Second thoughts on harmalas

[northape]

What is healing anyway? Is it just physiological comfort? Then nature doesn't give a f**k about us after 30. You should have already had a child, and that was your contribution. After 30, it's up to human culture to keep us healthy and engaged. The modern world doesn't care about it at all and just sucks you dry until you fall. That's the real benchmark of how healthy a culture is. This one is pretty sick, imo.

 

[universecannon]

After 30, it's up to human culture to keep us healthy and engaged.

Huh?

 

[Jamie01]

Just because nature sucks it does not mean recovering from crippling depression is not a good thing for an individual. Most ppl who really heal from anything don’t care how it gets defined.

 

[northape]

Looks like I should go make a cup of coffee and heal myself

 

[Espurrr]

harmalas just allow your own chemistry to develop further than they usually would under normal circumstances , there really is no specific "harmala" effect, more so a directionless potentiation / removal of previous limits, a better describtion would be like looking into a mirror, like what you see?

 

[universecannon]

Looks like I should go make a cup of coffee and heal myself

All good brother, I just didn't know what you meant is all

 

[dithyramb]

Some rues are feminine, some are masculine. Some connect to the self and emotions, some to the cosmic field. Some are compassionate, some are cold and stern.

Post in thread 'Hello & a little account of my harmala journey so far'

Tuesday at 9:15 PM

Hi good fellas. I wanted to update you guys on my rue journey chapter of 2026 season.

A quick recap on the history - I had been intimately allied with one strain of rue for fifteen years and believed it is the most special rue in the world. Let's call it original strain, os for short. It was potent, and had many other qualities which I used to perceive as an indivisible package - loving/compassionate, light and euphoric (for those who understand music, mixolydian was it's favorite tonality), gentle in spirit (not a harsh scolding voice like some rues can be), connecting to the self and...

• dithyramb

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Regardless of strain, rue is about purity and purification, protection, transcendence, and truth.

Obviously, tryptamines have a more powerful effect on the dmn which makes them seem like they have more healing power. But I don't feel safe or content with dmt taken without rue. And I don't feel safe taking anything without a ceremonial base.

Finally, like northape said, real healing does not happen in an experience, but after it. And rue sure helps to keep me on the right track post experience.

 

[dithyramb]

All good brother, I just didn't know what you meant is all

He meant health goes downhill after 30 years old, and that our biology is geared to keep us healthy until that age only because it expects us to have had kids before.

 

[Espurrr]

Some are feminine, some are masculine. Some connect to the self and emotions, some to the cosmic field. Some are compassionate, some are cold and stern.

sure, but if you look at the pharmacology of beta-carbolines, the endogenous ones, the ones found in plants, when you look at the relationship beta-carbolines have with mitochondria, neurochemistry, etc

the functional types of beta-carbolines are several main types, with different intensities in each type, endogenous ones are usually less intense, the ones found in plants are usually more intense in effect, but their main course of action is really removing "ceilings" or inhibitions set upon the base chemistry in a few types of ways

but what happens in the big picture is, the chemistry of the person in that moment is allowed to progress further than inhibitory factors would have allowed it, it just allows a closed bud to flower , but it doesn't change the flower like other compound families would

there are differences in the effects of each harmala / beta-carboline but as a whole they remove the regulatory mechanisms that are playing a homeostatic role and allow whats going on "underneath" to surface

 

[dithyramb]

Yes, that is one way to put one thing that rue does.

But you can't reduce it into a single facet and say it has no character.

Rue has a definite obsession with purity ime, and for example this becomes more obvious to the average person when it is compared to cactus. Cactus ime is very playful and doesn't care if you get messy physically or energetically. Rue imposes simplicity and purity of a well defined ceremonial space.

And imo, rue does change the flower. It's actives have clear receptor agonist/antagonist actions, if you want to base your view on observable pharmacology.

(All in this weird man's experience)

 

[Espurrr]

Cactus ime is very playful and doesn't care if you get messy physically or energetically. Rue imposes simplicity and purity of a well defined ceremonial space.

i can agree to that, i guess these are contextual qualities about harmalas for example, but in the beginning of this post there was more of a attributing a fixed effect to harmalas

i just wanted to say that ime, harmalas have been the most 360 degree substance and ive taken every classical / natural shamanic plant other than salvia and toad venom , i can't name a more indifferent , directionless, unfixed experience than harmalas

to the degree that i myself have fundamentally changed the experience of the harmalas have fundamentally changed, which i can't say about most other things , they still have their own fixed character somewhat

 

[northape]

harmalas just allow your own chemistry to develop further than they usually would under normal circumstances , there really is no specific "harmala" effect, more so a directionless potentiation / removal of previous limits, a better describtion would be like looking into a mirror, like what you see?

That's one perspective on harmalas, yet a valid one. If we use the Western mindset, it makes a lot of sense to present harmalas that way. Given your description, rue removes the limits of what's possible with DMT. Yes, tryptamines are enlightening, but they lack a hefty physiological punch that would solidify the change. Rue brings just that.

All good brother, I just didn't know what you meant is all

Yes, up to 30 both nature and society are invested in your well-being, but after that threshold, nature takes a step back. It's up to culture then to provide a proper environment for your maturation and life. We're social animals, and tribe is what makes us human. Without a tribe and accumulated human knowledge, we'd just be smart primates, no more. So when society keeps us divided and disconnected from each other and the world at large, it's hard to say it's healthy.

 

[universecannon]

Ah ok, I misread "After 30, it's up to human culture to keep us healthy and engaged" as "it's up to mainstream late stage capitalist culture to keep us healthy and engaged" when it seems to frequently do quite the opposite of promote health

 

[dithyramb]

Well again, in this man's experience, rue has both direction and desires. I take notes in every session. And always, notes of consecutive insights are a progression of the previous one. And the topics/themes are always about love, relationships, health, and well being. The direction is towards fostering these things in my life. The insights are on how to enhance these things, and how to solve blockages that prevent these.

 

[northape]

Some seeds are more vocal than others, and caapi for me is even more vocal. Still, I always feel rue working behind the scenes even if its voice is almost imperceptible. One time I even held a conversation with the plant, hehe. My feeling is that the quality of your material and personal sensitivity play big roles here. Some ingest 12g and don't get much out of it, as many of you know. Our intent and skill bring a strong influence too. For me rue is a shamanic plant for ceremonial use. I tried many different modalities with it and that was the only one that stuck. I come from a culture with strong pagan roots, so maybe it influences my outlook.