Everyday Ancestral with James Barry Is Plant Medicine Just Drugs in Disguise? A Grounded Conversation on Healing and Ancestral Truth | Sitaramaya Sita
What if plant medicine isn't an escape, but a return? What if our modern fear of altered states says more about our trauma than it does about the medicine itself?
I sat down with Sitaramaya Sita, someone who has spent decades walking the path between science and spirit. She’s deeply trained, trauma-informed, and rooted in multiple healing lineages. We explored the misuse of language around plant medicine, how ancestral traditions relate to altered states, and why the Western lens so often flattens the complexity of these experiences.
Sitaramaya shares her experience guiding master plant dieta in the Amazon, her training in Vajrayana Buddhism and Traditional Tibetan Medicine, and what it means to honor healing as both sacred and deeply embodied. We also explore why so many of us struggle to trust slowness, integration, and our own inner knowing. This conversation is about more than entheogens. It’s about remembering how to be human.
Key Takeaways
Plant Medicine is Ceremony, Not a Shortcut – True healing is relational, reverent, and rooted in tradition. It is not transactional.
Integration is Medicine – The most powerful part of the journey isn’t the ceremony itself but how you live after it.
Trauma Disrupts Trust in Our Inner Knowing – Healing means reclaiming the ability to be with ourselves, slowly and safely.
Language Shapes Reality – The way we talk about entheogens reveals our assumptions and our disconnect from ancestral wisdom.
We Need Both Science and Spirit – Sitaramaya blends somatic therapy and Buddhist practice to honor the full spectrum of healing.
Western Culture Fears Altered States – Many indigenous traditions see these states as essential for reconnecting with truth.
Where to Find Our Guest
Sitaramaya’s Website: https://www.sitaramaya.com
Sitaramaya on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/plantteachers/
Links & Resources
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