Gaia: Altered States of Consciousness

Re: Medieval Mysticism & Its Empirical Kinship to Ayahuasca

http://hedgewitch.gaia.com — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:50:17 GMT

Great article! I found it--and Gaia--by doing a search for ayahuasca and histamine. I have a young relative who would like to meet this teacher, but has a condition called mastocytosis, which causes her to release excess histamine routinely. She is worried that the medicine could cause problems for her. Do you have any insights about this, or sources for further information? I'd sure appreciate it if you do. Thanks!

Re: Journey Help Needed

http://telesterion.gaia.com — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:08:03 GMT

Hi Josh - what formulation are you going to use?

Do you have experience with other molecules?

I think taking muscaria WITH ayahuasca has some inherent risks, biochemically. Before I'd try that, I would spend some time studying the medical implications. Offhand, I have no idea how muscarine, muscimol, and ibotenic acid interect with either maoi inhibitors or dmt.

But, I've seen people pass out flat on maoi inhibitors.

Re: Journey Help Needed

http://transformationthrulove.gaia.com — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:32:56 GMT

I am endavoring to prepare and drink for the first time 5 days from now. I don’t have acces to a curandero / experienced shaman. However, I am seeking guidance from those with experience on preparing themselves and their own brew. I am also considering taking amanita muscaria with the ayahuasca to invoke that spirit as well. My current spiritual path is Buddhist, Taoist, and Metaphysical.

I am grateful for any thoughts or guidance you may have to offer.

Re: Journey Help Needed

http://telesterion.gaia.com — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 04:30:34 GMT

These journeys changed my life in magnificient ways.

I'd love to hear descriptions of your experiences and the process and people. Have you written anything about them?

Re: Journey Help Needed

http://sacredvalley.gaia.com — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 03:32:02 GMT

Hi there,
I just returned from a couple of months in Peru where I worked with an amazing shaman named Diego Palma in Pisaq. He has a powerful approach integrating Buddhist meditation (he is Buddhist as well) and Ayahuasca. You can find more info at http://www.ayahuasca-wasi.com.

If you are on Tribe.net, it has a lot of valuable information as well.

These journeys changed my life in magnificient ways.

Blessings and be well...

Re: Journey Help Needed

http://telesterion.gaia.com — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:26:59 GMT

I've read a bunch of discussions about this in various groups on tribe.net, and they were discussing ayahuasca in the integral institute pod here in zaadz for a time, altho I didn't follow the discussion. I'd try some searches. I gather there are people who travel from city to city doing sessions, it must be possible to assemble a list of names, and figure out where these folks are going to be.

Journey Help Needed

http://ibelieve.gaia.com — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:12:12 GMT

Hi everyone.

I am very grateful and thankful for everyone here on this Pod. and i believe someone here can help me. see, i love altered states of consciousness. i've had one intense spiritual experience - and it was absolutely amazing. i looked into herbs that could help me and my friend told me about ayahuasca. the more i read about it, the more i felt a deep connection to it, so i really would like to experience an ayahuasca ceremony with a shaman. if anyone knows more, please write to me.

thank you so much,

much blessing, much love, peace

DWanderer

Mayoruna Poison Frog Ceremony - Peru

http://VictoriaAlexander.gaia.com — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 00:29:56 GMT

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THE DEVIL'S HAMMER

Victoria Alexander

Monday, September 12, 2005

Las Vegas: Satan vacations here.

Mayoruna Poison Frog Ceremony, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Psychic Carol Pate, The Black Dahlia, The True Story of Anneliese Michel, and more

Mayoruna Poison Frog Ceremony. Since 2000 I have been going to the Peruvian Amazon every year to study with ayahuasqueros (a curandero who uses the ayahuasca medicine exclusively). I take Ayahuasca to enter the spirit reality. I have also taken Huachuma several times during a retreat in Machu Picchu. Since I am planning an ayahuasca retreat at Refugio Altiplano, I thought it would be a good opportunity to participate in the Mayoruna Poison Frog Ceremony in the Yavari Valley (which occupies the frontier of Peru with Brazil). However, here is an email I received from a trusted friend Christopher Green, M.D.

"Bufotenin and other frog bufotoxins are really well known, and are being researched even now (as in the early 1970's at Harvard) for all kinds of medicinal properties. You probably also know that they are the stuff from which Zombies are believed to have been made! They are being thought to be maybe important in Parkinson's disease because they paralyze some pathways of great suffering in Parkinson's, and in Alzheimer's because they cause folks to pass out and then remember a lot of extraneous old dates and other facts for a short while when they wake up. Not much good for short-term memory, however. If you want, I can send you the molecular structure of the frog poison they are using in Mayoruna ceremonies.

"Don't even THINK of going near the stuff. Many folks die. Others indeed become "zombies" and many get purged so badly they have cardiac failure. The strong young guys and gals in the pictures on the web site also explain other psycho-sexual messages...of some distaste to me, frankly."

My husband's childhood friend joined me in Peru one year for a series of ayahuasca ceremonies. He has Parkinson's and I suggested that this year we participate in the Mayoruna Ceremony. (He married the retreat's 35-year old cook and now has Peruvian citizenship and a home in Iquitos.) Whether he takes my friend's warning or not, we will have to see.

THE DEVIL'S HAMMER

Victoria Alexander

Monday, October 17, 2005

Las Vegas: Satan vacations here.

God Needs Sexier Lovers?, Blue Man Group at The Venetian, PerezHilton.com, Halloween in Las Vegas, The New James Bond, Poison Frog Ceremony Redux, Sean Penn Sells Out?, and more

Mayoruna Poison Frog Ceremony Redux. In my Sept. 12th column I had an item about my fascination with the Mayoruna Poison Frog Ceremony. A friend, JLB, emailed me the following:

"The bufotenine is very intense and drastic when it goes into the bloodstream; however, as a snuff (as in the andenethara seeds) it has been a staple of South American tribal culture for centuries. It does have severe cardiac properties when it hits the bloodstream. The hit is achieved by burning the skin and rubbing the frog poison on the wound. Then you get off.

Zombies are initially entranced/put-down by a powder that contains tetrodotoxin, the sodium channel blocking toxin that is found in Fugu, the Japanese sushi delicacy and puffer fish, as well as Newts (aka salamanders). It is extremely powerful as 45 micrograms can kill a person. The feudal Japanese had a law that anyone who died of Fugu eating could not be buried or cremated for 3 days because they would tend to wake up. The similarities to the descriptions of NDE's (near death experiences) is very clear to me and in my mind the ideal choice for people who want to leave permanently.

Zombies are created by brain damage caused by anoxia. The witch doctor knew how long to keep them in the coffin before being revived, as lack of oxygen would kill off higher brain function.

I'm real curious about the psychosexual practices alluded to by your medical doctor friend and I plan on doing further investigation."

THE DEVIL'S HAMMER

Victoria Alexander

Monday, February 13, 2006

Las Vegas: Satan vacations here.

A Firsthand Report on the Mayoruna Poison Frog Ceremony. My fascination with the Mayoruna Poison Frog Ceremony continues. My friend William Bassett just returned from Iquitos, Peru, where he lives part of the year with his Peruvian wife Pilar. Little did I know what would happen to Bill when I encouraged him to come to the Goddess Ayahuasca. Bill is now an avid entheogen explorer. I asked him to relate his recent Frog Poison Ceremony experience. For those not keeping up, my friend, Christopher Green, M.D., explained what the "frog poison" is. Dr. Green warned me NOT to take it. Kit said: "Don't even THINK of going near the stuff. Many folks die. Others indeed become "zombies" and many get purged so badly they have cardiac failure."

And what is this Zombie-making poison? Kit emailed the following:

Bill writes thus: "In my last visit with Peppy, the Peruvian Indian man whose tribe resides near Brazil, he had a group of us go out by a building away from his house where they sleep in hammocks. We sat there and waited. Then Peppy squatted down and told us that we were going to participate in the Poison Frog Ceremony. He burned us with a round stick that held a fire. I didn't know what the stick was for. It didn't hurt, only a very slight pain in the burn spots. After about 5 minutes Peppy scraped the burnt skin off and used a spatula, made probably of bamboo, with the slime from the frog, dabbing on each spot. I had twelve spots, so he dabbed all of them and then went on to the next person.

"It didn't take Peppy long to do everybody. When Peppy completed the process, he sat down and talked until we felt something. After about 20 minutes, I began to feel groggy and sleepy.

A light misty rain was falling and I said I was going to take a nap on the grass. I was told that it was going to rain harder and there was no need to sleep in the rain. However, I didn't care and just wanted to lay down. As soon as I laid down the sky burst open with buckets and buckets of rain. My companions offered to help me up out of the rain, but I insisted that I was fine. I wanted to lay there and sleep in the rain.

After a good half hour nap in the heavy rain, I woke up without any feeling of any chill, or any discomfort. I felt warm, my clothes were dry, and I felt no pain was in my arms. That's about the extent of it. Later that evening, I was awake and alert." William F. Bassett, Feb. 6, 2006. (Photo of Howard Lawler of SpiritQuest on left and Bill on right. Taken by Victoria in Iquitos, Peru, 2003).

Stuart Wilde's "Redeemer's Club" & My First Ayahuasca Shamans

http://VictoriaAlexander.gaia.com — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 16:46:29 GMT

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THE DEVIL'S HAMMER

Victoria Alexander

Monday, February 5, 2007

Las Vegas: Satan vacations here.

QVegas February Issue Launch Party, Stuart Wilde's "Redeemer's Club", Blood & Chocolate's Hugh Dancy, World Market's Building B Grand Opening, My First Ayahuasca Shamans, and more

"Two, three years ago, it was just another snake cult." From "Conan the Barbarian"

Stuart Wilde Knows What You Don't. But he's willing to let you in on The Secrets for only $4500 a year. Redemption doesn't come cheap! Wilde is coming to Las Vegas for the May 2007 Hay House "I Can Do It" conference being held at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas. Hay House, Inc. | Lectures & Events Here is what I culled from Wilde's web site about the "Redeemer's Club."

"The Redeemer's Club is a travel club for scallywags that are fed up with the old repetitive stuff, that long for a brave new world.

"It's a journey on three levels: we visit with keepers of the gnosis, the transdimensional taxi drivers I write about. They show you stuff you don't know. The second part of the journey is a journey of transformation within you. I teach you with a series of lessons that are sent to you every 12-14 days or so, for a year, and in addition to those items, part of the teaching is in articles posted to the club's Internet site, you get a pin number for that. Essentially the yearlong teaching is ‘the road to redemption'. The idea is, you learn the concepts so can eventually teach them to others.

"The third part of the journey is within the hyper-dimensional phenomena I call the Morph. I teach you to see it properly. Once you are no longer blind and you can see with new eyes, you can travel in the other worlds safely, "bye, bye Kansas". These are not flights of fancy or pretending, it is literal, you straddle two worlds. I go with you.

"The Holy Grail is not a chalice or a bloodline, that is a corruption used to send people the wrong way. The Grail is a dimension protected by a gravitational anomaly. Imagine that anomaly as a vortex, like water spinning down a sink. You already hold the key to the Grail vortex (doorway), but you can't normally see it, and anyway it's only an inch across right now. As a member I post you a special key that will help you unlock the door. Beyond is the Grail castle, a celestial dimension of radiant colors, sensuality and bliss. There are no words to describe its extraordinary beauty. If you see it once, it will change you forever.

"The phenomenon of the Morph is everywhere. It makes reality go non-solid and soapy-looking. When you put your hand up in the Morph your hand dematerializes, then it blips back again. It's not scary. The Morph evokes bliss. Remember, when Percival and Galahad found the Grail they disappeared - ding, ding! Baby steps.

"If you can see the Morph just once, you will always see it. It's a click of the mind nothing more. As a member of the club we'll visit together up to four times in the year, maybe more. I'll show you the Morph and bring you back. I can't tell you all of it here, you can understand why, but I can give you a clue.

"The scattered Camelots are at specific geographical locations, they are usually very beautiful settings, but if you go there it all looks normal, you can't see anything different. It's just a pretty hill with a few sheep. Yet on that hill is a village and houses and three hundred people going about their daily lives...they are not ghosts, they are flesh and blood humans like you and me...scallywags that got fed up with the boring, old repetitive stuff that longed for a brave new world. Sincerely, Stuart Wilde"

The Redeemer's Club membership is closed since The Redeemer's Club is full. You are on your own without a road map inside The Morph if you stumble into it. According to Redeemersclub, all previous waiting lists and registration forms have now lapsed. (Pictured, residents of "The Morph.")

"If I'm lucky enough to love, why should I quibble about the sex?" Nuala O'Faolain

My First Ayahuasca Shamans. For the curanderos of Peru, reality is populated with good and evil spirits. People can be physically harmed by brujos and evil spirits. These attacks are not psychological manifestations.

My first ayahuasca retreat was in 2000 at a SpiritQuest retreat (located along the banks of the Rio Momón outside Iquitos, Peru). At this retreat, SpiritQuest was working with two curanderos (pictured), Maestro don Romulo and Hermana Mari (now retired). Maestro ayahuasquero don Romulo was given ayahuasca by his father, a master shaman, when he was eight years old. By the time he was twenty, he was fully initiated in the path of the ayahuasquero and curandero. Don Romulo, who has taken ayahuasca thousands of times, cultivates the ayahuasca and chacruna he uses in ceremonies. He lives alone, tending his plantation in the jungle over four hours distance by boat from Iquitos.

Maestro don Romulo has practiced curanderismo for more than forty years. don Romulo had this to say about disease: "In many cases its witchcraft or some bad intention or something generated by the bad intention or the will of others. When I can find out what it is and who did it, I can take it out."

Hermana Mari was born in Lamas in the department of San Martin. She spent her youth in a very remote, rural village in the higher jungle. Hermana Mari had a neighborhood practice in Iquitos and conducted ayahuasca ceremonies twice a week. Her monthly SpiritQuest retreats were the only work she did outside her culture. Her grandfather and grandmother worked with enchanted stones. Her father was a camalongero (a shaman who specializes in the use of camalonga) and did not use ayahuasca.

Magical Darts. While at SpiritQuest I spoke to a friend who had been physically attacked by 'virotes' (magical darts). These psychic attacks cause the victim pain and can be life-threatening. The person under attack is usually not able to relieve the situation by themselves. My friend told me he suddenly experienced severe pain in his chest and his good health began to deteriorate very quickly. During a healing ceremony, don Romulo withdrew several virotes from his chest, immediately relieving his pain. My friend said he actually felt the virotes being pulled from his chest by don Romulo sucking them out of his body.

In "A Primer on Shamanism in northwest Amazonia" by Peter Gorman, he writes about his knowledge of virotes. Gorman writes: "Their [virotes-invisible darts that can do physical damage] use is generally reserved for brujos, curanderos who have fallen off the spiritual path of curing and onto the selfish path of power acquisition. Many curanderos go through a stage in their lives when they behave as brujos because of the allure of power-which brings with it money and goods and women and so forth. In my experience most grow out of that stage and return to a positive path, but not all of them do. Those that don't are the people available for hire to send out the evil eye, tempt women to cheat on their husbands, cause accidents and so forth. Virotes, can best be described as thorns that are sent by intention that enter the body invisibly, though they then begin to take a physical toll." A PRIMER ON SHAMANISM IN NORTHWEST AMAZONIA

Tom's 2nd Ayahuasca Experience 2001 Iquitos, Peru

http://VictoriaAlexander.gaia.com — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 00:48:28 GMT

Email me at Kwanitaka@aol.com to receive a preview of my weekly column," The Devil's Hammer" which is posted every Monday on fromthebalcony.com and lasvegasroundtheclock.com.

Subj:Ceremony # 2

Date:03/12/2001

Tommy's experience...

At the onset of our second ceremony my brief time spent holding the medicine in its offering cup brought me to a wish I uttered under my breath, "Help me to understand forgiveness and the ability to accept change." I lifted my gaze from the cup towards the eyes of curanderos, Don Romulo and Hermana Mari, silently awaiting their blessings. Once granted, I drank kneeling in reverance to my guides and my unknown.

Shortly thereafter, Hermana Mari began her petitions, verbalizing genuine intonations in a foreign tongue's prayer for guidance, strength, and mercy. "Amen" was the one recognizable chorus tidbit I could faithfully whisper alongside her.

The oil lamps were soon hushed to darkness though an occassional flicker would announce a mapacho's protective exhale. Here, the quiet became an invitation and I closed my eyes. A silent mantra from the previous ceremony sang itself within me again, "What can I do to help you help me? What can I do to help you help me?" Chacapa palms took flight and icaros ushered forth an initiation occassion as colors emerged from blind vision anticipating...

..."I surrender."

Brilliantly bright colors displayed themselves as both docile and frenzied in patterns bedazzling me in their complexities. The icaros seemed to guide their incessant kaleidoscopic metamorphoses. In retrospect I've wondered if this lusterous duration, whatever its measure, was simply a final reality check for fear.

An invitation of sorts, oddly nonconfrontational and nonverbal, beckoned my perusal. Certain geometric patterns offered what I suppose are to be called windows of opportunity with the invitation coming from the other side. Not quite sure what to make of this, I can only describe it in comparison to what it would be like to stand in the bottom of a volcano looking up through its mouth in query of a distant call. I was curiously uncertain of where I was and what was going on. What but a force I felt lifting me closer to this arbitrary opening. With intoxicated cognizance I recall cautious perplexity silently asking, "Why me? Is it my time?" as the window began to envelop me.

My body was at this time let loosed of physical concern and toppled from the rocker recliner to the floor of wood planking in what must have been quite a commotion. Seemingly personifying helpless vulnerability, movements became as involuntary as a twitch while dreaming. My body both undulated harmoniously with the icaros and floundered in epileptic-like surges. Consciously aware, though lacking understanding, I felt hands touching me. Whispy sounds of a chacapa came close-by and I recognized Don Romulo's songs. Feeling now somewhat possessed, I sensed that an energy at my core was being tantalized by Don Romulo's work. It was my first realization that someone was coming to my aid as I slipped through the window of everyday human reality into non-ordinary realms.

The nearby chacapa shook with fierce abandon seemingly toying with this energy remaining bound within me, all the while becoming gradually more susceptible to the shaman's audible vibrations. Fortitude of my own consciousness resolved itself to help in this exorcism, and strength allowed me to open my eyes. Lying on my back I looked up into circular patterns of light whirling around me.

Don Romulo's creative energies were being spun out all around me in perhaps the greatest dance of distinction that I'll ever know. All his focus was with me, his mapacho's smoke fending, his icaros escorting and safeguarding. In the shadow play of the evening, his face took on that of a warrior in battle, appearing painted and ferociously intent. And with a lunging breath, I looked up towards him uttering words which came as a acquiescent plea acknowledging his role in caretaking, "grab it". I felt if he could manipulate this internal energy away from me I could move on.

All I'm certain of is the fact that space got quiet again. I assume Don Romulo worked with me until I was sufficiently calm. My awareness was no longer in the room my body was in. I was not as I am familiar to identifying myself, nor was I familiar with the surroundings. Mind, body , spirit not altogether one at this point, but exploring, processing, seeing, each their own way. Disjointed, I was lost but not alone.

The quiet again proved itself to be an invitation. Body was tickled into uproarious fits of laughter and then wrenched immediately into pain of tears. The laughter bellowed boisterously resonant, playfully without pause until it ran its course, whereupon a subtle shift would commence churning my guts tighter and tighter, compressing lungs until even regurgative purge yearned for another breath.

Mind like new. Unsure of perception, struggling as if unskilled, it kept clear of body tolerating those rapid shifts in tide as if impartial and/or trusting. Mind was occupied by an overload of primeval processing... experiencing an awareness of being so overwhelming in newness that to say mind pondered survival would be getting too deep, too far ahead, too complex.

Spirit as vision viewed an invisible environment judgement free. Propulsion sent spirit seeing acts of living in an entirely non-ordinary now, as if I'd become a neonate, a helpless speck of life form in a whole new world.

It seems to me important to digress for a moment to note here that although I was beyond law and reason and uncertain of will, I was still involved in ceremony. "Doctor Ayahuasca," as Hermana Mari so humbly addresses the medicine, had shifted my relationship to reality. At this juncture, awestruck inebriated, I sensed no fear whatsoever. Grace or good fortune or coincidence (or what have you) had brought me to this setting in Iquitos to experience this journey in an environment which thankfully provided precaution, safety, and goodwill.

I had temporarily drifted from a healthy, able-bodied, thirty two year old male body; however, I had not been deserted. Howard Lawler, our group's English speaking leader, had provided for us a small contingent of folks who sat soberly in the dark throughout each ceremony, flashlight in tow, patiently anticipating a whisper for help from time to time. In terms of my unique situation, the moment I descended from the rocker in ruckus, I sensed a willingness to aid, nurture, and support me as the journey unfolded. Despite my inability to respond, touch and soft chatter were extended to me across the gap of space-time. A patiently kind and loving red cross had settled like feathers falling around me calling comfort to a potential state of emergency. This is blessing.

Landscapes of rounded, grey rock surrounded me. Pools of water and dampness. I peered through amorphous eyes sensing my own breath. No thoughts, mere observation. Stone shapes shifting, dank body limp, head swaying to and fro looking around, mouth wide open agape and dry...inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale...calm isolation. And sudden uncertainty as someone from across space-time poured tangy fluid into body's open mouth. Mouth seized shut, throat choked, fear sent it regurgitating, body writhed painfully unaccepting. It was too much too rapidly. A female propped my body up against her chest, nestling it warmly, nurturing this newborn as if it were her own. Mind, now vaguely alert, glimpsed hints of survival and choice as a sticky, sour taste remained on the tongue. Motherly soft hands caressed cheeks, dried my face, held my body close in connection confirmation.

Eyes shut and nonverbal I recall hearing from across a void, "Tomas... agua." A container touched my lips before it was poured. This time the liquid was thoroughly explored. Orally perusing the mystery my mouth opened and closed without swallowing. In time this aspect of familiarity was realized as helpful and enjoyable and needed; and, although it was skeptically explored at every serving's interval, it became well received. Touch was bonding, water was life.

Bouts of highs and lows continued. Engaged in sensory overload I remained passively accepting and nonresistant. With body armor not currently tied to mental emotions of yesteryear, muscularity remained supple and pliable. Forceful contractions twisting, knotting, cinching were of such extremes that tears from history's overlooked core worked themselves through ducts with no more than physical explanation. Quite simply, Doctor Ayahuasca wrung me out. In the wake of each traumatic episode were soothing periods of relief. With no voluntary use of my limbs, my moulting serpentine self urged its way towards extention.

Unaware of time, I was ushered back towards ordinary reality in a laughing spell. Tranquilly, a sound was whispered into my ear, "Shh..." The jolly release continued amidst the attempts to quiet me. How remains undefinable, but I somehow recognized communication's attempt. Curiosity must have empowered the raising of my eyelids. I was dazed, caught once again in transit between two worlds. Confused eyes scanned the surroundings, a measure of the only voluntary muscular control I had regained. Hysteria ran out of steam and I was calm.

I caught sight of two people. Their brown skin youthfully clear, their thick black hair like hand-me-down verification of ancient lineage evolving, their two pairs of friendly dark eyes gleaming welcome. I began to distinguish love's emanation, and was thereby locked into one of the most beautiful moments in my life.

Mind had rejoined body and awareness began leading me towards understanding. I had been moved from the ceremonial space and was currently on the floor of my room. A dimly lit oil lamp sofly gave form to my scattered belongings. Reyna, Howard's wife, and Cesar, a sixteen year old relative of Reyna, were the two whose hands extended the touching compassion throughout my journey. And they stayed with me now, aglow in smiles, as I examined whereabouts and reunion with myself.

I remained disjointed despite being conscious of my return. My body was heavily weighted and still immovable by my own means. I closed my eyes again to realize spirit could still see. At some point Reyna left the room and reappeared with Howard, who knelt down beside me as Cesar propped up my head. I heard his voice, "Tommy? Tommy? It's me, Howard. Can you hear me, brother?" I opened my eyes. Smiles became contagious. "You're coming back now, brother. We love you. You are part of our family now. Cesar and Reyna have been with you all night and will stay with you as long as you need them. This might be the most difficult part of your journey, but don't worry. Everything is alright. We are with you, brother. Do you understand? Can you say something?" I tried, but I could not. To the best of my ability all I could do was move my lips. However, I was aware of my eyes at this point, so I used them in a continuous stare that grew into a smile. Again contagious. We all glowed.

Howard and Reyna left the confines of my room to rejoin the group in ceremony. Cesar quivered behind me. He was exhausted with all my body weight leaning up against him. His loyalty amazed me. He grunted while working to shift himself into a more stable position without dropping me or losing the connection of touch. "Tomas, esta bien?" I looked up to him and grins ensued.

Re-entry proved an uneasy ride. Consciousness was aware of further episodes of moulting not yet complete. I began to sense the onset of more cringing pain before it would overtake me physically. I did my best to alert Cesar with my eyes. And then I would sink away, shutting my eyes to allow for the inevitable. From the base of my spine up through my entire abdominal area the contractions would reign. Excrutiatingly stressful aches consumed me, my face revealing agony in constriction. I had surrendered myself to this medicine and it was working itself through me. I remained voluntary to the episodes, I relished the spaces between, and found myself regaining power therein.

Gradually, I began to utter words. I was concerned with Cesar's comfort and asked, "Esta bien?" As the wrenching recommenced I tried to tell him that I knew what was happening and that I would be alright. "I am ok, entiende?" Again and again I was led to recede behind shut eyes, enduring.

With the power of speech at my disposal once again I was able to relocate Cesar to a place that would be more comfortable to him. When I told him to sleep in my bed, he just smiled and declined. He did, however, stretch me out on my back on the floor and take a seat for himself up on the matress. Oddly, in a frame between my episodes, my right arm was abruptly launched skyward as if to announce its availability to me once again. I found myself moving my fingers and little by little bending my elbow and actually lifting it off of the ground. No sooner had I lowered it when the jolt shot through my left arm and the use of it returned. This was great. I could talk and use my hands and arms. The oil lamp proved useful as I began investigating shadow puppets. Cesar and I were having a good time.

Intermittantly the spells would return. I was returning steadily to myself as the spirit of ayahuasca retreated. I could prop myself up, but it was exhaustive work, so I stayed lying on my back. The ability to move my feet and legs came slowly but surely. My toe and ankle joints popped and cracked with every attempt at motion. I felt my legs reaching out in full extention away from my body. My feet pointing and flexing. My mind reminiscent about medical records that tell of my legs being in a brace when I was under a year old. But now, a feeling of length from where I rested. I was feeling hopeful.

I had full comprehension of the fact that I could try to resist as I felt the force announcing itself again, but I honestly had no desire. I let go of my feet and legs, let them rest on the floor. I looked towards Cesar and smiled and tried to explain that I would be right back, that
I would be ok. "I am ok, entiende?" He replied, "Si." And I let my arms fall to the floor. I relaxed with my spine straight, arms at my sides, legs extended in one long line. And then it came, a final surge. Incredibly powerful. Dare I say, almighty. Energy not my own extended itself through my arms and lifted them upward above my chest, as my physical center just below my navel wrenched in full contraction. My head rested on the floor as my upper back curved and my chest lifted. The intesity increased and I felt myself being pulled upwards by my hands. Legs still outstretched, the force lifted my entire upper body off of the ground. My neck still relaxed, my head hung limp behind my shoulders, facially tense, the affliction in my gut overwhelming. Essentially I was hanging by my arms while sitting down.

As contraction's constriction became tighter breath was squeezed out of me in miniscule exhalations through my mouth, which opened despite the tension like a victim of nausea.

In what can only be described as painfully beautiful, my arms, which had been straight above my shoulders, outstretched themselves wide, my neck elongated and extended my throat, and an invisible entity mysteriously slithered itself from the confines of the deepest recesses of my body via my mouth. It moved outward, upward, beyond. I was left in tears looking straight up overhead through eyes baffled by bewilderment and astonished by experience.

Interview with Peruvian Ayahausca Shaman Don Romulo

http://VictoriaAlexander.gaia.com — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 00:34:40 GMT

Don Romulo Interview

January 4, 2001

Conducted by John Alexander

Translator: Howard Lawler

Redacted by Victoria Alexander

JA: Victoria said she saw your spirit guides.

DR: Yes, yes. They come to me when I drink ayahuasca. In the Ayahuasca State I call for the doctors to come. Doctor Ayahuasca is the doctor that makes all the medicines. I call each doctor, whether it's a plant or a spirit doctor, to come to help me heal. All the maestros, all the curanderos who work with ayahuasca come back to work with other curanderos after they die. The word for these spirit doctors is genio. Some of these spirits I knew before they died.

JA: Are they different now from when they were alive?

DR: They come in union with ayahuasca. They have become one with ayahuasca. And with the bringing of these medicines that comes when Dr. Ayahuasca is summoned. They are part of that. They are joined with that. These spirit doctors, the genios, live on other planets and come here when we call them. By their powers, they can tell when we are drinking ayahuasca.

JA: How do they get here?

DR: They can come like air. They are able to come here virtually instantly just by thinking about coming here. When they think of coming here, they are here.

JA: What is the difference between spirits from other planets and from earth?

DR: Those from planets don't have earthly bodies, they are in spirit form. They have other forms. Those that are from the earth manifest in an earthly form that can be recognized as of the earth. Sometimes when they come they look like dragons. Sometimes they look like eagles or birds. Some of these birds live in the very top of mountains but they can fly into space.

JA: From your area, which is quite a distance down river from Iquitos, have you heard of any instances of people being taken by these spirits?

DR: Yes, people do see things like this. They often come from the water. They transform. They first come in what looks like a boat. It comes from underneath the water. It has lights on it that are flashing. Inside this boat that comes from beneath the water, there are people who look like spirits. They look like the genios.

JA: Have you seen this yourself?

DR: Yes. They have the form of people. I have only seen them from a distance of about 50 meters. They have the form of people but I can't describe their appearance in detail. They are humanoid.

JA: Are there cases of people being harmed by these spirits?

DR: Oh, yes. There are cases where they have harmed people. If people are in a canoe or motor boat what happens is a whirlpool forms and this pulls the boat into the whirlpool. They are sucked down into the whirlpool and they disappear. This also happens in cases of witchcraft in order to get rid of people. Witches cause them to get caught in a whirlpool.

JA: How often has this happened?

DR: Not just once. Several times.

JA: Are these disappearances ever reported to the police?

DR: Okay, for example, I'm a shaman. What I would do in the case of a person missing is go into an ayahuasca ceremony and speak with the spirits to try and find out what happened to the person.

JA: Can you go into the ayahuasca state without taking ayahuasca?

DR: No, no. To go into that state I have to drink ayahuasca.

JA: How many times have you taken ayahuasca?

DR: I've taken ayahuasca thousands of times.

JA: Have you ever taken ayahuasca during the day?

DR: Yes, I have experienced ayahuasca in the daytime, but I do not see as well in the daytime. I can see much better at night.

JA: What happens when you die?

DR: You go to the underworld - Inferno, that is, Hell, if you have led a bad life.

After you serve your penance you can be released from Hell. It's not forever. If you leave clean of sin you then go straight to glory. If you die in sin, your spirit is going to suffer.

JA: Tell me about the spirits you encounter during an ayahuasca ceremony.

DR: The spirits come back through the trunk - the stem - of the ayahuasca. This form of ayahuasca is called "Cielo Ayahuasca," which means "Ayahuasca of Heaven" because it is the pathway through which healing spirits travel back to earth. They come through the vine into the curandero to bring their healing from Heaven. "Cielo" in Spanish has two meanings. It means "Heaven" and "sky." It's the same word and many people loosely interpret it to mean "Sky Ayahuasca." What it really means is "Ayahuasca of Heaven and its pathway from Heaven to earth."

JA: What is the most important thing I can ask you?

DR: What you need to know about ayahuasca is that there are many things to learn, and many things to see. There are many medicines to be found along the path. This has the power to heal everything that's bad in a person, especially disease. Because Doctor Ayahuasca tells us what the disease or what the problem is with the person and what causes the problem. In many cases its witchcraft or some bad intention or something generated by the bad intention or the will of others. When I can find out what it is and who did it, I can take it out.

JA: On earth we have seen new diseases like AIDS and Ebola. Where do they come from? Can curanderos stop these diseases?

DR: These come at the same time from the same world - from this world. They emerge at the same time.

JA: Can they be prevented?

DR: For every disease like this that comes along there are treatments. There are medicines. Even for AIDS there are vegetable medicines that work very well to control it and people don't always die from it. One of these remedies for people infected with AIDS is to eat tortoise. When the tortoise - from the time it hatches and throughout it's life - eats a variety of forest fruits and plants which keep it from getting sick. The tortoise never gets sick. It has a strong immune system. So eating the meat of the tortoise passes on the strength of it's immune system to the person who eats it. Here, we very much believe in the strong adage "You are what you eat." That's why we don't eat pork because pigs eat a lot of stuff that we wouldn't think of eating. So basically what people eat makes them conscious that they are part of the food chain. They are in that flow of nutrient or flow of medicine depending of what characteristics that plant has.

JA: What have I not asked you that I should?

DR: I have dedicated myself to shamanism to help people. There are people who come who want to learn how to be a curandero, how to be a shaman. They have to be dedicated to learning the good side of it and not the lies. They have to learn how to do good and not to carry forth the lies.

JA: Are you training anyone?

DR: Right now the only one is my son. My son is studying under me. My son is 28 years old.

VA: When you were working on Tom, I saw that your icaro [power song] called forth a spirit. He was dancing rhythmically to your icaro. He was powerfully built, very tall, and wore a headdress of feathers. When I asked who he was, and how to make contact with him, I was unable to get his attention. Who was he?

DR: (nods and smiles) This is Lashingo. It is a spirit guide of the -------- tribe. He has worked with me for years. You would not have been able to contact him.

HOWARD LAWLER: You probably would not have been able to contact him. These spirit helpers are very specific to the people they work with. They don't work with just anybody. Just anybody can't call them. They're not going to respond. This kind of work - when he comes back through the door to be in this world for a brief period of time - he is specifically an ally of Don Romulo. But with time, you certainly would find your own sprit doctors who would work with you. There are many out there that who are unaffiliated and waiting for the right person to come along. But there is a destiny to this and when the spirit meets you on the other side and makes that commitment to you then that spirit is with you forever. I have my spirit doctors also. They are mine, they come to me in my work and they are with me. Its not any one person who is gifted to have this connection but anyone can attain it if they want to.

Interview with Peruvian Shaman Hermana Mari, Iquitos, Peru 2001

http://VictoriaAlexander.gaia.com — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 00:32:19 GMT

Hermana Mari Interview

Held at Spirit Quest, Iquitos, Peru

January 2, 2001

Conducted and redacted by Victoria Alexander

Translator: Howard Lawler

VA: Hermana Mari, how do you prepare for an ayahuasca ceremony?

HM: I call the spirits to bring the medicine and to help the brothers and sisters here on earth.

VA: Do you know what each participant is experiencing during an ayahuasca

ceremony?

HM: Yes. I can communicate with all the elements: The water, the earth, and the air in the heavens and all the aspects of the body that the healing can be applied to. In the case of each person present in the ceremony we sing an icaro [a power song] that is special for their needs. So in some cases don Romulo and I sing an icaro for more than one person because it may appropriate for more than one person. But in many cases, we sing different icaros for each person.

VA: During the second ayahuasca ceremony, one participant, Tom, appeared to

be having grave difficulty. What happened to him?

HM: Tom was very out of his body. He had transcended his body. He left his

body. Don Romulo and I called for power so that Tom would not hurt himself -

or his body would not hurt itself - while he was in that state. He was

re-uniting with a lot of his friends back home through soul flight. What he

was experiencing is called soul flight. He hadn't lost his consciousness. To

the contrary, he was quite conscious. He just wasn't conscious within the

confines of his body. You can fly into the stars, into the moon.

VA: So Tom's situation wasn't a crisis. You did not perceive Tom as being in

any kind of trouble.

HM: No. It was just a state one can arrive at with this, and everyone should. It's more frightening to the inexperienced observer than it is to the person experiencing it, or to a person who doesn't know where they are.

VA: Is there a qualitative difference whether you know or don't know you are having an out-of-body experience?

H. LAWLER: Yes. There is a qualitative difference and these are aspects of

the universal shamanic experience. The soul flight is a fundamental

component of the shamanic experience, however attained. This is one way that

facilitates this profoundly. There are other ways. One can attain this same

state through trance rhythm, such as drumming. But it takes more

concentration and it usually takes longer. Sometimes it's an easier path

than this. Ayahuasca is initially not an easy path for many. But it can help one

achieve access to shamanic realms sooner than later if you are well prepared and

properly guided.

VA: Last night's ceremony was quite different than the previous two. It

seemed to be directed towards healing the participants.

HM: It was pure healing. It was pure medicine. It was intended to be calmer

last night. To bring everyone together into a calmer mode so that you could

see the power of ayahuasca and the power of the plants of the forest. The

purpose was to see that they are pure medicine. If you had the same kind of

visions like the previous night it would have distracted you from this

purpose. Heavy visions would have distracted everyone from the true focus of

the ceremony. Ayahuasca is not all about visions. There are powerful

dimensions to it.

VA: What about the dosage given to each participant. I asked for a small

amount more.

HM: And what happened to you? What was the effect of taking more ayahuasca?

VA: It was difficult for the visions to come on. It was more physically

painful.

HM: The direction of the ceremony last night was for pure healing and

understanding.

VA: Is the experience dosage independent?

HM: Yes, yes. However, we vary the dosage from person to person. Some more,

some less, to bring a person into the right level of the experience. Because

what is the right level is not the same for everybody. It varies.

VA: Does the intensity of five-hour ceremonies exhaust you?

HM: All kinds of doctors come into my body. Many times during the ceremony

spirits come into my body until its over. But we don't surrender (to

weariness).

H. LAWLER: Hermana Mari and don Romulo are mediums while in the ceremony.

When they take flight they still have knowledge of what's happening in their

body. But they are not there. And when they are not there the invited

spirits - the spirit doctors - which could be the spirit of a plant or is often the spirit of a deceased shaman - come into their bodies. With some shamans it's

an animal. It could be animal, plant, human, or ethereal spirit that has

never had a corporeal body. They have allied with these spirits in the

spirit world and call them with the icaros. Each icaro has a purpose in terms of

what spirit ally is summoned and what is the intent of the curandero. The

curanderos, by their very name and nature, are pure healers. They evoke

these spiritual powers principally for the purpose of healing and

divination. Whereas, brujos may use malevolent powers summoned in the same

way but for different purposes harmful to others. There are different

spirits for different purposes. Some are not beneficial or benevolent.

VA: How do you distinguish the difference in spirits?

HM: The spirits I want to work with - the good spirits - come to me just in

the forefront. I do not consent to the arrival of bad spirits. I can tell

the difference. For me, I invoke the protection of Christ. During the ceremony

when I'm working I see The Shining Cross. This is for everyone's protection:

La Cruz Luminosa.

VA: How did you begin your work? Who did you study with?

HM: Jesus is my teacher. Jesus is all powerful. I was born with this

mentality. At the time I was eight years old I began my work. I began to

hear prayers and I began looking for people who were ill in order to heal them by prayer. You can feel when enemies or friends come. You feel palpitations in

your muscles. If you get that, it means an enemy is coming. An enemy is

coming to you and you mentally begin to pray. And this prayer weakens the

enemy. I use prayer and the sign of the cross.

VA: Do you ever advise someone not to take ayahuasca?

HM: We embrace everyone who comes and we give them the medicine and send

them out on the path of their choice. We don't have any separatism or judgment

regarding whatever path one comes to.

VA: Do you ever take ayahuasca outside of the ceremony environment? Do you

ever use it for your own purpose?

HM: No. I always take ayahuasca in the context of my work.

H. LAWLER: Hermana Mari works with another shaman when she's not working with us in SpiritQuest. Don Romulo lives a rather long distance away - nearly four hours away by boat and he's not in Iquitos often - so when we are not working here Hermana Mari maintains her neighborhood healing practice. She works with another shaman who is also a good curandero and a man of high integrity. However we usually work with don Romulo and Hermana Mari in SpiritQuest.

VA: Hermana Mari, tell me about your neighborhood practice.

HM: It is my main practice. Working with SpiritQuest is the exception to my

practice. SpiritQuest is the only work I do with people outside my culture.

Tuesday and Friday nights are ceremonial nights for me. If there are people

who are gravely ill, I will work any day. Whatever day is needed for the

healing I'll work, but my scheduled healing ceremonies for the local people

are Tuesday and Friday nights.

VA: And each ceremony, as I have experienced, is 4 to 5 hours long.

HM: Sometimes the ceremony lasts even longer if there is a lot of people.

Sometimes there might be 15 or 20 people.

H. LAWLER: This characteristic is the key, defining characteristic of a true

shaman - to do community service. If there is not a service component then

it's deviating from the bedrock tradition of the role of the shaman in

society and in the community. The role of the shaman is to do what they do.

This is why they are here with us at SpiritQuest because they are truly

traditional and uncorrupted shamans.

VA: Do you have any apprentices? Are you training others?

HM: Yes. I'm training Howard, a young woman named Mera, and another man who

lives in the village I grew up in.

H. LAWLER: Hermana Mari was born in Lamas in the department of San Martin.

She spent her youth in a very remote, rural village in the higher jungle.

The jungle begins to break at a little higher elevation as you enter the Peruvian Sierra.

HM: My ancestors were curanderos. My grandfather and my grandmother worked

with stones. Their medium was enchanted stones. My father was a camalongero.

He didn't use ayahuasca.

H. LAWLER: Camalonga is a very interesting element in shamanic practice. It

is one of the very few things not grown or native here. Its used widely by

Amazonian shamans and its one of the elements in the ointment that smells like salad dressing. It consists of white onion, garlic and the seed of the camalonga - soaked in aguardiente. The aguardiente extracts the essence of these plants. The camalonga has a visionary quality as well. Shamans who are specialists in the use of camalonga are called camalongeros.

VA: Are Hermana Mari's shamanic gifts hereditary?

H. LAWLER: There are really two categories of shaman. There are natural

shamans and there are made shamans. Made shamans are people who decide to

pursue the path who may not have a particular gift for it but want to learn

it like any other skill or knowledge. The natural shamans are the ones who

are gifted people and they usually come through a lineage. Both Hermana Mari and

don Romulo are in a lineage of shamanic healers. Some of their ancestors used different techniques and mediums in their healing work though.

VA: What is your neighborhood practice like? Do people come to you primarily

for healing or divination?

HM: Primarily, people come to me for healing. Often people come to me

seeking healing from a witching spell that has been cast.

H. LAWLER: This is very, very common.

VA: How do you know you've had a witching spell?

H. LAWLER: Well, your life starts falling apart. Disruptive, sometimes

catastrophic events occur. Things start happening to you that are not explainable rationally. Then the suspicion arises that its brujeria. Of course, a medical doctor can do nothing for that. There are numerous conditions in the Amazonian culture which are unique compared to the western world. It is convenient and sometimes reassuring to simply assign it to 'superstitious nonsense' but there is more at work here.

VA: What have you learned from ayahuasca?

HM: My spirit continues to grow stronger but as I get older my knowledge

wanes. But my knowledge is being carried on by those I teach. It makes me

very happy that you have come with love and affection to experience Doctor

Ayahuasca. Welcome to the center of the medicine in Iquitos.

VA: Is it necessary to drink a full cup of ayahuasca each time?

HM: Once you have experienced ayahuasca you have it in your body. Those who

drink it often need to drink less to experience the same effect.

H. LAWLER: For example, I drank less than a half cup last night and relative

to most of the accounts of last night's experiences, I had a little stronger

experience than those who drank more than a cup. I went into things I needed

to go into. It was a lesson night for me. Through shamanic discipline and

practice, one learns the pathways to access these visionary realms of truth and

transformation.

VA: Not everyone attending the ceremonies drinks ayahuasca.

HM: Everyone present enters the dimension of Alpha and Omega. All those

present are opening portals whether they drink ayahuasca or not. You are

opening these fields.

VA: Have you ever seen extraterrestrial beings?

HM: These we call ovnis. The ones we call Martians are very, very small and

very powerful. They generate much energy. When we work we see them coming to

the earth. They have many colors and they radiate much energy. They know a

lot.

VA: Do you see these beings in normal reality?

HM: This is outside ayahuasca. We travel to all kinds of places. We go to

the deep forest and under the ground. I visit all the shamanic worlds: the upper

world, middle world, and lower world. In dreams I fly. There I experience

the Virgin Mary.

VA: There are many tales in Peru of UFOs.

HM: The name of this being is Iman de la Tierra. It doesn't speak. It

communicates through it's mind and it's eyes by telepathy. This being comes

through the air when I am seeking a spell of witchcraft. Sometimes I have to

call them and they are far away. In the waters live the sirens and the

Yacurunas. The sirens are beautiful women with golden hair and white skin.

They have very long hair. From the waist up they are human, from the waist

down they are fish. They have breasts and have guitars that they play. Their

icaros are very sad.

VA: Why, in your culture, are these people represented as being white, with

blond hair?

HM: Yes, but also work with spirit healers that are Indian. There is a

beautiful city at the bottom of the ocean.

H. LAWLER: Remember, you are getting very culture-bound feedback here.

Hermana Mari's response is not biased by knowledge of those things.

VA: Have you ever heard of Atlantis?

HM: No.

VA: It is believed to be a mythical city underwater.

HM: In the sea it's the same as here. The tabaqueros [shamans who specialize

in tobacco] can go into the water here and come out in the United States and

other places.

VA: Tell me about the Sachamama.

HM: The Sachamama is real. It's the size of a lupuna tree. It lives in the

ground and on her back grows trees. She lies still and quiet for long

periods of time. Even trees will grow on her back. The Sachamana feeds by charming animals that come near her. She draws them near by the power of her

enchantment. It catches them and eats them. And where the Sachamama is you

will find the bones of animals she has eaten and regurgitated. It's the size

of a giant lupuna tree. There are times, over a great period of time, when

the Sachamama will become active, animate, and move. The spirit of the

Sachamama is a king doctor. It comes and manifests in human form as a king

in elaborate clothing. Also it manifests as a woman, as a queen. She is

dressed like a bride. There are human manifestations of the Sachamama.

VA: Where do we find Sachamama?

H. LAWLER: It could be anywhere in the forest. The word "jungle" is rarely

used here. The two words that are used are "la selva," which is the more

general word for all kinds of rainforest; "el monte" is the word generally

reserved for wild unflooded 'terra firme' rainforest.

HM: Also, "chullachaki" is the king of the mountain and a very good doctor

to take out witchcraft. He's a very small elf that has one big foot and one

small foot. This is how they are recognized. There is a chullachaki tree that is used as an aphrodisiac for men, as well as treatment for arthritis, rheumatism and intestinal infections. It's also effective for treating AIDS. Men who have potency problems can elevate this by drinking a brew made from the chullachaki tree. Here in the forest we have all kinds of medicines for men and for women. The thing I see the most is daño [witchcraft].

VA: Do you have to be part of this culture to be attacked by witchcraft?

H. LAWLER: Contrary to wishful thinking, it's not something that doesn't

exist if you don't believe in it. There are people who are willfully

conjuring negative things to direct towards people in the U.S. as well. It's

also possible for a person - through sheer animosity and intensity toward

another person - to produce the same harmful effect as one who practices

black witchcraft or 'brujeria'.

VA: How come O.J. Simpson still walks the earth.

H. LAWLER: We don't know what is still in store for O.J.

VA: Can you tell if someone has been a victim of witchcraft?

HM: Oh yes. In some cases it's a point of pain or a physical thing like that

is embedded in the victim. Whether psychic or physical, in the Amazon these are

called 'virotes' or magical darts. It sets up a slow deterioration causing

pain and can be life-threatening. The person is usually not able to relieve it by themselves.

H. LAWLER: Hermana Mari is a curandero who only works pure 'curanderiso'

(healing). However, probably the majority of people practicing shamanism will work both sides. It's very hard to find pure curanderos who are not tempted to work on the dark side for a price. You have to understand, within the culture, the practice of shamanism is more often than not a mercenary profession. For a majority of people (who practice it), they make their living this way. The true purely benevolent shaman dedicated to selflessly serving the people is very hard to find.

VA: I certainly understand the practical application of shamanism. Of all

the shamans in this area, what percentage of shamans practice some form of

witchcraft?

HM: Many, many. But shamans also have defenses against the brujos.

H. LAWLER: Hermana Mari does not consider what she does magic. It's not

witchcraft. Its pure forest medicine..."medicina de la selva." Here, only 'brujeria is considered witchcraft. There's curanderismo and brujeria. White and Black. Light and Dark. In most cases there seems to be a firm clear line between good and evil defined mainly by whether it brings harm or ill to others or heals and brings good to others. Though all this seems like superstition to the western mind, there are psychic and spiritual aspects which, with enough experience here, are difficult to deny.

VA: Hermana Mari, do you believe in karma?

HM: Everything that brujos do comes back to them in the end. But they are

not looking that far ahead. They are looking for the quick, short, immediate

gain and that's why they do what they do. They gain great power very quickly. One can come under study with a brujo and learn to do amazing things very

quickly. But, at a great price. To become a curandero is very slow and

very demanding. There's no price to pay down the road. Down the road is

glory and blessing.

VA: What happens when you die?

HM: The flesh is nothing. It doesn't matter. What matters is our spirit. Our

spirit never dies. When we die, we will come back in spirit and continue the

work we are doing now. We call this "forgotten spirits" - the spirits of

shamans who lived before and come back through us.

VA: What will happen when you die?

HM: I will incorporate into another body. I may come back into Howard's body

and work after I'm gone. I am preparing Howard for this.

VA: Who works in your body now?

HM: I knew a shaman who died but now comes and works through me. He was a

Rosicrucian.

VA: Hermana Mari, thank you for setting aside time to talk with me and

answer my questions. It has been an honor and privilege attending your

ceremonies.

Medieval Mysticism & Its Empirical Kinship to Ayahuasca

http://VictoriaAlexander.gaia.com — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 00:29:41 GMT

Email me at Kwanitaka@aol.com to receive a preview of my weekly column," The Devil's Hammer" which is posted every Monday on fromthebalcony.com and lasvegasroundtheclock.com.

MEDIEVAL MYSTICISM AND ITS EMPIRICAL KINSHIP TO AYAHUASCA

Victoria Alexander

My advocacy for ayahuasca - not as a visionary tool solely the domain of shamans and medicine men - but as an agent for mystical experience available to everyone - directed my pursuit of the medicine. In my lifelong study of the mystical experiences of Catholic saints (primarily focusing on those who lived during the Middle Ages), it was evident that thousands of dedicated men and women chose drastic methods to achieve Union with God. Today, we are able to have visions and see God through - less drastic but just as controversial - the use of ayahuasca.

Comparing the visions of mystics with those produced by ingesting ayahuasca, either under the guidance of shamans or through the Santo Daime Doctrine, is consistently addressed by patrons of the sacred medicine. Alex Polari de Alverga, a leader of the Santo Daime Doctrine, said: "In fact, the mirações we experience in ritual works are remarkably similar to visions and ecstatic states described by saints of many religions."(1)

Huston Smith, a great champion of the religious significance of entheogenic plants and chemicals, wrote the following in an essay titled "Do Drugs Have Religious Import?": "But given the right set and setting, the drugs can induce religious experiences that are indistinguishable from such experiences that occur spontaneously."(2)

This article will briefly outline the practices of mystics and saints and present an archetypal pattern similarly found with ayahuasca usage. Attempting this, I would like to quote from my friend Kenneth Ring's article "Near-Death and UFO Encounters as Shamanic Initiations: Some Conceptual and Evolutionary Implications." Dr. Ring wrote: "First, in stressing certain linkages between NDEs and UFOEs, I make no claim that all varieties of these two phenomena are thus entwined. UFOEs especially cover an extraordinary range, and therefore no one model is likely to do even nominal justice to them all."(3)

I would like to submit here such a discussion along the lines of Dr. Ring's "framework for a partial conceptual integration of two nonordinary experiences previously held to be quite separate and unrelated."(4)

I hope to build a theoretical bridge unifying mysticism and ayahuasca inspired by Dr. Ring's approach. Like Ken, I found there are "obvious differences" in the two types of experiences and yet, similarly, a "deep structure" that indicates "important commonalities."

What is evidently clear about these two nonordinary states is that neither can be manipulated or harnessed. There are signposts and guidelines, but the journey is singularly individual.

Ayahuasca is an instrument that can be used by anyone to seek a direct experience with the spirit world, God, or for profound personal transformation. The democracy of ayahuasca is what gives it power. What gives ayahuasca kinship to mysticism is it can be used as a tool for religious exploration. Spiritual seekers during the Middle Ages used the only avenue available to them to achieve their religious purposes. The fact that mystical experience was impossible to control led to its diminished significance within the Catholic Church. And while ayahuasca is illegal in the U.S., Americans can still find ways to experience it.

Modern scholars have condemned medieval religious practices and have brutally criticized them. In the pursuit of spiritual ecstasy and revelation, I do not.

The fact that prayers and pleas to Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary dominated the ayahuasca ceremonies I attended at a SpiritQuest retreat in Iquitos, Peru makes the relationship of ayahuasca to Catholic mysticism all the more striking.(5) I was not aware of the strong influence Catholicism had on Peruvian curanderos and how harmoniously it shaped their ayahuasca ceremonies. With more and more Westerners traveling to South America for the intent purpose of experiencing ayahuasca visions, it is now possible to achieve what religious scholars have termed "Grand Mysticism."

THE MEDIEVAL PATHWAY

In the Middle Ages, if one wanted to know God firsthand and have mystical experiences, one embarked on a life of rigid asceticism. Extreme fasting, intense mortification of the body, arduous prayer, self-denial and sacrifice were all deemed the consecrated pathway. Christian ascetic practices began in the third century in the deserts of Egypt and flourished until the fourteenth century. Asceticism worked: Tens of thousands of men and women willingly lived the cruel reality of desert monasticism. The practitioner entered a visionary world far more satisfying than the material world.(6)

Today, contemporary Western religions (with the exception being the religious community known as Opus Dei (7), a Prelature of the Catholic Church, which advocates fasting and corporal mortifications even for its secular members) have denounced self-mortification as a tool for experiencing God. Outside the realm of religious fasts such as the Catholic Church's observation of Lent, abstaining from any food for long periods of time is considered a psychological aberration and denounced as a medical eating disorder. The religious significance of ascetic fasting has been vilified and self-mortification is no longer officially sanctioned by the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, Christianity rests firmly on a foundation of asceticism.

Opus Die was founded in Madrid, Spain on October 2, 1928, by Blessed Josemaria Escriva (pictured). Nearly 80,000 people from around the world belong to this Prelature of the Catholic Church. Regarding ascetic practices, Blessed Josemaria Escriva wrote: "No ideal becomes a reality without sacrifice. Deny yourself. It is so beautiful to be a victim!" Opus Dei members practice corporal mortifications by using the cilice and the discipline. The cilice is a spiked chain worn around the upper thigh for two hours a day. The cilice, which provides a painful form of suffering, leaves tiny prick holes in the flesh. The discipline is a cord-like whip used on the buttocks and back once a week. A member of Opus Dei may ask permission to use the cilice and whip more often.

Blessed Josemaria Escriva was particularly devoted to the constant use of the discipline and the walls of his bathroom were said to be covered in his blood. Notwithstanding the Opus Dei practices, the modern Catholic Church has set aside ascetic exercises as counter-productive to achieving spiritual progress.

For over nine hundred years such religious practices as extreme bodily mortifications and self-starvation were celebrated as a means to chastise the body bringing it closer to God. These harsh disciplines successfully brought about Union with God, as evidenced in the lives of mystics and saints whose testament proclaimed their efficiency. For individuals who chose the path of the religious life, it was vital to suffer physical pain in order to experience God. By reducing the body's sensation of pleasure to nothing, one was able to attain ecstasy, rapture, and profound visions of God.

One method, flagellation, holds a secure place in religious history as a hallowed path. In fact, mystical experiences, achieved by any means, are not considered "proof of sanctity" when evaluating candidates for sainthood. In Making Saints: How The Catholic Church Determines Who Becomes A Saint, Who Doesn't, and Why, author Kenneth L. Woodward is quite clear in his assessment of the Church's position. Woodward writes that the "saint-makers seem downright suspicious of causes involving mystical phenomena, and anxious to dispel any notion that mystics are inherently different from other saints."(8) Further, the author states that the Church regards all mystical gifts and wonder-working as "graces given for the benefit of the Christian community" as a whole and not for the fulfillment of the individual mystic.

Throughout the early history of the Church such religious practices as extreme bodily mortifications and self-starvation were celebrated as a means to chastise the body to bring it closer to God. These harsh disciplines successfully brought about Union with God, as evidenced in the lives of mystics and saints whose testament proclaimed their efficiency. For individuals who chose the path of the religious life, it was vital to suffer physical pain in order to experience God. By reducing the body's sensation of pleasure to nothing, one was able to attain ecstasy, rapture, and profound visions of God.

One method, flagellation, holds a secure place in religious history as a hallowed path. In medieval monasteries, monks wore a special shirt that opened in the back, so a flogging was more readily accessible. Each monastic order, for both sexes, had a flogging schedule that varied from once, twice or three times a week. The Capuchin Friars were required to discipline themselves every day.(9) Young monks crowned themselves with thorns or walked with their arms crossed and tied to a piece of wood. There is an enormous amount of literature on the lives of religious men who whipped themselves in frenzied, bloodthirsty penances. Even the great founder of the Jesuit order, St. Ignatius Loyola, was said to have wholeheartedly used the whip. His Jesuit priests, it is now diversely claimed, became "addicted to whipping."(10)

In the Middle Ages, the abbess of a convent was customarily expected to whip the novices and was regularly required to submit herself, in private or in public, to a scourging. Some convents trained members especially for the gruesome undertaking of scourging, guaranteeing for a more oppressive flagellation.

The Catholic Church's tradition can be traced to no less a luminary than St. Paul, who was himself an advocate and self-flagellator: "I chastise my body and bring it into subjection..." (I Cor. 9:27). The grotesque devices fashioned by the religious for self-torture also showed a high degree of imagination and purposeful intent on causing the most spectacular suffering. These practices were tolerated because its effectiveness was not only evident in the works and life of the mystic but served their communities in very practical ways. The benefits derived from the prayers, miraculous healings, and social services of these religious persons was so great that when a "living saint" died, communities nearly went to war over their remains.(11)

The spiritual fruits of harsh self-mortification have been known and widely used since antiquity. One famous patron was Jean Vianney, the Curé of Ars, who was born in France in 1786 and canonized a saint in 1925. His spiritual fame was so great that during the last year of his life, over one hundred thousand pilgrims spent days waiting outside his church to see him and hear him preach. He spent from sixteen to eighteen hours a day hearing confessions. The Curé once confided to a fellow priest: "My friend, here is my recipe: I give them a small penance and the remainder I myself perform in their stead."(12) His ambitious use of the scourge as a means of penance brought him extraordinary psychic powers that he used for the spiritual welfare of his community. Unfortunately, his reputation as a holy man, healer, and miracle worker brought him not only unwanted fame but critical attention by Church officials. His passion for fasting and extreme discipline were finally criticized by his bishop, who demanded that he stop torturing himself. Vianney complied, yet he explained: "When I could do with my body what I wanted, God refused me nothing."(13)

The tradition of self-mortification is certainly not exclusive to medieval mystics. In the Mesoamerica Mayan religion, royalty and priests bled their penises to stimulate visions. In the Aztec religion warriors practiced autosacrifice, the bleeding of oneself through insertion of spines or other ritual implements specifically to enhance direct communication with deities.

The physiological dynamics at play are well known. Fasting and ascetic practices such as bloody flagellation are very effective modalities producing brilliant visionary experiences. In prolonged fasting, the body is deprived a significant amount of sugar and lowers the brain's ability to function effectively. A severe vitamin deficiency enables a decrease in nicotinic acid, which produces visions. Self-mortification has been used as a tool of religious aspirants since it releases a large amount of adrenaline and histamine, which affects consciousness and intensifies the potentiality of visions. Large quantities of adrenaline can cause hallucinations, and festering wounds - not treated properly - produce toxins that disrupt the enzyme systems controlling brain functions. These toxins are produced by the decomposition of protein that goes directly into the bloodstream. In addition to protracted fasting, long periods without sleep and constraining the body in painful positions also play a part in increasing psychological and physiological stress.

There have always been scholarly critics of mystics who have summarily denounced them in cruel psychoanalytical terms. Evelyn Underhill called St. Teresa of Ávila "the patron saint of hysterics"[i] and St. Paul "an epileptic"[ii]; Eric John Dingwall labeled St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi "a masochistic exhibitionist"[iii]; and W.W. Meissner trivialized St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, as "a phallic narcissistic personality."[iv] Dr. Richard von Krafft-Ebing, in his classic work on abnormal sexual pathology, "Psychopathia Sexualis," called de' Pazzi "a heroine of flagellation."(14) Kraff-Ebing asserts that the whippings de' Pazzi imposed on herself from her earliest youth caused her to destroy her nervous system and invoked massive hallucinations.

The mystical visions brought on by ascetic practices and the positive effect of these visions have been supplanted by modern day denouncements decrying, as Krafft-Ebing did, that these practices "clearly show the significance of flagellation as a sexual excitant."(15)The brilliance of de' Pazzi's mysticism - which will be briefly discussed below - was lost on Krafft-Ebing. The "Grand Mysticism" of two of the greatest figures of their time, St. Teresa of Ávila and St. Catherine of Siena (now criticized as a neurotic anorexic so desperate for attention that she starved herself to death), are all but dismissed.

Why were mystics and holy men and women important to their communities? It would be unconscionable to reduce their significance to two key points; yet, for the task at hand I would confine their "purpose" in the communities they served as follows: They provided prayers for illnesses (and hoped-for miracles in a world without medical care) by, people believed, having established a special relationship with God; and by praying for the souls of the dead. People were very concerned over the fate of their souls.

Modern scholars have elected to ignore the religious practices of the time and deny the positive framework in which the disciplines of mystics were developed. To judge these mystics by our modern standards demeans the ecstatic modality they followed. The path they chose was paved and lit, well traveled, and richly fulfilling in spiritual commerce.

I have chosen to briefly showcase the lives of three great mystics: Saint Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi, Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, and Blessed Henry Suso. They chose a locus to revelation that was drastic and harsh, but never-the-less bore luminous fruit. In contrast, the means available to us is both elegantly simple and highly effective: Ayahuasca. Linking medieval mysticism and the modern use of ayahuasca may seem improbable; however, there are striking similarities that students of shamanism will note that unites these two disciplines.

Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi

Like most mystics of the Middle Ages, the life of Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi has been judged - in my opinion unfairly - by modern standards that should not be applied to medieval times. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi (baptized Caterina) was born in Florence, Italy in 1566. Details about her florid mystical life are well known through two biographies written by her confessors, a contemporary life written by a fellow nun, and eyewitness testimony given two years after her death during the petition for her beatification. An ascetic and cloistered nun, Mary Magdalene was also very productive, having dictated two books and corresponded with religious leaders and laypersons.

Caterina experienced her first ecstasy at twelve while looking at a sunset. At fourteen, she entered a convent but after fifteen months of ascetic penances her family brought her home. Against her family's wishes, at age seventeen, Caterina entered a Carmelite convent as a novice and took the name of Mary Magdalene. She continued her ascetic practices with such eagerness that she became dangerously ill. Upon taking her vows as a nun, Mary Magdalene became enraptured for the next forty days. Her mystical experiences were taken down by two nuns and later published as The Forty Days. At the end of forty days of ecstasy, Jesus offered her either a crown of thorns or a crown of flowers. Repeatedly, Mary Magdalene begged for the crown of thorns.

Incredibly, when she was only nineteen, Mary Magdalene received the stigmata, the physical wounds of Jesus' crucifixion. Receiving the stigmata was (and still is) recognized as a sign of immense spiritual favor. Mary Magdalene's physical austerities and mortifications in the service to God dominated her life, and rests as the centerpiece of her sanctity.

Mary Magdalene's interior religious life flourished. Not yet twenty, she defiantly told her superiors that God had instructed her to eat only bread and water. Whatever meager food she was compelled by obedience to eat, she vomited up. Devils haunted her day and night, tempting her with fragrant food to break her strenuous fasts. Demons would fling open pantry cabinets and offer her delicacies. Because of her rigorous self-mortifications she was reduced to crawling. Bridled with feelings of guilt and considering herself unworthy of the nun's habit, she wore a simple tunic.

She was richly rewarded for her penances by visions of Jesus. Mary Magdalene was widely recognized as having the power of precognition, clairvoyance, and telekinesis. Her power to heal was so extraordinary that her extreme ascetic practices, not mandated by her convent, were tolerated. After her death, her veil and pillow were used by the convent for their healing properties.

Mary Magdalene's intimate relationship with Jesus is celebrated by the ecstatic words she spoke to Him: "Mine eyes into the eyes of Thy mercy. Mine ears into Thine ears, that they may hear and understand the voice of my Spouse. My mouth into Thy mouth, that my mouth may speak what my Spouse speaks to me. My breast in Thy breast, my Beloved!"(16)

Her devotion to Jesus was so powerful that the word "love" would drive her into ecstasy. She said to Jesus: "I can no longer bear so much love, retain it in Thyself."(17) Her passionate longing for Jesus burned so bright inside her body that Mary Magdalene could not wear woolen garments in the winter. Overcome by this fiery love, Mary Magdalene felt it as an immense and consuming flame that seared inside her. To fight off the demonic temptations that prevailed against her, she would push sharp metal objects into her skin and pour hot wax on her flesh.

Mary Magdalene's intentional life of mortifications and suffering culminated in a last illness that left her emaciated and bedridden, suffering with head and chest pains, continual fevers and constant coughing. Her asceticism had destroyed her health. Paralyzed in her bed, she suffered severe bedsores. Her lifelong motto had been, "To suffer, not to die!" Her body, on which she had inflicted so much pain, lay in this manner for three years. She began to pray for "il nudo patire," a painful death. Mary Magdalene died in 1607 at the age of forty-one. She was canonized a saint in 1669.

Margaret Mary Alacoque

When Margaret Mary was twenty-six years old, she had three evocative revelations that would dramatically alter the course of her life and shepherd into the world the brilliant iconography of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The first revelation was so provocative that its physical effects dominated Margaret Mary's entire life. The vision that would consume her took place on December 27, 1673.

Jesus appeared to Sister Margaret Mary and pressed her closely to His breast. He demanded Margaret Mary's own heart, which He took from her body and merged into His own. He said to her: "My daughter, I have thy heart and I give thee Mine, that thou mayest forever live in Me."(18) When He returned her heart, it flamed inside her body. The intense suffering she felt was always present. "The pain of this wound," she wrote, "is so precious to me, causes me transports so lively, that it burns me alive, it consumes me."(19)

Margaret Mary's sole desire was to live a life dedicated to suffering. She heroically succeeded in her quest for spiritual perfection through physical pain. She wrote of her ambition: "Suffering alone can render life endurable to me."(20) An ascetic athlete, Margaret Mary began her life as an advocate of suffering at a very early age.

Margaret was born in 1647 in L'Hautecour, Burgurdy, France. On the death of her father, eight-year-old Margaret was sent to a Poor Clares school. When she was ten she returned home, suffering from rheumatic fever. Margaret was to be bedridden for the next five years. It was only when her family made a special vow to the Blessed Virgin that Margaret was cured. This miracle, attributed to the Blessed Virgin's intervention, set the course for Margaret Mary's future.

As a young girl, Margaret sought a small corner of her family's garden as a retreat, and spent days there without eating and drinking, lost in prayer. She began to practice austere mortifications and devoted herself to caring for the poor and sick. After making a vow of chastity, Margaret began to experience rapturous visions of Jesus. Against the wishes of her family, she refused to be married. Finally, in 1671, she entered the Visitation convent at Paray-le-Monial where she spent the rest of her life.

The novice continued to have intense visions of Jesus. "My Divine Master let me see that this was the time of our betrothal, and, like the most ardent of lovers, He made me taste what was sweetest in the sweetness of His love."(21) Margaret Mary insisted on doing all her convent work on her knees. She spent hours kneeling in prayer and meditation and excelled in the use of the discipline. The Mother Superior of her convent said: "If we had not snatched the scourge from her hands, her blood would have never ceased to flow."(22)

Jesus generously rewarded Margaret Mary's ardor by appearing to her and speaking intimately with her. When Jesus told her she was to be His Spouse, she responded by writing a consecration to Him in her own blood. United to Jesus as his chosen spouse, Margaret Mary's enthusiasm for suffering escalated.

She sought every avenue to harshly diminish even the smallest pleasure. She seasoned her already sparse convent food with ashes. She began to deprive herself of anything to drink from Thursday until Saturday of every week. At another time, she spent fifty days without taking any liquids until she was finally forced to drink by her superiors.

Margaret Mary's sought spiritual perfection the only way she could, through mortification. She wrote: "To avenge in some manner on myself the injury I had done Him, I bound this miserable, criminal body with knotted cords, which I drew so tightly that I could hardly breathe or eat. I kept them on so long that they ate into my flesh. It was only by force and at the cost of cruel suffering that I could get them off again. It was the same with the little chains that I clasped around my arms. I could not remove them without tearing off with them pieces of flesh. I slept on planks, or strewed my bed with sharp sticks."(23)

Like most mystics, Margaret Mary fasted strenuously as a means to bring on her visions. Her second revelation occurred in 1674, a year after the first. Jesus appeared to her with His five wounds shining like five Suns. Flames came from His heart piercing her, and all of humanity, with His divine love. He asked two things of her: the first, to receive communion every first Friday of each month; the second, to pray for an hour every week for the sins of men.

The final revelation took place in 1675. Jesus told Margaret Mary to establish a feast day to honor His Sacred Heart. Margaret Mary died on October 17, 1690. Her incorrupt body is on display at the Shrine of St. Margaret Mary in the sanctuary of the Chapel of the Visitation Convent at Paray-le-Monial where the apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus took place. She was canonized a Saint in 1920.

Henry Suso

"I have lost myself in God. No one can reach me here."(24) Blessed Henry Suso is acknowledged as one of the three great male mystics of medieval German mysticism (along with fellow Dominicans Meister Eckhart and John Tauler). Suso wrote three influential books, The Life of the Servant, Little Book of Divine Truth and Little Book of Eternal Wisdom. The Life of the Servant is an autobiographical account of Suso's pious practices, visions, and mystical experiences. Suso described his raptures, luminous experiences of God, and exactly how he went about achieving these states-he spent over sixteen years subjecting his body to excruciating torture. Suso believed, as most mystics did, that "Suffering was part of love."(25)

The litany of Suso's long years punishing his body (he entered religious life when he was thirteen) is spectacularly harrowing. Besides prolonged and cruel fasts (he even severely restricted his intake of water), he wore a hairshirt and an iron chain until he bled "like a fountain and had to give it up."(26) He made an undergarment of hair containing a hundred and fifty pointed brass nails that were sharpened to a fine point. The vermin that lived on his body would suck and bite him. He placed a belt around his neck and attached two rings of leather to support his hands. Every night he spent this way, with his hands and arms raised and painfully stretched. He devised other tortures for his body: He made a wooden cross and hammered thirty iron nails to it and wore the cross under his clothes day and night for eight years.

In the final year of his mortifications Suso added seven needles that caused deep wounds he bore in praise of the Mother of God. In addition, Suso flagellated himself twice a day, driving the nails deep into his flesh so that they remained there for him to pull out. Further, Suso constructed a scourge with sharp thorns and hooks that caused pieces of his flesh to be ripped out.

What drove Suso to such bloodthirsty excess? Suso's rapturous visions began with a supernatural experience. He wrote that his soul was caught up - in the body or out of the body - he knew not, and he saw and heard what tongues could not express. At one point he felt like he was floating in the air. He said: "If this is not heaven, I do not know what heaven is. Enduring all the suffering that one can put into words is not rightly enough to justify one's possessing this eternally."(27) After one hour or more, he felt like a person who had come from another world. Departed souls often appeared to Suso telling him what had happened to them, what their punishment was, and the help they needed.

Suso believed his penitent asceticism was fundamental to his quest for heroic piety. He reached his spiritual goal-full union with the Godhead-when he entered into Spiritual Marriage with Eternal Wisdom. His writings are revered as classics of mysticism, but more importantly, represents an honest first-person account of the spiritual process in action.

If flagellation and its use as a paramystical instrument were predominately a medieval fetishism it would be appropriate to strongly admonish the Catholic Church alone for its past popularity. Yet outside western spirituality the religious practice of self-flagellation and "aberrant self-torture" continues to be sanctioned today.

Cases of similar feats abound today in religious communities. They are tributes to the powerful agency of religious belief. Modern-day scientists call these abilities "The Deliberately Caused Bodily Damage" (DCBD) Phenomena, whereby individuals cause serious wounds to their bodies without feeling pain, loss of blood or infection. In these feats, wound-healing is usually rapid. The most recognized and studied group is a Sufi school known as Tariqa Casnazaniyyah.(an Arabic-Kurdish name that means "the way of the secret that is known to no one").

This sect has followers in many countries including Iraq, Jordan, Sudan and India. The power of invulnerability to physical damage and harm are transferred from master to student. The present Master of Tariqa Casnazaniyyah, Shaikh Muhammad al-Casnazani, allowed researchers from the Paramann Programme Laboratories in Jordan to study twenty-eight dervishes. The remarkable feats performed by the dervishes do not come about by any meditation or hypnosis. Any male can join the order of Tariqa Casnazaniyyah by declaring his intent and then submitting to a ritual initiation that takes only 2 or 3 minutes. The initiation is simply a handshake, and reciting a pledge of loyalty to Tariqa Casnazaniyyah. Then the initiate is granted permission to perform feats that demonstrate the spiritual powers of Tariqa Casnazaniyyah.

In the Paramann Laboratories the dervishes were able to insert skewers and spikes into different parts of their body. The instruments used were not sterilized, and, at the request of observers, were deliberately contaminated before inserting them into their bodies. With the aid of hammers, they drove daggers into their skull bones and knives just below their eyes.
They held red-hot iron plates with their bare hands and even bit them. And finally, the dervishes chewed and swallowed glass and sharp razor blades causing no harm to the inner tissues of the mouth and organs of the digestive system. Besides DCBD feats, the dervishes are able to exhibit no damaging effects - called Damage Resistance feats - from exposing their bodies to fire and snake handling, and to severe electrical shocks.

Further, the califa (a respected group of dervishes who are deputies of the Master) can pierce the body of any person. Califas can use the bodies of children, non-dervishes, and even non-Muslims to exhibit their spiritual abilities.

The researchers were unable to identify what methods their subjects used to perform DCBD feats. The researchers concluded: "Given the nature of the applied stimuli, the seriousness of the induced damage, the unusual reactions, and the instantaneous healings observed in DCBD feats, these phenomena reveal immunities and damage repairing abilities that seem far beyond the normal capacities of [the] human body." The researchers made an astonishing statement: "DCBD which demonstrate[s] very unusual healing capabilities could well open a new era in medicine, and consequently, could well be responsible for unprecedented improvement in the welfare of humanity."(28)

To commemorate the martyrdom of their most revered saint, in 1996, nearly 4,000 Shitte Muslim men in Nabatiyeh, Lebanon whipped themselves and slashed their heads in remembrance of the killing of the 7^th-century saint Hussein. The men lacerated their heads with curved swords and razors and used iron chains to beat their chests. Blood poured from the shaven heads of elderly men and boys as young as two. Several people fainted from self-inflicted wounds in the four-hour ritual, but no deaths were reported. Similar ceremonies involving thousands of other men took place elsewhere in Lebanon.

MYSTICISM DEFINED

In The Psychology of Religious Mysticism by James H. Leuba (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1925) we are given the following definitions of "mystical": "Any experience taken by the experiencer to be a contact (not through the senses, but "immediate," "intuitive') or union of the self with a larger-than-self, be it called the World-Spirit, God, the Absolute, or otherwise." Leuba also defines mysticism in the context of Protestantism: "Mysticism is a deification of man," it is "a merging of the individual will with the Divine," "an intuitive certainty of contact with the Divine." The author concludes: "In this view, whatever tends to sharpen the demarcation between the self and the not-self, whatever leads to an isolation of the subject from the Principle of Life, is anti-mystical."

I have chosen Leuba's definition since his well-regarded work primarily deals with Christian mysticism, yet he acknowledges the diverse paths taken by other religious systems to enter into an ecstatic relationship with God. He concedes that there are diverse methods to experience God such as the Ghost-Dance religion of the American Indians, the Sufis' dancing dervishes, and the use of certain plants by primitive cultures.

Interestingly, Leuba, like most religious scholars, is no fan of mysticism. While admitting that states of ecstatic intoxication exist, he unfairly attributes the ecstasy of mystics to unintentional bouts of orgasm. Of Margaret Mary Alacoque, Leuba writes: "Her case is clearly one of erotomania."

There are unique bodily sensations associated with all three states discussed here: extreme mortification, willful self-starvation, and ingesting ayahuasca. None of these can be confused with orgasm. I have never read of anyone experiencing orgasm as revelatory and life-changing. Orgasm is also not known as an agent for visions or for lasting two to three hours. After experiencing ayahuasca visions and the intense physical sensations that accompany it, I would never confuse the two, even metaphorically. To say these "unsophisticated" nuns and priests experienced orgasm is just too simplistic and naïve. How could the raptures of St. Teresa of Ávila - that literally caused her to levitate - be termed orgiastic? If there is a correlation, then we must reevaluate our sexual experiences. We are all missing something.

AYAHUASCA AS A SPIRITUAL CONDUIT

It is my proposal that the negative aspects of ingesting ayahuasca (the purging, diarrhea, and nausea commonly experienced as well as the dietary and sexual restrictions) are a form of mortification for Westerners. It is therefore appropriate to compare it to the practices of the mystics and saints of the Middle Ages. The outcome accomplished by both disciplines can be illuminating, revelatory, and extraordinary. There is one significant difference. Ayahuasca does not destroy the body.

In "The Ayahuasca Phenomenon: Jungle Pilgrims: North Americans Participating in Amazon Ayahuasca Ceremonies" by Kim Kristensen, the author quotes David Maybury-Lewis: "If drinking yage (ayahuasca) is so unpleasant and frightening, why do people persist in using it? Because they believe the terror is something a person must overcome in order to attain knowledge."

Those who never had a mystical experience themselves, regrettably, have chosen to scrutinize the mysticism of others. This is a major flaw that must be taken into account when considering the authenticity and truth of mystical experiences as evaluated by scholars.

DEMONIC ATTACKS AND SERPENT IMAGERY IN AYAHUASCA

Demonic attacks, considered ridiculous in our culture, are very much a reality in Peru. I was surprised at the seriousness in which this concept is regarded. Religious writers consider demonic attacks and possession, hallmarks in the lives of mystics and saints, as archaic as religious flagellation. This is a narrow, culture-bound view. Throughout the history of religion, mystics have been savagely tormented by demons. For the curanderos of SpiritQuest, reality is populated with good and evil spirits. People can be physically harmed by bruijos and evil spirits. These attacks are not psychological manifestations of a troubled mind.

The lives of mystics are replete with fantastic tales of demonic attacks that are now believed to be an unfortunate byproduct of psychotic personalities crippled by sexual deviancy and crazed by starvation and cruel self-torture. Here is one such example from Holy Anorexia by Rudolph Bell: "Snakes, toads, and ferocious beasts abound in the hallucinations of holy anorexics, but why assume that these have sexual as well as religious significance? When St. Francesca de' Ponziani (d. 1440) saw a serpent she believed the Devil was attacking her, and it seems not to be of historical consequence that this serpent may have symbolized repressed penis envy."(29)

In The Life of Antony, Athanasius describes a "commonplace" demonic attack on St. Antony (d. 356), who is recognized as one of the founders of Christian monasticism. "The demons, as if breaking through the building's four walls, and seeming to enter through them, were changed into the forms of beasts and reptiles. The place immediately was filled with the appearance of lions, bears, leopards, bulls, and serpents, asps, scorpions and wolves, and each of these moved in accordance with its form."

It is impossible to review any literature on ayahuasca without coming across the image of the serpent. However terrifying it appears to us, Westerners are advised not to be afraid of the snakes, serpents, and other horrific animals that inhabit ayahuasca visions. Religious scholars would be shocked at Jeremy Narby's statement in The Cosmic Serpent: "Then I learned that in an endless number of myths, a gigantic and terrifying serpent, or a dragon, guards the axis of knowledge, which is represented in the form of a ladder (or a vine, a cord, a tree...). I also learned that (cosmic) serpents abound in the creation myths of the world and that they are not only at the origin of knowledge, but of life itself." (30)

The serpent imagery frightened a past culture, is embraced as revelatory by another, and dismissed as mythical (or denounced as Freudian "penis envy") by our own.

THE SHAMANIC DIET AND RELIGIOUS FASTING

There are demonstrative similarities between the stringent practices of saints and mystics and ayahuasquero initiates. The process to become an ayahuasca shaman is arduous and involves years of commitment to celibacy, solitude, cultural mortifications, and extreme fasting.

In an informative interview, ayahuasquero Don Agustin Rivas-Vasquez discussed his six-year shamanic apprenticeship with Jaya Bear (See Shaman's Drum, No. 44, Mar/May 1997). Don Agustin (pictured) spent a year living in solitude in a tree. Regarding his initiatory diet, he said: "For a year, I ate only rice and plantains. I didn't eat any meat, butter, fruit, sugar, or salt. I learned many things over that year, by dieting and working with different plants."

Food asceticism was an important feature in the lives of mystics and saints. Like Don Agustin, they abstained from using salt, sugar, and spices and never ate meat, fruit or fish.

The role fasting has played in the history of nearly of religions cannot be disputed. In The Gospel According to Mark (9:24-28), Jesus's disciples are unable to rid a man of an unclean spirit. Jesus is summoned and commands the unclean spirit to leave the man. Later, his disciples ask him why they were not able to cast out the spirit. "And he said to them, ‘This kind can be cast out in no way except by prayer and fasting.'" Jesus identifies fasting as a powerful instrument - a tool his apostles did not, or were not willing, to use. The words of Jesus were not lost on the men and women of the Middle Ages who sought mystical union with God. Coupled with prayer and physical mortifications, the spiritual graces of long, ascetic fasting were well known.

Fundamentally, a question arises: "Does unintentional starvation produce visions?" I am not aware of any research that has addressed this. The obvious inappropriate nature of this query-no one would be so insensitive to poll survivors of Nazi concentration camps or famine victims-leaves this entire area of the subject open to conjecture. Further, there are strict protocols that would prohibit such research being undertaken. My interest in the relationship between self-starvation and visions led to my conducting a one-year pilot questionnaire of self-described anorexics called "The Religious and Spiritual Aspects of Anorexia Nervosa." Over 1250 anorexics responded to the detailed questionnaire that aimed to see if there is a correlation between self-starvation and religious experiences.

The raw data I collected requires statistical analysis. I have contacted several anorexia nervosa organizations regarding this questionnaire to no avail. Anorexia afflicts mostly upper-middle class families. With residential treatment easily costing $50,000 - and the success rate unknown - the medical community is more interested in years of therapy and treatment instead of answers.

It can be firmly stated that intentionality plays a primary role. A mystic not only fasted, but prayed.

Aldous Huxley, in The Doors of Perception, Heaven and Hell, commented on the role of fasting in visionary states: "A person under the influence of mescaline or lysergic acid will stop seeing visions when given a large dose of nicotinic acid. This helps to explain the effectiveness of fasting as an inducer of visionary experience. By reducing the amount of available sugar, fasting lowers the brain's biological efficiency and so makes possible the entry into consciousness of material possessing no survival value."

Piero Camporesi, author of The Incorruptible Flesh, Bodily Mutation and Mortification in Religion and Folklore (Cambridge University Press, 1988), acknowledges the potency of fasting: "...the efficacy of fasting for the purposes of producing a visionary experience cannot be underestimated, or of restricted diets in unleashing hallucinatory ‘highs' in a controlled and secret environment. The combination of cell and fasting was a melting pot for the visionary experience."

Thirty days before my arrival at the SpiritQuest retreat (located along the banks of the Rio Momón outside Iquitos, Peru), I began an exacting interpretation of the recommended "Shamanic Diet." I took my lifelong, restrictive 500 calories per day diet and further eliminated all salt, sugar, oils, and spices.On the evening of Dec. 29, 2000, I was confident I had prepared myself and was ready - at least physically - to participate in my first ayahuasca ceremony.

Later I asked Howard Lawler, founder of SpiritQuest, why my experiences with ayahuasca were more brilliant in scope than the other eight drinkers. Howard said my exact adhering to the diet was the significant factor. I was the only participant to do so. I also attribute my Amazonian well-being to my strict diet. Seven out of the ten participants at SpiritQuest spent nearly half of our 11-day ayahuasca journey sick with various infirmities and were often bedridden. I did not have any nausea or the dreaded diarrhea that most foreigners fear and often experience. Clearly, the importance of following the dietary restrictions (as well as sexual abstinence) are well documented in the literature on ayahuasca.

I should mention that a few people in my group experienced nausea and vomiting but no visions whatsoever. Subsequently, during other ceremonies they chose to try inducing visions by drinking more than one cup of ayahuasca. One woman, despite two cups of ayahuasca, still did not have the visionary experiences she sought. This clearly defies a physiological explanation.

The religious significance of sexual abstinence need not be discussed here; however, I would like to briefly note the sexual restrictions recommended during an ayahuasca retreat at SpiritQuest. We were told not to engage in any sexual activity three days prior to taking ayahuasca, while at the retreat, and three days afterwards. During the retreat I asked why and was told: "The Goddess Ayahuasca is very jealous." I did not question this because I went to Peru to fully engage in and respect the religious nature of the experience, not to circumvent any ritual. I told my husband I intended not to challenge the Goddess Ayahuasca on this.

I have been asked if the dietary restrictions are solely for the protection of novices and do not apply to curanderos, shamanic adepts and long-term users of ayahuasca. The highly restrictive "shamanic diet" does facilitate the visionary aspect of the experience. The scientific data unequivocally supports this statement.[v] Whether dietary and sexual restrictions are psychological in nature and merely ceremonial is unimportant. The value of ritual and its primary function is to prepare the individual for a spiritual transformation.

BIGU: AN UNRECOGNIZED FACTOR IN MYSTICISM AND CURANDERISMO?

Many mystics and saints did die of willful self-starvation and through their severe mortification practices. However, I would like to suggest an alternative to the concept of enforced fasting. There may be another state attained that allows some mystics and shamans to work unencumbered by the effects of starvation.

Qigong is an ancient Chinese healing art that consists of gentle movements with deep breathing, self-massage and meditation. An unusual byproduct of Qigong is a state called "Bigu," in which practitioners experience a complete loss of hunger. Practitioners do not take any food and need only to drink some water or beverage. There is no sense of hunger in the Bigu state. Practitioners feel full and uncomfortable if they drink or eat. If they do eat, vomiting may occur. Most say they are more alert and have increased energy. Practitioners maintain they are able to conduct normal activities without any harmful effects.

In 1988, Chinese researchers studied a thirteen-year-old girl who had experienced Bigu for three hundred days. According to the report, the girl had avoided eating for more than four years. The researchers found that despite the girl's severe lack of caloric and nutritional intake, she responded well to physical activities and maintained a normal life.

Ancient Chinese texts describe Bigu as important for the well-being of the human body and as a cure for some diseases. Bigu is not considered fasting or imposed starvation, since it occurs unintentionally. It is a state of being that is said to correspond with one's moral attitudes. It is theorized that in a state of Bigu, "the human body may be able to absorb enough unknown elements and high quality energies other than oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, solar energy from the atmosphere and synthesize them into body calories and nutrition."(31)

In 1992, U.S. researchers studied four persons who had experienced Bigu for several months. The subjects, who had practiced Yan Xin Qigong, were observed and closely monitored for 30 days. The study's purpose was to evaluate the physiological and psychological functions of Bigu on the body. The results of the study proved remarkable. Most subjects lost some weight and had low body temperatures, blood pressures, and pulse rates. The biochemical and hematological indices were within the normal range.

The subjects were able to maintain their lifestyles and in some cases, improve their aptitude test scores. The study was not able to explain the phenomenon of Bigu.

In June 2000 the First National Conference on the Bigu Manifestation was hosted by my friends Rustum Roy (as Conference Chair) and Gary Schwartz (who organized the 1992 U.S. bigu study). While the Bigu phenomenon entails the cessation of eating solid food for periods of weeks to months and even years while maintaining a normal daily life, the researchers concluded that the bigu state is "a "mind-body " balanced state which needs only 250-300 calories or even less instead of the usual 2000 calories to run the human engine for a day." Both Roy and Schwartz (pictured) insist I am in a "spontaneous" state of bigu and, they reasoned, be the cause of the potency of my ayahuasca visions.

The lifelong dietary practices of ayahuasca shamans has yet to be studied. What has been studied, and ignored, is the mystics' explanation of their diets. Their own words are dismissed. Margaret Ebner (1291-1351) was a Dominican nun and mystic who wrote about her mystical union with Christ in The Revelations of Margaret Ebner. After experiencing an ‘indescribably mysterious lightness of body,' she wrote: "From that moment I never felt any desire for bodily food, no matter how long I waited to eat." Interestingly, Margaret also felt the need to give up sugar: "And I had the desire to give up all sweet things for the sake of the sweetness I received from God."(32)

St. Catherine of Siena, one of the greatest mystics of the Catholic Church (and now anointed anorexia's poster child), had a life filled with brilliant visions and extraordinary mystical experiences, which were highlighted by her Mystical Marriage to Jesus and stigmata. In one vision Jesus asked her to drink from his side wound. Thereafter, she refused all food, living solely on the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Catherine was twenty-five years old at that time and following that vision did not eat anything for the remaining eight years of her life. She also slept only a half an hour a day. Her ability to survive exclusively on the Eucharist caused a sensation in her religious community. Her confessors demanded she eat; but even a small amount of food caused her to vomit. If any food reached her stomach, her face swelled and became disfigured. She suffered painfully until it was removed. Eventually, she refused to even attempt to eat.

Catherine herself said she wanted to eat, but she could not. She said she was following God's will. For the last eight years of her life, Catherine's inability to eat (called inedia) was miraculous and not an intentional act of self-discipline. Moreover, it was often thought in medieval times that the inability to eat was a sign of demonic possession, a charge a nun like Catherine - with the Inquisition at hand - would not actively promote. On January 1, 1380, as Catherine contemplated the Feast of the Circumcision, she decided to increase her ascetic practices by not drinking any water. She certainly understood the effect it would have on her body. After a month she was severely dehydrated and in debilitating physical anguish. She died on April 29, 1380. Catherine never told anyone why she decided on this course of self-denial and scholars have summarily condemned it as simply the product of severe depression.

BITTER HERBS, PURGES, VOMITORY PRACTICES,

AND THE HEALING POWER OF SALIVA

Bitter Herbs

The vile, lingering bitter taste of ayahuasca is a defining hallmark of the experience. The bitter taste accompanying many herbs possessing hallucinatory qualities is well documented. Medieval people were familiar with the hallucinatory properties of certain herbs, such as the herb thorn apple.

Did mystics use commonly found hallucinogenic herbs to enable them to have religious visions? Some modern writers have taken this position. Certainly the local townspeople and religious authorities would have known if this were the case. The selfless lives of mystics and the good works they provided their communities is what ultimately made them revered and honored as living saints. It was not their personal visions but their miraculous healings and prayers that was of value to others. However, students of herbaria will find the following of much interest and offers fascinating conjecture.

The plain, coarse convent food was deemed too rich for St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, so "she seasoned it with ashes to render it more unpalatable. She deprived herself of every kind of beverage; and at one time she took the resolution not to drink anything from Thursday until Saturday of every week."(33) In The Life of Blessed Birgitta, we are told that every Friday, Birgitta (d.1373), in honor of Christ's passion on the cross she was accustomed "to hold in her mouth a certain very bitter herb, which is called genicana. She also did this on other days when she had uttered some unconsidered or incautious word."(34) The Sicilian Eustochia of Messina's (d.1485) life was that of a classic mystic: a meager bread crumbs-and-water diet, flagellation, wearing of a hairshirt, and praiseworthy work with the poor and sick. She is said to have "always added bitter white herbs to all her food."(35)

During his life (d. 1663) "abstained from bread for five years, from wine for ten years, and ate only herbs, dried fruits and beans, to which he added a powder, which several religious who tasted it described as of unspeakable bitterness. The vegetables which he ate on Fridays were of such repugnant savor that a friar who tasted them with the tip of his tongue, was so sickened that for several days all food caused him nausea."(36) Piero Camporesi identifies the powder Suso used as "the bitterest wormwood." Moreover, in Camporesi's translation Suso's Friday food was not "vegetables" but "a particular herb, which was so bitter....".

St. Catherine of Siena also used an unidentified herb; however, no one reading about her life would conclude it was anything but a "bitter herb." Her biographer wrote: "She made it her practice, therefore, not to swallow such herbs as she put into her mouth, but only to chew them and then expel the solid matter from her mouth."(37)

St. Catherine of Genoa in her mystical work The Spiritual Dialogue wrote:

"[God] made her moderate in her eating so that she stopped eating fruit (of which she was very fond) or meat or anything rich. So that she would still further lose the taste for eating, He had her use hepatic oil and ground agracio, with which she would season any food she had a particular liking for." One modern writer speculates that "agracio" is a mistranslation for "agaric."(38) This invites an entirely new interpretation. Considering Catherine's fame and the sanctity she was well known for - as well as the Church's close watch on those who were revered for their holiness - her intentional use of a hallucinogenic herb as a visionary agent seems incongruous.

The medieval Church's position on "living saints" can be summarized in the following manner: "Living saints" were problematic. The cult of the saint took people away from God and Jesus and undermined Church authority. "Living saints" were carefully monitored for fear they preached something contrary to doctrine. They interfered with the priesthood's role as intermediary between man and God. While the Church could not stop people's devotion and need for "living saints," they certainly kept abreast of their visionary and mystical forays.

Purges and Vomitory Practices of the Middle Ages

The evacuatory and vomitory nature of ayahuasca is well known. What is of interest here is the belief held in the Middle Ages regarding the healing properties of these practices. Medical theories of the time felt vomiting and induced evacuative remedies to be the chief measures for ensuring a healthy and long life.

Is there indeed a value to these side effects that ingesting ayahuasca facilitates?

During the Middle Ages white hellebore or veratrum (which was called a "sacred medicine") and black hellebore (the most drastic) were deemed sovereign treatments for cleansing the body and liberating the soul. Piero Camporesi has this to say about such practices: "The ravaging effects of the hellebore, the hastening and slowing of the pulse, nervous system and brain, caused by veratrum, the fainting fits and therapeutic convulsions, the leaps into unreality, the loss of balance (to which should be added other kinds of permanent toxification cause by other herbs and self-punitory diets) may have had some imponderable relationships (though small and not verifiable) with the swoonings, catalepsy, warblings and flights of the armies of ecstatics, convulsionary visionaries, in that atmosphere charged with giddiness, raptures and loss of consciousness."

Camporesi is obviously not a champion of purification rites. He notes that the liberation by purge using the hellebore began with a whole series of preliminary steps including lotions, baths to induce sweating, moistening of the body, poultices, enemas, fomentations and special diets. Medieval patients were required to undergo a series of emetics and vigorous purges, some lasting for seven days or more, to expel their demons.

Anyone who has taken ayahuasca in a ritual setting can see the similarities. Ayahuasca shamans, like medieval exorcists, may be utilizing the curative aspects of evacuatory and vomitory disciplines in conjunction with the medicine. Perhaps the use of ayahuasca is less drastic, though it's interesting to note that most ayahuasca retreats are usually seven-to-ten days in duration.

The Healing Power of Saliva

Like Jesus did (Mark 7:32-35, 8:22-24 and John 9:6-7), shamans such as Don Agustin use their saliva as a healing agent. This "magical phlegm" is called yachai and shamans apply it as a healing salve that is spat directly on the diseased part of a patient's body. They also suck the yachai back into themselves. This is certainly not considered repugnant or bizarre behavior. Saints also used their saliva for healing, though modern scholars have cruelly eviscerated its meaning: The mystics were either sensational masochists or the behavior was homoerotic in coloration.

Saint Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi frequently healed her sisters of leprosy and skin diseases by licking their sores. She even sucked the wound of one sister who was suffering from a leg ulcer that had festered with maggots. Saint Catherine of Siena worked with the dying during an outbreak of the plague in her city. She assisted diseased patients, using her mouth to clean the putrefying breast of an ill woman. Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque said she delighted in kissing the wounds of the sick she ministered to, and pressing her lips to the most revolting ulcers. She sucked the festering toes of the sick. In her Mémoire, Margaret Mary tells of nursing a fellow nun who was dying of stomach cancer by clearing away the sister's vomit with her lips and tongue.

St. Hugh of London (d. 1200), when asked why he kissed a leper replied: "...the leper's kiss cleansed my soul."[vi] Medieval mystics Lukardis of Oberweimar (d. 1309) and Margaret of Faenza (d. 1330) breathed deeply into their fellow nuns' mouths as a means of healing them. The intense physical sensations Lukardis and Margaret said they felt throughout their body were understood by them to be their receiving of God's grace. Colette of Corbie (d. 1447), who began her religious life as a hermit and later reformed and founded many convents, miraculously multiplied food and wine for her monasteries. She effected cures with food, putting bread she had chewed into the mouths of two sick sisters. On another occasion, her kiss healed a leper. Today, scholars consider these acts as "erotic kisses" and have not associated them with traditional shamanic healing practices.

It is my position that mystics such as Catherine of Siena, Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi and Mary Margaret Alacoque understood the potent healing power of their saliva; they were not, as modern scholars suggest, acting

Re: My Theory on Meditation

http://magi.gaia.com — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 13:08:39 GMT

I think its really important to distinguish between an altered state of consciousness because the terms are not the same. You can in altered state and not be meditation at all. Or you can be in an altered state and use meditation additionally. Personally I have used psycho actives to help alter my state of consciousness before beginning meditation for about a year now and I find my results to be very dramatic. I have also enjoyed the recreational use and found that I might or I might not have any intriguing insight. Many times it became dependent on outside phenomena such as what I was doing. I also meditate daily without the use of psycho-actives and while I can sustain the practice as long it is just as insightful. I keep a regular journal of my meditation practice, not so much for recording insight but to help discipline my practice. Further I often keep a dream journal and I will compare my dreams with certain meditation sessions. In the end I find the psycho actives most useful in giving me a head start in entering meditation but it does not deepen my practice of it or the insight I receive from the practice.

Namaste
Drake

Re: My Theory on Meditation

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 20:24:47 GMT

Hi Ilya,

It seems you are asking if the experience of insight in meditation is analogous, if not identical, to the experience of insight in an etheogen induced state of consciousness. This certainly seems to be the case for me.

To me the insights occur as the deepest and most basic knowing of Truth in the present awareness. At times this knowing experience seems very profound in the mind and somehow I become overwhelmed with the urge to communicate this knowing to other beings. But like a shooting star this knowing and seeing is personal and transient. As soon as we come down from the mountain top to describe the view or perhaps swim up from the bottom of the ocean to describe the awe inspiring colors... then we're no longer there and only a fuzzy distorted and subjectively symbolic story remains.

At first, I would try to write them down into short phrases or mantras that and try to explain them to other psychonauts or meditators. But lately, I feel as though 'my' pearls of wisdom from behind the veil are only useful as reminders to myself that such a state of insight exists. Perhaps my inability to communicate these sweet and profound insights has lead to cynicism. But it seems wise to me that we should not cast our pearls before swine. When I do share my insights or subjective experiences these days I try to do so with other psychonauts and meditators.

Here are a few that I managed to bring back on different occasions:

“Follow the Light. The Light is the Way. The Way... The Path...”

“As Darkness falls upon me
I lose the will to clearly see
When all Creation died on the Cross
All that died was 'me'”

“This is it”

Anyways, just Googled and found a cool article:

http://www.ramana-maharshi.org/m_path/1964_2/pearls.htm

I look forward to hearing what others feel about the similarities between meditative insight and other forms of insight induced through plants, fungi, dancing, sex, etc..

Peace,
Charlie

My Theory on Meditation

http://FriendlyStranger.gaia.com — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 04:02:18 GMT

I have a theory, but do not know if it applies to me alone or not. So please reply to this post if you agree or disagree.

In my personal experimentation with marijuana and meditation, I have found a lot of similarities, and feel like this would connect to any drug and any meditation, varying only on degree of immersion within the altered state of mind.
I have always felt that there was a bigger world around us, one we cannot sense with the five main senses, but could briefly connect to through "altered states of mind". Unfortunately, you can only remember this bigger world through an insight brought back that corresponds to your own life or maybe a fond memory of luminescence (hightening of the known senses: brighter colors, more tone/pitch discernment in sounds, etc.).

One way I have thought of testing for this is through insight journals, and I would like to know if any of you have ever tried this.
After coming out of meditation, if you have an insight you remember (idea, invention, new way of looking at things, answer to burning question about self/life, etc.) write it down in a journal.
After coming out of a high/trip, write down any insights you remember.
Compare.

My ideas for this came from trying Mindful Meditations throughout the day and noticing how I may have little memory of "normal"/particular events. Similarly to weed, I wouldn't remember anything too specific, unless it was tied to an awakening experience, and would only remember broader feelings and understandings.

In these senses at least, are they the same?

Robert Anton Wilson needs some help...

http://telesterion.gaia.com — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 03:03:38 GMT

I'm not affirming that this is definitely True, but both Boing Boing and Rushkoff are saying Bob is in trouble. I've met Bob Wilson about a half dozen times, he was a good guy, in many ways more interesting to talk to than Tim Leary. Bushmill's Scotch, that's what he used to drink, when I hung out with him, mostly at Starwood festivals but at a few other events too.

"...support cosmic thinking patriarch Robert Anton Wilson, whose infirmity and depleted finances have put him in the precarious position of not being able to meet next month's rent.

"But right now, Bob is a human being in a rather painful fleshsuit, who needs our help. I refuse for the history books to say he died alone and destitute, for I want future generations to know we appreciated Robert Anton Wilson while he was alive.

"Any donations can be made to Bob directly to the Paypal account olgaceline@gmail.com.
You can also send a check payable to Robert Anton Wilson to
Dennis Berry c/o Futique Trust
P.O. Box 3561
Santa Cruz, CA 95063.

http://www.rushkoff.com/2006/10/robert-anton-wilson-needs-our-help.php

http://www.boingboing.net/2006/10/02/robert_anton_wilson_.html

Interesting Articles

http://FriendlyStranger.gaia.com — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 22:09:24 GMT

I just ran into some great scholarly articles on Altered States of Consciousness.
http://www.paradigm-sys.com/ctt_articles1.cfm
This is a site withe the works of Charles T. Tart. (He also has a wikipedia article written about him, if you love wikipedia like I do).

One of my favorites on there is called "Marijuana Intoxication, Psi
and Spiritual Experiences"

Also, for anyone interested in anything psychic - www.psychicsoul.org - is very informative and thorough on the subject (the layout of the site is quite appealing as well).

Re: spiritual progress and acting out

http://telesterion.gaia.com — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 06:18:45 GMT

I like the pretty colors.

I know it means I can never run for president, but I wasn't planning to do so. ;-}

Re: spiritual progress and acting out

http://clarity.gaia.com — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 12:23:21 GMT

I agree, although to an extent there will always be the interplay of ego. As I practice I become better at disolving the ego structures and allowing/trusting the flow, but I am still constantly running into unexpected ego boundaries. I guess I have a looong way to go :)