Rhododendrons, Bees, and the Spiritual Life of Honey

Rhododendrons, Bees, and the Spiritual Life of Honey

The residents of Nepal’s mountainous Himalayan regions have an odd relationship with their local bee population. To outsiders, the depth of the people’s devotion and the lengths they’ll go to procure the bee’s mind-expanding honey seem almost alien. For the Nepali, however, the symbiosis between the two species is as natural as breathing.

For their part, the bees do what bees do best. They range across the vast stretches of local rhododendron that blanket the area’s mountainous terrain, collecting nectar and converting it into honey. They aren’t aware that they’re doing anything special, but they most certainly are. Their labors create a mystical honey that the rest of the world is only now discovering.

The honey is no ordinary honey because the nectar the bees collect is no ordinary nectar. It contains wonderful compounds called “grayanotoxins” found only in certain rhododendron species in far-flung locations around the globe. When consumed in honey, these compounds bathe human consciousness in a warm, euphoric glow. At higher doses, they usher in hallucinations, granting insights straight from the Guardian Spirit of the Bees.

Overeat, and everything changes. Extreme honey intoxication becomes quite uncomfortable. That’s one reason traditional honey hunters are so important. They understand how to procure and use the honey safely.

The residents here have used it for centuries as a medicine, an intoxicant, and a spiritual enhancement. The honey is just honey. But the precious grayanotoxins it holds in suspension are one of the Nepali people’s connections to the divine.

 

How Grayanotoxins Render Humble Honey Transcendent

Grayanotoxins are psychoactive in humans, creating blissful euphoria coupled with increased focus and clarity of thought. Everyday aches and pains are forgotten as the compounds course through the blood, carry anxieties, worries, and stress off into the ether.

Himalayan bees are the conduit through which these healing compounds can express themselves. Unaware of the important role they play, the giant bees collect grayanotoxins from tens of thousands of flowers, slowly concentrating the ephemeral compounds into a sticky mass of potent honey. They don’t know it, but the world owes these busy bees a debt of gratitude.

Despite the word “toxin” in the name, grayanotoxins are safe. Honey intoxication fatalities are exceedingly rare. As unpleasant as overeating can be, it leaves no lasting damage. And it’s simple to avoid when you know your source and your dosage. When you purchase mad honey from a reputable dealer, it’s tested for potency and consistency. Once you find the right amount of honey for you, stick to it, and you’ll never have a bad experience.

On the contrary, your life will improve. You’ll have a new tool in the fight against the ravages of modern life. Himalayan cliff honey gives us the space we need to step away from our problems and see them for what they are — temporary challenges in a greater cosmic dance that’s filled with wonder and joy.

Will you come along for the ride? Nepal’s sacred mad honey is waiting for you to light the way, and Honey Nepal is here to make sure it stays that way.