EP. 37: Ibogaine + 5-MeO-DMT
Season 2
Join me as I recount my journey to Tijuana, Mexico, for an ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT experience that forever changed my perspective on life.
In this episode, I share the step-by-step details: arriving in San Diego, crossing the border into a gated treatment center, integration and assessments, connecting with other participants, entering a traditional sweat lodge, preparing for the fire ceremony, and experiencing deep breathwork and recovery. This was a journey of profound healing, rest, and perspective.
As I reflect on the experience, I’ve come to understand: “We’re all souls having a human experience. There’s more to this life. [This experience has] put life into perspective for me. Everyone needs to do ibogaine. I think if we did, the world would be a happier place.”
🎧 Listen now to hear the full story behind the trip that reshaped my understanding of healing and purpose. Episode 2 will dive deeper into my personal ibogaine journey.
If you'd like more information on Ambio Life Science please visit them here.
Show Notes
5
0:00:00
Did you write so much while you were there?
1
0:00:16
Not a lot. I mean, I wrote a decent amount from like every day. And it was funny because like I started to write on gray day when I got back to my room, and I was still a taxic. So I was writing like a four-year-old,
1
0:00:34
and then I went back, I'm like, oh, gotta rewrite that so I remember what it was. Yeah, I was like drunk writing, you know?
4
0:00:41
That's what it kind of feels like?
1
0:00:42
Yeah, yeah, you have no control on your body. You have to really focus to like, yeah.
6
0:00:54
That's the day after?
1
0:00:55
The day after.
6
0:00:56
And then the day after gray day is the five.
2
0:00:59
The five, yeah.
5
0:01:01
I'm excited and afraid. I'm ready. Oh, is that probably a good assessment?
4
0:01:14
Yeah, excited and afraid.
1
0:01:16
So it's so nice to be home from Mexico, but I have to say it was above and beyond any expectations that I thought, and the healing component was just mind blowing. It was like, holy shit, did that really just happen, right? So just to kind of give you guys just an overview of what we did, I flew into San Diego and you stay at a hotel and they pick you up the next morning. And then the facility is in a gated community across the border in Tijuana. So it's about a 45 minute drive. I was very, I was amazed at how beautiful Tijuana was, but also at the, just the poor living conditions that were there. but also at the, just the poor living conditions that were there, so that was extremely humbling just to be grateful for where we are,
1
0:02:15
what we have, and our lifestyle. So, I mean, that was just going down there. No issues, of course, getting into Mexico. We got to the house, and we were welcomed by Trevor. So if you haven't listened to that interview with Trevor yet, please do so,
1
0:02:27
And then our, our house leader, her name is Kay. She's just the most beautiful soul. She's journeyed with ayahuasca and ibogaine. And so she's there just to hold space, just to provide support and guidance during that week that we're down there. So before we go down, we need an EKG.
1
0:02:46
So I sent that ahead of time. As soon as you get in, you drop your bags, you get an EKG. The staff, the chefs, housekeeping, everyone involved, it's just so loving. And I was with four other women, and so a lot of us being moms, that was emotional because no one takes care of moms. You know, one of the ladies on the last day, the chef gave her a sandwich
1
0:03:16
because her flight was leaving early and she started to cry. And like, I totally get that. No one takes care of us. So for us to truly let go of taking care of everyone else was really humbling and just refreshing. So the nurses, you know, they go through your bags to look at any supplements, any medications that you're on, because they obviously want to be aware of all that with doing the psychedelics.
1
0:03:43
They ask for any allergies, and after the EKG, then you eat and you prepare for the little sweat lodge that they have. So that, again, I've done saunas, I've experienced some detox protocols that I would say kind of push you to your limits as well. But this was, again, just above and beyond what I expected.
1
0:04:10
And I'll include some pictures for you guys. But it was this beautiful – first of all, you drive about 45 minutes into Tijuana. And Tijuana is pretty hilly, which I was really surprised with. So you come down, and in this house, you walk in through the garage, and there's this, basically a clay pot. It's truly an authentic tradition.
1
0:04:36
And there's this older woman who was the leader, and we had Oscar, who was our translator, he was in there with us. Because you are in your swimsuits, and you go in, and it's one where she throws water onto the stones to produce the heat. So we sit down in this the floor is brick and again it's
1
0:04:58
kind of like this big dome. We sit down I was right next to the stones so if you guys do this I highly recommend that you not sit there because it got really hot. I think it burnt the nose hairs and my eyebrows a little bit. This older woman had a drum, so there was a lot of chanting, a lot of drumming, and she walked you through this beautiful guided meditation on going through the earth, the fire, the wind, and the water. And just kind of, you would share an experience that you had, you know, maybe things that you'd like to say to yourself
1
0:05:38
as an inner child, things that you'd like to say to your parents, just kind of, just decompressing things that you don't really tell anybody. You're in such a safe space that it feels warm and welcome. So each session lasted, I want to say, about 15 to 20 minutes, and it got really, really hot at one point.
1
0:06:04
And just when you think, because it's pitch black too, you can't see anything in there. They closed the door. So if you're claustrophobic, number one, that's a challenge. Number two, if you're sensitive to heat, that's a challenge. But there's an older woman in our group who was 70,
1
0:06:19
and there was a woman that also had MS. And she was a little bit nervous because the MS doesn't do well with heat. And so I just kept thinking, if these strong women can do this, I can do this too. And it was just a good test of endurance.
1
0:06:33
If you got hot, you would dip your washcloth in this bucket of cold water, and I just kind of put it over my nose so I could breathe. If you got too hot, you did have the option of laying on the floor. And of course, you could always get out at any point,
1
0:06:50
but it's really a mental endurance test. We were soaked by the end of it, and in each in between, she would open the door and he would open the door, and you'd get a little breath of light. Between some of the sessions, we would get sage tea,
1
0:07:07
which was purifying and cleansing, and that was so refreshing. Then we got some oranges to suck on. And at the very couple of last ones, this older woman who was leading it would take cups of water,
1
0:07:25
cups of cold water, and douse you with it. So it's kind of like that cold plunge approach. And that kind of just reset your parasympathetic nervous system. And I don't like that, I'm not a big fan,
1
0:07:41
but by the end it felt refreshing and it was just what the body needed just to get you through. And then when the end, when that was over, you emerge one by one from the place and it's kind of like you're being reborn
1
0:07:58
and that metal, or not metal, the clay pot kind of thing is the womb. They equivalent it to a womb. And then when you come out, you're reborn. And a couple of women went before me, and this woman had dumped water on their heads, kind of like you're reborn.
1
0:08:18
And I was so nervous because I didn't want any more cold water at that point, but it was this nice warm water and it was refreshing. And so that was just a beautiful experience that helped with bonding with the group. Again, it kind of helped you push towards your limits. And it was a good detoxifier.
1
0:08:35
So that was beautiful. We got back, we ate dinner, and we went to bed. And the meals, hands down the best meals that I've ever had. The chefs just did above and beyond. Breakfast was two courses.
1
0:08:47
Lunches and dinners were three, and we always had these beautiful smoothies to accompany each meal. And a lot of us aren't used to eating like that, so we had to learn to pace ourselves, but it was just so refreshing to have such nourishing food.
1
0:09:05
So the next day, we woke up and we did fasting labs because they have to make sure everything looks good before the medicine. So we had that and we had two hours of breath work. And having a background in yoga, I was apprehensive, you know,
1
0:09:22
I'm like what can this teach me, right? Part of my ego. But it was very much needed, very refreshing. She worked through different types of breath to help you navigate the medicine and to kind of get you back into your body
1
0:09:40
when things got challenging. So I learned quite a bit from that. That was wonderful. We're laying on these mattresses with these blankets over and I think I fell asleep for a little bit because again, it was two hours.
1
0:09:53
And now looking back, I see why we did that because you're two hours on a mattress versus with like the Ibogaine you're on the mattress for 12 plus hours so again it's that mental mental test of endurance and just being present in your body for me once I got into the breath work some breath work in general can produce the same effects that you get on psychedelics. And I did have a couple of visions
1
0:10:30
while I was doing the breath work, which I've never had in my life. So that was really neat. After the breath work, you eat lunch. You do a couple of group sessions throughout the week. So we just kind of prepared for the medicine,
1
0:10:45
got any questions answered that we had on what to expect. And then we were fasting after that.
2
0:10:55
We just spent the rest of the night kind of preparing.
1
0:10:58
We had massages leading up to it, which were amazing. So that kind of helped prep our body for it. And then around seven to eight o'clock, we started to get IVs, just to kind of keep you hydrated. I don't know what was all in them. I think some magnesium was.
1
0:11:19
And that took about an hour. And after our IVs, we went upstairs for the fire ceremony. And for the fire ceremony, you want to burn anything that you want to get rid of. So for me, a lot of it was, again, I am so blessed because I don't really have any trauma,
1
0:11:37
and that's another reason why I kind of wanted to go down there. Number one, I felt a calling. After I heard Sean Ryan's podcast and then interviewed Trevor, I just had a gut call and intuition to go down there.
1
0:11:52
And number two, I was curious if the medicine could do something for me, healthy, right? What can it do for those that have been through, you know, PTSD or trauma or something significant in their lives? So a couple of reasons why I went down there. So for me, on my burn list was overcoming some anxiety, letting go of some resentments and toxicity in relationships that I have.
1
0:12:30
I have a lot of grief from losing a few babies, so I wanted to release that grief. And then just be less controlling, right? Type A, OCD, I would start every day with a list of things I had to do. The kids' room, playroom had to be cleaned up
1
0:12:49
by the end of the night. Dishes had to be done, laundry had to be done. All of this had to be done. And just that vibration, that fluttering, fight or flight energy, anxiety, I didn't want that. So those were things that I put into the fire to release.
1
0:13:05
Isaac was our Ibogaine provider, and he's an amazing provider. He's journeyed with many psychedelics, and that has truly changed his life. And the nurses that were with us during our journey were up there as well.
1
0:13:28
So we all went around, did our burn list, did gratitude. And the nurses were amazing. We had a nurse per each of us. We were hooked up to EKGs and pulse oxes at some point. And if one of our machines went off, they were right there. So they were just amazing.
1
0:13:47
So at that Ferris ceremony, after we do all that, we take our first pill. It's a flood dose and it's based on your body weight. So they kind of do this matrix, like do you want the red pill or do you want the blue pill? So we all took it then, and then at time increments,
1
0:14:09
I believe it's 15, maybe 20 minutes, then they give you your second dose, your third dose, and then your last dose. So we walk into the room. It's against a blue wall. There were five mattresses for us.
1
0:14:26
We had blankets. We had a mirror at the end of our mattress. And we had an altar, right? So you, for me, what I put on my altar was a picture of my family, a picture of my grandmother and grandfather,
1
0:14:44
a picture of my brother and sister-in-law and those kids. I had my Mary statue. I took my rosary in with me because I just wanted God to be present. I took some heart stones. And then they had a feather in sand
1
0:14:59
and they had flowers for us. So that was beautiful. So I think I got out of it at like six in the morning. And then at eight, they come in with IVs.
3
0:15:17
So then we get IVs.
1
0:15:19
So we have to lay on our mattress until that time comes because you are ataxic. You can still get up and pee if you need to or do whatever you need to, but you just need some help. So yeah, we got our IVs and they asked me if I want to go to my room and yeah, I was ready to get off
1
0:15:40
the mattress at that point. So I go down my room, the nurse just checks upon me, tells me to rest. I journaled what I could. Again, you're kind of a taxi so you're riding what you can. And I went downstairs just to be around other people because I thought I might lose my mind I don't, literally. There were two other girls. What we did is we just watched Sing and
1
0:16:04
Gru and Happy Movies, just to kind of get out of our own heads because it was just such a wild ride. They say that's your spirit trying to come back into your body, and you do feel like you're caught between two worlds.
1
0:16:28
So that was my grade A. Didn't hardly eat, no appetite. Anytime they would make me something, and they'll make you anything you want, I couldn't eat it. The next morning we all had breakfast together. We did some, I'm sorry, we also did on grade A Reiki,
1
0:16:46
and she was amazing. So I'll backtrack a little bit. I after I saw my plant breathing in my room. I Went downstairs. Well, I'm sorry. I went downstairs then I went up for Reiki And then Bertha is her name and she does shamanic Reiki and I've had Reiki before so I kind of knew what I was getting into, but she moves your energy and heals you according to what Ibogaine tells her.
1
0:17:19
So she worked on me for a while, and she was pulling a lot of things from my body, and when she was done, I asked her what she was pulling from me, because it felt like she was like working up here like stitching me up or something and then she just said you need to speak your mind if your feelings
1
0:17:44
are hurt don't bottle it up speak what you're feeling and yeah I totally do I shove all that stuff down there deep deep deep deep so that was really neat and I felt so much better after she worked on me so yeah then that next day we ate breakfast. We all did yoga, which was very refreshing. On grade day, so I said Iboga told me not to do DMT. So after my Reiki session I came down
1
0:18:13
and I was bawling to Kay. I'm like, I don't want to do DMT, I'm gonna die. I don't want to die in Mexico. I don't want to leave my babies. And she said, well, sometimes the medicine doesn't literally mean that.
1
0:18:30
So get a good night's sleep and see how you feel in the morning. And again, I had breakfast, I felt great. I felt the best I ever have. Just total peace, total love, just gratitude. So I'm like, yeah, I'm gonna do DMT.
1
0:18:47
Just try it out, I'm here, I'm gonna finish the journey. So yeah, just absolutely beautiful process. Everything they've done is methodically to prepare you for the medicine. Now that I've been back, well, so Sunday, after you leave,
1
0:19:02
and they get you through the border pretty fast, they have a fast pass kind of thing. When I got back to my hotel I was just depleted like energetically done and before that I had high hopes of exploring San Diego and checking it out but it did not happen. But what I did was I sat on my balcony and I just looked at the water and the boats for like two hours. Nothing on my to-do list, no urgency, no like,
1
0:19:40
oh, I should really do that. Just appreciated the waves, the beauty, life. And even now, like, I'm not really getting worked up about anything. Now that I'm back, I have so much more patience
2
0:19:53
for my kids.
1
0:19:54
I'm not yelling at them, right? Who doesn't yell at their kids? Yeah, just so much appreciation and patience. Now when I'm talking to people or I see something, it's just more out of gratitude and I see the person as a soul. Because at the end of the day, what I learned there too is that we're souls having a human
1
0:20:19
experience was just so beautiful. There's more to this life. So yeah, it's really put life in a perspective for me and I'm very grateful for that. So yeah, to keep up with what they call this Ibogaine glow, to keep up with your energy and your spirit,
1
0:20:42
they recommend meditation, Reiki, massage, breath work, a gratitude journal. Because before, when people said to meditate, and even having my yoga background, I'm like, yeah, I get it, it's important to breathe. No, it's truly tapping into your higher self
1
0:21:05
and your higher being. It's not just breath work, it's not just clearing your mind, it's getting in touch with your soul and now I get that I truly get that term your higher self so yeah it's it's amazing so if you ever have the opportunity I highly recommend it there's not many facilities in the world that do this Ambio is just one of them one of two I believe so I know with Rogan's release with Perry and Hubbard,
1
0:21:40
that podcast really has exploded the interest in Ibogaine and this, from an herbalist and nutrition background, this medicine is so innate and so beautiful that it knows what you need before you know what you need. And there's reasons why cultures have used psychedelics for centuries, right, why it's normally a rite of passage.
1
0:22:10
And there's different ones out there, I will definitely be exploring other psychedelics because now that I've been in those dimensions or those realms, I want to go back so bad. I love my life, but I still want to check out those levels that we are in. Yeah.
1
0:22:28
The women I was with, we all had different motives for being there, but the underlying theme for us was control. And it was really funny because halfway through the night of Ibogaine, the water stopped working in the building. And that's never happened. It did that twice while we were there.
1
0:22:56
And there was one lady who had vomiting and diarrhea and then the water stopped working. It was just ironic that that's our energy influencing the medicine and vice versa. One of the women was down there for MS and grief and smoking. She left not smoking, no desire.
1
0:23:19
She left with zero back pain and she had two filled back surgeries. She had her grief resolved. And really all of us got out of it what we needed and then more, it was amazing. You guys have any questions? Certainly let me know and I look forward
1
0:23:31
You guys have any questions? Certainly let me know and I look forward to the next chapter with what's to come.
Transcribed with Cockatoo