Anyone have any experience with facilitating change in another through the use of cactus?

I was talking about it in another thread. I have a good friend/lover who has had a rough life. She was the victim of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse through most of her childhood.

These hurts have manifested as social anxiety, anorexia, and alcoholism. I think she's hit rock bottom and realizes it. I think she may be ripe for healing. Anyone with any experience in such things? I would do whatever I can to help, and can't help but think that I may possess a tool that could possibly really help her in the form of cactus healing.

i have no experience with this, but i will say if i had to choose a plant for healing someone who is unfamiliar with psychedelic territory, cactus would be my first choice.

She's not entirely inexperienced with psychedelics. She's done mushrooms at least several times in the past. Also we took real LSD together once (and some RC shit a couple other times). Her life has changed since she has had a son and she isn't really as open to the idea of taking "drugs", so it's kinda a delicate thing to suggest. She has told me she would take LSD again. I told her that the cactus was similar but better in pretty much every way, but she just kinda shrugged it off as another crazy drug to try.

The last time we talked about it, we were talking about her alcohol problems and I just said that many of the native american tribes have found peyote to be helpful with drug and alcohol problems in their communities and I just kinda left it at that. I don't want to push, but I want to let her know that this is available if she so wishes it.

I also left my copy of Ross Heaven's "Hummingbird's Journey to God" book about San Pedro healing at her apartment for a while and suggested she read it, but she didn't ever get around to it.

My advice on this topic is that a method and approach for healing is best to use in concert with the cactus.
I would not just rely on the cactus alone, I would also use some therapeutic techniques.

Any particular ones that you would suggest?

Also understand that I am not trying to have this be her only course of treatment for her issues. She goes to therapy and is going to an alcoholism group.

i hope that you arent talking of using some sort of "wizardry" to "fix" her... i know its a bizarre concept but, many people believe they can perform psychotherapy because theyve tripped a few times. no offense, this response was for the general public.

it would be ill advised to play healer, until you fully comprehend cacti after innumerable exposure. harming another through ignorance is a very real possibility with far reaching ramifications. psychological issues aside, when a person administers a susbtance that reacts negatively with someone the law finds the "administrator" responsible. people must take responsibility for themselves, otherwise, they shouldnt be using psychedelic entheogens.

its admirable to desire others to be well, however it is no ones place but their own to take action. that being said, offering your service as a sitter to ensure safety and comfort might be greatly appreciated. a feeling of security allows a person to delve deeper with less of a chance of being overwhelmed.

i advocate educating people and letting them walk their own path. when a person develops a healthy relationship with an entheogen, they cannot help but be truly free. with a relationship of their own, a person can experience communion directly and blossom in ways that western culture rarely sees.


if acolon5 would chime in, he can take credit for some of this philosophy

this was mew's experience deciding what to do with his lover/best friend, who suffered in the ways you described your lover

its a sad truth for anyone close to an alcoholic/addict.

You can't help her, she has to work hard at her disease, 24hr/day, one day at a time. Its a very selfish sounding thing, but it won't work if you 'get better for someone you love' you have to get better for yourself.

Yes it is a delicate situation isn't it?

Having taken a medicine that has helped me, I can't help but have the desire to make it available to those I love.

But this must be done without ego, coercion, or expectation.

Yes it is a delicate situation.
I really value all or your desires to help.

Other entheogenic "tools" used for working with addictions have been Ayahuasca and Iboga (but, personally, I don´t have any experience with Iboga). I also probably wouldn´t feel authorized to work with any entheogen as a therapy-tool, albeit I am sure they can be used as powerful aid in working with addictions and other difficult psychological problems in professional/shamanic contexts (but I know these options exist)

I wouldn´t push your girlfriend to trying Cactus, if she doesn´t feel perfectly fine with that...

I think I know how you feel, Nicechrisman. I also think that careful and informed work with entheogens could help many people I know and care about... But as already said, this is a very delicate area...

Good luck to both of you!

I know that the first time I took some san pedro, I was cured of a cold. And my work with achuma has cured many addictions that I had. Cactus is a great spirit for facilatating change and can be healing in many ways. I believe it has a lot to do with your intentions

i look at it like this:
you can plant a seed, water it, and give it all the conditions it needs; but you won't be able to force it to germinate.

so in exactly the same way, you can plant the seed of interest/curiousity, display the healing that comes from the plants (simply by being a healed person), but ultimately the decision has to come from within herself.

i do think that if you haven't already you should FULLY communicate your thoughts on what you see her struggling with (in the most delicate of manners, obviously), and what you think she stands to gain, and why you think what you do.

it sounds like you may have done that already but if not, i would recommend doing so.

sometimes writing can be better for this purpose as it can lend itself to be edited and the connotations re-examined from a fresh perspective to prevent unintentional alienation or offense, while still remaining thorough in its' communication. but then again, sometimes these discussions are best held face-to-face.


it seems weird to me that someone would be more comfortable ingesting a (potentially mis-identified) synthetic chem rather than a cactus.. but it takes all strokes i suppose.

I had a very similar situation with a girlfriend...the first type of this experience that I ever had actually. I had taken cactus once before, and then we decided to take it together at a secluded beach. It was interesting at first. We were each going through our own minds big time, and then she said that the cactus was trying to tell her something and she puked. We drove up to the top of a hill and watched the most magnificent thunderstorm roll in over the ocean with the sun setting above it, and in that moment, I saw my girlfriend achieve true peace within herself for the first time in her life. It brought me to tears. They only thing I ever told her was to listen to what the cactus had to say.

I think that intention is huge with this magical teacher, more than anything else I have tried...or at least more capable of affecting the journey. Cactus is the best thing I have encountered in my life, and I plant many a mental seed in those that I love because I want them to have this experience of such profound love.

I think that your girlfriend could really benefit, if only because I have seen it happen in front of my eyes. Maybe tell her you are doing it and would love a partner to explore with? No pressure either way.

Ultimately, it seems like this stuff draws you toward it. Every experience I have had has been synchronous to unbelievable levels, and the times that I don't put my heart into it, I always end up burning the cactus or otherwise not imbibing.

Good luck man!

~amen~

Cactus is an amazing tool for healing, though tread lightly if your working with someone who has been through serious trauma. It would be a good idea to have benzos on hand in case it gets too difficult i helped guide a friend with similar issues through an lsd trip that turned her life around, however she was pail white, shaky, sweaty, with increased body temp and heart rate through much of it, she forgot what LSD was. I've never seen someone lose touch like that before or since, thank god I had a xabax to give her.

After telling her about my dec 21 achuma experience, she seems to be a lot more curious.

shine so brightly that others may find their way out of the dark

I love this

I say, show her the way. She needs to walk the path though. Maybe studying the science of shamanism can show her a way of enlightenment and love. Good luck with your friend.