First of all, in regards to the title, I'm using entheogen here in its strict origin-of-the-word sense, "the god within"...that is I am using it to mean experiences of the "god within". On a recent visit from my friend the Doc, I was going over thought processes and contemplations in regards to a nirvana-class experience I had encountered whilst taking pointers from my other friend Dr. Hofmann. That is, a period of reflective/meditative though convexed into itself and revealed a re-unification with the intellect of the source of creation, in other words I felt as tought I was privy to the answer(s) to everything by means of momentarily returning to being unified with a entity far greater then myself.... so I found myself contemplating the variations that could exist in the personal experience that could be described as "nirvana" whilst the Doc was around... off the top of my head I could only come up with two, the first, of course, being my own experience of a closer look at the source's omniscience, the second being a feeling of such omnipresence, that is, a feeling of interconnectedness with all beings. All in all, I've posted this here to see what others think and what other kinds of experiences might be able to be associated with the buddhist experience of nirvana. What do you all think? And what sorts of intensely powerful experiences have you had or heard of whilst you or other spent time with shamanic friends?

Hey trypt/phenetheylmine, Ive been thinking about a lot of things your talking about recently. Ive been reading this book called The Diamond In your Pocket by Gangaji, really interesting book, in it shes saying that thought processes are false, good and bad, and conciousness is always there and aware of itsself like even the state of nirvana is just another thought process, she says true happiness cant be found because it will come and go like any other thought. She says conciousness is always there and always aware of itsself even if you dont know it, and that it loves itsself. A lot of what shes saying resonates with me. I have quite a monoistic view of things, like we are all one and expressions of one thing/this conciousness, we are all god really, like where does the drop begin and the ocean end? It doesnt if its all one and the same. So this entity you think is far greater than yourself isnt if were all one and the same, I think weve just forgot the fact of how powerful we really are. This god within is always there and we are it I think. Harold posted this the other day its quite profound and really quite depressing as well, I actually cant stop thinking bout this because it ties into a lot of my philosophies my heart goes out to that guy! Hes saying that he is god and hes remebered what he is and it isnt really a good thing, http://de1.erowid.org/ex...p.phpquery=ID=34864.html

Well the way I look at things incorporates a bit of what you are talking about, you're referring to a formulation of pantheism which is the belief that God/the source and the universe are one in the same thing. Personally I'm only semi-pantheistic, that is, I think the universe is metaphorically the same as the body of God/the source. That is, the intelligence of the creator, the source of creation, its consciousness, exists in a state much like our consciousness exists in relation to our own bodies. My way of looking at things is that we can raise our consciousness to the level of that consciousness and re-unify with it, become aware of all the interconnected things in the universe... essentially, I think our consciousness typically has a narrow view of things that is much less than its full potential. I agree that, in a way, we are all God/the source of creation, because our bodies and our consciousness are something like cells in a body... I have a very biologist-like view of things because of my former education background. Such is one of the reasons why I appreciate entheogens so much, because they operate on biology to bring about spiritual changes, and I just think that all reinforces my understanding of the universe and God/the source of creation as one whole that is made of of interconnected parts. The system I believe can also be seen in terms of the nirvana/buddhist interpretation that we have to rise out of a cycle of reincarnation and return to the universe (aka God/the source of creation). I liken my own experience to a sort of nirvana because it seemed that for a moment I had raised my consciousness to its full potential, but I supposed I decided to turn away from that in order to come back and help others find their own ways of expanding their minds and growing spiritually. That does sound somewhat like proselytizing, but considering I am an omnitheist (I believe all religions are essentially concerning the same kinds of spiritual experiences but are different solely due to cultural interpretations of those experiences), I would never try to hinder someone from exploring their own personal ways of looking at things, and I always try to avoid sounding like the sort that spews dogma to others.... I think the closest thing I have to that is my encouragement of others to explore the potentials of entheogens.

right, exactly, i mean everything is a.)fleeting, and b.)a perception. the only law underlying the universe is the law of Constant Change. which is in itself, a juxtaposition of concepts; how can the universe be constant, yet perpetually morphing? it is, and maybe our quest is not to find why, but how. the animal mind does not appear to question why, but it appears to question how and in-turn evolves a super-adaptability to the twists and turns that are par for the course of given animals' life. prhap our survival too depends upon how, rther than becoming hopelessly embroiled in the speculation of why. though i must be truthful....I will always wonder why.

Infinite-
The Erowid experience (I am God) you linked is almost exactly what I and Freespirit and Cilosyb and I'm sure others here have also experienced. This is the classic Spiritual Awakening in the strictest sense of the word. Normally I never double post, but the following is very relevent to the topic.

The following is a concept from the great 60's philosopher Alan Watts:

God likes to play hide-n-seek, but because there is nothing outside of God, he has no one but himself to play with! But he gets over this difficulty by pretending that he is not himself. This is his way of hiding from himself. He pretends that he is you and I and all the people in the world, all the animals, plants, all the rocks, and all the stars. In this way he has strange and wonderful adventures, some of which are terrible and frightening. But these are just like bad dreams, for when he wakes up they will disappear.

Now when God plays "hide" and pretends that he is you and I, he does it so well that it takes him a long time to remember where and how he hid himself! But that's the whole fun of it-just what he wanted to do. He doesn't want to find himself too quickly, for that would spoil the game. That is why it is so difficult for you and me to find out that we are God in disguise, pretending not to be himself. But- when the game has gone on long enough, all of us will WAKE UP, stop pretending, and REMEMBER that we are all one single Self- the God who is all that there is and who lives forever and ever.
You may ask why God sometimes hides in the form of horrible people, or pretends to be people who suffer great disease and pain. Remember, first, that he isn't really doing this to anyone but himself. Remember too, that in almost all the stories you enjoy there have to be bad people as well as good people, for the thrill of the tale is to find out how the good people will get the better of the bad. It's the same as when we play cards. At the beginning of the game we shuffle them all into a mess, which is like the bad things in the world, but the point of the game put the mess into good order, and the one who does it best is the winner. Then we shuffle the cards and play again, and so it goes with the world.

-Alan Watts
from "THE BOOK on the taboo against knowing who You are"

This was his simple way of explaining the ancient Hindu philosophy of Vedanta. After my mind exploding awakening and REMEMBERING that I am God I can TRULY attest that it is the truth. I felt as if my normal life was nothing but a game I was playing to entertain my God self. It was like...OMFG!! I REMEMBER. Total and utter realization. It was like my normal life was only one thought I was having in my God life. And if my God self wasn't thinking about my normal self it didn't even exist. We are all thoughts that our God selves are thinking! When your perception shifts into "God Mode" it is so unbelievable you almost cry.......Everything EXPANDS and your house/environment EXPANDS into what it really is! And you feel SO FREAKIN GOOD. And you say to yourself- "This is how it's SUPPOSED to be ALL THE TIME. You are still yourself, but you have no fears, doubts, or ego crap bogging you down! Almost like you peel off a veil of scum you've been wearing and looking through your whole life. and you know you have COME HOME.

Now most people who experience an awakening like this tend to eventually be sucked back into "normal" reality.....as I did. But you are never the same person again. Because now you KNOW you have found the truth you have searched for your entire life. No ifs, ands or buts. Like having a near death experience, you are forever changed. You will never fear death, that's for sure! One of the hardest things for me was trying to integrate my experience back into my daily life. At first you tend to go a bit nuts getting rid of "crap" in your life that you know now means nothing. I went out and bought ALOT of art and beautiful things for the house in an attempt to make it even a shadow of the way I know it REALLY is. I almost closed my business. It takes time for the physical ego to wrap it's little brain around THIS! But after several months of reflection and with the help of wonderful philosophers like Watts I think I have a grip on things. I have to balance between one reality and the other.....and am seeing the beauty in day-to-day life we tend to miss. I work less and enjoy more. I started painting after a 30 year WORK delay.....I sit in the Sun at least 10 minutes every day and just enjoy nature w/o thinking or worrying about the usual stupid crap. I hope that maybe the 2012 shift will be of our own perception, and we all can be who we REALLY are ALL THE TIME, as it should be!
Peace-