September 12, 2021

Melanie Boling, Graduate Student of Neuropsychology, Harvard University.

September 12, 2021

Conclusions and Recommendations

“Ayahuasca brew consists of the ayahuasca vine or Banisteriopsis caapi and an admixture like the chacruna leaves or Psychotria viridis. Ayahuasca effects are caused by the synergistic interaction of β-carbolines (harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroarmine) contained in Banisteriopsis caapi stalks combined with the N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) from Psychotria viridis leaves, a potent agonist to serotonin (5-HT) receptors.” — “Ayahuasca brew consists of the ayahuasca vine or *Banisteriopsis caapi* and an admixture like the chacruna leaves or *Psychotria viridis*. Ayahuasca effects are caused by the synergistic interaction of β-carbolines (harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroarmine) contained in *Banisteriopsis caapi* stalks combined with the N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) from *Psychotria viridis* leaves, a potent agonist to serotonin (5-HT) receptors.”

Many veterans are trapped in their trauma and plant medicine has provided the means for releasing trauma during their psychedelic experience (Veterans Are Turning to Ayahuasca for PTSD Relief, n.d.).

A small shamanic ceremony would also allow for facilitators and shamans alike to stay true to their culture. Plant Medicine Healing Centers and Clinics allow shamans; tribal members; and facilitators to continue practicing the traditions of their culture and making a living while doing so; all the while preserving and safeguarding a living history allows for more generations to learn the way of the rainforest through plant medicine.

Healing centers lower the dependent variable of a tribe from going extinct; or moving further away from traditional ways that are not successfully being passed onto the younger generations (Plotkin, 2021).

Melanie Boling and Expeditionary Service Dog River Roux with the healers of a Shibipo Tribe Healing Center in the Andes Mountains of Peru (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

“Benefits obtained from the brew intake, such as mind healing, increased self-knowledge, improved memory and persistently elevated mood. It has gained recent traction with U.S. Military Veterans for seeking healing from treatment-resistant mental illness such as Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Depression.”

Amazonian Entheogens or Psychedelic Plant Medicine hold great potential for the treatment of U.S. Military Veterans, and applying this through small group indigenous shamanic ceremonies, holds space to guide survivors into a journey within themselves for those seeking therapeutic healing for specific treatment-resistant illnesses such as Complex-Post-traumatic Stress Disorder or C-PTSD; Military Sexual Trauma or MST; and Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI.

Trust and safety are the key components to the overall success of Psychedelic Plant Medicine.

“The most important tool used by shamans is the icaro. These traditional songs sung or whistled by shamans before, during, and after an ayahuasca ceremony not only comprise the setting of the experience, they also positively influence the internal landscape of a person’s psyche. While we’re still trying to understand icaros in therapeutic terms, there’s no doubt that these songs play a vital role in the healing aspects of ayahuasca.” — “The most important tool used by shamans is the *icaro*. These traditional songs sung or whistled by shamans before, during, and after an ayahuasca ceremony not only comprise the setting of the experience, they also positively influence the internal landscape of a person’s psyche. While we’re still trying to understand icaros in therapeutic terms, there’s no doubt that these songs play a vital role in the healing aspects of ayahuasca.”

I feel that the answers to all of the world’s problems lie within the world’s rainforests, specifically the Amazon Rainforest. There is much more to learn about Psychedelic Plant Medicine and questions to be answered used for the healing of the United States Military Veteran Community.

Some questions that I have for the scientific community that has yet to be researched are:

If different parts of the same ayahuasca plant are said to cause different experiences with the same user; could these different parts of the same plant be used to treat different illnesses?
Would cultivation and/or harvesting of the ayahuasca vine at different periods of the plant’s growth cause a different experience for the user or could it be used to treat different illnesses? IE. CBD vs CBG?
Does adding the ayahuasca vine with various admixtures beyond the charunca leaf be used to treat other specific illnesses? IE. Cancer, or Stroke.
Can different lineages of the ayahuasca vine be used to treat more specific illnesses? IE. Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s Disease.
Will the consumption of ayahuasca brew in an “extreme environment” such as “high-altitude environments” cause a warp-speed healing event in patients/users such as someone with a traumatic brain injury or brain damage caused by stroke? (I already know the answer to this, to be revealed at a later time).
If ayahuasca, psilocybin mushrooms, and San Pedro Cactus or “huacuma” were to be administered in a clinical setting, even as a microdose; then combined with a “simulated extreme environment”, such as Hyper-Baric Oxygen Therapy or HBOT which is used to promote neurogenesis in the brain after TBI; could these variables also play a role in the “warp-speed” healing of neurogenesis on the brain and body?

Ayahuasca inhibits various parts of the brain associated with cognitive flexibility. It produces structural changes within the brain that are responsible for activity within 24 hours of ayahuasca consumption which leads to positive increases in cognitive flexibility. Results show that mindfulness is beneficial and lasting to the first-time or experienced ayahuasca user. Ayahuasca’s use allows the loosening of one’s cognitive grip which helps alleviate the feeling of being stuck and the depression associated with similar behavioral patterns (Murphy-Beiner & Soar, 2020).

My wish is that with my own scientific field research I can solve problems; provide the answers to some of these scientific questions; and do my part in guiding others within my own United States Military Veteran Community and the world, to realize the full potential of Entheogen Therapy or Psychedelic Plant Medicine from the Amazon Rainforest.

United States Air Force Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom Combat Veteran Melanie Boling in the Peruvian Andes as part of her scientific research for Harvard University, where she is pursuing a Masters Degree in Neuropsychology; and Graduate Certificate in Environmental Policy and International Development. Boling is an Extreme (ICE) Environments Behavioural Ecologist for her NGO, Peer Wild (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

Would you like to know more?

Be sure to read back on all of our articles about Entheogen Therapy or Psychedelic Plant Medicine derived from the scientific paper, “Reported results of Amazonian Entheogens for treatment of Complex-Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD); Military Sexual Trauma (MST); and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) among U.S. Military Veterans and the benefits of application through small group indigenous shamanic ceremonies.”

References:

Boling, Melanie. (2021). Melanie Noelani Boling. Imagery Beyond Borders. https://imagerybeyondborders.org

Boling, Melanie (2021). Reported results of Amazonian Entheogens for treatment of Complex-Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD); Military Sexual Trauma (MST); and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) among U.S. Military Veterans and the benefits of application through small group indigenous shamanic ceremonies. The Amazon Rainforest: From Conservation to Climate Change-research. Harvard Summer School, August 9, 2021.

Murphy-Beiner, A, and K Soar. “Ayahuasca’s ‘Afterglow’: Improved Mindfulness and Cognitive Flexibility in Ayahuasca Drinkers.” Psychopharmacology 237, no. 4 (April 2020): 1161–69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-019-05445-3.

Plotkin, M. J. (2021). The Amazon: What everyone needs to know. Chapter 8 seminar. Lecture notes The Amazon Rainforest: From Conservation to Climate Change- seminar. Harvard Summer School. Delivered 3 August 2021.

“Veterans Are Turning to Ayahuasca for PTSD Relief.” Accessed July 15, 2021. https://www.vice.com/en/article/a3kaye/veterans-are-turning-to-ayahuasca-for-ptsd-relief.

About the author:

Melanie began attending Harvard in 2020 to complete a Graduate Certificate in Human Behavior with a specialization in Neuropsychology. Boling’s research has examined extreme environments and how they can have a potential negative impact on humans operating in the extreme environment. During her time at Harvard, she has built a mental wellness tool called a psychological field kit. Implementing these tools will allow an individual to thrive in an extreme environment while mitigating negative variables such as abnormal human behavior which can play a role in team degradation.

Melanie Boling

September 10, 2021

Effectiveness of Psychedelic Plant Medicine among United States Military Veterans: Part Three. // Melanie Boling, Harvard University.

Melanie Boling

September 10, 2021

Effectiveness of Hallucinogenic lianas of the Amazon Rainforest among United States Military Veterans.

The saying goes, “the toad always knows” or “toad you so” which are modern-cultural references to the Bufo alvarius, also known as the Sonoran Desert toad. Its most notable characteristic is the toxic, milky-white venom it secretes to poison predators. The substance derived from that venom is 5-MeO-DMT, an extremely potent psychedelic that is up to six times stronger than its better-known relative DMT. After just a single-use, “this psychedelic medicine lifts anxiety, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and provides an overall sustained enhancement of satisfaction with life” (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

United States Military Veterans are taking their mental health into their own hands and by doing so are stepping away from pharmaceutical interventions, and leaning in toward plant medicine solutions (“The Potential for Psychedelic Treatment for Veterans,” 2021).

Military Veterans seeking the potential relief through entheogen therapy or that specifically ayahuasca could provide for their Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD, outweighed the risks. Plant medicines are a way of “pulling the rug out from under you and beating the rug until it’s clean” (Stroder, 2014), a commonality among troops on how to handle their affairs in life.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Addiction are two mental illnesses that some veterans returning home are plagued with and preliminary research has shown that ayahuasca consumption can relieve some of the symptoms that accompany those illnesses and in some cases cure them.

Entheogen Therapy holds a space for many veterans trapped in their trauma and plant medicine has provided a space for releasing the trauma during their psychedelic experience (Veterans Are Turning to Ayahuasca for PTSD Relief, n.d.).

Each experience is different with the individual; but, the overall message is that relief is sought and found through ayahuasca therapy. Drinking ayahuasca brought veterans the healing they search for by providing love and acceptance of themselves after suffering through atrocities such as psychological abuse and sexual assault while serving in the military (Stroder, 2014).

Different types of research being conducted on veterans involving Psilocybin Mushrooms and MDMA, and a groundbreaking study on 5-MeO-DMT that shows positive results for those suffering from psychological and cognitive impairment (“The Potential for Psychedelic Treatment for Veterans,” 2021).

San Pedro Cactus or Echinopsis pachanoi is a fast growing cactus native to the Andes Mountains. The processing of the plant medicine is a sacred traditional ceremony because one puts their own intentions into the medicine in an effort to heal the consumer (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

The San Pedro Cactus or “Huachuma” is cut and boiled down to a brew with the consistency of agave nectar. Echinopsis pachanoi contains mescaline and is currently being used for treatment-resistant mental illnesses like Depression, PTSD, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

The sacred cactus tea is best consumed in a safe and trusted environment where one could express their creative-self for up to 12 hours. It’s been said that “The Incas built Machu Picchu while consuming Huachuma” (Imagery Beyond Borders, January 2021).

Researchers are just beginning to tap into the therapeutic potential for the treatment of depression and anxiety through the application of ayahuasca. Despite not knowing the exact “mechanisms'” (Murphy-Beiner & Soar, 2020) that make this plant medicine such a beneficial treatment option; research has shown that other psychedelics have offered a window of opportunity for additional psychotherapeutic tools to be introduced to help support the human subject after the acute effects had worn off (Murphy-Beiner & Soar, 2020).

One study utilized mindfulness and cognitive “mental” flexibility, which both approaches are defined as shifts of perspective in their own right. Both have been said to improve the practitioner’s quality of life or state of being.

Mindfulness increases the connectivity between the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) responsible for the emotional and cognitive center of the brain and the Posterior Cingulate Cortex (PSC) which is the hub of the Default Mode Network (DMN) where you create a sense of “self” (Murphy-Beiner & Soar, 2020).

Ayahuasca inhibits various parts of the brain associated with cognitive flexibility. It produces structural changes within the brain that are responsible for activity within 24 hours of ayahuasca consumption which leads to positive increases in cognitive flexibility.

Results show that mindfulness is beneficial and lasting to the first-time or experienced ayahuasca user. Ayahuasca’s use allows the loosening of one’s cognitive grip which helps alleviate the feeling of being stuck and the depression associated with similar behavioral patterns (Murphy-Beiner & Soar, 2020).

Sexual assault survivors in the military suffer from the fear of victim-blaming and feelings of shame and guilt that often continue to impact every aspect of the survivor’s life beyond their time in the military.

Relationships of any kind are impaired and ultimately the survivor has no room for trust with anyone.

More and more United States Military Veterans are being diagnosed with PTSD due to Military Sexual Trauma or MST, which could potentially deem sexual assault survivors as disabled without the ability to work again for the remainder of their life.

Entheogen therapy or Psychedelic Plant Medicine combined with mindfulness and cognitive flexibility is a potential avenue for relief for these particular individuals “seeking the light” (Veterans Are Turning to Ayahuasca for PTSD Relief, n.d.).

Facilitating this through small group ceremonies is a way of allowing the survivor to feel safe, and provide space for trust within themself and those around them, which can often be lost in a large group of individuals.

This particular recipe could be the key to improving the overall quality of life for the survivor and provide a path to finding their way back to themselves, despite the atrocities that were forced to suffer at the hands of others.

Trust and safety are the key components to the overall success of Psychedelic Plant Medicine.

Depiction of your mind on Ayahuasca. (Artist unknown, 2020)

Would you like to know more?

References:

HAVN Life. “The Potential for Psychedelic Treatment for Veterans,” March 11, 2021.

https://havnlife.com/the-potential-for-psychedelic-treatment-for-veterans/.

Stroder, Richard. “Veteran: My Search for a PTSD Cure Led Me to the Amazon.” CNN, October 23, 2014. https://www.cnn.com/2014/10/23/opinion/veteran-ptsd-ayahuasca/index.html.

“Veterans Are Turning to Ayahuasca for PTSD Relief.” Accessed July 15, 2021. https://www.vice.com/en/article/a3kaye/veterans-are-turning-to-ayahuasca-for-ptsd-relief.

About the author:

Melanie Boling

September 8, 2021

Western Medicine’s “Hail Mary”. Amazonian Entheogen Therapy for the treatment U.S. Military Veterans: Part Two. // Melanie Boling, Harvard University.

Melanie Boling

September 8, 2021

Western Medicine’s “Hail Mary”. Amazonian Entheogen Therapy for the treatment U.S. Military Veterans.

Western Medicine’s “Hail Mary”.

Ayahuasca is an entheogen that is a “rich source of serotonergic agonists and reuptake inhibitors” (de Araujo et al., 2012). Consuming the brew will provide a rapid increase in Occipital; Temporal; and Frontal areas of the brain. The experiences bring about changes in sensory perception and self-awareness. Visual imagery is internally generated without the need for additional stimuli.

Ayahuasca affects brain areas responsible for psychopathological hallucinations and those activated during normal and rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. Studies have shown that cortical areas involved in memory retrieval and context increase in connectivity as a result of ingesting the substance (de Araujo et al., 2012). It is also responsible for the engagement of brain functions which allow the integration of memories and context to provide a whole scene of imagery to the user. “Seeing with the eyes shut” stems from the activation of several brain areas working together to produce “visions, memory, and intentions” (de Araujo et al., 2012).

Potential therapeutic uses for ayahuasca include disorders such as Addiction; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder; and Regulation of Sleep are few and dependent on admixtures that can be used for a variety of treatment-resistant illnesses. Studies examined through the use of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) have given a glimpse of the neural basis of this inner perception of the world (de Araujo et al., 2012).

Terms such as hallucinogens; psychedelics; entheogens; or psychotomimetics have been problematic because of the societal connotations that stigmatize specific titles. Researchers must take into account the safeguards to be maintained for their subjects in order for human hallucinogen research to continue in the future. Hallucinogens are not deemed “drugs of dependence” (Johnson et al., 2008).

The low physiological toxicity; absence of illicit drug-seeking behavior; and not contributing to any known withdrawal syndromes, make hallucinogens little risk for dependency among their users (Johnson et al., 2008). Factors to keep in mind are the psychological risks brought on by anxiety; paranoia; fear; dysphoria; and panic in humans and can potentially produce behaviors in subjects that could be a danger to themselves or others (Johnson et al., 2008).

Guidelines for safety include

1. Selection of Volunteers.

2. Study Personnel.

3. Physical Environment.

4. Preparation of Volunteers.

5. Conduct of Hallucinogen Administration Sessions.

6. Post-Session Procedures (Johnson et al., 2008).

Trauma is individual to the person. With regard to the U.S. Military Veteran Community, mitigating potential risks would be an overall benefit to the researcher and user alike simply because no trauma is identical to the other, even within the same community.

Two veterans could go into the same battle and walk away with completely different experiences; thus, no approach to trauma and the application of plant medicine should be the same.

A personalized approach to each and every human subject must be emphasized and taking appropriate measures to safeguard human subjects will ensure the safety and well-being of research participants and allow scientific research of hallucinogens to continue.

Would you like to know more?

References:

A. Cecchi, Fabiana M. Carvalho, Tiago A. Sanchez, Joel P. Pinto, Bruno S. de Martinis, Jose A. Crippa, Jaime E.C. Hallak, and Antonio C. Santos. “Seeing with the Eyes Shut: Neural Basis of Enhanced Imagery Following Ayahuasca Ingestion.” Human Brain Mapping 33, no. 11 (November 2012): 2550–60. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.21381.

Johnson, Mw, Wa Richards, and Rr Griffiths. “Human Hallucinogen Research: Guidelines for Safety.” Journal of Psychopharmacology 22, no. 6 (August 2008): 603–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269881108093587.

About the author:

Melanie Boling

September 6, 2021

dispatches from the field

Amazonian Entheogen Therapy for the treatment of U.S. Military Veterans: Part One // Melanie Boling, Harvard University.

Melanie Boling

September 6, 2021

dispatches from the field

Reported results of Amazonian Entheogens for treatment of Complex-Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD); Military Sexual Trauma (MST); and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) among U.S. Military Veterans and the benefits of application through small group indigenous shamanic ceremonies.

Ayahuasca or the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, a traditional plant medicine. This hallucinogenic liana or “woody vine” is also known as “the liana of the soul; liana of the dead; or spirit liana”. Lianas are a climbing vine found throughout the world’s tropical rainforests.

Introduction

Ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic liana from the Amazon Rainforest is also known as the “vine of the soul” (McKenna, 2004). Ayahuasca contains b-carboline alkaloids and are “potent monoamine oxidase-A (MAO-A) inhibitors” (McKenna, 2004) and when the vine is combined with another plant such as the Psychotria Viridis or Charuna Leaf which contains N-dimethyltryptamine or DMT, it will produce strong short-term hallucinogenic effects to its consumer.

Serotonin levels in the brain increase due to b-carbolines and the sedative effects of high doses of b-carbolines are a “result from their blockade of serotonin deamination ” (McKenna, 2004).

This recipe is unique because ayahuasca is the only entheogen where “the enzyme-inhibiting principles in one plant are used to facilitate the oral activity of the psychoactive principles in another plant” (McKenna, 2004) and the effects can be felt anywhere from 30-60 minutes after ingestion of the brew.

The effects of an ayahuasca journey are subjective to the individual and produce a dream-like state that ranges from euphoric to outright terror.

It has been said that different parts of the same exact ayahuasca plant can bring about a different hallucinogenic experience to the same user (Plotkin, 2021). Questions have been asked; however, research has yet to take place in order to understand the various different admixtures for this Amazonian liana.

Different lineages of ayahuasca could potentially treat more specific illnesses such as cancer or stroke just as it has proven positive results, time and again, for treatment-resistant health issues such as Addiction or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, especially in United States Military Veterans.

A growing number of U.S. Veterans have sought alternative means of therapeutic relief through entheogens with positive results; though, the challenge that does remain is that more legitimate clinical studies must be conducted by the scientific community in order to gain support for the legalization in the United States so more people can reap the benefits of plant medicine.

Would you like to know more?

References:

McKenna, Dennis J. “Clinical Investigations of the Therapeutic Potential of Ayahuasca: Rationale and Regulatory Challenges.” Pharmacology & Therapeutics 102, no. 2 (May 2004): 111–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pharmthera.2004.03.002.

Plotkin, M. J. (2021). The Amazon: What everyone needs to know. lecture notes The Amazon Rainforest: From Conservation to Climate Change- seminar. Harvard Summer School. Delivered July 2021.

About the author: