Thank you nexus for providing technical assistance, and much support to those of us who believe that entheogens are our natural tool to enhance personal growth and explore our consciousness. Not to say that entheogens aren't used recreationally, but there is so much more offered by these wonderful teachers than to simply 'trip balls'. Thank you nexus for courageously providing a safe-haven for us, as many of our societies and governments discredit and even prohibit traditional entheogen use.
Over the last year or so, I have first been drawn to the nexus due to the focus on environmentally sound extraction techniques for sacred cacti, including the 69ron's limonene tek among others. I believe that the natural entheogenic experience is a gift from nature which increases our awareness of our interconnectedness to nature and the importance of maintaining balance with our environment. Therefore any entheogenic practice must also be environmentally sound. Prior to the discovery of the nexus, cactus extractions had involved extensive use of petrochems which left a serious mental stain for weeks after waking. After researching several cacti extraction techs here on the forum, an environmentally sound hybrid cactus tech was developed and realized in a dream with beautiful results that were shared with several close friends. This recurring dream has inspired my interest in other entheogens and techniques here at the nexus. In later dreams, spice was obtained on several occasions from MHRB through a double a/b tech that was developed after reading many other techs posted here. While a double a/b tech may be less time efficient, the dreamed results were very clean, and as usual, all dreamed solvents were recovered, cleaned, and reused. In the latest dream, harmala alkaloids were isolated from syrian rue seeds via the tradtional manske method, and purified with an ace/lime juice recrystallization (described by Phlux). Although these dreams didn't require asking questions of members on the nexus, I believe that asking relevant questions after thorough research can be a stimulating experience for all engaged in the discussion, and may very well lead to the development of new techniques and processes. As an orgo chem student, I am extremely fascinated by and also have an academic interest in relevant principles behind a/b extractions, purification techniques including chromatography, multi-solvent recrystallization, reduction of oxides, and many other topics relevant to the nexus.
Altered states of human consciousness and out-of-body experiences have fascinated me since my teenage years, when through a sober meditation session before falling asleep, I unintentionally entered a trance like dream state. The experience was incredibly profound, as though I had been transformed to a simple point of awareness traveling through a tunnel of ever changing color patterns. The changing color patterns seemed to be a language of pure knowledge and wisdom. When I awoke the next morning, I couldn't remember any of the knowledge or wisdom which I had been shown. However a few lessons to be learned from that experience were that my own knowledge and wisdom is so incredibly small in comparison to the collective consciousness that exists throughout the universe, and that it is very possible for one to connect to this collective consciousness through altered states of consciousness. The experience revealed that there is far more to consciousness than what one experience from in everyday life.
Many years later I had my first experience with natural psychedelics in psilo mushrooms while in college. The experience revealed that everything is interconnected, and that the walls we construct in our minds to separate people, ideas, and things limit our ability to understand them more fully. I began to realize how rigid and dogmatic my own mind was, and also that it was possible to move away from this mentality toward a more pliable consciousness more aware of its own shortcomings.
Personally, my entheogenic experiences have inspired me to make several important changes in my life that have given me greater balance and stability and much greater interest in environmental preservation. First, through my dream experiences with sacred cacti, it has become clear that a deeper understanding of my world can only be achieved through greater awareness. As a result of cacti teachings and mental frustration associated with a physical injury, zazen meditation has become an incredibly powerful healing tool that I have found useful in cultivating the awakening mind. It is important to me to cultivate sacred cacti to learn from them, be connected with them on a deep level, and ensure that sacred cacti cultivation remain legal for many years to come, as the purchase of dead cacti may draw much unwanted attention and prohibition. This hobby has recently expanded to the cultivation of an annual vegetable garden, as self-reliance is a value held very dear to me. Additionally, I strive to reduce my ecological impact on the environment by cycling year round as a primary mode of transportation.
Before my first spice dream, I had used the old mary jane chronically several times per day, every day for nearly five years. Although I was vaguely aware that this had become problematic for me in the pursuit of my education and personal relationships, I was not yet willing to fully admit this and make changes. In the first spice dream, I rapidly lost all sense of self, becoming a point of awareness in my own home which appeared to me as an alien landscape. While there were some pretty awesome visual and auditory distortions in this dream, awaking with a feeling that I was holding my consciousness hostage with my constant use of MJ which dulled my awareness and direction in life. Since then I have used MJ about once a month only in social settings, and don't feel any desire to partake more often than that. Since then, the dreams of spice have always lead me feel as though I am awaking awareness within and awareness of environment in a way somewhat different from traditional meditation. Although I do not claim to be enlightened by any stretch of the imagination, I feel it very important for my health and stability to cultivate this awakening mind from many different angles.
The works of Graham Hancock, Terrence Mckenna, Dr. Strassman and others have been profoundly influential in my views on natural entheogens and their benefit in restoring balance and harmony between our species and our environment. It is unfortunate that the western war on drugs has demonized and ridicule these natural entheogens and those who use them for spiritual growth and development. The western war natural entheogens seems to be an attempt to strap human consciousness into the confines of strictly materialistic mentality. It seems to me silly that plants which have been used for spiritual development for thousands of years can be prohibited by any society. It seems to me to be an incredibly arrogant and ignorant statement by prohibitive governments that citizens may buy guns, poison ourselves with alcohol, toxic food additives, etc. but cannot use safe traditional plants to reconnect with nature and our collective consciousness.
The common effects I have experienced from entheogen use in nature are a powerful reminder of our interconnectedness to the life and environment around us such as animals, insects, trees, bushes, and even the living ground. The entheogenic experience reminds me that since humans have developed such a great capacity to destroy nearly any living being deemed problematic, it is increasingly essential that we protect our natural environment as much as possible to prevent its careless and utter destruction. Our society is at a critical point where we are now capable and driven to the destruction of our ecosystem, fueled by an inane focus on material gain. Yet at the same time we now possess the technology and know how to save our planet from our own destruction if we just open our eyes. We need a tool to help remove the shackles of our self centered society so that we may see the benefit in treating our beautiful mother earth with all the care and compassion that she has shown us through offerings of the many wonderful entheogenic tools that are made so freely available to us. I believe that the natural entheogens are the tool that our society desperately needs to refocus our energy, knowledge and wisdom to return our species to a balance with our earth.
Thanks again for your kind and generous contributions and support!
Thoughts and prayers to our brothers and sisters affected by the earthquake and radiation catastrophe in Japan!