K?

[xenolith]

Plants of the Gods...great book...remember jumping the wall of the tortoise display at the Santa Barbara Zoo to slice a coupl'a feet of San Pedro cactus in order to make some jungle tea in '87 based on info from that book...backpack got a coupl'a stares on the way out, but damn fine tea it was...snakes, bright blue and green lights I recall...not much else...but lotta good trips based on inspiration from that book.

 

The inquisitive will naturally be drawn to experimentation...with drugs in particular...cuz the results are so interestingly analyzable...the less interested in analysis of said may miss the conclusion that drugs serve primarily to distort reality...the logical conclusion to which is that reality goes bye-bye when drugs go in 'ya. Since Shakyamuni tells us that reality is the means of our spiritual ascension, it would seem to those that consider the Buddha attribution of merit that drugs may be unproductive for the purpose of spiritual advancement.

 

Me too.

 

I could say more, drawing upon my Life experience, but I think it best that I don't...the truth belies belief.

 

Peace friends.

 

xeno

[Smile]

Yes, the wonderful Russian conditioning to scare people away from something expanding your consciousness. Just like you, I was conditioned to be afraid of a white-doted red caps with stories of people eating it by accident and dying within hours.

 

When I turned 18, I got this little magazine I was subscribing to, and there I learned a lot about Siberian shamans and how they used the mushrooms in their Vision quests. So my friend and I went out to a forest and got a few dozens and dried them. I ate one- nothing. Later, two- nothing special. So I decided to go on my own vision quest and took a train to my grandmother's house. 10 minutes before the train stopped at the train station I was supposed to get off, I swallowed 5 mushrooms. Got off the train- all dark at about 8pm in October. No lights, just the dark sky and a little bit of opening in the wood tops to see there supposed to be the road. I found the road alright- it takes about 45 minutes to walk from the station to the house. About halfway I realized something is going on in my head because everything I looked at was coming with comments on it. I didn't notice it first but later realized it wasn't my internal dialogue. I was more concerned with going through the forest without meeting some of the critters.

 

Got to the house. Feel really heavy and went straight to bed. Visions of things. I looked at the wall and saw the house I was in , then went deep into the wood to the atomic and subatomic level. It's a little disturbing to be one of the molecule dancing around. It's even more disturbing if it continues for more then an hour.

 

Got nauseous. Went to through up but nothing came out. The voices told me if I want to through up, I need to drink water. They also told me it's too late to reverse the process because it got absorbed in to the bloodstream. Got a bucket and went to the well outside. The voices were commenting on stuff but I don't remember what it was. I say "voices" but it was more like a chorus of young girls saying the same thing at the same time. Drunk some water and went back to bed. More visions. Got nauseous again. While vomiting the voice(s) told me how much more I had to go through and even showed me a diagram. That was kind of funny.

 

Went to the out-house. For those who don't know, it's something like this:

On the way there, I noticed the trees and everything else living was covered in some luminescent paint. It's not paint, the voice(s) said, it's their energy. Had to move some bushes out of my way and the minute I touched them, the plant started talking to me. Something about it's nice I'm here. A single woman's voice.

Got to the outhouse. Again, the diagram popped out about how much of the fecal matter is in my colon with the voice explaining it. I'm not kidding you.

Vomited again. Felt so tired. The rest of the night spent in some weird dream world. Woke up at 9am. Couldn't eat anything, couldn't think anything for the rest of the day. Went back to the train, got home and threw the rest of the mushrooms away. A few days later, I told my spiritual teacher about my experiences and he laughed so hard about it. I told him that he is from Vladivostok (Sibiria) so he should have known where i'm coming from. He said if he wasn't friends with my mother, he would say I was coming from a horse's ass and then he laughed and made me do standing meditation for an hour.

 

That was the only experience I had with mushrooms. Psylocibine cubensis would be a better choice for this type of experience, but again, you normally are not ready for it if you have to induce it by using foreign substances.

[witch]

I loved the drugs that made me "normal." Anything that shot up serotonin. Coffee, cigarettes, antidepressants, starchy foods, candy.

 

After a while I realized I still didn't fit anyhow, and I was dead inside.

 

A far cry from special K!

[xenolith]

Smile knows Soma...awesome!

Edited August 4, 2008 by xenolith

[Taomeow]

Wow, Smile, what a story!

 

you normally are not ready for it if you have to induce it by using foreign substances.

 

I don't think it's that simple... Plants are the depository of cosmic memory (as all ancient traditions know, notably Ayurveda that contains elaborate treatises on the nature of plant consciousness among its written treasures), and therefore are imbued with knowledge and wisdom that went before our species ever appeared -- way before, billions of years before! I respect ancient (close-to-source) knowledge more than anything else in the world, so I think the opposite is the case: don't touch plants of the gods frivolously, don't touch them until you are ready... but once you are ready --

like, really ready --

then you're ready. Then there's no human teacher who can teach you what a plant teacher can teach you. There's even a taoist saying to this effect: "a mediocre student finds a mediocre master to learn from, a good student finds a great master to learn from, and the best student learns from plants."

Edited August 4, 2008 by Taomeow

[Smile]

"a mediocre student finds a mediocre master to learn from, a good student finds a great master to learn from, and the best student learns from plants."

One thing I'm doing right now is looking for a very old tree, hopefully 300+ years old. I know in New Jersey there is a National park with old trees like that, but it wouldn't be practical for me to travel from NYC to train with it every day. Old trees are such great teachers, just like you said.

[seadog]

I'am fortunate were I live there are some enormous trees.I also spend a lot of time up trees prunning hard wood logs for agroforestry.I learned early in the piece to behave with a certain dergree of reverence,which resulted in a lot less cut fingers and hands and a lot less insect bites.It sounds crazy but when I enter a new plantation I verbally express out loud my admiration for the beauty and form of the trees and explain clearly what my intentions are.

I can feel from touching the tree weather it is strong or stressed in need of light or water.Some of the trees in the district would be over 200 years old,they are of such beauty and value that anyone who see's them, cannot help but be moved by the presence.

Often I stand and exchange energy with them and on more then one occassion have been healed from my various human afflictions be it physical or emotional.

Some trees are very welcoming pulling you into there bark seeking embrace others are stand offish wanting nothing to do with you.

No matter. Were would we be without them?

Last week I planted a thousand next week a thousand more.

Now back to more thrilling trips!

Smile you are one brave guy.

[Lozen]

He must have been deeply in touch with the mysteries of the universe, maby even close to enlightenment

 

LOL. Well it was some protest but someone through a fire extinguisher at a cop, and so they blocked off the street and decided to search everyone on their way out. This was in London where I guess that's legal. SO a bunch of the crowd had drugs on them which they immediately ate. Now we were trapped there for several hours. I remember peeing on the sidewalk (my friends were my shields) and then a bunch of people came up to me asking for things like bandaids and ice. I guess taking a leak designates one as a medic.

 

Anyway so by the time we got out everyone who had drugs on them was tripping balls. and I was trying to help this kid get home so he wouldn't get arrested. But he kept stepping off the bus I was helping him get on. It was a weird scene. Where were his friends??

[rain]

pinetrees

 

http://www.thetaobums.com/uploads/12030107...13_62_39969.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

it so bugs me that I cannot yet upload directly from my computer into the post, someone? please

Edited August 4, 2008 by rain

[witch]

Wow, Smile, what a story!

I don't think it's that simple... Plants are the depository of cosmic memory (as all ancient traditions know, notably Ayurveda that contains elaborate treatises on the nature of plant consciousness among its written treasures), and therefore are imbued with knowledge and wisdom that went before our species ever appeared -- way before, billions of years before! I respect ancient (close-to-source) knowledge more than anything else in the world, so I think the opposite is the case: don't touch plants of the gods frivolously, don't touch them until you are ready... but once you are ready --

like, really ready --

then you're ready. Then there's no human teacher who can teach you what a plant teacher can teach you. There's even a taoist saying to this effect: "a mediocre student finds a mediocre master to learn from, a good student finds a great master to learn from, and the best student learns from plants."

 

Hmm...Tom Robbins told me I couldn't reach full enlightenment without plants, and now you post this.

 

Maybe once my kids are grown! Still too risky for me.

 

Oy, posting before fully awake. TOM Robbins!

Edited August 4, 2008 by witch

[joeblast]

this stuck out for me, thanks steve

 

The danger is that it becomes the focus rather than the catalyst.

 

being an ex (or declining? I still do more than I should) pothead, I know that even though all sorts of points light up when its toke time, its still a drag and a distraction from real cultivation. but imho if it resonates with you then once in a blue moon the slightly altere perspective makes you come up with things you wouldnt have notmally. hence all of the ex-user's stories of 'it was crazy, I'll never do it again, but its a part of me and I learned stuff.'

[Patrick Brown]

this stuck out for me, thanks steve

 

The danger is that it becomes the focus rather than the catalyst.

 

being an ex (or declining? I still do more than I should) pothead, I know that even though all sorts of points light up when its toke time, its still a drag and a distraction from real cultivation. but imho if it resonates with you then once in a blue moon the slightly altere perspective makes you come up with things you wouldnt have notmally. hence all of the ex-user's stories of 'it was crazy, I'll never do it again, but its a part of me and I learned stuff.'

Being a piss-head is really interfering with my practice so I'm going to give up the booze. I drink because my crown chakra can become way too active and then my mind starts reeling so I reach for the bottle (wine not spirits). Of course doing my practice and drinking just means I can drink twice as much without any damage which is kinda like stagnation. Drinking served it's purpose but now it's time to move on and evolve my practice and be seen.

[inbetween]

Muz -

 

I agree with your reasoning and these other morons need to go back to their conditioning sessions.

[Seth Ananda]

This is an unfortunate thread. He was not welcomed very well, or listened to...

[Cookie Monster]

.

Edited May 5, 2021 by Ocean Form