Important information for Tabernanthe iboga rootbark

Whatever you may be trying to change in your life (addiction/habits/patterns) by using the Iboga, it works best and only, if you really allow your body to make a connection with the plant, by taking it dry, and reallytasting the plant. First of all, you need 24 hours fasting on mineral water and juices only. (After the fasting the body will absorb the Iboga quickly and when the person vomits after few hours it will not contain the Iboga. The Iboga starts the cleansing of the body.) Then, it is a matter of taking it right, and not in a too high dosage. When first trying this product, you need to test your body with a small dosage only. It is very possible to overdose on the plant, where the person is not able to move or function normally any more, and in some rare cases overdoses have resulted in coma and/or death. Therefore you must take your first steps slowly, and build up the dosage over time. Do it at night, the brain function in a different manner at night.

A try-out with 2 to 4 grams is safe, and you shouldnt take more the first time. On a next occasion you may try twice as much, and slowly work towards a dosage where you can handle to effects. This is extremely important when you are not familiar with the plant and its effects, and especially when you are doing it without an experienced guide who knows how to support people on iboga.

Even if you don't have an experienced guide, be always with somedy close to you.

For the first small dosage, it is very important that you taste it, to allow your senses to connect with it. Eat some dry, with no water. Take your time. You need to take several hours to build up to the maximum dosage, especially when using the powerfull rootbark (maximum 1 gram, each hour) (Eating the rootbark is almost impossible for most people because of the extreme bitter taste. It can cause serious nausea. After taking the first few grams dry, you can also make one gram capsules and drink it with Ginger tea & honey, so that it gets into the system without tasting it. The ginger helps to prevent nausea.)

Make sure you do not take too much at once, you need to take the steps slowly, so that your system can tell you when you had enough. Taking 5 or 10 grams at once, by swallowing the whole lot with water can be very dangerous. People react differently depending their personal sensitivity, so it is very hard to estimate a safe and average dosage. Generally of this Iboga rootbark between 1 and 10 grams are used, not much more. reccomended it to take 2 grams the first time, 4 grams the next time, and possibly twice as much, if you are sure you can handle this. Take a week or more, with a few days intervals, to find out how much you can take.

It is important that you focus on your intentions and wishes, while eating it. The tasting and experiencing the bitterness is an integral part of the healing. You will need just as much as you can physically eat and endure. You will need to try and eat as much as you can. If your body says "no" and you cant eat more, than you have taken enough. Most likely you will not be able to eat more then 5 grams this way. Your body should be filled with the taste and the wish to heal.

Iboga will allow you to open a door on freedom but you have to keep it open by your own will, it means that it gives you a chance... don't let it go!

Try to get some bwiti music, because it changes your brainwave and facilitate the experience you can have some samples at www.iboga.ca or buy a CD there: http://www.worldmusicstore.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1414

Other samples here: http://www.musictherapyworld.de/modules/mmmagazine/showarticle.php?articletoshow=63&language=en

http://www.a-keys.nl/ayahuasca/images/downloads/ibogatherapy.pdf

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Iboga root bark, Iboga extract or Ibogaine

The treatment of addiction to various substances with Iboga root bark, Iboga extract or Ibogaine is a serious business. If performed properly the treatment not only diminishes the craving for drugs, but also can give a valuable experience, through the visionary effects of the Ibogaine, that will continue to support the re-habilitation process.

Ibogaine treatment has two main effects: on the one hand Ibogaine works at a neurochemical level, where it appears to work on various receptor sites in the brain, effectively blocking the brains need for various drugs, because of the particular shape of the Ibogaine molecule.

I must point out that there is a great difference between Iboga root bark, Iboga extracts and Ibogaine: Iboga root bark as used in Bwiti rituals in Africa is powerful but large quantities of the substance need to be consumed, and it has an awful taste. The Bwiti ritual needs to be controlled by a person or group of persons who are well acquainted with the various aspects of the effects on people, and whose intercession strengthens and guides the person through the ritual. As such, the Bwiti ritual may be more powerful and effective for the treatment of a great many conditions including the strengthening of spiritual awareness, however, since there are no known Bwiti practitioners in the west, such treatments are not available yet to addicts here. Another drawback to such a treatment is that consumption of the Iboga root bark and participation in the ceremony require strong motivation, which for obvious reasons makes such a treatment inaccessible for addicts from a comfortabl!

 e, western background.

The second option available, using Iboga extract seems to be the best option available yet: it has not got the drawbacks of Ibogaine HCI, which may be very effective, but is very hard on the body and requires a higher degree of medical skill from those administering it. Among the severe effects of HCI are respiratory problems, heart problems and kidney or liver problems. In fact, I am presuming that all of the recorded deaths to date occurred as a result of the administration of HCI. One other problem that has been mentioned by suppliers of the basic materials for HCI production is that toxic plants can pollute the quality of both Extract and HCI, for this reason they agree that leaves, wood and fruit or other identifying material must be supplied with the root, so that the source material is certifiable.

Iboga extraction has benefits that make it ideal for addiction therapy, because the substance is an extract containing all the plant alkaloids, and not only HCI, and it is widely presumed by those working with medicinal plants that the combination of chemicals that make up the plants efficacy should be extracted, not only the single purified and identifiable chemical that we believe is solely responsible for breaking off addiction.

A treatment for addiction with Iboga lasts approximately ten days. It begins after the addict has been clean for 24 hours, and is timed to coincide with the onset of withdrawal symptoms. This is for obvious reasons: firstly it demonstrates to the addict that the substance really works, because withdrawal symptoms appear to diminish anywhere between from five to twenty minutes after ingestion, leaving the addict stupefied, and in a dreamlike state, in which some may experience visions or hallucinations. (Visions are dreamlike sequences that take place in the minds eye, whereas hallucinations may include visual effects such as ‘tracers’ that may be seen with eyes wide opened. The main difference between visions and hallucinations seems to be the relevance or emotive quality of the material that is visualised) According to various accounts this state lasts approximately six to ten hours, after which a calmer state of fatigue sets in. During this period it is difficult to sleep,!

  one hovers in a dreamlike state. Realizing that the cycle of craving has been broken, and contemplating the visionary experience, the addict will proceed to review material that arises both from the Iboga, and as a result of the subsequent insomnia.

A few facts about withdrawal during this period:

- Most addicts will at one time or another have attempted or been forced to withdraw, and have a very bad fear of the withdrawal pains which are like a severe cold coupled with spasms, vomiting, insomnia and may even lead to neurotic or psychotic behavior. Even under the influence of Iboga, some of the symptoms of withdrawal disappear or are diminished while others may continue, such as oversensitivity to light, touch and smells. For this reason it is important for the care-giver to pay special attention to the location and circumstances in which the treatment takes place, minimising the possibility of distraction and irritation.

- Fear of withdrawal pains is at least as formidable a problem to overcome as the pains themselves, and this for many addicts is the reason why it takes them many years to wean themselves from drugs, slowly step by step. If they have a reliable way to do this, such as a gradual reduction plan with methadone, it may still take a long time because methadone is more addictive than Heroin or other opiates, and because most addicts are unable to control the amounts they self administer properly.

- During the entire period of the treatment all kinds of symptoms may appear, such as vomiting, back pains, cold, fatigue, weakness etc. As the Iboga starts helping the body to cleanse itself, the brain chemistry to adjust to being without drugs, the body comes under strain and kidneys need to filter all kinds of toxins from the blood and so the internal organs work overtime. It is essential to recognise this process and make sure the patient is drinking enough liquids to rehydrate and remove toxins by increasing the flow of liquid through the body. Also bedding must be appropriate, because during the first three days moderate to severe vomiting may take place and the patient may defecate, due to not being conscious or strong enough to move. Also, lying in bed for long periods of times causes all kinds of back pains and every effort should be made to get the patient to change positions regularly or move as much as possible. A possible solution could be to have the patient in!

  a hammock during daytime hours.

- Movement whilst under the influence of Iboga increases nausea, and so a large bucket should be kept on hand, even while the patient moves to the toilet, just in case he / she should vomit.

After three days, if no new withdrawal symptoms appear, the recovery phase begins. If withdrawal symptoms do return, which is probably more frequent with substances such as methadone which takes much longer to wean, a second or third dose of Iboga may be administered.

During the recovery phase the addict is fatigued and weak. This state subsides slowly. During the entire course of the treatment, the role of the care-giver can be very important, not only as a nurse or as a medical practitioner, but in assuring that both communication with the patient, and the setting, within which treatment takes place are conducive to healing and opening up the patient, preparing them for the new life they have ahead, including some of the difficulties that may lie ahead, such as the need to get into therapy, or change lifestyle and health patterns.

During this period, the patient is sensitive and suggestible, but obviously also disturbed, irritable and sometimes reticent. The following recommendations come to mind because they may lead to more effective healing practices, and because both patient and practitioner are under considerable strain from the close proximity.

Seeing as that the first part of the treatment is chiefly medical, the administration period requires very little communicative skill. What is chiefly required during the first part of the treatment is:

- An agreement or code or guidelines to be agreed on and undersigned by both parties. This agreement outlines the treatment, the responsibilities and dangers of the treatment and covers any payments to be made. Such an agreement may seem superfluous but there are good reasons to go through the entire process with a patient and talk about hazards, as well as some of the problems, irritations and recrimations that may crop up during the course of the treatment, so that both parties know and understand each other. During a ritual, such as that of the Bwiti, participants and practitioners are under no fewer obligations towards each other and the procedures are circumscribed, though they may not necessarily be imparted in their totality to a novice.

- The agreement is important for another reason: each treatment with a ‘power plant’ is not only an agreement between patient and practitioner as in a traditional medical setting. It is of importance to establish the patients awareness of the process he or she is undertaking with regards to the plant ‘spirit’ being employed, since this spirit is of a qualitative difference to modern medicines insofar as that it can impart self-knowledge through its visionary qualities. Also an attempt is being made to transform profoundly the nature of the relationship the patient has with the world, and this relationship extends beyond the addiction itself, to the very roots of the persons existential quest. Such transformations require proper preparation, and to have such matters stated in a contract is to bring them to the patient’s attention so that they may manifest themselves or be more easily recognised upon their subsequent presentation during the treatment. Possibly a more ritualist!

 ic form could be developed to represent the contract being proposed, but such a ritualistic form will have to take into account the state of mind and health of addicts, particularly those from a western, urban background. For example, in Africa painful methods may be employed to mark the onset of the Iboga initiation, and determine whether the initiate is really man enough to embark on the visionary quest. It is doubtful whether we can expect of any westerner that he or she would accept such an initiation, however I have mentioned the fact here as a reminder that the energy and form in which the entire treatment takes place will doubtless have a great influence on its outcome and long term influence.

In addition to an agreement, for example, a simple video could be made of a conversation in which the practitioner and patient discuss the topic of transforming the addiction, its negative effects on the persons life, his or her expectations of the future and of the treatment itself. In effect, one could afford the person the possibility to review what was said and expected before the treatment and what is felt afterwards. The mechanism of using video for this purpose may seem rather circumspect, but it seems to me that if used properly, it is a very revealing trick, that can help a patient to become reflective.

After the medical phase of the treatment patients will be fatigued, often slightly irritable and silent. In one case I treated I was unaware that the television in the living room where the treatment took place would become a source of distraction. Now, although I am no Calvinist, I do believe that the presence of distraction may prevent a certain amount of catharsis taking place. Being alone and having nothing to do, patients may become upset, irritable and frustrated, or worse. So, the role of the caregiver during this period becomes essential as a person to converse with. This can at times become very intense. Another distracting factor that can influence the after effects of Iboga is the presence of cigarettes or marihuana. I neither condemn nor condone the use of such substances but I feel it is apt to point out that although Iboga is most effective in breaking the addiction, the psychological factors underlying the addiction may remain largely beyond the reach of the p!

 atient for the short term. By having the person in an appropriate setting, where there is no smoking, or where marihuana is available only at specific times rather than all the time, or where the sort of programs that may be viewed on the television are appropriate to the healing process rather than mere distractions may be a better way to proceed.

As I mentioned earlier, all manner of things may be discussed and possibly entered into the agreement, before commencing treatment. For example: many patients become oversensitive from withdrawal and fatigue, thus they may not want to shower or clean themselves. The recovery thus becomes a very extensive and uncomfortable period. In order to get the patient up and motivated to move about a little more each day, it might be advisable to put something about clean clothes and showers into the agreement. It may be sufficient to have discussed the matter beforehand. This is preferable to resorting to tricks such as one that I found particularly effective, which is to spray a little eau de cologne over the patient, which usually gets them under the shower quickly. This method may seem manipulative but there are two reasons why I regard it as legitimate: firstly the patient is entirely the ward of the care-giver for the duration of the treatment and such is the nature of Iboga or a!

 ny other entheogenic therapies that normal methods and ethics do not suffice either to safeguard the patient or to appease both parties, for a smelly patient is no pleasure to treat, massage, or clean, and inactivity on the patients part will lead to bed sores etc.

Use of other medications or power plants subsequent to Iboga therapy:

It has become apparent that there are a number of medications and herbal remedies that may be employed during the treatment that can increase comfort, and reduce negative or severe effects of the Iboga. Such medicines have been employed to deal with nausea (anti-emetics) head or back pains (neuralgesics, or anti-inflammatory) stomach aches (ant-acids) and insomnia.

There are a few basic rules about application of such substances:

- Obviously the use of any type of drug that is addictive or has any similarity to the one the addict has been using is out of the question. In the three cases of reported deaths connected to Ibogaine therapy it is suspected that in at least one or two cases the deaths were connected to the use of Heroin or opiates. Until the effects of Iboga are better understood or until there is better more consistent data regarding possible combinations of medication with Iboga, the use of any medicine must be considered an additional risk. This is equally true of aspirins as for stronger medications: imagine, there are many different forms of head ache tablets, with varying formulae, Ibuprofen Aspirin etc. A small mistake may have big consequences. Aspirin may be fine for treating the headache while it may increase stomach acidity in combination with Iboga, and if there is an ulcer (many addicts have peptic ulcers because of bad diet or excessive smoking) the pain may be considerable. A!

  rule of thumb is to proceed very cautiously and test each substance before administering more, and also remaining in contact with others who are experienced in administering Ibogaine to share experiences and confer on possible strategies or combinations of medicines.

- If at all possible the use of herbal and natural remedies is preferable to any other medicines. This includes use of incense, music, herbal teas, flower essences, massage, shiatsu, drinking water, etc. Also power drinks that replenish minerals, salts and vitamins have been found useful.

- A list of medicines that have been used in conjunction with all manner of symptoms during Ibogaine treatment should be compiled but here we supply a small sample of remedies that we have found useful.

- During the recovery period patients are weak yet often they discover that there is no depression which is what they expect following withdrawal, and which may have been their state of mind for years prior to the treatment. At present it is not yet known whether any entheogens may be administered safely although at least one patient has been given psilocybin mushrooms five days after his initial dose of Iboga. The point of using an entheogen is obvious, the learning curve seems to increase due to an altered state of consciousness in which issues may be dealt with that are normally beyond the reach of the patient. Also several entheogens such as Ayahuasca appear to support the purging of toxins, so that they might support the continuing process of recovery. Another important reason for examining the possibility is that Ayahuasca in contrast to Iboga gives one a conscious experience: many patients treated with Iboga either do not experience any visionary state consciously or !

 do not remember all the material that presented itself. In such a case a dose of Ayahuasca may be of assistance.

- Many patients treated with Iboga report that their usual craving for sugar, food, coffee, tea, and even cigarettes is diminished. Interestingly I discovered in at least one case that intake of a small amount of sugar caused a new onset of withdrawal symptoms during the first phase of the Iboga treatment. I have no idea as to why this happened or whether it is a common experience during Iboga therapy or withdrawal.

- The question remains to be answered whether Iboga therapy can be of use to people who are addicted to smoking cigarettes. An addiction to Nicotine or smoking appears to be very hard to deal with for a variety of reasons ranging from its legality and common availability to the long term use and early initial experience. There is also evidence to support the theory that a variety of dependencies are inherited.

- The question remains to be answered how Iboga works exactly: each model theory seems to underline a particular aspect of the Iboga. Neurochemical studies appear to present evidence that Iboga replaces blocks or somehow affects the receptors at the site or sites where the addictive substance is received. Such evidence doesn’t provide us with an explanation for how various quantities of a substance such as Iboga have varying effects, including the effects noted by people taking almost homeopathic doses. Dr. Rick Strassman, writing in his book DMT the spirit molecule, found a large degree of correspondence between different subjects visionary experiences after injections of DMT. In my experiments and communications about Iboga I have found the same to be true: there are two correspondences between the experiences of people who take Iboga or Iboga extracts.

- A: visions corresponding to the patient’s biography, childhood memories, abuse, painful events, happy moments.

- B: visions of Africa, forests, native rituals, masks or masked figures and dancing with or without music. Slavery, painful torture, injustices, deforestation.

It seems that such visions may be strongly influenced by material from the news, images connected to the fact that we know that the plant matter comes from Africa and is used in African rituals is perhaps enough to elicit strongly emotive images. The childhood memories that surface during Iboga therapy may be a more logical theme, since such material has remained suppressed for so long that a traumatic of shocking experience will surely free them. It is also a common theme in all entheogenic experiences, but Iboga seems to impart its own particular flavor in allowing the patient to experience the emotions and events in a somewhat detached state, allowing them to witness the events and then move on, so that often patients report having reviewed many events of their previous life. This may also explain why so many report not being able to remember what they saw in their visions.

In my won experience I have felt strongly that Iboga has a multitude of effects including the visionary that very sensitive people may be able to experience even on homeopathic doses. It seems that the resolution of childhood conflicts that is so very therapeutic at large doses can bring back the power, willfulness and enthusiasm of childhood, and what is more is that this effect seems to be possible at low doses too.

Such experiences may depend more on the state of mind and expectations of the person taking the Iboga, or the setting and persons administering it. In the case of very low doses this would seem more logical, since we presume that a higher dose will have a more powerful physical effect. It remains to be seen whether an application can be found for homeopathic doses of Iboga Tabernanthe.

Conclusion:

The effectiveness of Iboga therapy has been established beyond a shadow of a doubt, yet it remains a tricky subject for therapists who misunderstand both the treatment and the implications of Iboga’s usefulness. The medical and psychological establishments are fraught with their own problems and continue to vie for government funding, which makes them subject to the laws and norms under which States function and laws about controlled substances only change with the proper presentation of scientifically acceptable evidence. Such processes normally take many years because of the many and various conflicts of interest involved.

Under such circumstances it is understandable that the laity will take the law into its own hands: presented with evidence that a commonly available and low cost treatment is available for AIDS, who would wish to wait for governmental approval? In other words, in the absence of official approval the use of Iboga has passed into the hands of lay care-givers, where it will remain until such time as proper evidence is supplied to turn the tide of opinion and recognise Iboga as the most efficient and effective treatment for drug addiction available today. Those who are supremely placed to compile such evidence, the lay care-givers are however less concerned with matters of legitimacy than is desirable. Perhaps in their haste to help addicts they have become frustrated with the standard procedures for legitimising their work and Iboga.

The work of a care-giver often attracts those people who are of a more practical nature than the theoreticians who may recognise the wider issues involved, such as the necessity of the recognition of entheogens, and indigenous knowledge and rights, or the recognition of ecological and environmental importance that are linked directly to the availability of such plant medicines. Furthermore: the use of entheogens both for religious or spiritual purposes, and the use of such plants in a ritualistic, shamanic fashion as medicines and for transformation raise issues about personal choices and liberty that our current social institutions are at loggerheads with right now. Thus the necessity of properly presenting the case for Iboga and other entheogens is acute.

If Iboga can be shown to actually help addicts, we will have found the justification needed to present the case for entheogens to a wider public, and have such plants and the liberties inherent to their use legitimised in a court of law. A point of relevance is that the church of Santo Daime fought and won a court case in the Netherlands a few years ago. That case was won chiefly because it was presented as a case of religious freedom, and not out of a recognition of the effects of the entheogen involved (Ayahuasca) As to that issue, evidence was presented that showed merely that Ayahuasca could not be harmful to society, the court found itself incapable of reaching a decision on this issue and simply struck it as irrelevant. The proper presentation of the case for Iboga will finalise the process of recognition that entheogens deserve.

by Daniel Waterman Nashiv © 2004

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 Ibogaine has proven to be extremely effective in eliminating addiction especially to opiates, cocaine, metamphetamines and alcohol and helpful in overcoming the smoking habit. Standard treatments target withdrawal symptoms but not the cause of craving. Cravings persist and the addict has to fight day after day against relapsing. Even though one may manage to stay clean with great effort, it is not reasonable to assume that a cure has taken place. Ibogaine is, perhaps, the most powerful known tool to get rid of not only withdrawal symptoms but also of long-term craving. It is usually helpful in triggering a psychological switch from an addictive personality to a non-addictive personality by encouraging insight into the triggers that sponsor the craving. It induces a change in the addict's approach toward drugs and life in general (if used within an appropriate treatment concept). Unfortunately ibogaine is not registered anywhere in the world as a medicament, therefore ibotherapy in a clinical environment is virtually nonexistent and therapists are unaware of the potential of this extraordinary tool.

Important information for those thinking of taking ibogaine

With ibogaine treatment still not legally available for much under ?2,000 + travel (approx 4,000USD), a number of non-medically qualified individuals have started either treating people themselves or selling the drug for addicts or others to self-treat. Whatever the moral wrongs or rights of doing this, anyone considering either self-treating or getting treatment in this manner should be aware that ibogaine treatment is, without doubt, a risky business. The following points should be especially borne in mind:

- Ibogaine is principally recognised for its ability to vastly reduce the symptoms of drug withdrawal, thus allowing addicts to detox relatively painlessly. Any other claims made for the drug, perhaps that it promotes long-term drug-abstinence, or removes the effects of trauma or conditioning in either addicts or non-addicts are a great deal less substantiated and certainly not likely to occur with any degree of reliability.

- There is an inherent level of risk with ibogaine treatment. Five people are known to have died in connection with taking ibogaine or other iboga substances, and there may in truth be many more, given that ibogaine is frequently administered in surroundings where people may be reluctant to contact the authorities in the event of something going wrong. Despite the reports of medical authorities, there is currently simply nowhere near enough data to rule out the possibility that ibogaine may have been a factor in these deaths. Taking too much of the drug; using stepped doses, (ie: half a gram followed by another half later on); being excessively thin; or suffering from liver or heart problems have all been suggested as dangers. But the truth is - no-one yet really knows why people sometimes die when taking ibogaine. No deaths have occurred in clinical settings, as far as the writer is aware.

- You must be medically tested before you take ibogaine. Proper clinical testing of heart and liver function are the absolute minimum. The site author is not aware of any reputable treatment provider who would allow you to take ibogaine without prior medical testing. Do not go with someone who does not insist on it.

- Taking ibogaine can be an acutely physical experience - muscle tremors, spasms, feelings of internal energy shifts and similar are all commonly reported. This drug therefore bears little resemblance to drugs like LSD, psilocybin or ketamine and should not be confused with them. The risk factor for using ibogaine is far higher than that for using recreational drugs.

- Beware of listening excessively to the advice of just one individual when deciding whether or not to take ibogaine. Ibogaine's effects can be life-changing, and it is common for someone who has had a very positive experience to do their utmost to "spread the message," possibly allowing their enthusiasm to override the very real concerns about safety.

- If you are thinking of taking ibogaine for personal development and haven't yet been involved in proper therapy (therapy where there's an open or implicit admission by the individual of the presence of emotional issues), be aware that this may be because your mind is simply being attracted to a "quick fix" strategy that avoids really dealing with what's going on underneath. If this is the case, ibogaine could well make things worse. For some, using psychoactive substances can invoke disturbing reactions as the mind's defences struggle to keep down rising repressed material. Drugs like ibogaine, ketamine, LSD and MDMA (Ecstasy), have been used in the past by therapists, but only as an one component of an overall therapeutic strategy. Using the drug out of this context may well cause more harm than good.

All the above said, ibogaine still potentially represents a major medical breaththrough, especially in the field of treating drug dependency.

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How Ibogaine Works

Ibogaine and it's studies have had a renewed interest in the past decades due to the interest in effects that ibogaine has on cessation of drug addiction. It has been proven in pre-clinical trials to reduce self-administration of cocaine, morphine, and amphetamines. It is said that ibogaine breaks patterns of addiction, whether the addiction in question is physical or emotional. Ibogaine is also still believed to provide insight and guidance into a person's life.

Recent studies have shown that ibogaine and its primary metabolite interact with numerous neuroreceptors and neurotransporters within the cellular networks that modulate the activity of dopaminergic-dependent and independent circuits. The multi-site actions of ibogaine suggest that simultaneous modulation of more than one neural mechanisms may therefore be an effective pharmacological treatment approach.

Ibogaine's actions are reported to reduce dopamine concentrations in the body. This is proven by the presence of dopamine metabolites dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanilic acid (HVA) in increased amounts after ibogaine administration. This action of ibogaine is what is thought to reverse the affects of certain abusive and highly addictive drugs. Namely, cocaine, morphine, amphetamines and nicotine. All of these drugs act upon dopaminergic systems and they will stimulate dopamine production in the body. Ibogaine is thought to reverse this process by antagonizing dopaminergic systems. Ibogaine is also thought to reduce addiction because it can inhibit naloxone which will precipitate the blockade of NMDA channels. Ibogaine can readily affect serotonergic transmission in the brain, and this has been observed. But once again the mechanisms of action on the many serotonergic receptors are complex and not completely understood. We can see that the actions in the body are not completely understood.

Most interestingly, ibogaine is proven to inhibit self-administration of cocaine in rats. In fact, one dose of ibogaine would decrease cocaine consumption in 5 days by 60-80%. Ibogaine was also found to lower the self-administration of morphine and alcohol.

Psychologically, ibogaine is capable of producing visions and hallucinations at high doses. It has been established that ibogaine effects the central nervous system in a variety of ways. Many studies have been conducted regarding the behavioral effects of ibogaine on drug-dependent patients. Ibogaine was found to produce no significant neurobehavioral impairments. Acute effects included mild tremors and a dramatic resurgence of repressed memories. These visions sometimes lasted up to 8 hours and eventually subsided into a 24-hour state of relaxation. Some patients also experience mild insomnia after the treatment, but this did not effect their sensorium (sensations).

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Tabernatnthe Iboga - Iboga - Apocynaceae - Tropical zones of Western Africa

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An evergreen shrub, it grows to a height of 1.2m with a spread of 1.5m. The stem is erect and branching; the leaves are dark green, opposite and narrowly ovate-acuminate; the flowers are white to yellowish and widely expanding tubular. A native of Gabon (Africa), it prefers well composted, well drained soils in a protected partky shady position, and is drought and frost tender. Propagation is by fresh seed or by cuttings.

Iboga is basic to the Bwiti cult and other secret societies in Gabon and the Congo. The drug is taken in two ways: regularly in limited doses before and in the early part of the ceremonies, followed after midnight by a smaller dose; and once or twice during the initiation to the cult in excessive doses of one to three basketfuls over an eight to twenty-four-hour period, to "break open the head," thus inducing "contact with the ancestors through collapse and hallucinations."

The drug has far-reaching social influence. According to natives, the initiate cannot enter the cult until he has seen Bwiti; and the only way to see Bwiti is to eat Iboga. The complex ceremonies and the tribal dances associated with Iboga vary greatly from locality to locality. Iboga enters also other aspects of Bwiti's control of events. Sorcerers take the drug to seek information from the spirit world, and leaders of the cult consume Iboga for a full day before asking advice from ancestors.

Iboga is intimately associated with death: the plant is frequently anthropomorphized as a supernatural being a generic ancestor" which can so highly value or despise an individual that it can carry him away to the realm of the dead.

There are sometimes deaths from the excessive doses taken during initiations but the intoxication usually so interferes with motor activity that the initiates must sit gazing intently into space eventually collapsing and having to be carried to a special house or forest hideout. During this almost comatose period the 'shadow' (soul) is believed to have left the body to wander with the ancestors in the land of the dead. The banzie (angels)-the initiates-relate their hallucinations as follows: "A dead relative came to me in my sleep and told me to eat it"; "I was sick and counseled to eat Iboga to cure myself"; "I wanted to know God-to know things of the dead and the land beyond"; "I walked or flew over a long multicolored road or over many rivers which lead me to my ancestors who then took me to the great gods."

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Ibogaine a One-Way Trip to Sobriety 01/03/03 - The Georgia Straight (BC, Canada)

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Marc Emery may not have made it to the mayor's chair, but the head of the B.C. Marijuana Party has plenty of other ventures to keep him busy. Besides running a seed-distribution business, the peace and pot activist has started a new project that he's especially passionate about, one he says can cure cocaine and heroin addiction at a low price.

He's the man behind the Iboga Therapy House, a place he has rented on the Sunshine Coast that overlooks the ocean and where drug addicts can go for ibogaine treatment.

Ibogaine comes from Tabernanthe iboga, a flowering African shrub that's related to the coffee plant. In some parts of West Africa, it's a hallucinogen used in male rites of passage. Iboga is said to induce wild visualizations, be nonaddictive, and have anti-addictive qualities.

Advocates allege that one or two doses is enough to cure addiction, whether it's to crack cocaine, heroin, alcohol, or nicotine. Unlike methadone, which is itself addictive, ibogaine does not produce painful withdrawal symptoms.

Emery, who started treating addicts from the Downtown Eastside two months ago, covers the costs, which amount to about $1,500 per person. He takes in up to four addicts per week and has administered oral doses of ibogaine himself to nearly a dozen people. It's the first such program in North America.

"This could be a very effective way of treating people at a very low cost," he told the Straight on the line from the Sunshine Coast. "People who have been through opiate withdrawal are amazed. They don't have a dripping nose, there's no nausea. This has been a revelatory experience. I'm hoping the government will pick it up."

Though not approved by Health Canada, ibogaine is not a prohibited product under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Emery noted. The substance is illegal in the United States, but it's available through an international black market, and there are private clinics in the Caribbean and Panama City. "It's an underground phenomenon all over the world," said Emery, who orders ibogaine from Ontario, Slovenia, and Holland.

One of the alleged benefits of ibogaine is that it doesn't cause the horrible flulike side effects that people withdrawing from heroin or cocaine typically endure, such as diarrhea, cramps, anxiety, and muscle twitches. However, some preclinical studies have indicated that the substance could cause lasting damage to the cerebellum, leading to loss of motor coordination.

The use of ibogaine to treat addiction got its first push from Howard Lotsof, an American who patented the therapy. He's credited with recording initial observations of the effects of ibogaine on heroin addicts who took the substance to get high in the mid-1960s. (Lotsof was one of them.)

Lotsof tried to go beyond anecdotal evidence by conducting preclinical research. He approached pharmaceutical companies to back his efforts, but none responded--likely because of the lack of potential profit, since the medicine is usually taken only once. He pushed for the Food and Drug Administration's approval of clinical trials, but that plan fell apart in 1993, when a 24-year-old heroin user died about 20 hours after taking ibogaine. ( Two other addicts have also died following ibogaine treatment. ) The therapy has its critics, like American drug researcher Peter Hoyle, who, according to a recent High Times article, doesn't think there's enough evidence to warrant human trials--especially since the mechanism of ibogaine's action isn't understood.

Without any official stamp of approval, Lotsof continues research and treatment ( mainly in Holland ). He recently cowrote a revised Manual for Ibogaine Therapy: Screening, Safety, Monitoring & Aftercare, which cautions that "treatment providers and patients are solely responsible for their actions."

"The extremely costly regulatory approval process and the reluctance by major pharmaceutical firms to pursue regulatory approval in the West has led to the formation of non-medical ibogaine treatment," the manual says. "This document is intended principally for lay-healers who have little or no medical experience, but who are nevertheless concerned with patient safety and the outcome of Ibogaine treatments."

Lotsof urges caregivers to insist that people have a complete physical, including an electrocardiogram, before treatment. Emery has studied that document as well as others on the Ibogaine Dossier Web site (www.ibogaine.org), which has opinions and information related to the treatment.

Emery said he--or another of the "facilitators" at the Iboga Therapy House who are trained in first aid--observes people for about 24 hours after the administration of ibogaine and monitors their blood pressure and pulse regularly. Emery added that the hospital is a 10-minute drive away and that all candidates have to sign a medical-release form.

Anyone is welcome, Emery said, as long as they stop taking drugs for 24 hours before treatment. He said he recommends two doses, about a week apart, to prevent a relapse. "Typically the first dose cancels the physical addiction," Emery said, "and the second targets the psychological underpinnings of addiction."

Emery, who's never taken ibogaine himself, said the substance can cause intense visualizations lasting eight to 18 hours. He also said that because of the lack of withdrawal symptoms, ibogaine can help addicts address other issues. "Being an addict can be a great excuse in a financial or emotional crisis," he noted. "This gives them the strength and courage to face their problems without giving in to their weaknesses. They have an opportunity to reinvent themselves, so they need to stay away from triggers or temptation."

The Iboga Therapy House has fitness equipment, instruments, games like crib and chess, and a meditation room--anything that "gives people pleasure that doesn't involve drugs", Emery said--but no TV. Emery, who doesn't accept money from addicts unless they want to donate after they've been clean for at least three months, said he'd like to see the treatment made available to all Vancouver addicts, who can contact him via the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (604-683-8595).

He added that he hasn't encountered any opposition to the ibogaine project yet. "I've never run into critics," he said, "because there's nothing to criticize."

---

The Bwiti Religion and Tabernanthe iboga - by Giorgio Samorini

Posted by permission of the author. Originally published in Integration, 5: 105-114

CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. The History of Bwiti
3. Internal Structure
4. The Initiation Rite
5. The Night Ceremonies
6. Bwitist Mythology
7. The Duna Mushroom
8. Psychotherapeutic Aspects of the Cult
9. Bibliography

Introduction

The use of vegetable hallucinogens by humans for religious purposes is very ancient, probably even older than its use for healing, magic or teaching purposes. The profound alterations in one's state of consciousness brought about by the use of a hallucinogen has served as a founding axis for religious systems, and in the development of established religions throughout the history of humanity.

Even today, we are witness to the birth of new religious "psychedelic" movements. Their renewed presence is evidence of the actuality and at the same time the atemporality of the values associated with the correct social use of sacred plants. Two large religious movements which incorporate the use of vegetable hallucinogens have emerged during the past 150 years, both syncretic of Christianity and both consolidated at the national and ethnic level: the Native American Church of the North American Indians, which uses peyote (Lophophora williamsii) and the Bwiti, practiced by the people of Fang and other locations of Occidental Equatorial Africa which use the iboga (Tabernanthe iboga Baillon, Apocynaceae). [1]

During the spring of 1991, while on my own personal research in Gabon, I had my first contact with the Bwiti religion. I visited Bwitists temples at several of the villages scattered throughout the tropical jungle and talked to officials and participants of the cult. I was allowed to participate in the Bwitist Easter festivities in a small village about forty kilometers from the capital of Libreville. The inhabitants of this village (fifty people including many children) belong to the ethnic tribe Fang (whose linguistic origin is Bantu), and to the Bwitist sect Ndeya Kanga. I was accepted with enthusiasm and hospitality, and being the first white man to participate in their rituals, with a certain degree of curiosity.

In contrast to the Peyotl Religion, conceived by the Indians as exclusively their own (it being a redemption movement of their own people), Bwiti is considered by its members as a monotheistic universal religion, accessible to anyone who approaches it with respect and humility, black or white. Even among those sects most syncretic of Christianity there is widespread hope that the white man will become more familiar with the Bwiti. An officiating member voiced his hope that someday the Bwiti becomes known at the very core of western culture, in Europe, just as Christianity came to Equatorial Africa many centuries ago.

The Bwitist Easter lasts four days and nights, from Thursday to Easter Sunday. In the evenings the sacred host, the Iboga, is taken collectively. I participated in the iboga communion, sung and danced with others during the four nights, with a progression of the amount of iboga ingested, and the enthusiasm and merriment experienced by all. For me personally it was a surprise; I am familiar with the study of hallucinogenic cults of the past, and others which could be considered ethnographic "residues" of such cults. In Gabon, in the Bwiti, I found a "psychedelic" religious cult pure and alive. Despite the vast bibliography in both the anthropological and ethnographical fields available on the subject (see bibliography, especially James Fernandez and Stanislaw Swiderski), its importance has not been fully understood by western scholars in the multidisciplinary field of hallucinogen study.

In this article, I propose a general vision of the Bwiti; its history, its rituals and complex mythology. The iboga plant, a hallucinogen whose potency is comparable to the peyote and to the Andean San Pedro (Trichocereus pachanoi), and the psychic experiences which follow its ingestion are the foundation al the Bwitist creed.

The History of Bwiti

Bwiti religion is widespread in Gabon, both in the interior of the jungle where it originated and in the capital, Libreville. During the last twenty years it has crossed its frontiers and reached Cameroon, Congo, Zaire, and Equatorial Guinea. In the latter, the Bwitist community is somewhat clandestine because of the energetic opposition of the Catholic missions.

According to the Bwitist genesis, the hallucinogenic properties of the iboga were first discovered by the Pygmies in the interior of the jungle. They in turn passed their knowledge on the neighboring people, the Apindji and the Mitsogho, who started the first Bwitist rituals. Later on, this knowledge was passed on to the Fang, the Eshira and other ethnic groups throughout southern Gabon. Within the Fang the Bwitist movement, due to continuous reform and review of its creed, become more and more distant from other tribal cults, which it in part substituted. In particular, the original Bwiti assumed certain characteristics of another ancestral cult, the Byeri, in whose rituals a different hallucinogen was used, alan (plural melan). The Byeri advocated a private cult practiced by the descendants of patrilinear families. At the climax of the initiation ceremony, the initiate, under the influence of a strong dose al the alan root (the euphorbiaceous Alchornea floribunda) was shown the skulls of his ancestors, and upon seeing these he would be able to communicate with the spirits of the dead.

For a long time the Bwiti was considered an ancestral cult and even today, the word Bwiti is translated as "dead" or "ancestor", however, as pointed out by Swiderski (1990-91, vol. II:19), its correct etymology may come from "Mbouiti", the proper name of a group of Pygmies currently occupying a region between Gabon and Zaire. Originally, the practice of Bwiti included human sacrifice and ritual anthropophagy. This fact is remembered in the Bwitist myth about the discovery of the iboga and the sacrifice of the first woman who ingested it, Bandzioku. Soon, however, Bwiti rid itself of such cruel components and substituted these rituals by sacrificing chickens. The news about Bwitist human sacrifices dwindled and there are now a few remaining critics in some sectors of the Gabonese population, particularly the Catholics who still wage defamatory campaigns against the Bwitists.

To be sure, accusations of criminal sorcery and the so-called diabolic illusions produced by iboga have always been part of the history of Bwiti from its inception. Subsequently, the persecution carried out by the missionaries with the approval of the French colonial government was felt by the Bwitist communities particularly during the years 1 920 to 1940. Despite the burning of the temples, persecution and killings of religious leaders the movement continued to grow.

Bwiti was and still is a thorn for the Catholic missions and actually Bwiti continues to gain new ground in the combat for religious territory. Having courageously survived years of constant persecution, Bwiti has been reformed and contributed to the awakening of a national and anti-colonial conscience and the birth of the new Gabon Republic. The first president of the newly formed Republic was an initiate in the Bwiti religion which contributed to its resurfacing and to its growing acceptance.

Today, the Bwiti religion is well accepted by a sector of the governing elite, since it is considered a popular religious movement which keeps and guarantees tribal values which are considered fundamental to the spirit of the new republic. Government officials, members of the police and the army are Bwiti initiates and regularly leave the city to participate in the night ceremonies taking place in the neighboring jungle villages.

The Bwitists consider themselves Christians. That is, "the real Christians", which is of course a sore point among Catholic missionaries who consider the Bwitists bedevilled, dedicated to Satanic cults, while disregarding the promiscuity among the many Africans who frequent their parishes. Bwitist criticism of Christianity became deeper and more coherent when the expansionism practices replaced past persecution: "The Catholic church is a beautiful theory for Sunday, the iboga on the contrary is the practice of everyday living. In church, they speak of God, with iboga, you live God" (from words by Nengue Me Ndjoung Isidore, ecumenical Bwitist religious leader, presently Magistrate in the Libreville Supreme Court, quoted in Swiderski 1990-91, vol. I:628). The iboga used by the Bwitists during the initiation rites and in their night communal "masses" substitutes the host of the Catholic mass, in practice and in concept, and this substitution is the fuel for the harsh contact between Catholics and Bwitists.

Internal Structure

With a rich mythology, the fruit of an intelligent and secular mix of the afro-tribal values and the catholic biblical figures, and an articulate theology which coherently unites animistic concepts and the characteristics of a Christian god. This syncretic mix is continually evolving; in practice, since its inception Bwiti has never ceased to renew itself, in its outward form and in its content. The free interpretation of the values expressed by the Bwiti movement has resulted in the creation of many sects, each with its own founding father and its own peculiar relationship with Christianity. The presence of one Bwitist leader with an acute critical mind or with a prophetic/static-like quality is sufficient to bring about a change in the community and a new religious current.

Each Bwitist sect has its own temple which is distinguished by the diverse decorations on the akun or central axis of the temple. The akun is covered with symbolic motifs associated with the axis mundi or cosmic tree. Regarding content, the Bwitist sects are different from one another, according to the degree to which Christian values have been absorbed. Among members of those sects leaning more toward tribal values, the following is a common proverb: "Baptism and Iboga are incompatible", but for members of sects involved with Christianity it is not uncommon that they attend Sunday mass after having participated in the Bwitist mass Saturday night.

The Bwitist communities are "open", that is, their rites ore not secret (the real secret is the inability to communicate the experience of initiation) which gives freedom of access to the non-initiates; this can be seen from its proselytism.

There is no rivalry among the different sects and there are individuals who have been initiated into two or more sects. The sects consist of groups of 10 to 50 people, usually living in the same village, where the Bwitist temple is symbolically located in one of the most accessible streets. Surrounding the temple (abe?), iboga bushes ore cultivated and respected by all.

When no services are being held, the temple is used as a place for social gathering, a place for meeting and talking, a space which offers protection. The temple also serves as control center since from its interior one has visual control of the village. The abe? is an ample hut, with wooden wails and roof, consisting of two principal rooms, the ceremonial room and the "sacristy". The entire structure resembles the structure of a human body, the pale supporting the roof is the spinal cord, the ceremonial room is the body, the "tomb" seen at the end of the ceremonial is similar to an altar, and the site for the musicians is considered its heart, the akun is its penis, the sacristy is its head and the two doors opening to the ceremonial room are its ears. In the interior of the sacristy a sort of niche built in the manner of a tabernacle contains the powdered root of the iboga and the ceremonial spoons used to administer it.

In each community members are divided between the simple initiates (bandzi) and the "officiating" members of different gradations. The term officiating is given following a learning period and superior initiations. During the ceremonies each officiating member has a precise role; at the very top of the community is the nima, the religious leader, followed by the yemba, an officiating member who comments on the rituals being followed during the ceremony. Then, follows the guardian of the temple and the tabernacle, then the dance director and the musicians among which the harpist has a special function. Together with these mostly male officiating members is found the woman responsible for female affairs (woman are the majority in most Bwitist communities). All the officiating members of the cult live like the rest of the village and are usually married (among the Fang, male polygamy is prevalent).

The Initiation Rite

The cycle of rituals of all Bwitist sects is based on a religious calendar similar to the Catholic one. The main difference being that the Bwitist rites are conducted at night, as are most rituals connected with the use of hallucinogens. The members of the community get together at night from Saturday to Sunday, and at Christmas and Easter time, at which times they partake of the iboga (ngoz?) as communion.

Apart from those times when they all get together, the individual initiation rite is experienced by those desiring to join the community and it consists primarily of the ingestion of a large dose of iboga, much larger than when taken during the normal ngoz?. This factor takes the initiate to an altered state of consciousness, to static-mystical states, to a direct contact with the sacred. The occurrence of such initiation leads us to consider Bwiti as a complete psychedelic religion, that is, having an initiating impact which results in great alteration of the individual's consciousness. Among the Bwitist the moment of initiation is the moment of greatest illumination and must be taken into consideration for the rest of the initiates' life: in each moment of crisis, the Bwitist goes back to the time of initiation, thus putting himself at the best strategic point of observation.

At the initiation rite, the ingestion of the hallucinogen is preceded by an offering to the jungle and its trees, and a confession in front of the officiating members and a ritual bath. The confession covers all past life. The omission of sins may result in a "bad trip" with disastrous consequences and even permanent madness, and should the omitted sin be related to homicide, the death of the initiate will ensue.

The effects of the massive dose of iboga (a few hectograms of the powdered root) which the initiate must ingest little by little during 7 to 12 hours, last three consecutive days and nights. During this time the initiate will remain lying down on the floor of the sacristy, assisted by a couple considered as the "father" and "mother" of the initiation process. Besides the "parents" other members of the community are present, they will accompany their future brother in his long journey to the sounds of the harp or in silence. Any of the present members may ingest iboga during these nights: a companion during the "great journey" also experiencing the effects. The initiate's consciousness will undergo changes more and more intense, becoming more separated from his surrounding reality until he loses touch. At this time, usually during the third night, an officiating member will pinch the initiate with a thorn to ensure his separateness with exterior world. If he does not react, it is understood that he is undergoing the climax of the experience. The moment is acknowledged in western terminology using the term beatific vision or epopteia. This moment is referred to by all Bwitists so "baptized" as going to the root of life itself and direct dialogue with god.

During the vision, the initiate undertakes long journeys to the land of the dead, who serve as mediators with the divine. He may also encounter his ancestors or other persons known to him. Others find celestial figures during their journey, the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, St. Peter, shedding their divine light. Others have direct encounters with God. The hallucinations experienced during the trip are full of profound symbolic meaning, personal as well as cultural; the world of the jungle with its trees, plants, and animals acts as an experimental and imaginative substrate for the visions. Always during the vision the spirits of the dead, Jesus Christ or any other entity tells the initiate his new name, the initiatory name (nkombo), a name which is added to the initiate's proper names. As an ecstatic religion, the Bwiti relies on the hallucinogen and the subsequent personal psychic experience to duly introduce its doctrine. It is the initiatory experience which brings about an act of faith, an act which follows the moment of illumination; this act of faith in Christianity always must precede any show of conviction: "il faut voir pour croire" ("one must see to believe") is a common proverb in all Bwitist sects, in polemic contrast to "it is enough to believe" as the Catholic mission preach. Bwiti is a "revealing" religion, that is, it constantly reveals: it reveals itself to the individual during each initiation.

The great majority of the founders of Bwitist sects were inspired to start a new sect during personal experiences with iboga, "by revelation". On the other hand, there is no shortage among the Bwitists of prophetic currents of exquisite ecstatic character. Such is the case of Ekan Ngoua, founder of the sect Essum David, who was considered by all a mystic; he died during the 1960's and has followers among the many communities proliferating around his religious discourses: "I have seen God, for the iboga is God, I am a prophet. When I was initiated, I was not seeking iboga, it was not something I willed, it was God itself who took aver me. I am a prophet, I know what comes from afar, I know what will happen tomorrow. When God talks to me, when the Spirits talk to me, they tell me what must be done with iboga. (...) I must unify all Bwitist sects and establish only one iboga religion" (cf. Swiderski 1990-91, vol. I: 465-6).

Following the three days and nights of the initiation, the initiate wakes up to what he considers a new life. Some times energetic intervention on the part of the officiating member is necessary to woke up the initiate and at times the loss of consciousness may continue into the following days. This is interpreted as a positive sign since if is taken to be contact with the divine. Only on rare occasions has the initiate failed to wake up and died. As in the rare instance of a "bad trip", iboga is not considered the cause, it is the individual who is responsible, because of his impurity and bad thoughts.

Upon awakening, the individual relates his experience to the community, and others have the opportunity to corroborate their visions. After this, he is considered a bandzi in every regard. A long sleep which may last days concludes the rite of initiation. This iboga baptism may be experienced at any age, as is the Catholic baptism. Currently, in some sects there is a tendency to initiate relatives, especially their children, from ages 8 to 10, which is followed by a second initiation as adults. The great freedom of interpretation of the Bwitist canon allows for big changes in the modalities of the initiation. In some sects the initiates are free to undertake further strong experiences with iboga, but these are not to be undertaken without the assistance of an officiating member.

The Night Ceremonies

The ngoze, or customary night ceremonies represent the Bwitist mass; these are times of collective religious fervor and joy and feasting, they are prepared for communion with iboga and for a close understanding among all participants. It is also a time for loving each other, and this leads to a collective feeling during the final portion of the ceremony in the early morning hours, the entire community experiences a collective flow of emotions resulting in what the Bwitists call nlem myore ("one heart only"), that is, a state in which "the people understand one another," and they become as one. Fernandez (1965) has termed it "a state of symbolic consensus." It is a mental state of good will towards others, which is typical of a certain phase of the psychedelic experience, the final part of the "rebirth" phase. It is interesting to note that the Bwitists value it and recognize it; an indicator of the transcultural aspects of some of the effects of the hallucinogens.

The ngoze take place all year on Saturday night through Sunday morning. Some communities prefer to meet every month, two months, or three months, for three consecutive nights. At Christmas and Easter, considered the two great Bwitist festivities, the ceremonies are performed in ritual cycles of four or more days.

At the beginning of the ceremony, around 8 p.m., the participants ingest the iboga communion: they kneel and each receives a dose delivered by an officiating member directly to the mouth in a spoon. As with the Christian host, iboga is not to be touched with the hands. To facilitate deglutination, a small amount of water may be drunk. The amount of the dose varies according to the individual and has been determined by the officiating member distributing it. Throughout the night and until a predetermined hour, anyone may request additional iboga with the approval of the officiating members.

The Bwitists are well aware of the importance of the dosification of the hallucinogen to bring about the desired positive results for the collective experience. For example, they know that with strong doses it is more likely the individuals will lose their sense of reality, which is contrary to the spirit of the ngoze. Therefore, the custody and distribution of iboga is in the able hands of the officiating group.

Throughout the night the participants dance, play and sing. They dress in different colors, white, blue, yellow, according to their particular sect or the day of the week. With their faces made up with white kaolin, they fall under the effects of iboga and dance long and exhaustive dances of the most pure African tribal spirit.

The dances are guided by precise choreographic schemes. The most common dance is a long line of people who move in the interior of the man-temple; each person repeats the movement of the person in front and this movement originates with the first man and moves down the line from first to last. All this to the rhythm of several musical instruments: the musical bow, batons and other percussion instruments, and during the second part of the night, the sacred harp (ngombi). Once in a while they rest, drink, laugh and make merry.

The drinks offered by the participants at the beginning of the ceremony are distributed with a certain ritualism during the rest periods. Besides orangeade, and coca cola, preferred by the women, there is also beer, palm wine, and several battles of strong liquor widely consumed by the men. The presence of alcohol at the ngoze, a masked presence following its ritual distribution, is not new among cults using hallucinogens, but it contrasts with the general tendency which sees it as incompatible with the ingestion of alcohol When questioned about this, the Bwitists response was that alcohol allowed them to dance for long periods, as many of the dances are over one hour long as confirmed by the watch of one of the officiating members. Some also said that alcohol was used as a physical enhancer, while the mind was dominated solely by the effects of iboga.

Outside the cult, the Bwitists do not drink alcohol, so that its presence at the ceremonies is not due to a chronic social use. During the ngoze I saw many times the interchange and consumption of cola-nuts which have stimulant properties (they contain caffeine) so it may be that the Bwitists use alcohol as a physical stimulant as well. Some sects, however, do not allow alcohol during the rituals and the new ecumenical movement presently developing within the Bwiti religion, excludes alcohol from the rituals of all sects.

The different cycles of music and dancing contain symbolic and precise meanings associated with Bwitist mythology. During the night ceremony there are two distinct phases: the first one lasts from sundown to midnight, it is characterized by motifs illustrating the creation of the world, and the birth of Adam and Christ. The second phase lasts from midnight till dawn, and is influenced by the imagery of death and destruction, the death of Christ, the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, the universal flood, the death of the night. Towards the end of this final part, the whole community enters a state of total participation, the nlem myore, "only one heart."

With the coming of dawn, the ceremony will end with a collective meal.

Bwitist Mythology

Bwitist mythology consists primarily of a complex theogony and mythology dealing with the origin of Iboga and the Bwiti know it as "The History al Muma." Despite the evidence of its primary structure, the mythology is subject to many variations, as evidenced by the differences among the sects and the diverse ethnic groups. This is also seen in the various interpretations of the myth that have arisen during the last century resulting in the creation or reform of the Bwitist movements (cf. versions taken from Fernandez 1972; 1982 and Swiderski 1980; 1990-91).

The Bwitist do not have written texts for dissemination of their beliefs, except for some "catechisms" which are difficult to read but may be considered as a timid attempt. Given the new current phase of internal coordination and union of the many expressions of the Bwiti religion, it is anticipated that soon there will be Bwitist bibles and catechisms where the rich mythological patrimony of this religion will be recorded.

At the vertices of the Bwitist genealogic theogony is the one god, Nzame Mebeghe, a god similar to the Christian god, yet less angry and vengeful (there is no Bwitist hell), but which marks Bwitism as a monotheistic religion. In the beginning, Nzame created an egg from which triplets were born, Eyene, None and Gningone, which more or less correspond to the Sacred Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This last one is substituted by a feminine figure, Gningone, considered the mother of the Black race; in some sects this figure takes the place of the Virgin Mary. Among the Fang, as well as among other African groups everything related to mother earth, to the feminine principle, and fecundity retains its primary value and this has brought about a special status for the Catholic Marian cult.

To be sure, the Bwitist interpretation makes reference to the Bible, both the Old and the New Testament and does so in depth. For example, the original sin of Adam and Eve, Obola and Biome, considered twins, is seen as an incestuous act; the Tree of Good and Evil, or the tree of knowledge, is identified as the iboga; Abel's remains become the remains of the ancestors (bieri); the Universal Flood becomes the Ozambogha, the Fang's difficult journey from Cameroon to Gabon, an event historically placed at the beginning of the century.

The "History of Muma," the history of the discovery of iboga and the origin of the Bwiti has several different versions not only among the Fang people, but also among the Apindgi, the Mitsogho, and the Eshira. In spite of the fact that the Bwitist trace back the origin of the knowledge of iboga to the Pygmies, and though some Pygmy tribes are said to still use iboga, not much is known about the iboga rituals in this archaic group. Among the Fang, the myth goes as follows.

Bandzioku, usually of pygmy ancestry, lost her husband during the crop of fruit in the forest. He fell from a tree and death surprised him. His body remained hidden in the forest and Bandzioku, after looking in vain for her husband?s body, was inconsolable and returned to the village and as prescribed by tribal rule, she married her brother in law. One day she went fishing and built a net to catch Siluros, but through a hole at the bottom instead of Siluros, human bones come up. They were the bones of her first husband. After she had deposited the bones on the shore of the river, an animal came and took them away. Bandzioku followed the animal until they came to the Kakonangonda cave. From the interior of the cave the voices of the spirits of the dead called out to her, "Bandzioku, do you want to see us?", . . . "yes" she answered. Then the spirits fed her the root of the plant growing in a corner of the entrance of the cave: it was the iboga. After she ate of it Bandzioku could see and talk to the spirits of the dead, and among them was the spirit of her first husband. Before departing, the spirits asked her for an offering (okandzo), she gave them what provisions she had and returned to the village.

The following day she got up early, gathered food supplies, and went back to the cave to make offerings, continuing to do so for several days. Her second husband, thinking she had a lover, decided to follow her without being seen. When she come up to the cave, the spirits hollered "Muma, Muma" (which indicates the presence of a non-initiate) and asked her who had she brought. Bandzioku had thought she was alone, she turned and saw her husband. He was upset and asked her whom she was talking to; she pointed to the iboga plant and gave him of the root to eat. Thus, the husband too was able to see and communicate with the spirits, including the spirit of his dead brother. At that moment, the spirits asked the man for the okandzo,, the obligatory offering; he gave them what little he had. The spirits rejected the offering and he had no other choice but to offer his wife (which was what the spirits really wanted). In this manner was how Bandzioku was sacrified and strangled. The man took the iboga back to the village and built the first Bwitist temple. The final human sacrifice, mentioned in every version, comes from the cultural environment from which the first Bwiti appeared and is associated with the old cult to the ancestors. Other aspects of this cult must be seen as coming from a more archaic tribal mythology and having undergone stratified re-interpretations throughout the times.

The Duna Mushroom

There is surprisingly another fact in other versions of the myth; together with iboga, a mushroom named duna plays a significant symbolic role. In these versions, the spirit of the dead tell Bandzioku to put the iboga roots on top of the mushroom, using it as a plate or a basket. They could also ask her to eat the iboga root placed on top of the mushroom, or they could request that she eat iboga together with the mushroom. Fernandez (1972: 246; 1982: 636) had already pointed out the importance and the urgency to check whether or not this mushroom found in the reality and mythology of the Fang is psychoactive, but to this day its taxonomic classification is not known. Raponda-Walker & Sillans (1961: 457) have made reference to an opparently edible mushroom called dune by the Fang, duna in Bakele, and kuna in Mitsogho; it is said to resemble a big funnel-shaped hat, with many vegetating filaments, which may be the size of a human head. The bulk of this white mass, dried and mashed, is used in certain sorcery rituals. Fernandez' informants also made reference to the evidence of the ingestion of this mushroom in its powdered form to obtain psychedelic effects, such practice also exists within the Bwiti (Fernandez 1972: 246). Yet, to the people of the Nganga Dissumba sect, the duna mushroom is the symbol of the brain of the first man to die (Swiderski 1990-1991, vol. V: 79).

In the course of my own personal investigation of the Bwitists as well as other individuals encountered in Gabon, I confirmed the fact that this mushroom is still part of the collective memory of the Fang. For example, a man named Joseph in Libreville informed me that this mushroom is associated with sorcery, that it grows in the nearby forest, that it is round, its external coler is dark and it is white within. It is ingested with ather vegetables to obtain visions during sleep. Its bark is used to manufacture fetishes. According to this man, the mushroom was never used together with iboga. The Bwitist chants of old make reference to non-specified mushrooms which may bear symbolic association with the tatoos, and surprisingly, also with lightning (Raponda-Walker & Sillans 1962: 217-8). Apart from the Bwiti, in the folklore and popular tales of this geographical area, there have been recent ethnomycologic reports of special interest.

All this seems to indicate that in this zone of Equatorial Africa there exists the knowledge and utilization of psychoactive mushrooms, especially in the past. Besides, the relationship of man and psychedelic mushrooms would not appear to be a recent development in Africa, as is demonstrated by recent ethnomycologic studies (cf. Samorini 1992). It may be that with the discovery of other hallucinogenic vegetables (a/an, iboga) the mushrooms (at least the duna mushroom) may have been gradually substituted in the religious rituals. Its current use, therefore, could only involve certain singular Bwitist environments, or in association with the iboga, or sorcery.

Psychotherapeutic Aspects of the Cult

There is no lack among the Bwitists of individuals with great interest in the healing of the sick. We see this frequently in the practices in which the hallucinogen plays a key role in the identification of the cause of the illness and its possible cure. For the Bwiti, this psychotherapeutic aspect of the use of iboga brings many communities and even entire sects together, which in turn come closer to the aims and practices of the Ombwiri, an influential healing society existing within the same ethno-geographical boundaries as the Bwiti. The Ombwiri also involves the use of iboga. Through the ingestion of the plant, the sick person makes contact with the imbwiri, genies with human form living in the invisible world, divided into water, earth or air, and this communication results in either the cure, or al least important information as to the sickness and how to cure it (for example, which plants to use).

In addition to iboga, the Ombwiri have an important vegetable admixture made from a large group of plants called ekasso. The preparation must be ingested by the sick man at a precise moment during the ritual. It is not clear, at least for this writer, if this mixture has psychoactive properties or if it is used to get the body ready for ingestion of iboga.In the myth on the origin of the Ombwiri, which is somewhat similar to the history of Muma for the Bwitists, the spirits of the dead signal the first woman to ingest it, the iboga as well as the ekasso, and thus contact them. Today, in many different Ombwiri communities, iboga is one of the principal ingredients of the ekasso.

Around 40 imbwiri genies are known, each one identified under the group of illnesses it can cure, or use for punishment when taboos are broken in their own field of action. The Ombwiri temples are similar to the Bwitist, with a central symbolic axis and surrounded by iboga plants tended with care. The new ecumenical Bwitist movement foresees the unification, or rather the incorporation of the Ombwiri to the Bwiti religion and the number of members initiated in both cults continues to grow (Swiderski 1972). At the present time, within the Bwiti, there are emerging serious ecumenical movements which are trying to unify the sects rather than abolish them. Erudite religious leaders working with the different communities see the need to unify the cults and redefine the rituals under a common liturgical plan. Their principal aim is to obtain recognition by the Government of Gabon which would put the Bwiti on the level of Christianity and Islam. One of these leaders, Owono Dibenga Louis Marie, has during the past few years created the "Iboga Youth Movement," so that the new generations may get better acquainted with the Bwitist creed. He is also a founding member of the "Missama Abiale awu Enin Mbe Mbe" (the Iboga Initiates Association), frequently abbreviated as "MA2E", which sets the trend for the interchange between the sects, a requirement if unification is to take place.

The syncretic imagination and the tremendous dynamism which characterize the Bwiti throughout its history have contributed to make it a continually expanding established religion, a spiritual movement which may in the near future become one of the great pure African religions of Western Equatorial Africa.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Notes

1 Iboga, or eboka (Tabernanthe iboga Baillon) is a perennial shrub, with small yellow flowers and orange fruits of elongated oval shape. Its thick roots (both, primary and secondary) are used as hallucinogens. The roots are scraped, dried and powdered; its flavor is an aromatic bitter and when ingesting it, the interior of the mouth becomes numb. The iboga plant is considered "mature" after four years. Because of this the Bwitists have adopted a system whereby the plants are rotated by age group, and the secondary roots ore partially eliminated in each plant so that it may continue living and producing other roots. The most important active component of the roots is the indole alkaloid ibogaine (Raponda-Walker & Sillans 1961; Pope 1969; Gollnhofer & Sillans 1983).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

- Fernandez J.W., 1965. "Symbolic Consensus in a Fang Reformative Cult." Amer.Anthrop., vol. 67: 902-929. - Fernandez J.W., 1966. "Unbelievably subtle words: representation and integration in the sermons of an African reformative cult." Hist.Rel., vol. 6: 43-69. - Fernandez J.W., 1972. "Tabernanthe iboga: Narcotic Ecstasis and the Work of the Ancestors." In: Furst, P.T. (Ed.), Flesh of the Gods. The ritual Use of Hallucinogens. New York, Prager, pp. 237-259. - Fernandez J.W., 1982. Bwiti. An Ethnography of the religious Imagination in Africa. Princeton, University Press. - Gollnhofer O. & Sillans R., 1983. "L'iboga, psychotrope africain." Psychotropes, vol. 1:11-27. - Mary A., 1983. La naissance ? l'envers. Essai sur le rituel du Bwiti Fang au Gabon. Paris, L'Harmattan. - Pope H.G., 1969. "Tabernanthe iboga: an African Narcotic Plant of Social Importance." Econ.Bot., vol. 23: 174-1 84. - Raponda-Walker A. & Sillans R., 1961. Les plantes utiles du Gabon. Paris, Lechevalier Ed. - Raponda-Walker A. & Sillans R., 1962. Rites et croyances des peuples du Gabon. Paris, Pr?sence Africaine, ed. 1983. - Samorini G., 1992. "The oldest representations of hallucinogenic mushrooms in the world (Sahara Desert, 9000-7000 B.P.)." Integratian, 2/3: 69-78. - Samorini G., 1993. "Adam, Eve, and Iboga." Integration, 4: 9-10. - Swiderski S. 1965. "Le Bwiti, soci?t? d'initiation chez les Apindji au Gabon" Anthropos 60: 541-76. - Swiderski S. 1970. "La harpe sacr?e dans les cultes synchr?tiques au Gabon" Anthropos 65: 833-857. - Swiderski S., 1971. "Notes sur le Ndeya Kanga, secte synchr?tique du Bouiti au Gabon." Anthropos 66: 81-119. - Swiderski S., 1972. "L'Ombwiri, soci?t?, d'initiation et de gu?rison ou Gabon" in: Religioni e Civilt?, Bari, Dedalo Libri, 1: 125-205. - Swiderski S., 1975. "Notions th?ologiques dans la religion syncr?tique Bouiti au Gabon." Eglise et Th?ologie 6: 319-364. - Swiderski S., 1979. "Les recits bibIiques dans l'adaptation africaine." J.Rel..Africa, 10: 174-233. - Swiderski S., 1980. "Essai d'interpretation structurale et psychoanalytique du mythe au Gabon." in: Perennitas, Studi in onore di Angelo Brelich, Roma, Edizioni dell'Ateneo, pp. 52 1-539. - Swiderski S., 1990-1991. La religion Bouiti, V vols., Ottawa, Legas.

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Important Recovery Tips

From www.curesnotwar.com: Important recovery tips that can help you stay clean

Many drug users have problems with depression or/and anxiety, panic attacks etc. Particularly heroin is used to self-medicate these problems. When you finally decide that you want to quit using and you go through the process of detoxing, there is a good chance these symptoms may resurface. However, most detoxes, rehabs and support groups are based on the philosophy of NA. Here you are, you're finally clean, but you're often bummed out, anxious and you have a lot of trouble sleeping. Here are some very helpful, and most possibly life-saving options:

When you are addicted, particularly to opiates like heroin and you frequently go through the cycles of kicking and relapsing, kicking and relapsing etc., etc. you really screw up your chemical household in your brain. Supplies of endorphins, dopamine's, serotonin and other functions of neurotransmitters are totally de-regulated and out of whack. If you weren't depressed already when you first started doing dope/hard drugs, you have now caused this depression yourself by these very chemical imbalances. The word "depression" in the field of mental health is really meant to describe a series of symptoms besides just being bummed out. DSM-IV, the manual for mental disorders describes these other symptoms; problems with sleeping, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, lack of concentration, weight problems, thoughts of death and suicide, etc. Sounds familiar? In the last couple of years there are some new anti-depressants on the market that are particularly helpful for people in recovery and that don't have side effects like the older ones. These medications are designed to resolve the symptoms I just described. Don't worry, you don't have to take these meds forever, they actually help restore your natural chemical balance in your brain when taken over an extended period of time. There is a lot of media-hype around the anti-depressant herb called St. Johnsworth. However, that is definitely not strong enough for recovering addicts. Most anti-depressants take two weeks to be effective and you will have to find the dose that is right for you together with your mental health provider. How do you know the dose is right? When you wake up in the morning after a good night of sleep, your cravings for dope are out the window and you feel like kicking ass. There are specific anti-depressants especially effective for detox and recovery. They have very little side effects. You will find that using these medications can put you in a state of mind where PSYCHO-THERAPY can make a difference. Other tips that are very helpful:

Try working out minimally three times a week for at least an hour each time. Not only do you help your muscles and your central nervous system get back in to shape, it also releases those endorphins that you need so badly and that make you feel good in your body -hot baths also help release endorphins-. Do you have hypoglycaemia? That is a blood sugar problem caused by a poor diet over extended periods of time. Symptoms of hypoglycaemia are: the sudden urge to eat and having to respond immediately to that urge, dizziness, thinking you're going to faint if you don't get something to eat, when you do eat you feel an unpleasant "rush" in your head, gaining weight because of your constant eating etc.? There is a solution that makes that condition go away; working out minimally three times a week for at least an hour each time!

And how about eating right? Many people in recovery do not know, or have forgotten how to eat healthy. Eating healthy doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of money. Try to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and cut out all fried foods. Stay away from fast foods, foods and drinks with chemicals like colouring and preservatives and do not drink sodas from a can but from glass/plastic. Are you constantly craving fatty foods? That's because you're body craves nutrients! That brings us to just about the last point; vitamins:

To be taking daily; Vitamin A, B-complex 50, C (500mgs minimum), D, E, Silica, Selenium, Zinc and Acidopholus. If you have ongoing diarrhoea, take products that provide not only Acidopholus and Bifidus, but also lots of fibre. When you're clean for over 18 months, consider a fast. Make sure you get a lot of rest, take naps if possible, to help your body restore, especially when you work out. Our last suggestion is going to the sauna once or twice a week. That helps you sweat out all the toxins that linger in your body. The heat also brings on a lot of endorphins. Slowly build up the time you spend in the hot room. Steam rooms are just the best.

A Healing Tool

My name is P.Q. and this is a record of my Iboga experience taken from my notes. I contacted Eric about a month after I received the articles he kindly sent about other people's accounts of using Iboga.

I very much wanted to use it as a cleansing medicine. Bob M., a person who had been working with me on cleansing the muscles through massage and other therapies, had said that my whole body was tight and holding energies throughout it. This I know. I had had several traumatic experiences and felt like I had a psychic abscess on the inside. The conversations that Bob and I had were of doing Iboga as a way of releasing this abscess. Bob had reservations about using this powerful of an herb; that it might trigger a premature Kundalini awakening.

I took it into consideration, trusted the Powers that Be and began to prepare for the healing I hoped the Iboga would do. I cleansed my house using sage and salt, and stated my intentions in the morning. That done, I took a shower using sea salt every morning for about six weeks, asking the universe for a cleansing of all the fear, anger, hate, jealousy, rage, pain, and all the other negative emotions. In the evening in bed I would ask all the guides to assist me in this cleansing and healing work. Bob continued to do body therapy on me until I left.

At the appointed time I met Eric and we began the adventure. Before taking Iboga I took a hot bath with sea salt and Epsom salts, just to relax and state my intentions. I dressed in a warm T-shirt and took the Iboga and got into bed . It acted quickly. It wasn't pleasant. The emotions I wanted to cleanse are very powerful ones and they put forth very powerful images that were hard to look at. They weren't personal images from my life. They were more archetypal images. I asked the spirit of the Iboga to cleanse me of all these emotions and I stated them. Then a gnome -like creature appeared and the cleansing began. I saw them being sucked out of my body and up a tube. Then they came out like sparkling, rainbow-like confetti . It was funny. The cleansing continued and I felt lighter. The tightness in my chest disappeared. Then I got very sick. The next day I was fine. Ready to go on. But I wasn't sure that the body had really experienced anything.

After I got home to Hawaii I scheduled a visit to Bob. He was amazed at the difference. The lymphatic system had been cleansed, the bumps in my breasts were gone and my muscles weren't tight. The memories of trauma had been removed. I was taken aback by what he reported. There had been a real, definable, physical change. It was measurable. I was very impressed. I believe - no, I know - it is a very powerful tool in healing the inner self . I would like to use the Iboga plant 2 or 3 more times to continue this type of physical cleansing. I very much want to be a healer. In order to do this type of work I would like to be very clear. I feel that clearing out the traumas and personal dilemmas life throws at you is very important before doing work in healing.

Thank You

Ascension Process

I was drawn to ibogaine as soon as I read about it. In retrospect, I realize I began my ibogaine experience at that time. To anyone who finds this hard to believe, I offer no apologies and respectfully suggest that what I have begun to perceive will reveal itself to them in its own time.

I have never been an addict in the conventional sense, but when I read about ibogaine, I began to sense that it could also facilitate work on the subtle addictions that permeate our culture (and therefore ourselves) — addictions to concepts, habits and dictums which often go unquestioned. These may have little to do with reality, but can easily be confused with it when taken for granted as "the way things are."

In preparation for the ibogaine experience I was asked to formulate a clear intention of what I wanted to accomplish. I intended to free myself from addiction to the consensus reality. I also asked to be shown any memories or blocks that might be impeding my growth.

A little background information might be useful at this point. My life perspective is that the entire planet is moving through an ascension process, and that a major transformation in consciousness is not only imminent but in progress right now. Many are writing, speaking, and holding workshops on this subject. It transcends the differences between groups, teachers and teachings, and is the exclusive property of none. So I approached the ibogaine experience as an ascension experience, and that is what it has been for me.

A friend and I took ibogaine two days apart; he went first. The night before he took it I began to feel dizzy, with sensations of pressure in my head. I had mild diarrhea. The head pressure continued over the two days and I woke up nauseated the morning it was my turn.

I asked myself if I was having an unconscious fear reaction, as this could certainly explain my symptoms from a psychological point of view. My mind replied that fear was an understandable thing to feel under the circumstances— after all, the consensus reality, despite its drawbacks, was comfortingly familiar.

On the other hand, I had occasionally felt headachy, dizzy, and nauseated before a spiritual experience, and the spins were sometimes a part of the ascension energy as the rate of speed increased in my physical atoms. Eventually I was feeling a profound calmness, which was to last through and beyond the ibogaine journey.

I took dramamine and some stomach settling herbs, both of which came back up immediately. The ibogaine, taken afterward, stayed down. I lay still with my eyes closed. I found myself at play in the universe of my consciousness as I had been in my very early childhood. But the childhood experience of that state had been encroached on by the stresses of life, and by the layering of memory upon memory. Now memory was fully accessible but did not intrude upon the pristine awareness of my inner self. The universe was like a huge room, my awareness stretching out over a large inwardly visible portion of the room and beyond my mind into infinity. I was easily able to hear and understand anything that was said to me and to reply, but conversation was a distraction.

Wide awake, I drifted through visual sequences like lucid dreams. If someone spoke to me I instantly and totally forgot the sequence I had been in. As the effects increased, inner dimensions became more immediate, appearing as patterned planes of light, spinning at various angles of relationship to one another. This aspect of ibogaine bore a resemblance to LSD, mescaline, and psilocybin; the overall feeling was softer than any of these (slightly reminiscent of Ecstasy) yet much more powerful, very slow moving and majestically solemn.

I was infused and in contact with the Iboga plant spirit, a vast nature diva that seemed to be walking with enormous, silent, measured steps over the earth.

I understood clearly that there were no blocks or buried memories impeding my progress. I had done my homework. I had no addiction to the consensus reality. Three themes recurred. First I saw the corner of a shed where several immaculate white trash cans stood stuffed with discarded materials. The words "industrial waste" came to me the first time I saw this, with a definite sensation of humor. This meant that my personal cleanup was done. The great event of ascension (or Remembering) in which I am an active participant would complete the cleanup for everyone. I think I saw this three times.

Second was "building a box" which was actually watching a box be unbuilt, accompanied by brief words (also humorous) describing how the top, bottom, and sides of a box could be put together and taken apart. This vision came at least twice; the box was wooden the first time, wicker the second and final time. The wicker box opened into two distinct dimensions; a beautiful smiling boy about two years old emerged into each. This sequence expressed delight in the creative ingenuity of the mind. Unlimited possibilities. The miraculous nature of existence.

The third room was "A room is the universe." A geometrical pattern or some other picture would pass before me, and my inner eye would catch and hold a tiny section of it. This would begin to expand and revolve, creating each time a beautiful new room which brought me back to my original place at play in the universe of consciousness.

During one period of what might have been an hour, I opened my eyes a few times and saw the clock on my bedside table. Each time I looked again, I was astonished that only a minute or two had passed while I moved through sequences that seemed to last several hours.

Once I opened my eyes and saw a wine glass sitting on a table. I was puzzled, as we had no such glasses. I looked closely, thinking that I was actually looking at something else or that the glass would disappear. Instead it grew clearer to my vision the closer I looked. I reached to pick it up and my fingers felt nothing. My mind decided the glass was imaginary and then it did disappear. It occurred to me to create the glass again and I was able to do so instantly. This time I picked it up and turned it over, clearly seeing the round base from underneath and up through the base to the stem and the bowl. I understood that the glass consisted of a real, non-physical light substance. I tried to solidify it and was informed in my understanding that I did not have clearance to do this— yet! I dissolved and recreated the glass a number of times.

I took ibogaine between 11 a.m. and noon. By around seven in the evening I was walking around intermittently. The effects wore off very gradually over the next day and the next. I experienced no exhaustion, irritability, or side effects of any kind. The profound calm remained throughout the experience and has in fact permanently reinforced my sense of centeredness.

I was aware of beams of energy focused from all directions to a point at my heart center. I can recreate this sensation simply by remembering it. Before ibogaine I smoked cigarettes when I was with people who smoked. I stopped and don’t miss it. Since ibogaine I haven’t smoked and have no desire to do so.

I am able to contact the energy of Iboga in the same way one contacts a higher ascended master or an angelic presence, by being in my I AM presence and desiring the contact. I’m convinced that this plant energy enjoys exploring the human mind, in other words, that an exchange is taking place.

My sense of the experience is one of having taken serious stock of myself while simultaneously having a spiritual adventure and a good rest. There is no doubt in my mind that addictions and emotional issues can be healed by working with ibogaine.

I do feel it’s important for anyone considering ibogaine to know, as almost everyone whose experience I’ve heard or read has mentioned, that it isn’t a party drug. It’s a serious encounter with the self. You are there, with everything you’ve got. And that’s all there is.

I believe ibogaine affords us glimpses into what our everyday consciousness can and will become. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to experience it.The following is an excerpt from one drug addict's experience with ibogaine treatment:

My experience with Ibogaine was one I will not forget. At first I was afraid; I did not know what to expect, but what did I have to lose? Nothing. My life was in turmoil. I could not stop using drugs. For some reason I was uncomfortable with just being myself. I kept asking myself why do I want to keep hurting myself and why was I afraid to feel feelings. I always felt that there was some reason but did not know what it was. I’ve been in many rehabs, many detoxes, many N.A. and A.A. meetings. I believed that this was my last hope.

I took the therapeutic dose hoping to get to the root of my problems; for some solution to what or why I was doing this to myself. I was awake through it all. I began seeing pictures flash before me. Thinking back to it now it was overwhelming. I could not believe it, but I actually saw myself being born. I recall it being dark when I realized I was inside the birth canal. In just moments I was born and I recall being asked, "Who was the baby?" I answered in an overwhelming voice, "It’s ME! She’s so beautiful!" I’ll never forget those words: and then it all began.

Through my childhood I remembered a lot of fighting, being afraid; a scared and frightened child. I was hurt - violated when I was about four or five years old. It makes a lot of sense now why I have always felt this fear inside of me even to get close to my significant other. Coming out of it there was anger because of what happened to me, and yet there was such a sigh of relief, a peace of mind. There was also a spiritual side within that was beautiful.

I feel that there’s more energy inside of me now. I don’t feel depressed. I’m volunteering in social and community events. Before taking the therapeutic dose I was too tired and depressed. I didn’t want to get involved. My husband saw a change. We are entering therapy. I’m looking forward to sharing my experience with my psychologist so that she can help me feel the feelings; to talk about the fears. More important, to know the little child inside of me and to love and embrace her, and then in turn Love Myself!

With continuing therapy I know that this can be possible if I want it. I thank you so much for helping me make sense of my life and putting the missing pieces of the puzzle back together. Thank you, Ibogaine, for entering my life. It has helped me tremendously.

A Journey

I have been prone to addiction for most of my life. I have the line around the heel of my palm which palmists recognize as the "line of addiction", so I may have carried this tendency over from past lives. It has manifested in a variety of ways with scores of different substances over several decades. With each addiction I would suffer, struggle, stumble, get up and brush myself off, and eventually conquer the habit with sheer will and persistence. And then I would replace it with another and repeat the cycle.

Eventually, I found myself in the grip of a food addiction accompanied by an addiction to certain herbs which have stimulating properties. While lying in bed one night, feeling overstuffed and disgusted with myself for the one-thousandth time, "I have just got to do something about this," I realized that if I struggled and overcame the overeating and herbal stimulant habits, I would certainly find some other form of addiction to replace them with, as well.

At times, in my life, I had prayed for help in overcoming particular addictions. But now I realized that what I must ask for help with was release from Addiction - with a capital "A" - all addiction - the whole addictive pattern in my personality and my life. And so I did. It was just a few days later that I picked up a magazine and read about ibogaine for the first time. I knew immediately that my prayer had been heard and answered.

It took some time to arrange for a session with ibogaine but from the time that plans started to gel and a date was set, I started to notice a shift in my consciousness. There were moments of a markedly greater sense of centeredness, a tendency to remain detached rather than get caught in the undertow of potentially negative emotion in my everyday life. I seemed to have a more natural inclination to remain steadily in a heart-space of love and a sense of connectedness to life around me, rather than splintering off into ego-reactivity. There was a greater calm, more spontaneity, a greater ease in personal interactions, and an underlying sense of "whatever happens, it’s all okay."

All of this was subtle, and yet distinctly noticeable. My logical mind entertained the notion that it was perhaps my imagination, or merely an internal response to my anticipation of the freedom from addiction and dysfunction that I looked forward to achieving with the aid of the ibogaine. But on a deeper level I intuitively understood that this was the beginning of my initiation into the ibogaine journey. Events that followed cemented my certainty. There is now no doubt in my mind that the iboga plant is inhabited by a powerful spirit, a living intelligence, which had begun its preparatory work with me well in advance of my ingestion of the ibogaine.

Approximately one month before my session date, I wrote in my journal that I seemed to be experiencing a decreased appetite, feeling satisfied with smaller portions of food, and also cut down somewhat on the stimulating herbs. This was not accompanied by a sense of struggle and withdrawal, but rather seemed to occur spontaneously, as if I had simply "lost interest".

About three weeks before my session date, I began to experience a good deal of apprehension and doubt about whether or not a session with ibogaine was really the right thing to do. Was I just going off "half-cocked" looking for a "quick fix" to my problems? Had this drug been tested enough? Were there possible side effects that were not yet understood? Should I call the whole thing off now, while there is still time, before purchasing the non-refundable airline ticket?...etc. I decided to do a tarot reading on the question in an attempt to clarify my perspective and help myself feel more comfortable with my decision. I went to the bookshelf upon which my tarot books and some of my cards are kept. There were some loose cards there - five cards from a deck called "The Power Deck", which were given to me by the woman who published the deck, prior to the actual publication, when I attended one of her seminars. (Eventually I purchased the entire deck, along with the companion book, but I had never known quite what to do with these five extra cards, and they had ended up on my bookshelf.) As I pulled a few of the books off the shelf, one -- only one -- of the Power Cards fell off the shelf and onto the floor, face down. I stood there looking at it. I believe in synchronicity. Nothing is an accident. I knew intuitively that this card had a message for me. I picked it up and turned it over and read the following:

Perfection

"Dream your passion. Fly away. Go through the hoop of your innermost fears and desires. Meet them and conquer them. What pain from childhood have you not dealt with? Move into the wound of your most secret fears, and find the seeds of wisdom that are planted there. Face what upsets you the most; it is a great teacher. Give away whatever is holding you back -- insecurities, ego, fear of failure, or not being loved, fear of being alone -- and be reborn into a new state of perfection."

As soon as I saw the phrase "fly away" I knew the universe was responding to my questions and apprehension, because I was going to be flying to the location of my session, and I had been thinking that if I decided to cancel out, I had better do it before buying my ticket -- and that had better be soon. I needed to decide if I was going to really commit to this or back out. But all of the rest of the statement from the card was also as if it had been tailor-made in response to my specific needs and issues. It seemed absolutely apropos on every level, from the use of the word "dream" which describes the ibogaine visions, to the references to pain from childhood (the unlocking of repressed memories that the ibogaine is noted for), to the reference to a "great teacher", which I took to have a double meaning, and to my mind, which referred to the Iboga Spirit. The entire statement was a recapitulation of everything I had read and come to understand about the ibogaine experience. There was no doubt in my mind that that card was meant as reassurance to my wavering resolve. I never did an actual tarot reading, as there was no need for it after that.

I also reminded myself that I had been led to ibogaine through prayer, and because of that I felt I could trust it to be a beneficial experience. I went ahead and purchased my ticket.

A little more than two weeks before my session date the whole process was greatly intensified. My energy level began to rise, and I began to need much less sleep than usual. I was literally forced to cut down on the stimulating herbs because I couldn’t stay asleep for more than four or five hours a night. I was conditioned to believe that I needed more sleep than that to function well. Since my mind saw this as a problem of insomnia, I attempted to resolve it by halving all of my doses of herbal stimulants. I was amazed to find that it didn’t seem to matter. I still had a tremendously high energy level, and continued to need much less sleep than I considered "normal". So, after several days at the lower doses, I halved all of the doses again. Simultaneously, I began to notice a rather low-grade, constant feeling of anxiety -- "the butterflies in the stomach" syndrome. This was accompanied by diarrhea every morning during the two week period. Yet, I did not feel ill. To the contrary, I felt extremely well. Once again, I suspected that this purging was preparatory to the core ibogaine experience and moreover, that the purging on the physical level was only a reflection of the purging that was occurring on the emotional, mental, and spiritual levels.

On both of the two nights prior to the actual ingestion of the ibogaine I averaged between two and three hours of sleep. And yet, although I had by now cut my stimulants to 1/4 my usual dose, I was not tired. This was so contrary to what I had come to expect from my previous experiences of cutting down or cutting out stimulating agents that I was utterly amazed.

At about this time, there was another synchronistic experience -- one that I felt had a great significance, which I am still attempting to fully assimilate. It occurred in the airport just shortly after my plane had landed in the city in which my session was to take place. While walking along in the airport with the man was to be the facilitator for my session, my eye was caught by the sight of the most incredibly beautiful child I have ever seen in my life. She had very dark hair and dark eyes, and looked to be possibly of east Indian heritage. She was dressed to perfection in a darling outfit that had just a hint of Indian flavor to it, and she positively glowed. She was holding her father’s hand and they were both walking toward the facilitator and me. Her body looked to be about three years old, but it was quite clearly inhabited by an ancient soul. The awareness level was evident in her eyes and the incongruity was stunning. As she passed by us she looked up directly into my eyes and beamed the brightest smile at me. There was an instant sense of connection. I felt clearly that she knew me and recognized me, consciously, and was acknowledging that with her glance and her smile. And I also felt as if I knew her on some level of my being, but could not quite recollect the details in my conscious mind. I had the sense that there was some message in her presence there and in the fact that she was sharing her presence and her energy with me at just that time, while I was on my final approach to my core experience with Iboga. The feeling was so subtle that I hesitate to try to verbalize it. But it was as if she was rewarding me with her presence, for my courage in setting aside my fears and diving headlong into the Iboga God’s teaching. On another level, it was as if she were always with me, but that it was by my coming into a higher state of light and energy, by virtue of the ibogaine, that I was able to become consciously aware of her and experience her physical manifestation. My facilitator had also noticed her, and something that he said a while later made it clear to me that he had experienced her glance as directed at him, which I also thought was rather strange and interesting. How did she do that? I definitely consider her to be connected to and a significant feature of my ibogaine journey. Though it may seem fantastical to some who read this, the impact that this brief encounter had on my inner being is undeniable.

During the remainder of the time before I ingested the ibogaine my anxiety level was steadily intensifying. Some of this, I reasoned, was quite natural. After all, ibogaine was a Big Unknown to me. Yet I had taken other drugs, of the consciousness-expanding genre before. So, why all the anxiety over this one? I was later to understand this more clearly.

On the day that I was to take the ibogaine, during the few waking hours preceding the session my anxiety had increased to a fairly fevered pitch. I swallowed the capsule shortly before 2:00 p.m. I felt nothing for 40-45 minutes. Then it began.

At first there was simply the sensation of a vibration or a slight electrical charge running through me. It began to build and intensify very rapidly. I began to feel a sort of drowsy feeling that made me want to close my eyes. I had been sitting up on the bed with my back propped against the wall. Soon I wanted just to lie down perfectly flat, and did so. It was becoming a bit awkward to maneuver my body. I felt a bit detached from it.

Soon, I began to feel as though a locomotive was roaring right through me, thundering through my bloodstream. I felt that I could hear it, though not with my physical ears. I felt overwhelmed by it, totally absorbed by it (some time after this session, while recalling this experience, I suddenly thought of a phrase found in the book of Revelation; "the sound of many waters", which fairly aptly approaches a description of this "sound" in so far as is verbally possible).

Shortly, what I had been referring to as anxiety became more accurately labeled fear, and then fear bordered on terror. I felt an electricity around my entire body about 1/2 inch thickness out from my skin. It was palpable, and I identified this as the physical manifestation of my fear. Later, it occurred to me that I may have placed this "shield" of electricity/fear around me with the idea of protecting myself but that it was simultaneously acting as a barrier, which prevented meaningful connections and true intimacy.

I began to feel that I had made a big mistake. This did not feel good. "What have I done? I’ve really gone and done it now. Oh, God, just let me hang on and get through this." I was terrified. I wasn’t sure at the time whether the anxiety which had been with me for weeks had progressed to fear and then the fear to terror, or whether the terror had always been there and I had only progressed from a lesser awareness of it to a more complete awareness. On another level, it was almost as if the fear was a living presence, which could at times be removed from me and at other times move in more closely. During the first part of my ibogaine session it moved right in and enveloped me and I moved, so to speak, right into the center of it. Perhaps the Iboga Spirit was leading me, as one of my facilitators had predicted, to the place that was most in need of healing, like water relentlessly seeking the lowest level.

Toward the beginning of the session, I thought I heard my facilitators discussing how they would arrange their breaks. There was some confusion around this in my mind, and I am not sure that I understood their statements accurately. I almost felt as though I might have hallucinated hearing the exact thing that I was most fearful of -- to be left alone. I wanted to object and ask that someone be with me throughout, as I was experiencing so much fear, but I’m not sure whether or not I verbalized that. Verbalization was beginning to feel like a lot of work. My attention wanted to turn to what was happening internally.

Earlier, I had asked my facilitators to keep a written record of anything I said, to help me later recall any insights gained. As close as I was able to get to a verbal summation of my first insight was this: "The only thing that has ever really terrified me is being left alone." It was stimulated by the idea of being left alone while under the influence of ibogaine, which then led me into a reverie about a thought process that had taken place when I was about nine or ten years old. I had been trying to imagine what Hell was like. Whatever I imagined, no matter how painful, or whatever, nothing seemed truly unbearable until I came up with the thought of having to endure it completely alone. "If I end up not being good enough to make it to Heaven", I thought, "and have to go to Hell, I can bear it as long as there is someone else there with me. But if I am there alone, that would be incomprehensibly unbearable. So that must be what Hell is," I concluded, "to be completely and eternally alone and separate." This was a memory which had been accessible to my conscious mind before taking the ibogaine, but somehow the combination of experiencing the intense fear on a very primal emotional level, along with the thought pictures that were parading past my mind’s eye now in rapid succession, enabled me to put this all together in such a way that I was able to identify the core of at least part of my fear. As one of the facilitators said, being able to define a problem -- to "name" it -- is actually the first step in being able to resolve it. I believe this is one of the functions of ibogaine. It seems to lend the clarity required to clearly define the cause and structure of the neurosis.

As soon as I made the statement, "The only thing that ever really terrified me is being alone", one of the facilitators, who had a considerable expertise in Neuro-Linguistic Programming, said to me, "add an ‘L’ to ‘alone’." I thought about that for a moment and realized tha