Entheogens and Psychonautics

[Siloh]

This thread is for those who use or have used entheogens for psychonautic or otherwise spiritual purposes, or for those who are considering use or would like to ask questions about others' personal practices with entheogens. For the purposes of the thread, I am using "entheogen" to mean a mind-altering substances that are used for psychonautic or otherwise explicitly transcendent experiences, and I am excluding use of entheogenic substances that do not actively recognize the substance as an entheogen as well as excluding a) entheogens that would not be intense enough to be useful in psychonautics (wine, cannabis) and b) psychonautics attained through means not involving entheogens.

I've been thinking about creating this thread since I arrived at PF, and I still can't decide if it's a good idea. But I'm opening the door for others who would like to discuss this topic. However, I stress that this topic be treated as a form of spiritual practice, as it is, and not as an impersonal debate topic, though I have much confidence in the supportive nature of this community.


To start, this is the most important practice in my life spiritually, and I can take up to six months to prepare for my departure. I feel that eroding or destroying one's ego is both enlightening and dangerous, of course, and treat this ritual very very carefully. However, I've had recent experiences with an entheogen that has quite changed the picture, as it is so incredibly gentle on both body and mind, and so my practices are now less hazardous and can be conducted more than once or twice a year without health or psychological concerns.

This has been very exciting for me, but it can be very difficult to find the correct community to share experiences and practices with. I don't kid myself by thinking I'd get along with most people who identify as psychonauts--it's obviously a mixed bag. I like discussing spirituality here, but I've often lamented that I had no proper place to discuss my most important personal ritual.

So here I am, making a space.

So, psychonauts? Psychonautic questions? Anyone?

[Yazichestvo]

Re: Entheogens and Psychonautics

I did try and explore the spiritual side of intoxication, early on in my pagan path. I had maybe one or two interesting experiences, one involving the goddess Ishtar (I was very eclectic originally.) Gradually however, I started to realize how much certain intoxicants simply strengthened the imagination. I'm very suspicious of my imagination, because I know how powerful it can be- especially with the aid of an intoxicating substance. So while it was certainly interesting, I ultimately ended up going in a different direction.

[Siloh]

Re: Entheogens and Psychonautics

That's an interesting observation. I'd say that the difference between spiritual experience and that which is imagination-expounding are both connected and differentiated in my personal experience. Lucy and I generally enjoy each other, but she enjoys head games, and sometimes we wind up playing pretend instead of looking for God.

My new friend Dimirtius is not so playful, very imaginative, but also very down-to-business with me. The other night, I thought I was going to go have some imaginary fun in a way, looking towards the beauty and awe more, honestly, than thinking about the message I'd bring back to further my Self spiritually.

It was as if I were Moses before the bush's brilliance. I wanted to study it, this gorgeous light, but instead it told me I had come improperly equipped--take off your sandals, for you are before God--except it wasn't sandals stripped off of me. Rather, I felt my Self as seized in a vice, and my stresses and agendas and, even, the frenetic tide of my imagination were peeled from me. Feeling light, I thought I was prepared now to see what I was meant to, but each time I wanted to press further, and to let my imagination run wild, I was detained, chastised good-naturedly, and told to relax and focus. When I finally attained a state of passivity, I realized I was not to return without making an effort to incorporate relaxation, breathing, and meditation into my "waking" life.

So, Lucy is willing to grab my hand and spend three hours with a coloring book, but Dimitrius rejects my unfocused ambitions, preferring I come well prepared to listen and not push. I would not have started this thread had I not met him, and I'm very pleased I know him today. That's not to say other entheogens are less, but for me, they are not as superbly effective at being conduits for spirituality.



I'd like to add as a note some of the chief reasons I feel strongly about the use of entheogens for psychonautics. I am aware that the below qualities are a part of many practices that do not use external substances to achieve these traits.

Ego death is the pinnacle of spiritual experience in my opinion and also the pinnacle of experience for most entheogens. I feel the ego is invaluable in everyday life and should be cherished and nurtured, it serving functions necessary to be a participant of and agent in society. However, the ego often is seen in isolation, the I, and I feel it's necessary to be aware that the Self is much more multitudinous than the ego, and that individuals are always far more vast and encompassing than the ego would have one believe.

Entheogens, then, offer a chance for those who have and have not seen past their ego to rapidly transcend it, experiencing a fullness of the Self often not possible with the ego intact.

This goes further, for me, but gets more highly theoretical as I go. I'm going to pause here for now.