http://www.youtube.com/w...mGs&feature=youtu.be

Havent logged in in awhile so I don't know if this was posted or not, but I ran across it and since it mentioned the nexus I figured I'd post it.

Peace

Nice find! I'll check that out tonight.

Btw, I've enjoyed your posts on here and appreciate your insights. I hope your meditation practice is going well and that all's good with you.

Thanks for posting this, Joedirt. I'm watching it now.

It's nice to see you around

I really enjoyed this. Thanks again for posting.

I felt the question asked by the member of the audience was perfect, as IMHO it successfully diagnosed a struggle that occurs with either Buddhism or the use of psychedelics for personal growth.

The question: "Either with psychedelics or practice, how do we get past the problem that once we have seen something, now we want to get back there, and we are grasping it, and we are looking for it, and it's really hard to get there, because it's a state of innocence, right?"

I'm not practiced enough to necessarily relate to this with regard to meditation, but I can definitely identify with it regarding the use of entheogens. I think this really shines a light on the importance of integration. If we become too focused on the intensity, novelty, or beauty of a previous experience, and as a result work to replicate it, we tend to lose focus of the lessons learned during the experience and how we can use it to grow as individuals to help the collective whole (again, IMHO).

I'm thankful that the unpredictable nature of entheogens has a way of preventing these habitual pursuits of sense gratification from occurring for extended periods of time, as I know I've been at points in my life before where a desire to simply escape this "reality" is the number one goal.

Thank you for posting this link, I look forward to watching it. I have been learning a lot more on Buddhism over the last year as some of my more spiritual DMT and LSD trips have taught me many things that have overlaps of Buddhist teachings. Of course all religions have some overlaps, I just found it interesting that Buddhism had more overlaps from my personal experiences compared to the hardcore Christianity which was the way I grew up and believed in for a good chunk of my life.

I dont really know why the two are overlapped in this way by people to be honest..I mean it is interesting and if you do enough research it seems clear psychoactive drugs played a role at some point in buddhism..but I think people seek out validation because often others have set psychedelics and buddhism or w/e path at odds.

I dont think they are interchangable necessarily. I also think people should just forget what anyone says and do what you feel.

This is just how I feel about it..I am not drawn to buddhism in it's current state anyway much at all really. I see dogma there(well in the mainstream with the Dali Lama etc) just as I do other places..maybe less so than some other places though.

Buddhist thought is an interesting tool to use at times..in some ways I guess I am like a chaos magician-mixing in w/e paradigm if it's appropriate or useful at the time..and buddhist philosophy is useful at times..but I dont think you can really just meditate instead of use psychedelics and get to the same place (unless maybe you are darkrooming)..you can get to certain states with meditation yes, but in my experience it's not the same exactly. The idea that "all roads lead to the same place" is something I have heard a lot and I have to ask.. why? Who says they do? What if they dont?

I hear people talking about what is "natural" and what is not natural, what is traditional and what is not..I never understood any of this really, it makes little sense to me as it's all just sort of relative. I have had this conversation with buddhists before and I have met some buddhists who seem to be naive and unrealistic about the whole thing..though I can say that about people from any walk of life really.

Personally I think psychedelics grow on the planet becasue we are sopposeded to eat them. The biosphere is alive and we are part of that larger system, we cycle oxygen from it, vitamines, neurotransmitters, water etc..this is just how it's done..that is all that needs to be said really. I never understood people retreating from that cycle and calling it unnatural. I think a sort of neo enlightened animism is what is most relevant atm for humanity..buddhism seems a bit too nihilistic(not in a bad way necessarily) for me to really gather much interest in it at the end of the day.

I was once a person who claimed I was a buddhist though, and I did lots of meditation and far less psychedelics, and read tricycle all the time I dont really know at which point I moved away from that paradigm but I definatly found a much richer and more fulfilling paradigm for me personally within a sort of personalized blend of various animistic beliefs..though some buddhist though plays a role in there somewhere. I still meditate so there is that.

Im not saying buddhism is not valid..it is just not my path personally. Im more into the practical side of energetic awakening through "shamanic" and yogic practices I guess..empathy and compassion for others is necessary for that in my view but it's not buddhism so I dont call myself a buddhist.

I always liked Ananda Bosmans Ideas of the reimmergence of the "medicine buddha" brining the psychedelic shamanic practices back to buddhism..I have a strong desire to go to nepal someday and explore the shamanic cultures there who still work with psychoactive plants and make what most would call buddhist thankas etc..I guess I am interested in the practices that predate buddhism.