Hey Guys,
Thought I'd add my 2000 cents. Please forgive my verbosity but I've been absent around here lately, and am temped to indulge in this intriguing thread. A topic near and dear to my heart for almost 4 decades. :thumb_up:
I agree with much of what has been suggested. Although, to a large degree, almost every time I imbibe in
"drugs"... I am naturally and inalterabley drawn towards the meditative experience. You know, one in which the observer is dissolved within the action of said observation (or might it really be perceived as an inaction)?
In other words, I believe true meditation happens when we become so absorbed in our concentration within, that we become nothing at all. Our awareness transcends the act of witnessing our consciousness, directly perceiving this, that and the other. Sort of an attunement to our innermost being, which is the opposite of our individual, mortal self.
So, is it plain to see that when we use words like
meditation, they carry slightly differnt meanings to each of us, at differnt points in our efforts towards awakening, search for wisdom or an immersion in the effulgence of the Light. Is meditation always calm, centered and completely serene? A stillness and void of form and conception? Is meditation even a definable state of mind... or is it an empty vacuum, whence no thoughts arise? Obviously, hairs could be split over our collective use of the term.
Suffice it so say, I guess we are all referring to the practice of becoming centered and methodically or spontaneously, actualizing the process of silencing our minds and expanding our consciousness to a singularity of being and universal harmony? IMO, that is what meditation truly is. It is most certainly NOT an alternate habit of sitting with one's legs crossed, eyes closed and repeating a mantra ad infinitum (and fighting against one's thought process and organic urges, the whole time).
It seems to my sensibilities, that it is a definitive shift in awareness. An expansion of consciousness, not an anesthesia. A remembrance and returning to the core of our inherent natural being. It is understandably a long, slow methodology of self-transformation and the cultivation of the very intent, which pops the tiny bubble of our own self-perpetuated and self-projected mirage (within our own temporary material existence).
To that end, or is it more a beginning (?), I have explored a number of herbal aids and found some more helpful than others. While I wholly agree with
jamie, ultimately smaller doses of the major classic psychs are best for the deepest meditations, I kinda thought this thread was about our regular, daily meditation training (and not exactly a case of milder levels of tripping). Just the right organic boost to broaden our focus and center our awareness!
I don't claim to know anything absolute about any o this stuff... and anyone who does is usually deluded, since who can say where a high ends and a trip begins? And aren't they all steps ascending into higher and higher spheres of consciousnesses? Such semantically oriented thinking is daft, 2-dimensional and I do wholly grok where
jamie is coming from.
I do feel that they are for myself, still oh so powerful, as teas or extracts... that it takes one a bit too
close to the edge and I am drawn to merge into the emptiness of the
Clear Light of the Void. I personally see such inter-dimensional trips as a Sacred journey. In my humble experiences, the meditative state is best when it feels mildly enhanced, centered, balanced and grounded. Psychedelics, even in mild doses, just can't help to shatter my ego-self and trigger a Spirit Voyage.
That being said, mild, moderate, strong and even overwhelming experiences with tryptamines, harmalas and phenethylamines can take meditation to a whole other level! It assuredly can and does activate a full blooming, a temporary rise into Samadhi/Satori/
enlightenment. We've all been there, right? By "there" I really mean
here & now.
For the occasional boost for my routine sitting or moving meditation practice, I found several herbs that help me to attune to my own journey of awakening. They do seem to be conditional, given the fluctuations of energy, states of mind and so on. So, if I need some ZING for my concentration, stimulants like caffeine or ephedrine can work wonders. Of course, this releases some noticeable agitation and thus, the further need to control the waves of stimulation arising. In a nutshell, this is kind of stimulation is usually only necessary if one is sleepy, depleted or in a low energy vibe.
If fully alert and activated, I like a few puffs of ganja or hashish. Perhaps this is a carry-over from a former incarnation as a wandering Shivite sadhu? Well, it's food for thought but just something else to release into the infinity of the eternal Void. But seriously, I've always found THC to drawn my attention into that still, small vortex of the indwelling soul.
Lately, I have enjoyed preceding my meditations with a couple-three puffs of my own personal blend of
"little smoke". Yep, inspired by Don Juan of the Castaneda books. I would guess that everyone would choose differnt herbal combinations, based on their inherent nature? I have tried several recipes and it is definitely contingent on a number of factors and variables.
But for the recent mixes, I use: Ganja, Cappi leaves, Salvia leaves, Calea Zacatachichi, Amanita Muscaria. Why waste psilocybin shrooms, as Carlos Castaneda would have us believe Don Juan used? Tried it a couple times over the decades and it was nothing to speak of. I can truly FEEL the Amanitas, though. They seem to synthesize with the others beautifully. I've also experimented with Nymphaea Caerulea (blue lotus) and wormwood. Those two seem to work better as a tea, though.
Also a round robin of sympathetic, secondary herbs. These are far, far milder and accent the qualities of the primary aspects of the
"little smoke". These harmonius herbs can vary, depending on availability and whatnot. The ones I enjoy most are: mullein, coltsfoot, mugwart, spearmint. I even tried small pinches of sweet white sage and sweet grass and kinda liked the flavor.
Ultimately, I guess less is more? Maybe it's better to keep it much simpler? Still, the blend seems to be quite alluring these days. More than anything else, the art of meditation must by it's own necessity, become a continuum if it is to be of any real use to the psychonaut.
And honestly, more than anything else, I sincerely feel that truly spontaneous states of meditation are the most perfect of them all. No drugs are then needed, no religious props, no ancient and obscure rituals, no ideas about anything at all. Fullness within emptiness. Thanks for your existence, folks. 8)
