Hallucinogenic Drugs And Associated Experiences
Perfectly Normal: In many cultures, imbibing hallucinogenic substances to increase one's awareness, one's spiritual awareness, and one's general understanding and appreciation, is considered perfectly normal and acceptable and nobody will punish you for it. In many cultures, such practices are not only normal, they are essential at certain times, as part of initiation ceremonies, cultural customs and growing up.
What is an hallucination? The dictionary states that an hallucination is...
- The apparent perception of an external object or sense-datum when no such object or stimulus is present; an instance of this.
- The mental state of being deceived, mistaken, or deluded; an unfounded idea or belief, an illusion.
The Real Illusion: The definition of an hallucination implies that what we see when we take a hallucinogenic drug, such as LSD, is all completely illusionary. This is where the term hallucinogen can be slightly misleading as it can give the impression that there is no truth in what you see and that it is all completely imaginary. At this point it is good to remind ourselves that much of what we perceive in life is completely illusionary and that things aren't always what they appear to be. Ask any magician. However, it is not just magic and the work of the illusionist where such principles apply, everyday life is just the same. What we believe to be the truth is not always the real truth but an illusion that we create for ourselves. That which we are led to believe, that which we choose to believe and that which we find comfortable to believe. The real truth may be different in all three cases.
Closer To The Truth: The very term 'hallucinogenic' drug gives one the impression from its name that if you take it you will be subject to seeing things that somehow do not exist and are not in anyway true. This, in fact, is an illusion in itself. Because, a lot of what you actually 'see' at such times will be taking you closer to the truth than you have ever been; which is a paradoxical, but in fact true. Taking a hallucinogenic drug will take you closer to the truth than you have ever been in your life and sometimes uncomfortably so. People are exposed to things they would perhaps rather not have to face up to and this kind of information is often what causes a 'bad trip'. This kind of exercise is about self-realization. Realization of your self. Who you are! What you are about! Just how nice a person you are! What you are hiding in there as well as truths about our existence and the world in which we find ourselves! If there are things in there that you would rather not face up to, this is the time when they can hit you hard. The flavour comes flooding through. In fact, tripping takes us closer to the to the truth than to reality.
The Tiniest Fraction: We tend to live in a 'reality' that we create for ourselves. What we choose to believe and what we find comfortable and this can be illusionary in itself. We tend to look at things in a way that suits us. We believe what we believe and what we want to believe. Not necessarily the truth. People cannot always cope easily with the truth and they often fashion a comfortable reality to live in. We dress things up a little bit to make them more palatable and more appealing. There are many things that exist outside the scope of our normal everyday perception. For example, we normally perceive a narrow bandwidth of electro-magnetic-radiation in the form of light. Frequencies outside of this, although there are many, we cannot detect without the use of external equipment, which will convert the energy into a form that we can perceive. However, they do exist, we just cannot experience them without an aid. Your mobile phone perceives and relays invisible information in the form of radio waves, all the time from its antenna, and we, as human-beings, normally perceive only the tiniest fraction of all that goes on around us.
What Actually Is Real? What actually is real and what is illusionary? We tend to believe in Father Christmas and fairies when we are young, and we think that our parents are perfect and know it all. Perhaps, when we get a bit older, we like to believe in the integrity of the state. When we get a bit older still, we realise that it's all a bunch of crap. The different things we believe in at different times of our life, are often illusionary, and not necessarily the truth. This tendency carries on through adulthood as well. Many people think that LSD, or similar, related hallucinogenic experiences are somehow completely imaginary and far from the truth. However, this is far from the case. Such an experience can in fact enable you to see something truthful which you would not perceive in your normal operating mode. In other words, it is normally there, but you can't see it. Inducing a different operating mode using an hallucinogen simply then enables you to perceive it. Your hallucination may be perfectly real, the truth indeed, it's just that under normal circumstances you would not know it because you would not see it. Such as the perception of conscious energy - spirit.
Sensor and Censor: The human body, as we know, has a variety of senses, or sensors, which enable it to interface with, and relate to, the physical world in which we live. In order for a human being to function properly in this physical world and so go about the business of survival, it is important that information gathered from the various senses is sifted and sorted appropriately. The information gathered by the sensors must be used as efficiently as possible, only the most 'event-relevant' information being allowed through to the conscious mind. In other words, you would not be standing around admiring the sound of the birds, or the beauty of the scenery, if you were being chased by a lion. The event-relevant information would be everything that pertains to you achieving a successful escape so as not to get eaten. The sound of the birds and the beauty of the scenery would not be acknowledged at all despite the fact that the information relating to both is constantly being received by your sensors and your subconscious. This ability to concentrate on the event-relevant information, or if you like, the job in hand, is achieved because the human brain has a barrier, a filter, or censor, in between the sub-conscious mind, where information is received and stored in bulk, and the conscious mind, where information is concentrated on, enabling the person to use it and act upon it. The ego also has a role in this censor and can block information that an individual would rather not face up to.
Instinctive Reactions: By repeatedly concentrating on and honing a routine in the conscious part of your mind, you can get much better at it. Whatever it is you are practicing, the improved routine is then stored back in the sub-conscious where it can be accessed instinctively. This is what you would refer to as an instinctive reaction. This is what you do when you develop your forehand loop in table tennis, or when you learn to play a 'quick lick' on the guitar, or when you learn to toss food in pan, the way chef does, without dropping it all over the floor. For example, when you practice a scale on the guitar, you pull the information relating to that exercise out of your subconscious mind and transfer it into your conscious mind where you can concentrate on it. You practice it and get better at it and then store it back into your subconscious mind for later use. Eventually, you can just play exactly what you want without even thinking about it, instinctively, straight from the subconscious. In sport, or any other arena, lightening reactions again come straight from the sub-conscious mind. If you have to stop and think about it, the moment is gone. To stop and think about it means that the information has to be fed to the conscious mind and deliberated upon before a decision can be made, by that time, it is too late. You've missed your chance!
Unconscious Information: So, while you are concentrating on something in your conscious mind, all sorts of other information may be bombarding your senses, various background noises, flashing lights, something out of the corner of your eye, whatever, however, if you are concentrating on the job in hand, your focus will be on just that and all of this incidental background noise etc, will be just that. Background noise. Unconscious information. In other words it is not allowed through to the conscious mind where the focus of your attention is; it is is kept and contained in the unconscious part of the mind in the background by the censor. This is what can change when you imbibe a hallucinogenic drug. The information in the subconscious becomes more uncensored, the barriers come down, and you have far less control over what information comes through to your conscious mind. It is also worth remembering that the human-being is normally recognised as having six senses as well. That is quite important, because although a person's sixth-sense may be under developed in everyday life and information from it may not normally be in the picture, again, when you imbibe a hallucinogenic drug, this can change and information from this part of the brain can also come flooding through. Information perceived by the subconscious is can often be retrieved by hypnosis, even though you may never have been conscious of it in your normal frame of mind. Sometimes a person can witness things that again can only be retrieved by hypnosis. Because they are not consciously aware that they have witnessed it.
The Daily Grind: Why is the human-being designed like this? It is simply a question of modes. Under normal everyday circumstances, you go through a plethora of daily routines in order to operate and survive in the world. You could never get on with these routines efficiently if you were not in the appropriate mode. Your normal operating mode allows you to function effectively in everyday life and do the necessary chores. All your sensory facilities and the management of the information they receive operate in support of this mode. However, you can change your operating mode at times if you wish, and this is exactly what happens when you take LSD or similar. You put yourself in a completely different mode of operation. And now your brain will be operating and dealing with information in a completely different way. Interesting!
Important Information: If you are going to try such an experience, make sure you are in familiar and easy going circumstances, in your own home or perhaps out in the country on a nice day. Make sure you are with people that you know well and can trust. Also make sure that you are not likely to have any demands placed upon your person or be under pressure of any sort for the rest of the day. You need to be completely free from all responsibility for the duration of the trip and completely at ease with your circumstances, surroundings, and any company you may have at the time. If it is your first experience, don't go too mad with what you take. You can always try a heavier trip at a later date if you are sure you are comfortable with it. However, if you don't feel your way into this type of experience, a heavy trip may be too much too soon and will possibly cause anguish for the duration of the experience resulting in a 'bad trip'. If you do find yourself in such a situation, and if at any time you are going to try a heavier trip, just lay back and go with it, telling yourself that you will come out of the other side and it is just a matter of time. This you can know for sure, and telling yourself such will help you be at ease and enjoy the novelty of the experience, because it is certainly unlike anything else you will have ever done. Remember no one has ever died from taking an LSD trip and spare a thought for Albert Hoffman, the guy that discovered LSD without actually knowing what it was. He also didn't know what was happening to him at the time when he inadvertently absorbed a mega dose through his skin. Pretty scary I should imagine. However, you can have the privilege of consoling yourself by telling yourself to relax and that it's only a matter of time before you will come out the other side. Let the substance do its job and take its course.
Most Educational: Tripping on LSD is one of the most insight giving and educational experiences one can have in this life, but, as said, it has to be done properly observing the precautions and following the appropriate protocol, else, you may well have a bad experience, or bad trip. While you are tripping you will experience a heightening of senses and feelings. Amazing things, far removed from your everyday conscious mode. It can even be possible to sense-swap, seeing sounds, etc. The graphics one can experience are absolutely amazing, and if you think that modern PCs are getting good in the graphic's department, you ain't seen nothing yet! The human being is an amazing piece of technology, and it's a shame that many people on this planet do not begin to appreciate that, or what it has cost to get to where we are. However, tripping can give you insight into areas that you will never get from the classroom, text-book, or documentary.
Facing Up To Truth: Because other information is also allowed through, truths buried in your subconscious can also hit you hard. If there are things you do not like about yourself, this is the time when they may come through and hit you hard. Don't fight it! Try and deal with it. There's no harm in being sorry and repentant for things you may have done. Deal with it and make yourself into a better person if you can. You can't escape from the truth one way or the other, although we all perhaps try at times when facing uncomfortable thoughts. However, it is all in there and if you can face up to it now, and do something about it, that is, deal with it, it's a good thing! This is why it is important to be able to forgive, because we all have to learn to face up to and live with what we have done eventually.
Spiritual Communication: It is quite possible to 'tune in' to your sixth sense, and develop it, so that spiritual communication is possible even in your normal mode of being. However, taking a T rip will put you in a realm that enables you to perceive much much more intensely. Timothy Leary (whose name rearranged just happens to be My Hot Reality and amusingly also Mothy Reality), was advocating "Turn on! Tune In! And Drop Out!" In the sixties. I'm not sure what you were supposed to drop out of, but the turn on and tune in bit are certainly good advice and very true. This aspect has always been a big part of such activities within many other cultures around the world and is very widely recognised amongst people who have personal experience. In such circumstances, if you want to communicate with the spirits and they want to communicate with you, you can perceive or see conscious (spiritual) energy and receive visual concepts from them. Recognise personalities and experience amazing feelings. Far more intense than anything we experience in normal mode.
Beyond Normal Imagination:
At such a time you are concentrating all of your conscious mind-power to being in that mode of operation. At such a time you will not be able to play chess or cook a meal, because you are completely not in a cooking or chess-playing mode of operation and you will simply not be able to focus on anything that requires that sort of concentration. Your mind is operating completely differently, accessing facilities and running routines outside of normal operation and the brain is processing incoming sensory information and information stored in your memory in a completely different way. Your limits of perception and awareness are altered dramatically. It's beyond normal imagination. It's a mind blowing and incredible experience. Absolutely fascinating. A complete education. Bringing, along with everything else, awareness that we are all a part of something far greater, far removed from one's everyday life routines.
A & R Is Important: It is a sad fact that people often learn to appreciate when it is too late! Anything that can help you gain appreciation and respect in life is a very very useful thing and not to be belittled. Appreciation and respect of who we are and where we are going, is crucial in terms of our relationship with each other, the world in which we live, and the universe in which we all exist. If more people had a little bit more A & R, our society, our planet, and the world in which we live would be a much nicer place for everyone!