At higher doses of medicine I have seen people who have been told to calm down about their numb arm or their arm may never regain feeling... actually lose their sense of feeling in that arm for an entire week.

That is the power of medicine. I can and often does potentiate and syngergize with ones thoughts and emotions making thoughts and emotion much more powerful than they might otherwise be. This is why one reason I believe ceremony is so important.

I don't care if you are an atheist. You can attest to thoughts and emotions being magnified on different medicines at higher dosages especially if you are honest with yourself. Fear of losing control is often one of those thoughts/emotions that one deals with at higher levels of dosage of many medicines.

So, how is this dealt with? Many use song, mantra, prayer, or reciting something they wish to engrain in their psyche. Without this focus, you are at the whim of whatever random thoughts good or bad that may pop up into your head. This again is why a guide is important during any initial entry into the use of a plant medicine and especially important with the entry into higher levels of plant medicine.

I have seen space and time dissolve and explode with each second lasting an eternity and an eternity lasting only a second. I have seen days go by in the blink of an eye and single moments that I'm not sure ever ended. I have experienced things like this without the use of any plant medicines by simply going without food, water, or sleep for 4 days in traditional ceremonies called the vision quest or hanbleceya and I have experienced those same types of experiences with traditional medicines.

I have experienced immense pain and suffering that can only be described as burning from the inside out and the outside in at the same time. I have also experienced what can only be described as an unbelievable overwhelming feeling of love and being connected to everything that ever was and will be. Seeing a butterfly turn into an eye which belonged to a wolf that sat there watching me. I have seen a tree turn into a giant watchtower with a clock with pants hanging off of the hour hand.

I have seen the stars dance in the trees turning into so many different colored lights as the moon danced along the water taking flight again into the night sky. I have seen the Earth turn into a black void where I seemed to float and the Earth was no more and found myself looking down up at a green glowing cliff that stretched out to eternity. I noticed a valley or a cave as what it looked like changed depending on my personal perspective as I floated not having any indication of which way was up or down or where I stood in relation to reality. I have entered that cave of darkness within that green glowing cliff and known that within that great expanse of the unknown everything could be known and yet I found myself unable to ask any question worth knowing the answer to.

I have danced with bones in my chest tethered to a tree, sundancing, waiting for a vision. I have seen the forest disappear and green glowing orbs create a sea where the forest once stood. Each orb containing 3 red triangles floating within them. I have heard a loud guttural cry from what I could only surmise must be a mountain lion only to see two glowing yellow balls of light floating where I know a cat should stand. One ball placed between each shoulder blade or where one might think they should be. Following me....

I have seen flies attach themselves to my prayer ties and flags in such numbers that you could not see the prayer flags or the prayer ties anymore, but instead the beating wings of countless flies that later turned into beautiful tiny sparks of blue light floating through the forest.

I have seen iktomi the spider come and spin its web as its babies poured over me. I have seen a world where people were apes dressed in human clothes and everything in-between.

The only thing I know for 100% certain after having all of these experiences is that focus is key at these higher levels of experience produced by medicines both internal and external. Without focus ones thoughts and emotions are magnified in random ways that may or may not be beneficial. That focus is important with plant medicines especially as unlike a vision quest where one can simply come down off the hill when things are too much... you have no ability to do such a simple act with many medicines especially at higher dosages. Just as it takes an iron will of focus and determination to stand in one place for 4 days without food, water, or sleep... one must have that same kind of focus if one is to safely traverse higher planes with strong medicines with strong dosages. To say that it would be wise to always have a guide in such an experience would be an understatement. To think one does not need them or one can jump into these experiences without much experience would be asking for a travesty to befall your mind if not your body as either could easily be shattered.

I make no claim to anything other than the simple fact that the mind is a very powerful tool that one can learn to use and make stronger. In much the same way as a powerlifter or a body builder learns to make their body stronger, one can learn to make alter those thoughts that affect your sleep and waking state and you can make changes that have just as lasting effects. Just as a powerlifter can tear a tendon however, you can also tear or injure your mind.

I'll leave it at that as I already feel I've been a little to long winded, but please understand that the experiences I relate are nothing special. They are open to anyone who wishes to experience them. In fact, I'd say those experiences were just the tip of the iceberg of what is possible as I'm sure many of you can relate to, but for those that have yet to touch on these types of experiences they are definitely out there. What is uncertain is how and what you will do with them should you chose to go down that path and why is it important to do so.

Whatever the reason, focus is indeed important. Especially so at the deeper levels.

Sounds are begin to meld together and become distorted with pejuta at higher levels of intoxication. One may even begin to see sounds. These are things I have experienced, snippets if you will with each snippet having a much longer story to it... some of which I'm sure many of you have heard.

With that being said, these feelings are why I feel it is important to partake of medicines like pejuta in smaller quantities over time.... Gradually working ones way into higher levels is done over time. Even then, one does this by taking more than one round to get their. This is how it is done traditionally. This is why the medicine is passed around more than once. It allows you to get to a higher level more gently and slowly and stay in that higher space for a shorter period of time than if one were to simply take all the medicine down in one gulp or in one extract.

It is just one reason why I prefer sun tea that has sat out in the sun for 7 days rather than cooked. Its not just because the taste is superior in m opinion.

Very nice Wakinyan, I feel there is some very interesting and important information in this text. I like to experience what it is doing with my soul. Thanks my friend!

Thanks for writing Inyan... Loved reading this..