initial high dose session (usually lasting 36 hours broken down into 3 phases - see The Eboga Experience) is normally an arduous experience similar to taking a bungee jump followed by a series of unexpected sky dives in rapid succession. However, it usually results in a life changing experience that integrates itself noticeably in the first 3 months - see Experiences. Effects at high doses include ataxia (uncoordinated, stumbling-like movement) as well as nausea that often leads to vomiting.
Suitability
Regarding suitability, at low doses (typically around 300-400 mg) the energy of eboga will undermine whatever defenses are in place and thus the need to find relief from the rising pain, if not entered into, can lead to an unreasonable projection of anger (subsequent to a session) onto those in the environment. In such individuals the eboga empowered self has becomed trapped in shadow influenced ego fueled activity rather than in entering the soul via the heart to progress with the healing of what lies there, i.e., avoidance. In this authors opinion such behaviour can indicate the unpreparedness or inappropriate disposition of the one seeking eboga healing or perhaps the need for proper psychiatric care while under the influence of eboga, before, during and after. Of course this behaviour may be understandable to a degree given the circumstances of a session. However, it can also be a warning sign regarding a persons true intentions & awareness especially if the person undergoing treatment cannot perceive or consider the nature of their projections of rage. Further eboga work would have to be considered very carefully, particularly at the low dose level where one retains a lot of ego/shadow & body control. Simply put: projecting rage (rather than connecting rage) can be damaging to others while it has little or no healing benefit for the person under treatment other than perhaps as part of a greater plan.
Certain similarities can be drawn between LSD psychotherapy and low dose ibogaine therapy as the following suggests:
"Observation from LSD psychotherapy suggest very strongly that the intensity of transference is directly proportional to the resistance to facing the original traumatic material." LSD Psychotherapy by Stan Grof.
"Most of the technical problems in the sessions occur when the client, instead of treating the experience as an internal process, projects the emerging unconscious material onto the sitters and the treatment situation." LSD Psychotherapy by Stan Grof.
Likewise in the same individual a high dose session may have added risk as the energy of eboga seeks to open the heart which can concieveably lead to a heart attack in the individual who has underlying cardiovascular problems and resists this movement. Hence, in part, why an EKG is required.
The Path
For those suitable to eboga (i.e., have a line of communication established with eboga placing them on a given - if somewhat non-linear - path coupled with a burning desire for change) the point will arrive where low doses of ibogaine are sufficient and a trained facilitator not necessary; thus dramatically reducing the costs and allowing for greater individual freedom.
During this time nutrition and supplementation along with sufficient periods of integration are issues to consider seriously. Repeated use most likely affects brain chemistry and thus mood. It can also lead to irritability and hightened sensitivity as one is very vulnerable and exposed. For this reason psychological "support" can be a blessing; in particular emotional release, anger management and counselling. Heightened sensitivity can also lead to indecisiveness as one is overwhelmed by the amount of material that surfaces when faced with a decision as well as depression when one is too sensitive to face the many past abusive experiences one becomes aware of reflected in the present. These effects can be reduced by sufficient periods of integration which include grounding exercises and real life experiences.
Extremely Arduous
The path is full of surprises and extremely arduous. The lessons taught reach beyond the simple goal of sorting out ones problems. Eboga does not foster stupidity. It seeks to increase awareness, both psychological, emotional and spiritual, sometimes via lessons one would much rather not have. The more resistant one is to learning, the more difficult the process will be.
The Quest
There is much to learn that at the outset we are oblivious to. In the end it is about coming home to oneself and that means putting an end to a lifetime of running from your own inner truth.
You have been warned!