A lot of people, when they think of Shamanism, hold an image in their mind of someone who is spiritually advanced and who holds ceremonies involving hallucinogenics. Now, I have to say that this is a common perception and it is also true…to a point. But there is a lot more to Shamanism than getting high on hallucinogenics.
Shamanism shifts realities and bridges the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Some shamans introduce hallucinogenics as a way of accomplishing that. However, those are supposed to be used once to open the mind, not used as a weekend pharmaceutical, like many folks have taken to doing. Have you ever heard of the expression, “too much of a good thing?” Doing it recreationally is just that. It will begin to fry brain cells. If you did not learn in the first experience how to open up on your own, then you failed the lesson. I know that this is not a popular opinion. But it actually isn’t even just an opinion. It is a truth.
If you were to turn off all the devices and sit in silence you would begin to hear a faint and high pitched sound in your head. That is the doorway. If you were to focus on your breath and breathe into that sound, you would be instantly connected to the Universal consciousness. From there you have access to all throughout all time, space and dimension. And you don’t need to drink, smoke, eat or ingest in any other way any substance in order to accomplish this. You simply have to do the work of sitting in silence. This is what meditation is all about. It is not some trippy adventure. It is stillness, silence, and suddenly KNOWING. And it is free.
But most people don’t want to do the work. I think it might just be that laziness is a human condition or something. Or perhaps it is that we have developed a society in which instant results are promised if you just take this pill or that. But the very real side effect of expecting things to be easy and going with what seems to be the easy way is that you never truly connect on your own. You don’t actually have a relationship with Spirit or with yourself. You have a relationship and codependency on a substance. This, to me, is very sad. Because with just a bit of effort it could be so much different from that.
Let’s face it. If we have autonomy from the “systems” that have enforced separation from Spirit, then we become more powerful in our connection with Spirit. And if we don’t have to go shopping around for someone to supply us with a substance and can instead connect without that substance, then no matter where we go we will be able to plug into that connection. This puts the power back in our own hands. So take your power back.