Topic: Responsibility of a Sitter

[taterboard]

hola eboka! i posted this question in another forum (http://forums.mycotopia.net/storming-gates/68041-responsibility-sitter.html) but since it directly concerns ibogaine im sure ill get some great ideas from all you guys.

i know that most of us, especially myself, trip for fun. of course we learn a lot and grow as individuals/collective but the motivating force behind it all is usually a positive sense of fun. the universe is a humorous place. but what about when were the sitter? what sort of responsibility should we have then?

as a sitter your role changes from being under the influence of the Psychedelic Experience  to being the influence of the experience. thats pretty powerful in and of itself!

im going somewhere with this but i wanna hear a little feedback 1st. have you ever been the sitter? what was your perception of the voyage for those you were caring for? is it right to direct the flow of experience towards sensitive areas, risking to upset the recreational aspect of the trip?

discuss!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yogin
The sitters job is to keep the vibes good and also to be there if comforting is needed but overall not to impose his/her projections on how the trip should go but just to gently guide the tripper if they get stuck and keep the situation safe from outside disturbances.
i agree but i also feel like there is more to it. im not saying we ought to project any intentions that we havent made perfectly clear initially (e.g. "i want to help you with ______") but the psychedelic state is a very special thing and it can be utilized to facilitate healing and psychological well-being.

weve been taught by the plants. weve learned many incredibly valuable lessons. our lives have been affected as a result. i dont like throwin the word "shaman" around but damnit, were the shamans lol

ill post on it some more tomorrow once i get some rest and can put my thoughts together. but ill summarize it as: we can change the world, one trip at a time.

ok heres a better explanation so you can all get where im going with this: i may soon be the sitter in a psychedelic therapy session. it will be monitored by trained professionals but ill be one of the only people present who has a close relationship with the person receiving treatment. the goal is to look back over the years and remember details as to where this person got off-track and what they must do to heal. they know that each of the sitters will behave in a different capacity but my role will simply be there as someone who loves them very much and only wants to see positive change.

im not exactly a sensitive "lets talk about how we feel" kinda person but this is an issue thats close to my heart for intensely personal reasons. so i should probably get a little practice in and i knew you all would wanna participate, in a capacity lol

im preparing a series of non-intrusive thought-provoking questions that are inherently neutral but i know will bring up some of the junk that has made this session necessary. im not trying to directly bring up painful or humiliating memories but im preparing myself to handle that in a tactful, responsible, and loving manner. its gonna be a bumpy ride, if you know what i mean.

im workin on my series of questions and conversation topics (saved for appropriate times in the course of the trip when they feel ready to discuss it) and ill post a draft in the next day or two when i feel comfortable with what direction i wanna take. the person receiving the therapy is aware ill be asking them questions and has given me consent to do so.

hopefully this works.

[GratefulDad]

I think, if you are speaking about ibo, your main job will be support and help.  Being there to listen to a patient, and how they feel, is the most important.  Ibo will do the teaching.  You can help by keeping them motivated after the trip.  Helping them get busy learning new habits.  You won't want to bring up too many difficult things right away, as the person will be worn out and pretty frazzled after an intense session, so reserve discussion for after you get the patient feeling well.  You'll be amazed at some of the revelations a person may come to during, and especially after an ibo experience.  It sounds like your head and heart are in the right place tater, so I think you'll do a wonderful job as a sitter!

[calaquendi]

I second that GD - if you are speaking specifically about being a sitter for an iboga session tater, there is really little to 'do' other than being alert to physical needs of whoever is doing the journey. This includes set and setting. Most of my experience with iboga is personal but I have sat for my brother in a deep flood. Administration of a pre-determined dosing protocol is one important responsibility that sitters accept - this includes knowing what to look for as the person's experience deepens - when to continue or discontinue dosing, etc. But with iboga/ibogaine there is little in the way of directing the experience for a sitter. Not that this can't happen, but usually iboga takes you right where you need to be, it's amazing stuff...Helping someone get up to use the bathroom, or overseeing a purge - typical and basic psychedelic 'first aid' I think. More often than not under the influence of iboga, the person having the trip will not wish to be disturbed - and the sitter can gently check on them every so often to make sure physical needs are met and that they are safe. It seems that most of the discussion comes afterward - it is quite alot to absorb and they may wish to talk once they get their bearings and feel like reflecting. Then, a kind and sensitive ear is always welcome. There is usually insomnia for a while and people are sometimes wobbly for a couple of days after, so these are the kinds of things to look at. It is a big responsibility and a great charge, but also very rewarding to help someone out in such a way. Good questions taterboard - great to have you here!

[Tia Serendipia]

Hey there, great question.

I also like what Yogin had to say, and the way s/he said it.

I am hesitant just to list what I do in a treatment, but it is far, far more than just making the person comfortable. While Iboga does the heavy work with the banzi, there are many ways I contribute.
Some of them, heck, many of them are energetic (read 'magical').

You specifically mentioned guiding his experience to topics he will benefit from having healed or addressed. If this is agreed upon beforehand, this is an idea that can work. Have it be part of the intentions set before the treatment. It may turn out, as GD mentioned, that no assistance from you in this way needed. But I have seen people benefitted greatly from gentle guidance, being reminded why they came to Iboga (from their intentions list), being reminded *they* can ask questions, being reminded they have a 'golden ticket' and can go pretty much to any topic they want to.

The energy coming off someone with Iboga is very, very intense to me. The atmosphere is intense, the room is supercharged and sometimes the whole house. Energy can be directed. I don't know how much to say here.

As mentioned, you bring care, concern and love to the position of sitter. Let Iboga surprise you with it's intensity! Keep talking with your friend about how you will structure this, then be prepared to abandon it if Iboga has other ideas. I think the guided questions would likely be very, very effective for a booster session.

Thanks for the think,
Tia

[Tia Serendipia]

Bump.
I would love to hear from more people on this.

[GratefulDad]

I'll ask Tater to keep us updated, I see him pretty regularly..

[RavAv]

safety -be it physical or emotional
trust,
comfort,
assurance
re-assrance
a reference point (anchor) in reality
nuturance and comfort (hot / cold; blankets; water; cleaning uup the mess )
prayer
and lots of energy stuff

[harveyplex]

I dont think it could be summed up more brief or better !
thanks Ravav !!
you da man .
- hp aka bee

[riverhaven]

I really liked the way Sara in Amsterdam did it for me.  She did a lot of physical work-- walking me to the bathroom, cleaning up vomit etc.... making sure I had water to sip and keeping track of my symptoms to see if I needed more ibogaine.  The ibogaine does the teaching itself-- constantly.  It was pretty awful not sleeping all those hours and I had a lot of withdrawals too... I could have used some benzos for sure.  But she and her helper were just gentle souls who checked on me frequently to see what I needed and that's really all a sitter can do.  I think having someone try to "guide' my experience would have agitated me more. 

[GratefulDad]

I agree..  Iboga does most of the work on the psyche..  It's just up to the sitter to be there to help, love, support, and clean up after the patient while they are incapacitated.  Help to the bathroom, as needed.  Best to leave them undisturbed for much of the trip, because distractions on iboga made me lose whatever the message coming through was..  One loud noise makes me open my eyes and it kills the elaborate vision that would start to form.  It's hard to get through the chapters in the book if you keep getting distracted on the first page.. 

[Tia Serendipia]

Different people respond to Iboga in different ways.
Some people want to talk, some people feel lost and benefit from direction.
For me, I wanted absolute silence and no interruptions. I thought then that everyone would want the same thing. This has not been the case, though most do prefer no interruptions.

My two cents,
Tia

[GratefulDad]

Very good point Tia, I was speaking from what I felt during my experiences, and we all know, not everyone feels like me..  lol  I did want to talk to someone about the cool stuff I was seeing but that did distract me, still, so I learned just to pay attention to the visions, and forget about the stuff around me...

[riverhaven]

I wanted to talk-- but after it was over and I could sit up, eat something and hang out with everyone in the kitchen at Sara's place.   LOL you couldn't shut me up then.... but during it-- talking was distracting to me and somehow agitating too.

[Tia Serendipia]

Ya know, interesting, I didn't want to talk to ANYONE for a solid week. Not my nearest and dearest, not even folk who'd been through it.

It was so personal, so enormous, and it was so quiet inside me, I just wanted to be. Or maybe Be is a better way to write it.

T

[RavAv]

so well worded  - responsibility  of a sitter- by . . .

Walk out of any doorway, feel your way, feel your way like the day before.
Maybe you'll find direction,
Around some corner where it's been waiting to meet you.
What do you want me to do, to watch for you while you are sleeping?
The please don't be surprised when you find me dreaming too.

Look into any eyes you find by you, you can see clear to another day,
Maybe been seen before, through other eyes on other days while going home.
What do you want me to do, to do for you to see you through?
It's all a dream we dreamed one afternoon, long ago.

Walk into splintered sunlight,
Inch your way through dead dreams to another land.
Maybe you're tired and broken,
Your tongue is twisted with words half spoken and thoughts unclear

What do you want me to do, to do for you to see you through?
A box of rain will ease the pain, and love will see you through.

Just a box of rain, wind and water,
Sun and shower, wind and rain,
In and out the window like a moth before a flame.

And it's just a box of rain, I don't know who put it there,
Believe it if you need it, or leave it if you dare.

And it's just a box of rain, or a ribbon for tour hair;
Such a long long time to be gone, and a short time to be there.