Top of the world!

Tim & I at the top of the waterfall today. Tim came down to Iboga Wellness Center back in January to detox from opiates, it was his last chance at life. He's here now 9 months later a new man, happy enjoying life. So great to see him and his wife doing so well. 

My Boy Derby's 8 Month Update after Iboga Drug Detox Program @ Iboga Wellness Center

I first met Tim Derby around 5 or 6 years ago. I still remember the day very clearly, Tim came to my shop to meet a mutual drug dealer, we were both getting our daily supply. While at my shop Tim was checking out my Harley's. We got to talking about bikes and it turned out he was a Harley mechanic. He loved bikes just as much as me, we have been brothers ever since. We had a lot in common, both shared the love for motorcycles, and both had drug/opiate addictions. This made for an instant friendship and brotherly bond that we still share today. We still both love motorcycles, but have both dropped our other initial connection. We both live free now, a freedom that we had searched for our entire lives. Iboga set us free, not only from our long term drug addictions, but from our minds. We are free now from the illusions our fucked up minds created. Derby was just here in Costa Rica at my house this past week visiting, we had so much fun, and all while completely sober... something both of us used to truly believed was impossible. Its amazing to see how well he is doing and how at peace he now lives. I love to see everyone I have worked with doing well, but its especially gratifying for me when its one of my boys from back home. Nice work brotha! - Pura Vida

ESPN Films - Chris Herren Story "UNGUARDED"

I had the privilege to hear Chris Herren speak a couple of years ago at a high school near my home town back in MASS. If you ever have a chance, go hear this dude speak! AMAZING story. The next best thing to hearing him speak, is this movie about his life story. I just watched it again this morning for like the 10th time. I feel so many emotions every time I watch it... I can relate to his story in so many ways. I surely never played in the NBA, but his story is so similar to mine and so many others, the ups and downs, the struggles of being a junkie. Having everybody fooled, making it appear on the outside that everything was OK, but inside, living in a dark dark place of cocaine and heroin addiction. So happy for Chris that he has final found peace, he is doing amazing things by sharing his story. Sometimes it takes going to the bottom to finally break free, I know that's what it took for me. Helping people like us is the most amazing high I have ever found, and I've tried it all. Life is a gift and all we have is today. - Pura Vida

Matt - Iboga 18 Day Detox Program - Iboga Wellness Center, Costa Rica

THE MATRIX is Real - Take the Red Pill - IBOGA

Morpheus: I imagine that right now you're feeling a bit like Alice. Tumbling down the rabbit hole?
Neo: You could say that.
Morpheus: I can see it in your eyes. You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he's expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth. Do you believe in fate, Neo?
Neo: No.
Morpheus: Why not?
Neo: 'Cause I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life.
Morpheus: I know exactly what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know, you can't explain. But you feel it. You felt it your entire life. That there's something wrong with the world. You don't know what it is, but it's there. Like a splinter in your mind -- driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?
Neo: The Matrix?
Morpheus: Do you want to know what it is?
(Neo nods his head.)
Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere, it is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window, or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work, or when go to church or when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
Neo: What truth?
Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born inside a prison that you cannot smell, taste, or touch. A prison for your mind. (long pause, sighs) Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is. You have to see it for yourself. This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back.
(In his left hand, Morpheus shows a blue pill.)
Morpheus: You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. (a red pill is shown in his other hand) You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes. (Long pause; Neo begins to reach for the red pill) 
Remember -- all I am offering is the truth, nothing more.

-

Why we do what we do!

Here is an email my father and I got yesterday, this is why we do what we do!

Gary and Jeff: I would like to personally thank you for the care that Matthew received during his August visit to your facility. I had great hopes but no real expectations as I felt his venture to Costa Rica was an unknown.  His successful experience there far exceeded even my wildest dream.  Matthew speaks so highly of you both and of the others who cared for him.  He is so committed to maintaining the "pure life" and I have every hope that he will do so.  He is such a nice person, always has been, an easy child to raise and so loved by his family.  I hope some day to meet you both.

  

An old Mayan proverb says: "One can pay back the loan of gold, but one dies in debt to those who are kind"

- Happy Mom

Iboga and the Roots of Self-Destruction

Check out this article on WakingTimes.com

Iboga and the Roots of Self-Destruction

5 Things You Should Know About Iboga

1. Iboga is a tool. Iboga is a visionary plant medicine that is on this earth for all who seek it. Iboga is not a magic pill and it is important to meet it halfway. You can learn from it and use the spirit of iboga's help and guidance to heal on a physical, mental and spiritual level.

"Think of your brain as like a hard drive on a computer. Iboga is like the software that de-programs the hard drive and gets rid of viruses. It processes through all of the prior information (past traumas, belief systems, learned behavior...). It is a re-set so the new programming can take effect."  - Gary Cook, Shamanic Iboga Provider at Iboga Wellness Center, Costa Rica

“Iboga is not a magic pill. Iboga is an amazing tool that can free you from the deepest depths of addiction. The spirit of Iboga will teach you everything you need to learn to stay clean, but one must follow these lessons to stay on the right path. Iboga does not change your free will, what Iboga does, is show you the truth. The truth you need to make peace with in order to live a happy drug free life. - Jeff Cook, Drug Detox Specialist at Iboga Wellness Center, Costa Rica

2. Know your facility/provider. Do research on where you would like to take your journey and go with a place you resonate with. Take the time to read different facilities' websites, listen to testimonials and look at pictures of the facility. Most importantly, ask hard questions. Will you be guided through a journey or will you be just monitored by medical staff? How much experience does the provider have? If those things are important to you, definitely ask. And remember, how you are treated before your retreat is a direct reflection of how you will be treated during your experience.

“I love it when people call or email with a lot of questions about Iboga and our facility. It really shows that they are taking it seriously. I want them to know as much as they can because trust is so important when a person is being guided through the experience.” - Jeanie Blend, Director of Guest Services at Iboga Wellness Center

 3. Safety first. Ask if a facility has medical supervision and how far away the nearest hospital is for your own peace of mind. There are some exclusions that would make a person not a good candidate to take Iboga such as heart problems, certain medications, pregnancy and very high liver enzymes. Every center may have a different safety protocol so it is important to find out what that protocol is.

"Is very important to have a physical examination and a medical history taken by a licensed medical doctor. A doctor may have recommendations before taking iboga such as complementary testing and lab work. My recommendation is to visit a center with a licensed medical doctor that will also monitor a person during treatment for maximum safety."  -Dr. Douglas Rosales-Chavarria, Iboga Wellness Center

4. Set your intention. It is important to want to undergo an Iboga experience 100%. Think about why you would like to take Iboga and life questions you may have about yourself. Go into it with willingness and an open mind without distractions. It should be noted that people should not be coerced into taking Iboga, it is a choice that only that person can make. 

5. Normal physical effects. Some normal effects included possible nausea, temporary vomiting, dizziness, a faster heart rate, light sensitivity, some sweating and cold hands and feet. These effects are just part of the process and all are normal. However, it is important to not have expectations about how your actual journey should go. Just go with the flow. 

Though everyone's experience is different, we are all searching for the same thing - happiness and peace.  Each of us will take a different path to get there but we will all arrive at the same place inside.  Iboga is used in a ceremonial, sacred, spiritual and traditional setting which allows for the deep and profound process.  Iboga is an incredible teacher plant that helps us to zoom out of our lives and to be a witness of who we are and life around us. Once you embrace your happiness and who you are on a deep level this journey called life becomes simple and clear.  Iboga is an amazing tool to help you get to this place. - written by the Iboga Wellness Team

Is addiction a choice or a disease?

Is addiction a choice or a disease? This is a tough one, but I am going to do my best to explain my view and reasoning. I respect and consider all angles on this topic, but I have lived the live of addiction and am now living a happy life free from addiction. So I know first hand from real life experience. I know that addiction is a choice. If you want to call it a disease, that's OK. But let me tell you that this is a curable disease with the proper treatment. The problem I have with calling addiction a disease is this, I feel this gives people an excuse to live the rest of their life with the state of mind that they have a disease and there is no cure, or no way out. I know that when addicted to heroin your choices are controlled by the addiction and make breaking free seam near impossible. But again with the proper treatment with Iboga by a trained shamanic Iboga provider, this "disease" can be cured, I am living proof of that.

I am doing this post for a few reasons, this is a topic that interests me greatly. I also received this message last night and wanted to share. A month or so ago I did a speech at a local school where I am from back in Mass. My talk was about my 17 year battle with addiction and how I broke free by using Iboga to find the core issues and reasons why I resorted to self medicate with drugs and alcohol. At the end of my speech I answered questions from the crowd. A woman from the back of the auditorium really got my attention when she told me her son had recently died from a heroin overdose. After it was all over, I went to find this unknown woman so I could speak with her more, I couldn't find her and no one knew who she was. I was very glad that she reached out to me last night, because I wanted to finish talking with her but didn't know how to contact her. Here is the message she wrote me...

Hi Jeff. I met you at the Pepperell speaking event. I want to say that its wonderful what you are doing but an average heroin addict has a snowball's chance in hell getting your kind of treatment. I hope that somehow you can figure that out. Also. I wanted you to rethink your position of choice vrs disease. Because my son died of the addiction that was a disease.

Thank you. Toireasa

Here is what she wrote following the message above:

A Season Of Darkness

Monday, June 9, 2014
Injustice of The Addict
Hello,

Ive been considering writing for some time now. It has taken me about six months to get into a space for writing. Today is month 7.

I am the Proud Mother of a 29 year old son who overdosed on Heroin. I am proud because I am neither ashamed of my son nor of his disease he battled so fiercly for so many years. Proud because he was so brave in facing the demons he had to face  every single day. Proud because he fought this war within himself for over a decade and up until the day the Lord took him home on that horrendous night of November 24th, 2013.

I recently attended a speech given in my community about a person who had fought through addiction and is now helping others. My first thoughts were --Wow. It takes courage to speak about your addiction and how absolutely wonderful the awarenes he will inturn bring to this crisis. I still feel that way. I have alot of respect for what he is doing- however, I was greatly disappointed when he said addiction was not a disease but a choice. Apparently it's a matter of opinion.

As I understand it, if someone abuses drugs before their early twenties when the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex responsible for decision making and reasoning hasn't fully developed, they are challenged  with making a decision or choice.If you developed your addiction after your brain has developed fully, after 23-25? It's my understanding that your decision making and reasoning skills are also fully developed and in working order.

Now, add to that....a dual diagnosis. Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia,  anxiety, depression, personality disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, etc....are you really going to tell me it's a choice?

I am not a doctor or anyone with authority on this, except for being a Mom, that fought tooth and nail along side her son to kick addiction and the disease to the curb. We lost. Addiction won.

The choice....the choice is education for the parents, to know what your child's psychological behaviors are and que into off behaviors. And sometimes that isn't even enough.

I thought something was off when my son entered into the teenage years. We didn't have the perfect life and it was hard struggling as a single Mom with a dead-beat-dad that took off never to be heard from again. But I loved my son with every fiber of my body. I took him to psychiatrists, counselors, doctors, and when he became hostile and explosive I had brought him to Brattleboro VT retreat. diagnosis: opositional defiance disorder.....he's a kid, they told me. He will grow out of it.

We tried all kinds of anti-depression medications. Natural herbs and prescribed. Soon he would be introduced to self-medicating drugs. He developed mononucleosis in his sophmore year. The school refused to provide a tutor. He returned part-time days but redeveloped the disease for a second time. Again the school refused a tutor and we were months behind at this point. After fighting the school board, they allowed him to pass the junior year with some make-up classes.

He would leave the school year as a junior. Working full-time as a landscaper he eventually moved in with a friend and began self medicating with alcohol and drugs. Many times he cleaned himself up. He worked hard to get his GED and entered into an OIL BURNER trade school. Unfortuately, the field was extremely fifficult to get into and that brought him down again. He became involved with a woman and fathered a child in the meantime. He worked in various jobs; foundations, landscaping, construction, and tought himself calculus to land a job as a machinist. My son was so proud (and so was I) for his achievements.

Little did I know he would begin a downward spiral that would ultimately take his life.

He probably entered into more than 100 detoxes. Saddly, the state of MA system is just this. 5 day detox. You are put on either suboxone or methadone. Day 5, detox and insurance kicks you out. Hopefully you have an extension that went through or a bed for rehab. If none are available, you are released on the street with suboxone and methadone still in your body. (Detox from either is just as bad if not worse than heroin) Most of the addicts do not have a job and are on MA health. They have no cash to pay for a suboxone or methadone doctor....who only accept cash. 500 up front and 75/visit...(approximate).

The addict turns to stealing to obtain money to buy suboxone or methadone or heroin....anything to make them feel like they arent dying. Because that's exactly how it feels. Take the worst flu you can ever imagine and multiply that by 10. It becomes a visious circle which now includes illegal activity.

It's to late for my son but maybe we can save someone else's child.

1. Doctors need to be more aggressive with caring for depression in teenagers.

2. Detox/rehab should require a minimum stay of 60 days.

3. Drug courts

4. Halfway houses for addicts released from jail and/or rehab

--------------------------------

So here is my response to this message....first off I want to express my deepest condolences to Toireasa. I can not imagine losing a child and the indescribable feeling that brings. Especially being father now, I can't imagine how hard that must be... So I am so sorry for your loss and pain Toireasa. I am sorry its to late for your son and anyone else who lost the battle with addiction, that did not get the opportunity that I did.

Everyone's life's experiences, situations, and choices are different, that is a fact of life. What I have found in my life experiences with addiction, and now working with Iboga helping people break free, is how I have come to this conclusion. Some may not agree with me, that is fine and your choice. I still keep an open mind on this topic and am open to all views.

So I will explain my statement that addiction is a choice and not a disease in more detail now. I am OK with people calling addiction a disease, as long as its very clear that there is a cure for this disease. I feel like there is a condition in between choice and addiction. I wish I had a word for that, not sure one even exists. I apologize for my lack of vocabulary, this is something I am working on, and something that has become more important to me at this point of my life. (I am a high school drop out, and my approach on learning has always been through life experience, not a book) Anyways, when someone is addicted their choices my not be true, influenced by the demon of addiction. But for someone to break free, they must truly want it, no matter what method they use. Without that from within, and being educated that there is a way out, hopelessness is a strong reality for an addict. My life mission now is to educate and help heal as many possible with the problems I had. Its unfortunate that so many have lost this battle without a real chance at beating this addiction or disease (however you'd like to call it). I can not change that, but what I can do is spread the word that there is a cure and there is a way to take control of your life and live happy. I am proof of that. The western medicine approach is not working. People need to be educated on all options out there. They need to realize that not all doctors in the US are giving true uninfluenced advice. Many opinions are influenced my money and greed. The approach in the states and in most rehabs is to just switch someone over to suboxone or methadone. This is not a cure or answer, its a band aid over a gunshot wound...The core reasons for people resulting to drugs needs to be dealt with. This can be achieved and must be handled in order to move on in life. What is a choice, is to realize this, deal with it and put it in your past. Its a choice to decide your done and to move on. Not to make this sound easy but its that simple. Iboga, a plant medicine from Africa and give you the tools to do so. Iboga will allow you to go inside yourself and face your deepest demons. Iboga will show you the truth. The truth you need to learn about your path and how it lead you to addiction. When faced and dealt with, amazing things happen. When you realize why and how you ended up where you did, its much easier to make peace and move on. Thats what needs to happen to beat this addiction/disease.

I hope this helped shed some light on my view and experience with addiction. There is always another angle and more than one way to look at things. I choose to look at the positive in all angles of life, even in the deepest most negative forms of life, there is a positive side, and good can come from all bad...if you choose to look at it that way.

-Pura Vida

Jeff Cook - NM Cares - Talk - Iboga

Tim & Jeff talk about the Pill Mills in Florida

What is Spirituality?

There are tons of books out there on spirituality and how to have an "awakening". I have never read any of them, sure there could be some good ones...but reading some book is not going to give you an awakening or make you "spiritual". So what is spirituality? I used to think spirituality was some hippie dude walkin around in birkenstocks talkin peace and love...haha. I used to be sooo against it, I was what I guess you could call anti-spiritual. My father was a spiritual seeker for years and years, and man did it piss me off. Back then I was too worried about my image and what was "cool". Now I am very grateful that my dad was this way. He was looking for something... he read and looked into almost every "form" of spirituality for over 25 years. Well he finally found it and that was a big part in me finding it as well. So where did we find it? Spirituality is right inside of us, inside of you and me and every living thing on this earth. You may have to dig deep, real deep! But its in there, trust me. Being spiritual is just being connected with your soul and the spirit of life. Still not sure how to connect with your soul? Well you can start by loving yourself, and living in the moment. Forget about the past and don't worry about the future. Its really simple, it really really is, once you have the tools to do so. I am so grateful that Iboga & the Bwiti tradition have taught me these things. I may not look like the stereotypical "spiritual" person. But am I spiritual? You damn right I am and so are you. - Pura Vida

OPIATES - I Destroy

A good friend of mine showed me this the other night, very powerful. Not sure who the author is, I read online that a mother who lost her son to a heroin overdose wrote it...

OPIATES- I destroy homes, tear families apart, take your children, & that's just the start. I'm more costly than diamonds, more costly than gold, the sorrow I bring is a sight to behold, & if u need me, remember I'm easily found. I live all around you, in schools & in town. I live with the rich, I live with the poor, I live down the street, & maybe next door. My power is awesome; try me you'......ll see, but if you do, you may never break free. Just try me once & I might let you go, but try me twice, & I'll own your soul. When I possess you, you'll steal & you'll lie. You do what you have to just to get high. The crimes you'll commit, for my narcotic charms will be worth the pleasure you'll feel in your arms. You'll lie to your mother; you'll steal from your dad When you see their tears, you should feel sad. But you'll forget your morals & how you were raised, I'll be your conscience, I'll teach you my ways. I take kids from parents, & parents from kids, I turn people from god, & separate from friends. I'll take everything from you, your looks & your pride, I'll be with you always, right by your side. You'll give up everything your family, your home, your friends, your money, then you'll be alone. I'll take & take, till you have nothing more to give. When I'm finished with you you'll be lucky to live. If you try me be warned this is no game. If given the chance, I'll drive you insane. I'll ravish your body; I'll control your mind. I'll own you completely; your soul will be mine. The nightmares I'll give you while lying in bed, the voices you'll hear from inside your head, the sweats, the shakes, the visions you'll see; I want you to know, these are all gifts from me, But then it's too late, & you'll know in your heart, that you are mine, & we shall not part. You'll regret that you tried me, they always do, but you came to me, not I to you. You knew this would happen. Many times you were told, but you challenged my power, & chose to be bold. You could have said no, & just walked away, If you could live that day over, now what would you say? I'll be your master; you will be my slave, I'll even go with you, when you go to your grave. Now that you have met me , what will you do? Will you try me or not? Its all up to you. I can bring you more misery than words can tell. Come take my hand, let me lead you to hell...