Mazatec Shaman Spits In The Face of Barstool Sports Personality While Conducting An Ancient Magic Mushroom Ceremony In Mexico
Last week, my good pal Donnie Does and I started a podcast together. Even though we've worked together on the pirate ship for a long time, we haven't really done much, if any, content together. Over the past few months, Donnie and I would go on Macrodosing with PFT. Doing that, people began to talk a little bit about how Donnie and I both have some pretty fucking wild stories. We've both lived pretty interesting lives that have taken us to the far reaches of this here globe.
We went to those reaches for very different reasons.
Most of Donnie's travel has been for either leisure or business. He's lived in China, Venice, and even Clemson, North Carolina. I've lived in Japan and Italy but that was due to the military.
Since I've known Donnie, I've always been a touch jealous about how well-traveled he is. I'd watch videos of him cruising all around the Pacific and become jealous as hell. In my traveling with the Marines, I never got to do much of the tourist-type shit. I didn't get to go HippoMode with actual Hippos in Africa or eat Mad Honey in Napal, and I certainly didn't get to go on a magic mushroom vacation to Mexico to talk/partake with some of the most famous Shamans of all time. Donnie Does did.
If you aren't familiar with Oaxaca, Mexico, it is an incredible place. Oaxaca, Mexico is just a cozy little spot in southern Mexico known for its diverse communities that are still filled with indigenous people, their traditions, vibrant festivals, and incredible food. It's famous for its ancient Zapotec and Mixtec ruins, like Monte Albán, which is flat-out nuts and rivals those dastardly Egyptians and their pyramids.
The Zapotecs—aka "Cloud People"—built one of the oldest cities in the Americas, Monte Albán, up in the mountains. These dudes were so advanced, they had pyramids and sporting fields before they were widespread, and their stargazing game was on point. They even carved some wild stuff into rocks that still has conspiracy theorists thinking they were chatting with aliens.
But let’s get to the real reason you clicked—Oaxaca’s claim to fame: magic mushrooms. We’re not talking some casual microdosing, either. We’re talking about some deep diving with Mazatec shaman María Sabina—legendary for her mushroom-fueled ceremonies that had people seeing gods, talking to their dead grandmas, and experiencing the spiritual equivalent of a freshly dead Bill Walton coming back to life at the Sphere with John Mayer on the guitar. She's the one that really set Donnie's journey into place. But it all didn't start a few weeks ago when Donnie went to Oaxaca. It started way before that.
Back in the 50s, an American dude named Gordon Wasson rolled up to María Sabina’s place, did some 'shrooms, and wrote about it for Life magazine. Suddenly, every hippie with a backpack and a tie-dye shirt is making the pilgrimage to Oaxaca like it’s their personal Coachella. That woman Maria Sabina? She had some apprentices who had some apprentices and one of those dudes is who Donnie went and saw.
Jaret walked us through what a possible session with me could look like. I've never done shrooms because I'm not a huge drug guy. I love weed and use it daily but other than that, I have zero experience with drugs.
That being said, I have always been interested in Magic Mushrooms. I've read a ton of research about how mushrooms can be great if you struggle with things like ADHD, PTSD, and TBI. Brothers,,,,,, I have all them shits. Donnie and I asked Jaret what he would recommend and he had some great recommendations. He also had some big big red flags that he stuck in the entire continent of Africa.
Jaret asked me about my mental health issues. I told him about the above but I also let him in on the little secret that I'm bi-polar. He immediately was out of me trying anything from Africa because of the type of mushrooms that are there.
Jaret says that for people predisposed to mental health conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, these mushrooms can act as triggers, causing psychotic breaks or delusions. Even individuals without pre-existing conditions can experience temporary psychosis if they take too much or have a particularly bad trip and aren't guided by the right type of person/shaman.
Certain types of mushrooms grow in the wild in grassy or forested spots all across Africa. It also contains psilocybin and psilocin, both potent hallucinogens. It's called Panaeolus africanus. Fancy!
Like other psilocybin-containing mushrooms, Panaeolus africanus induces hallucinations, altered perceptions of time and space, and delivers some strong emotional responses including peeing while crying uncontrollably in a good way. However, high doses can result in a loss of motor control, severe anxiety, and disorientation. Partakers may feel an overwhelming sense of dread, causing panic attacks or feelings of paranoia.
The hallucinations caused by Panaeolus africanus can be so fuckin wild that users struggle to distinguish the trip from reality. This can cause some individuals to panic, leading to erratic or violent behavior, self-harm, or a complete mental breakdown during the experience. Hell, some folks who eat these things, especially those without the proper guidance of a serious shaman, can suffer from lasting anxiety, paranoia, or even psychotic symptoms after the trip ends.
Anyway, this whole episode is a great time and lots of learning will occur. Check it out.