November 2016
As we became inspired and active members of our new-found community, evolution of one’s spiritual path is inevitable. You meet so many wonderful souls and realise the value of being in such a community. It is a whole new world that opens up and as the days go by you feel less and less like a fish out of the water. The community taught us that every single person is still human and struggle with basic things, just like we do.
There is no separation or division in an awakening community. No better than….. richer than….. wiser than…. Whether you are working exclusively with Mother Ayahuasca or whether you prefer another form of plant medicine or healing modality, the inner work and cognisance is still there, perhaps just in various forms of intensity.
One experience usually opens up doors to your next adventure and as we got to know our community members and their preferred methods of learning while walking their spiritual path, meeting Monica Cromhout and her passionate calling for working with Psilocybin mushrooms was a memorable and pivotal moment in our lives. She affectionately refers to mushrooms as Soma as even with psilocybin mushrooms there is a Plant Spirit involved. The same goes for San Pedro cactus, the Lotus Flower, Cannabis etc.
We have grown extremely fond of Monica, as have the whole valley. She is a soft and gentle-natured lady of about 70 and have already endured many trials and tribulations in her life. She is very respected in her hometown and applauded for her amazing courage to stand firm in her beliefs that nature is free to all. She has been arrested for hosting Soma retreats, detained in police cells over a weekend (twice!), awaiting trials, endured breast cancer while waiting for verdicts and yet her will to survive and succeed is never ending and absolutely admirable. The fight to legalise psilocybin (like with cannabis) is an ongoing process and the legal parties are winning much ground as time goes by. If you would like to follow the legal process, there is a Facebook page called Psilocybin on Trial. To find out more about the sacred mushrooms and the offered retreats, check out the two Facebook pages called Sacred Mushrooms and Soma Retreats.
Once you have decided to step onto the path of enlightenment, the one where every day becomes a journey, not just once a week on a Sunday for an hour, a whole new world and way of observation unfolds. Every day you see, learn, feel and cognize more than the day before. Whether you meditate to give you a connection to Source or whether you implement the use of natural psychedelics, the knowledge is vast and cannot be unknown. Yes, depending on their age and intention, you will still find the odd person joining a sacred ceremony to use a plant as a “party trick”. Often this will be a curious youngster that have heard of the effects that such a plant can induce but they hardly ever stick around for more ceremonies or integration with the community. They are basically just not mentally or emotionally mature enough to handle the influx of wisdom during a ceremony and do not return. We tend to spot them instantly, but we never judge them. We merely hold space for them in those moments, assisting with answers and guidance, if they ask for it.
And so it came to be that I would explore the world of another natural healing modality. Psilocybin mushrooms. To me this was a logical next step in my path of spiritual evolution, as an Earth Seed, deeply connected to Mother Earth and her wonderful, holistic methods of healing offered. The varieties found are vast and very magical indeed. Each is unique in the experience they deliver. You cannot be familiar with psilocybin and not know Terrence McKenna. He will probably be deemed by some to be the “founder of psychedelics” in this era yet psychedelics have been a very well-guarded secret by the “Powers that Be” of this world.
As with Aya and any other plant medicine, you will learn that simply everything happens as it should and forms a part of your journey during ceremony. Be it the noisy and irritating foreigner squirming next to you or the weather. They become a part of your journey and once you can stop yourself from being irritated by the influence and ask yourself “what is this thing trying to tell me?” you will embrace your journey fully and be propelled forward into information overload.
I simply love working with plant medicine in a respectful and sacred ceremony. The space becomes sacred as it is contained in a protective bubble of safety, love, honour and respect to the participants and the Plant Spirit. I refuse to work with it in any other way. This is also dear Monica’s way of working and has set the tone for a couple of intense journeys that have been positively pivotal for me on my path of self-discovery and mastery.
Under Monica’s gentle guidance, together with her assistants called Watchers, I have received confirmation of my ability as a medium and how very connected I am to the spiritual realm. So much so that I actually experienced people in their various death states like my cousin who passed away in a motor vehicle accident at the age of 19. I could feel the front of my skull crushed in, the extreme pain and emotional turmoil of that moment. Another spirit made me feel like my arms were on fire while being stuck in a motor vehicle. This was an older female and somehow I got the impression that this was Monica’s mother, but I could never bring myself to tell her this. Basically I realised how my ability made me stand out like a lighthouse to these beings, meaning I would attract them without knowing it. I gathered they are drawn to me in the hope that I may receive and convey messages. Unknowingly this does have an effect on you as a person in your day to day life. You may feel extreme fatigue, severe headaches, nausea or other bouts of physical pain. This was to be my first lesson as an intuitive healer and empath. Protect yourself, daily!
I also got to experience why my husband and I were meant to be in each other’s lives. The Yin Yang theme was very prominent and by recognising the light and dark, the positives and negatives, the good and the bad within myself as an individual, us as a couple, I could identify that everything in life is about balance.
As above, so below, as within, so without, what goes up…. Must come down.
The grandest connection of all was probably when I saw how plants in the garden reacted to the various songs being played. I could see plants breathing. The ivy against the wall enjoyed the fast and upbeat songs while the shrubs in the garden swayed gently up and down to the calmer tones. My connection with nature instantly levelled up and I felt elated to be seeing visually what others constantly referred to. If you will recall, I do not get physical visuals yet after that day, I have developed the ability to still see all plants in that light, with or without the aid of plant medicine.
I am forever grateful for having been introduced to this wonderful plant spirit in the way that I have. Many an insightful journey would follow in the following years and if ever I could share some key advice with anyone interested in exploring this avenue of enlightenment, it would be to do so in a secure and sacred space with a knowledgeable guide from the very first moment. Source, Spirit and Mother Nature will not disappoint the searching soul.
