I’m not an expert on Shamanism, nor am I a stranger to it. In my experience, the most satisfying aspect of Shamanism is that it doesn’t seek answers, it seeks connection to innate wisdom that can lead one to answers or guide one to better questions. A Shamanic journey can be undertaken for any number of reasons, sometimes the intention is healing or communication with a specific spirit or energy. The question I’m raising here is; how are journeys brought on by psychotropic drugs or entheogens different from journeys brought more naturally, such as with a drum or rattle?
Of course the biggest argument for using drugs is that it’s “old school.” Ancient tribes used hallucinogens to journey and commune with the spirits for the betterment of the tribe. What isn’t addressed often is the fact that anthropologists who have spent time with tribes that use drugs to commune with the spirit world tell a different story. While it is true that many of the Shamans rituals involve a drug induced altered state, most do not. In the majority of the Shamans workings simpler tactics are incorporated to achieve an altered state. So, in reality, in the very, very old days, the OG Shamans did it both ways.
Of course, we don’t live in those times any longer and things are a little different now, especially when it comes to drugs. In the 60’s, despite its lack of the compound DMT (Dimethyltryptamine), which is a component favored for Shamanic journeys, LSD was used by many in the same way Shamans use peyote or ayahuasca. It could even be speculated that the rise in interest in Shamanism in the United States coincides with those original psychonauts, Ken Kesey and his Pranksters, the Grateful Dead, Alan Ginsberg, Terrance McKenna and Timothy Leary among others too numerous to list. The purists will tell you that LSD experiences don't compare, the "purists" being those who claim to be Shamans or those elitists who are constantly playing the "my psychotropics can beat up your psychotropics" game. It's an ego based game where drug choice, dosage and length of journey, among other things, are all laid out and measured. It's also a waste of energy and time. As to comparing an experience one might have on LSD to an experience one might have on DMT I would only ask, why? Why compare? If a purist were to take LSD they might get absolutely nothing out of it if they go into it expecting nothing. After all, if you don’t think you have anything to learn, you won’t learn anything. A journey is only as good as the person who is taking it, no matter how their feet found the path. Interest in Shamanism has had its ebb and flow over time. Somewhat more recently there has been an upsurge in the use of ayahuasca to induce a shamanic effect. Ayahuasca is most commonly associated with Peru where it has been used for centuries. However, many people from all over the world are now going on retreats, many held in the U.S, where the sole purpose is to gather together and ingest ayahuasca to induce an elevated spiritual awareness. That is the goal with any psychotropic journey, however, where mysticism or spiritualism, whatever name you like, is concerned, ego can be a formidable distraction. Some people attend very expensive retreats where they attempt to journey using entheogens or by listening to a drumbeat or rattle. Workshops, lodging and meals included for these gatherings can run up a hefty bill. Now I don’t mean to meander from the main point here but there is a reason for bringing up the cost of these events. There are those who seem to believe that the more you pay, the more spiritual you are or the more valid your experience is somehow despite the fact that that type of thinking only serves as evidence that the retreat “didn’t take.” One cannot purchase enlightened awareness. I suppose that like everyone, my own experience is the only one I can speak to. I’ve done my fair share of entheogens and certain clichés come with the territory. One might start reading different books than they used to read or find they are suddenly interested in things they weren’t interested in before. Then there’s the music. Jim Morrison said, “I believe in a long, prolonged derangement of the senses to attain the unknown. Our pale reasoning hides the infinite from us.” And William Blake said, “If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.” Like so many before me, I took it upon myself to bust out of my cavern, and entheogens were definitely an aid in that. I used psychotropic drugs to achieve the unknown. As to the “Doors of Perception,” I blew them right off the hinges until not a speck of saw dust remained. A lot of it had to do with my environment at the time. I am a better person for having had the experiences I had, a more aware person. However, the real work starts when the drugs wear off, or for some, when the over-priced retreat is over. Once back in the hum-drum of “the real” does your new awareness hold up? When you’re no longer in the warm embrace of the like-minded or you don’t get a gold star every time you have a gold thought that sparkles and shines in a sky so colorful, are you still living what you know? People feel compelled to validate their experiences. If they attach validation to numbers, like the amount of dollars they spent to jump through the number of circles before getting to the “inner circle,” or the number of levels they had to ascend to claim some obscure title, that’s groovy, largely ineffectual, but groovy. The word “intent” is a once simply defined word that is achieving buzz status these days. The idea is that if intent is clear, much is possible. How that plays out in the spiritual world may not be the same as how it plays out in the physical world. If a person has a strong enough intent to grow spiritually by paying a lot of money, maybe they can, they’d just have to keep paying. In the end, it all boils down to truth. Gandhi said, “My life is my message” those are good words to ruminate on when considering one’s own intent and its manifestation, not to mention whether it manifests every day or only when it’s convenient.
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Hanna Maxwell
All knowledge starts with self knowledge. Archives
July 2021
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