The profound relationship between psychedelics and the creative process, particularly music, has captivated the imagination of artists and thinkers alike. These mind-altering substances have often been a source of inspiration and a catalyst for profound shifts in artistic expression. From psilocybin mushrooms and ayahuasca to LSD, which is synthesized rather than plant-derived, to cannabis, which is psychoactive rather than psychedelic, these gifts have played pivotal roles in this creative journey across the arts. This connection between psychedelics and creativity is deeply embedded in musical history, with countless musicians attributing their innovative work to their experiences with these substances.
David Bowie’s exploration of ayahuasca in the Amazon rainforest is well-documented, speaking of the immense impact it had on his creativity. John Lennon of The Beatles famously explored the influence of magic mushrooms in his songwriting. Jimi Hendrix’s iconic guitar sounds and experimental approach were undoubtedly shaped by his psychedelic explorations with LSD. Of course, legends across all genres from Bob Marley to Snoop Dogg to Willie Nelson have found solace and creativity in the gentle embrace of cannabis.
These artists, and many more, discovered that psychedelic plant medicine could dismantle creative boundaries, allowing them to explore new sounds, textures, and lyrical depths. As Terence McKenna aptly stated, “If the artist cannot find the way, then the way cannot be found.” Psychedelics have often served as the way, the portal or antenna to artistic discovery and self-exploration. McKenna continues, “Each artist is an antenna to the transcendental.”
One contemporary artist who embodies this tradition of tapping into the creative potential of plant world psychedelic medicine is Farrah Sabado, also known as Miss Sabado. Born in LA and bred as a New Yorker, Farrah’s journey with psychedelics came to fruition as a byproduct of her desire to break out of limiting societal and familial expectations and live an authentic life, maximizing her full artistic and creative flow.
Farrah was brought up in a traditional immigrant Filipino family whose ideas and values mirrored that of their provincial homeland. She was trained as a classical pianist in her former years and competed in talent and beauty pageants in her adolescence. This catapulted her into a career in commercial acting and modeling, which eventually led to DJing and underground dance music. She was a perfect straight-A student, the idealized child, who did everything right, but was deeply anxious, distressed, and perpetually afraid of making mistakes because the consequences proved to be dire. She knew at a young age that she needed to break out of this chain, so she leaned into rebellious modalities and ways of thinking to set herself free.
At 17, Farrah left her heavily religious home and began her journey of undoing and unlearning. She broke the barrier first with yoga, falling deep in love with the practice, studying mind-body-soul alignment and chakra clearing for message downloads. Intuitively she knew that diet affected transmission quality, so she experimented with different thought systems on food, tweaking and fine-tuning what optimized the body best to keep the vessel open. Little did she know she was preparing the container for a destiny beyond her imagination…
This series of small serendipities led her to her first LSD experience in 2009. She had heard about Burning Man from a classmate at CSUN and finally made her maiden voyage to Black Rock City after being invited to DJ for a San Francisco-based camp. This experience left a huge impact on her, turning her life upside down and inspiring her to move out of LA to pursue a career in music and DJing in NYC.
Upon her arrival, she navigated her way through the fringe communities of Burning Man and underground dance music. For as much as these communities are known for extravagant parties and recreational drug use, Farrah credits them to have revealed a deeper layer of healing than what meets the eye.
Over the next few years, Farrah would dive deeply into plant medicines like psilocybin and ayahuasca. These experiences led her to unprecedented breakdowns that inspired heroic breakthroughs, steering the direction of her music:
“Find your voice, don’t hide behind the DJ booth, share your message with the world.”
These downloads came in loud and clear, and she did exactly that. For the following two years, she studied at the Vocal Workout Singing School, which (again) was broken down to be built back up. With the help of vocal director Ilana Martin, she found her voice and cultivated her sound. Farrah realized that what was missing was the presence of musical styles that had colored her youth – selections that are part of memories far suppressed into her memory bank, a coping mechanism victims of abuse commonly do. This led her to confront her past, working through the guilt and shame attached to those formative traumas and transmuting them through music.
“The highest objective of the artist is to internalize and express. All the best art transcends space and time through absolute truth and authenticity in its expression.” -Farrah
These epiphanies marked a turning point in Farrah’s musical career, transcending her self-imposed limitations to realize her musical destiny. She needed to confront and heal the wounds of her past, and embrace them as a part of her story. With the help of plant medicine, she embarked on a journey to restore the broken little girl inside her and reintegrate her whole authentic self. This profound inner work led to her artistic rebirth as Miss Sabado, where she embraced the entirety of her musical influences to create something greater than the sum of its parts.
To this day, Farrah credits biohacking and psychedelic medicine practices for her continued vigor and artistic stamina. Hoping to democratize this knowledge, Farrah is an unofficial biohacking expert and psychedelic guide to her friends and family. Her biggest priority is to optimize the body by applying biohacking strategies and psychedelic assistance so she can continue to do her best work as an artist and performer. Farrah believes she has cracked the code; the continued challenge is integration.
The post How DJ Artist Farrah Sabado Cracked The Code And Became A Biohacking Expert Through Music and Psychedelics appeared first on The Village Voice.
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