Daniel's Journey: 3 Questions
Eating a mysterious plant with a Thai jungle tribe, astral traveling through galaxies, soul workouts, and the unique character of different medicines
From the moment Daniel first shared his stories about psychedelic medicine encounters with me, I was encaptivated. Not only is he a great storyteller, but also do I know few people who approach journeys with so much curiosity, openness, and wonder. I’m excited for your to dive into Daniel’s world this week — you’re in for a treat. His Q&A features a trip report that will be unlike anything you’ve ever heard of.
How did you discover psychedelic medicine?
While I only began my deep dive into the world of psychedelics in recent months, my actual first experience was over a decade ago.
Back then, I was at a point in my life where I wasn’t happy with who I was becoming. I was traveling through Thailand, running away from myself, numbing the pain through clubbing and partying.
Over time, the lifestyle caught up with me and I knew it was time to make changes. I didn’t like the trajectory of my life. I cut my friendships off and ditched partying for solo camping in the jungles of Thailand. It was a lonely time but a time I truly cherished (and needed).
During one of these camping trips, I went on a long hike. I was in a secluded place, not known to tourists. It was paradise. Imagine jetting limestone rock formations and clear blue lake water everywhere, it was like out of the movie Avatar. It was here that I encountered a substance through a miraculous course of events that to this day I haven’t been able to identify.
During my hike, I came across a tribe of people in the jungle. They didn’t speak Thai but communicated with me non-verbally. They were passing around a bowl of some sort of vegetation and eating small amounts of it. When they passed the bowl to me, for some reason I felt compelled to eat it as if it were a salad.
As I looked at the tribesmen to see their reaction, I realized this was not a normal bowl of salad. My throat grew numb and slowly, the rest of my body did, too. I fell back to the ground and thought, my God, I’ve been poisoned.
As the sun flew across the sky, I saw the blueness of the sky burn away to reveal a dark night sky full of stars, and pop — I go flying into it. I didn’t feel like I was alone, it felt like there was some sort of great all-knowing and all-loving spirit. This spirit instructed me to focus on a star and travel there at the speed of thought — so I did.
I looked at one star and immediately zoomed in, only to discover it wasn’t a star but an entire galaxy. I was out of the confines of my physical mind so I could visualize and count trillions of stars within seconds (though time didn’t seem to exist here). This was exhilarating, so I did it over and over again. I’d focus on a point of light and bam I’d be there only to see it was another galaxy. I’d count the stars and repeat. I was traveling the universe with my mind. I was also noticing that the celestial bodies created sounds and were full of vibration. The universe was actually quite musical.
After galaxy hopping for some time (though there is no time), my consciousness pulled away and began to focus on the bigger picture. I wanted to see all the galaxies all at once. When I was in the view of 800 billion galaxies all with over a trillion stars I saw what looked like the connecting lines of mycelium. The universe looked like mycelium!
Wow, I thought to myself. If this mind trip couldn’t get trippier it was about to trip me up even more. Out of the blackness of space, a golden beam of light hit me right at my forehead like a laser beam. It was beautiful and mesmerizing. From the beam of golden light, a cosmic rose began to bloom, the rose was trillions of light-years across in scale and the rim of each petal was composed of the most magical looking pixie dust made of gold and rainbow. To my shock each petal of the rose was a portal to another universe each with countless stars and galaxies of their own and to my understanding multiple dimensions as well.
It was at this horror and beauty my consciousness began to pull back into my body. The cosmic rose began to close and my consciousness slammed back to earth at breakneck speeds. I awoke laying on the ground alone in the middle of the night. Fortunately, there was just enough light to make my way back to my tent. On my way back, I quenched my thirst with rainwater collected in leaves.
I was left feeling dumbfounded, confused, dazed, and in bewilderment, as I took years to process what happened. I was never the same again.
You've journeyed with many different medicines. How do the experiences compare?
I’ve gotten the chance to experience San Pedro (natively called Huachuma), mushrooms of various varieties, toad venom, synthetic 5-MeO-DMT, kava kava, and ayahuasca. None of these are actually similar at all. They all take on their own personality and vibe and it’s hard to compare them.
San Pedro for example feels like a grounded loving grandfather. Ayahuasca feels like a disciplinary mother. Mushrooms to me feel fairy-like and playful. Both the toad venom and its synthetic counterpart feel a lot like the first substance I took in the Thai jungle without the visions but just the feelings. Kava kava feels like a sleepy uncle. I love all of them and they all teach me.
What do you wish everyone understood about psychedelic medicine?
Coming from a religious home, I would really love for the stigma to go. It’s absolutely mind-boggling to me that these natural medicines have such negative connotations in our culture.
My father is in the medical field and tells me over and over how many of his patients suffer from the negative side effects of prescribed “medication”. Society doesn’t seem to bat an eye. Then there’s the problem of addiction to common medications such as painkillers, which I, unfortunately, have been exposed to multiple times in my immediate environment.
Though I love psychedelics, I can’t think of one that I’m addicted to. In fact, this process is like a workout for the soul. It’s tough and requires me to really get off my ass to do it. When I do my hero dose mushroom journeys, I literally won’t touch it again for at least a month.
My hope for this country and the world at large is that we evolve to see what psychedelics are, it’s plant medicine. The keyword being medicine.
It is my deep belief that this is how Mother Earth intends to heal herself, it is by healing us through her bounty and plants.
Inspired to share your own journey? Reply to this e-mail if you’re interested. I’m always keen to feature readers.