I'm a psychologist in training in a Southern state. My interest in psychedelics began with cannabis around three years ago, when I smoked regularly for a summer. I didn't know anyone who used power plants besides me and my brother, and we were fortunate to have the opportunity to construct our own culture and expectations surrounding cannabis. All our experiences took place in the woods in a mountainous, rural area, and power plants for me have taken on a strong association with nature. My experiences with cannabis have always been of comparable power to other psychedelics. That summer, I became interested in my mind and soul for the first time since I rejected the fundamentalist Christianity I was raised in. I have meditated regularly since then, starting with zen and transitioning into raja yoga. I also fell in love with my wife around that time. These three things have changed my life for the better: learning to love someone over myself, meditation and exploration of the Self within the cosmos, and, of course, power plants.
I studied linguistic anthropology for a while, and I had the opportunity to pursue research in Peru. I came in contact with San Pedro cactus there, and that was my introduction to classical psychedelics. Again, I'm thankful I had the opportunity to acquaint myself with a new power plant through a non-Western worldview. When I came home and changed careers, I began reading about ethnobotany perhaps obsessively. My favorite writer on the subject is Dale Pendell, and I used his Pharmaco series to try new power plants. During this time, I also read the DMT-Nexus extensively and found it by far the most useful forum on power plants. My phantastica ally now is Psilocybe cubensis, but I understand it from the mindset I learned from San Pedro. I also understand mushrooms from the perspective of ayahuasca; I think they are closely related, and not just molecularly.
I grew up in a garden, and I feel a closest connection to plants I can grow. All of the plants I use now are my own, with the exception of coffee (which I at least roast myself). I use cannabis, mushrooms, Salvia divinorum, Mexican tarragon, holy basil, coffee, kitchen sage, and tobacco, and I am growing some poppies this fall. I have grown or approached many other power plants that I no longer pursue a relationship with.
I registered on this site because I'm excited to establish connections with others who have had lucid experiences with these plants. I think there is something very good here, and the world has a lot to gain from these things. That said, I believe that love for others is the fastest road to enlightenment. Also, I see power plants as ancillary to meditation, but meditation for me still eclipses tripping. I've learned a lot from many of you; I'm looking forward to contributing to this beautiful body of knowledge y'all have going.
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः