Men's Rite of Passage - Gabon, Africa - July 2015

Here are some pictures from my "Rite of Passage" this past July in Gabon, Africa. I am not going to say a whole lot about my experience. It was so much deeper than words for me to describe. What I will say is that this traditional ceremony is designed to BREAK YOU: mentally, psychically, emotionally, and everywhere between. To break you from your childhood baggage and show you that fear is not real... to prepare you for manhood and life in general. Our rite of passage lasted 5 days. There is no Iboga consumed during the rite of passage. The "full Initiation" into the Bwiti Tradition is a different story, LOTS of Iboga is taken then. I will make another post with pictures from my "Full Initiation"

Was this tough? O hell yeah it was...but the gains for me personally are off the charts.

"Everything you want is on the other side of Fear"

The line up. 18 of us total. 8 white boys & 10 Africans.

Do I look like I am having fun?

My favorite picture, ever. Some real life shit right here.

We slept 4 nights here... no pillows, no nothing

Through the jungle we go...

and go...

We made it through.... :)

"Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Danger is very real, but fear is a choice."

Mark's Testimonial - Iboga Wellness Center

Mark just spent the last month with us, it was awesome for the whole team @ Iboga Wellness Center to be a part of his transformation. Nice work Mark! You da man! We gonna miss you bro. ‪#‎iboga‬ ‪#‎bwiti‬

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