Do you have any handy mantras or prayers your mind can default to? I have never experienced an attack, but have dissolved some strange entities and blocked energies with prayer, mantra, and Ho'oponopono ("I'm sorry, I love you, please forgive me, thank you," recognizing that all is a part of yourself, check out the book Zero Limits). Just a thought.

Do you protect your space before journeying? Smudge, crystals, a few good words, etc.?

I know it sounds kind of *new age,* but I take great care, not to superstitiously defend myself, but to consciously make sure my space is clean, inside and out. Smudging is a conscious acknowledgment and shifting into that space, for me...

Safe travels.

try playing this during an adventure: http://www.liquidbells.com/
I play it all day long at work.

and burn some palo santo wood incense.

Hard to go wrong with that!

What else can be done?......for someone who's sinus tissues are prone to being stopped up and pressurized by smokes.

Thanks minxx- I appreciate the suggestions. I've never really thought about mantras per se, but I often smudge. When drinking aya I almost always end up chanting, but it's nothing as specific as a mantra. Mostly just whatever flows into my brain- it can be amazing to hear what comes out sometimes because it truly feels like it originates from outside my being. I'll try to learn a few mantras to keep in my quiver for future use. Are any particular types of crystals more helpful or beneficial to you than others? I've always been curious about that topic. Pyramids too...

-JM

Wow, Liquid Bells is very cool. It has a pronounced effect on my mindset almost immediately- extremely relaxing and centering. I may have to buy that CD.

I'm a sucker for nag champa and I have a few other types of healing and meditative incense that I often burn. They all seem put me in the right place if I burn them in a mindful way. Thanks for 'chiming' in with your advice

-JM

For the record, that's the case here as well. The vast majority of my experiences have been positive and enlightening. Often very strange, but rarely outright negative. In well over a year of journeying with spice and aya this ride was definitely the exception, which is why I felt compelled to share and try to elicit others' perspectives.

-JM

Dimitrius, I can think of several other things besides smoke.

Crystals: I ALWAYS, ALWAYS have rose quartz nearby, which is supposed to be the crystal of love energy. I always feel safe. Sometimes I keep pieces of selenite, which is supposed to invite crown chakra/angelic energies. I get extremely sensitive to crystals under the influence, and have a whole whack of them, depending on what feels appropriate. Some are often too strong, like lapis and fluorite. I keep rose quartz in the changa bong chamber, too, as water is supposed to take on the structure of the crystal placed inside.

If you have any Rose of Jericho plants, apparently the water in the bowl can also be used as a smudge, instead of smoke, just sprinkled around the area of ceremony. You can get them from Maya... they are beautiful, immortal plants used in healing. Worth checking out, at the very least.

There have been a few rare occasions where I haven't been able to smudge, either before preparing a sacrament or journeying; in these cases, I've lit candles and prayed, played music on a flute, something just to establish conscious space and acknowledge the energies, thank them and ask for cooperation. Sometimes I do yoga as a preparation/offering.

Theoretically, everything is just mind, anyway, so it is the spirit of the offering. I personally find any kind of ritual attached to the intention makes the intention stronger and clearer, if it involves a synchronization of body, mind, and spirit. Perhaps a bit exoteric, but it's a great way for me to tune my focus.

Altar bells are also nice!

Maybe I'm just lucky, but I've never, ever been interrupted with any form of negative energy during a ceremony. It's worked hundreds of times. I don't mean to sound arrogant in any way, just saying the extra bit of focus and time goes a long way. I feel like the spirits will match whatever energy I invest, so if I keep it clean and invest goodness, that is generally returned (sometimes tenfold <3 ).

I always repeat over and over while I am smoking, "I am here in love, I am here in gratitude, I am here to learn." It seems to ease the launch and color the journey. With the tea, I take time before drinking to make a statement of intentions, as well. Would never go without...

At first in SWIMs journeys, the energy had been overwhelming, but still loving.. after using spice for a while, SWIM started to realize that his journeys were starting to go south. The more he used it, the more it seemed to be pulling him in a "darker" direction. The last time SWIM used spice, it seemed that he was bombarded with an uncomfortably, overwhelming flow of information. SWIM has since been very skeptical about the value of smoking straight spice. He has had a couple of blackout sessions where he remembers nothing upon return. The energy seems to be of a malevolent force as of late.

It almost seems to SWIM that hyperspace really is beyond our physical monkey minds to really understand.. especially straight, vaporized spice. To me it is too much, too fast.. akin to psychedelic crack, but not in an addictive way.

Changa on the other hand...

SWIM still has experimenting to do.