FAQs

Iboga is Dangerous For Those With:

– With Pregnancy
– major respiratory conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder
– neurological/ heart conditions
– cardiac issues including history of heart attacks, embolism, abnormal heart rate, arrhythmias, bradycardia, and prolonged QT interval
– kidney function
– impaired liver
– epilepsy/ seizures
– any MAOI
– any SSRIs
– active panic attacks
– a history of mania

Please let your facilitator know if you have any of these conditions above and be completely transparent allowing safety to be priority.

Pre-Ceremony Preparation

In the weeks before an iboga healing ceremony, it’s imperative to take precautions in preparing yourself physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. The more prep work you do, the safer and influential your experience will be.

1. Medical Screening and Why?

This plant medicine is to be taken very serious and getting an EKG and liver panel will be able to assure a smooth and safe ceremony. This medicine can cause complications with the heart and liver requiring attention and intention to have all arrows pointing in a healthy direction. Most deaths that occur from the use of “holy wood” have highest risk for individuals with addictive tendencies who were taking higher doses than an individual taken in a psycho-spiritual context.

2. Rest & Relaxation

Iboga requires an immense amount of energy and can last for 36 hours peaking for at least 12 hours. It also may reduce one’s ability to sleep for up to 48 hours. Be sure to get as much sleep beforehand and take as many naps as possible. Be gentle with yourself and nourish the body with restorative yoga and stretching. No rigorous exercising, be loving and kind to your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs to create a profound transformation.

3. Dietary Guidelines & Performance Boosters

During pre-ceremony preparations, boost the adrenals, liver, and mineral reserves. Magnesium and sea minerals are essential to overall relaxation and can be used during pre, during, and post ceremony. Magnesium is essential, taking 250mg a day supports maintaining electrolyte balance and nervous system. Bloating and uncomfortable gas may occur with certain forms of magnesium.

At least 2-3 days before iboga ceremony, (longer the better) avoid using any substances like alcohol, psychedelics, stimulants, and anything that will put stress on your adrenals and liver. Taking these precautions seriously will enhance your overall experience. Avoid eating heavy foods containing high levels of fat, or dense meats to allow your body to feel lighter. Iboga can cause a mild constipation and recommend avoiding laxatives with stimulants. Some other preventative care can be established beforehand like taking probiotics.

4. What is Dis-ease & Healing?

The Bwiti culture understood holistic healing to be inclusive of physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being and have used iboga as a rite of passage for bringing this heal-thy tool to their community. It is said in the West, our society has lost our ways of establishing a holistic rite of passage and is the reason why we are plagued with psychological illness epidemic leaking into all ways of our humanness. This medicine was used to provide an avenue for one to face their darkness with the guidance of their ancestors.

5. What is Suffering & Fear?

The suffering one may endure in an iboga ceremony is said to be when someone chooses to fight the medicine. The ego creates the path of suffering and is a direct reflection of how you show up in life. The Bwiti culture say when you experience suffering you experience how your ego projects future suffering while resisting the present moment. What you resist, persists. Iboga teaches you about death and rebirth, how to die and how to live; illuminating how to navigate the depths of your psyche in order to reveal limiting beliefs, and to heal trauma that has been an affliction in your life. Some say because of how powerful iboga is, it must be scary. This is only if your mind wants to allow it to be scary. Iboga is a teacher that allows you to be with yourself long enough to awaken to one’s true divinity and reveals the mirroring affect of life.

~ Iboga is an all natural root bark of a small perennial shrub indigenous to Central West Africa used traditionally for many millennia by the indigenous people of the region.

~Ibogaine is a pharmaceutical derivative of one single alkaloid of the many alkaloids contained in the plant. It’s main use is in the blocking of the symptoms of Opiate and other drug withdrawals.

When someone is drawn to Iboga. It is as simple as that. Usually, you are called to Iboga intuitively, perhaps through a strong curiosity or feeling that Iboga can help you. We Bwiti know Iboga as a Spiritual teacher who rings the bell for your class, so to speak.

If you feel called to work with Iboga, you must go through an intake evaluation to make sure that you are a good candidate to work with the medicine.  If you are suffering from certain health conditions, taking certain drugs or medications, Iboga may not be right for you at this time.

The very nature of our Traditional Bwiti Ceremonies negates any such possibility.

Iboga is a powerful medicine. However, a guest still has the ability to direct their thoughts and feelings. Our Healers are experienced in assisting someone to take control of any thoughts or feeling that may come to pass.

It depends on what you consider a relapse. If taking a medicine in a clinical or traditional setting for personal healing is considered a relapse, then so be it.

It is a medicine that resets a person’s mood and mind. However, it is not mood altering or mind altering. More like a reset or reboot. The very nature of the molecular structure of the medicine is not addictive. It is quite the opposite actually. Its ability to wipe away receptors associated with addiction continues to be studied by researcher worldwide and internationally interest has grown for its addiction interruption and therapeutic value.

Iboga is for anyone called to it and merely opens people to the truth about themselves and life. It is not it’s job to influence people in any way. Merely to show the truth. Bwiti is open to all faiths, religions and traditions. Certain Bwiti tribes have even adopted other religious doctrine and practices and have incorporated them into their traditional ceremonies.  The Bwiti we practice remains true to the origins of the tradition.

Time: The process of working with Iboga takes time and care. Your Shaman, Healer, or health professional will spend many days closely counseling and monitoring you before, during and after the ceremony. In addition, you receive ongoing consulting after the retreat itself.

-Inclusive:  Iboga retreats include all food and accommodations, counseling, medicine ceremonies and activities depending on location.

-Quality of Medicine: The Iboga we work with is hand-harvested by our Missoko Bwiti Tribe in Gabon, Africa. It is quality controlled and cultivated with respect and intention.

-Specialization: The training required to become a proficient Iboga Healer requires significant time and sacrifice and regular travels to and from Africa.   Extensively trained Bwiti Iboga Healers are rare to come by.

This work is not profit-driven, but priced to cover expenses, provide our Healers with a fair income for their work, and ensure some money flows back to our Bwiti family in Gabon, Africa.

Working with Iboga is an investment in yourself and in your life.  It is often a once in a lifetime event.  We urge you to do your research and select an option to work with competent, experienced, and well-trained Healers, in a safe and comfortable environment.

Quality is key.

And because frankly, it works wonders.

Both Iboga and Ayahuasca are powerful medicines that assist people with a variety of Ailments of the body, mind and spirit.

Ayahuasca is made of two plants predominantly found in the Amazonian rainforest and first utilized by the Indigenous people of the region in a Shamanic context. People describe colorful out worldly images and beings that often embu them with insights, messages and possible solutions. Its effects during ceremony last an average of 6 to 8 hours. Ayahuasca is also commonly referred to as The Grandmother.

Iboga is one plant found exclusively in Equatorial Central West Africa, mainly in the country of Gabon. The Indigenous people of this region have been using Iboga for thousands of years for physical healing, spiritual healing and spiritual discovery. It has been called by many as The Tree of Knowledge.  It’s more introspective than outwardly described. Many speak of experiencing memories, awareness of life patterns and deeply personal realizations. People often speak of Iboga as a male spirit. It is often referred to as The Chief or Godfather of plant spirits. However, Iboga also contains both male and female spirits. The effects last in varying degrees in a range of 18-36 hours.

It would be best described as assisting someone in their own healing. It gives someone more ability to accept and take deeper action in whatever it is that ails them.

Iboga is a natural organic medicine. Considered one of, if not, the most powerful full cellular detox on the planet. It is so powerful it can literally wipe away from the body and brain some of the most addictive substances within a 24-48 hours period.

Literally, it resets the cells to their original state. IBOGA essentially removes all things that are not naturally part of the body.

It removes chemicals from drugs, food, water, the air and even chemicals released from negative thought patterns.  It fights to tear away the attachments that have been formed in the body and mind. Your mind and body are also the battlegrounds where Iboga wages war.

With that said, it is imperative that your healer be diligent in knowing your unique tolerance both physically and mentally.

Also, each person seeking to utilize IBOGA as a healing tool must be made aware of any possible side effects and potential hazards during and after treatment.

Like any medication or treatment one must be informed and take personal care to decide if it is right for themselves.

It can be most dangerous when taken without proper supervision, assessment and care.

Iboga is not a toy or a recreational drug to be experimented with.  It is a sacred visionary plant medicine, and sacrament, to be worked with under the care and guidance of someone who has been through proper training.

In an ibogaine clinic for drug detox, licensed medical staff should be in attendance.

For psycho-spiritual healing with Iboga, one should be under the care of a Healer who has been initiated and received hands-on mentorship from a Bwiti Shaman in Africa while having licensed medical staff in attendance.

Bwiti training teaches not only how to know the correct amount of medicine to administer to a client. It also teaches how to work with the spirit of Iboga, the Ancestors, how to protect and care for the ceremonial space and guests(clients).

There are websites that allow you to order Iboga and Ibogaine for delivery to your home.  We strongly warn against taking this route.

It is important to be honest and disclose all information on any intake form and screening interviews for any clinical or traditional treatment.

As a patient or guest to any facility one must task themselves with doing their due diligence and making sure all necessary protocols are in place and taken to ensure their own personal safety.

Iboga treatment is no joking matter and must be handled with caution and care.

Iboga acts as a reset for physical conditions, mental and emotional processes, energetic systems and spiritual maladies. Habitual patterns of negative thoughts, emotions, and behavior are interrupted, which provides an opportunity to make positive changes. The length of the interruption varies from person to person. Many who have undergone Missoko Bwiti healing have experienced months of freedom and find themselves able to more easily ground and live positively.

Over seven years of practice, Michael has witnessed a wide range of changes in his guests, including addiction recovery, improvement in physical symptoms and disease, relationship improvement, making major decisions for positive life change, improvement of psycho-emotional conditions such as PTSD, anxiety and depression, weight loss, reduction and/or elimination of medications, and a renewed sense of purpose.

Generally, after the retreat, most people feel more grounded, centered, clear, at peace, connected to their intuition and comfortable in their own skin.

Sometimes the changes are like night and day.  Sometimes they are more subtle.

Remember, Iboga continues to work with you on a spiritual/energetic level for weeks, if not months, after the Ceremony.  This can be experienced through intuitive guidance, changes in life circumstances and relationships, messages or visions in the dream state, and through your thoughts and emotions.  Michael is available for counsel as required throughout this process.

Yes, each guest has arranged aftercare sessions according to each guest’s individual needs.

Additional aftercare is provided upon need and request.

At our retreats, aftercare is provided for a minimum of 36 hours after the closing of each ceremony. During this time, our staff monitors care for and provides counseling to guests. This can be a time where guests feel open, sensitive, and emotional, so rest and good quality care is important.

After the retreat itself, Iboga continues to work on a Spiritual and energetic level. Michael continues to provide counseling and consulting guests via face to face meetings, phone or Skype.  This helps them to integrate the healing into their day-to-day life and to take action and implement change.