Psilocybin Cubensis
I tripped off the edge of reality, and found
the Universe was liquid, molecules
are illusion, time is a hologram,
and we are God.
The SpiderFly journey has included, on occasion, the use of entheogens (psilocybin) for spiritual enhancement and to facilitate enlightenment.
Although the experience and the perception of our unique connection does not rely on entheogenic influence in any way, we feel that the careful and judicious use of these substances has brought very positive and discernable perceptions, and broadened our awareness of realms beyond consensual reality.
Psychonaut is a modern term used to describe one who uses trance technologies and, more specifically mind-altering substances, more for their ability to act as entheogens than for their inebriating (or social) effect. In effect, they are used as a means to achieve states of mind in which different perceptions, unhindered by everyday mental filters and processes, can arise.
Psychonauts believe that when a mind-altering substance is used with this intent, its effects can be life altering and are not mere hallucinations.
An alternate description is that while some aspects of the experience may be hallucinatory, the realizations caused by those hallucinations and the mental, emotional and long term impact of the experience are real, usually positive, and enduring. The term is often associated with neoshamanic practices; however, many distinguish between the mental exploration of the psychonaut and healing-oriented shamanic practice.
An entheogen, in the strictest sense, is a psychoactive substance used in a religious or shamanic (or entheogenic) context. Entheogens generally come from plant sources which contain molecules closely related to endogenous neurochemicals. They occur in a wide variety of psychedelics of various religious rites and have been shown to directly provoke what users perceive as spiritual or mystical experiences (see Good Friday Experiment).
These chemicals, whose use predate written language, are the essence of the entheogens. Entheogens are molecules which induce alterations of consciousness identical in many ways to those documented for ritual ingestion of traditional shamanic inebriants. Entheogens have been safely utilized in a ritualized context for thousands of years. Examples are far reaching ancient sources predating the modern era: such as Greek: kykeon; African: Iboga; Vedic: Soma, Amrit.
This view concerning spiritual enhancement via psychedelics is not held only by we who dwell within the web … official documentation has recently been issued by Roland Griffiths, at Johns Hopkins University:
Rigorous study hailed as landmark
In the study, more than 60 percent of subjects described the effects of psilocybin in ways that met criteria for a “full mystical experience” as measured by established psychological scales. One third said the experience was the single most spiritually significant of their lifetimes; and more than two-thirds rated it among their five most meaningful and spiritually significant. Griffiths says subjects liken it to the importance of the birth of their first child or the death of a parent.
To read the full article from Johns Hopkins Media Relations and Public Affairs representative, Eric Vohr, please follow the link below:
A follow-up study, conducted 14 months after the original experiment, shows little or no decrease in the participant’s experience. The original papers can be read here:
Mystical-type experiences occccasioned by psilocybin mediate the attribution of personal meaning and spiritual significance 14 months later.
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