Having had a fair number of experiences with hallucinogenic drugs I'll do my best to respond to Erin's blog.
I'll start by saying that the notion of inducing a spiritual experience with a drug is problematic to my mind. What 'spiritual' even means to a given individual could be anything. When it comes to a drug experience, expectations of any kind are best left out. You may have a profound experience, you may not; a drug guarantees nothing. My philosophy is just keep an open mind; observe; learn what you can from it; expect nothing in particular.
One guy told me he had a conversation with Satan while tripping. Another guy told me he was flying with angels. And I was also told about a guy who said he was teleported to another location and woke up naked in the forest.
I would suspect these accounts are constructed mostly from a combination of exaggeration and wishful thinking. Rarely are psychedelic experiences so readily describable. Because the experience is so abstract, people concoct this particular brand of wild, fantastical description in an attempt to convey the profundity of what they experience. Take those accounts with a grain of salt.
When you take drugs to have a spiritual experience you are not having the experience, the experience is having you, if you get my meaning. Being unable to “wake up” or snap out of the experience means you are not in full control of the experience.
Believe me, YOU ARE having the experience. It's the same you that experiences a movie, a fit of anger, a lovely bisque, or a walk in the park. It is not categorically different than any other experience.
Why is it necessary to have full control of the experience? Full control of any experience is rare, and probably illusory anyway. There are many experiences that cannot be 'switched off' at will. Try getting off Space Mountain before it's done.
In fact, one of the most liberating facets of a psychedelic experience is the conscious act of relinquishing the asinine, futile need to control everything around us. This "let it be" attitude is at the center of many spiritual teachings.
You are at the mercy of your mind or of forces beyond your control. You then risk losing yourself, or of having a negative energy attach itself to you. Having a spiritual experience while on drugs is like propping open a door and being unable to close it if something is coming that you don’t want to let in.
I'm not sure what you mean about 'having negative energy attach itself to you.' If 'losing yourself' means losing your ego temporarily, then I think this is probably healthy, though traumatic. Western society is characterized by enslavement to the self-centered ego, and many of us don't even realize we are not our respective egos. Ego death is the hallmark of high-dose experiences, and most users do not approach this level of intensity.
But you are correct, the door is propped open, and only closes as the drug loses effect. It is entirely possible to see things you don't want to see. However, you are just seeing them. As I said, in my experience this is not unhealthy. They have no actual physiological effect on your body and their presence and importance in your mind will wane as the drug's effect does.
I understand the desire to create a spiritual experience, and it sure seems like drugs accomplish that, but you never really know the source. And when you don’t know the source you can’t be sure the source has good intentions.
I believe inanimate substances such as drugs don't have intentions or goals. Most people experience the effects as being decidedly benevolent, but I believe that whatever their interpretation is, it's solely a function of their mindset and their personal beliefs at the time.
Try working on having spiritual experiences without the drugs and see what happens. Most of the time it leads to a natural high that doesn’t end with the experience wears off.
I agree; clearheadedness is the state of mind most prone to spiritual insight. But that does not mean that certain drugs cannot be useful tools for self-discovery. They are just one of many. A huge perspective shift (like the one readily provided by hallucinogens) is invaluable for learning who one is and where one is going. These experiences DO provide lasting insights. If they disappeared with the drug's effect I would not bother.  |