There are stories of the ability of mystics to transmute poisons by actually ingesting them. In Hindu mythology, Shiva was known to ingest the poisons of the world and transmute them into healing energy. Shamans ingest and transmute poisons by being completely merged with their helping spirits. In this way the shaman is not hurt, for the spirits take the toxins and transmute them. Yes, this can be done. But one must journey past the process of empathy and make sure that the energies taken on are kept moving. The key here is the perception of pain. In order to take on pain or toxins and transmute them, one must perceive all pain and poison as merely an illusion.
— Sandra Ingerman, Medicine for the Earth