Greetings Friends:

I am starting this thread in order to discuss what role ritual plays in the experience of taking psychedelics. Hopefully, the discussion may evolve into something more general and philosophical as people weigh in with their thoughts.

The background for this post is from something Voidmatrix said when we were discussing our experience of using cannabis to have a full psychedelic experience in my Introduction Essay:



I would like to ask the following:

1. Where does the ritual start?

Is it only related to the circumstances surrounding the taking of a psychedelic (like meditating at an altar, chanting, centering, etc.)?

Does it involve the growing of a plant?

I found that I could only achieve a psychedelic state with Cannabis by ritualising the growing of it right from seed.

Does it involve the extraction of material?

I have seen that many of the teks for DMT extraction advertise their easiness, effectiveness, and quickness. Have any of you noticed whether the experience changes if the intention of the extraction is not just for ease, efficiency or speed...or is white crystals just white crystals?

Again, and especially for cannabis, I found that the preparation of the material was important for achieving a psychedelic state.

2. Do any of you have experiences where you have compared journeys where ritual was used/not used?

I mean this in regards to substances like DMT, mushrooms, etc. where the psychedelic effect is virtually guaranteed and not like cannabis where the psychedelic effect is not the usual effect. How was the experience different?

3. What actually constitutes having/performing/doing rituals?

What turns the act of growing, preparing, extracting, administering from just a set of actions performed into something that changes the reality of an experience?

I think that we could just start with that right now and see where it leads us (if it does lead us anywhere and any of you are interested!).

I would like to see what the rest of you think before I blurt out my own opinions.

Kind regards and respect.

For me the ritual has changed over the years. It used to involve hiking out to special spots in the desert and tripping there all day. Then it evolved into camping overnight in the desert and tripping all night next to a small campfire. Then it evolved into tripping overnight in the backyard next to the firepit with a small fire going.

These days its much more flexible and usually just happens at home, starting in the day and spilling over into the night, going back and forth from inside to outside. I rarely do the fire anymore.

The most important part of the trip in terms of setting the mood for the entirety of it has always been and remains the time of consumption. I can only do this outdoors. My mind and body have to be settled and clear. There is a feeling of awe and fear, a gravitas to the moment, right before drinking the tea. A cigar or a joint is almost always part of this time for me. I think of intention. I reflect on my life. The sound of the breeze passing through the trees and the birds chirping are my only companions. It is a somber time. After the drinking is done I remain sitting outdoors in that spot for usually 20 minutes to an hour, soaking the moment in and feeling the tea begin to change me. It feels like a sleeping giant (the power of the cactus) is starting to stir and awaken. The power is coming soon, and I reflect more on life and on what is about to start.

This sacred time is always part of the trip for me. It just naturally happened like this and is set for me now.

I think of the cactus tea as a sacred medicine. It has great power and healing for me.

Greetings Grey Fox:

Thank you for sharing the details of your ritual.

I have a few questions for you:

1. Did you develop this ritual yourself or were you taught/shown it? What is it about it that makes it "the ritual?" Is it a ritual because you were told that this is a ritual? What is it that makes it a ritual rather than just a checklist of behaviours that you habitually perform when taking psychedelics? Or, to put it another way: if somebody gave you a list of things to do before drinking the tea that describe what you have written as your ritual, would it still be a ritual and would the effects still be the same for you?

2. You say this:



and this:



Do you have a ritual associated with collecting/growing the cactus? Do you have a ritual associated with preparing the tea?

Do you think that having a ritual for this aspect of the trip is important or not so?

I guess what I am trying to explore is how a ritual becomes a ritual; are rituals transferable between people; can they just be written down and passed on; where do they start and where do they end.

Kind regards and respect.

For me, ritual is rooted in my intuition, so it's rarely exactly the same from one journey to the next and varies by substance.



As soon as some ideal connected to whatever holds the keys to an experience or connection of some kind reaches my cognition as well as whenever the first moment arises for me to begin. Ritual for me always begins internally; thought and thinking are the opening to the ritual in all cases for me. The outward actions we take are symbolic of alignment internally necessitated. With cannabis, because I grow commercially, a good amount of preferred ritual action is delimited by the job. So typically, my cannabis ritual begins with my internal evoking of the medicine, followed by its preparation (whether flower or concentrate). For DMT (and harmalas) it begins with the extraction process, which is symbolically alchemical for me. With mushrooms, it begins either at the start of the grow or the conception of some other method of procurement.



Because my use of ritual is largely intuitive and weighs on the given moment, this happens on a somewhat regular occurrence. I always state my invocation however, especially with respect to anything DMT related.

There's a lot more "holding on" when I do not perform rituals as much as usual regardless of the psychedelic used. I don't see this as a good or bad thing, but simply a difference in flavor. There's less groundedness in journeying without ritual, which can lead one to some pretty interesting places.



I'd say intent. Is there a mindful, directed, caring, devoted intent? Doing so changes our receptivity to an experience, opening our minds more broadly to the expanse of possible experience. I like to use an analogy of a radio. It has to be on the right frequency to receive the right station; it has to be receptive.

"Entering the state" is an internal ritual action. Cleaning the space is an outward action that causes internal change, beneficial in changing our receptivity to an upcoming experience to be had.

It comes down to the way in which we do the actions that are part of our rituals.

Another analogy I like is the preparation before a sporting event. An athlete doesn't just show up to the venue and compete. No. They warm-up first, preparing themselves for the upcoming competition, both mentally and physically.

One love

No one showed me this. Its just what feels right when I do it. It came about on its own over time. It just makes sense and works for me. I'm not sure if this same approach would work well for others or not. Its how I bring intention to the act of tripping, as my understanding of tripping has developed over the years.

I grow my own cactus. At this point in my life I'm no longer interested in any plant medicine that I don't grow myself. I grow my own cactus and cannabis. The quality is higher that way and the costs are much lower than buying from someone else.

Growing the cactus greatly increases the meaningfulness of tripping for me. I nurtured these plants from the time they were small. My backyard has become its own ecosystem of fruit trees and cactus and other beneficial plants. There is an abundance of bird and insect life here, while most of my neighbors have barren yards of gravel or turf grass. The cactus enrich my life everyday when I spend time in the yard. I thank them when harvesting cuttings and before I process the cuttings into tea. I believe that the cactus have an awareness of their surroundings and of my presence. We are partners helping each other to progress forward in life.

I think that this process of finding meaning in tripping and making rituals is a personal matter, and everyone is free to find their own path forward. I have respect for ancient lineages, and I hope to learn from them. But I am not constrained by them in anyway.

Greetings Voidmatrix and Grey Fox:

Thank you both for taking the time to reply to my post.

From reading your answers, a common theme to both is the idea that intent plays a critical role in determining whether a set of actions or behaviours constitutes a ritual. Am I interpreting this correctly?

Also, a ritual can encompass more than just the immediate surroundings and actions related to taking psychedelics, and can extend to planting, growing, processing, extracting, etc., correct?

So, if I have understood what you both have said, by the use of intent, pretty much anything can be turned into a ritual.

In addition to this, you both express that there are real, observable benefits to using rituals and the psychedelic experience is noticeably different if you don't.

The question that naturally follows from these observations is: have either of you tried to apply this idea of rituals to other aspects of your life which are not related to psychedelics? Maybe another way to ask the same question is: do you consciously apply intent (and therefore create a ritual) when doing other things in your life?

I keep on asking questions because I am trying to go somewhere with this (I hope that I don't fall flat on my arse, when I finally share my opinions with you ); anyway, thanks for playing along!

Kind regards and respect.

At this point, diving in and necessitating further distinction, I'd say that some of it comes down to specificity of intent. There are many kinds of intents that can be projected on to any task. For our purposes, is it a ritualistic task that prepares or in someway supports one and their beliefs before and during a journey, ceremony, event, etc.

I certainly have other "rituals" in my life, like how I approach the bar for a heavy deadlift for example is very ritualistic, the difference is I am not trying to evoke anything other than frame of mind, form, and power when performing a lift, so it's not the same kind of ritual as what I do before I meditate or do psychedelics. Different meaning, different intent.

One love

Hey Voidmatrix:

Thanks for your answer.

I would like to propose that intent is the important part of the equation. The specifics of the intent, as applied to different activities is still important, naturally but it is the existence of intent which gives power to whatever those activities are. I guess I am trying to go from the specific to the general in this case. There are so many people who realise the importance of intent when it comes to taking psychedelics and who have developed strong rituals to focus their intent for a journey but fail to make the connection when it comes to the rest of their lives. It is a very simple connection to make but from my experience with other people, it doesn't always happen.

I'm exploring this very simple idea as my usual job involves trying to increase awareness in people, specifically with regards to their physical and mental health, trying to make people realise the importance of life-style on their health and general well-being. Now, everybody I treat "knows" all about healthy life-style in a sort of truism fueled "of course I know that" way. Unfortunately, most of the people I deal with are unable to get past the obvious mental knowledge that they have and get to the point of doing the actual behaviours that make a difference.

I find it interesting that the people who grasp this idea of intent and ritual quickly, only need one or two consultations and quickly get on with their lives, making all the improvements on their own successfully (and the people who were already aware of intent, don't ever see me at all); while the people who don't/can't/won't have a very hard time successfully implementing the required changes. For example, they may know that yes, they are not drinking enough water (or whatever) but nothing they do actually results in upping their water intake.

It is such a simple thing to understand and to make a connection with, and possibly, the DMT-Nexus naturally filters and selects individuals who already have this concept in their knowledge, so that talking about it here is preaching to the choir.

Kind regards and respect.

I think the issue of not being able to translate the importance of ritual from a psychedelic session to other pragmatic activities lies in the relative perspective held about specific activities.

With respect to psychedelics, the event incites excitement and anticipation. There's a positive association to the experience, despite the fear it may instill, and based on how such an experience alters our perspective of it, we add more weight and importance to said experience than say, cleaning our home.

So at this new juncture, we've passed the importance for having a ritual to the importance of how a ritual changes our experience of whatever the ritual is for, ie. we go from developing a ritual for psychedelic journeys to influence those journeys to developing rituals in order to condition ourselves to do things in other more engaged and mindful manners. Another way to say it is going from ritual to augment our experience to ritual for augmenting ourselves.

One love

The first time I smoked DMT (it was my 30th birthday, I will never forget that night) the acquaintance who turned me on was burning a piece of Palo Santo with a butane torch. A couple years later when I stared extracting and consuming DMT regularly, Palo Santo became a huge part of my ritual. I burn it while I am extracting. I burn it when I am cleaning up my gear to start another grow. I burn it before I smoke DMT. I burn it while I am high on other psychedelics like mushrooms or L. The smell is a comfort to me.

Prayer. I was raised by a very closed minded ignorant Christian woman whose belief was more akin to superstition and fairy tale fantasy than anything else. By the time I was ten years old I was questioning, and saw holes in the belief system, but any time I said a word questioning anything church or Christ related, I was whipped for it. I had Christ shoved down my goddamn throat from as far back as my memory goes. There is some resentment there and in my adulthood I am not hip to having other people's God beliefs pushed forcefully in my direction. Still, I believe in God. I believe we were created by the highest intelligent consciousness in existence. I pray my ass off every time I pick up that pipe or that cup of tea. Something along the lines of "Thank you for all of this, thank you for this life, this chance to see and learn and feel and love and everything else. Please help me, please show me how to live, help me through my shortcomings, help me be good and do good."

Music. When I am tripping an oral psychedelic, and sometimes when I vape DMT, I love music. Hendrix, Grateful Dead/JGB shows, Pink Floyd, those have been my standbys for years. Lately I love some electronic synth music, Tipper, Apex Twin, Ott, stuff like that. Goes very nicely with psychedelics!!! Thanks to DMT Nexus for turning me on to synth music and helping me to expand my musical horizons!!! Next time you smoalk DMT, put on the song Aunt Suzy by Buckethead. One of my very favorite for spice travel!!!

Surroundings... I mainly do these things indoors, in our apartment, after my three rascals have gone to sleep for the night. I love UV light for tripping, I have all sorts of brightly neon colored things in my room that really pop like crazy under that black light. Sometimes, for dmt/pharmahuasca experiences specifically, I will forego the black light in favor of a couple of candles lit on my nightstand.

I would love to start having some experiences outdoors. Almost every time I take L, I go for a walk outside. During my peak there is almost like a magnetic compulsion to get outdoors during the experience.

One thing that came to mind while walking my pup that I would like to add also is there's a difference between ritual and routine.

One love

What makes the difference, is it intent again? It can be quite subtle because things often start as a ritual but through repetition and familiarity turn into routine. How does one maintain the power of a ritual and stop it from becoming routine?

Kind regards and respect.

I have a special cloth I use on the table when I have a special ritual. I could have flowers and extra candles too. It's like in the church when there is Easter or Christmas.

I'd say a subset of intent from the previous intent as well as subjective meaning. Every morning, I follow the same routine; wash up/shower, calisthenics/stretch, meditate, make breakfast, go to work. Before I blast off I have a routine too, the difference is that this one happens to have a perceived purpose and is a symbolic gesture for a future experience; there is meaning to each individual action that is acted upon internally by the mind which enhances the flavor of our experience (or at least that's how we feel about it). My morning routine is more out of comfort for the way in which it progresses; a matter of preference, and not much meaning behind it; chop wood, carry water. The hidden beauty in daily monotony.

Another thing I'd like to add is the facet of focus or attention with respect to something being ritual or not. I stretch as part of my ritual before journeying as well. So what makes it just routine in my morning practice and what makes it ritual in my psychedelic practice? What my focus and attention is on. During my morning routine, I am focused on body mechanics and muscular sensation and feedback in order to get the most benefit and maximize my stretch. Before I psychedelic encounter (and meditation) it is to relax my body, mind, and spirit, bringing them all into connection through movement. I am concerned with how my energy feels in my body more so than getting the most effective stretch.

Some things, with reverence held in them, may always remain subjectively as worthy of ritual type engagement. Other things may never carry that degree of meaning for us (like brushing our teeth). One has to take seriously whatever thought prospect they may be trying to attain. In trying to ritualize brushing one's teeth, they may always see it as a farce for it to be sacred, in that the associations and connotations therein are already deeply entrenched that brushing one's teeth is nothing more than a tedious habit for good hygiene. I don't think that some processes being routine is a bad thing.

One love

Greetings Friends:

First of all, thank you Tomtegubbe and Tony6Strings for chiming in and sharing your rituals with the rest of us. It is always illuminating to hear what others do to maximise the benefit of their journeys.

Voidmatrix, you state things very eloquently, thank you for making things so clear. I agree with you that it is not a bad thing that some processes are delegated into simple routine but I am exploring the idea of why this happens. While it is easy to maintain the required intent and feeling of wonder and awe towards certain aspects of our lives, like preparing for a psychedelic journey, I feel that the ordinariness of some our actions automatically turn into routine, rather than ritual, very easily due to their regularity and familiarity.

It is the automatic-ness with which this happens which I think is important to become aware of. Obviously, for some things, like brushing your teeth, it is not much of an issue but it is other things, like being at work or talking to people where I think that it should not. After all, there is (or maybe, should be?) an underlying sacredness in everything that we do (even brushing our teeth!) since if you break things down all the way to our constituent atoms and molecules, just the fact that such building blocks lead to such complexity is quite amazing. We are always in danger of forgetting how even the simple things are actually infinitely complex and it feels, at least for me personally, that I am always fighting against that insidious mundane-ness that seems to turn everything, no matter how interesting and awe-inspiring it is in the beginning, into just automatic boredom, pushing me to look for more and more stimulus.

Kind regards and respect.

It seems that we're at a fundamental point where we must reflect on how the mind works. Largely, one way in which our minds work is by noticing distinctions in some dichotomy and categorizing from there. In this case, the dichotomy of sacred vs. non-sacred. Because we define somethings based on their opposite and visa versa, some things need to appear not sacred (or not as sacred) as other things where there sacredness is taken as a given. Now this doesn't highlight anything about the world, but more about how we perceive and interpret it. In other words it seems that for the human organism there is a benefit in the seemingly inevitable occurrence of somethings being just routine in that it allows us to recognize and deeply appreciate acts and ideas that we do find sacred. And so by becoming "routine," it has served a sort of sacred and ritualistic purpose.

One love

Ha, ha Great answer, I like it, Voidmatrix. Can't get anything past you!

Kind regards and respect.

I took a little time to mull over what you said, Voidmatrix:

Does that take us full circle then, everything returns to the whole? Even though the dichotomy is there and we use one side of it to define the other, both sides of the dichotomy are actually saying the same thing and reinforcing each other, right? So, in this particular example involving sacredness or lack of it, everything we do is sacred, whether we realise it or not? Does that mean that the the sacredness is external to ourselves? Does intent have a place in this then?

Kind regards and respect.

Since we've come to a paradoxical crux, I'd have to answer in some ways yes and in some ways no.



I think that for human intents and purposes they predicate and help define each other, but may only say the "same thing" as its opposite in a limited number of contexts. It's the duality itself that is the oneness and hence why it's a paradox. One can keep going around and around for a paradox never really terminates.

Some may say that on/off, up/down, 0/1, good/bad are all "one" and thus the "same." I think there may be an over-simplification here. These opposing things can be part of one thing and not say the same thing as one another. On a coin, where does heads become tails? Heads is heads, and tails is tails, but they are part of the same coin.



One could say that, and then we would follow through with a further nested distinction of "sacred" sacredness and "non-sacred" sacredness.

But...



We're now in more ontological territory, in deciding the nature and class of existence of an idea such as sacredness. It's not something that we get intersubjective verification for in the same way we do say, a tree; not only are trees phenomenally intersubjectively verified by other humans, but by the interactions of other types of life which also acknowledge the tree in some way also (though their acknowledgment of the tree is probably vastly dissimilar to ours). With an idea like "sacredness," we get less confirmation. It's an abstraction. That doesn't limit its potential impact to any one individual because ideas like beauty and love are also technically abstractions. I like to consider abstractions and existing on a different layer of reality somewhat detached (and at the very least, different from) the physical phenomenal world. In this consideration, abstraction exists in an idea space, and so how we state something is "external" to us may be in err for the way in which we usually mean that. In other words there may be a new way of thinking of external aside from inside the head and outside the head. So is it external to us? Perhaps, but not in a way where we may necessarily expect "consensus;" it can still be largely subjective and pseudo/quasi-intersubjective.



Sufficiently and necessarily so.

One love

Greetings Voidmatrix:

I'll address myself to you since you seem to be the only one sharing their thoughts at the moment.

It is very satisfying to hear the thoughts of somebody who has obviously spent some time studying and thinking about all of these things regarding perception, mind, how we think, etc.; thank you for taking the time to answer. My delving into philosophy is much more superficial and my interest in the subject, while also undertaken purely for the mental pleasure of just thinking, it is also as conduit to make changes in a practical way in my and others' physical life on earth.

With this in mind, can you share your thoughts (and this is open to anybody else who would like to chime into the conversation) on how do we take these complex thought processes which help us understand the nature of our existence, into some practical changes that we can make in our lives, in this case, since the basis our discussion was the importance of ritual and its relationship to intent and routine?

Kind regards and respect.