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Writer's pictureAlison Sarah

Kambo: Ancestral Medicine and a Dialogue with the Body

Exploring the connection between this practice and the body as a tool for spiritual learning.



rana mono grande o rana kambo Phyllomedusa bicolor

What is Kambo?

Kambo, often referred to as the “vaccine of the forest,” is an ancestral medicine used by Indigenous peoples of the Amazon. Extracted from the secretions of the Phyllomedusa bicolor frog, this substance is applied to the skin to induce a physical and energetic purge.

Beyond its physical effects—immune system stimulation, deep detoxification—Kambo invites an inner dialogue, an exploration that transcends the physical to touch deeper dimensions of being. Kambo ancestral medicine

The Body as a Mirror: A Non-Dual Perspective

From a non-dual perspective, the body is neither an enemy to fight against nor an obstacle to overcome. It is a temporary manifestation, a tool reflecting our beliefs and conditioning.

When physical or emotional symptoms arise, they are not "problems" to be solved but messages inviting us to observe and remember what we truly are.

With Kambo, we have the opportunity to place the body in the hands of what I call the Voice of the Holy Spirit—a gentle, clear, and unchanging inner guidance. Rather than seeking to "heal" or "fix" something, we can listen to what the body has to say, allowing it to reveal what needs to be seen, and ultimately transcend all perceptions of separation or vulnerability.

Kambo ancestral medicine

My Experience: Beyond the Body, a Reconnection to Innocence

Kambo has played a significant role in my relationship with my body, particularly during times when it seemed challenged.

While living in Côte d’Ivoire, I contracted malaria, which worsened into neuromalaria before I received proper medical care. By the time I was admitted to the hospital after several days of misdiagnosis, my parasitemia levels were extremely high—so high that, according to the doctors, my body should not have survived.

And yet, my body held on, supported by a force beyond mere physical explanations.


Reflecting on this experience, I recognize that Kambo, which I had practiced shortly before, played a crucial role in strengthening my immune system, allowing it to endure longer. However, beyond the physical, this experience became an invitation to reconnect with something deeper within me. It reminded me that while the body may appear fragile or vulnerable, it can become a powerful tool for reconnection when we stop resisting it.

Another significant transformation occurred with my severe eczema and allergies to dogs and cats. For years, I lived with these symptoms, as if my body were erecting a barrier against an external threat.

Kambo ancestral medicine

Through Kambo and ayahuasca, I began to see these symptoms differently. Instead of defending myself against an "external enemy," I learned to observe these phenomena through a non-dual lens. Nothing and no one can truly harm us. What I perceived as attacks—whether physical (animals, foods) or emotional (words or actions from others)—were actually reflections of deeper beliefs.

These symptoms became an opportunity for forgiveness. Why? Because they allowed me to look inward and recognize that nothing outside of me was responsible for my suffering. Neither the world, nor others, nor my own body.

Forgiveness, in this sense, is not an action directed toward others but an inner process: a decision to release judgments, resistance, and beliefs that reinforce separation.


Today, I live without eczema or allergies. This experience has taught me that our physical symptoms, far from being enemies, are teachers. They remind us that we always have the choice to embrace peace in every moment.


The Inner Silence After Kambo

One of the most profound aspects of Kambo is the inner silence it creates.

After a session, there is a pause, a suspension of the ego’s usual mechanisms. This moment of silence is not merely an absence of noise but an opening. It is an invitation to listen to a different voice, one that is more subtle and true: the voice of what we have always been, beyond perceptions and beliefs.

This silence also reveals that the ego, with its fears and judgments, can be set aside. It becomes clear that it does not need to control, fix, or protect. The body, then, ceases to be a battleground and becomes a sacred tool for exploring and recognizing inner peace.


participant à une cérémonie de Kambo, illustrant le cadre collectif du rituel

Non-Duality and Ancestral Medicine

From a non-dual perspective, the body, mind, and world are not separate. What we perceive as physical or emotional "problems" are often projections of beliefs onto reality.

Kambo, by acting directly on the body, helps us to transcend this dualistic perception.

Rather than seeking to "heal" a wound or "eliminate" a symptom, this medicine invites us to take a different view: What if nothing is "wrong"?

What if everything is simply an opportunity to return to a deeper truth—the truth of oneness?

Kambo does not fight. It does not oppose. It reminds us that inner liberation is not found in changing the external world but in letting go of our attachments to fear and separation.


The Benefits of Kambo: A Journey Beyond Appearances

  1. Immune System Stimulation: Kambo strengthens the body’s natural defenses, helping to restore balance.

  2. Physical and Emotional Purification: The purge clears physical toxins as well as stagnant energies.

  3. Inner Silence and Clarity: After a session, a profound calm emerges, allowing for reconnection with inner guidance.

  4. Spiritual Reconnection: By quieting the mind, Kambo opens a space to recognize what lies beyond forms and illusions.


Kambo as an Invitation to Forgiveness and Innocence

Kambo is not just a medicine for the body. It is an invitation to observe what we perceive as attacks or problems and to realize that there is nothing to fight, nothing to fix. Everything is already complete.

In the silence that follows a session, we glimpse this truth. The ego quiets, illusions fade, and what remains is an unshakable peace.

Our physical symptoms are opportunities for forgiveness, not because there is someone to blame, but because they remind us that we are free of all judgment. They offer us the chance to choose peace and to see beyond illusions, to the truth of who we are.




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