I'm always making grandiose claims about how psychedelics have saved my life and without them I would most likely be dead or locked up somewhere heavily medicated by psychiatric drugs.
And it's true.
Without those key experiences at those key moments in my development as s human being, my life would have taken a much darker, destructive path. And as Nathaniel pointed out, these substances in and of themselves won't necessarily push you in that positive direction. I used LSD and psilocybin mushrooms in my youth and had wonderful experiences, but nothing so incredibly life-transformative. I came to understand that with psychedelics it's all about intent. Intent, and submission to the experience. Humility. Respect.
Cannabis, although a tumultuous relationship, greatly helped me to relinquish much more destructive addictions. My love for this plant is so great that I simply can't help myself
I am beginning to get to a place where I can moderate my use a little better, and it's even more enjoyable as a result.
Salvia, another great love. She is responsible for lifting me out of a very deep depression that had lasted years and this is the plant I give the most credit for saving my life. I wanted to die, and she showed me death. Then I realized I had a chance to live again, and I took it and ran with it as best I could. I'll always have a relationship with this plant in some form, for the rest of my life.
Psilocybin has also played a very important role in my continued existence in this corporeal form. I suffered from cluster headaches for years until I realized that regular doses of this fungi would completely alleviate that suffering. I've enjoyed them in a recreation sense many times, but they are true medicine to me. I would also include LSA seeds in this as well, although I've used those almost exclusively in a medicinal context rather than recreational.
Ayahuasca and DMT. That's a little harder to describe
This relationship is still in its infancy I feel. It's something far more spiritual than anything I've experienced. The previous three have helped tremendously to heal my body, all in their unique way. DMT is now going to work on healing my soul. Something I've needed for quite a long time. It's something very personal and intimate, what this molecule does. There are insufficient words to describe it. It's wondrous and miraculous. It defies what I said about intent. It will brush aside your intent and give you what you need the most.
Sphorange wrote:I am not a student, arms crossed at the front of the class waiting for the entheogenic ejaculate of knowledge to spray across my face. I don't think I need that confirmation from the plants that I am doing the right thing.
This made me chuckle. Maybe because I'm such an extreme introvert, and you seem to be an extrovert. But the opposite is true for me. I find the interactions I have with these plants to be the real lessons. Honest, gritty, and necessary. It's applying them to my everyday existence that is the real challenge, especially being such a private and solitary person.
Sphorange wrote:...the realisation that you are both the student and teacher at the exact same time.
Indeed