129 | Iboga Initiation Reflections: Missoko to Fang Bwiti w/ Paije Alexandra West
“Healing is seeking. Integration is seeing.”
Subscribe and leave a review!
In this intimate conversation, I welcome back my Iboga provider, and twice-initiated Bwiti practitioner Paije Alexandra West. With intention and care, Paije shares about her recent initiation into the Fang branch of the Bwiti tradition in Gabon. This is ultimately a conversation about what it means to walk the path of service with Iboga.
Paije shares carefully about her journey from working in ibogaine clinics to becoming a ceremonial iboga provider, and how initiation has shaped her life, her family, and her work with her retreat center, ETÈREO in Baja. She opens up about the realities of being a provider—the intensity, responsibility, and beauty of holding this medicine—and offers fresh insight into the role of women’s voices in the iboga space.
Thank you to our Sponsors:
Happy Mushrooms
Yes, those kind of mushrooms.
These DIY grow kits are the easiest way for you to grow all mushrooms at home. All the hard work has been done so all you have to do is wait and harvest.
✅ Premium Genetics
✅ Top Quality Genetics for Faster Results
✅ Clear and simple instructions
✅ Grow your own mushrooms in just weeks
Happy Growing!
Use LANA15 at checkout to save 15% off
Topics Covered:
Paije’s journey through two Bwiti initiations: Missoko and Fang
The differences between Fang and Missoko initiations—feminine vs. masculine energy, receiving vs. doing
What it’s really like to step into a Bwiti "spiritual clinic" in Gabon
Lessons from iboga on trust, resilience, simplicity, and the practical steps of living
The importance of psychological safety in medicine work and how providers can cultivate it
The rising conversation around ibogaine, and why indigenous and female voices must be included
Etéreo’s vision for a long-term retreat center in Baja and a new nonprofit dedicated to reciprocity
LISTEN
Things Mentioned in This Episode
Show Links:
About Lana Pribic:
Lana Pribic, M.Sc., is an ICF Professional Coach, co-founder of Kanna Wellness, and producer & host of the Modern Psychedelics Podcast. With over 230 hours of professional training and four coaching certifications, Lana specializes in psychedelically-informed coaching, guiding individuals through profound inner transformation. Based in Ontario, she merges the power of psychedelics, consciousness, and self-discovery to facilitate deeply impactful experiences. When she's not immersed in her work, you'll likely find her dancing to electronic beats, creating art in the kitchen, practicing patience with her cat, curating her dream wardrobe, or diving into a book.
Looking for a professional coach to support you on your psychedelic path?
Look no further! Along with being the host of the Modern Psychedelics Podcast, Lana is a 3x certified professional coach who works with people on the psychedelic path.
-
129 - Paije Alexandra West pt. 2 (AD FREE)
Lana Pribic: [00:00:00] Hello everyone. I am here with my dear friend and Iboga provider and just Medicine woman, baddie. Is that what I call you,
Paije Alexandra West: It is what you call me.
Lana Pribic: Batty Medicine woman? Yeah. Paige Alexandra West. Welcome back to the show.
Paije Alexandra West: I am so grateful and happy to be here. I always love being in conversation with you, Lana.
Lana Pribic: Yes. And we have been so blessed to spend a lot of time together this last year or so. It's been fun.
Paije Alexandra West: It certainly has.
Lana Pribic: Yeah. Can you give people, 'cause I think a lot of people listening will probably have heard your first episode. But can you give us just a brief intro to yourself and your work?
Paije Alexandra West: Of course, I am Paije, Alexandra West, and I am an IBOGA and five MEO provider. I have worked with master plants and molecules for about 12 years now. I am an international retreat host and [00:01:00] the founder of Etereo in Baja, California sewer. I live in Toto Santos with my family, and we provide retreats, ceremonies, intentional events, and I think that's about it.
I'm a bwiti initiate, of course, that's a big part of my path. A twice, bwiti initiate. So that's a big piece as well. I also am a doula, psychedelic doula. And that's a perspective that I draw from that maybe some of you have already heard us have conversations about.
Lana Pribic: That was our first episode and today we're gonna focus much more on Iboga your initiations, what it's like to be a provider, what's going on in the iboga world right now. So I'm really excited 'cause Yeah, you are such a refreshing voice in the Iboga world for me, and I'm sure for many listeners.
So can you give us a glimpse into what your [00:02:00] life has been like for the past couple of months, or maybe even like in 2025, it's been a really big year for you, and lead us into the big experience that you just had.
Paije Alexandra West: Yes, absolutely. So I'll just give a slight preamble. I've been working with medicine for a long time. I started out in Ibogiane clinics. I have worked with, the isolated alkaloid. I transitioned to working with, the full spectrum medicine, iboga root bark, along with the total alkaloid extract.
And I worked under a western teacher for quite some time training. And I was initiated into the Miss Soko branch of Bwiti. Let's see, I guess it was 2021 and became an iboga provider shortly after of course training with a wonderful teacher Becoming an Iboga provider [00:03:00] was really a huge accomplishment for me.
I feel that in many ways it's like getting your PhD in plant medicine because it is such a huge responsibility. There's a tradition that you really have to honor and respect. There are medical contraindications and there's a strong medical piece. And so transitioning into being an Ebo a provider, it really taught me what it meant to be part of a team.
And I had always collaborated with people. I had co-facilitators in the past, but this is business language, but it felt like independent contractors, right? Like it was like coming in and out, but. To make the choice to become an iboga provider, I had to bring together a team that I really trusted [00:04:00] and learn how to lean on them and learn how to lead in a much bigger way.
We have a team of, at minimum 13 people, it's continuing to grow therapists, medical personnel other co-facilitators that are also initiated. And so for me, on a more personal level, I really love talking about the truth of what it means to be a provider, I think a lot of people maybe look at being a guide of plant medicine as glamorous maybe.
And in many ways it is not. In most ways it is not. So the truth of it is it's quite intense and it's. Its own initiation. So moving through that has been beautiful and so important and valuable. And working together in this group is one of the greatest sort of thresholds I've [00:05:00] crossed in my life.
I spent a lot of time as a lone wolf. I was a 5-MEO provider for a long time. I floated around clinics and did my thing. And so yeah, that, that was a huge initiation in and of itself. I started working with a new teacher that I'm so proud to call a friend and a guide. Her name is Audrey Hofer and she is the founder of Bwiti Roots.
She has a wonderful story that I will let her speak and tell. But she is a lineage keeper and she is Gabonesse, her father is French, her mother is Albanese, and her whole Gabonesse family has a beautiful village in Gabon. And I started working with her over the last year and deepening our relationship.
And so I decided it was definitely time to explore what it means to be initiated into the Fang branch of [00:06:00] Bwiti. And so I just got back only a few weeks ago from a second initiation with the Fang in Gabon with the folks from Bwiti Roots. So that's what's been going on with
Lana Pribic: She's fresh.
Paije Alexandra West: year.
Lana Pribic: Yeah. Fresh, newborn baby. Well, thank you for taking the time at this particular time to drop in and just capture what's alive for you right now. 'cause it's obviously such a special time. So tell us what the experience was like for you in Gabon just now. And of course there's so little that you can share about the initiation process and the tradition, but anything that you're able to share with people that you would like to share around what the process was like for you and what it was like to be back in Gabon.
Being called to initiation, I think it comes from the deepest [00:07:00] level of your soul. It's something that you have to do. That has been my experience. And what I have seen in my colleagues and friends who've also been initiated, it comes from very deep inside of yourself knowing that this is something you have to do.
Paije Alexandra West: And I have really wanted to expand my understanding of Bwiti. And I, as a Western person I know that I can only scratch the surface. I am not under the guise that I can go anywhere deep as a lineage keeper or as a person who has the ancestral connection or bloodline. But that being said, iboga and the Bwiti tradition has changed my life and to be dedicated to this lineage and this tradition has become so important to me.
And I think as a provider, I [00:08:00] really wanted to. Expand and grow and shift outside of this narrative that there is one way and you have to follow one particular branch or village or this closed energy. Yes, one particular teacher. I think that, when the student is ready, the teacher appears as some wise one once said.
And so I've had many teachers in my life and guides and mentors, and I remember asking Audrey because my experience, again, was a little bit closed. It was this closed sort of dare I say, gatekeeping energy. In my experience before when I entered initiation and going to Gabon.
And I asked Audrey, is it okay that I've been initiated into Missoko? Can I still learn from your family and learn from you [00:09:00] and the Fang branch? And she said, absolutely. If you want to learn about Bwiti, learn about it all. Go to all of the different branches or as many as you can and deepen your study of Bwiti.
For those who may not know, Bwiti is an overarching tradition and it's maybe the trunk of a tree and there are all these beautiful branches that come from it. And
Lana Pribic: a tribe,
Paije Alexandra West: no, it is
Lana Pribic: a lot of people call the Bwiti tribe. Yeah, not,
Paije Alexandra West: It's a tradition. It's a tradition. And it's also not a religion. Right. It's not a religion, it's a tradition.
And so I wanted to have a deeper understanding of the tradition, I felt such a strong connection to Audrey and I knew it was time and my wonderful co-facilitator and dear sister and business partner Ixhcel and I went together for the second time. We were also initiated into the Missoko together first, before we were co-facilitating together, before we were, really deep in Etèreo together.
And [00:10:00] it was a beautiful experience to be there with her again. And as I think many of us know who have a relationship with master plants and molecules, the ceremony or the initiation starts long before you are actually in it and you've stepped into the temple. So the initiation piece of course, started many weeks, pretty much as soon as I said yes, and it was working me and.
Expanding my perception and understanding and putting a big, beautiful mirror right in front of my face as our ceremonies and initiations do. And I had decided to do something for myself for the first time in a really long time and spend a little time in Europe prior which was really meaningful to me because I put my heart and soul into my [00:11:00] work.
And I'm also a mother, and so I'm always giving, giving, giving. So I got to replenish myself for a bit of time. But even that was its own mirror and its own deepening. And so I finally landed in Gabon. And what it means to be, I think on the continent of Africa is pretty powerful. For any of you who have been to that continent, I think that there's something about it that is so primordial, you just feel the energy immediately.
I think we've all felt the energy of special places and as soon as I land there, I'm like, whoa, this is so full on. And there's just like a huge level of expansion and also a groundedness in the energy there. And so we drove quite a ways into the forest. It [00:12:00] was about seven hours in a tiny four by four pickup truck.
There's a couple Gabonese guys in the bed with our luggage and we're like packed in like sardines. Audrey had her four month old baby there in the car the whole time, and I just in the village the whole time. And that was just so beautiful to witness what it really means to be in a village, right?
We talk about like how it takes a village to raise a family, and we always talk about community, but to witness it in that way was pretty powerful. But yeah, the roads out to the village are a little treacherous. It was pretty intense. So it, it started right then. It started right then. And we arrived and we're introduced to this beautiful family that were so warm and welcoming and kind, and they fed us a little dinner, a little bush, meat and rice, just simple food.
I had learned from my first experience in Gabon to [00:13:00] expect nothing and everything, expect the unexpected. And so I think that the, I guess the best way to put it, like the culture shock of a totally new environment and being in such a simple space, a space so deeply connected to nature and the forest and this way of being.
I always talk aboutmy noticing of the relationship to time in Gabon. It's like everything's happening right now, or hurry up and wait. There are no Google calendars. There are no alerts. There's no oh, it's this time and it's time to go. And even that is difficult to dismantle as a westerner.
So the first time we went, we were always like, do you think it's gonna happen now? What do we think is gonna happen next? And the second time I was like, I gotta let all that go. That's not even present for me. So that was so helpful to have that context. In some ways it was easier than [00:14:00] my first initiation and in other ways infinitely more challenging.
Right? So going in, we go into a spiritual clinic and that's where you spend much of your time and
Lana Pribic: Sorry, can I interrupt you for a second? What, what, What do you mean by spiritual clinic?
Paije Alexandra West: So important. And that's actually Ixchel second name is Spiritual clinic.
Lana Pribic: What? That's so funny.
Paije Alexandra West: I know.
Lana Pribic: She's the spiritual
Paije Alexandra West: she is the
Lana Pribic: We love you Hil,
Paije Alexandra West: We love you Hil.
Yeah. So the spiritual clinic, it is a place for healing and purification and it is a place that people go when they are ill or going through challenges or experiencing a blockage.
And that could be from any level of perception. It could be from mental, spiritual, emotional, or physical. [00:15:00] And my understanding is that in Bwiti is. They're all connected. It's not just one isolated, oh, I'm experiencing this from a mental space. It's also spiritual. It's also likely physical and emotional.
That is what the spiritual clinic
Lana Pribic: Okay. And are they using, well, yeah. I don't know if you can actually share what actually happens in there, but I imagine like different plans and stuff, or I imagine that they have their Bwiti tools to these operations or surgeries in the clinic
Paije Alexandra West: Uhhuh, yes. Extra things like extractions and cord cutting and cleansing and, things that we are familiar with. I think to some degree if we're connected to a spiritual life. I certainly do need to respect the tradition and be discreet, but I can share a few things.
What I will say is the clinic is, it's a very simple space. It is uh, you know, dirt floors and it has a beautiful little courtyard where Iboga is [00:16:00] growing everywhere, which was just so magical and emotional to be around the plant in that way. And yes, a very simple space. And you are really not, you're not to leave the space for the duration of a week.
And when you arrive you, you are putting full trust, you're like handing over your luggage, everything. No phone, no toothbrush, no anything, just a skirt that they give you and yourself. That's it. Nothing,
and so you really go in essentially back into the womb, right?
So you even walk backwards into the clinic because it's as if you're being sucked back up into the womb. As with many spiritual traditions, there are very specific ways of doing things and patterns and rituals and things like that. And I can tell you a little bit about the space itself, which is there are, no bed.
No pillows, [00:17:00] no blankets. You're really sleeping in a really simple environment with just yourself and you in that skirt. It's just you in that skirt. Um, you know, Often on a bed of plants that are protected, protective, rather many cleansings, morning, afternoon, night. And what I've come to understand is that Bwiti really teaches us about our strength and resilience and our knowing, right?
We strip away everything so we can really see our truth and our knowing. So with the Fang. In my limited understanding from one initiation, it's a very feminine experience. And I mean that in the way that you are constantly receiving it is a time of receiving and actually quite a bit of stillness to [00:18:00] receive your cleansing and to purify yourself, not because you're dirty, of course, like it's not this purity culture that some of us may have experience with.
It's more like, um, a readying, a readying and a testing of strength. And readying yourself for iboga and readying yourself, for entering the spirit world and connecting with your ancestors, with the Bwiti, ancestors, and your spiritual guides. My understanding of the Missoko branch it's much more masculine.
And I mean that in the way of doing an action. And so at times during my mis soko initiation, it felt like a frenetic obstacle course. Like now we're going here and now we're going here and we're going into the forest. And it's a washing and a [00:19:00] cleansing and a going through this tunnel and doing this dance, and a lot of movement, which is also teaching us about our strength and resilience because you have to really have a stamina to keep going and.
I'll also say as far as some of the differences between Fang and Missoko. So Fang, again, receiving Missoko a lot of doing And action. there are two different harps that each branch work with. So the Morongo is the Missoko harp and it has a much lower frequency. And my understanding is that it is a deepening and going down into yourself, which any of us who have sat with Iboga or have read about Iboga may understand that is a huge part of the journey is going down down, down into yourself and in Fang.[00:20:00]
Yes, you are, you are going deep into yourself with iboga, but the energy of the harp and the way the harp communicates with us. It's a higher frequency, and so it takes us up and out into the spirit world. I felt that my actual journey with Iboga was there was a lighter energy, but I don't mean that in a good versus bad or black and white, I mean. an energy of going up and it's almost like spirit's coming down to me versus in Missoko I am like excavating deep into myself. And so I think that the energy of the harp and the sound of the harp really leads that, you know how that Bwiti music really is such a big part of the journey. So the harps are very important and. [00:21:00] The Bwiti practice animism and animism is the knowing that everything has a spirit. So the moon has a spirit, the trees have a spirit, a stone has a spirit, musical instruments have a spirit. And so what I was able to witness with the Fang was a really powerful dedication to the Gombe, which is the Fang harp.
And her name is Madam Josephine. And she is everything. And
Lana Pribic: the name of the harp spirit.
Paije Alexandra West: yes. And I had visions of the harp, at the top of the earth, like an axis. And the earth was spinning and There was golden light all around the earth. And it was very clear to me that the harp has been orchestrating everything since the beginning of time.
So trippy stuff, right? So I think [00:22:00] when it comes to initiation, it's all about trusting the process. It's all about trusting the process. You really have to trust the people that you're with. And I am so grateful to the beautiful women who took care of us there. This is a women-led village, which was another reason that Ixchel and I were very called to go be with the people there.
And to see these women in their power and the respect that was held and the deep knowing that they had in every sense was just magnificent to witness such kindness. Very stern. Very stern. There's a time for laughter and there's a time for seriousness. And it's important to know the difference and so generous.
So generous with their wisdom. So accepting of me [00:23:00] and Hil as providers, giving us guidance, giving us tools, undergoing specific rituals. Saying this will help you to see what your clients need to see what the people who come to you need. To have such a welcoming and intimate experience. I would also say it was quite intimate, simply because the Bwiti speak French and then their indigenous dialect as well, so they speak Fang.
So there are some different words too, from Fang to Missoko to Dosumba, to pou, all the different types of branches. And so Audrey, who is the niece of the main Nema there? Nema is the Bwiti, one of the Bwiti words for shaman, if we wanna use that word. So the main Nima is her aunt, and she is training Audrey to be in Nema.
And so Audrey is Western and is, translating [00:24:00] everything. And so it feels so intimate. It's not like an outsider translator. And it felt so, so intimate and again, just so generous with so much information and so many teachings. Mm-hmm.
Lana Pribic: Know what's coming up for me as you're sharing about all of this is I feel like the way that you are reflecting about your experience with Audrey and your Fang initiation. I feel like I had a lot of the same sentiments about how I felt in your care and in the care of team Etéreo when I was doing Iboga with you guys.
The trust and the safety. And I love how you and Audrey had an established relationship before doing the medicine together, and I think that's so important and I, it'd be curious to maybe have a think or a conversation about how to build that trust and safety with your clients as a provider even before, because [00:25:00] I really do know that trust and safety that is there, like it allowed me to go as deep as I did.
And it sounds like it also allowed you to go.
As deep as you did. That trust element and that safety and the word I've been using a lot since the experience with you is psychological safety. 'cause I didn't realize how important that is to feel like psychologically safe.
What have you been learning through your own work and your own initiations about what it takes to trust and to feel safe as a participant and how you bring that into your work as a provider and facilitator.
Paije Alexandra West: I love this question and reflection. What an honor to hear you say that you felt so safe with us. Well, I think everyone's idea of safety is different, and so that's something that you need to really hold and [00:26:00] respect when you're working with others and when you are a caregiver.
As a provider for a container, like a ceremonial experience, you often have a very short period of time to build that trust. I've been in many therapeutic containers, And some for many years where I have a therapist I remember so clearly I had this wonderful therapist who was like in her early seventies.
She was incredible. And I saw her regularly for about four years. Shout out to Susan, she is a queen. And so about two years in, she said to me, no one is coming to save you. And the way that I received that, because of the level of trust that was built, had she said that first couple sessions, I would be like, no, thank you lady.
Why would you say that to me? So confronting, I think it's a lesson [00:27:00] all of us have to remember, right? That's a universal truth. And what I've noticed in my many years of being a provider is we really do have such a short period of time. I don't have two years with people. I sometimes have about two months, from prep, maybe two to three months,
From prep all the way to some, short term integration. And we have referrals and we pass people off so they can have longer term integration care. Because I also learned that I can't do it all.
Lana Pribic: It's all in the team.
Paije Alexandra West: It's all in the team. It's all in those referrals. It's all in that network, right? And so I think that inviting people to be brave is also a really great invitation.
It's a great tool, but it has to be done with a lot of care. So creating as much safety as you can. [00:28:00] Really listening, I think listening is the most important thing. You really have to listen and have a high level attunement. It's not about regurgitating your spiel. It's not about saying the same thing to every group and every person that comes your way because this is how it's done.
it's about listening. What does safety mean to this person, and how can we carry that thread through? So it's just implied. It's implied, it is the foundation. And once that foundation is set, hopefully, we have an understanding that it can shift and change when we're in vulnerable states, just like consent, right?
And then how do we invite people to be brave and be with themselves? So
Lana Pribic: Yeah. You guys do that.
Paije Alexandra West: we do both, right?
Lana Pribic: You definitely invite people to be brave.
Paije Alexandra West: Uhhuh,
Lana Pribic: Yep. Find their [00:29:00] inner strength and warrior. Not there to baby people.
Paije Alexandra West: Definitely not. I remember when my first Iboga teacher told me that, he said, don't baby them. We don't baby them. And I remember that in my work as a doula too. it's about witnessing and attending and supporting. It's not about coddling, right?
Lana Pribic: Yeah.
Paije Alexandra West: With so much love and kindness.
Lana Pribic: Yeah. Well, yeah. I think you guys do such an amazing job of creating those pillars of safety, not just the physical safety of course, but the psychological, emotional, spiritual safety. And I imagine that you, going through your initiations in Gabon deeply informs how safe you make other people that you are supporting feel to go back to your initiation when you decided to have your second initiation and go back to Africa and meet Iboga again in this way, [00:30:00] was your intention more around your own personal work?
Was it more around, Paije as the iboga provider? Possibly A little bit of both. Can you tell us about that?
Paije Alexandra West: It was absolutely both. I think it has to be a good provider. Whatever that means, a good provider, but I think that when we are caregiving, we are consistently asked to do our own inner work no matter what. And if we're not, that's when things get really messy. And that's when things, yeah.
You have to have that foundation of consistently doing inner work. And if we talk about the Bwiti tradition, there is one perspective that the Bwiti tradition is the study of life, right? And so we have to study our life too. Every person I work with is a tiny mirror or a big mirror, every single one.
I am always learning about myself in every [00:31:00] container. And so for me, my biggest intention. I would say actually was, I think it tips more into personal, and it was really around my work life balance and my family. Pretty normal stuff, like how do I be with my
Lana Pribic: so normal. Yeah.
Paije Alexandra West: It's so normal. It's like I am so passionate about my work and I think that being a medicine woman, it becomes every fiber of your being.
you can't go like one foot in, one foot out, and the same, goes for motherhood. The same goes for my relationship with my husband Fletcher, so I'm all in, in all areas of my life, and I was seeing that There was something that needed tending to, and there was something that really needed a look at, and I am so grateful because I had the most playful, fun, beautiful, deep journey [00:32:00] with Iboga.
I was deeply, physically uncomfortable. Oh my gosh, when I was in my body. And I would say Iboga has such a physical aspect regardless of the set and setting. But I was physically tested in a major way and I would go into my visions. Oh my goodness.
I was laughing, I was playing, I had visions of sitting with my son on the river, having beautiful heart to hearts. He's almost 13, so it's a tender time. So that was a huge part of my intention. And I gained so much, I learned a lot about burnout and not allowing that to happen, which is so real and so possible as caregivers, whether you are a nurse or a therapist, or a frontline worker, a fire chief.
I say that we have a fire chief coming to our next retreat or a plant medicine provider. you know me, I wanna be real. I'm not out here on some mountaintop of enlightenment. I am a real woman who packs her kids lunch in the morning and [00:33:00] also, stays up for 36 hours, supporting people through Iboga.
Lana Pribic: Yeah, it was. a beautiful thing to witness you in person doing your thing. And I have this memory of the retreat where, yeah, you were in the kitchen with the team and you guys were just like talking and laughing and having fun and it was so beautiful to me because I could see that, I don't know, there was like this real connection and this real sense of everyone wanting to be there and everyone truly liking each other.
And I guess what I'm trying to say here is that it allowed me to see how other people see you
Paije Alexandra West: Hmm
Lana Pribic: A real woman. Like Yeah, you're there like running the ship,
Paije Alexandra West: I am the captain, baby.
Lana Pribic: You're the captain.
[00:34:00] Yeah. And it, I don't know what that was, but I was just like, oh it just felt nice to be like, oh, she can also just hang out and I think you were like sharing something you had written and you guys were just like talking and hanging out and I was just like, I don't know. It just felt so.
Nice. And it reminded me of your humanity. And I love that. And also Iboga is so as you're talking about that and you're talking about like, oh, you went to Gabon and did an initiation, which is probably one of the most intense experiences someone can have on this planet. Definitely one of the most intense plant medicine psychedelic experience someone can have.
And you're like talking about how it was teaching you about burnout and just these really practical human things. Can you talk a little bit about like that practicality piece that Iboga has and how you see that unfold? And then I guess how that's different from other medicines? 'cause I think it is that practicality piece of [00:35:00] Iboga that actually keeps iboga people super human, super grounded and just humble and relaxed about life.
Paije Alexandra West: Humble and relaxed. That's a good place to be. Yeah.
Lana Pribic: Yeah.
Paije Alexandra West: I, the practicality is one of my favorite parts of this medicine. It is so meaningful to receive just really straightforward, actionable steps of how to work with your life and the people and your relationships and your path and your past and all of those things.
And with other medicines and every plant spirit, every molecule has its own consciousness it wants to share with us, and they all serve a purpose and they all come into our life at the exact perfect time. I think we've probably, many of us have experienced having a seed planted and then, oh, there it goes.
It sprouts at [00:36:00] the perfect time where it's really time to be with that plant or molecule. And as a sensitive, fierce, emotional woman, I am able to spiral into other dimensions quite easily. I'll just say that I can go on a roll with my mind. I've always been really cerebral and imaginative and, building fairy houses in the forest when I was little.
And I always had a really deep spiritual life. I remember like talking to colors and stuff when I was little, like really interesting things. And so for me, on a personal level, working with Iboga has supported me in those grounded, practical steps. So I don't like spiral off into this other space.
And I've seen that in my clients. I've seen the most beautiful, profound answers to their questions and. They're often [00:37:00] so simple. They're often so, and, and you know, the simplest things are the hardest things at times. I said, I asked Iboga, how can I take better care of my body? And it was like, sleep more and walk more.
I was like, got it, check mark. Okay.
Lana Pribic: know what?
Paije Alexandra West: And it's not to dismiss the complexity and the nuance of the human experience or people's, deep emotional traumas and, issues with substances and all the things that people come to Iboga for and grief. Think about the complexity of grief.
It's, there's so much that people come to us for it and I deeply respect their stories and their life and their journey. Like I just bow down to everybody who comes. It's my favorite part is like hearing people's stories and. What they carried and how they got here, and now they're here at this Ebo retreat, and it's just so beautiful, like the synchronicities and all of that stuff.
So it's never to dismiss the complexity of the human experience, but it is to [00:38:00] remember that you just have to take the next right step. Mm-hmm.
Lana Pribic: Sometimes. Yes. Best advice ever
it's such good advice, but also, sometimes life feels and seems so complex because we overcomplicate things. And for me personally, Iboga has been a medicine that has really showed me how much I like to complicate things that are really not that complicated.
And it really has this way of just stripping things down to the basics and the simple truth of it all.
Paije Alexandra West: The simple truth. Sleep more and walk more. Okay.
Lana Pribic: That's it. Yeah.
Paije Alexandra West: I also got a really clear message. It is the phone. You think? It's not the phone. It's the phone. It's the phone. It was like in every which way. It was like, it's the phone.
Lana Pribic: Yeah. Ah,
Paije Alexandra West: I know. It's the phone. We're all addicted to the phone.
Lana Pribic: It's so bad. It's so bad. Yeah. I had that, that, that vision as well. The phone and the astronaut in space. Iboga is just out here trying to get us off our phones, which is a worthy cause.[00:39:00]
Paije Alexandra West: Yes, it's a worthy cause, you know, but I, I, I think, I love how funny it can be with something like that, right? The way it was saying it to me was so like, snarky, and that's a favorite aspect of Iboga. It has this reputation for being so intense and, deep and maybe dark and magnifying and confronting, but it is hilarious.
Lana Pribic: Yeah. Thank you for bringing that to my awareness. Yeah, it really is funny 'cause I didn't realize it was funny until I realized it was funny. I was like, oh, it's being funny. Well, there's a lot going on in the world right now around this medicine, and it's quite a time for this plant which is why we're having conversations like this to bring in that nuanced perspective.
And I know something that you're really passionate about is more women representation in the iboga world and the iboga space. I wanna talk about that and I also wanna talk about iboga and what's going on with that right now. [00:40:00] perhaps there's a connection there. Yeah, let's start with whichever one you wanna start with.
Let's go there.
Paije Alexandra West: Well, I think female voices are always so important, and I think even before that, indigenous voices and lineage keeper voices. And I think that it's really connected actually, because Ibogaine is a. Wonderful alkaloid and it has so much promise and I am not a person who says Iboga is better.
It's always a both and conversation for me, just like Fang and Missoko, it's both and it's not either or. And so,
Lana Pribic: mEO. Yeah.
Paije Alexandra West: yes,
Lana Pribic: Yep.
Paije Alexandra West: And so Ibogiane is an isolated alkaloid that attends to so many things. And of course what it's most infamous for is interrupting opiate [00:41:00] addiction.
I think that these containers are crucial and they can often be an entry point for people. We're actually working on doing a case study at at Etereo where it follows a thread of. People who sit with Ibogaine first interrupt an addiction or interrupt, some type of mental health challenge or A TBI or the various reasons people go to ibogaine.
And then following the thread of coming to an IBOGA experience later and seeing the effect of really working with both, with some time in between, of course. But we have a lot of people who come to us and say, I sat with Ibogaine, but I am looking for a ceremonial experience. I want to learn more about this plant.
I want to understand what I can about the Bwiti tradition. And I don't think that Iboga and Bwiti should be separated. I [00:42:00] do think that there should be. A broader conversation about iboga and Bwiti and really honoring the place that this came from and not leaving people out of the conversation. They are the conversation, they're the root of it all.
So I think that's so important. And there are so many beautiful alkaloids in root bark and they need to be studied and they have a symbiosis and they have a way of working together that is very different than ibogaine. It's this one isolated alkaloid. It's like using one color of, on your paint set.
I'm just gonna use this one color. But what about, the whole rainbow, right?
So I think it's really important. I know ibogaine is having a huge moment right now, and I think it's important and I'm happy it's happening, but we really, I'm, we're launching a nonprofit [00:43:00] and it's called the Stone West Foundation, and it's all about reciprocity and it's all about a scholarship fund because I think that's a blockage that I experience a lot in my work is I want people to be able to have these experiences and not just with us.
It'll also benefit ibogaine clinics. It'll also benefit people who want to experience an initiation. So a wide variety, but having this foundation, I'm hoping will expand people's understanding of ibogaine and understanding that they have to be. Acknowledged the bou tea tradition needs to be a big part of the conversation.
Not just, some YouTube video at a conference that everyone's raving about, but like, where are the actual indigenous people at this conference? 'cause I see a lot of white doctors up there, and doctors are important. We love doctors, but we need more representation to be sure. And I also, I want, as part of the foundation, I want there to be an initiative around education.
So [00:44:00] educating Iboga clinics, we support Iboga clinics. And we often refer out when it's not the right, fit for Iboga. And a lot of these clinics I talk to, they don't know much about Bwiti. They don't know much. They're buying medicine from Iboga World online, and I'm like, you guys like whoa.
And listen. A wise teacher once told me, iboga is for everyone, but not everyone has to take it.
Lana Pribic: Yeah.
Paije Alexandra West: Initiation is for everyone, but not everyone needs to undergo it.
Lana Pribic: Yeah. And how do you feel about just how Ibogaine is being talked about right now publicly and also the severe lack of acknowledgement for the plant and the tradition that it comes from? And I know you and I have talked about this, about how a large majority of the people talking about ibogaine right now are men.
It's definitely a lot [00:45:00] of men and I love men. I'm not a men hater,
we love men.
Paije Alexandra West: We love men. We love men, but female voices are important. And I'm really proud to be a female led iboga retreat. I think you saw how beautifully my husband Fletcher supports and really wants me to be in my power as the captain of the ship.
Lana Pribic: It's so inspiring wow.
Paije Alexandra West: Yeah. And so Ixchel and I are like, we're the initiated ones. We lead it, and Fletch is a protector and a beautiful facilitator that I couldn't do it without, but his role is it's so many things, but a huge part of his role is like supporting me so I can hold it all.
Lana Pribic: And I will say, just to give Fletcher a little bit of a shout out, he is quite sharp when it comes to actually supporting, 'cause when we were going over my questions in, was it in between the two ceremonies? I forget. But when we were going in, be going over my [00:46:00] questions, he came up with the one that was like, that was the one that was the question I needed to be asking.
And so yeah, just a shout out to Fletcher and his sweet, yet grounded and structured ways of operating and being and just everything he adds to the container and Yeah,
Paije Alexandra West: the absolute best. I am his biggest fan and he is a lead facilitator. It's not like he's in the background by any means. He's absolutely lead facilitator. He trained with our Iboga teacher, so it's not that he is. And he is an initiated
Lana Pribic: he very clearly holds you and the team. In your power, which is so beautiful.
Paije Alexandra West: Is, he's the best. So all that being said, we love men, but we also really want women to be in their power. And we're very powerful beings that have so much to give in this realm. And so I'm so proud to, again, be a female led iboga retreat. Yeah.
Lana Pribic: Yeah. [00:47:00] Proud of you too. And you mentioned at the start of our interview that one of your intentions for meeting Iboga in this way again was to like expand your understanding of Bwiti. I know you're still like pretty fresh out of your initiation, so of course things are still landing, but how is your understanding and your connection to Bwiti expanding and changing and shifting?
Paije Alexandra West: It was such an expansive experience to see Bwiti, being conducted in a different way through a different branch. And so yes, there are steps that you take and there are rituals and prayers and ways of working with the medicine under their tradition. And I felt this, flow happening too.
I think I said this to you the other day, it's [00:48:00] like being served a dish with the same ingredients but by a different person. Or maybe same ingredients, but like different actual plate of food, right? It also has ending in garlic or whatever, but it's has totally different vibe and so to see, the meto torch and the pelt and the masks and all the things that I have such a familiarity with.
Being worked with and used the mass Suzu baths and the cleansing rituals and all of these things. So it just really expanded my understanding of yes, of course there's a tradition to follow, but there's also no right way because it's different village by village. And so we're our own expression of a, of Western Iboga provider.
So I am so excited to expand and grow our practice with what we've learned from the [00:49:00] Fung. We've learned new prayers, new ways of opening, so like some practical things that are great. And having a deeper understanding of what spiritual protection means. That is huge and. Again, I've been working in this realm of expanded states of consciousness for over a decade, and my own protection rituals are strong and they're about to be stronger, so cool to witness.
I'm still integrating, of course, and I can't wait until our November retreat because it will be such a beautiful time of coming back together with the team, Ixchel and I, many more new stories to share on the fire and yeah, new ways of protecting the temple, new ways of interacting, new ways of consultations, and working with these beautiful tools, many of which are behind me.
I've got a torch. I got a mask,
Lana Pribic: Yeah, I've been staring at that [00:50:00] mask this whole time. It's so beautiful. Yeah. Well, maybe this is actually a good time to share with people what you have coming up in terms of offerings. If people are interested in coming to see you for either Iboga, and I know you and Fletcher are also serving other medicines, can you share what the next six months to a year is looking like for people listening?
Etereo has a sort of trifecta of three medicines we work with. Iboga is a pillar, is our primary offering, and then we offer five MEO and that's in retreat settings and also individual ceremonies. And then we also offer Wachuma. So my husband Fletcher is Ro initiated and he takes the lead and I take a support role in those containers.
Paije Alexandra West: And he holds the medicine really beautifully and with such care. So those three medicines are our offerings. Just to share, Wachuma is San Pedro, it's a mescalin containing cactus, and it's connected to a tradition of the high Andes in Peru. And they're all very [00:51:00] cohesive medicines.
So wachuma can be a wonderful tool of preparation or integration and of course as a standalone offering. And same goes for five MEO. That being said, we are very conservative about multiple medicines in one container. We really like to have, the energy of the plant or molecule to have lots of space to breathe.
And so we offer boutique iboga retreats, right? So we are not a revolving door of retreats. And it's really important to keep all of our guests really safe. From all four levels of perception, right? Mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, as well as our team. So we don't wanna be in a space of burnout because it takes a lot of care to be with people in this space.
It's often staying up for over 24 hours at a time, et cetera, et cetera. So that being said, our next Iboga retreat, we have, I [00:52:00] believe, two spaces left for November 8th through the 15th. Our retreat after that is February 14th through the 21st, and then so on until next summer where we take our summer break because it's very hot where we live in Toto, Santos, Mexico.
So you can find our greater retreat calendar on our website at the baja dot max and all of that good stuff. Yeah.
Lana Pribic: amazing and such a perfect time to share that. I will be there joining your retreat in November, which I'm so grateful for. that will be really special to come back and be with you guys and learn about the medicine from the other side, which is a different experience, isn't it?
Paije Alexandra West: it sure is.
Lana Pribic: someone in their process.
Paije Alexandra West: Yeah, that peek behind the curtain is so cool. And we're so lucky we have so many people that always wanna come help, because people get so inspired and it's always such a pleasure to have someone come and be a helper [00:53:00] and see a little bit about what it's like on the other side.
Lana Pribic: Yeah. No, such a huge honor and so useful for someone like me who's doing prep and integration coaching for people. So excited. So yeah, for people listening maybe see you in November or maybe Paije will see you in another one of the retreats. Is there anything that you really wanna share here about your recent initiation your work, anything that we haven't covered that just feels really alive for you today?
Paije Alexandra West: Well, I really just wanna express my deepest gratitude to the country of Gabon and to the Bwiti people, to the incredible master plant, iboga and the forest itself for holding me and my dear friend Hil. It's just an unbelievable honor, so I just wanna speak that out into the world into existence. And then as far as my work, we are Bwitilding our own center [00:54:00] and, most of our offerings are actually out at our land, everything but Iboga, because Iboga is an eight day container and it just requires, for most people, I'm sure that some people could be a little bit more flexible with the environment, but for most people, you wanna feel really comfortable and cozy.
And we like to provide a luxury experience. And so we are in the process of building our permanent lodging out at the land, and we are fundraising and we are looking for people who feel in alignment with this project and just wanna connect. So if anybody out there is. Interested in our perspective at Etereo and feeling called to support the project.
We would love it. We're really excited. We partnered with a beautiful retreat venue here. It's called Proto Palma, and it's a wonderful facility and we'll be working with them for the foreseeable future until we Bwitild out. So just wanna name [00:55:00] them, shout out to them. We are so grateful to have them hold us for our iboga retreats.
And yeah, if anybody wants to learn about, Etereo, Baja is out there in the world. So
I think that's it.
Lana Pribic: Yeah, it's definitely worthwhile to pursue looking into Etereo is what I wanna say. I think what you guys are doing is really special and for people listening, I did have the opportunity to visit the land out there. You guys gave me a tour and showed me where everything was gonna be and the vision.
And I'm just so excited to be supporting and involved even in the smallest, tiniest way because it's so special and I really appreciate the longevity. The vision that you guys are bringing. And it just shows the level of commitment, because this is not a quick one year project. This is probably like a five to 10 year.
Like you guys are in it and you're committed. And I think that speaks bounds about not just the [00:56:00] land and the property that you're building, but just your approach to this work. And having that long-term vision is something that is ironically, really rare in the Iboga world. 'cause I feel like in the Iboga world, a lot of retreats get up and running really quickly.
So yeah, just super, lots of respect and admiration and love for you guys and everything that you're doing.
Paije Alexandra West: Oh, we love you too, Lana. Thank you so much for the support and yeah, it's a big project. It's 24 acres and, pretty expansive and yeah, we wanna be around for a long time and be available to the greater community and it's like a legacy project and it's not about us, it's about Etereo and it's about the work and the indigenous people, and the lineage keepers and the medicine and yeah.
Lana Pribic: speaking of animism, right? Like the spirit of, it's
Paije Alexandra West: uh,
Lana Pribic: It's felt. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. Well, thank you so [00:57:00] much for dropping in with us during this special time for you.
Paije Alexandra West: Thank you Lana.
Lana Pribic: Yeah. We'll talk soon.
Paije Alexandra West: We'll talk soon.
