Niles Heckman, Modern Shamans Harvesting DMT From Toads |488|

I have probably had around a thousand experiences over a couple of decades with psilocybin, DMT, ayahuasca and mescaline.

The only demons I have encountered are my own inner ones, these are the bad trips. They are terrifying and dark, it is not easy and it is especially difficult to then go back and dip once again into the deep waters of the mind. It takes courage and purpose. These were all in my earlier days.

However over time I have realized these were some of the most healing of the experiences. These bad trips are in my opinion are the purging of dark energies. The traditional shaman would call them evil spirits. Parasitic thought forms that has taken up residence in the psyche. They will eventual cause physical illness or disease. These events were like a initiation process for me. I no longer endure them. There is a definite skill to navigating these normally hidden realms of mind.

It is part of the process. Still to this day there is still a certain amount of fear that comes with the ritual. I have developed my own ritual practice from experience. I spend the previous week intermittingly fasting and eating only natural foods and exercising. I journal my thoughts and dreams leading into the experience. I prepare the setting, I use sigils and runes specific to my intention, I cleanse the area and spend a couple of hours meditating and preparing myself for the journey. Then it is done in complete darkness and silence.

All I am saying is that it is not so simple as just drinking or smoking a substance and hoping for the best. You are bound to confront those demons eventually and have to be prepared for it, understand what they represent and learn to integrate and transcend them.

On the other side, the experience in the space after the dissolution of the ego is beyond words. Our normal conscious states simply cannot even comprehend the awe and profound states of mind that can be achieved. I would say it is beyond human, except it is the reconnection to spirit that is the birth right of all humans to experience, so it is very human, we have just forgotten it.

Be cautious, be also wary of shamanic tourism and charlatans. I went down the path on my own, it took many years to learn how to do it properly and it can be treacherous.
 
I did wish that all the people who took the drug in the video were given a chance to reflect on the experience on camera after they had returned to normal.

I thought the same thing.

The video was very well made, but in my opinion focused too much on the novelty of drug use instead of how one may achieve spiritual benefit from this practice, and what exactly those benefits are.

Trippin ballz on DMT with a bunch of friendly Mexicans on a beach looks hella fun, but how does it really help a person?

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"The Skeptiko treatment". That's funny and well said. Yes, Alex asks all the hard hitting questions.

He and I recorded the chat a few months ago and it’s been a while since I listened back from the original recording on my end of the call, but I suppose on the demon question the most basic answer is I have yet to experience anything one could put under the Christian lens of “demonic” within an intrinsic alternate state of consciousness. All spirits/entities I’ve encountered an interacted with have been positive or neutral. But sure, there are dark one’s too that can really negatively effect your life and continue doing so back in the material. I suspect they're probably most likely to come out if you’re undertaking a shamanic process without proper set/setting and most of all respect. There is also "brujo" dark sorcery within Shamanism yes. I have yet to do the Peru thing but apparently there is quite a bit of it happening behind the scenes down there. But because we are in the binary material of classroom Earth, try finding something that doesn't have both light and dark, positive and negative, etc...
Cheers Lone thanks. Yes, trying to give the subject matter the most respect possible, and we learn a lot from each episode. Since making each one is similar to making a feature documentary film, with the current resources, each episode can take multiple years to make. Always able to be found through www.shamansoftheglobalvillage.com. You answered David’s question really well.

We were going to try and shoot episodes 3 + 4 back to back but since Covid hit the shit fan that was delayed. Hopefully we can still make it happen as soon as later this year though.

"The Skeptiko treatment". That's funny and well said. Yes, Alex asks all the hard hitting questions.

He and I recorded the chat a few months ago and it’s been a while since I listened back from the original recording on my end of the call, but I suppose on the demon question the most basic answer is I have yet to experience anything one could put under the Christian lens of “demonic” within an intrinsic alternate state of consciousness. All spirits/entities I’ve encountered an interacted with have been positive or neutral. But sure, there are dark one’s too that can really negatively effect your life and continue doing so back in the material. I suspect they're probably most likely to come out if you’re undertaking a shamanic process without proper set/setting and most of all respect. There is also "brujo" dark sorcery within Shamanism yes. I have yet to do the Peru thing but apparently there is quite a bit of it happening behind the scenes down there. But because we are in the binary material of classroom Earth, try finding something that doesn't have both light and dark, positive and negative, etc...

Hello Niles,

I don't think that demons have anything to do with a "Christian lens." Also, I don't think that demons are necessarily evil. Furthermore, I do not see the evidence that demons are just Jungian archetypes. In fact, I think this "archetype" theory is a kind of reductionism similar to what modern "science" tries to do to consciousness. First off, let me clarify, to call consciousness an "illusion" is just a redundant idiocy, because you need to utilize awareness to discriminate between what is an illusion and what isn't an illusion. I know that you didn't make that claim, but this is all part of the same table of contents.

From my experience, I don't think somebody needs to take psychedelic drugs for a paranormal witnessing. Regardless, I am not going to pretend like psychedelic substances do not open the gateway to such experiences.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed your interview with Alex. Let us expound upon these thoughts.

Shane
 
I do not see the evidence that demons are just Jungian archetypes.
In fact, I think this "archetype" theory is a kind of reductionism similar to what modern "science" tries to do to consciousness. First off, let me clarify, to call consciousness an "illusion" is just a redundant idiocy, because you need to utilize awareness to discriminate between what is an illusion and what isn't an illusion.

"we can conjure demons from this unexplainable thing we call our subconscious/consciousness... therefore all demons come from there."
 
I went down the path on my own, it took many years to learn how to do it properly and it can be treacherous.

Don't you wish there was a well-established guidebook or trusted System you could have followed to avoid those pitfalls?

In the Martial Arts industry we invested hundreds of years developing and refining such systems. They help the Neophyte achieve personal development and skill acquitition in the safest, most efficient manner possible.

They work quite well.
 
Don't you wish there was a well-established guidebook or trusted System you could have followed to avoid those pitfalls?

Yeah it would be nice and I think that is how it was and still is in some few remaining cultures in a sense.

There are some legitimate Shamans out there but in the end it is your own inner journey. I have seen people screaming and crying in traditional settings. It can give a certain level of reassurance having a competent guide for sure. I don't think the neophyte can have the slightest concept of what awaits them though. My first time I literally thought I had died. :)
 
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Hey Atone, then why do we have hardware perfectly designed to work with the plants/animals software which have been used by indigenous cultures for hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of years? And if never even ingested, why are the same chemicals, such as tryptamines, created endogenously in small amounts within our own mammalian brains? So on the subject of the stigmatized word "drugs", were made of drugs and everyone is holding to some extent.

But yes, there are many ways to the mountain top - meditation, floatation tanks, hypnotism, and darkness retreat to name a few others. I did an essay on the subject which can be found here - https://www.nilesheckman.com/podcast/2020/10/16/essay-entheogenic-use-on-the-spiritual-path

No toads were harmed during the making of the episode. As shown during, they were re-released into the wild in the same location in which they were found. Deep respect to the toads and they should only be collected in the first place with the indigenous natives. The main big bull toad who was the primary star most scene in episode 1 we even named - Lazarus the toad.
 
I would say what its in respect to is American's glamorization of the drug culture and our culture in general , which cost so many people their lives. You don't believe me, drug rehabs are a booming now , more then ever. So maybe with a native people who use something once time or twice for a religious reasons , that's a different culture; they don't go ape shit on everything to do with it , or have as many drugs to abuse at their disposal, and don't even get me started of weed . Its a great gateway drug. Anyway, their culture is different. We're a compulsive , self centered, its all about me, batshit lazy crazy drugged culture, for recreational use crap IMO. That's the issue. Yes doctors have drugs for us to use to help us , like cocaine for a numbing agent used after say an operation, or opiates to control pain , or Valium etc … for specific purposes, but its to be used under a doctors care, Steroids too, prefect example for abuse. We get it and abuse it through are ego driven self centered behavior as said. To say its is there in nature so fuck it use it is not logical for an American culture, or in the west in general. Hey man, there's poison ivy in nature too, but I don't want to go rubbing it all over my body ! Plus like I was saying, you're not in anyway shape of form connecting with a spirit or the supernatural when you trip . You're hallucinating what you see via your brain. Don't believe me, try this experiment! Next time you trip and have any type of experience where you see say a spirit or entity take a video of it if possible. I bet the next day when your down off your trip you video taped nothing.
 
Well, lots of things are good in moderation, but not in excess. For example, most people enjoy alcohol in moderation - and indeed, there is evidence that those that make moderate use of alcohol live longer than teetotalers. However alcohol in excess is of course catastrophic.

David

That's the issue ! We here the USA don't know for the most part moderation. Plus , any type of Hallucinations can be mentally and physically dangerous . I heard on the radio today some ASSHOLE high on something like this down in Florida was going house to house naked with a bible in his hand knocking on doors and asking the house owner "to take a look at this." He ended up being shot! Anybody who tells you to take a trip and so you can talk to the dead or spirits is a complete fraud . I would say most - but not all - mediums are in this same category.
 
That's the issue ! We here the USA don't know for the most part moderation. Plus , any type of Hallucinations can be mentally and physically dangerous . I heard on the radio today some ASSHOLE high on something like this down in Florida was going house to house naked with a bible in his hand knocking on doors and asking the house owner "to take a look at this." He ended up being shot! Anybody who tells you to take a trip and so you can talk to the dead or spirits is a complete fraud . I would say most - but not all - mediums are in this same category.
Fatally?
In Britain, that would be far less likely to happen because we have far fewer guns around.

Seriously, almost anything is damaging in excess. Even drinking too much water can cause death.

David
 
FDA Calls Psychedelic Psilocybin a 'Breakthrough Therapy' for Severe Depression
https://www.livescience.com/psilocybin-depression-breakthrough-therapy.html


Psychedelic Treatment with Psilocybin Relieves Major Depression, Study Shows
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/new...locybin-relieves-major-depression-study-shows

Effects of psilocybin on hippocampal neurogenesis and extinction of trace fear conditioning
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23727882/
PSOP facilitates extinction of the classically conditioned fear response, and this, and similar agents, should be explored as potential treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder and related conditions.

Psychedelics as medicines for substance abuse rehabilitation: evaluating treatments with LSD, Peyote, Ibogaine and Ayahuasca
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25563446/
Evidence suggests that these substances help assist recovery from drug dependency through a variety of therapeutic mechanisms, including a notable "after-glow" effect that in part reflects their action on the serotonin neurotransmitter system. Serotonin has been long recognized as central to the psychedelics' well-known phenomenological, physical, emotional and cognitive dynamics. These serotonin-based dynamics are directly relevant to treatment of addiction because of depressed serotonin levels found in addict populations, as well as the role of serotonin as a neuromodulators affecting many other neurotransmitter systems.

The Veterans’ Experience: Psychedelic Treatments for PTSD
https://realitysandwich.com/the-veterans-experience-psychedelic-treatments-for-ptsd/

Although the experience is challenging, there is always a sense of safety in set and setting and a feeling of being supported. In the end, the ayahuasca experience is empowering and healing. Most veterans experience an immediate and profound life-changing impact. They move beyond the debilitating effects of PTSD and TBI, ready to fully live, love, and find purpose and joy in every moment. Many veterans even report a greater sense of well-being than they had ever known!
In addition, it is common for ayahuasca to eradicate suicidal ideation. Jesse has reported that several program participants have overcome their struggles with suicidal thoughts after their first ayahuasca ceremony. Despite the transformation that takes place during the ayahuasca ceremonies, this is just the first step in the healing process. The overall HHP program is designed to ensure the veteran’s long-term success.
 
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As for mental health in general...

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3747247/

The classical serotonergic psychedelics LSD, psilocybin, mescaline are not known to cause brain damage and are regarded as non-addictive. Clinical studies do not suggest that psychedelics cause long-term mental health problems. Psychedelics have been used in the Americas for thousands of years. Over 30 million people currently living in the US have used LSD, psilocybin, or mescaline.

21,967 respondents (13.4% weighted) reported lifetime psychedelic use. There were no significant associations between lifetime use of any psychedelics, lifetime use of specific psychedelics (LSD, psilocybin, mescaline, peyote), or past year use of LSD and increased rate of any of the mental health outcomes. Rather, in several cases psychedelic use was associated with lower rate of mental health problems.
 
Cheers Lone thanks. Yes, trying to give the subject matter the most respect possible, and we learn a lot from each episode. Since making each one is similar to making a feature documentary film, with the current resources, each episode can take multiple years to make. Always able to be found through www.shamansoftheglobalvillage.com. You answered David’s question really well.

We were going to try and shoot episodes 3 + 4 back to back but since Covid hit the shit fan that was delayed. Hopefully we can still make it happen as soon as later this year though.

"The Skeptiko treatment". That's funny and well said. Yes, Alex asks all the hard hitting questions.

He and I recorded the chat a few months ago and it’s been a while since I listened back from the original recording on my end of the call, but I suppose on the demon question the most basic answer is I have yet to experience anything one could put under the Christian lens of “demonic” within an intrinsic alternate state of consciousness. All spirits/entities I’ve encountered an interacted with have been positive or neutral. But sure, there are dark one’s too that can really negatively effect your life and continue doing so back in the material. I suspect they're probably most likely to come out if you’re undertaking a shamanic process without proper set/setting and most of all respect. There is also "brujo" dark sorcery within Shamanism yes. I have yet to do the Peru thing but apparently there is quite a bit of it happening behind the scenes down there. But because we are in the binary material of classroom Earth, try finding something that doesn't have both light and dark, positive and negative, etc...
It appears the idea that evil or negative entities thrive in the presence of fear (giving them attention fuels them as well) is making its way into films. There was one that had aliens that powered their vehicles by storing fear from the people they abducted.
My wife used to complain to her late father that 'ghosts' bothered her at night & he wisely told her to ignore them & they would go away. So many bad mental events can be traced to giving them power through attention.
 
From one who has did his share of drugs in the 70's, tripping a lot for one: any experience taking a mind altering drug like this is an experience because you altered your brain chemistry period. You're not interacting with spirits or the super natural per say. Its all fake when you do drugs, its just your mind playing tricks on you because of the drugs , plus it can be very dangerous and make you psychotic and possibly effect you in not a good way, IE a bad trip , which I have had, and which caused me to stop. Trust me , you don't want a bad trip ;its very terrifying for a long time. My bad trip lasted about six hours all together and got worse and worse. I was lucky with good friends that baby sat me and lot's of Budweiser helped too. It can put you in the looney bin for a while too. The best spiritual is subtle and natural through natural ways not hallucinating by drugs, take my word on this. You are playing with dynamite . Any promotion of taking drugs IMO is not a good thing, dangerous, and a sign of a complete FAKE! Plus , leave the toads alone! I'm sure they're harmed some how.
Drug experimentation has its place, but only after one has thoroughly educated oneself; I read that people must be cautious about the substance one chooses; Mescalito, for example, doesn't 'like' everyone, so you must be prepared for a bad reaction if you make the wrong choice. I had a girl friend that we talked into trying LSD, but she hated it. We really should have realized that it wasn't a good choice for her since she didn't care for marijuana, either. I'm glad you didn't suffer any permanent impairment for your experiences!
 
Hey Atone, then why do we have hardware perfectly designed to work with the plants/animals software which have been used by indigenous cultures for hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of years? And if never even ingested, why are the same chemicals, such as tryptamines, created endogenously in small amounts within our own mammalian brains? So on the subject of the stigmatized word "drugs", were made of drugs and everyone is holding to some extent.

But yes, there are many ways to the mountain top - meditation, floatation tanks, hypnotism, and darkness retreat to name a few others. I did an essay on the subject which can be found here - https://www.nilesheckman.com/podcast/2020/10/16/essay-entheogenic-use-on-the-spiritual-path

No toads were harmed during the making of the episode. As shown during, they were re-released into the wild in the same location in which they were found. Deep respect to the toads and they should only be collected in the first place with the indigenous natives. The main big bull toad who was the primary star most scene in episode 1 we even named - Lazarus the toad.

Ha Ha, I fully appreciate this point, Niles. Also, to take it a step further, how many things are we ingesting, on a daily basis, that have psychedelic effects, yet have become normalized into the setting of most lives? An obvious example would be coffee. Personally, I like the flavor of coffee, but I hate the feeling of coffee. Tea, on the other hand, great for me! In my opinion, every food is like a drug. Some foods are stigmatized and some are not. Try juicing ginger, kale, and beets. Drink that shit and tell me that it doesn't effect your state of mind. Furthermore, bake a Portobello mushroom with garlic and olive oil. Take note of your state of mind before and after you eat it. Don't even get me started on Shitake mushrooms! Holy!
 
Yeah it would be nice and I think that is how it was and still is in some few remaining cultures in a sense.

Those should be well-documented before they disappear.

In Martial Arts back in the 1980's we had a huge problem with charlatans and scam artists lying about authentic lineage and knowledge transmission. They hurt many people before we stomped them out.

In Mr. Heckman's documentary it looks like Dr. Rettig is trying to do that, but it concerns me that he is operating under the auspices of the United Nations.

We know a long-range goal of the New World Order / U.N. is to normalize the use of intoxicants for stupefying the lower classes to ensure they cannot rebel against enslavement, ala Aldous Huxley's "Soma" in his book Brave New World.
 
Hey David, no, not addictive. Nor would you likely want to dive back in to the white light void of oceanic consciousness anytime soon after having initially experienced it. I only took very little, and it was so life changingly profound I'll be processing the data for the next decade. It is possible to take too much and yes, have a mental/physical problem as a result not so much from the DMT itself, but yes, instead something like a third party health problem like heart palpitation or in worst case I suppose heart attack or perhaps stroke. All the more reason to have an experienced practitioner/medicine person you're working with. Just like you would a mainstream medical doctor who is giving you a prescription.

In the spirit of full disclosure, the shaman we focus the first episode on has become quite controversial downstream from us making the first episode which was in 2016. Mainly due to some of his practices during ceremony. But there is another toad practitioner who is even more controversial for numerous reasons, one of which is because he gives way too much to folks. As is said in the episode, it's not possible to "overdose" on, but you can see in the final ceremony of episode 1 our buddy Dave, (the big guy) takes a GIANT dose and while happening on screen we are playing recorded audio of the participants post downloads and Dave says that he learned it's not about amount, but more energetic sensitivity and balance.
 
I thought the same thing.

The video was very well made, but in my opinion focused too much on the novelty of drug use instead of how one may achieve spiritual benefit from this practice, and what exactly those benefits are.

Trippin ballz on DMT with a bunch of friendly Mexicans on a beach looks hella fun, but how does it really help a person?

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Correct, this is in zero way recreational. Our friend Tesla (pictured) gives his insights of his obviously very TRYING experience during his audio played on screen during the ceremony. Of course he ended up giving a great deal more details than what we were able to fit into the edit.

The West has so little initiation into and very little reference points on a serious shamanic experience that to novel eyes, at first read it just looks really scary. I wish we could convey the internal experience vs what you're just seeing the external body do. Which I would say is analogous to a systems defrag as the medicine is obviously purging some very dark things which he likely had deep down from past life trauma. It should be noted that he was ultimately very grateful for the experience.
 
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