Plant medicine has migrated to the mainstream. While not everyone seeks psychedelic healing, the number of people who are has increased exponentially. Over the past decade there has been growing interest in the healing power of psychedelic medicine, particularly towards ibogaine and ayahuasca. So, what is the difference between Ibogaine vs Ayahuasca?
Ibogaine and Ayahuasca: Sacred Psychedelic Medicines with Their Own Distinct Experience
While the two substances are often compared, these plant medicines offer their own distinct experience. If you’re curious about plant medicine, understanding what each is here to offer can help guide you on your journey. Both can offer profound insight and lasting personal change. It is up to each person to decide what is best for their individual journey.
Ibogaine
Ibogaine is most commonly used for helping people overcome addiction or substance abuse problems. It can offer tremendous insight to one’s past, and help them better understand how things in the past have led to their current state of mind. When considering Ibogaine, some other common reasons individuals seek it out include:
- Addiction
- Eating disorders
- Depression
- Self-limiting beliefs
- Overcoming past trauma
With Ibogaine, there is a concept of going deeper within the mind. Shamans that have used the sacred substance for generations believe that Ibogaine helps one access the infinite nature we all contain. It has been used for thousands of years in both rites of passage ceremonies, and as a powerful spiritual conduit.
Ibogaine is sometimes referred to as “the stern father” for the messages it provides. The medicine can be firm, showing you the mistakes you have made, without any sugar coating. This “stern father,” however, is part of your true self, offering the lessons necessary to heed the personal growth and change you desires.
An experience with Ibogaine can last up to 12 hours or longer. Considered one of the strongest psychedelics there is, Ibogaine often keeps a person awake the entire length of their trip. It offers a lucid experience, often leaving people both mentally and physically exhausted after the experience is over.
Coming down off Ibogaine can be heavy. Many people report feeling sad, anxious, and confused after taking Ibogaine. This can be a time when they question what they’ve uncovered, letting fear and doubt overcome the positive message the experience offered. Meditation, yoga, and quiet contemplation are excellent tools to help control any of these feelings that may arise.
An experience with Ibogaine is long, intense, and often very revealing of past traumas or repressed memories that have led to a person’s current emotional and mental state. As far as psychedelic medicine is concerned, Ibogaine is undoubtedly the best choice for those seeking to overcome addiction.
Ayahuasca
For spiritual seekers in modern culture, Ayahuasca has become one of the most sought out psychedelic experiences. In 2008, Ayahuasca was recognized by the Peruvian government as a “teacher” or “wisdom plant”, and is considered “one of the basic pillars of the identity of the Amazon peoples.”
Ayahuasca “tourism” is alive and well as countless people seek to tap into the spiritual side of reality. Where Ibogaine helps people go deeper, Ayahuasca can help someone go further. Like Ibogaine, an experience with Ayahuasca can become extremely intense depending on the dose a person has taken.
The effects of Ayahuasca are described as “dream-like”, in a state where the individual is fully aware they are hallucinating. Ayahuasca makes some people vomit, others may experience diarrhea. This is known as la purga, the purge. It is said that this purge helps release any negative or toxic emotions and feelings a person subconsciously holds onto.
Ayahuasca is known to be a powerful healing psychedelic substance that can guide an individual to intense personal revelations. It has shown to help guide a person through whatever limiting emotions or beliefs are holding them back, offering clarity and acceptance in their place. Ayahuasca is profound in guiding people out of a state of depression, allowing them to experience the infinite bliss that life has the potential to hold.
Is Ibogaine or Ayahuasca Right for You?
When considering psychedelic healing, it is vital to do your research beforehand. Ibogaine and Ayahuasca are both powerful conduits for change, but demand respect and an open mind.
Many who are seeking to overcome addiction and self-destructive habits are intuitively called to Ibogaine. It is, after all, what has made the medicine famous. Spiritual seekers looking to discover their inner truth and release what keeps them tied to the past are often intuitively led to experience Ayahuasca.
Ask yourself why you are seeking psychedelic medicine. Those wishing to further their conscious understanding would be better off taking Ayahuasca. Those who wish to overcome addiction or communicate with their ancestors would be best off with an Ibogaine experience. Whether intuitively drawn to Ibogaine or Ayahuasca, those who seek the wisdom each contain are usually offered profound insight into their current situation through either of these two amazing spiritual medicines.