Luminosity, my Iboga experience.

Amazing to hear about the alcohol issue Bev.  That has been the most troublesome for me, so I do understand!  Peace!

Yes, Dear Tia, A most wonderful post.  Happened to see it before and copied it to some friends.  Thought they might like to see where I'm planning to go... Mucho Gratitude 2 You! guenevere_walks

fallout: Happy to report I'm still not drinking. I tried for two hard years, with tears and despair and sincerity, to quit. I have had alcohol once since Iboga. I didn't blackout, didn't spend more than I had, didn't go off the deep end like I had in the past. It also didn't do for me what it once did, and I've not had the desire to pick it up again. When I think about it, I know it's not the right path, and I have a love for myself now, also an absence of disgust and shame, that makes it an easy choice. I can walk to the corner of my block any time day or night and get it, I just don't want to anymore. When I tried it, I was feeling spiteful and angry. It didn't help, and I knew it wouldn't ever again. I had to go through a little sadness at losing a 'friend', but I have worked through that and many other issues. (And I still am! Every day! lol) Thanks for your comments, guys!

Hello, That was one of the most successful Ibo stories that I have every hears.  It seems that everything you did was positive.  You were on a somewhat special diet, meditated, Invited Lady Iboga into your heart.  Then you quite drinking but you also changed your life.  You quit smoking and I can not see your letter here but you seemed to change your thinking. You say your skin changed and you look younger.  That is quite possible if you limit your stress and it sound like you eliminated quite a bit of....baggage .... yea baggage they call it now and clutter.  You have probably found that your home life is much better and happier.  Of all the things to strive for - gold, silver, being famous, etc. I would go for the happiness.  And you can help others when able.  Regardless or where you go and what you do you would definitely make the world a better place.  You did great, keep it up.  Just think to be successful all you have to do is help one person - just one person and make the world a better place.  See, so simple. Much Love,   - Viola

Nice to hear your heartfelt and entertaining response, Jim!  I seemed to have missed this last post Tia....great to hear your doing so well!  Peace!

JIIIIM!!!!!! HiHiHi! Thank you so much for your words, and here I'll also publicly thank you for supporting me before and after Iboga. You are a loving, giving person and I am so very grateful to know you. hugs and delight

The next morning at 9am, I took a test dose of TA extract. I tolerated this well and took a flood dose carefully calculated for my height, weight, gender and length of sobriety. This did not take me where I needed to go, and so over time, in 300-400mg increments, I made it up to over 3 grams of extract. Quick question! Was this an extract you partook of or a pharmacutical PTA (purified total alkaloid)? I would advice giving it 5-6 weeks and then take the same dose again' Blessings and light'

Hey kindgarden89, Well, you've got some vehemence there. For you, I will clarify. I took TA extract last July or August. I've since taken several forms of boosters. I feel fantastic, loving, strong, connected, introspective, alive and growing. I have grown past alcoholism. It doesn't do what it once did, and is no longer attractive to me. Also, I don't use Iboga to get high, I partake to stay connected. Iboga has a beautiful voice, and Iboga has an agenda. I am in no danger of relapsing into alcoholism, because for me, it is cured. Yes, I know what I am saying. Thank you for your concern. May the universe return to you tenfold that which you give. Love and muscles

So you say' but why drink alcohol after Iboga' it no makes sence' I see this all the time' folks say they wish to walk with Iboga then proceed to smash it up with choice substances' The likes of LSD and alcohol MDMA and "Heroin" Why ? is my question' why destroy of what Iboga could give you' Who takes the bark of the tree of knowledge to ge high !! NO ONE DOES!! Glad you got some healing from  this amzing plant' it is good to see folks taking their own healing into their hands' I have no vemenence' what I do have in knowledge (treated over 200 folks with a 42 % success rate) and concerns and questions of why folkks wish to take other substances after Iboga! Seeing as it is no conducive to the Iboga experience' Many blessings love and light! May Iboga mirror show yourself to yourself in all your ugliness and beauty' Power and light' saltywillow40

Vehemence means saying something with a lot of strength and conviction. My simple answer to why is that the situation presented itself and I wanted to learn. This I have done and I am pleased with the knowledge gained. I am not disconnected from Iboga, Nobu, no matter how strenuously you feel that I am. I am proud that you have shared Iboga with over two hundred people with a 42% success rate. Is this your success rate, or Iboga's success rate? I too pray the mirror shows me all sides, I am always looking and learning from what I see. Thank you, kindgarden89. I learn from you.

P.S. I pulled you on you drinking alcohol after Iboga! You can now get the where for all inside of yourself to prove me wrong for the rest of the time we know of each other' Partaking of Iboga is an attempt at getting a clean slate' one of which you shall no get if you continue partaking of substances with or after Iboga therapy' Quite simple really' I get this all the time' then folks tell me Iboga no worked' it shall no work if you continue as you have always done' It be like the heroin addict that wishes to be clear of heroin but still use it ! They wish for both states of conciousness' Great to see you have something to now work with' Power to you' Bliss! Nobu +

Shoot, one other thing. We all know that eating Iboga works just fine. But I shit you not, some people actually shoot it up and smoke it. Why do that? Bigger, better, faster, more. It's my opinion that to reach for that is also to turn away from what's really going on with one. That's what I meant by 'getting high' with iboga.

42% success rate. Is this your success rate, or Iboga's success rate? Well I would say 50/50 the clients and me with Iboga' I work alone' anything from 3-12 days at a time traveling all over the world and have been doing so for some 6 years now' Many would no make it if I was no with them to coach and guide' Pa' Iboga! Bliss! saltywillow40

Ah, I am surely letting this discourse provoke me, and I'm not dropping it. Lordy. Nobu, I do not need to show you I won't drink. No need to set false goals for me, my path is not about showing Nobu i'm a good lil iboga eater, it's about learning, growing, loving and sharing. I truly have nothing to prove. I am deeply satisfied with the present and excited about the future. My path is my own, as is yours. T

Great stuff' taking strenght from ones self achievements is such a perfect feeling that it would a SIN (if there is such a thing:) to smash it all up' and then have to work it all again' when it comes around again' I am glad my post prickles you' cos it gives you strenght within your own convictions' you see' doing this work is no just facilitating folks partaking of Iboga' it entails much psycho-spiritual reflections and manipulations and spiritual sand paper to get the client in the correct space to get max benefit from Iboga therapy' I see so much it becomes tiring to hear folks fail through Iboga' and I am elaited and very happy that you are working with this amazing plant' Much love and respect' it takes a lot of inner strenght to stand by ones own convivtions' Power to your reflection as you see yourself looking at yourself veil-less' Light in self knowledge' Much love' saltywillow40

Jesus Christ - you mean to tell me that people actually RUN ibogaine? WTF? I thought I was irresponsible!!! That's all our communities need, some nitwit blowing an aneurysm from smoking or shooting ibogaine. Great press... Nobu - I am curious what you think about taking other psychedelics after iboga. I don't mean immediately after, but what I gathered from the post above - you seem to lump LSD and MDMA in the mix with booze and heroin? As much as I learn from Wood, I haven't considered it dangerous or counterproductive to use other entheogens or psychedelics in the months or years after washing myself with iboga..maybe it's all in the intention? I can see why it's pretty obvious that heroin and other addictive substances be abstained from, but LSD? Maybe it's just the behavioral side of it that you were speaking to? Like people just wanting 'something' to get high, or use as an escape? Do you really think that there is something wrong with the occasional recreation trip? What about marijuana? I'm curious to hear your response. Much love and respect!

As I see it' it all comes down to NMDA receptor reset' we learn through these receptors through kenisthetics' LSD messes up the seretonin pathways' giving them an inabilty to recognise seretonin for a period of a few days after ingestion' it also teaches us to experience life through "Getting high" this is no of what Iboga is about' Ones intent with Iboga is to get a clean slate! Taking substances within 6 weeks of Iboga in my book is a no no' You spent your whole life getting bent up' Iboga rewires this' then you just go back to getting bent up on different substances' this is just the same syndrome you seek to allieviate' Spice & Shroo are in my book the only substances besides weed that are beneficail to the Iboga experience' Aya 6 weeks out is very grounding' I blow a few bowls' I use it cos I am so highly wired from my experiences' I meditate a lot and know of what I experience as of when completely clear of substances' any substance you ingest after Iboga lowers your psychi (except spice and shroo) you lose the ability to remote view' the two hemisphers of the brain slide out of sync' you get a snowyness to your psychi and eventualy lose your psychic tools'# Kundalini no rises like the "Rocket" it should be' You have to ingest of Iboga again to clear the damage done to receptors' I suppose it is all down to of what you know and of what you wish to learn a bout yourself' I use Iboga and all of my plants for the purpose of "Sorcery" and you require of a powerful psychi in order to control ther invisible' taking substances after Iboga makes you weak to of what Iboga can really teach you' If a Larma (Monk) spent his whole life meditating and learning of himself' do you think he would ingest something that would cloud his mind and receptors' NO is the simple answer' There is only one way to get clear of your past' no repeat it! Bliss! Nobu +

Thanks for the clarifications - I understand better what you mean. I'm also in agreement - especially in the earlier phases after taking iboga. There should be a period of abstinence while things are being integrated. Ayahuasca is a tremendous teacher in its own right and of all the entheogens that I have familiarity with, I would consider it most  like iboga...two very different master plants with some similar qualities. Iboga is as unique as it gets, and the similarities in it and yage are only cursory - but I don't see many other medicines that share some of these qualities and have such lasting effects.

Nobu, it is clear that you are an iboga zealot.  That said, I suggest you not dismiss other paths out-of-hand.  I had a very beneficial relationship with LSD, back when it was still available. If LSD "messes up the serotonin pathways" then the same armchair pharmacology could be used for iboga, DMT and psilocybin.  None of these chemical tools are 'evil' in their own right, it is up to the person whether use will provide healing and insight or just be "getting high." There is ample evidence in the literature of iboga being use as a stimulant and aphrodisiac for hedonistic purposes, too. It is largely the intent, the mind-set, that we bring to such an experience that determines if it will be beneficial. Paz y Luce     ~Eon

Well bro' you miss the point also' Iboga rewires your brain away from substances and Iboga no lower seretonin it boost it' I say 6 weeks at least between Iboga and other substances' cos it takes Iboga 6 weeks to rewire you dopamine pathways' you know the ones you bash up for years and years using' Do what thou will! But from experience' you hit any substance within the time frame it takes Iboga to rewire the two hemispherss of the brain' you waste your time taking Iboga' Iboga resets NMDA pathways' Iboga straightened out 30 odd years of eating LSD' Spice sorted out the rest of the kinks in psychi' LSD is a complex man made molecule' It just is no good to keep sticking things in your body that should no be there and also it is non conducive to reseting you two hemispheres of your brain' Perhaps as of when you partake of a large amount of Iboga you too shall understand of what I am attempting to explain to you' It is all semanitics anyways' I have my style' it works very well' cos I used to do everything just like the folks that I help' You can never kid a kidder' Bliss! Nobu +

okay, i'll bite. nobu, you called me uneducated because I said eating eboga works just fine. I stand by what I say. no need to shoot it or smoke it, unless you are a sensation junkie. biggerbetterfastermore just no need.

OK bro Nobu, lets examine the published literature. You say:  "Iboga rewires your brain away from substances and Iboga no lower seretonin it boost it'" LSD, psilocybin, DMT, mescaline AND ibogaine all act as agonists at the 5HT2 receptor sites:     http://www.springerlink.com/content/7740vp1kp084288x/     These studies revealed that ibogaine interacted with a wide variety of receptors at concentrations of 1–100 µM.     These included the mu, delta, kappa, opiate, 5HT2, 5HT3, and muscarinic1 and 2 receptors, and the dopamine,     norepinephrine, and serotonin uptake sites. Hence my statement:  "If LSD 'messes up the serotonin pathways' then the same armchair pharmacology could be used for iboga."  While not particularly scientific, I stand behind my statement, as does published research. I am very wary of sending wrong, poorly researched, and personal messages to those looking for facts.  I hold truth and accuracy supreme. Wanna dance? McKnight PS  --  5HT = serotonin.  5HT2 is a subset of the 5HT receptor sites in the brain.  More accurately, the psychedelics, presumably including ibogaine, bind to the 5HT2a subset of 5HT2 receptors.  Activity at the 5HT2a sites in the brain has been identified with a wide range of 'psychedelic' activity from a number of different compounds.   ~Mc PPS  --  How does the provenance of LSD ("LSD is a complex man made molecule") have any bearing on its effects?  In my book, H. sapiens is just as natural as T. iboga.  Why should some chemical produced by one be any less valuable than one produced by the other? PPPS  --  Ibogaine is NOT an MAOI.  Unless you can find a peer reviewed article in an accredited journal showing otherwise, I suggest that you resist the temptation to make unsupported statements.  (BTW, MAO inhibition is not the only way that synaptic serotonin can be increased.)

I am not versed in the chemistry, so I have nothing intelligent to add there. Shroo, that means mushrooms? Spice means smoking Iboga? I do know Iboga resets, I do know giving it time post flood is very important. I do know that the lsd I took did not separate me from iboga, nor did the couple times I drank alcohol. For me, science aside, Iboga is an entity and teacher, Iboga knows who I am, so do the Bwiti. From Iboga, I know it's about love and evolution. About knowing myself and seeing myself, watching out for ego, trying not to cause pain to myself or others. Judgement only causes me to be judged, and creates separation. Do turtles eat pollyanna67? Love.

Spice, from my travels upon the Internet, was most assuredly borrowed from "Dune" and can refer to DMT or to the mystery compound in Mimosa root bark that is orally active and similar in effects to tryptamines such as DMT.  Mimosa heads have gone to great lengths to isolate and purify the mystery Spice.  ( see:     dmt-nexus.com ) "I do know giving it time post flood is very important"  --  This certainly is true for one receiving treatment, for someone seeking healing, so that the healthy effects persist as long as possible. On the other hand, if one really takes to heart the message one has received, it will not easily be dislodged.  If one refuses to let that vision go and keeps it bright, it cannot be taken away by anyone or any thing, in my personal experience. I hope each of us has an inspiring message or vision that we shall carry with us always. And neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep  --  oops, that's the mailman one.  Well, you get the idea, right? ~et

I just realized it's been 7 months since I gave up alcoholism. Life just keeps getting better, too. I do a lot of work to stay on this path, but it is not drudgery in the slightest. I have come such a long way, and in doing so realize again and again how much further I have to go. But even that is a grand adventure. Cal, this forum (all you people!) means a lot to me. love and unity T Do icebergs dream?

I honestly think iboga straightened me out, so I could get much more out of every psychedelic experience, including LSD, but I don't know about them all that close together.  I'd probably wait at least a couple months..  I did use a little bit of mushroom tea a few days after my first flood dose, not much for a trip, but enough for a little boost in energy and mood..

The action of Ibogaine effects reuptake of dopamine and seretonin in the brain' of how it actualy does this is no clear' I have a paper that goes into specifics' of which I shall post when I get time' #for now so we can see some stuff' Ibogaine affects a substantial number of neurotransmitter pathways, including N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and ?-opioid receptors, as well as dopamine and serotonin uptake sites and ? sites' Binding profile Ibogaine has affinity (Ki) for the following sites in decreasing order of potency: ?2 (206 nM) > SERT (548.7 nM) > DAT (1,980 nM) > NMDA (2,001 nM) > ?-opioid (2,717 nM) > µ-opioid (4,362 nM) > ?1 (5,839 nM) > M3 (12,500 nM) > 5-HT2A (14,142 nM) > M1 (22,486 nM) > M2 (39,409 nM) > D3 (70,000 nM).[42] It also has affinity for VMAT and the nACh receptors, among other targets.[43] Bliss! Nobu +

A small me update. K, friends, guess what? I found this group called Evolver, they are amazing, with chapters everywhere. There was a meeting local and I got to go actually talk on Iboga. I was Way the least experienced person on the panel, my gosh. It was a meeting on entheogens, and listening to the other guests has changed me forevermore. Seriously. Also, while Iboga is certainly my path, and likely eventually Bwiti, I see that there are so many paths to this place we come to. Of connection and positive intention and ACTION. Some of the panelists came over after and we talked for hours more. I may sound like a babe in the woods with this, but have you guys read the stuff on the gnosticmedia website? Mygoshohmygosh. And the realitysandwich site. My gosh! That's the parent site for the Evolver site. There's just so much good stuff going on in the world. And we are capable of doing something about it, lol. Husband JR is in Georgia for a minute, and I miss him terribly. And I'm glad he's there because he is doing some heavy inside work. Ah, what else. Oh yeah! I'm excited that Eric T is doing the US ibotour, lol. How cool is that? I really, really like and respect him, and think this will be good for iboga in the extreme. I'm learning the difference between discernment and judgement, this has been a big thing, too. Just so much going on right now, I feel like I'm at the top of the roller coaster, that more is certainly coming. Whew! Love to you guys. I've missed this place.

Right on Tia, thanks for the update sister. Your energy around this is awesome - and contagious! I'll have to check in to Evolver it sounds interesting. I have heard of Reality Sandwich - after I read 'Breaking Open the Head' I was turned on to it. You are plugged straight in lady, and I love it. Great to see you here...what will it take to fix the avatar issue? I mean, is this something I need to fix in the admin dept - because as much as I love you I don't know how long I can abide whats-his-face... Love and plant parts!

I am interested in these other sites, so when you guys find some good stuff there, feel free to link me... please?

I can't believe I've been missing this thread.  I need to come in more often.    Evolver/Reality Sandwich is a great site, so much to read there!  Hey Tia I'm sunnyhawk on Evolver as well, I believe I sent you a friend request.