This is one of the biggest doubts for those who want to start shamanic retreats with Teaching Plants. There are several to the top of the Earth but it is between Iboga and Ayahausca that the most attention is due to the profound change it causes in our being. In addition to bringing awareness, they still teach us in such a wonderful and divine state that no other technique can bring us to the top of the Earth.
It is worth remembering that we are talking about master plants that harbor the spirit of the divine that will work in us. So each experience is very unique and totally personalized. The comparison I will try to make in this article will be on a general level, because nothing compares to what the plant will work on in the experiment. Only she has the wisdom to know where to start.
Of the various personal experiences I have had with Iboga and Ayahuasca, and in comparing them, the hardest part is finding any common ground. They are as different as the experiences they give us, though each is a master remedy in its own right. The Iboga experience is completely unique in the realm of master plants, almost to the point where it should be part of a different category. The intense stimulating effect of the Ibogaine alkaloid is largely responsible for the separation of everything that does not belong to us in terms of feelings and physical conduct. While most “psychedelics” increase normal senses or make them appear to disappear completely, during the Iboga ceremony, you are aware of the physical discomfort of the body. Iboga comes in hot waves that surround us. Accelerated heart rate, persistent nausea, severe dizziness, ringing in the ears and the severe voice of truth – last for 24 hours.
In contrast, the Ayahuasca arrives with a warm buzz, brings the fireworks, a purge, and then, 8 to 10 hours later, a quiet connection that allows a whole night’s sleep. Looking at this path, Ayahuasca may seem preferable. However, the pure content psychobytes downloaded from Iboga are unparalleled, and part of what makes this remedy so incredibly powerful.
Reach further or Reach deeper
Ayahuasca allows one to go further on physical level and reality itself. It allows entrance into other parallel realities and unknown realms. All this allows us to have a sense of how little we are and how the energy grid is so well structured. It is a plant that brings us “upwards.” We have been able to grow our consciousness by having the notion that there is something far greater than ourselves. attest to the “otherness” of these realms.
Iboga Bwiti shamans speak of going deeper, not farther. They believe that their remedy accesses the infinite nature of the soul within us, and the infinite knowledge of that soul that extends to the beginning of time. Throughout my 24-hour encounter with Truth, there was never a feeling that I was accessing anything outside of myself. It is a plant that takes us down, the terrestrial planto. In that we are aware that everything is within us and we have only to change to access other states of consciousness. Iboga is the voice of severe truth, in which he will be confronted with his darkness. The good thing about this wonderful plant is that it shows us this same truth but leaves us clean so we can start over.
What we can receive in these 2 experiences as Unique
In the Ayahuasca Experience, the content is delivered to you largely through images or encounters with other beings. The images, then, can lead to greater introspection, but sometimes you have to understand what the Ayahuasca was trying to tell you. Maybe it’s because there is a translation problem between dimensions that are often only assimilated through images, because there is no language possible to convey something we have never had lit. Our mind does not recognize something we have never had access to, so images are much easier to describe everything that goes on in other dimensions.
At the Iboga ceremony, there is no translation problem, because it speaks to itself. If you can not understand yourself, you are in trouble. People call Iboga his “stern father” and this is due to the nature of what Iboga tells him. And for many of us, this may sound like our father, but it’s actually just your true self trying to align your mind with what would be best for your destiny.
Lasting effects
One of the “problems” with the Ayahuasca experience is that it is entirely dreamy in its presentation, and almost all ceremonies take place after dark. So after finishing your dream journey, it is around 2-3 in the morning, when you can fall asleep and have real dreams. Then, the moment you wake up the next morning, the lines between reality and dream state are blurred. You begin to wonder, “Was this really real or just some dream induced by Ayahuasca? This little window allows our old enemies to doubt, fear, and appear to invade your mind and begin to undermine your experience. please with Ayahuasca is that you feel great the next day.We feel so connected, clean, happy and strong.This feeling makes doubts not so many.Everything that makes you feel good must be real.I felt as if I were on a spiritual high for several weeks after my days of Ayahuasca.
Iboga is the direct opposite experience. First of all, you are awake for at least 24 hours from the start of your journey. Often people are awake for 48 hours. Therefore, there are no uncomfortable dreams to confuse you. But the experience is so lucid that I doubt that even if you found a way to sleep, it would have the mixing effect that occurs with Ayahuasca. The problem with Iboga, however, is that staying awake and being under the influence of such a heavy stimulant temporarily saps serotonin so that it is easy to feel agitated, sad and weak in depression. These feelings are fertile ground for fear and doubt, so you have to be careful not to damage your own experience because of weakness. Once you regain some sleep, it is very easy to assimilate the new wisdom gained from the Iboga ceremony, but the spiritual high that I experienced from Ayahuasca was not present. But those who know my behavior will surely realize that I have changed my self-destructive and self-limiting habits.
The ritual
As for the ritual, there is nothing that compares to the transforming magic of an Ayahuasca ceremony. The music of Ayahuasca are the Icaros sung by the shaman himself. Sometimes they are amazing melodies, often beautiful, handed down from generation to generation, taught initially by the plants themselves. The shaman works with rattles made of leaves, tobacco, cinnamon, rose water, and spills his energy into the ceremony, taking you to the realms beyond death, partly through the sweat of your work. His physical manipulations during the ceremony have a direct and dramatic effect. You feel incredibly part of something mystical.
The Iboga ceremony is simpler, quieter, longer. The Bwiti music played has an incredibly high BPM that is somehow soothing to the overactive mind. It’s almost like having music at such a hectic pace that it helps the mind to think more slowly … Or at least it entertains the restless, manic side of our brain. The shaman’s interaction is more verbal, talking to you during the ceremony in a direct rather than mystical way.
If I have to choose, what ceremony should I do?
First of all, I think the question should be, “What should I do first?”
Because if you intend to make the commitment to explore the depths of your mind, soul and infinite universe, these two plants are the best things you can do for yourself. But time and money are obstacles, and I realize that it may take several years before you can save enough to complete one of those journeys. So here are some practical guidelines.
1. Do you have a problem of dependency, eating disorder or mental / spiritual self limiting problem? If the answer is yes, then Iboga for sure.
2. Do you prefer to know the answers to your questions or feel and see the answers to your questions? To know, choose Iboga – To feel and see, choose Ayahuasca.
3. Do you want an experience unlike anything you can find on the physical plane? Something totally different? Choose ayahuasca.
4. Is your mind the root of your physical illness or your body? For mind, choose Iboga, for the body to choose Ayahuasca (except in the case of physical dependence on drugs, for which Iboga is a specialist)
Where can I do these ceremonies?
In Portugal it is easy to find Ayahuasca ceremonies. Although one has to have some attention with who does it because it demands dedication to the plant, surely it will be viable to find someone with the affection of affection necessary to minister a ceremony of Ayahuasca.
For Iboga, it’s not that easy. There are few people in the whole world who dedicate themselves to this plant but in Portugal it is already possible to accede to ceremonies of Iboga.
Whatever your soul’s choice, I am sure that these plants will do what is necessary for their evolution. Just be available to receive.
By Célia de Jesus