If I have yet to integrate the lessons I've taken from plant medicine, I won't share them. But it has been 8 months since my isolation in the jungle, and I've had plenty of time to integrate certain lessons, and I feel it is ok to share now. Not everyone is called to plant medicine. The lessons I choose to share are for anyone who is soul searching.
Here are 4 lessons I've not only learned, but integrated into my life.
1. Be very selective on who you share your energy with.
There is plenty of science that backs up how we are made of energy, and how energy is transferred. I've gotten a real deep glance into how far energy goes; to the words we speak and through actions; what kind of energy is backed behind it based on what kind of intention we are holding (conscious or unconscious). Some people are not aware of this, but no matter how sensitive you are to energy or not, someone's energy can still affect you.
I deal with a lot of negative feedback when I tell people I am celibate. I even had one person tell me "you're going to regret when you're old looking back on this time when you could have had a lot of sex!" And I did not resonate with that at all because unless I am 100% certain that I want to take on that kind of energetic commitment, it really isn't worth it for me. My body always lets me know if it's ok or not. 99.9% of the time, it's not ok for me to take on someone else's energy.
It isn't because I'm against sex in any way, shape or form. However, I've had ceremonies where I've seen how energy is transferred sexually, and it is more powerful than we think.
After a year of being celibate, I chose to share my energy with someone in December. I realized then, just how powerful sex was, and what it could be used for. Because it was the first time I was sexually active after a year (3 months of that heavily studying plant medicine in the jungle), I didn't know how to protect my partner from my energy, and one morning he woke up with extreme anxiety. I feel anxious often; it's just something I live with and have gotten used to feeling. But when I asked him if he feels that way often, he told me, "never have I felt this way before." I realized then that through the transfer of energy, what he was feeling was not his at all. It was mine.
2. Artistic expression is a gift and surprise to God
What I understand to be "God" is a mixture of both dark and light. When I learned this, I was pissed and demanded to know why, if God is all powerful and mighty, we couldn't live in a world without tyranny, hunger and pain. I was greeted with the most loving, kind, forgiving and child-like voice that told me...
I'm learning.
God sees through the eyes of every living thing, to experience everything it possibly can. We all are the same entity deep down, we all just have unique individual stories to tell. So, with that being said, I asked once "How can I be more artistic? Should I paint, write, draw?" And I was greeted with this answer.
"That is soley up to you. Creative expression is a gift and surprise to God."
What does that mean?
I got this painting in 2012, and didn't really appreciate it until after my first trip to Peru. Suddenly the answer hit me during a meditation as I starred at this painting in the middle of my alter...the person who painted this picture, which I now have sitting next to my bed (I should mention that I stare at it in awe quite frequently) gave me her gift of art. Because, deep down, we are the source (layered with human emotions and ego for the time being), we get to experience the beauty of other people's expression. That is the surprise and the gift.
In the words of Nahko, we are a miracle made up of particles. So create and express yourself through music, writing, drawing, painting, making videos...whatever it is that you do that brings others the gift of beauty!
3. Forgive yourself for past mistakes
This one is huge.
My inner voice used to be so violent. In a previous post on Steemit, I talked about how I used to hold a grudge towards myself after making mistakes. I'd call myself stupid and worthless. It was literally like an arrest. I'd arrest myself, lock myself in mental prison, and throw away the key with no rights to an attorney.
Now, I have a much different story to tell. I still fuck up quite often, and I will until the day I die. If I am alive, it's because I have more mistakes to make, and I have more to learn. I have come to accept that.
When I make a mistake now, I am so beyond gentle with myself. I say, "It's ok! I am learning! I will have the opportunity to try again."
I sit with the feelings of shame or guilt that I feel, hold them tight, tell them it's ok. Those feelings are heard and I am able to be free. Forgiving ourselves does so much, not only for us, but for others who hurt us. When we forgive, it is not that we forget...we forgive to heal ourselves while simultaneously giving them the freedom to change. It's a beautiful process. None of us are obligated to be the same person we were 5 minutes ago.
4. Remember that everyone is on their own path
Plant medicine isn't always gentle. It's actually really intense. And sometimes I'm slapped pretty hard in the face (metaphorically speaking) to knock the damn sense into me.
In one of these "slap in the face" ceremonies I've had in the past, I was sternly told to stop trying to control how other's see the world. I was told...
You don't control any of this. It is all in divine order. People are on their own path, learning their own soul lessons.
So whether you're an anarchist, a vegan, a Christian, a plant medicine advocate; if someone wants to stay in lower vibrations, we must honor that and remember. The master does not teach unless the student is seeking answers.