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Showing posts with label Magic Mushrooms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Magic Mushrooms. Show all posts
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Mushrooms are a form of intelligence unlike anything we know of on this Planet. The mycelium network helps communication or transmission of information between trees, the soil and all who ingest these miraculous mushrooms that envelope the entire planet. Many who have ingested the Psilocybin Mushrooms have reported experiencing clairaudience or telepathy of some kind, clairvoyance and other abilities that are usually considered superhuman or mystical in nature as they are not easily understood within the scientific and rational paradigm that governs most of our intellectual understanding of the Universe.
We've all seen the 'Amanita Muscaria' toad stool mushrooms while growing up in cartoons, comic books, artwork etc., mostly associated with the so called mythical creatures of ancient folklore such as Elves and Fairies. I remember wearing a woolen sweater with the Amanita Muscaria stitched on it when I was very young. The white spots on the red caps all seemed very familiar even then in a strange and magnetic way.
Some interesting videos on Mushrooms and the Mycelium Network !
After dabbling with Cannabis and psychedelics such as LSD and MDMA, I came across Mushrooms first in tons of visionary artwork on the Internet. Mushrooms always made me curious to look deeper into the magical world of fungi and the benefits of using these to attain spiritual insight into ourselves and the world we live in. My first experience with Mushrooms was in Kodaikanal where the Psilocybin Mushrooms grow wild. Some have also reported seeing the Blue Meanies or the Blue Amanita Muscarias growing wild in these parts. However, not very common to find those as compared to stumbling upon the Golden caps mushrooming all across the forest floor in the Nilgiris. 'Nilgiris' literally translates, the 'Blue Mountains' ! :)
The effect was mild compared to my previous psychedelic journeys on other tryptamines, however it was very pure and organic in its feel. It was very grounding and pleasant as I felt more connected with everything around me and at completely at peace. This was an initiation for me into the world of shrooms and was as gentle as it gets. My next adventure on shrooms was unlike anything else I have experienced before. I did about half a dozen of the golden caps if i remember correctly :) ... and then began the roller coaster ride which was like sailing on the edge of lucid dreaming and wakefulness. Going in and out of visions I couldn't make complete sense of ... it was more like watching Mickey Mouse or something in animation with your eyes closed. After a while when I opened my eyes and tried to 'get back to normal' by doing the usual ... streaming music on YouTube while rolling some nice Mango Sativa bud. Couldn't keep my eyes open for too long though ... and as I closed my eyes ... a vision came to me of someone I was supposed to meet in the next couple of hours. However, in the vision I saw this lady say 'Police Police' in her odd russian accent. I wondered why I was seeing her say Police Police ... perhaps I would be cracking a joke or two about her accent to my friends later ... and I let the thought/vision slide not paying much attention to it. Couple of hours later as I was meeting this lady, I had a brief encounter with some plain clothes policemen who jumped us while we were talking somewhere outside, assuming something odd was happening between us since they saw me handing over some cash to her. HAHAHAHA :D Anyway, I got out of the situation without much trouble (they found some Cannabis on me after I gave them permission to search me) since I happen to know some influential people around here and perhaps the shrooms helped me stay calm and composed through the experience. I was shaken up a bit after this experience and kept wondering why I didn't pay attention to the vision I had. Perhaps, it was my first lesson in clairvoyance and knowing that it's possible to know more than what's here and now if one is tranquil and at peace. We become open channels when we are completely and totally silent ... devoid of all that mental chatter that takes away most of our time and energy.
Mushrooms have a way to find you when you're ready like most things in life. There are no accidents and no random occurrences. The shrooms lead us on our path and help us connect with other like minded souls on their journeys as we usher in a new age of light on Earth. We are being given these powerful medicines so we can attain deeper insight into ourselves and become conscious co-creators of the new paradigm. The more I learn about Mushrooms the more mesmerised I feel about them and the possibilities they hold in changing humanity from our destructive ways by healing and nurturing us. Recently while I was watching Dr. Klinghardt's video about EMF radiation and its effects on Human health ... I came across something he mentions about eating Mushrooms that grow around these towers or radiated areas. These mushrooms build our immunity against harmful effects of radiation. I was amazed at the timing of the message reaching me ... :) while cooking some delicious Oyster Mushrooms ! I've been using Oyster and Shiitake mushrooms lately and they're so so yummy, if you haven't tried cooking them as yet, you must ! There are still some more shrooms I'd love to try like Lion's Mane, Chaga, Reishi ... all of these are known to have healing benefits with prominent antiviral properties ! More reason for us to move to Shrooms for food and for our vision quests. I believe we are being given these medicines in these times so we can build our immunity against all attacks of any kind whether its radiation sickness or a viral surge. Mushrooms are here to heal us and awaken us to our true nature by enhancing our connection with everything around us, making us more sensitive and more responsible gardeners of our home, Gaia.
Hope you liked the videos and other information shared in this post. Please share it with your community of friends and help us get the word out !
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When so many are struggling for connection, inspiration and hope, "Fantastic Fungi" brings us together as interconnected creators of our world.
Fantastic Fungi, directed by Louie Schwartzberg, is a consciousness-shifting film that takes us on an immersive journey through time and space into the magical earth beneath our feet, an underground network that can heal and save our planet. Through the eyes of renowned scientists and mycologists like Paul Stamets, best-selling authors Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone, Andrew Weil and others, we become aware of the beauty, intelligence and solutions the fungi kingdom offers us in response to some of our most pressing medical, therapeutic, and environmental challenges.
Fantastic Fungi from MOVING ART by Louie Schwartzberg on Vimeo.
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An interesting documentary film titled, "Have a Good Trip : Adventures in Psychedelics" is due to be aired on Netflix this May featuring many celebrities recalling their psychedelic explorations ... their hallucinogenic highs and lows ! :D
The film features trippy stories from A-list actors, comedians and musicians including Bill Kreutzmann, Adam Scott, Nick Offerman, Sarah Silverman, Ad-Rock, Rosie Perez, A$AP Rocky, Paul Scheer, Nick Kroll, Rob Cordry and many more.
“Mixing comedy with a thorough investigation of psychedelics, 'HAVE A GOOD TRIP' explores the pros, cons, science, history, future, pop cultural impact and cosmic possibilities of hallucinogens,” read a press release.
“The film tackles the big questions: Can psychedelics have a powerful role in treating depression, addiction, and helping us confront our own mortality? Are we all made of the same stuff? Is love really all we need? Can trees talk?”
The film was written and directed by Donick Cary and produced by Mike Rosenstein, Sunset Rose Pictures, and Sugarshack 2000.
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So, what did I do? Firstly, I started micro-dosing with psilocybin. The magic mushrooms helped to soften some of my constant limiting self-beliefs as well as reducing the amount of regular soul-destroying nightmares that stopped me from sleeping soundly through the night. And although it wasn't much, this was a great relief for me.
It was, however, when I discovered and started the Sweet Spot therapeutic sessions with psilocybin that, step for step, I managed to eliminate my debilitating PTSD. When I started, I hoped it would soften my issues, challenges and anguish a little more than micro-dosing, but at no point did I realise it would release me from those life-long bounds altogether. Each session focused on a particular issue, and I think I can say that after the fourth session I had released my burdens. It was the fifth session, however, that turned out to be a bonus and was a spiritual moment that previously I disregarded such thoughts as rubbish. What an eye opener this turned out to be.
All in all, this life-changing experience took me a little more than a year to complete, even though I had many good and bad days as I realised what I had gone through in my life. Yet, now I can get up each and every morning with enthusiasm and determination to make the most of my remaining life. Words can't express how wonderful this is to experience on a daily basis and just seems to get better each and every day that still allows me to deal with the past, to love myself and to have the life that I never previously had.
Please join me on this year-long life-journey of mine as I bare my soul in describing what happened in my past, the battles I experienced through these changes to the awe-inspiring life-changing revelations I experienced. You can find my book and ebook on Amazon (your country) or Lulu (the paperback is cheaper here!) or you can order it from your local bookshop if they don't already have it on their shelves.
- Neil Holmes
Get the ebook here !
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"Taking The Psychedelic Leap" is the latest rendition from the bestselling self-help author Richard Haight. I have only read the first few chapters and to be honest, this one brings a lot of deep, meaningful insights on the subject of psychedelic awakenings! The trials and tribulations of a powerful psychonaut dealing with all aspects of his being ... his own journey towards 'Oneness'!
Here is a short video of Richard reading the 'Introduction' to the book ...
Introduction
“I’m a purist,” my teacher said. “I don’t believe that psychedelics are necessary or even useful on the path of awakening. I feel that it is up to me to awaken on my own.” He echoed my personally held belief exactly. We were discussing my upcoming trip to the Amazon, where I was intent upon partaking in an ayahuasca ceremony with an Achuar shaman.
Here is a gripping excerpt from the book ...
Chapter 3 : Purification by Fire
I quickly drank the liquid and ate the remaining mushrooms at the bottom of the glass, and then I headed back to the bedroom for privacy. Once seated in the bedroom, I took a moment to pray: “What is death? What am I not understanding about life? And what is still veiling my consciousness? Show me my remaining darkness.”
The memory of Ethan came up again, and I wondered what could be learned from his death. I heard his voice in the back of my mind, “Be happy—no excuses. Tell the family to be happy, with no excuses. Tell everyone to be happy!”
I thought I was happy …
Within minutes of sitting, I found myself in a deep, powerful silence. Energy seemed to course through my body, buoying it. It was a great feeling to start my first psilocybin trip, I thought. The buoying feeling didn’t last long, however. Within just a few minutes, the experience took an uncomfortable turn. I began feeling a bit sick to my stomach. I assumed it wasn’t serious, so, at first, I ignored it, attempting to go further into silence.
The nausea rapidly escalated, so I dove deeper into meditation, hoping it would relieve my stomach. Before long, I was forced to choose between throwing up in my bedroom and rushing to the bathroom. I rose from my seated position on wobbly legs and staggered into the bathroom for release, purposely neglecting to tell my wife of my precarious situation.
I positioned myself at the toilet for a time, but nothing came up. After waiting for a few minutes, the pressure in my stomach began to subside, as I felt a gurgle in my bowels. I realized that the tea had taken a turn south, so I quickly repositioned myself for a different explosion. Although I had the feeling that I was about to blow, and the extreme discomfort that entails, the release didn’t come.
While sitting on the toilet, a chill came over my body, which began shivering. Taking the risk of blowing out all over the floor, I rose to turn on the bath water, in hopes of warming myself. About the time the bath filled halfway, the chills turned to profuse sweating as my body temperature soared.
It was a cold winter evening, and the bathroom temperature was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but at that moment it felt more like 120 degrees. I hurriedly stripped off all my clothing, turned off the bath water, and laid myself down on the cold ceramic floor to cool down. It felt so good—for a moment.
In an instant, my body took another turn to trembling cold, and to make things worse, I had to pee like never before, so I staggered back to the toilet and took wobbly aim. My body was so cold that I couldn’t relax enough to release. It was as if someone had locked it and tossed away the key. It hurt badly.
It then occurred to me that maybe someone had made a mistake and accidentally mixed some poisonous mushrooms in with the hallucinogenic types. After all, little brown galerina mushrooms, which are some of the deadliest mushrooms known, commonly grow right next to psilocybin mushrooms. I began to panic.
Fortunately, I’d carried a pen and some note paper into the bathroom with me in the event that I needed to write something important. With shaking hand, I managed to fumble my way through “I think I ate poisonous mushrooms, please tell this to the doctor!” I set the paper down and decided to wait a bit longer before calling out to my wife. I didn’t want to take a trip to the emergency room for no reason, after all.
Suddenly all three exits warned of release, so I abandoned the pen and plopped myself back onto the toilet seat. I picked up the little trash can that sits next to the bowl and placed it on my lap to throw up into. There I was, a grown man, naked, shivering, and literally begging for a triple explosion, with my head buried in a wastebasket. My entire nervous system was so hyped up that my skin hurt to touch anything, even lightly. My breathing was labored, my pulse was racing, and my head throbbed unbearably.
I had a sudden third-person image of myself looking like a sagging question mark, and I realized how ridiculous I appeared in that moment. I thought, “I’m in really bad shape. Maybe I should call out for help ... no ... I don’t want to bother her. I’ll pull through as soon as I purge. I just need to get this out.”
Suddenly my temperature rose again, and my pores covered my body in slippery sweat. In panic, I called out to my wife before I swooned off the toilet onto the cold tile floor, half-conscious. Suddenly, my mind began spinning, faster and faster, as if I were trapped in some insane amusement park ride. I closed my eyes hoping to center myself, but that only made things much, much worse. Try as I might, my eyes refused to open again. My stomach, bowels, and bladder all ached for release, but I no longer had any control over my body. I realized that I was about to release on the floor and … on myself.
Desperately, I attempted to call out to my wife, but my mouth refused to follow my intention. My tongue felt like a dry twig in my mouth, a sign of severe dehydration. I couldn’t move, felt dehydrated, and was at risk of hypothermia, too, if I didn’t warm up soon. The knowledge I had from the survival courses I had taken told me that death was a real possibility in this situation. An image flashed in my mind’s eye of my dead body, naked on the cold tile floor, my partner just outside, none the wiser. Somehow I had the impression that I had been tricked into this precarious situation.
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You can get the kindle edition of the book here ! (It's only $.99 for a limited period of time!)
More about the Author :
At the age of 24, Richard moved to Japan to advance his training with masters of the sword, staff, and jujutsu. During his 15 years living in Japan, Richard was awarded masters licenses in four samurai arts as well as a traditional healing art called Sotai-ho.
Throughout his life, Richard has had a series of profound visions that have ultimately guided him to the realization of the Oneness that the ancient spiritual teachers often spoke of. This understanding ultimately transformed the arts that he teaches and has resulted in the writing of The Unbound Soul.
Through his new book The Unbound Soul, his meditation and martial arts seminar, Richard Haight is helping to ignite a worldwide spiritual awakening that is free of all constraints and open to anyone of any level. Richard Haight now lives and teaches in southern Oregon, U.S.A.
Richard Haight explains that true spiritual enlightenment embraces all of life with deep aliveness, authenticity, innocence, and authority. It is what you are truly seeking.
Visit www.richardhaight.net for more information!
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The Psilocybin in Magic Mushrooms Could be a Promising Treatment for PTSD
PTSD is one of the worst afflictions for members of our military. It is so damaging, an average of 22 veterans commits suicide every day due to PTSD.
PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, can come from all sorts of traumatic situations. It’s extremely common in people returning from the battlefield, but also impacts anyone who has to make a major transition from a life in uniform back to civilian life. The US Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that up to 20 percent of Iraq War veterans suffer from PTSD.
Psychedelics as a Solution
Research suggests that psychedelics, particularly psilocybin (which is present in “magic” mushrooms), is a promising treatment for PTSD.
For many years, people thought that the drug was only “useful” for the “trip” – the ability it has to cause someone to see something completely different and go on a journey in their mind, leading to major introspection and a new view of the world around them. While this is certainly a major reason for the popularity of mushrooms as a recreational drug, this new research indicates that the mushroom’s qualities might restructure the brain in ways that could have a significant healing impact.
Brain Growth from Mushrooms
One study from the University of South Florida found that psilocybin actually stimulates the growth of brain cells in the hippocampus. The hippocampus, researchers believe, is the center of emotion and memory in the brain. By rejuvenating and replacing those cells in mice, researchers were able to help them overcome fear far more quickly and easily than mice who had not received the drug. That means that psilocybin might be able to treat a number of mental conditions, including addiction, OCD, and PTSD, by restructuring the parts of the brain that are the centers of addiction, fear, and painful memories.
The mouse study referenced involved mice being taught to fear a certain sound. Researchers played the sound and then shocked the mice immediately after, causing them to eventually fear the sound even when there was no shock afterwards. This experiment essentially triggered PTSD in the mice. The normal mice were incapable of overcoming the fear and became paralyzed by the sound.
However, some of the mice were dosed with psilocybins – one a low dose and one a high dose, while a third group received a saline solution. The study found that the low dose group was the most effective in overcoming their fear. That indicates that the drug may have helped the mice regrow the cells in their hippocampus that store fear and anxiety.
The Potential of Mushrooms
If psilocybin is successful in treating PTSD, it might be successful in treating other neurological disorders. While research on psychedelics continues to be illegal in the United States without special permission, if scientists continue to find these encouraging results, it’s certainly possible that the drug could eventually be used for treating these disorders regularly.
Source : Trufflemagic.com ... Where you’ll receive a wealth of information about this psychedelic substance ... and more !
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Depression is Painful
Clinical depression is an extremely common affliction, impacting more than six percent of American adults. Everyone knows someone who suffers from depression, whether or not it is diagnosed. The pain generally lasts a lifetime, although it can be alleviated with therapy, meditation, and other treatments. In the meantime, it causes a person to become lethargic and unmotivated, draining their energy.
Mushrooms may be a solution
More than half a century ago, scientists did early research on psychedelics hinting that they could have wide-ranging applications. The research didn’t meet the high standards of rigor that science expects today, but the results of those experiments hinted that these drugs may be able to significantly improve some people’s lives.
For example, one study treated more than 500 alcoholics using psychedelics. The drugs were found to vastly outperform other contemporary treatment options. However, the research stalled out in the middle of the twentieth century, since drug control made it extremely difficult to access psychedelics even in a research setting.
Imperial College London and the Beckley Foundation have teamed up to pick up where those 60s scientists left off and learn more about the potential medical uses for psychedelics.
More recent research
One study recently gave a daily 25 mg dose of psilocybin – the active ingredient in magic mushrooms – to a dozen people who had suffered from treatment-resistant depression (which cannot be effectively treated by antidepressant drugs). After their “trip,” all twelve reported feeling less anxious and enjoying more aspects of their lives. A week later, eight were in remission. Three months later, five of the study participants remained free of depression.
Another study at Johns Hopkins University found that psilocybin can be effective in helping people to quit smoking, with an unprecedented 80 percent success rate in one study.
Moving forward
Of course, depressed readers shouldn’t just head out to find some psychedelic mushrooms of their own. These are still an illegal drug, and you need to know exactly how much to use to get the best results. However, with careful supervision and parameters, it’s been proven that psychedelics can be a legitimate medical tool. However, much more research is needed before they’re widely used in treating any sort of mental difficulties.
Source : Trufflemagic.com ... Where you’ll receive a wealth of information about this psychedelic substance ... and more !
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Many parts of the brain are not directly connected to each other. Thoughts, memories, and ideas in the different regions are not linked together, so they operate relatively independently. Some of the most creative people have had unusually structured brains so they connect different parts of the brains.
A Unique Phenomena
Typically, brain pathways don’t change. However, when someone ingests mushrooms, that can change. The main ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms is psilocybin. This drug has been shown to create new neural pathways between brain regions that were previously unconnected. That’s what leads to things like seeing music or hearing numbers.
In one study, researchers gave psilocybin to some people and a placebo (a fake) to others. They gave exactly two milligrams of psilocybin to the study participants, though mushrooms are eaten, not injected, and don’t always have the exact same dose.
The scientists found that the people who received psilocybin had more erratic brain functioning than the control group – the neural pathways that were lighting up were unusual. However, they weren’t completely random.
Restructuring your thoughts
Instead of random chaos, the new pathways formed an entirely new organizational structure, and it has the potential to do amazing things, such as treat depression. Studies have found that people who suffer from depression have too much activity in the area of the brain that’s devoted to a sense of self. It’s important to have a moderate amount of activity in that region, but when there is too much self-criticism and negative thought, a person can spiral into depression.
Since psilocybin removes old pathways as part of creating new ones, it can help people get out of a rut. The brain chatter that leads to depression – negative self-thought can be muted and lead to people having a new experience.
This effect has been studied. One Johns Hopkins study gave psilocybin to a small group of volunteers, who reported an out-of-body experience. Those volunteers reported feeling more open and more appreciative of the beauty in the world – and that the effects lasted a long time. One of the participants reported feeling a sense of a greater force, and a realization that the many anxieties they struggled with were just not as important as they felt. A full year after the study, almost two-thirds of the participants said the experience was one of the most important in their lives. Half continued to be more open than they had before.
While mushrooms (and psilocybin) continue to be illegal in the United States, there is definitely a possibility for future therapeutic use, especially in cases of depression.
Source : www.Trufflemagic.com
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It's no secret that mankind has been using various plants and herbs to heal and to attain extraordinary, visionary states of consciousness which the natives call a 'vision quest'. The Mazatec Indians have for long been known to consume hallucinogenic mushrooms as a holy sacrament to connect with the divine.
Catholic Priest gets out of the Psychedelic Closet !
An Interview with Catholic Priest José Luis Sánchez. By Oliver Quintanilla.
It was during the recordings of Little Saints in Huautla de Jimenez, Oaxaca, Mexico, that I interviewed Catholic Priest Jose Luis Sanchez. I wanted to know his opinion about the use of hallucinogenic psilocybin mushrooms, in the Indigenous Mazatec rituals practiced in that area, and also about their relationship with the Catholic religion. The result of this interview was totally unexpected, I prepared for an interview with someone who was supposed to take a stand against the ritual, to my surprise it was quite the opposite.
It seems to me a rather edgy stance of the Catholic Church in that region, but I dare to say, that I wished that Father José Luis, was the priest who gave Holy Mass in the elementary and middle Catholic schools to which I attended.
I recently reviewed the almost one hour long interview, I decided to select the most relevant moments, especially the ones that did not make the final cut of Little Saints, and create an extended version of this talk.
In the first part Father Sanchez tells us about an idea of creating a real Mazatec Church, that includes all that is Mazatec, that means the mushroom rituals. In the second part, he explains about the Mazatec Wise Ones, the medicine men and women who are responsible for helping their people, as well as the self-called guides that focus on serving tourists. And in the third and final part, the most revealing of them all, he shares about his own experiences with the Little Saints, name given to the mushrooms by the Mazatec people.
This interview led me to write to Pope Francis, asking for his comment on the relationship between the sacred plants, spirituality and religion. And although His Holiness may be unaware of the existence of these rituals, because in May 2015, I introduced myself to the current priest at St. John Evangelist Church in Huautla, Father Guadalupe Olmedo Solis, to whom I asked if he knew, what The Vatican thought about the mushroom rituals? To which he replied that “most likely they don’t even know about them”. If that was the case, I consider it important that a dialogue begins, because as Father José Luis mentions [The mushroom rituals] "are part of a spirituality that can give great richness to the Church and the world".
Today presents a unique opportunity to create conversation, and to raise awareness in the general public, about the use of sacred plants for spiritual and healing purposes. Especially now that the Pope will visit Mexico, and celebrate Holy Mass with the Indigenous community of Chiapas on February 15, 2016.
Part 1: The Catholic Church.
FATHER JOSÉ LUIS: The position of the Church towards the mushrooms, here in the sierra, has been turning every day, into a search for the truth of the Mazatec, the truth of the faith of the Mazatec. How is their form of expression, for knowledge, to worship, to understand God, so that the form can also enrich the Church, and all the other Churches. Let them not be strange things than they do in the Sierra, but it’s part of a spirituality that can give great richness to the Church and the world.
To discuss with them about their wisdom, about their faith, morals, customs, and try to start laying the foundations of which would make a Real Indigenous Church, the Mazatec Church, without being separated from the Catholic Church, but with out saying, well we are a Roman Church, we are not. We have to be Mazatec Church, someday we have to achieve it, to be faithful to Christ, we must be Mazatec Church, and that shall include all that is Mazatec.
It's not about making a folk church, no, but everything that gets done, has to be well-founded from their culture, and of course to be a Church, it has to be able to dialogue with Christianity, but a dialogue as equals, not a dialogue from inferior to superior.
For example, we have had a lot of discussions about the indigenous concept of God. For the indigenous people God is both Father and Mother. In Europe God is only Father, that makes them feel unease, and it's very elementary we even find it at the beginning of the Bible, the duality of God. God the Father and Mother, the masculine and the feminine in God. And in Europe it still doesn’t sound good to them, because of their macho culture, they still can’t accept the concept of God Mother. The maternal face of God, even being in the Bible, Europe has not been able to assimilate.
The Mazatecs have that ability to do their ritual, and within the same ritual, they invoke the owners of the hills, the “chicones", the supernatural beings, they invoke them, along with the Christian saints.
In the evening rituals, we have examples that the Church should follow about faith inculturation. Under the effect of the mushroom the Mazatec dialogue with God, dialogue with the Saints, dialogue with Jesus Christ, with Mary, to find the light.
When the Mazatecs take the mushrooms, they always say, the little mushroom, is saliva God, why? Because it makes us talk, it makes us engage in conversation, it gives us the capacity for dialogue.
Translated into English we say the Little Saints but it is not diminutive, it’s of respect.
Based on their attributes they say, it’s the blood of God, because it gives us life, it gives us the life of God. They are saliva of God because they make us speak, God makes us speak. They are like the wings of God, because they raise us, they lift us. They have many expressions that describe what the mushrooms do.
OLIVER: The flesh of God also?
FATHER JOSÉ LUIS: Flesh of God, because it nourishes us, it feeds us.
God spread his blood around the world, and where his blood watered, Little Saints sprout, and those Little Saints are what gives us life, they are those who feed us, they are the flesh and blood of God, who left them for us, so we might have life. And they don’t say: "He left them here in Huautla" no. They say, "God's blood was not lost, it was poured across the world, and the Little Saints sprout worldwide so we have life."
Part 2: The Sages.
But the wise ones, who usually do not speak Spanish, They even use only a few elements of the Church. Their dialogue is with their supernatural beings. Their evening rituals are about reaching an encounter with God. They call the climax of the rite, to reach the sacred table. To arrive to the table, they say "yamixale títjon chjota” [pronounced ja me jan yi na], the table of richness. But the table of riches, they say, where God will hand out his gifts, where God will give you the true light, where he will show you your path.
Not in all rites we arrive. In some, one stays in the purification phase, in others in the healing phase, when there is disease or something, but you rarely get to the sacred table. But the goal is always that, I will achieve such a dialogue with God.
A truly wise one, never abandons their patient halfway through the trip. He or she will accompany the person through out the journey. Sometimes they go very far, and then return. Until the healer brings their patient back from where he or she went, the rite is completed.
And many people here, they give them the mushrooms, they pray, they sing to them and then leave them. Do you have problems? Well then you solve them. There is no such dialogue, to say, well, what do you see? What do you feel? How are you? When people get lost, because sometimes we can find very beautiful things, it looks very nice. And the sage, the true sage tells you, "Wait, you didn't come to see flowers, you didn't come to see colors, you didn't come to sing, What did you come for? What do you want to resolve? Well, look for it. Do not stay here in the beauty. Find your problem, solve it.”
When darkness or difficult things or animals or problems present, the wise one says,"Well this is your challenge. Follow it, follow it. You're going to win. Pray, ask God”. And the wise one prays, and starts to sing, uses “pisiete” [tobacco leaf mixed with lime], uses what the moment dictates, there isn’t a structured liturgy, but the wise one reads the now, to figure out what he must do, in order to help overcome the problems. It's really a walk with the person you're serving. And as far as you go, and then have to go back. The wise one never leaves halfway, but has to help to return.
I see in that a big difference, one thing is to come to Huautla and say, "Well I want to see how it feels to take mushrooms". But another thing is really getting into a search process, of meeting and understanding the wisdom of God. And that hardly would be found here in Huautla. Here in Huautla, the best known [healers] are not recommended for a process of knowledge of the people.
And many people do rituals, but they do it as family. Almost all Mazatecs do their rituals, but in a family setting. They meet each other, and help each other. So I think there is a big difference, to engage with the ones that come out of curiosity or to see, and another, is the ones who are engaged with their people, the ones who are helping their community. And it's very interesting here in Huautla, in this region we have seen an awakening of the vocation of sages. In young, and very young, sometimes 18, 20, 22, and they already feel that calling to fulfill this vocation.
Part 3: May God enlighten us!
I showed myself very reluctant to participate directly in the rituals for many years. I accompanied them, I was there, I helped them when they said they needed my help to pray, but I was there more as a companion. And I respected the ritual a lot, not to say that I didn't respected it before, but I would say, that's the Mazatec's space, and therefore I have to respect it. But gradually they would say: "You have to participate. It is not the same to only pray than to be within the rite”.
And once, when there was some crisis in the working groups here in the parish, especially in groups in the grassroots communities, those who we were handling some of this inculturation process, the ones that we were working with the most said: “We have to do a ritual between the coordinators, and you have to participate." And then, "Let's ask God to enlighten us where we will walk."
Then from there, the first experiences were very basic, I didn’t have so many visions. But I did have an experience of a very strong attitude of prayer. Maybe I did not see strange things, but I felt the need to pray with them, to be with them, to strengthen them. More than before. And those were group settings. And we had two or three like that, I did not have very strong experiences. But they were all intended to seek ways to solve problems.
But after, a wise old man told us: "It is not good that a journey is done between too many people”, because some are strong, and some are weak, and if the guide doesn't know very well, they may end up ill, and the weak may end up worse. He said: "It is better to be addressed one by one, up to two". There may be more people present, but not everyone takes the Little Saints, maximum two, he says, to be taken care of well. He added: "A doctor does not put many people in his office and attends to everyone at the same time, he only sees one by one, to listen, to serve, and to analyze, that’s how it must be done." And it is true, some will pull the whole effect from others. A few get a strong effect, and others don’t get any, because it depends on the strength of each person.
A situation that sometimes I do not understand much, the saints speak of bilocation, a saint is in his convent while at the same time healing the sick somewhere on another place. And one says: “Oh, the stories, right?”. But in the mushroom ritual, bilocation is possible. One does not lose the awareness of being here in Huautla, in a particular room, having a ritual, but at the same time, you can see yourself present, for example in the Basilica of Guadalupe. And one says, "Here I am and there's the Virgin and there it is ...". They may say, "Well, it’s a hallucination." Well ... perhaps. But it is the spirit that travels, and changes places while saying I'm here, but without losing sight of being here too. Ubiquity is not lost, the location of where one is located, it is a very curious phenomenon.
And that’s how those experiences are done, and it is how one starts finding... it is like it helps bring clarity to problems. I have asked to the Mazatecs "Well , have you heard… Have you listened to God? Or have you seen God?". “No, we don’t see God, but we can hear. God can be heard through the Little Saints". It is heard through yourself, because you start talking and start saying words, but not rare words from another language, you start talking about things that maybe you could not think of before, let's say in all your senses, in a normal situation, you could not think of such things, but when you're under the effect of the mushrooms, as you go spinning ideas, you express them, and that helps you to bring clarity to your thinking and you say aha!, “I think that here, and through here, problems can be solved, or we can deal with this or that”.
Or one may find meaning to things you did not understand. It happened to me with the elements of the ritual itself, the meaning of the offering presented, I suddenly understood “Aha! that’s why they do it that way”. But that knowledge sprouts from oneself. Some say that God makes you talk, well yes, you start to talk and to say things that you could not think of, and the mushroom helps you to get to understand many things. That has been a little of my experience. Very interesting to me. Very strong.
OLIVER: Very Good. Thanks.
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Oliver Quintanilla is Director, Producer and Editor of the documentary Little Saints, a movie that talks about the use of psilocybin hallucinogenic mushrooms in a Catholic ritual, practiced by the Mazatec Indigenous People from Oaxaca, Mexico.
For more information visit: http://LittleSaintsMovie.com
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'Soma', is an ancient Elixir believed to be used during the Vedic era to heal, attain wisdom and possibly become immortal drinking this Ambrosia of the Himalayas. Not to be taken literally, being immortal might be indicative of the drinks entheogenic qualities. There have been many ideas and suggestions as to what plants/herbs might have been used to make this powerful elixir, of which Cannabis, Ephedra, Amanita Muscaria, Syrian Rue and in some cases the poppy plant, are the most likely candidates to be ingredients for making this magical drink 'Soma', sometimes termed, Nectar of the Gods.
Recent archeological evidence has emerged from Russian excavations in the Kara Kum desert of Turkmenistan that gives further confirmation to the claim that Soma was originally cannabis, bringing it out of the realm of theory and into accepted historical fact. According to Russian archeologist Victor Sariandidi, "for the first time in the world archeological practice, monumental temples were found in which intoxicating beverages of the Soma-Haoma type were prepared for cult ceremonies? The excavations proved that poppy, cannabis and ephedra were used for making the Soma-Haoma drinks, and thickets of these plants were found in excess in the vicinity of the excavated temples of Margiana."
Common in the religious lore of both ancient India and Persia, the sacred Soma plant was considered a God. When Soma was pressed and made into a drink, the ancient worshipper who imbibed it gained the powerful attributes of this deity. The origins of Soma can be traced back to the common Aryan ancestors of both the Vedic civilization of India and the Persian people who followed Mazdaism. This common ancestry accounts for the many similarities in the Hindu and Mazdean religions and language, as can be seen in surviving religious texts such as the Hindu Rig Veda and the Persian Avesta. A major connection is their use of a sacred plant, known in India as Soma, and in Persia as Haoma.
Here is a short excerpt from an article by Ganga White titled, "Soma : Nectar of the Gods" ...
" No exploration into yoga and meditation would be complete without a look at the ancient lineage of sacred plants and herbs that many assert are
at the origins of religious experience and spirituality.
We live in a time of drug hysteria that calls for a more intelligent understanding that doesn’t lump every psychoactive substance, plant, or herb into the same category called dark and dangerous.
The Soma was an ancient brew or drink prepared by sages and yogis that was said to bestow health, strength, insight, spiritual visionary experience, and communion with divinity. This sacred drink, also called “Amrita” or “nectar of the gods,” opened the mind, heart, and inner landscape while purifying and healing the body. The word “Amrita” means nectar. It comes from the word “Mrita,” which means death and “A-mrita” means non-death or immortality. Soma use dates back to the ancient time of the Vedas and origins of yoga.
Researchers have suggested that the Soma was made from psychoactive mushrooms or possibly from a combination of plants, like the middle eastern Haoma or Syrian Rue, and various herbs. The formula and exact nature of this “nectar of immortality” has been lost, possibly forever, in the mists of antiquity. The Amazon region holds what is probably a similar sacred brew, called Ayahuasca, which means vine of the soul or vine of the dead. For centuries, and probably thousands of years, this plant admixture has played a primary role in indigenous people’s spirituality, healing, and discovery of a vast pharmacy of medicines and healing herbs. We owe much of our pharmacopeia to the legacy from indigenous peoples and the sacramental practices. "
Some more excerpts from a book called 'Soma : The Divine Hallucinogen' ...
Throughout history there have been legends of a certain plant, known as the "plant of immortality," that contained the "elixir of life." ... To the best of my knowledge, no one has rediscovered the secret of the ancient elixir of immortality until now. This book describes for the first time the plant of immortality, the preparation procedures for making the elixir of immortality, and the benefits one can attain through its use. (page 1)
Ethnobotanically, the implications of the discovery of the elixir of immortality for the development of new herbal drugs, as well as new therapies and methods of spiritual advancement, are enormous. Every indication points to the fact that the elixir of immortality contains compounds that work directly upon consciousness, rapidly eliciting profound experiences of insight and understanding that could otherwise be achieved only through years of meditation. The implicit fact that paranormal abilities are discussed in the ancient texts, in association with the explicit use of the elixir of immortality, must also be considered in a broader understanding of human consciousness and spiritual development. (page 2)
Chapter 1. Soma and Sacred Herbalism in the Ancient World
Whether or not soma induces visionary experiences must depend on how it is prepared in the ceremony. As a drink, it could not always have induced visionary experiences with strong hallucinations because the Rg Veda indicates that others in addition to the priests took soma on a daily basis for long periods of time. It would have been not only impractical, but probably impossible, for soma to have been prepared as a hallucinogenic in these cases. If soma were always hallucinogenic, it would have interfered with the completion of the soma ceremony itself, which was of paramount importance for maintaining the stability of the cosmos, order, fertility, and life on earth. The soma drink prepared in the ritual must have varied according to the different parts of the ceremony that were being conducted. This leads to the conclusion that the soma drink probably induced states of ecstasy and well-being at certain dosages and that it could also induce visionary states or hallucinations at other dosages or when other plants or plant parts were added to the preparation. (page 8)
Chapter 2. Light, Ecstatic States, and Other Effects of Soma
Soma and Luminous Phenomena
Entheogenic plants are often said to induce light phenomena in association with divine inner experiences. In the Rg Veda, soma is described as giving light to all luminous bodies, and the creation of radiant light phenomena plays and important part in the soma ceremony. The hymns associate soma with all light phenomena, whether in the physical universe as starlight, sunlight, moonlight, lightning, fire, and all glowing energies or within human beings as internal, luminous mystical experience. Indeed, soma is said to be the origin of all light phenomena in both the macrocosm and microcosm. It both creates glowing radiance and gives one the experience of light. (page 13)
Ecstatic Effects of Soma
In the Rig Veda the soma drink induces effects that are called madana, madyati, mada, or mada in Vedic Sanskrit, which can be translated in English as "ecstasy" or "rapturous joy," "inspiration," "heightened awareness," and "exhilaration," respectively. These ecstatic effects were known to bestow holiness and the experience of immortality, moving consciousness into direct contact with the luminous nature of being. This ecstatic effect of soma inebriation appears to have been the mechanism that mediated all other experiences and effects known to have been obtained from the consumption of soma.
Ecstatic experience also gives one the special knowledge and powers of the healer, prophet, poet, and wonderworker. The Rg Veda says that soma, when united with the heart, produces the ecstatic vision, an ecstasy that brings expansion beyond this world, a perception of vastness surpassing both heaven and earth. (page 17)
Soma and Paranormal Abilities
Entheogenic substances are known to increase certain types of psychic experiences and this is certainly true for the soma drink. The Rg Veda indicates that the structure of the soma ceremony was purposely designed for enhancing psychic abilities, which are mediated by special states of ecstasy. A large number of paranormal feats are described in association with soma in the hymns. Examples of these are the ability to create consciousness-born or psychogeneic creations of any object or type; the ability to levitate and walk on water; the ability to leave the physical body and return to it; the power of expansion of the subtle body or consciousness to include the entire universe; and the ability to exist consciously beyond a physical body. Soma is also credited with powers of rejuvenation and life extension as well as the regeneration of various parts of the physical body. Along with its power to renew and even create life, soma is said to be able to sustain that life perpetually as long as one continues to drink it. Thus the Vedic gods maintain their immortality by consuming soma. (pages 18-19)
Medicinal Effects of the Soma Drink
The Vedic plant world was seen as a sacred and mystical domain within which the soma plant was the king of all plants and the source from which all other plants were derived. This view is based upon the cosmology that is directly connected to the cosmic tree or pillar of light, through which access is gained to the inner workings of nature. The soma plant itself is the cosmic tree and pillar, providing the access by virtue of its psychoactive nature and through its mythologized cosmic characteristics.
The soma drink was considered the most effective of all medicinal preparations. The soma drink was an elixir that worked both psychoactively upon the brain and nervous system to induce an altered state of consciousness as well as medicinally upon the human body to cure it of various diseases. (page 21)
Chapter 3. The Identity of Plants Used As Soma
Although Western interest in soma began more than two hundred years ago, no detailed study of the facts has ever been presented. Even R. Gordon Wasson's research on soma, though very useful, is considered incomplete today. We are in a better position to solve the riddle of the soma plant and soma drinks now than ever before. Both Avestan and Rg Veda studies have progressed since Wasson's landmark book Soma was published in 1968. In addition, the study of psychoactive and medicinal plants has advanced significantly. Major botanical breakthroughs on both the Avestan haoma plant and the Rg Veda soma now make it possible to draw some conclusions about the identity of the soma plant. (page 25)
The Psychoactivity of Indian Nymphaea and Nelumbo Plants
Although a number of plants were used in the Rg Vedic soma ceremonies, there are two genera of indigenous Indian plants, the Nymphaea and Nelumbo, that stand out among the rest as being used to prepare soma drinks in the Rg Vedic soma ceremony. Nymphaea plants are known as water lilies, while Nelumbo plants are the true lotus plants. When the genera are used together in my discussions I sometimes refer to them as lotus plants.
... Some of these plants were certainly known as soma and are actually called soma in Sanskrit texts. Despite what has been stated in various articles and books about the nonentheogenic effects of Nelumbo and Nymphaea plants, some Indian varieties of lotus and many water lilies do contain a variety of alkaloids and other compounds that are entheogenic.
Here we can mention only a few studies of the psychoactive aspects of these plants as they pertain to our current subject of soma as a divine hallucinogen. Certain indigenous varieties of Indian Nymphaea plants, as well as Nelumbo plants are psychoactive and can be visionary and auditory entheogens when the sap or juice of the plant, and certain other parts, are prepared properly. These two genera can also be shown to have psychoactive properties that match those of soma on the Rg Veda.
The compounds found in certain Nymphaea species are known to cause excitation, ecstatic states, luminous visionary and auditory hallucinations, narcotic sedation, and other psychoactive effects. The experiences are dependent upon the dosage, preparation, and parts of the plant used. The compounds responsible are found in the flowers, sap, nectar, stems, rhizomes, and possibly the leaves. The flowers of certain Nymphaea species have been shown to induce ecstasy states similar to those of the drug, 3, 4-methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), popularly known as "ecstasy." (pages 27-28)
Chapter 6. Soma and the Origins of Western Magic
Although magical incantations are known from primitive, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Greek religions, it seems that the Indo-Iranian religions are the source of many ritualized and systematic magical practices in antiquity. It can be documented through textual evidence and artifacts such as seal impressions that Indo-Europeans, and specifically Indo-Iranian, sacrificial rituals are the antecedents of many Near Eastern, Egyptian, and Greek forms of magic.
The origins of systematized magic and magical techniques can be traced back to the Indo-Iranian haoma/soma ceremonies. The words magic, magician, magus, and magi are all related terms that refer directly to the priests and magical performances of the Indo-Iranian haoma/soma sacrificial rituals. ... A Babylonian synonym for Medes is Umman Manda. One leader of the Umman Manda mentioned in Hittite texts is Za-a-lu-ti, which is an Aryan name. William Albright has suggested that Za-a-lu-ti was the same man as "Salitis" who founded the Hykos Fifteenth Dynasty in Egypt (1800 B.C.E.). This would imply that it was the Indo-Aryans who influenced the Greeks rather than the Iranians. This influence would have been over a long period of time beginning at a very early date. ... (pages 86-87)
Franz Graf states that the connection between magical practices and the use of herbal plants, including entheogens, appears in Greek literature in the form of Greek terminologies such as pharmakon (herbal drugs) during the spread of Indo-Iranian beliefs within the Greek world. This indicates that the use of the soma drink in conjunction with the soma ritual was the probable origin of ancient Greek herbal ceremonies used to conduct specific entheogenically induced magical rites. The influence upon Greece was to have important later influences upon magical practices found in Greco-Egyptian, Greco-Roman, and European magic. (page 88)
Chapter 7. Soma and European Alchemy
Conclusion
There are many correspondences found between the Rg Veda cosmological rituals of the soma ceremony and Chinese, Greco-Egyptian, Islamic, and European alchemy. Not only is soma the probable origin of the elixir ideas in Chinese, Greco-Egyptian, Islamic, and European alchemy, but the cosmological framework of the Rg Veda, to which the soma sacrifice is integral, is full of references to what we might call alchemical ideas. The soma ceremony has a basic magical and alchemical cosmology running through it. This is the reason why both Greco-Egyptian and European Hermeticists trace the traditions of magic and alchemy directly back to Indo-European haoma/soma sacrificial rituals, which they associated with Zoroaster. Thus in Marsilio Ficino's Theologia Platonica, he gives the genealogy of wisdom starting first with Zoroaster, then Hermes Trismegistus, Orpheus, Appollonius, Pythagoras, and finally Plato. As far as the Renaissance Hermetic tradition was concerned, the creation of the "wisdom tradition" and the origins of the "ancient theology" originated in the Indo-Iranians and their haoma/soma sacrifices. It was from this tradition that the entheogenic elixir vitae was originally conceived. (pages 161-162)
References : Soma Revealed - Cannabis Culture
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The War on Drugs has made criminals out of users while the illegal drug industry continues to flourish putting all users at potential risk as long as it remains in the hands of unscrupulous criminals and the international drug mafia. The drug problem is being addressed by the Global Commission on Drug Policy who believe its time to legally regulate the use of all substances if we have to win this forever ongoing war on drugs which has done more harm than solve the problem at hand.
Most people have little or no authentic information about drugs and their effects and there seems to be some sort of a taboo when it comes to discussing the topic. The masses need to be educated not misinformed and lied to about Drugs ... Entheogens used by mankind for who knows how long ...
Kofi Annan, Richard Branson and eight other ex-presidents who are part of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, strongly urge that drugs should be a matter for health professionals, not the police, in a new report released recently.
“Overwhelming evidence points to not just the failure of the drug control regime to attain its stated goals but also the horrific unintended consequences of punitive and prohibitionist laws and policies,” states the study, published by the Global Commission on Drug Policy (GCDP) last week.
“A new and improved global drug control regime is needed that better protects the health and safety of individuals and communities around the world,” the report says. “Harsh measures grounded in repressive ideologies must be replaced by more humane and effective policies shaped by scientific evidence, public health principles and human rights standards.”
For the first I really feel there is something sensible being done about the drug problem our world faces at large, thanks to the illegality. Can we finally see real change manifesting in our lives ... I think we have good reason to be hopeful :)
Here are some interesting points discussed in the report submitted by the Global Commission on Drug Policy ..
" A new and improved global drug control regime is needed that better protects the health and safety of individuals and communities around the world. Harsh measures grounded in repressive ideologies must be replaced by more humane and effective policies shaped by scientific evidence, public health principles and human rights standards. This is the only way to simultaneously reduce drug-related death, disease and suffering and the violence, crime, corruption and illicit markets associated with ineffective prohibitionist policies. The fiscal implications of the policies we advocate, it must be stressed, pale in comparison to the direct costs and indirect consequences generated by the current regime. "
" The Global Commission proposes five pathways to improve the global drug policy regime. After putting people ́s health and safety at the center of the picture, governments are urged to ensure access to essential medicines and pain control. The Commissioners call for an end to the criminalization and incarceration of users together with targeted prevention, harm reduction and treatment strategies for dependent users. "
" In order to reduce drug related harms and undermine the power and profits of organized crime, the Commission recommends that governments regulate drug markets and adapt their enforcement strategies to target the most violent and disruptive criminal groups rather than punish low level players. The Global Commission’s proposals are complimentary and comprehensive. They call on governments to rethink the problem, do what can and should be done immediately, and not to shy away from the transformative potential of regulation. "
One of the recommendations made by the commission states as follows ...
" Allow and encourage diverse experiments in legally regulating markets in currently illicit drugs, beginning with but not limited to cannabis, coca leaf and certain novel psychoactive substances.
Much can be learned from successes and failures in regulating alcohol, tobacco, pharmaceutical drugs and other products and activities that pose health and other risks to individuals and societies.
New experiments are needed in allowing legal but restricted access to drugs that are now only available illegally. This should include the expansion of heroin-assisted treatment for some long-term dependent users, which has proven so effective in Europe and Canada. Ultimately the most effective way to reduce the extensive harms of the global drug prohibition regime and advance the goals of public health and safety is to get drugs under control through responsible legal regulation. "
Marijuana in Colorado
The legalization of Marijuana in Colorado for recreational use has created over 10,000 jobs in the state and has helped boost the overall economy there apart from lowering the crime rate.
The State of Washington recently opened their first few pot shops, almost 2 years after the state legalized Cannabis. Here is a video about it ... People seem extremely over joyed with the way things have turned out in their state.
Can we all learn from this and educate people around us about drugs rather than teaching the world to hate what they don't fully understand ?
With Uruguay leading the way by legalizing the regulated use of Cannabis which has effectively set an example for others to take cue from, there seems to be hope for real change manifesting in our life time. Here are some interesting videos about the Legalization of Cannabis in Uruguay ...
There are places around the world where people still use Cannabis freely for religious and spiritual practices. These are people who have come to understand the potential of these plant based substances in helping us attain mystical states of consciousness which help us heal and rejuvenate our spirit.
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