Entheogens
"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed."
-Albert Einstein
Educational Primer
Alan Watts
Words from Aldous Huxley
Magic Mushrooms
Salvia DivinorumThose new to the concept of chemically heightened awareness may wonder, what is an Entheogen?
To be brief, entheogens refer to the class of drugs and plants that are commonly refered to as psychedelics. These are the generally illegal "mind expanding" drugs that give access to altered modes of perception that can often be quite profound and transformative in nature. Good examples are: psilocybin mushrooms, peyote cactus, Ayahuasca and Salvia Divinorum.
If you want further clarification of what constitutes an entheogen, you can click here-- assuming you don't mind a little self-indulgent ranting about drugs and my cleverly concealed disdain for certain public figures. ;)
And to those who support the dysfunctional War on Drugs and feel that all mind transforming substances are "bad" because the media has declared them as such-- well that's unfortunate, since you are thus limiting your personal potential. I'll just remind you that you'll never learn anything new if you don't keep an open mind. As Einstein cleverly observed, "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.", and nothing is more mysterious than the entheogenic experience.
So listen to Einstein. He was smarter than you.
Personally, a couple positive experiences with magic mushrooms served to completely transform my worldview, allowing me to fully appreciate Beauty and to more fully understand philosophy, science and religion. For this I will be eternally grateful. I sometimes feel that I owe a debt of thanks, and there just aren't enough words nor poets to express them... :) It is funny how a humble mushroom helped to orient my life in such a positive and profound way. Hence my frustration when uneducated primates dismiss mushrooms as yet another form of smack.
By the way... virtually all drugs are not for kids. Entheogens are a sacrement for adults of sound mind & body, commonly used for self-directed programs of spiritual exploration. If you are under the age of maturity and are abusing drugs --somehow using my words to help justify taking ecstacy every weekend-- I will seriously come to your parent's house and put my foot in your ass. Right in your little raver ass. Then we'll see a *real* dancing monkey...
Sorry, but kids abusing drugs is very serious. Since I promote responsible drug use, this can indirectly give ME a bad reputation [probably making me a "terrorist", right?], and this idea really pisses me off. :P
Be responsible & safe.
Always use in moderation.
...and for God's sake, learn something new!
You won't learn this on the Discovery Channel. Ever.
If you'd like to learn more, I would highly recommend visiting The Alchemind Society website and see what they have to say. I have been a member for a couple years, and will continue to do so (finances willing, of course). The Alchemind publication, "The Journal of Cognitive Liberties" is always an interesting read.
The Alchemind Society has also created a short video presentation outlining their mission. Hosted by CultureJam.com, it is available for download here. The video is in RealPlayer format.
While I'm promoting intelligent organizations, you should also check out The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). I've also been a member for a few years now and can say that their quarterly publications are always very educational and inspirational.
When smart people use entheogens, the product is socially aware organizations like MAPS and Alchemind.
If you envision a better world where free thinking and entheogenic experiences are not criminalized, I'd suggest you consider becoming a member of either Alchemind or MAPS. I realize there are dozens of other great non-profit orgs out there, so if you have another preference, that's cool. :)
My point is this: if you have had experiences similiar to my own, why not join one of these organizations and get informed? What's the worst that could happen?... you'll even learn something.
