Addiction, Dreams, Healing and the Brain

I read Daniel Pinchbeck’s book: Breaking Open the Head a while back.  Its subtitle is psychedelic shamanism.  It is a very informed and informative book that draws both on empirical data about a range of plants and psychedelic agents, as well as personal anecdotal information that work together to create and convey very detailed information about the nature and experience of different chemicals.

The first chapter talks about the drug Iboga, which had a brief surge in popularity, but then seemed to disappear off of the radar. Pinchbeck talked about how Iboga was a drug that had the capacity to cure addictions.  In this, he talked a lot about the nature of the brain and how it works, in terms of processing experiences and emotions.

He noted that we process and sort through things in our dreams.  This is not anything new in terms of understanding the psyche (although there are a few competing theories on dreams/ dreaming, that is better tackled in another thread:). He notes that often, when a person has undergone a trauma early in life (general rule), something is impacted in the way the two sides of the brain communicate with each other–as a result that it impacts something in the dreaming cycle.  It seems as though the dream cycle is caught in a loop, like a record with a skip, or a washing machine that doesn’t quite kick over into the next part of the washing-rinse-spin cycles.  As a result, an individual cannot complete the processing of the experience.  It is staying lodged in the psyche as ‘unresolved.’ (my term). I would also add/ elaborate that it is staying in the energy bubble, which is to say it will continue to haunt the individual, like a hungry Ghost, feeding on the other aspects of their life and energy.

Eventually, this person can grow into an addict.  Cut to the chase.. It seems Iboga, or maybe the altered state that the Iboga can create.. allows the jello mold to loosen… kicking that log-jam free.  Pinchbeck notes that even after one use of Iboga, it eliminated his desire to smoke cigarettes ( I believe, this is from memory and I might be mistaken).

NOW… I know of a very highly regarded healer, who has numerous high-profile clients.  people who fly in their private jets to have her do healing work. Her specialty is addictions. I do not know the exact mechanism by which she works.  I think she does hold the head, cupped in her hands, placing pressure on specific points on the back of the skull.  Again, I am not entirely certain.  This is based on information I had a while ago, from a local client of hers.  I had happened to cross paths with this person, when she came to me for healing work.  WE talked about her past issues with alcohol addiction.  The client noted that she went to this woman, and has never had a drink since; nor has she had the drive for a drink.

The interesting bit in this comes from our conversation about Pinchbeck’s work/ book and what he wrote about addictions, dreaming and the brain.  The client had a sort of “Oh,Wow. Aha” moment..  She agreed this made perfect sense.  The renowned healer was likely doing something akin to what the Iboga accomplished- re-balancing the left and right sides of the brain.  My client confirmed this to me, when she explained how after this healing work she dreamed incessantly, non-stop, about alcohol for about 2-3 weeks.  Coincidence?  Probably not.  She may well have also been dreaming about other underlying things as well- but it was very clear that something was being fat-purged from the psyche.

What might this mean in terms of how we think about addiction, the role of healing and releasing? It could open a whole new area of study and more effective ways of helping those most in need.  Additionally, what I like best about this concept, is that it is basically just re-aligning their own mechanisms to resolve it on their own.  This is in keeping with my own belief that we do possess our own best mechanisms.. but that something interrupts or interferes with those processes.  If we could just get them back online.. we could resolve things ourselves.  And this is really what empowerment is all about.

 

 

I am an Education Specialist, Health Coach and Author. I work with aspects of the teachings I have learned from Andean shamanic and cosmology, to health, nutrition and education.  Everything is energy. Energy must flow. Like water, when it does not flow, it stagnates and is not healthy. These techniques help your life to flow. I have been initiated into many of the ancient lineages and learned ceremonies, rites of passage and healing techniques.  I have worked as a healer and done workshops and taught some of these aspects – passing the teachings on.

Author of:
Dancing in Your Bubble : ancient teaching, modern healing
Natural Support for Alzheimer’s
Getting a Handle on Happy : find and fix causes of stress and depression
The Naturally Smarter Kid : a parent’s guide to helping kids succeed in school and life
Cafe of the Hungry Ghosts : behind the veil of ordinary – a paranormal-ish fiction book

http://BeingHerd.com
http://repairalz.com