
Amber Antonelli and Anthony Esposito run the Awaken Your Soul iboga retreat center in Costa Rica.
Iboga is the name of a plant native to Gabon and neighboring West African countries that acts as a psychedelic, or as Amber and Anthony put it, a “teacher plant.”
Iboga, along with its better-known (in the US) cousins, Ayahuasca and psilocybin-containing mushrooms, appears to act pharmacologically by downregulating parts of the human brain responsible for the moment-by-moment construction of the ego.
This “Default Mode Network” – that has us constantly focusing on who we are and what we need – goes partially offline, other voices and other insights emerge.
While Iboga is used around the world (though not yet in the US) to facilitate recovery from drug addiction, Amber and Anthony work with the plant to help their clients transform and expand their consciousness and not just remediate emotional wounds and dysfunctional coping patterns.
In today's conversation, Amber and Anthony share their stories of encounters with psychedelics, their profound healings from emotional trauma, and their understanding of the spirit and purpose and intelligence of Iboga.

Enjoy, add your voice to the conversation via the comment box below, and please share – that's how we spread our message and spread our roots.
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Awaken Your Soul healing center
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The Plant Yourself Podcast theme music, “Dance of Peace (Sabali Don),” is generously provided by Will Ridenour, a kora player from North Carolina who has trained with top Senegalese musicians.
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