Building a Practice to Support Integration
Plant medicine ceremonies can provide profound insights, revealing hidden truths about ourselves and the universe. These experiences can be life-changing, offering a new perspective and a sense of connectedness. However, without proper integration, these insights can become fleeting moments rather than lasting transformations. Many individuals leave these ceremonies feeling enlightened, only to find themselves slipping back into old habits and patterns without a solid foundation to support their newfound awareness.
Integration is the process of assimilating the insights and lessons from plant medicine ceremonies into our daily lives. It involves reflecting on the experience, understanding its significance, and making meaningful changes based on what was learned. This process is crucial because it ensures that the profound insights gained during the ceremony lead to lasting changes rather than temporary realizations. It also allows individuals to gain clarity on their life's direction and make decisions aligned with their higher purpose and values.
Having a disciplined practice to fall back on is essential for effective integration. This practice acts as a foundation, helping individuals stay grounded and centered as they navigate the changes in their lives. Here are some practices that can provide a compass for our lives from various traditions that can serve as valuable tools for integration:
(see specifics at the end of this blog)
1. The 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a spiritual framework that has helped countless individuals overcome addiction. While originally designed for alcoholism, its principles can be applied to any form of personal growth. The steps emphasize accountability, spiritual growth, and service to others, offering a structured approach to personal transformation.
2. The 8 Limbs of Yoga from the Yoga Sutras, written by the sage Patanjali, outlines the philosophy and practice of yoga. Central to this philosophy are the Yamas and Niyamas, ethical guidelines for living a meaningful and purposeful life. The Yamas (restraints) include non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence, and non-greed. The Niyamas (observances) include purity, contentment, self-discipline, self-study, and surrender to a higher power. These principles provide a moral and ethical foundation that can guide personal conduct and spiritual practice.
3. Tantra is a spiritual tradition that emphasizes the integration of all aspects of life, including the physical, emotional, and spiritual. It encourages the practitioner to embrace life fully and to see the divine in everything. Tantra practices often include - meditation, mantra, yantra, pranayama and other rituals that foster a deep connection with oneself and the universe. This holistic approach can help individuals integrate their plant medicine experiences by embracing all aspects of their being, as well as practices for expanding consciousness.
4. Buddhism is a path of spiritual integration, weaving together wisdom, compassion, and mindful living to cultivate inner peace and connection with all beings. Rather than adhering to rigid beliefs, it emphasizes practical, experiential teachings that guide practitioners in understanding the nature of suffering and finding liberation from it. Through meditation, ethical conduct, and awareness of one's thoughts and actions, Buddhism becomes a way of life—a journey toward wholeness that integrates the mind, heart, and spirit. This holistic approach allows individuals to deepen their understanding of themselves and the world, fostering harmony, resilience, and compassion in every moment.
Perhaps you have another example more closely aligned with your psyche and ethos, which is the mental and ethical frameworks you live by. A strong psyche and a clear ethos provide the stability and direction needed to navigate the complexities of personal growth. Regardless of what discipline you choose, here are some questions to consider:
What principles guide my life?
Do I have a mentor to support me in upholding a set of principles in my life?
How do I want to show up in the world?
What practices support my well-being and growth?
How do I stay accountable to my values and goals?
Walking the Talk: Putting Principles into Practice to truly benefit from plant medicine ceremonies
Take these questions into consideration and look over the deeper explanations of these spiritual traditions below. If any of them speak to you, I invite you to study them further and slowly start integrating parts of their wisdom into your daily life, bringing lasting change to your life and the world around you.
AA 12 Steps -
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
8 Limbs of Yoga-
Yama (moral discipline)
Niyama (observances)
Asana (physical postures)
Pranayama (breathing techniques)
Pratyahara (sense withdrawal)
Dharana (concentration)
Dhyana (absorption or meditation)
Samadhi (enlightenment or bliss)
My Tantra Lineage -
Everything is an experiment
As within / So without
Energy up / Consciousness down
Chakras
Multiple Realities
Healing power of pleasure
Inner marriage
Tapas / Spanda
5 Buddhist precepts -
Refrain from taking life – This means not killing or causing harm to any living being. It embodies compassion and respect for all forms of life.
Refrain from taking what is not given – This encourages honesty and respect for others' property, promoting generosity and gratitude.
Refrain from sexual misconduct – This is about avoiding harm through sexual behavior, fostering respect, integrity, and responsibility in relationships.
Refrain from false speech – This precept encourages truthful and kind communication, avoiding lies, gossip, and harmful words.
Refrain from intoxicating substances – This is about abstaining from alcohol and drugs that cloud the mind, supporting clarity, mindfulness, and wise action.
As well as other Buddhist principles such as -
The Middle Way: This principle calls for balance and moderation.
Non-attachment: This principle is about detaching from objectification and "thing-ness".
Mind, body, and soul are integrated: This principle teaches that the mind, body, and soul are not separate, but are integrated into one whole.
Life is suffering: This principle explains that life includes pain, disease, getting old, and death. Buddhism also explains how suffering can be avoided and how to be happy.
