Quick question, please don't get offended anyone..

[NatureJunkie]

I'm wondering about people's opinions on mind altering substances. I already came across another thread somewhere on this site about marijuana, but I'm wondering if anyone's experimented with mushrooms? or any others? I've had a few experiences with mushrooms, which a few ended up being pretty spiritual, uplifting, and eye-opening. Just wondering what others's views are on this and if anyone else has tried it?

[shadowx]

IMHO any experience you have while under the influence of any drugs, be they legal or not is a side effect of the drug and not a true spiritual experience.

Our brains are not designed to be infused with various chemicals and disrupted so IMHO if i experienced something while on drugs i would disregard it completely.

[NatureJunkie]

see, I can agree with that too.. It is because of taking the substance whatever it might be, it's supposed to have mind altering effects.. It's just how you perceive them.
Personally, I've had a lil fun with that kinda stuff recreationally... but a good amount of those times I've had some experiences more towards spiritualism than just fun..
I'm not saying I do this often, more like over the course of about 3 years or so, but maybe I can blame the first few times as teenage experimenting.. ::shrug::

[Melindrose]

On an other note a lot the blends of incense used BC in temples contained a plant that when burned has mind altering properties.

[shadowx]

The problem is to be credible you need to be sane. If a madman tells you there is a ghost attacking you youre just going to laugh at him and run the hell away. Same goes for those under the influence of drugs, in my eyes they are just temporarily crazy and hence untrustworthy unless i can confirm what they say.

So long as you do it in your own home and away from me and dont fund it with crime or misery then what you do to your own body is up to you. I would still strongly suggest against taking recreational drugs purely because they are unregulated and hard to trust.

[NatureJunkie]

that's true, but I do have my own choices and way of living, and I'm not "crazy" when under the influence. I in now way abuse many kinds of drugs, I'm just saying I smoke weed and I've taken mushrooms from time to time.. It in no way makes me insane, I'm a very sane person.. I just enjoy something not many people approve that, but also, not many people approve of paganism... at least around where I live.

[Twisted_Pixie]

As a naturopath i have to say using mind altering drugs is a no no!!! As a pagan i would say the same thing actually.... shamans used mind altering substances ONCE and ONCE ONLY to find their way on the journey, and then everytime after that, they would use their own memory on how to get to their destination....

In my opinion, you should build up the power within yourself to be able to reach these mind altering states without the aid of something that is doing your body damage.... In my opinion, being a witch (and i understand you may not class yourself as a witch) is looking after your body, as its the only one you have and it is a gift from the God & Goddess.... why abuse it?

Thats my opinion, as i said, as a naturopath AND a pagan.

Pix

[shadowx]

I see nothing morally wrong with it, like i said, if it doesnt hurt anyone else do what you want! Have wild sex parties, smoke weed, dance naked and cover yourself in horse manure, i dont care! (though i would be slightly scared....)

but it's not for me.

while i accept you may feel completely down to earth and in control when under the influence i would still highly doubt anything you told me while under the effects. but if you think it helps you then it is your choice to make.

[Greymalkin]

It depends why you are taking it.

If it's just to get high and have a giggle then fine, it's up to you.

I wouldn't want to try doing a spell or anything that needs a clear mind and concentration though.

[Starwitch Stone]

I've used mushrooms a few times. The first time was so awesome I couldn't believe it. The second time I had kind of a hellish experience. I thought my sister could get into my thoughts and read them and it bothered me a great deal. I had an oppressive feeling like I was in the spirit world and it was hell instead of heaven. At a few points, I wasn't sure what was real and I thought if I wanted to, I could fly up out of my house and just leave this world and move on the next one.

I know of a woman who is very close to me who took mushrooms and had a life-altering out-of-body experience where she was given the meaning of life (by me, who happened to be in space with her). She was ready to leave this Earth and move on but I convinced her that we come here for a reason and she needed to stay and complete her purpose for being here.

I'll just post my journal entry. She called me after she came back from her OBE (still tripping but not too hard) and told me this:

She felt like she was being "pulled out" of her body. She could feel me (my spirit) in the astral world, pulling her out as though I'm saying, "Come on, let's play." Once in the astral, we hung out for quite some time. My spirit gave her some wisdom about why we are here on Earth (to learn from our experiences). She said that maybe she was finished learning and was ready to go. She loved being in the astral and didn't want to return to her body. But I told her that she CHOSE to be here in order to learn. That apparently made an impact on her and she realized that she couldn't just leave her body. Her body kept pulling her back. I told her that it was probably because she needed to pee. She said that she had needed to pee for a long time but didn't go until the trip was over.

She felt herself, her consciousness, get bigger and bigger until she was in the blackness of the Universe/astral. She could hardly make out the Earth from a long distance away. I was with her the whole time. I believe her that my spirit was with her even though I'm not consious of it. She also felt (edited out name) there as a spirit, but didn't communicate with her the way she did with me.

She said she felt that we were part of something bigger (she said she "didn't want to use the word 'alien', but ...") and that the bigger part of us was like the hand and it poked it's finger into our human body and that was us (the finger). We are still attached to the hand. We are here to gather information and experiences and take them back to the hand (the mothership, so-to-speak). At first, I took that to mean that the hand was God and we were the parts of God that were sent out to Earth to have experiences. I also thought (at very first) that it had to do with the "alien" ship in the Monroe book, Ultimate Journey. These aliens had been sent from planets all over the Universe in order to "observe" (which is another word she used) human life and find out how we make "loosh" (love). We have an energy called love that other planets and species do not have. We will supposedly change the entire Universe by teaching others how to feel and produce love/loosh, according to Monroe.

She has had a total turnaround. She said she sees now that there is no reason to be angry with people. When someone pulls out in front of her, she will not feel justified in riding their ass anymore.

After this experience, she started going up to strangers in restaurants and other places and asking them if she can give them "joy" or "love". If they say yes, she holds their hand and looks into their eyes and passes love energy to them. She gets filled with ecstasy when she does this. The person she does it to usually feels it strongly too (she said). It didn't work when she did it to me. I didn't feel anything besides a little energy. No joy.

After her trip (she had done ecstasy as well a few times) she ended up quitting her professional, very successful job. She began living in a tent in a hang-gliding park and working there. For the past several months, she lived in an RV with her boyfriend and they traveled from town to town doing comedy shows. Her boyfriend is a comedian and she's been trying to do comedy too. Just last Thursday, they finally got an apartment nearby, so I'm happy that she's settling down a bit. I worry about her. But she's all about loving people. She sees no point in life other than to love people and do whatever makes you happy. It has obviously been a concern to her family members, who think she might have gone crazy. But she's happier than anyone else I've ever known.

I would recommend using mushrooms if you get the chance, but not if you have mental problems like me. It can make mental and emotional issues even worse.

[NatureJunkie]

Wow, that was a great post, . I wouldn't ever go as far as extasy, I normally keep it herbal anyway.. I love mushrooms, though I don't take them often. I've only eaten them about 5 times over 2 years...
and to Greymalkin, I don't take anything for the sole purpose of having an experience.. I only smoke weed and eat mushrooms from time to time, I just do it recreationally... and on a small amount of occasions I've had an enlightening or otherwise spiritual experience unexpectedly.
and shadowx... I don't have wild sex parties, dance in the rain while tripping on numerous amounts of drugs. I believe in everything in moderation.

[Ginger Faith!]

Although i always dance in the rain. Its fun.

Blessed Be,

[Twisted_Pixie]

Me too! I always dance in the rain! Its so cleansing and liberating... not to mention FUN!!

[Xal]

I have done psyclobin mushrooms.

It was both the greatest and scariest feeling of my life.

Shrooms is the only "drug" I would recommend as it seems to be the most spiritual in nature and also has no known proven negative side effects in terms of your body. Shrooms does not hurt or overuse your brain the way ecstasy or LSD does. Shrooms literally does nothing bad or harmful to your brain unless you have a pre-existing neurological condition such as seizures.

It is very interesting to me that many ancient civilizations used shrooms, such as the Mayan's and aztecs, for spiritual purposes. Their word for it literally meaning , Flesh of the Gods. Also they have found ancient cave paintings, some the oldest ever found, which depict men covered in mushrooms.

I also find it very interesting that everything I experienced while on shrooms perfectly coincided with my spiritual belief of reality. Now I would be tempted to say that I since I believed it before hand, I created it, however everyone else I know that's had a spiritual experience with it has come to the SAME CONCLUSION that I came to and felt the same things I felt even if they had no idea or belief system before hand!

And that is what said her friend experienced, "that the bigger part of us was like the hand and it poked it's finger into our human body and that was us (the finger). We are still attached to the hand. We are here to gather information and experiences and take them back to the hand"

Not in those words exactly but the meaning is still the same

[Xal]

The problem is to be credible you need to be sane. If a madman tells you there is a ghost attacking you youre just going to laugh at him and run the hell away. Same goes for those under the influence of drugs, in my eyes they are just temporarily crazy and hence untrustworthy unless i can confirm what they say.

So long as you do it in your own home and away from me and dont fund it with crime or misery then what you do to your own body is up to you. I would still strongly suggest against taking recreational drugs purely because they are unregulated and hard to trust.

Yes but the question is, what is mad? Does madness exist or are we merely misunderstanding something? How do we even know hallucinations exist? If we take a "drug" and see something, we may assume its because of the drug ad that what we are seeing doesn't exist, rather than, it always existed and we merely were unable to see it. The same way some people may be able to meditate and see spirits.