From seeing stars to seeing nothing at all, Aaron Rodgers has cornered the market on alternative medicines.
In 2022, the quarterback revealed that he experimented with ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic drug, on more than one occasion. Ayahuasca is a psychedelic drug that's popular with, well, people who are into psychedelic drugs, and its effects are wide-ranging.
Apparently, turning someone into a superhuman football player is one of them. After using ayahuasca, Rodgers went on to win back-to-back NFL MVP awards, and he says it made him a better player. (No, really.)
Rodgers has been known to seek alternative treatments in recent years — avoiding the COVID-19 vaccine, his penchant for Panchakarma cleanses and a darkness retreat, to boot — but his openness about how ayahuasca benefited him have led him to becoming one of the field's most vocal advocates of psychedelics.
In June, Rodgers was asked to speak at a psychedelic advocacy convention in Denver, where he'll detail his experiences and talk about the benefits for those who may be on the fence about using the drug.
MORE: How Aaron Rodgers influenced the NFL schedule with trade to Jets
Rodgers' use of the drug has been extensively detailed, with all of that context coming straight from the horse's mouth. After all, why else would he agree to a trade to the Jets?
Here's what Rodgers has said about the drug, and his other form of psychotherapy:
Aaron Rodgers and psychedelics
Aug. 3, 2022: In a revealing and intriguing interview on "The Aubrey Marcus Podcast," Rodgers says that it's "no coincidence" that he had two of the best years of his career after taking ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic tea he took during his time in Peru.
Rodgers explains:
I don't think it's a coincidence. I really don't. I don't really believe in coincidences at this point. It's the universe bringing things to happen when they're supposed to happen.
There's signs and synchronicities all around us at all times if we're awake enough to see them and to take them in and to listen to our intuition when it's speaking to us or pounding us in the head saying, "Hey, dummy, wake up, this is what you're supposed to be doing."
Aug. 8, 2022: Speaking with NBC Sports' Peter King, Rodgers further details his use of ayahuasca and the "journey" that changed him on a spiritual level. He says that his initial goal in using the psychedelic was to heal himself and fix relationships.
We sat three different nights with the medicine. I came in with an intention of doing a lot of healing of other relationships and bringing in certain people to have conversations with. Most of the work was around myself and figuring out what unconditional love of myself looks like of myself. In doing that, allowing me to understand how to unconditionally love other people but first realizing it’s got to start with myself. I’ve got to be a little more gentle with myself and compassionate and forgiving because I’ve had some negative voices, negative self-talk, for a long time. A lot of healing went on.
He further explained how the drug changed him:
The most important way was really that self-love part. I think it’s unlocked a lot of my heart. Being able to fully give my heart to my teammates, my loved ones, relationships because I can fully embrace unconditionally myself. Just didn’t do that for a long time. I was very self-critical. When you have so much judgment on yourself it’s easy to transfer that judgment to other people. When you figure out a better way to love yourself, I think you can love people better because you’re not casting the same judgment you cast on yourself on other people. I’m really thankful for that.
Rodgers says that his main goal is to continue repairing himself mentally and fixing the damaged relationships in his life, including the one between he and his family.
Also in his interview with King, Rodgers says that he is seeking help from therapists and via meditation, saying that the use of ayahuasca has only deepened his love of football, not set his sights elsewhere.
Aug. 9, 2022: Good news for Packers fans and those gearing up for fantasy drafts: NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy says that Rodgers won't be attracting the attention of the league. McCarthy says that Rodgers' use of the drug won't trigger a positive result under the substance abuse or performance-enhancing drug policies, meaning Rodgers is in the clear (and with a clear mind, apparently).
Sept. 20, 2022: Rodgers continues his crusade against those who detract from his ayahuasca experience, denouncing critics on the "Pat McAfee Show." Rodgers says that the natural growth of ayahuasca means that it's not actually a drug — though it is treated like one by governments.
Rodgers' quotes from the show:
The reference to ayahuasca or even marijuana, putting the tag 'drug' on them, is a manipulative word that creates a bias against those specific things. … Ayahuasca is not a drug. It has properties in it that have hallucinogenitive (sic) abilities. But it's not a drug. We're talking about plants here.
It’s a very important point to make. This is how words are created in our society to create a certain bias against certain things. I do think it's important to go on this ridiculous tangent that I'm on, how words are used to create bias in certain situations. Those biases create fears and those fears prevent people from doing their own research or looking into it or having their own idea and truth in a situation.
Dec. 13, 2022: Rodgers says that ayahuasca has alleviated his fear of death — no, really. On another appearance on the "Pat McAfee Show," Rodgers says that he is relieved courtesy of the tea.
I definitely had a fear of death. And ayahuasca, and psilocybin actually, really helped me with that and relieved a lot of the stress around the idea of needing to accomplish things before I actually die … and taking away some of that fear. I think when you’ve seen the other side, it makes the idea of death more of a passage and less of an ending.
June 2023: Rodgers speaks at a psychedelics conference, where he is set to appear as one of the conferences unlisted guests. Also making an appearance is rapper Jaden Smith (son of Will Smith) and former Texas governor Rick Perry.
What is ayahuasca?
Ayahuasca is a plant-based psychedelic that can affect a person's emotions, sense of time, feeling and reality.
From the Alcohol and Drug Foundation:
Ayahuasca is a decoction (concentrated liquid) made by prolonged heating or boiling of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with the leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub, although there can be a variety of other plants included in the decoction for different traditional purposes.
Ayahuasca is a liquid and is also known as huasca, yagé, Kamarampi, Huni, brew, daime, the tea and la purga.
Some side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and anxiety.
So, there you have it: Aaron Rodgers and ayahuasca, a better pairing than Rodgers and Davante Adams.
Aaron Rodgers' darkness retreat
Early in 2023, Rodgers revealed he was entering something known as a "darkness retreat," which is exactly what it sounds like. The quarterback spent four days in total isolation, in total darkness, in a totally bizarre (but very Rodgers) move.
Rodgers explained he entered the darkness retreat to clear his mind and do some thinking about his future. Rodgers said that it had been planned for a while, and wasn't a reaction to the Packers' disappointing 2022 season.
MORE: Everything you need to know about Aaron Rodgers' darkness retreat
"I've had a number of friends who've done it and had some profound experiences," Rodgers said of the darkness retreat. "It's something that's been on my radar for a few years now. I felt like it'd be awesome to do regardless of where I was leaning after this season."
Soon after Rodgers emerged from the darkness, he announced his decision to play for the Jets, which kicked off a somewhat acrimonious and long-awaited split from the Packers.
So, while Rodgers entered the darkness, Jets fans are hoping he leads them out of it in the near future.