Iboga Buzz
Tabernanthe Iboga
Citation:   chickfromtamworth. "Iboga Buzz: An Experience with Tabernanthe Iboga (exp81911)". Erowid.org. Aug 9, 2010. erowid.org/exp/81911

 
DOSE:
16 g oral Tabernanthe iboga (rootbark)
    smoked Cannabis  
BODY WEIGHT: 70 kg
16g root bark – taken over half hour period wrapped in cigarette papers. Effects began after 1 ˝ hrs. Purged after approx 3 hrs.

Deep, low vibrations rocked through the body as the plant frequency permeated my system. My body shook gently in response to the intensifying vibrations. Closed eye visuals rapidly accelerated over what seemed like a 2-3 hr period. At times I couldn’t tell whether my eyes were open or closed as visions played out. It was practically impossible to move – upon desperately attempting to rise to go to the toilet I could barely clumsily stagger, but noted, in the light of the loo (!) that I was experiencing electric streamers of light associated with motion. Noises in the room took on a cyber artificial quality, as if there was a stereophonic echo underlying each sound. I was conscious of the underlying frequency of the plant tonality increasing in strength and resonance throughout the evening.

I experienced a strong sense of plant presence and communicated my desire to surrender to it and its teachings. I was aware of a “compatibility” between myself and the iboga – a kind of kinship, affiliation and familiarity. It was like meeting an old friend and in absolute trust allowing a full excavation of my psyche and memory banks – an exploration of outdated precepts embedded in my personality operation systems. The plant expressed itself with a kind of underlying dark humour – with an intense and penetrating dismissiveness of the human emotional field. At one point it appeared to me as a column of densely packed flat leaves coated in thousands of querying eyes.

Imagery:
Grotesque putrid images in overwhelming succession to the point where it became humorous... fluffy cute little chickens turning into mucus oozing, burst sausage type forms, children playing happily in fields only to have miniature airplanes fly through the scene slicing their heads off. The imagery seemed deliberately child-like as the plant identified my pessimistic worldview and consequent experience of reality. I witnessed images of my youth seen from an external perspective, and could see my physical form as if from outside myself. At one point a baby’s terrified face appeared, crying in hysterical abject terror. I realized that this child was me. Gold star marijuana leaves flaked from a point above me, sticking like leaves over my third eye. As I peeled them off another would fall upon my forehead. I took this as a comment on the way pot has influenced my ability to experience my full capacity of vision. An animated cleaning unit was rifling through my mental archives, rolling out reels of memory for my perusal then discarding them disapprovingly, occasionally placing bits carefully in my “in-tray”. As the visuals became denser the cleaning unit was ousting cognitive revelations as they occurred. I had a sense of loss of recall – attempting to cling to insights as the mad little unit swept away all my thoughts.

No sleep. The intensity of the visuals faded after 4-5 hrs. I cat-slept just prior/post dawn.

9am Wednesday Morn

Experience of a valium-like physical relaxation with no desire to eat/move/drink or even think. My thoughts were stilled to the point of silence. The internal vibrations continued to rise and fall through my body like waves and the audible tone of the plant underscored the dense stillness I was immersed in. The plant effect recurred in bouts of physical inability – dizziness, heavy body, complete absence of physical energy. It was almost a sense of spiritual dislocation – I was divorced from physical sensation, floating in plant awareness. Recall of the previous nights visions returned as dreamy impressions.

8pm Wednesday Eve

The plant effect seemed to be diminishing though I was still physically incapable of motion. I felt empty-headed and clear and decided to smoke a joint. The effects returned intensely with a concurrent escalation of thought into maddening spirals of repetition which would climax then disperse. I couldn’t sleep again and spent the night in a half dreaming/ half awake state where I could not be sure what was a waking vision and what was sleep driven imagery.

10am Thursday Morn

I spent the day in a haze of opiate-like sensation – with heavy limbs and an inability to move for long periods, despite fluxes of energy through my body. I had a strong awareness of emotional shifts within my psyche and a discarding of introjections of early patterning. I experienced the plant communicating through the deep resonance that was ever-present throughout the experience.

8pm Thursday Eve

Audible frequency shift as the bass tone of the Iboga rose by pitches. As it changed I could feel it stimulating different areas of my body – working through the chakras and electrical system. I smoked another joint and fell into a state of utter physical well being – my body felt utterly absent of tension and my mind was still. I fell into a half sleep ecstasy transitioning into a deeply relaxing 7 hr sleep.

10am Friday

I woke in a disturbed frame of mind – experiencing a heavy emotional space before I even opened my eyes. I felt physically wrecked – the smallest efforts requiring intense focus and determination. Suddenly I experienced an intense emotional release – deep penetrating sorrow expressed through wailing warbling sound. I have never heard myself sound like that before when crying. It was a hysterical, terror ridden exorcism of emotional blocks. I was utterly exhausted afterwards and could barely even think... was an empty vessel. I was aware of the internalized plant frequency rising to an almost unbearable pitch of bi-tonal oscillations. I was overwhelmed by anger, self-recriminations - a maelstrom of self hate culminating in exasperation, hopelessness and guilt ridden anxiety. After some time, these emotions passed through me and I was left with a sense of acceptance – and of the bulk of the work having “being done”.

5pm Friday

Physically able to move about without necessary collapse. A sense of groundedness – as if the plant matrix had embedded in my energetic system. The associated strength and solidity was experienced as a plateau of stable consciousness.

10am Saturday

I awoke to a clear strong awareness of self and place. I felt my being had been re-affirmed in its individual potency, as actualized potential with on-going transformations occurring. I was still physically weak (I had barely eaten over the last 3 days) but was able and capable of action. There was no audible remnants of plant consciousness. I had a bright, defined experience of being-ness.

--
Post experience:

In the week following my Iboga journey I participated in two ayahuasca ceremonies. The depth, clarity and profundity of those ceremonies was notable, and I felt the iboga had prepared my system for maximum immersion into these sacred realms.

I was also conscious of other lasting effects that seemed to be induced by the Iboga - reduced need to sleep, reduced appetite, an aversion to alcohol and 'dense' foods and a sense of operating from a clear, uncluttered awareness. I found myself interacting with people in a very balanced and present way -- interpersonal dynamics which had previously irritated me had fallen away like old leaves. Up to one month later I was still feeling subtle effects of the Iboga experience, as if it continued tweaking my consciousness and re-formatting my ways of being.

I believe Iboga is a therapeutic tool of incredible potential, limited only by a person's capacity and intent. Many would benefit from the workings of this plant guide, it reaches deep into the psyche and operates on such a potent level I feel utterly altered by the experience.

Exp Year: 2009ExpID: 81911
Gender: Not Specified 
Age at time of experience: 36
Published: Aug 9, 2010Views: 14,062
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Tabernanthe iboga (200) : Multi-Day Experience (13), Health Benefits (32), Combinations (3), Alone (16)

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