With this post I am opening the section “Plant Medicine” of my blog Kukeon where I am discussing modern ways of designing Mystery Schools, an ancient practice to attain deeper access to the Mystery behind all Being and through this, transformation of the world. (The section can be subscribed/selected or unselected here.) Why do I speak about those medicines in this blog? Because they have a central role in the Mystery Schools but can also have this role in general aspects of spirituality.

I admit: With “Plant Medicine” I don’t refer to divers herbs that serve us for healing wounds, treating asthma, hernia, stomach upset or different other physical problems.

In all times, non-ordinary states of consciousness have been held in high esteem. Only in our “modern society” they are typically ridiculed, despised and sometimes outlawed.

The same fate befalls psychedelic substances - particularly them! - as they are probably the easiest accessible and at the same time powerful modality to reach those states - without a very specific gift and without sacrificing your life to learn whirling dances (as the Sufis do), daily practice of 8 hours meditation over decades of years, or the life surrender of a Buddhist or Benedictine monk.

Let’s clean up our language a bit

• Entheogene instead of psychedelic. Psychedelic has become in the general usage of the word the synonym of wild and unintentional or even dangerous utilization of strong psychoactive compounds. Together with many others, I am using instead “entheogene”. The word stems from Greek “en” = in, “theos” = God, “gene” = to generate: to generate God within, which refers to the ability of such substances to create a state of Oneness with all Being / God / Source.

• Non-familiar persons may often good-willingly but ignorantly follow the general societal trend to defame such holy substances as “drugs” and by so doing, lump them all together with Kokain, opioids as Heroin or even Fentanyl, that destroy the lives of thousands. To avoid this harmful confusion, the spiritual community has shifted towards replacing the classical term "Psychedelics” with “Plant medicine” which at least expresses clearly that it is not there to destroy but to heal - all though not all of them are actually plants.

  

Why medicine?

Because nearly all disease (including psychological ones) has its deepest root in alienation of who we really are, beyond our earthly tasks of work, making children, eating and sleeping, the meaning of our life which can never be retrieved from system-immanent realities alone. This is what these medicines help to heal! And this is what this whole blog is all about.

No wonder that the Mystery schools of Ancient Greece and Egypt were not thinkable without consciousness-expanding medicine - in Greece the Kukeon, in Egypt the Blue Lotus (BTW a different species with incomparably stronger psychoactive effects than what is referred to today by “Blue Lotus”).

Here is a mini overview of the main agents in compounds referred to today by “plant medicine” / entheogenes

• DMT (also referred to as “Spirit molecule”): The most common psychoactive compound in nature, even produced by many mammals (DE Säugetiere) including the Human species in their pineal gland (DE Zirbeldrüse). However, this function of the Human pineal gland is atrophied (DE verkümmert), only producing DMT in specific situations (such as the dying process, giving birth, being more than 8 hours in complete darkness…) or special activations. The effect alone lasts only about 15 min. In order to prolong this time, so-called MAO Inhibitors are used to prevent the body from breaking down DMT too quickly. This mixture is used in Ayahuasca, the most common South-American, tribal entheogene, the effect of which lasts about 5 hours. If consumed, DMT is mostly administered in the form of pure DMT (smoked, vaporised) or Ayahuasca (drunk), Changa (drunk).

  

• Psylocibin: The psychoactive compound found in many fungi or mushrooms (so-called magic mushrooms). The effect lasts around 5 hours. Mainly consumed in Truffles mushrooms. Psylocibin-containing fungi have been used in ceremonial contexts by many cultures around the globe throughout millennia.

  

• LSD: contrary to popular opinions, LSD is not synthetic but obtained through a specific process of hydrolysis from the natural fungus Ergot (DE Mutterkorn-Pilz) that lives as a parasite on barley (DE Gerste) and contains the alkaloid Ergotamin. LSD is known for its long effect (8-12 hours) and incomparable potency (only 100 microgram already lead to a full trip).

  

• 5MeO-DMT (also referred to as “God molecule”): A similar but different molecule compared to DMT with a far more potent effect, leading within seconds into non-dual states and ego-death experiences, therefore typically served by a shaman or psychedelic facilitator in a 1:1 setting. It is contained in few natural sources, especially secretions from the skin of “Bufo Alvarius” (Colorado river toad) and certain plants such as the Virola species.

  

• Mescalin: Like LSD a very long-acting compound (around 12 hours) mainly taken from San Pedro and Peyote (both cactus plants).

Later in this blog, I will share more about which one’s of those I consider eligible for the use in Mystery Schools context, why and by which application.

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