Learn to Sit with and Listen to Your Plant Medicine
Hello from Brazil!
I hope that this note finds you well and in positive spirits. I am currently in São Paulo, Brazil. I spent the last week or so a little bit off the grid in Itamambuca, connecting with the spirits of the rainforest and microdosing ceremonial medicines. It was deeply self reflective, expanding and isolating, alllll at the same time. I sat with myself outside of my busy routine in NYC, I took medicines to delve into my subconscious and simultaneously witnessed the marvel that is Mother Nature all around me—it's been some shit.
The intention was to unplug—no phones, no Social meeds, no problem…right? Hahaha—not so much. For someone who was feeling the intense need to escape the shitty (city) for awhile and turn my burnt out mind “off”, I most definitely found myself reaching for my devices and feeling a little bit stir crazy. I was kind of disappointed with myself for the first couple days; I booked this trip with my partner as a way for us to intentionally slow down and chill out, get out of work mode for a bit and rest.
I was tiiiiiiiiiiiight the first day or so that we were there when I was trying to read emails with the caca wifi in our house in the mountains…this beautiful house that literally overlooks a beach 😩…but still my eyes rolled. THEN, I couldn’t post things on my work IG (stressing over algorithms n shit) because of the shakey innanet—in the middle of the rainforest, like I didn’t know what to expect 🤦🏻♀️—but alas, ya girl was stilll going through it lmaoo.
Then on the middle of the second day, there was a thunderstorm that kept us in the house because the roads were unsafe to drive. The power was a little wonky and I sat at the window and stared into the land behind our house. It was hella quiet, all you could hear was the rainfall, birds chirping and frogs in the distance. I felt a wave of calm wash over me, I walked outside to a hammock and laid down. A lightbulb went off and 2 minutes later I was back inside, I located a couple of mushroom capsules, a bottle of water and a blanket, hammock readyyyy 😎.
Listen to Plant Medicine Messages
I took about a half gram of Golden Teacher and laid my ass down. I had eaten light, I was living off local fruit so the hongos hit quicker than I had anticipated. It was perfect. For the rest of the afternoon I laid in the hammock and watched hummingbirds with white bellies dart in and out of the plants that surround us. I watched Toucans fly together and sing. I heard the oceans waves in the distance and I fucking breaaaathed for the first time maybe on the whole trip, and then…I fell asleep lol.
I had wild dreams, but one stood out to me in particular. I dreamt that I was walking alongside a high rock wall, it was covered in vines, there was hella greenery around me. I felt the sunshine on my face, it was warm, I was barefoot and I could feel soil beneath my soles and I could hear that I was walking towards the sound of drums. As I approached the place where the drumming was coming from, it was suddenly night and I could see people drumming and sitting around a fire, sharing a cup and drinking what I felt was some kind of sacred medicine. It all felt very ceremonial. I watched from a distance and felt unsure about if I should be there or not. A person smiled at me and motioned me to join the circle. I sat by her feet and she said to me “ you are your medicine” and handed me a cup to drink. From there I woke up, but I continued to lay in the hammock for a while longer thinking about the dream.
I spent the rest of the evening and next day thinking about what it meant. There were so many messages not only in her words but in the whole moment. So, I decided to take a little more medicine every day that I was there and lay in the hammock for a bit and try to meditate, focus on the sounds around me, absorb the magic from the plants, listen to the birds…and you know what? I didn’t touch my phone or my laptop, I wasn’t stressing over emails or what was happening at work…I was present.
The Importance of Gratitude
I woke up today and felt a wave of gratitude. I woke up and felt inspired. I felt/feel connected to the ecosystem around me and to the sacred medicine that always leads me back to myself. Not to be the mushroom preacher, pero like…this shit hits different when you sit with the medicine and listen to what she has to say, whether it's through dreams, the sounds around you, through meaningful conversations, or through silence. She always gives us what we need, a path back home to yourself.
I wanted to share those thoughts with you because I truly believe in healing as a community. I have learned that folx heal best, when we heal together. When taken in ceremony, mushroom medicine can realign one’s worldview and way of perceiving nature, opening our heart space, showing us how to find a sense of place within the human community and be fully aware of our participation in the creative unfolding of the universe as co-creators.
With all of that said, I want to say thank you for being a part of this growing BxB community, for bing co-creators in this experience and journey of life.
I hope that you all have a great rest of November, I am back to BK soon! We are taking off running as soon as we are back prepping for the holidays with a fresh set of eyes and a shift in our offerings for Dec. so stay tuned. If this trip has taught me anything, it has shown me how imperative it is to honor our home (earth) and our ancestors who continue to walk with us.
Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter for some very dope offerings. AND – Click here for a recording of the rain storm in Itammabuca <3
Love to you allll
x
Lynsey