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“Yeah, let’s transition from the bullet war to the meme war. I’ve been really moved by the responses from the Soldiers of the Vine screenings. I’m like “Wow, I built a field of dreams, and people actually showed up!” People are getting whatever they need out of it, versus our own self criticisms about what could have been better. That’s the real amazing thing about it. Share the message with people, and people will self-organize and self-activate. There’s no cult, there’s no dogma, it’s just spreading the love of healing and then people will naturally do whatever it is they feel they were created to do.

I think ultimately these plant medicines are psychic mirrors: they give the opportunity for greater self-reflection. Used ceremonially together, you get an intensification from all those spheres online together, mirroring each other. We all need to shut up and take our medicine and do our work. My personal belief is that the universe is a superorganism that makes up a mirror for the divine, where the ego is a construct that creates the illusion of separateness so that we have a game to play, and it’s the best game ever.

And that’s our potential salvation, and how our planet is getting hooked up into an electronically supported superorganism platform for communication. I think we’re trying to all connect each other up to heal ourselves, to unify as a planet, and then on to whatever’s supposed to be next. I don’t know what that is any more than the next person, but I have an open heart and open arms and trust that the universe knows what it’s doing.”

“It’s so important to ask “What are the reintegration resources for these people doing these particular medicines?” If you can’t answer that question, then you sort of have a problem. That’s like saying, I’m going to take all these people, give these great life sermons, but have no plans or way to inculcate them into their life. So, what’s the point? It’s like seeing a cool movie- it feels good and it’s entertaining, but yeah your psychedelic experience is only as good as your amount to integrate.

To me, it’s the metaphor of the tree and the fruit: nobody cares how many ayahuasca ceremonies the tree has been to, or what its spiritual practice is, you just care about the fruit. Does the fruit taste sweet?

I love these metaphors, and through my healing work I now understand the power of parables. Because on these medicines that’s what you get: those are the gifts, especially on ayahuasca. It’s a picture, a song, some kind of symbol, or an abstract concept that has meaning to you that you can take back because it’s a concept. You can’t necessarily take back the 15-minute action sequence, that’s kinda hard.”

Whenever Terence McKenna came to town he would always thank the audience for coming to listen to him, but would also always point out that everyone that you needed to meet was already in that room with you.

So in that spirit, please come out and meet all the people in the audience that are waiting for you and join us for the inaugural screening of ‘Soldiers of the Vine: Healing War Trauma with Plant Medicine’ followed by a special Q&A panel.   The film features six American Veterans that go to Peru to explore a 10-day plant dieta (Ayahuasca and other plant medicines) to treat PTSD.

The panel consists Mitch Schultz, the producer of Soldiers of the Vine, who will be the moderator,  Ian Benouis, organizer of the project, Chris Schickedanz, who went to Peru and Jeremiah Looney who was unable to travel to Peru, but has participated in numerous ayahuasca and other medicine ceremonies with veterans. Please stay tuned to see if some other special invited guests will be able to make it to town.

The brand new Austin Psychedelic Society hosted us in a library with special guest Robert Barnhart, producer of A New Understanding: The Science of Psilocybin. He proved his generous good nature when technical difficulties meant watching his documentary on a laptop. Afterwards he said it was good because it forced him to really listen to the […]

Ian Benouis is a United States veteran and an outspoken veteran activist. Ian is very busy with multiple organizations, including Weed for Warriors Project and Veterans for Entheogenic Therapy and has been apart of multiple films, “From Shock to Awe” and “Soldiers of the Vine”. During this interview, we discuss medical marijuana for PTSD treatment, the […]

The reason that I can do any of my work to help our veterans reintegrate back in to society by washing off their war paint and healing the moral and spiritual injuries they came back with from war is because cannabis saved their lives to begin with. Cannabis is a gateway to life. I have many brothers and sisters who are in this room today alive only because of cannabis.

Six American Veterans travel to Peru for a 10-day plant dieta with ayahuasca and other plant medicines to treat their trauma with the help of three Shipibo shaman brothers.

he says, “While marijuana remains illegal in Texas, decriminalizing marijuana has been taken up by various states while other states have legalized the drug for medicinal reasons. While I have long contended that legalizing marijuana would be harmful to our society, I remain aware of the sensitive and emotional nature of the legalization/decriminalization debate.

H.R. 667, the Veterans Equal Access Act, would make it easier for qualified veterans to access medical marijuana in states where it is legal. Supporters of this bill believe medical marijuana could be used as an alternative prescription for veterans suffering from chronic pain, and assist in a veteran’s recovery from mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress.”

she says, “Legalizing personal marijuana use and possession is becoming more of an issue as more and more attention is being drawn to it. While it is still currently banned at the federal level, several states have or are trying to legalize it. I; however, believe that the legalization of marijuana for recreational use would have lasting harmful effects on our communities. As a physician, I believe habitual marijuana usage can be damaging to families and have personally witnessed patients who have suffered long-term health effects from smoking marijuana. This aspect of the issue needs to be considered carefully as there are many aspects involved, and I will take all information under advisement before making any decisions. I will continue to place emphasis on evidence-based research.”