Chor Boogie: Bridging Worlds: Serving Iboga in the Western World, Episode 65, The Psychedelic Entrepreneur Podcast 
Chor Boogie is a critically acclaimed international visionary spray paint fine artist and muralist from the United States. In 2014, Chor experienced a profound healing with the help of iboga, the medicine of his direct African ancestors, within the traditional Bwiti ceremony. Chor integrates elements of iboga visions into his art, visually transmitting the medicine. Chor is passionate about including the voices of indigenous relations in the global conversations about iboga. Chor’s Bwiti name is Gnyangou, which means that he carries the medicine of the sun. Chor has been acknowledged as a nganga (healer and seer) by his Bwiti elders, and they have given him the responsibility to represent and help share Bwiti in the West.
Together, they traveled to Gabon multiple times after their initial healing where they experienced a Bwiti initiation, rite of passage, traditional wedding, and immersive iboga healer’s training. Originally from California, they are currently based in Costa Rica where they regularly offer sacred medicine journeys in Costa Rica in a medically responsible way, and they help to organize annual journeys to Gabon for initiation with their Bwiti elders.
In this episode, Chor Boogie and Beth Weinstein discuss…
- Chor’s path as a “Ganga”, which is a shaman and one who is devoted to both the medicine and the tradition
- The problem of ‘iboga evangelicals’ taking on iboga facilitation without real training, experience, or respect for the tradition
- The new iboga retreat center, Soul Centro, in Costa RIca, which Chor has created with his wife, Elizabeth Bast
- How it is critical to include the western medical model when serving iboga
- Helping a person to help themselves as an iboga facilitator
- The Bwiti law “not to abuse nature”, including yourself
- Chor’s life as an artist and the creativity you need to bring to your life
- The messages that come from iboga and the importance of listening and actually following the instructions you receive
- The format of the iboga retreats offered at Soul Centro: 8 days with 2 ceremonies
- Other programming offered at Soul Centro, including facilitator training
- Issues of sustainability with iboga and conservation projects underway, such as Blessings of the Forest
- Challenges of iboga sustainability related to the ibogaine industry
- How reciprocity initiatives give incentive to the locals and traditionalists
Chor Boogie’s Links & Resources
Website ▶: http://www.soulcentro.com
Website ▶: https://www.chorboogie.com
Instagram ▶: https://www.instagram.com/gnyangou
Facebook ▶: https://www.facebook.com/chorboogie1
Free Gift ▶: A 6 Step Practice to Transmuting Challenging Emotions: http://eepurl.com/cGE9jX
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