A lens for plant medicine integration
Plant medicines are not for everyone, but for those who feel called to explore, a plant medicine ceremony can be a truly transformative experience.
While many first experience plant medicines in a recreational, casual, or spontaneous manner, most find out there is more to this process than expected.
Plants, like anything in this world,
require respect to experience their full potential.
Integration is the key to unlocking the full potential of plant medicine experiences. By intentionally processing all the elements of an experience, and applying the insights gained, you amplify the power of the medicine, leading to growth and clarity.
This intentional approach leads to a meaningful relationship with the plant and with the indigenous traditions related to the plant, as well as your own karmic path that brought you to the plant.
With a clear understanding of the significance of the medicine ceremony, and of the integration process, you create a framework for deep exploration of your consciousness.
(The Hero’s Journey below is part of a full guide to Plant Medicine Integration, offering practical steps to prepare and integrate for your ceremony).
Understanding the Hero’s Journey
The concept of the “Hero’s Journey” is especially useful when integrating plant medicine experiences. This archetype framework was popularized by American mythological researcher, Joseph Campbell, in his book, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.”
Campbell’s extensive research revealed a universal pattern of the Hero in myths and stories from a range of cultures. He identified a common structure, which he termed the “Monomyth,” with the archetype of the Hero at its core.
This Hero represents the journey of self-discovery and transformation that resonates across people of all cultures and times.
Using the Hero’s Journey as a lens can be immensely beneficial for both participants and facilitators in the context of plant medicine integration. It provides a narrative roadmap, helping make sense of experiences and navigate the often complex process of true integration and transformation.
The Hero Begins in the Status Quo
The Hero’s Journey (or Heroin’s Journey) typically starts in the status quo, in a world where the Hero feels comfortable and familiar. However, there is often a sense of unease, a feeling that something is amiss or a desire for change.
The Hero may not be content with their current life, struggling with aspects of themselves or their circumstances, or seeking something more profound out of life.
The Hero may be dealing with various challenges, such as addiction, depression, anxiety, or a longing for a deeper connection with the experiences of life.
They may feel stuck or stagnant in their ordinary world, desiring change but not taking action, leading to energetic frustration.
The Call to Adventure
The Hero’s journey begins with a call to adventure, an event, or a discovery that propels them out of their comfort zone.
This call can take many forms, such as:
- A synchronistic encounter with someone
- Reading something in a book
- Listening to a podcast.
- Or in this case, deciding to try plant medicines.
It could be purely a personal desire or a challenge of the self. It can be with sadness, or it can be with joy- but usually with a little bit of fear.
Sometimes, the call to adventure comes in the form of a significant life event, such as the death of a loved one, the loss of a deep relationship, or global events like natural disasters and war.
The frustration is a catalyst, pushing the Hero to take action and seek change or a new path.
Entering the Unknown
Depending on the variables of life, the call to adventure can often be met with resistance or refusal, as the Hero may be hesitant to step into the unknown.
They might question their abilities, fear challenges ahead, or simply prefer the comfort zone of life.
However, when the Hero decides to accept the call, they enter a realm that shifts them from their everyday life.
The decision to initiate a new experience can be exhilarating, already a shift to the mundane. But it also comes with uncertainties.
The Hero begins to sense both the potential and dangers that lie ahead, feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness.
This is the truest version of falling down a rabbit hole to have a tea party with your psyche.
The hero remains in a ‘mental wonderland’ and the dessert is tasting the source of your innate power. To each their own, if this sounds like fun, or sounds like chaos.
That’s why many people shy away from conversations with consciousness.
For now, the Hero continues daydreaming of his magical world, feeling the adventurous nature of his archetype.
The Initiation of the Hero
As the Hero continues on the quest, eventually they encounter a series of challenges and obstacles.
This moment is crucial in any Hero’s Journey: the moment life does not meet expectations, and eventually learn valuable lessons.
In the context of plant medicines, this is when a Hero meets their allies, and commits to the plan.
Allies could be the medicine facilitators, supportive friends, family, or even the plant medicine itself, offering a sense of direction.
As the Hero prepares, they may experience amplified fears and insecurities. Along the way, the Hero may meet new tests and enemies in attempts to derail the quest.
Keeping motivation and the mind clear is essential for stamina. Ancestral and Indigenous traditions suggest abstaining from certain foods, alcohol, drugs, and sex to focus and transmute the mind and body’s energy, navigate the complexities of the psyche, and prepare the body for medicine.
This part of the journey is unique for each Hero, each with their own obstacles and dynamics.
Unlike the Hero’s comfortable world, this new world demands sacrifice, commitment, quick adaptation, and learning.
If the Hero’s thoughts and plans are challenged repeatedly, they may retreat to their innermost cave, for a sense of security. But, this is where many get stuck.
The triumphant Hero demonstrates endurance, strength, and resilience. And it is through this process that they start to transform.
The journey itself becomes the teacher, not just the destination.
The Hero’s Challenge
The apotheosis (climax) of the Hero’s Journey is known as “the Abyss, “the Ordeal”, or “the Gauntlet.” The pivotal moment where the Hero walks straight into battle, facing shadows, in the dark.
In the context of plant medicines, this is the embodied experience of the ceremony itself. Here, the Hero partakes in ancestral practices and nature’s medicine. Calling in all that is, was, and to be.
- Unfamiliar sensations and reactions of the body and mind
- Confronting visceral images
- Known and unknown symbols and visitors
- Activation of primal senses
- An animalistic connection to surrounding nature
- The interplay of mental dominance in the quest, but physical surrender to stay in the ceremony experience.
- Attend the funeral of slain archetypes (ego death)
- Gain clarity, wisdom, resilience, and seeing things unseen
- A ravenous thirst for life or a loss of appetite for the experience
The threshold of transformation has been trespassed
It is believed that only through “ego death” and subsequent “rebirth” can the Hero gain sight of the power, and love, enabling them to see the journey through to its end.
The ultimate boon is the moment in the journey when the hero wins. For overcoming this trial, the Hero will be awarded.
The reward may manifest as empowerment for change, healing emotional wounds, resolution in relationships, spiritual understandings, or new conscious states.
However, the Hero’s experience may not always align with expectations, leading to frustration or confusion.
The memories, visions, or knowings delivered during medicine ceremonies can be terrifying for the Hero. Sometimes, the shadows that arise during the ceremony are not yet known (or ready to be resolved) by the mind/body. In such cases, it’s the Hero’s responsibility to seek additional assistance.
Rewards or challenges may not always be immediately apparent, they may appear over time, and it may take time to process these experiences fully.
Neither life, nor healing, is linear.
Upon completion of the journey, the hero must navigate the challenges of returning home and reintegrating into a world that may seem mundane in comparison.
This final stage is often met with reluctance, as the hero is hesitant to leave the extraordinary experiences and liberation felt during the ceremony.
As they prepare for their return, the hero may embark on a ‘magic flight,’ a final, exhilarating adventure that symbolizes their newfound freedom and power.
Alternatively, they might find themselves rejected or pursued by forces preventing a smooth transition home, adding a layer of urgency or danger to their journey back.
Regardless of the challenges, the hero must ultimately find the road back home, and the strength to reintegrate into society.
It is a delicate balance, requiring the hero to honor their transformation while also navigating the expectations and realities of their everyday world. Master of two worlds.
The hero returns home, but they are not the same person they were before. The internal transformation that has taken place has shifted everything. This maturation is evident to everyone in the Hero’s changed perspectives and presence.
Sometimes, the extent of this transformation may not be fully realized until the Hero returns to their “normal life” for some time and finds that their old ways no longer fit the person they have become.
At this stage, the post-ceremony integration process begins.
It is during this phase that the Hero must take a different pace with life, carefully navigate old patterns, and value their treasure- ensuring it is not misplaced or lost.
The integration process is a dance, where the Hero finds a groove, aligning their physical reality with their new self.
The Hero’s Transformation
The Hero’s integration involves multiple layers, one of which is Depth Psychology: shadow work of the psyche.
Plant medicines have the potential to activate the unconscious, bringing buried traumas, forgotten memories, and rejected aspects of the Self to the surface in the ceremony, unable to return to the dark.
The unconscious mind is a realm often overlooked, but can profoundly shape our lives. Carl Jung (the Father of psychoanalysis), beautifully articulated this stage when he said:
“Days and nights are equally long in a year’s journey. Happiness and sadness are intertwined, and true happiness is incomplete without a touch of darkness.”
Carl Jung
The Hero must learn to tolerate, work with, and accept these archetypes and entities. Their revelations are better served with awareness in our daily lives.
Personal Integration:
This is the initial level of integration, where the Hero focuses on absorbing and resolving their traumas, memories, and rejected aspects of their self.
It involves an inner process of compassion, where the Hero processes the experience into healthy frameworks for the mind. This level is characterized as “self-care” (which should not be confused with “selfish”).
A fixed focus may involve:
- Developing a deep sense of acceptance (or refusal)
- Embracing a growth mindset
- Cultivating emotional intelligence
- Adopting healthier lifestyle habits and self-care practices
- Discovering and pursuing one’s passions and purpose
- Building meaningful relationships and social connections
- Enhancing communication and conflict resolution skills
- Learning to manage stress and anxiety effectively
- Embracing a more present-moment-oriented approach to life
Embodied Integration:
The second level of integration builds upon personal integration; when the Hero not only understands and accepts their medicine insights but also integrates and embodies them into their daily lives.
This level is about cashing in the treasure, and living your best life.
It involves aligning one’s physical reality with their new self, by:
- Making changes in various aspects of their life, such as changing careers, relationships, environment, physically altering their physical appearance or the way they dress, diet, habits, mindset, and emotions.
- Embodied integration ensures the inner transformation is reflected in the outer world. An alignment of the mind, body, and soul.
Collective Integration:
The third level is the deepest level of integration and is about the Hero’s impact on the world.
The Hero’s embodiment often leads to a shift in the way they interact with others in their lives. For instance:
- A Hero who has overcome trauma might discover a love for art therapy, using their creative expression to heal and inspire others.
- Another Hero might find their purpose in advocacy work, using their personal experiences to fight for social justice and positive change in their community.
- Some Heroes might even discover a calling to mentor and guide others through their own self-discovery process.
By sharing their insights and offering support, the Hero ascends to a higher plane, creating a network of like-minded individuals, and building their own resonance of belonging and collective connection.
The Hero’s Reflection
At its deepest level, transformation and integration demands commitment and practice.
This requires tools and practices addressing the mind, body, and spirit.
This process may require effort and support, but it is the responsibility of Hero to support themselves or ask for support. Expert Guidance can provide:
- Objectivity and non-judgemental communication
- Personalized Approach
- Emotional Regulation
- Skill Development
- Community and Connection
- Accountability and Motivation
- Framework for Shadow Work
- Long-Term Support
- Professional Referrals
Insufficiencies in any area can make the integration lose its impact or cause an impasse.
It is not solely the magic of the medicine but the Hero’s determination to evolve.
The Hero’s journey is more than a timeless narrative, it’s a roadmap to self-actualization and transcendence.
Author’s Note:
- Where are you at in your Hero’s Journey?
- What obstacles have you encountered so far?
- How have psychedelics assisted you in overcoming these challenges?
- If you or someone you know is battling mental health issues, it’s crucial to consider your intentions, mindset, and environment, as well as your capacity to process your experiences.
- Find someone who can offer guidance and a listening ear. Don’t hesitate to seek help and support.
References:
Buhner, S. H. (2006). Sacred Plant Medicine (3rd ed.). Inner Traditions/Bear & Company. Retrieved from https://www.perlego.com/book/959127/sacred-plant-medicine-the-wisdom-in-native-american-herbalism-pdf
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Nueva York, Fontana Press, 1949.
Luton, Frith. “The Heroic Journey – a Jungian Perspective.” Frithluton.com, 2020, frithluton.com/articles/heroic-journey-jungian-perspective/.
Theoretical concepts — the hero’s journey spiral. (n.d.). Theoretical Concepts. https://www.thearetical.com/the-heros-journey-spiral