First of all, welcome to the Nexus! I can totally understand where you’re coming from; the psychedelic experience is a powerful vehicle of learning, with the potential to engender much growth and change. When I first discovered the world of psychedelia I was blown away, and became a true believer overnight. As far as I was concerned, spreading the love was to be my life’s work. However, history’s tendency to repeat itself bears some consideration. While the psychedelic revolution of the sixties definitely engendered some positive changes in the world, it also inspired the criminalization of our sacraments, and the war on drugs as it is today. Therefore some discretion is called for. We’re at a time when the attitudes and laws regarding the scientific studies of these substances are relaxing. That’s progress, and it took a long time to get to this place. An explosion of psychedelia over the mainstream/media could torpedo this, just as it did 46 years ago. Societal acceptance of these substances, and alternative spiritual pathways will come gradually as more understanding & open-mindedness spreads throughout the populace. While not ideal, that’s just the most likely way it will unfold. These things take time.


corpus callosum suggested that you consider pursuing a different style of therapy as a career path. This is what I have done, and while I’m still a student, it has already proven to satiate my soul. I’ve learned that I can still spread the love, without sharing the experience; all I need to do is take the lessons that I’ve learned personally to heart, and live in such a way that is in accordance with them. By treating all of the people that I come across with love & understanding , like the brothers & sisters in this cosmic dance that they all are, I can sow seeds of understanding. It’s not as overt or instantaneously transformative as a psychedelic experience, but it gently ripples out across the universe as a small stone tossed into a pond. You may be surprised how something so small, that isn’t even necessarily noticed on a conscious level, can have such a profound effect down the line.

That's a lot of responsibility... to cradle the souls of others...

Seems to me the ones through history who have done well at it - had the least desire to be in that position to begin with.

Whether you call it a "cult" or "religion" or what have you, it's all the same kind of thing. My philosophy is that no one should try to start their own religion. As it usually results in a glorified ego trip, especially when you put yourself in the postition of a preist or shaman. That stance is automatically an "I'm better than you" kind of position, whether you mean for it to be or not. And since we're all merely human beings trying to find our way on this rock, elevating oneself is not really a good thing, nor is it honest.

If you are well experienced with these chemicals and do feel that you can help people with them, then do that, but I wouldn't make anything bigger out of it. We all have ideas on the meaning of life and deep spiritual insight, but it should stop there.

If you want to help people, then help people, that should be enough of a religion. I wouldn't add any more pressure than that. Just my thoughts. Peace.

I agree with this point to a degree, ultimately if you have ideas people are interested in, people will gravitate to you. If not, don't worry about it. So the sole aim should be getting your ideas out there, and seeing what comes back. Design a spiritual system for yourself, and if others take it on, that's how it will be. If not, then it doesn't matter. It was never for others.

This sounds like a good approach to take, although I would urge the distinction between getting ideas out there and simply making ideas available. Active promotion of ideas seems too much like preaching or evangelicalism. I'd like to develop a presence that people can find through their own paths.

Definitely. This is why I love the Nexus, people understand there a fine details which are often skipped over. You want to foster a presence, make yourself accessible, but you don't want to end up preaching. People need to be able to find you, without you seeking them.
Ultimately, as I said (this is the path I am taking) build for yourself, and if other join, then you have the ability to learn from each other and develop a system together.

I don't give a crap about the rules of this forum. I abide by them when I am here. As such my post had nothing to do with a forum.
My message was, "Ok great, you saw a few things... now shut the hell up and keep your head down."
I'm not saying do not collect like minded people, that is very rewarding to do. But if you stand up and say "I'm starting a dmt cult" your future is going to be in a jail cell.

Be humble, and learn this inner world. I feel you saw heavens gate and you want to teach people all about heaven now. It is just starting, you haven't gotten to the destination, you simply found the path to take you there. The moment you preach you are no longer a student, that is when you stop learning. This was also the purpose of my first post.

I think a cult is something that changes its members view to agree with the cult one. I think that everyone should be encouraged to think freely for themselves and make their own decisions. If you want to make a cult or whatever, do it for the better of humanity, not for the need of control

Two questions I have:
1 How much is it worth to you?
2 How will it affect others?

I was finally reading the Spirit Molecule after my breakthrough and it was giving me chills. Strassman was saying that some of the volunteers had begun a support group. He mentioned this after writing about non-material worlds in which people had seen the black people.

Strassman said that many of the volunteers needed an outlet so as to not feel like they were crazy.


I have been thinking a lot about these people in black. Who are they? Why are they so mysterious, almost menacing, why are they coaching us? Why do I come back unraveling their puzzles and baffled by my own interpretation of their counsel?


I wonder how many DMT cults are out there? And I hope they do what I have been taught by these beings. They told me to channel the light, to channel positivity and they showed me how. They showed me how to engage life, how to shed anxiety through meditation, they taught me to chant. Who are they? And why are more people not taking this as a serious life endeavor? A spiritual pursuit?

To me it seems, we could live an assortment of lives to see if we get the message. The worlds are against you in this pursuit. Not many on this planet will be supportive of this; many will think you are crazy. I feel as though this is a secret. And if one can fully throw off the skin, the judgments that will ensue... I feel as though we might be able to stop the process of rebirth and have a seat in an utopian light compound for eternity. Just a thought. Could easily be the other way around, haha.

It is funny to think of many of the cults that have been frowned upon. And to see what I now know in contrast. It is a deep well. And I know it is real. I know there are great cults in Europe that I have seen that do what I am saying, they channel light, creativity and care for one another immaculately. DMT probably does not have a place there. DMT as you are all probably well aware is not of pure light and positivity. For some reason it is everything.

Surely it is because it is so very much everything, a kind of world in and of itself, that DMT is so powerful and engenders these kinds of movement-focused ideas. Surely a great path of spiritual development requires you to face the world in its entirety, from the perfect clear and positive light to the depths of dark, tumultuous and even sometimes frightening voids which are complement to it.
Just a thought which came to me reading your post

Thanks.

I think the best thing I did was wait a week after my breakthrough and I took two MDMA pills of high quality. No one was home and I confronted myself in the mirror. Before this I found it difficult to even look into the mirror. It was one of the most psychedelic experiences and incorporated much of the lessons I was taught. I never really got meditation and singing until my breakthrough where I was forced to learn. My main focus was to confront myself and the breakthrough. I made rules for myself. I saw myself for what seemed like the first time. For the first time, I feel like I have a deep understanding of myself and I have new senses. I have a new sense of dealing with anxiety. It is so very simple. To me they said channel light, positivity, engage... and then let go. Let go... let go.... I bow at the bizarre entities and their puzzle games. What they taught me was hard to swallow but has changed my life completely.

Well, there is no way that one can argue with results as profound as those which engender statements so powerful as



I suppose it is in the very nature of experiences, and more importantly I feel series of experiences, that one takes very different messages. I think, to me, entheogens of all kinds will provide for you what you need to hear, if you are willing to listen. Which is why, in this discuss on spiritual movements, I cannot see any reasonable movement holding itself to be ultimate truth.
Different people weave different paths, and while there are some general rules as to the kind of things I think we should aspire to, this must be accounted for in any spiritual movements which utilise these tools.
I'm glad to see you and others so touched as I am by these materials, so often in life there is a feeling, outside here and outside Kenota, that I am isolated by this to an extent.
I hope you continue to find happiness on your path my friend.

It was interesting that the MDMA experience while feeling absolutely like MDMA felt DMTish. More than likely because I was using the MDMA to meditate, engage, sing and channel light like the entities had me doing on my breakthrough. Even if I smoke some marijuana it takes me to this place where it is easier to meditate and connect with this energy source, sometimes it is even intense. But, I am fully capable and willing to channel it and then let it go.

I have plenty of spice left but my breakthrough was of such significance that I am still growing. There are so many methods I can utilize to continue to learn and grow from this event, I look at the spice I have in awe, it gives me chills. I know I cannot go back yet, possibly the next time will be a carnival ride. My intentions next time will be a little different. I fully believe now. It is one thing to toy with smallerish doses and another to have the intent to breakthrough and see if it is real. I selfishly thought I would come out with different scenarios than anyone else. That was not the case.

These new senses, a new sense of meditating and bringing this energy down a new outlook on life and possibilities a new sense of hope and a purpose for where I might go and hope to go after this life. I feel as though I might never need this amazing molecule again for what I have now is beyond my wildest dreams on this very planet.


Whatever it is, I still do not fully understand but I was made to fully understand and I fully embrace it as it is the most positive force I have experienced in my life and it continues to be so.

Immense love for you all, Nexus or otherwise. I love interacting with you. The Spirit Molecule is not such a great film but the book, after this experience and reading it... is just WOW.

This right here. Use a creative outlet influenced by these substances and this will not only draw in people that are already in the know but also give outsiders an avenue to find these things. A book is a sermon that requires no meeting room. A painting is a meditation that requires no mantra. Freedom of expression is your most powerful tool.

I'd suggest looking into other religions, see how they do things. For an example I've encountered a group of Buddhists who have a flat power structure. There are no leaders, they aim to learn from each other. From my point of view that sentiment is something which fits what you're thinking about quite nicely.

Have you heard about Christiania? It's sort of like a big commune, or a small anarchist community with their own laws, in Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark. They've had to fight for their continued existence, but by linking the community to positive community building things like art the public's opinion of them has improved greatly. The government has on many occasions tried to break down this little community, but they have not managed to, in part due to the will of the public. This of course is a bit bigger in scope than what you want to do, but I'm sure there are some lessons there.

Good luck.

pretty much everybody that has posted has wrote, in degrees, what i would for advice and my similar ideas. but really to bring this into reality your going to need money. a lot of it.

but what you said after your intro a few sentences in..you can live that life, but you may have to move and give a lot up to have something like it! depends how bad you really want it.

@Ringworm I fear you misunderstand me. I'm fairly sure I misunderstand you (and I hope for more elaboration). I'm not seeking to preach. The sacrament is the only teacher my faith needs.

Like @epoe suggests, I'm hoping to have as flat of power structure as possible, and I'm asking what people think the best way to achieve this would be. This isn't about starting a theistic religion, but a safe, constructive deistic community.

I realize this likely will end with me in jail, assuming I go through with this. But I feel that it would be hypocritical to say I believe in civil disobedience and then "shut the hell up and keep [my] head down." I'm not asking for anyone else to join this belief, and i don't want to bring anyone else down with me.

@JourneyToJay A cult, as defined by Wikipedia, is "a new religious movement or other group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre by the larger society." Sounds spot on to me about what I'm doing. You all are probably right though, the semiotics of using the word cult are probably too off base. I used it in the title to express my own self doubt about what I'm doing, and to get attention to the thread. Is it possible to edit the title of a thread then?

@AlbertKLloyd The only thing that I can imagine being worth more to me than this is my family. And perhaps this will require decades of ensuring they will be taken care of first (Sounds like good time for planning to me as well).

As to how it will affect others... I really don't know. Entheogens can be harsh mistresses, and don't always result in positive experience. But a controlled, safe environment with experienced guides seems to me to be a better method to reduce harm, as opposed to individuals experimenting in unknown conditions. I want to create a safer alternative.



You might be interested in reading "The Last Question", a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. A google search should bring up the full text. While I realize it will not go down like that, I think it sounds like the way humanity will be heading (As to how it will really end, who knows?)

@Nils I would like for my community to be able to come together and create art. This is enormously therapeutic, and a hell of a lot better than any sermon could hope to be.

@epoe I appreciate picking up the term "flat power structure." I am looking into other religions to see what appears to work best. I would eventually like to create an intended community, albeit I'll try to learn from whatever mistakes others have made (Isolating members from the rest of society, for instance, seems to be a grave error that a lot of media-portrayed communities make).

@MooshyPeaches Ah, yes, money... Can't live with it, can't... Well, I hope one day humanity can live without it. But you're right. Getting property and a building for this organization, setting up a secure garden for ethnobotanicals/laboratory to create safe extractions/storage, and the inevitable legal fees for fighting for our very right to exist.... will all add up to an amount that I will probably not be able to pay for. Perhaps crowd sourcing through IndieGoGo or something could be possible, but that would also take a well thought out marketing strategy. At any rate, I'd better keep my day job.

I think the best course of action is to promote new scientific/medical studies of this class of chemicals. If people knew more accurate facts about psychedelics then cultural bias would eventually weaken.

I understand the desire to share the experience and help others, but creating a cult (by definition that's what it would be) is likely to be unsuccessful.

The power of entheogens comes from one thing: they provide direct experience. Short of getting the public to experience DMT etc. firsthand, you can get it to experience the facts about them. To achieve this we need an increased and improved study of psychedelics. Reputable research is the only answer in my mind.

One problem remains though. To get research done, the cultural bias has to be dealt with head on within the circles of people responsible for conducting research. How to do this most effectively is the question. Scientists are inherently curious, so the fact that little research has been done is good bait. Fame and profitability is another form of bait. Previous research and experimentation has shown these chemicals to be highly effective and potentially useful. Those scientists with religious beliefs might also be interested in the correlation between mystical experiences and psychedelics, thereby prompting an investigation into their own spirituality. Anybody know of other ways to get research done? Anybody have any connections? Is anyone here in a position to actually conduct reputable research?

I agree that the failings of previous religious groups and cults should not be the motivation in establishing a better system. However, these same failings will be a thorn in side of any new system that comes into existence.

Many people will look back and place you in the same ilk. This would be unfair on and judgemental towards you, though unfortunately a lot (though certainly not all) of humanity works this way. After all, once bitten twice shy is built into us as a survival aid.

Art therapy is great, and teamed with psychotherapy and eventually psychedelics; this would be a fantastic prospect. It would be difficult to put into play legally, though one of the many aims of the Nexus is entheogenic liberty backed up by quality research.

Underground research is already underway, and should hopefully continue to grow and get better. If research is carried out with the same principle, quality and detail of an established research group, then it should hold equal merit. We are a way off from entheogenic liberty, though the first steps are being made.

Peace

Macre