This is a response to Recoverer's post in my Gateway Experience Journals II thread regarding Salvia.
It is not uncommon for people to have the wrong impression of certain drugs, namely those of a psychoactive nature. I mean, hey, they're illegal! If it's illegal it must be bad! HA. This is simply a control tactic implemented by the government to keep us from doing anything they may not like, for example, in the case of psychedelic drugs, to keep us from possible discovering the true nature of ourselves and the illusion of our physical reality. They certainly don't want us waking up the the truth!
However, it is erroneous to lump all drugs into the same group, for there are many different types, each with a different purpose and effect. It is even misleading to claim that all psychedelics are the same, for they each have sometimes huge differences, as does the drug in question here, Salvia. And it is important to realize that naturally occurring drugs can be beneficially used if done for the right reasons and not abused. There is a reason why they are here and effect us the way they do, after all.
My beliefs about psychoactive drugs, namely Salvia, are more than just beliefs- they are knowns- for I have first hand experiential knowledge of their nature. These drugs offer a glimpse into the true multidimensional nature of our reality. I feel I have a greater insight into the true nature of these trips, than does, say, an average joe with no spiritual explorational experience, as a result of my in depth nonphysical explorations in the dream state and out of body, for it is apparent that there are many similarities in the characteristics of these different types of experiences.
The fact of the matter is that you have no experience with Salvia, or any other psychedelics for that matter, and going by your opinion of the subject, it seems you have not done sufficient research into its effects, its history, its purpose, or the nature of the experiences it produces. You are therefore unqualified and unable to make an accurate assessment on the matter. I will go on anyhow.
Quote:My feeling is that if you take a drug, your energy field will be weakened and it will become easier for an unfriendly spirit to invade you.
And my feeling is you have no idea what you're talking about! Going by not only my own personal experience with Salvia, but the experiences of my close friends as well, I can say for certain that Salvia does not weaken one's energy field, but actually STRENGTHENS it! The essence of my inner self comes to the forefront of my consciousness for hours, sometimes days after a Salvia experience. This includes deep feelings of peace and oneness with the universe, an intensification and clarification of the senses, and a vivid, lucid-dream-type awareness. It invokes a truly higher state of being, even after the drug has worn off.
Salvia has seemed to open a spiritual doorway within my one friend. Since his initial experience with Salvia he has suddenly begun having intense spiritual experiences. His meditations are deeper and more profound then ever before, he now has the ability to leave his body, which he couldn't do before, and he even had a telepathic experience in which he read his father's thoughts. All this immediately following his Salvia experience. My other friend believes that his consciousness has risen to a higher level since his initial experience with Salvia. They both likewise experienced a truly higher state of being long after the drug wore off. Salvia seems to awaken a latent spiritual aspect of one's self.
Quote:Drugs take the place of neurotransmitters, and much of what you experience could be the result of altered biochemistry rather than something substantial.
Well then going by your line of thinking, nothing we have ever or will ever experience in our physical existence is "something substantial." Everything we experience in this physical reality, whether it be our thoughts, our actions, our bodily functions, and even the environment we experience around us, has a biochemical reality within our bodies. It seems you may need to rethink your definition of "substantial." Even our nonphysical experiences have a biochemical reality within us. Although taking psychedelic drugs produces these biochemical reactions rather than them happening "naturally" without the drug, the validity of the experience does not change- induced or not, it is just as real as anything else. And when you realize that not only our entire being, but the entire universe, down to the smallest biochemical, IS consciousness, just different aspects of the same gestalt consciousness, then you see that all experiences are equally valid, whether they are attained by meditation, hemisync, psychotropic herbs, in dreams, ect...
Salvia, like all other psychotropic herbs, grows naturally from the earth. I believe there is a reason why it is here. There is a reason why it causes such spiritual, life changing experiences. That reason is to assist us, to aid us, in awakening to our true reality. A gift from mother earth.
Quote:Eventually a person will reach the point where he or she understands that what is available spiritually is so removed from what takes place with drug usage, that there is no way he or she would use a drug.
HA. This statement is laughable. What an extreme case of bias! You have never even experienced Salvia! Or any other psychedelic! What makes you think you have any credibility in making this ascertainment? What you will never understand, assuming that you will stick to your word not to try a psychoactive drug, is that the experiences induced by these drugs ARE spiritual in nature. By reading my past experiences on Salvia, this is plain to see. However, this type of knowledge must be experienced first hand, and being that you have cut yourself off from such experience, I suppose you will never truly know.
Quote: know a man who had a marriage with a woman that was quite fine, until see took magical mushrooms. After doing so she became schizophrenic and wouldn't leave her bed.
I know a man who took acid, had a bad experience, and ever since he has had physical problems.
I know a man who knew all about the various psychotrophic drugs that exist, he even had a book published that explained how to use them. He used them in order to have spiritual experiences. He used to use his bath tub as an isolation chamber while tripping. One day he was found dead in his bath tub.
It is a shame that people you know have had such negative experiences with these drugs. Which one had a negative experience with Salvia?
But I can see why you are so biased regarding this topic. However, I am convinced that there is absolutely nothing wrong with experimenting with these drugs if one goes about it with the proper precautions and is mentally and physically prepared.
For example, one should be mentally stable if they are to use such drugs. A person with deep seeded psychological issues will most likely have a negative and possibly damaging experience, for their innermost self will be brought to the surface of their reality, and if that inner self is negative, then that is obviously a recipe for disaster.
As for acid, this is a drug not produced in nature. It is obviously risky to consume anything created in a lab, for we are not meant to ingest artificial chemicals. There is also a risk in taking natural drugs unless you grow them yourself, for you never know where they came from or what has been done to them.
And obviously one should choose the proper setting for having a psychedelic trip. The bath tub is definitely not ideal if one's safety is concerned.
If I were to guess, I'd say your friend's wife either wasn't mentally stable from the getgo, perhaps had latent schizo, or maybe just at a bad batch of shrooms.
It seems your other friend took bad acid, or maybe he just had a bad reaction to "good" acid, which altered his physiology and caused his physical problems.
Your other friend obviously choose a dangerous place to trip, and payed the price.
If you will notice, however, none of these examples prove that one cannot expand their consciousness, access new dimensions of reality, and in general, benefit spiritually from the use of psychedelic drugs- these examples only prove that one must proceed with the upmost caution when doing so.
Quote:I believe I would be insulting the grace that has come into my life if I resorted to taking psychotrophic drugs.
I like how you worded that.... if I
resorted to using psychotropic drugs. As if its one of the lowliest things to do. Yet you are ignorant of the true nature of such drugs, and so this statement has no value.
Quote:It is a mistake to take drugs because of what somebody such as Carlos Castaneda wrote. His stories are fictional, he had a cult like following, and he was a womanizer.
Although he may have been writing fiction, his works are heavily laced with fact. He did a great deal of research on shamanism and the nature of psychedelic experiences. This is documented fact, and is apparent in his work. His following and his personal habits have nothing to do with it.
Quote:If drug usage is such a good thing, why did the hippy movement end in the manner it ended?
There are many factors as to why the hippie era ended, but it is important to realize that the hippie movement had a lot more to it than just taking psychedelics. The illegalization of psychedelics certainly played a part, however. And of course, the taking of psychedelics obviously has not ended.
Quote:But I guess some people will learn the hard way, while misleading others.
The ones who mislead are those who speak of what they don't truly know, are those who try to convert others beliefs while discouraging personal experiential knowledge, are those who focus on the negative aspects of something and block out the overwhelming positive aspects- and not just that, but distort the meaning of these negative aspects to fit their false belief system, for these same negative aspects, while seen with the unbiased, undistorted eye, do not even apply to the original false belief! ( In this case, taking examples of people who have used the drugs irresponsibly, or without being prepared in one way or another, or maybe just eating a bad batch of the drug, and using these examples to try to negate the reality and significance of the experiences that these drugs induce-it simply does not relate! It relates even less when you realize none of these drugs are the drug in question-Salvia!-which, not to mention, has not caused one death, or any other type of damage.
Your opinions are based on fear, not experience. It is difficult to learn and grow when one entertains false beliefs which block access to new areas of experience and knowledge.
In conclusion, we see that Recoverer, in his attempt to strip the significance and reality from my Salvia experiences, while simultaneously trying to dissuade others from exploring this wonderful avenue of self exploration/realization, with his biased, inexperiential, at times irrelevant propaganda, has failed.