It has been almost five years since we began the Awakening in the Dream House in San Pancho, Mexico. Rocky arrived in October of 2005 with a dream in mind, along with three other members of the "Awakening in the Dream" Groups from Portland, Oregon, created by author Paul Levy. Rocky manifested a desire to create a new model of addiction therapy that was inclusive of an individual’s needs, with their health and wellness the foundation, and the truth of self healing as the theme in order to actualize a transformative and initiatory experience. This is the traditional use of the medicine Iboga, to shed the scars of the past, and walk forth into your adult life prepared for whatever life may bring, self aware of the dream-like nature of this world. In Rocky’s case, and for many of the staff members at the Dream House, the Iboga allowed them to walk through a door of freedom, where we leave behind the memory of an addiction and enter into a brand new life with purpose, a return to our original dharma, with which we are all born.

Since arriving in San Pancho, The Dream house has treated 400 individuals safely and effectively. An additional 150 people Rocky treated during his time working and training at the ibogaine association and in the underground from 2003 till 2006. Rocky’s own original treatment at the ibogaine association was for meth-amphetamine, heroin and methadone. Rocky has created an integrative ibogaine treatment house based on his experience from one on one underground sessions to high risk, poly-substance dependencies, long term chronic pain clients, as well as traditionally influenced initiatory rites.

Chemical dependency is a powerful statement, and those with chemical dependencies are often considered to be the underbelly class of citizens. The needs of those with chemical dependency are vastly different than those of a non-dependent person. Behavior and actions can be very dramatic. Chemical dependency does not discriminate against class, color, or creed. It does not care about your income, education, gender etc. We have treated individuals from every walk of life: professionals and policemen, medical doctors, nurses, psychiatrists and political figures, artists, homeless street addicts, alcoholic grandparents. Chemical dependencies come from the misuse of prescribed medications or from Illicit street drugs, or both. Just by attempting to remove pain, we also bring about the absence of joy, inspiration, inner peace and love and create shame, guilt, sadness and more pain. Though chemical dependency can offer some temporary relief, it is short lived and you must constantly up the ante. It is a sad day when everything we’ve learned or been taught to help ourselves doesn’t work anymore. This is the tipping point, and a good moment for Ibogaine.

At the Dream House, we work to empower people to learn to trust their own intuition, instincts, thoughts and feelings in order to determine their own truths. We do not want to project our personal beliefs, but instead allow this to be a place where you can make clear distinctions without the constant body and mind chatter associated with addiction. Ibogaine is both a physical and mental cleansing and purification process. We help create a space to remove chemicals from your body, as well as break the cycles of dependency from your mind. We have seen that without thoughts of using or the daily routine of active addiction things will change for the better. For many, this is the first time in their entire lives to experience this kind of freedom. We do not impose beliefs around using, nor promote abstinence or non-abstinence. Our aim is awareness and harm reduction. We do our best to provide an opportunity for you to follow through with your decisions from a spacious place, free of psychological and physical craving.

Awakening in the Dream House is a licensed, legal medical detoxification center and corporation called Botanicals Desintoxicacion Y Tratamientos Naturales SC. This is a huge privilege, and it allows us to work with various other natural plants that assist in the detoxification and recovery process. Ibogaine is the primary tool, but we work with many natural sources that add to the experience and aid in profound healing.

We have found that there is no ceiling with this work, there’s always more that can be learned. We have a formal training program to teach others how to safely administer Ibogaine, as well an extended after care house, where individuals who come through can stay longer, support themselves, and recreate their lives. We have also begun to learn how to grow Iboga and will be growing on farms this year in Mexico. Experimenting with the various alkaloid extractions so that we are able to be self sustainable is important. We do not want to exhaust the supply of this plant from its origin in West Africa for our own western needs. We consider this cultivation to be of the utmost importance in order to become independent and to help lower the cost of this natural plant for addiction and psychotherapeutic treatments worldwide.

Ibogaine is a new technology in addiction therapy and detoxification, discovered in the west in the last 48 years. We have the opportunity to formulate a new methodology in approaching chemical dependency that is safer, effective and more successful than the current models that most of us have tried. By using the ancient technology of this plant in combination with current information on the nature of healing, we are able to regenerate the mind and body. From here, many new opportunities in the field of science and psychology are evolving.

We must remember that only about 10, 000 people on the planet have been treated with Ibogaine. We want to continue to find ways to potentiate this experience in order for people to fully gain its benefits and integrate the changes back into society. We’re already blessed to be in such a perfect location. There is no instability here, compared to other places in Mexico. It’s safe, people live simply and you can immediately feel the presence of community. We are grateful to be accepted here. All these incredible elements of nature are here to support us, from the ocean to the jungle. Mexico is noisy and expressive naturally, a healthy reminder about what it means to be human. We have about 25 people currently living in this community who chose to relocate after going through their process with Ibogaine. It’s been interestingly beautiful to watch people really take the incentive to recreate their lives, and we have all benefited from the experience of building a village. We feel it’s a fantastic model for recovery, where a bunch of addicts found a way to spend their lives dedicated to offering this experience to others. It’s a true sense of service to be able to watch others go forth and heal their families and walk with the truth that change is always possible.

In 2009, we held the first International Ibogaine Facilitator’s Conference in Sayulita, Mexico to honor Howard Lotsof, the godfather of Ibogaine who discovered the anti-addictive properties of Ibogaine in the 1960’s. He passed away last year on January 31, 2010 and is dearly missed. This was the first conference of its kind to help facilitators and providers from around the world come together and discuss the administering of Iboga and Ibogaine. What resulted was the beginning of the Global Ibogaine Therapy Alliance, an organization dedicated to supporting providers with training, screening guidelines, lessons learned, techniques and discoveries. GITA is an international community of over 40 facilitators. In October of 2010, Ben De Loenen & ICEERS sponsored the the Second International Ibogaine Facilitators Conference in Barcelona, Spain, where experts from the United States, Israel, Brasil and South Africa presented to the Catalonian Ministry of Health. We are working together to make a standard for safe practice, ethics, patient & client rights, as well as proper protocols for the treatment of substances which are currently dominating human culture. We recognize all styles: the clinical and medical field, the spiritual, naturopathic field, the underground communities, the one on one or psychotherapeutic providers, as well as the traditional Bwitist’s presentation of this plant medicine’s use. We encourage people looking to Ibogaine to find the provider that speaks to your heart and can address your individual needs.