Amazing Grace

“When you realize you can no longer live in the darkness, It is then that the light appears.”

The eboga plant has been known to the Pygmies of the Rift Valley for more than 20,000 years, and in the past 300 years it has played a central role in the Bwiti religion of West Africa. It is a ‘deeply’ spiritual plant. This book refers to the use of the eboga plant and, in particular, the principal alkaloid of this plant, ibogaine, in what I call ‘The Eboga Process’™ (a trademark of the ‘my eboga’ organization) or, simply put, ‘The Process.’ The ‘Session’ is at the heart of the Process.

Eboga is not a Bwiti religion, nor is it a Pygmy religion. Eboga is an ‘African Spirituality,’ which means it draws its energy and resources from the cradle of life, Africa. ‘Eboga Spirituality’ in a Western context expresses itself in a deepening respect for the Earth, the community, the ancestors, one’s parents and, in particular, oneself and one’s family. Eboga is the circle of life that brings you directly in contact with your heart, your soul and the ones you love. It is a way to God. Its spirit is carried by the serpent. Eboga can also be thought of as an African natural healing medicine.

Ibogaine, the principal alkaloid of the eboga plant is, I believe, synonymous with eboga as it is the principal and, to my mind, ‘the’ healing component of the eboga plant. I believe that is how it was meant to be in order that it could play a major role in this stage of man’s evolution within a Western scientific model. More recently ibogaine has been recognized for its properties in the elimination of physical drug dependence. This is only a drop in the pond of its history, as its deeper meaning is not yet properly understood here in the West. The focus on drug addiction and the preoccupation with the safety of ibogaine means that its full spiritual life cycle and action, i.e., The Process, are not properly understood. The reason for this is that complete healing requires an ongoing Process that, in my case, has lasted five years, with the end or, should I say, the beginning now very clearly in sight. The ibogaine community is mostly preoccupied with the starting posts. I have personally gone to the far reaches of the Eboga experience. My writings are thus focused on this second part, while paying tribute to the worthwhile and extremely important work done within the drug community in understanding the safety aspects of the first part.

“Once we begin, as each day passes, the old wall of resistance crumbles, believing not what is past but what is yet to become.”

This book evolved out of my own life experiences and the efforts I made to heal myself in order to enable me to realize my dreams. My story relates my life, my background and my quest for healing. After many years of conventional methods, and in desperation, I ‘stumbled’ into the world of Eboga, an African spirituality. It opened the door to the healing Eboga spirit and brought me into ‘The Eboga Process’ ™.  It is I believe the most powerful process for personal inner transformation known to man today.

Through trial and error I have learned, and continue to learn, the way of the Process. In so doing I have poured its healing waters over my opened wounds. I succeeded in my quest simply because I tried with all my heart to succeed. I can only describe my great good fortune as nothing short of Amazing Grace. In my writings I describe this process and the optimum conditions under which it works. Many fail because they reject out-of-hand the spiritual dimension of healing, a rejection, if you like, of soul. They do this in the same way as they reject the dreams of their true heart.

Through my healing process I was to learn much about man and his ‘spiritual’ and ‘physical’ evolution and to have my mind opened on a level I had never imagined nor expected.  However, I did not pursue healing with a spiritual agenda. In the end, though, I could not avoid it as pain and soul are intrinsically intertwined. Pain reaches down into the very fabric of our being, our soul, as a form of possession. Is it any wonder then that healing and spirituality are intertwined?

In his book The Alchemist, the author Paulo Coelho asserts, when you really want something, the entire universe conspires to help you achieve it. The only thing that you need to do is to listen to the omens and follow your heart. Coelho singles out four reasons why we do not follow our personal dreams or Bliss, as labeled by the distinguished mythologist Joseph Campbell. Firstly, prejudice built since childhood in every one of us about what is possible and what is impossible, perhaps also a sense that we do not deserve our dreams. Secondly, fear of hurting those we love, because following our personal dreams might require abandoning them. Thirdly fear of defeat on the path and, finally, the abandoning of courage at the last moment after a long journey. Perhaps these reasons can be summed up by this one reason: namely, the pain of the unhealed state that following our dreams uncovers. In other words in order to keep an open heart and access the knowledge and wisdom that it gives us, we must allow ourselves to feel the pain that it evokes until we are healed, otherwise we resort to the protective mechanisms of the ego which cut us off from life and the soul.