Grand Existence
Today I will be attacking a common misconception within the philosophically curious scientific community and beyond. The question people are asking is:
"Is the entourage effect real?"
And if you're not asking that yet, you're probably wondering what an entourage effect even is and how it relates to plant medicine.
Well to put it shortly, the entourage effect is simply another way of expressing the Aristotelian axiom that:
"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts"
An entourage effect is the cult like sentiment in plant medicine culture that states plant medicines and preparations which are constituted from the full spectrum of bioactive principles derived from a singular plant species, have an enhanced healing effect than do chemical isolates or partitions of the same species. This is in contrast to many humans who claim that a plants concert of bio active principles have no inherent synergy, relationship or inter-connection. This means to say that the function of the plant medicine may only be understood through analyzing its individuated constituents. I would like to take the opportunity to explain where this rift in perspective has come from and to support evidence for the hypothesis that medicinal plants exhibit a collective chemical synergy that is greater than any of its individual parts.
The Historical Philosophy
This is actually a split in perspective that goes back hundreds of years and is deeply rooted to the foundational scientific paradigms put forth by the forefathers of this institution. That perspective is that one put forth by Galileo Galilee himself who suggested the Universe operates like a big mechanical clock. The mechanical universe he called it. That out on the face of physical reality, the face of the clock, there is a manifestation of form and function that is integrally related to the mechanical constitution of its peice parts. Further that if one is to enquire about the form or function of the universe that the answers lay within the inner workings of the clock, among the mechanical cogs and gears, more specifically that every expression the clock can make is a function of two or more physical parts interacting together to cause an Effect, like the mundane constant progression of the hour hand in infinte circles. Far less exciting that the high energy iterating from the second hand that skips across the face. So thus, any effect perceived in reality can always be explained by the interaction of its various parts. This kind of thinking birthed the materialist, reductionist, deterministic empiricist viewpoint that ultimate knowledge can be attained from enquiry to the physical nature of objects interacting with each other. This theory was actually proven to be demonstrably wrong by Sir Isaac Newton upon his discovery and enquiry into gravity, and further disproven by modern physicists the likes of Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr, Bohm, Shroedinger, Wheeler, Planck, and many more. This is why I am addressing this topic to novice scientists. You can listen to my actual rendition of longer story here.
Our Mysterious Origin - The Hard Problem
At an attempt to make this more personal let me extrapolate this to the later chemical based scientific enquiries, or to biological sciences. There is a hard-headed belief among the scientific community, that study of physical systems will lead to ultimate knowledge. That looking at particle interaction, and chemical interaction between two or more systems will yield explanatory power into questions such as how genetic material arose from primordial soup, or better yet, how consciousness arose from un conscious matter. This is the ultimate question scientists face today. It is one directed at the mysterious origins of our most prized and apparent universal possession, our conscience.
These enquiries have only led scientists into maddening confusion and frustration where they are desperately grasping at imaginary straws as an attempt to try to maintain their failed bias toward a faulty model of reality. There enquiry has led to realizations of ignorance they often refer to as the "Hard Problem", the "Binding Problem", the "Attraction Problem", among many many other physics and ecological based paradoxes not unlike the cashmir effect, Wave-Particle duality, and the fermi paradox.
Where is the Free Will?
Lets really bring this home. Free Will. Otherwise known as the "choice making faculty". From what physical system does it arise from? According to the institutionally enforced pardigm (that was created by questionable people to begin with), free will should have a mechanical, perhaps even neurological basis. With this in mind, scientists crafted an experiment with a biological organism, a nematode was used because of its simplistic physiological make up totalling a whopping 302 neurons and nearly a fourth of that number in muscle cells, its entire being can be measured in real time. Insert said nematode into a maze where it is faced with a choice to turn either to the right or to the left and while monitoring the signals, to date there has been NO identification of any 'choice making faculty' or physically structured mechanically operating piece of neuronal free will machinery. Apparently, there are no cogs in this nematodes clock. At least not ones that are directly causing the arousal of its free will or choice making faculty.
This is no surprise for adept scientists considering the past experimentation into the nature of reality. The fundamental nature of reality is known to be information-based. Not particle-based. There are no particles. Physicist know this but culturally they lack the wisdom of what to do with it or how to move forward beyond the inherently limiting precepts of space-time (or perhaps the authorties frighten them from saiyng anythign to controversial to the status quo).
Today we are here to move forward.
So what does all of this mean for you and for plant medicine?
Well basically, the human experience is an entourage effect of the human body and universal environment. Consciousness will never be proven to be local to the body, let alone brain. In fact, many prominent neuroscientists have already begun to suggest consciousness is distributed throughout the entire body. However this still falls short of explanatory power for things like near death experiences, dreams, lucid dreams, out of body experiences and precognition and intuition. of non-local knowledge. Even less are suggesting panpsychism. This tells me where we are at in social evolution.
Well as you can see, our quintessential components, our life force, our choices, our dreams and our spirit cannot be put into no box. You are undefinable. And we will never understand what it means to be human through studying the pieces that constitute the human body because the whole human being is greater than the sum of its parts.
This is likewise demonstrably evident in plant medicines. The sum of a plant medicines parts is greater in many respects than the individual parts. Thus we strive to collect wholsome, wholistic, plant medicines and employ their supernatural functions appropriately on the supernatural human.
Chemical Isolates
Sure there is a vast application of individual compounds isolated from plants. This is absolutely necessary to understand in order to use the medicines correctly. But in nature there is not one of anything, except everything. What we are really looking at is different essences. Or for the simulation literate folk, icons on the screen. 'One' is a figment of the matrix and does not exist in nature. Chemicals are theoretical abstractions from the natural world. And basically every directly present force in an arbitrary environment, such as the temperature, light intensity, altitude, atmospheric pressure, electromagnetic fluxuations, atmospheric composition, can all have an effect on the form and function of "chemical isolates". Not to mention in any environment there is the obviously apparent presence of other compounds, elements, bacteria, insects, yeasts and naturally occurring liquids with different properties etc. etc., all of which can effect the structure and thus the response of chemical isolates. Matter itself although apperas constant to the senses, is actually incredibly subject to change and ultimately a complete illusion of itself. Likewise, when you consume chemicals, the body performs metabolizaitn in a series of reactions extractions and distillations that likewise have an altered effect than one would be inable to deduce through sheer biochemical study.
In short here, YOU are an Effect from the entourage
Chemical Entourage - The Matrix Effect
Despite the debate actually already being over, scientific institution is unfortunately not governed by the Truth. Instead it is governed by special interest groups and a tyrannical state authority which oppresses the people it is entrusted to support. Not unlike many of societies problems, we already have the answers, yet many people still refuse to accept their answers and childishly drag archaic paradigms through the generations mainly because of ignorance money power greed general heathenness and basic meglomania.
The Entourage Effect is more rightly referred to as a Matrix Effect. We say this while using the modern definiton of matrix, as meaning a position in space which is host to multiple different functions. Because one plant can have hundreds of different functional molecules, and one molecule can have several different functions, the matrix, or the space in which it is contained within, say a cellular membrane, can likewise have multitudionus different effects on those functions. This certainly includes wholistic full-spectrum plant medicines which contain the total of a plant being in a bioavailable form.
The matrix is reminiscent of that modern shaman trip sitters advice before consuming psychadelics that is, "Set and setting". Of course the effect of the set and setting can be far more directly observable on psychedelics, but the same is said and can be measured for non-psychoactive medicines.
While there is much to be said regarding the setting (perhaaps ritually consuming your medicines like we suggest), much work here is done to make sure the set is correct. That meaning, in preparing plant medicine, our practice is guided by the Whole. This is what most people refer to nowadays as Full Spectrum extractions. Extractions that contain the entire range of naturally occurring medicinal compounds in the plant. Though we could call this a matrix extraction at this point. With a matrix extraction, the medicinal quality and therapeutic value of medicinal plants is significantly increased. With that being said,
Many studies have shown the superior effect that full spectrum matrix extracts have on efficacy, bio-availability, mode of action, and overall quality of the medicinal plant experience. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the Matrix effects that are present with different full spectrum plant medicines which can be found in this apothecary. I intend for this to be a continually updated list as i continually learn more about plant medicines.
Ashwagandha
Collected withanolides increase eachothers bioavailability(Info coming soon)
Minerals
Kava Kava
kavalactones plus glutathione (Info coming soon)
Spinella, M. (2002). The importance of pharmacological synergy in psychoactive herbal medicines. Alternative medicine review : a journal of clinical therapeutic, 7 2, 130-7 .
Whitton, P. A., Lau, A., Salisbury, A., Whitehouse, J., & Evans, C. S. (2003). Kava lactones and the kava-kava controversy. Phytochemistry, 64(3), 673–679. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0031-9422(03)00381-9
Bacopa Monnieri
Neuro Pharmacology of Brahmi
Well, Brahmi contains a number of medicinal alkaloids, saponins and steroids which we have extracted in this spagyric medicine. Notably, Bacosides A and B have been proven to significantly improve the transmission of impulses between nerve cells in your brain (2). Though the whole plant material is often used in traditional medicines and likewise contain other important therapeutic molecules. Such as the notable alkaloid Brahmine within the Brahmi that is anxiolytic. And mroe so, nicotine which likewise has a synergistic entourage effect with the Bacosides because "Nicotine works by imitating acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) and binding to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors to promote discharge neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine which are involved in cognitive functions."
Medicinal entourage of the full spectrum extraction versus standardized isolates of bacosides.
Brahmin is responsible for the profound anti-anxiety effect, "Brahmi has a distinct advantage over lorazepam (LZP) since it does not induce amnesia and has a memory-promoting action in animals and man". (4) LZP, which is used as a generic pharmaceutical for anxiety, causes memory loss. Whereas, a full spectrum extracts provide both the memory enhancement AND anxiety mitigation. And as stated above, synergy between nicotine and bacosides increase the number of neuro transmitters and significantly improves the transmissions of electrical impulses between the cells producing the neurotransmitters.
Cannabis
terpene smell + thc plus heat thcd (Info coming soon)
Kanna
Plumb J, Demirel S, Sackett JL, Russo EB, Wilson-Poe AR. The Nose Knows: Aroma, but Not THC Mediates the Subjective Effects of Smoked and Vaporized Cannabis Flower. Psychoactives. 2022; 1(2):70-86. https://doi.org/10.3390/psychoactives1020008
It appears that the ultimate goal of God is to manifest heaven on earth. This means to extend life peacefully into perpetuity. Just as Christ came to earth to teach the immortality of being and the path unconditional love leading to it, so to God came into existence to manifest life in the universe forever. It is the goal of evolution and nature to eliminate chaos in the universe by transmuting it into balance, which is chemical equilibrium, which is life ever more.
Ayachausa
Banisteriopsis caapi and Psuychotrias verdis, MAOI and DMT
Absinthe
Alcohol and Thujone both act as GAGB antagonist and agonist respetively
Turmeric & Black Pepper
pipperine and curcurmin are absolutely necessary for anti inflammatory effects
Saint Johns Wort & Black Cohosh
Menopausal treatment used traditionally
