It reminds me of some of the neomystical stuff I used to get into with Starhawk et al. I didn't know folks were taking ayahuasca nowadays! But the whole communing with the plant thing is straight out of Carlos Castaneda (moistenite, spurious, not genuine) with overtones of Avatar, and is basically a glorified Rorschach ink blot test. I'm not proud that I used to do this stuff, but I did. Now I practice indoamerican martial art. I made the change because I found out that in order to know yourself well enough to relate to the rest of the universe of beings the way that's good for me, I actually have to take risks. These "shaman" (read "sham") trips aren't just drug-free, they're risk-free, and I suspect that's why they don't work...though most who shell out the cash for it will say it DID work. Psychedelic drugs work much better, or fighting arts, or caving, or rock climbing, or having to fast & meditate for literally unhealthy amounts of time. All of these things challenge you. But in the age of "self-publishing" (essentially paying someone to tell you you've published a book), not many will understand the value of challenge.
It reminds me of some of the neomystical stuff I used to get into with Starhawk et al. I didn't know folks were taking ayahuasca nowadays! But the whole communing with the plant thing is straight out of Carlos Castaneda (moistenite, spurious, not genuine) with overtones of Avatar, and is basically a glorified Rorschach ink blot test. I'm not proud that I used to do this stuff, but I did. Now I practice indoamerican martial art. I made the change because I found out that in order to know yourself well enough to relate to the rest of the universe of beings the way that's good for me, I actually have to take risks. These "shaman" (read "sham") trips aren't just drug-free, they're risk-free, and I suspect that's why they don't work...though most who shell out the cash for it will say it DID work. Psychedelic drugs work much better, or fighting arts, or caving, or rock climbing, or having to fast & meditate for literally unhealthy amounts of time. All of these things challenge you. But in the age of "self-publishing" (essentially paying someone to tell you you've published a book), not many will understand the value of challenge.
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