Episode 5: Sterling Zayas – From Rock Bottom to Remembering Who You Are

What happens when you've tried everything... and nothing works?

In this powerful episode, we sit down with medicine woman and facilitator Sterling Zayas to explore one of the most remarkable healing journeys we've heard.

From severe childhood health complications and multiple blood transfusions to a full hysterectomy in her early twenties, years of anxiety, depression, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, and psychiatric medications, Sterling reached a point where she and her family had exhausted every conventional option.

Then something unexpected happened.

Plant medicine entered her life.

What followed wasn't simply symptom relief. It was a complete transformation of how she understood herself, healing, spirituality, and her purpose in this world.

Sterling shares her deeply personal experiences with psilocybin, MDMA, Kambo, and Bufo, along with the lessons each medicine revealed and how they ultimately led her to become a facilitator herself.

This is a conversation about courage, surrender, faith, and discovering that healing often begins where certainty ends.

In this episode we discuss:

• Sterling's lifelong struggle with chronic illness and mental health
• Living through anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and suicidal thoughts
• Undergoing a full hysterectomy in her early twenties
• Her experience with psychiatric medications and why they ultimately failed her
• The difficult process of coming off antidepressants and benzodiazepines
• Why her parents chose to experience plant medicine before encouraging her to participate
• Sterling's first psilocybin ceremony and the experience that changed her life
• Spiritual awakening, healing, and finding purpose
• The importance of integration after transformational experiences
• Working with MDMA and psilocybin for trauma and emotional healing
• Discovering Kambo and learning to trust the body's innate ability to heal
• Training with Tribal Detox to become a Kambo practitioner
• Her journey into Bufo and what the medicine taught her about God, love, and consciousness
• What it truly means to walk the path of a medicine woman
• Why healing is ultimately a choice to meet the greatest version of yourself

This episode is a reminder that healing isn't reserved for a lucky few.

Sometimes the greatest transformation begins the moment we decide we're no longer willing to stay where we are.

Mentioned in this episode

• Psilocybin
• MDMA
• Kambo
• Bufo (5-MeO-DMT)
• Integration
• Plant medicine
• Spiritual awakening
• Trauma healing
• Mental health
• Tribal Detox

Connect with Sterling Zayas

🌐 Website: https://www.theheavenlypriestess.com

📱 Instagram: @theheavenlypriestess

If Sterling's story resonated with you and you'd like to learn more about her work, you can connect with her through her website or Instagram.

Subscribe so you don't miss future conversations as we explore plant medicines, integration, spirituality, science, psychology, and everything that happens beyond the ceremony.

Transcript

0:14

We are recording. Okay, Sterling's ias, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. Now, when I interview people, we kinda jump right into it, and where I like to begin is that the point of your life that began to lead you towards the medicine path? What was going on? Whether it was a form of trauma, an illness ins inspiration by something you read or heard, like what was the thing that moved you towards the medicine path? So my story's a little unique because from the day that I was born, my birth story was emergency C-section. And so from the time I took my first breath. Until my awakening at 29 years old, I was extremely uncomfortable in every area of my life. I struggled with health issues, needed to have a full hysterectomy at 22, 23 years old, have had four blood transfusions. Was struggling with mental health, just struggling to feel good with myself, feel good with the people around me, and just really kind of hit rock bottom. Um, I tried everything. My parents tried everything to help me feel better, to help me heal. And so kind of when we hit that point of we tried everything else. What else is there to try? Can you go in some of the, the details or the specifics of your illness? Were there surgeries, were there operations? Were there lots of medications? So. From the day that I was born, my left ovary ruptured and I was bleeding internally. And so I spent a lot of my infant years, um, dealing with health issues from that which stem from, you know, not being able to use the restroom, not being able to feel good energetically. Um, then from there I struggled with eating disorders and anxiety and depression and suicidal thoughts, which led to so much energetic chaos that I started hemorrhaging to death through menstruation. I hemorrhage so bad that I collapsed because so much blood was leaving that I was having heart failure. How old were you when this happened? This was in my early twenties. Okay. And so from there I had a full hysterectomy. Um, then after that it was. So many hormones that they were trying to pump me with, you know, prior to the hysterectomy. And then even afterwards, I seriously did not feel good at all. Um, after that I started trying psych medication, um, you know, was on Klonopin, Prozac, Xanax, just to try to feel better. Um, when that didn't work, you know, then I went to What, what did you experience from these medications? Extreme numbness in lethargy. I realized that it wasn't fixing the problem, it was just making it so I couldn't even function to even be upset at the problem. And so I started not eating, started not wanting to do anything, um, not leaving the house, not taking care of myself. And then from there, did, did you feel sad or depressed or did you just feel nothing? I felt like I didn't understand the point of life anymore. Mm-hmm. I just didn't, I just didn't understand how that could be life and why would we be dealing with all of this if, you know, there's this beautiful life that we're supposed to be living, you know, why am I feeling this way? It just didn't, it didn't add up and it didn't make sense. And nothing that, you know, I tried up until that point made me feel better or helped me understand why I was going through the things that I was going through. So you're on the psych meds that wasn't really working. Where did we go from there? So, you know, I'm so grateful to have the family that I did because my mom saw the state that I was in and started getting really concerned. Um, you know, she was the one speaking to me saying, these meds aren't working. And I woke up one morning and just. Completely stopped them. Um, and I flushed them down the toilet and didn't take a psych med since. And then after that, you know, I was trying to find, which is a pretty bold move because that's usually very advised against a quick cold Turkey. What was that process like? Where they're withdrawals? Were there, was there psychological instability? Like, take us through it. The withdrawal process was extreme. Um, the extreme amount of emotion, the amount of tears, then I wasn't functioning because of the emotional turmoil. Um, it almost felt like a rollercoaster of extreme emotions that I couldn't even name, but I just felt them all. Did you ever feel suicidal or you just wanted this to end? At many points in my life, you know, I had to face suicidal thoughts and that was even scary because. I knew that that wasn't it. But it just, when you feel something so extreme and you're just trying to figure out the answers to why, you know, it, it becomes a very crazy looping of feeling defeated. And so I think it was more defeat rather than not wanting to be there anymore. I just felt like I just, I kind of hit a point of I wanted to live, but I didn't wanna live like that. So how long had you been taking the psych meds? I took them for a few years. Um, started weaning off a few sooner than the others. Um, Xanax was the one that took the longest benzo. Um, and so with Xanax specifically, um, that medication is pretty severe. Mm-hmm. Um. The withdrawal process from that one is very severe. And how long do you think you were on them? For? A few years. How about, roughly about how long do you think it took till you were on the other side of the withdrawals? Well, from there I actually didn't feel like that was, you know, once I stopped taking them, I still didn't feel better. And so that's when I started, you know, trying cannabis and trying alcohol and trying other things just to, okay, well if this helps other people feel better. So it almost was like I kept different things. Mm-hmm. Trying to see what would help, but then very quickly realized nothing external was helping. And so for years I just dealt with it. I dealt with the extreme. Fatigue, extreme amount of emotions. And I started suppressing them and just trying to move forward. But I wasn't functioning at my job. Um, I wasn't functioning in my relationships. I wasn't like, I was trying to feel good, but I wasn't feeling good. And so it was almost like I was trying to talk myself out of what I was feeling and really trying to move forward. 'cause at one point you just, you actually do start wanting to feel better. And so from there, my cousin, um, in Miami started reaching out to my mom talking about plant medicine. And from there, that's where the curiosity, um, began with my family of starting the conversation of, we've tried everything else. If plant medicine is showing up. That's the one thing we actually have not tried. So from there, um, my mom started inquiring about psilocybin specifically just, what is psilocybin? How does it work? Why would it help my daughter? Why, you know, kind of trying to move past the narrative of it being a psychedelic drug and actually trying to understand the healing properties of this medicine. And so after, and psilocybin, psilocybin being magic mushrooms for those that aren't familiar. And so, you know, my mom's generation was not familiar with mm-hmm. Any of that kind of thing. And so, you know, from my cousin actually being brave enough to sit in a ceremony and then sit again, you know, from her sharing her experiences with my mom, my mom kind of started going, you know what, if this is something that can help Sterling than maybe. This is the direction we should go. Because at this point we have tried every medication, every doctor, every surgeon, every therapist, every psychiatrist, every, um, church, every, we have tried everything. And at this point, you know, as a parent, I can only imagine, you know, it was hard for me to go through that. But I can't even imagine having a child and watching your child go through that and not knowing how to help. Mm-hmm. So we start researching plant medicine now, it's not like they just signed you up for a ceremony. Mom and them actually tested the waters before sending you into it. Yeah, so basically the conversation was my parents. Said, you know, okay, we're gonna do a ceremony first, and if we don't die, then we'll send Sterling to have her own ceremony. And so my parents actually got on a plane from Arizona and flew to Miami because that's where we knew someone who was serving. And from there, and your parents did this, never having had an ex, a psychedelic experience themselves. They never worked with any psychedelics or plant medicines. Wow. And they only did that because it was honestly just a way to see if that could help me. And so it started off with seeing if it could help me, but what unfolded was one of the greatest transformations within my family. Wow. Do you wanna speak on their experience, or at least what they came back to share with you? So their experience was very intense. It was very different than what they thought. Um, you know, they thought they were going to see if this could help me, but what ended up happening was what they were shown was what they needed to see. And so a lot of truths were shown to them about generational trauma and what was going on, you know, generationally. And it kind of, in a way, you know, hear, you hear that saying the truth sets you free. And it was a gigantic spiritual awakening to help them understand the bigger picture of what was happening. Um, my dad was able to release so much and my mom was just shown what she needed to see in order to kind of navigate the next steps of, of not only their own individual journey, but then really to understand why. I was gonna go and sit and have my own ceremony. So they came back and they're like, Sterling, we're doing this. They came back and basically were saying, we booked a flight. Your ceremony's booked in eight weeks. And so, you know, basically stopped drinking and we're in it now, and basically your life is gonna change in eight weeks, you know, but this is about you now preparing to really understand the transformation that's available. And so from there, eight weeks later, um, I flew to Miami with my mom and had my first ceremony. So this is your first plant medicine ceremony ever. Mm-hmm. Take us, just take us through it. Take us from the beginning, you showing up. How are you feeling? Did you feel comfortable? Were you scared, nervous, anxious, like, put us in the scene. So what's interesting is my experience was. Unique because I knew that I needed to do something different and I was more afraid of not doing a ceremony than doing a ceremony. And so on the way to Miami, I wrote a three page prayer on the plane of just me expressing just the prayers that I wanted answered, answered. And so I was very, when I was showing up to ceremony, I was ready. I felt actually calm for the first time. I was nervous because it was unknown, but I was more nervous of what would happen if I didn't have a ceremony than if I did. And so I was speaking to another healer, um, and that night, the night before my ceremony, he actually. Mentioned to me, maybe I shouldn't do one. And tried to kind of say, you know, it could be too overwhelming for me. Just everything I was going through, you know? And so that was the first moment that I was kind of second guessing what was happening. And um, my mom looked at me and said, Sterling, you know, if you were here, if you wanna have a ceremony, let's do it. If you don't, you know, that's okay too. And I looked at her and I just said, mom, I'm more afraid of what would happen if I don't sit tomorrow than whatever conversation is happening right now. Mm-hmm. I go, I trust, I need to heal and we're here. And so it was a big leap of faith, um, for me to sit because the night before I had someone basically trying to talk me out of it. Mm-hmm. Why do you think they were trying to talk you out of it? You know, I think just in general, right? Certain things come up and, and try to have a second guess things, you know? And I think at that moment, you know, even before having an awakening, intuitively I knew that, you know, I had to be honest with myself and go, what do I need? And I knew that that person was speaking from love, be, you know, just concerned. Um, but also I knew that it, whether that concern was there or not, I still needed to, to have that ceremonial experience because I needed answers. And at that point I didn't have any. And so this is where, you know, I really, you know, chose to heal instead of listen to the opinions of other people. And I think a lot of people, when they start their healing journey or make the decision that they wanna have one, you know, they face. Whether it's a loved one or people around them try to talk them out of their healing. And so from the beginning I was challenged even going to ceremony. So it's the night before we show up the next morning. It's the daytime ceremony. It was a nighttime, so it started around like three or 4:00 PM Okay, so how are we feeling when we get there? Very nervous but very exhausted. I mean, the extreme tired I felt, um, it was actually, I don't think I've ever felt that tired in my life. And I remember we were sitting and grounding and doing deep breath exercises and I just wanted to lay down. And I've never felt like I was gonna pass out from just extreme tired like that. And so the ceremony started, you know, shortly after. And to be honest, it was almost like I was so tired that I wasn't even nervous anymore because I just wanted to lay down and just take a nap. Mm-hmm. So you consume the medicine. How long did it take before you start feeling the effects of it, do you think? About 30 to 45 minutes. Um, I started with sassafras and the weirdest thing about that is literally took the sassafras, fell asleep. It was almost like, I have no idea what happened, but it was the first time that I had rest in almost three decades. Interesting. And so. All of a sudden, you know, it was an hour and a half later and they're kind of tapping me on the shoulder, and I just kind of did one of those shocking, kind of wake up, like, you know, like what just happened? But for the first time in my life it was so peaceful. It was almost like a gigantic reset. Um, so was, was there any dreaming or you just fell asleep and then you were woken up? Mm-hmm. Just completely fell asleep. But it was, it was the kind of sleep that, it's almost like you, you can't even get enough hours of sleep to get that kind of rest. Mm-hmm. It was almost like when I woke up, I felt rejuvenated, calm and rested in a way that I don't think I've ever felt in thir almost 30 years. So it's a two part ceremony. Mm-hmm. So what came next? So then psilocybin was next, and I had no idea what to expect, honestly. I was like, are you know, are we gonna go back to sleep? Like I had no idea. And all of a sudden, you know, pretty quickly psilocybin hit a lot faster. I think that was probably like 15, 20 minutes. And was it, did it come on hard? Was it a subtle come up? Did it feel anxious? It was intense, but it was also very gentle. And all of a sudden I was just shown everything all at once. Um, you know, from that ceremony, I call it my freedom ceremony because Archangel Michael was with me and literally with the sword of truth, it was almost like I just was releasing everything that wasn't serving me anymore. And it was almost like everything was, was happening so quickly, you know, like anxiety, dep, depress, da da, da, and all of these things were being shown to me. But it was like in that moment I realized that I could just let it go, and it was so simple. And all of the things that I have struggling with, the health issues, the emotional turmoil, the psychological turmoil, all of that just in a split second was gone. And it was so intense and it was so fast, but it was the most life-changing experience because once all of that was released, I met God and it changed my life and I was shown who I really am without all of that. And. I was shown that I do this work with medicine. I was shown that I, I, I needed to remember who I was. And that ceremony was a remembering of not only just how to heal, but just what I came here to do, who I am, my pure essence, the light that I hold. I saw myself as a lion just standing on the top of a mountain with the wind blowing in my hair, and I realized in that moment that I was home. And then, um, I realized in that moment that everything I wrote down on the, on the prayer that I wrote on the plane, every single prayer was answered that day. It felt so fast. You know, the ceremony itself, that experience was about two and a half hours, but it was the fastest two and a half hours. And I just remember when I, you know, took my mask off and, and opened my eyes, I was free. And, um, that day forever changed my life. You know, a lot of times when people have these experiences for the first time, and it is so. Liberating is so freeing just to come back home, as you said, to come back to yourself. And a lot of times for many people, it will open a door of curiosity because we found this, wow, we, we had no idea this was even an option until pretty soon before you experienced it. Right. And so for a lot of people, they'll be like, if this is there, what else is out there? Did you have any curiosities to begin exploring the plant medicine deeper? Yeah, so definitely after that, um, ceremony, I wanted to learn everything that I could about energy work, body work, medicine work. Um. I was so excited and passionate about it, and that was the first time in my life I felt like I was excited and passionate about anything. Almost like opening up a brand new toy, a whole new world. My gosh, it was like Christmas, you know, just like, oh my gosh. And so pretty quickly after that ceremony, I just wanted to learn as much as I could. So I signed up for, you know, reiki. I signed up for mentorships and apprenticeships and just really wanted to learn as much as I could. I wanted to read books. I wanted to just Google things. Um, and then also with that, there was a lot that I didn't understand. Um, and so, you know, you start asking more questions, you know, when you have an experience like that. And so with that, you know, you start inquiring to find other people that are either in the plant medicine community or the spiritual community. And so you're just kind of trying to now have new footing in a whole new way of. Knowing what's out there. Um, it was a process. It was definitely a journey. So after you began studying, you began researching and what, what was the next significant medicine experience that you had following this? So, I sat with medicine quite a bit after that experience because everyone told me about integration, but I was not aware of what integration really was. You know, when you have an experience like that, you almost think, oh my gosh, you, you're done. Like, you don't ever have to go through anything hard again. Mm-hmm. And very quickly you're humbled to find out that, oh wait, why is this coming up? Why is this coming up? Why do I feel this way? And then it kind of. You're trying to restabilize yourself, you know? And as you're evolving and growing, you're also, things are coming up that are, you know, you need to address or something. And so I sat with medicine quite a handful of times to just, you know, I didn't wanna do anything external. I wanted to go within and really figure out why I was feeling the way that I was feeling. And I felt really comfortable with the medicines because I felt like the medicines were working with me to help me understand. At that point on my journey, I didn't really have anyone, you know, guiding me in the sense of like, it was brand new to everyone, right? So it was almost like I had to figure out what was happening as it was happening. And then when I didn't know what to do, I would sit just so I could go within. To be shown to then figure it out, to then be able to integrate, recalibrate, and then move forward. So it was a process with the medicine because I felt like initially I needed to work with the medicine so intimately in order to understand them and then also to understand myself. Does that make sense? That does make sense. Okay, that does make sense. And so at what point did you realize that integration's going to be a bigger piece of this? It's not the medicine alone very quickly. Um, immediately I was challenged to my core, uh, and I did not know how to handle it at first. Um, you know, you almost wonder if you made a mistake, you know, did you make a mistake? Did you do something wrong? You know what happened? And you almost have to learn. You know, okay, what is ceremony? What is integration? And literally find the balance within yourself to be able to move forward. And so for a minute there, there was a learning curve of, you know, I didn't wanna make a mistake because I, I wanted to feel good. You know, I'd felt crazy for so long that I only wanted to feel good. And so when I didn't feel good, I would panic, you know? And so there was that learning cov curve of learning how to, not panic when things would come up, but rather what does it mean when things come up? And then how do you integrate learning the wisdom of what these ceremonies showed me in order to be able to integrate. That wisdom to be able to move forward, to understand energy, to understand emotions, to understand why things are coming up, to understand why conversations, patterns, um, things that you thought you cleared, why is that coming up again? Right? And so I had to realize that on that journey, you know, nothing's happening to you anymore. It's happening for you. So that way you can show yourself your growth. And so when I learned that piece, um, integration became a lot easier. So as you're exploring these medicines and getting into med, I'm assuming it's the ones that you experienced during your initial ceremony mm-hmm. Safras, uh, psilocybin. Now, did you begin to explore other medicines or modalities? Yeah, shortly after, um, I was introduced to MDMA and psilocybin. And so sitting with MDMA by itself, psilocybin by itself, and then MDMA psilocybin together. Um, and so that was just a life changing journey of really deepening my understanding that there are other medicines out there that, you know, holds so much healing. And, um, and then from there, you know, my journey with Cambo and even Hape and Sangha, and then after that Bufo. And so it was a journey of l these medicines just showed up exactly at the right time to help me not only heal myself, but then kind of help me understand different pieces to the puzzle of life. So that way, you know, I could evolve in the way that I needed to. So when you began to explore. MDL may, you know, we always make a point to say, especially when you're first beginning to explore these medicines, it's best to do it with the guide. Someone that has experience around the medicine, someone that knows how to work with it, someone that understands dosages. Um, you know, after working with the guide for some time, then it's perfectly fine for self-exploration once you understand what you're doing. But don't you think you would agree it's, it's best to work with the guide in the beginning? Absolutely. Okay. So as you began to explore MDMA and psilocybin, how did that, how was that different from sassafras and psilocybin? So Sassafras is a very similar medicine to MDMA, but also completely different. Um, how I describe MDMA is, is it, it's a heart opener. And so it really amplifies the vibration of love for you to go within, to face your fears and really be able to see things from a different perspective, a higher point of view, like a higher perspective, so that way you can kind of understand why you've experienced certain things that you've experienced in your life, and face them with love, you know, just to let them go and release them. And so, MDMA is such a incredible tool to be able to be so present with the body, with the self to be able to open the heart. To be able to face the things that maybe people haven't been able to face up until that point on their journey. And so the gift of MDMA is really about you finding safety and love within, so that way you can, you know, really hold your capacity to love beyond. So, MDMA is such a potent heart opener. Mm-hmm. You know, and it really allows you, you know, that's why it's, it's such a great medicine for those that suffer with, you know, post-traumatic stress because some of these things that are so difficult to talk about in our normal life, right? Normal state of consciousness. With such a heart opener, it actually allows us to express these feelings without being obliterated by the trauma attached to it. Mm-hmm. What, what do you think is the significance of doing MDO May and then shortly afterwards, following with psilocybin the significance, you know, both medicines are so healing, but they operate very differently. Um, MDMA amplifies the frequency of love, so much so that you feel so grounded. And you know, in order to heal we need to see the truth. And it's when we see the truth that we're free of whatever that is. And so psilocybin really has a way of showing you what you need to see. And for some people that can be very overwhelming. But when paired with MDMA, the MDMA almost makes that experience a lot more gentle, so that way people feel really calm and really safe to be able to go to the depths that they need to go to in order to release what they need to release. And so the pairing of those medicines is such a powerful experience for those that, you know, maybe they are a little fearful to sit with plant medicine. Maybe they, they, it's their first experience. It just really guides them in a very gentle way. It's a more gentle experience, but also still allowing you to go the depth that you need to go to in order to set yourself free. You know, we talk about sometimes how people can be really struggling, be it, you know, psychological elements, um, spiritual afflictions, addiction, you know, whatever the thing may be. And they, they, a lot of times they see these medicines as a switch. This will, if, you know, I can take this medicine and it'll flip the switch to take away my addiction or to take away, you know, these thoughts that I'm having or, you know, just fix whatever the problem is, you know? And, and, and we both know it's not that. Right. And that's why a lot of times, following a medicine experience within a few months, a lot of times people will fall back into the old ways and they'll just say, well, it didn't work for me. What, what would you say to those people before they approach something like, uh. MDME mushroom ceremony or hybrid ceremony. So, you know, in terms of, you know, having a ceremony, you gotta be ready, you know, you gotta be ready to meet yourself in the medicine. And that experience, you know, if you really wanna transform and if you really wanna heal, you will. And so a lot of the times when people go through these experiences, they have this transformational experience, but afterwards, you know, they have to understand that they're a new version of them going back to what they've known. And so the integration piece of that is going to be stepping into the new version of themselves. And as things come up. Right then and there, they're making a decision on how they're gonna show up. And so they can show up as the old version of themselves or they can show up as the new. And so it's not that the medicine didn't work, it's that remembering that you are the medicine. And so you are deciding how you're handling things from that point forward, understanding that the transformation was there and is there. You now have the capacity to hold a higher vibration. So as you experience familiar old circumstances, you get to rewire to the higher vibration of you in that moment. And so this is where the integration piece is so important. And this is what took me a minute to figure out because. It's very easy if you're not being intentional to just go back to doing things the way that you know and knew. But when you have such a transformational rebirth now, it's about rising to meet the greatest version of you and that version of you you're learning in the moment as things come up. And so, you know, having a support system is really, really beneficial. Having, you know, someone that you know that loves and, and cares about you deeply, to hold you accountable, to remind you, you know, when you are facing those moments of, you know, addiction or doing things the way that the old you that wasn't aligned was doing them right? Having someone in your corner that could be like, Hey, remember, remember who you are. Remember that you can show up differently in this moment. And so that's the gift, is the transformation is within you. And then the expression of that transformation is you deciding who you get to be, you know, following the, the medicine ceremony. A lot of times we just feel how we want to feel. We're like, yes, you know, the, the fog has been lifted, the weight has been lifted. We, uh, we have a certain clarity, we have a certain, uh, even mental dis disposition or we, we just feel good, right? And, and that, that good feeling is going to wear off eventually. You know, it's like this grace period, but it's almost, it's like the medicines are kind of a mentor and they're showing you, kind of giving you a guide and even allowing you to see, if you follow this path. This is how you can feel, this is how life can be. And it gives you an opportunity to even experience that feeling following the ceremony or the experience, but it's not going to walk that path for you. I think that's where a lot of people get confused. 'cause everybody, you know, we hear so many people say, do the work. You gotta do the work. And because these ceremonies sometimes can be challenging. A lot of times we label that as the work. I'm showing up, I'm sitting with the medicine, I'm going through this challenging experience. But really the work is what comes after just, just as you explain, you have to choose to meet the old ways with the new version. And then where do we go from there? So. Okay. What was the next medicine following? You mentioned Cambo or, or was it Ayahuasca? It was Cambo. Okay. So Cambo came into the picture and I understood Cambo immediately and I realized after sitting with Cambo I wanted to learn more about it. I wanted to learn how to facilitate that experience for others because the spiritual technology of Cam's life changing. Tell me how you're feeling showing up to your first Campbell session, because this is one of the wilder ones, you know, and um, and again, your parents had had gone first, correct? Yeah. So my dad actually started sitting with Campbell first, and he loved it. Um, he just talked about how amazing he felt after sitting with Cambo and he talked about, you know, the intensity of the medicine, but what he spoke to more so than that was how amazing he felt after sitting with the medicine. And that really caught my attention. And then shortly after that, my mom sat and she said the same thing. And so immediately right after both of them sat, I'm booking my appointment for my first Cambo session and, um, I was nervous. How did they describe the experience to you? They actually simplified it. They just said, you know, they burn the skin but it doesn't hurt. You know, they put the medicine on and then you sit there for 20 minutes and the medicine being cambo, which is. For our listeners that don't know what Cambo is. So cambo is the sacred secretion of the Phylo Medusa by Calor Tree Frog. Okay? And so when you place these peptides on the skin, it triggers the body's natural response to heal and it actually rebalance, rebalances all the systems of the body. And so with that, you feel a rush of flu-like symptoms. You feel dizzy, you feel hot, you feel nauseous. You kind of feel an elevated heart rate. But all of that is because the systems of your body are kind of firing up to heal. And so you sit with the medicine for 20 minutes and within that 20 minutes you can purge. You don't have to purge, but it, it is part of the experience. If when you're sitting, you are purging. And so my parents spoke to. The fact that, you know, my dad didn't purge, my mom purged, you know, they both said they kind of felt hot, nauseous. My mom said it was more intense for her initially, you know, my dad, you know, was like meditating through it. He goes, you know, it's, it's intense, but like it's great. So they really spoke of it in such a simplified form that I was more excited to sit than anything. But when I got there and then all of a sudden I was drinking the water mm-hmm. That's when I got nervous. Mm-hmm. So they burn the skin, they apply the secretion to the burn points, and you go into the Campbell process. Mm-hmm. What did you think of this experience? My first thought was, oh shit. Because immediately you feel just the intensity of how the peptides work in the body. And it was my first time, so I had never felt anything like that. And so it's normal when you're first experiencing something to kind of, you know, kind of feel overwhelmed by the process. But honestly, I trusted that medicine just from the beginning. And I felt nauseous, I felt hot. Um, and then I did purge pretty much the entire time. But what was interesting about the purge is it was so gentle and every time I would purge, I felt better. And it was almost like I was so grateful that in that moment my body was healing in the way that it needed to. And it was, I just understood that medicine. And so that was probably the most intense experience in terms of physically, but afterwards, the calm and the peace. And the lightness that I felt within my being was miraculous. And so I really understood that Cambo is there as a gift that we can give our bodies the gift of healing. And when we trust the medicine for the medicine to do whatever it needs to do, our bodies heal in the way that it needs to. And so the gift that we get to give that to ourselves was profound. And I realized that in that moment I wanted to continue working with Cambo in a more intimate way. Because if this was so transformational, not only for my parents and me, I wanted to speak to this, you know, where I could start bringing that medicine. At the time I lived in Arizona, to Arizona to expand the awareness of the gift of these peptides. So you felt the call to facilitate Campbell? Yes. Yeah, after my first experience. Incredible. So you're beginning to transition from healing from the medicines to now wanting to be of service to others with these medicines. Mm-hmm. You know, there has to be some type of, um, you know, like tell us about the emotions you're feeling because you went from incredibly sick going through all these operations, through all these psych meds and the alcohol and, you know, to, to almost losing hope, completely, to finding the medicines, healing yourself. And now there's a version of yourself that has kind of transcended all these other afflictions to the point to now you're ready. To begin helping others on their healing journey. Mm-hmm. How'd that feel? It felt great, and I was very nervous because it was so new and I knew that there was so much that I had to learn, and I also knew the responsibility of what it meant to facilitate these experiences for others. And so from the beginning, I knew that if I was going to serve medicine, I needed to do it in the most aligned, loving, safe way. And so from there, you know, I really learned everything that I could to be able to step into that version of myself. Knowing that I did everything the most aligned way that I could. Then I went to Tribal Detox, uh, in Creed, Colorado, and I signed up for the Cambo Intensive. And, um, that was life changing. Tell us about your experience. So when I got to Creed, I had no idea what to expect. I just thought, okay, you know, that was the first time I had really gotten out of my comfort zone like that, to try something completely new and different in an environment that I was so unfamiliar with. And what was Creed like? Creed is beautiful. It is just heaven on earth. And um, it's in the mountains and it's just God's country. It's just really something special. And so when I got here, there was deer, you know, as soon as I got in the car. And I just knew, you know, I didn't know what to expect, but I was just really trusting that if I was led there, there was a reason. And so immediately, you know, the first day, you know, we're in class and we're learning and. I really saw the passion, you know, that Jason and Kelly had to not only teach this medicine, but to teach the integrity of this medicine and the sacredness of this medicine and the science of this medicine. And really bringing everything full picture to really understand this medicine from every perspective needed to serve in a way where a facilitator can be so confident, not only with themselves, but with the medicine. And I saw that from the first day. And so that got me excited. And, um, so initially, you know, it was just class, but then once we started sitting with Cambo, um, I was very nervous and, um, you know, so I was still building a relationship with Cambo while I was learning how to facilitate it. So, you know. Campbell School's kind of this weird thing that when people sign up for, they don't, they know they're going to learn Campbell, but they don't really know what the school is. They don't know if it's, if it's like a retreat, if it's like a bootcamp, if it's just a school, you know what, and, and you still, you're kind of halfway through it before you even still begin to understand what it is. But how is your personal experience there? You know, like this, because there's, there's so much to the school. You know, it, it starts as a classroom and morphs into ceremony and then sitting with the medicine and then hearing about other people's experiences. So there's so many emotions. Up. Emotions, down. Emotions. All around emotions. What was your personal experience like in that 10 days you were there? So initially. You know, upfront, you're kind of hit with a lot of education, just textbook information. Um, but it's needed, you know, and so you're, you're kind of reading, you're learning, you're asking questions. And then few days after that is where you start learning, you know, how to apply, you know, burn the gates, apply the medicine, and so each day kind of builds on the next. And so they did a really amazing job of helping you kn like you, you knew everything you needed to know the day before you needed to know it the next day. And so where, you know, the first half of it is really about learning as much as you can, practicing as much as you can, and then you get to where you're actually sitting with the, with the medicine, and then actually going through facilitation, practicals, and situation. Experiences that you're trying to learn how to navigate. And that's where the bootcamp, um, the bootcamp experience sets in. But you know, in terms of understanding the responsibility behind this medicine, that training was so well done. Every detail was so thought out. And I recognize that immediately. Yes, it's intense, but when you get through that training, there's nothing you'll experience outside of that training that you're not prepared and ready for because you have the tools to be prepared for nothing and everything. And so that kind of confidence, you know, is a gift, especially when the facilitators, you know, Jason and Kelly really pour everything into teaching you about everything they've experienced. So that way they can prepare you for the obstacles, whether you face them or not, or see them or not, you're prepared for them. And that kind of training is world class. And so every single day, even as intense as it got, I felt more and more grateful to be there. I felt more and more grateful that I trusted to show up and to really learn because my prayer was help me learn this in the most authentic and real way. And so Tribal Detox really showed me, you know, the gift of being there. And when I left, I mean, I can honestly say that was one of the best training experiences I've ever had. And as a facilitator, I left that experience confident and ready to serve Cambo. And that's a testament to how amazing of teachers you guys are. Thank you. Thank you for saying that. Now at the end of that school, you got to have another unique amphibian experience. Tell us about that. So, during Campbell school, we had the opportunity to sit with Bufo. So Tribal Detox has an affiliation with the psychedelic church called the Church of Amphibian Arts, um, registered with Colorado. And one of the things that that church offers is, and the Campbell students are allowed an opportunity to sit with this experience following the school. So how was that? So, I knew nothing about Bufo at that time. That was one of the medicines that I was the most nervous to sit with. And I remember during school, you know, you guys would ask me, are you gonna sit? And I was, I wasn't sure. And even the day of, you know, I still wasn't sure, but I went, you know, did the application, did the waiver, but I didn't even know what I didn't know. And the whole time, you know, the first person went, the second person went, third person went. And I remember the last person went and I was like, wait, I think I'm gonna sit. And I'm so glad that I did because that medicine changed my life again. And that kind of experience you don't even have the words for, but it's those kind of miracles that you experience that really help you understand the gift of what it means to truly live and. Immediately after that, I knew that I wanted to work with Bufo. Would you say, could you say that Bufo helps give you an appreciation for what it means to be human? A hundred percent. Wow. So the pursuit of Bufo, so immediately I knew that I was going to Bufo school. Um, and so I flew back home, you know, started really working with Cambo, knowing that I was gonna prepare, you know, to then start training with Bufo. And the beautiful thing about all of these medicines is as each one showed up, I had the time and the space to really work with each one, and each one helped me prepare for the next one. And so it was really amazing to see the unfolding of, of that journey with the medicines and how they all showed up when they were needed, they had their moment. Once that was fully understood, then the next one showed up. And so for months after that, I started working with Cambo and um, and then I think it was about six months later then Bufo School happened. Mm-hmm. What was that experience like? Bufo School was incredible and set up very differently than Cambo, but. Just as profound and impactful, just with a completely different medicine. And so, you know, the first day, first two days was all about learning. You know, that medicine, really having the understanding of the science and the education and the responsibility of what it really means to be able to serve that particular medicine. Because that medicine, there's a huge responsibility with that one. And I was very grateful again about the detail oriented information, so that way, you know, we could really have an understanding of the magnitude of everything we needed to learn, to prepare, to learn how to serve bufo. And when we had our first sit, you know, you sit with different doses, you sit with micro doses, full blown doses, and each dose. It was just transformational in a way that is, it's like I mentioned earlier, it's just hard to put it into words and the way that Buffo communicates resets you in an instant. And so the gift of being able to expand in our understanding, but also because of that expansion feels so grounded within self, that kind of combination of transformation. You know, I truly feel like if anyone gets the opportunity to sit with Bufo, I really feel like that would be such a gift for them, because bufo changes your life. You know, going to Bufo school is intense and, uh, you, you, you're sitting with the medicine at various different levels of the medicine. You're, you're facilitating the same. You know, I, how I describe Buffo a lot of times is like a door. It's like you crack that door open and BFO begins to teach you things about you. You kick it open a little more and it'll teach you things about the planet a little more. It'll start teaching you about the universe, and if you kick that door all the way open, BFO will teach you about God. So, you know, after going through this deep exploration with bfo, what, what do you think to the best of your ability to describe, what's your greatest understanding of Bufo? The best way that I can de describe Bufo is that. You realize how much God loves you and you realize what it means to be in oneness with God. And when you have that kind of experience, I, you know that God is with you always. And that because God is with you always, you can get through anything. And when you have that embodied knowing, you move through the world differently. You see from a different point of view, you have an understanding that makes you feel grateful to be alive. And grateful to be here and grateful to have the opportunity to do something beautiful with your life, knowing that you're just here for the time that you're here. And so Bufo shows that to you in such a way that you almost feel like you received a miracle from God. Yeah. How lucky are we? So lucky. So we've healed, we're continu healing. We're going through trainings, we're learning to facilitate different modalities. Now we are on the path of the medicine woman. Where you are in service to those out there, what's that journey been like? That journey has been an initiation and, um, it's been an honor, you know, and, and on that journey, I've been challenged over and over and over again. But I realized pretty early on that those challenges were only happening to help me evolve because of the magnitude of responsibility of what it means to be a medicine woman, what it means to facilitate these experiences, to speak to these experiences, to support other people as they're going through these experiences. And so, even though I was challenged to my core in so many different areas of my life. F while learning to heal, while learning to facilitate each experience, deepen my faith, deepened, you know, trust in myself, deepened my trust with the medicines and the overcoming of each challenge. Help me understand that we could overcome everything. It's just our willingness of whether or not we're gonna give up or not. And so I told God very early on, I'm not giving up. Clarify, make it clear, make it obvious, but I won't give up. And I understood the depth of what it means to be devoted to love on this path, because not every experience has been easy, but the overcoming. Of every experience has been worth it. And so the medicine path is an initiation to meeting the greatest version of you over and over and over and over again. And just when you think you've gotten to that point where you're like, you figured it out, you're gonna be humbled just as fast to start again. And so it has been an absolute honor to be on the medicine path, and it has been an absolute honor to co-create with God on this journey. You know, once we start facilitating and any facilitator knows, you know, we want to help everyone. We want to try to get everyone there because we know. If you can just get there, life can be so beautiful on the other side of it. However, another thing we learn is that not everybody is able to get there. What, what, what do you think the biggest differences between those who just, just go for it all in to make it happen to those that just kind of give it a shot, but then fall by the wayside, not really progressing? I know the biggest difference for me was I was more afraid of not healing than healing. And so I think when you reach a point in your life where you can't even excuse your own behavior anymore, you can't even excuse what's happening in your life anymore. The people that are really ready to go for it are the people that are just. Done with what they're experiencing. And when you are so done, you know, with your habits that aren't serving you with the toxic relationships, with the confusion, the addiction, whatever it is, when you're just so done, it's almost like going for your healing makes more sense in that moment. And anyone at any time can decide to heal. It's just, where are you at? Are you done with how things have been? Or are you gonna keep doing that for as long as you wanna keep doing that? And the thing is, is not everyone will heal in this lifetime. And so it's really about everyone just being honest with themselves and going, if you're good, you're good. Beautiful. But if you're not, maybe. There's something there, you know, for you to look at deeper. And maybe if you just go for it, maybe your life will transform in ways you didn't even think were possible. So can you gift yourself that? Even if you're scared to try something new, isn't it more scary to stay the same if it's not working because you're still living regardless. It's just whether or not you're living aligned and happy or if you're living suffering. So I think it's scarier to suffer and I think it's scarier to not evolve than it would be to try something completely different, because maybe that's the answer to your prayer that you've been praying for. But all you'd have to do is just go for it in the right alignment. And maybe in that going for it, your life changes in, in the best possible way. And I experienced, you know, I experienced that transformation. And I'm so grateful. And so now I speak to that so others can, can understand that it's not about not ever being nervous. It's about seeing the nerves but showing up anyway. You know, it's not about being perfect, it's about showing up as you are. Even if you are, is not even knowing why you're there. Just show up. And by showing up, you're giving yourself the opportunity to have a different experience and it's that simple. Beautiful. Sterling, it has been. Thank you so much for being here. You know, and it's been, it's been incredible to see your. Just your journey, your hero's journey over the last few years. Like the person I met and a few years back to the person I'm sitting with here today is just two different people and it's been beautiful. Um, so how can people find you? So Instagram or my website? What's your website? Uh, www.theheavenlypriestess.com. And then my Instagram is just the he or Heavenly Priestess. Okay. So if you wanna learn more about Sterling and what she does, you can visit her website and Instagram. And do you wanna leave us with anything before we end it? I just wanna say, you know, wherever you're at in your life, know, just know that you are loved, you are enough, you are whole. And that if you feel called to do something different, maybe there's something there for you. But just know that just as you are, you are a beautiful human being and you're here to do great things. And so if there's any way that you know we can support you, it would be an absolute honor. But this life is a gift, and because you're a part of this life, you're a gift as well. And so do great things with this gift. Thank you for being here. Thank you for having me. Thank.