Do you do drugs? How does it interact with your meditation?

[kundalini]

Ive meditated for fifty years. My back has major problems. Without opioids I cant sit. Even with opioids I find it easier to walk and chant and do visualizations. I am thankful for the time I put into meditation. Especially when I was young. The opioid have not ruined my practices. I have expanded the range of practices.

The Goddess is compassionate. She allows me what I need ro continue to develop. But I wish I never took opioids and benzos. They just make me cloudy and sleepy. Yet, I am thankful, as I can aproximate a normal,human being and give those close to me better quality of living. Without the drugs I would be shlunky and in,pain.

I dont recommend drugs if youre a true sadhu. Liberation is freedom from all restraints. I am hogtied. I am not pleased with myself. But I meditate daily. I have dreams which tell me that I am okay. Stay clean as long as you are able. Use prescriptions only if you will die without them.

Thaks for listening

 

[zipzapzop42]

I tend to do the Lbrp before taking something to minimize the risk of a bad time but I have not practiced under the influence except for evening prayers

 

[RènRasin]

I’ve used psilocybin before, and it was an incredible experience. It made me feel much more grounded and connected to nature. I especially like being outside when I’m on mushrooms, although I don’t do them often. I’ve only used mushrooms about three times over the past seven years, and my experiences have generally been on the lighter side. I’d definitely recommend approaching the experience thoughtfully if you have the right headspace for it, and always start small.

 

[hollowglasd]

im the same way with mushrooms. being in nature is so much a better trip then indoors. i also prefer them in winter. a forest of freshly fallen snow or deep in a snow storm is wonderful for shruums

 

[Reggy Ciggs]

Previous dabbler of harder substance here.

Ive done LSD, Psilocybin , mescaline, datura, unidentified deleriants some other natural psychoactives, meth, ecstasy, and actively smoke pot/bacco.

In my experience with substance, psilocybin and mescaline were the only substances which granted favorable lifelong effects ragarding focus and practice, however... The consequences of all substances mentioned far outweigh the temporary enhancement.

Addiction kills focus and devours willpower, obliterates self trust all the while, forces you maintain a routine of self destruction.

Moderation, discipline and conditions are important if consuming substance for practice, otherwise practice can be secondary to consumption and your focus will suffer

 

[DangWizards]

Drugs can show you some place you haven't been yet, this can give you something to aim for in life and in your practice.

They do not do the work for you, anything you gain a drug altered state is not yours to return to.

Furthermore, if you don't digest the experience correctly and over intellectualize it, they can be very misleading. Generally once you are doing a drug and thinking that it improves some aspect of your life or abilities you are well past the useful experience phase and into the addiction phase. The world is littered with the wasted potential of people who thought they could modify their experience in a positive way using chemicals. It is a very dangerous approach.

 

[frank1]

I used to smoke pot occasionally (once or twice a month) to boost my body awareness which would lead to full absorption into my breath.

I quit 6 years ago when I realized I was experiencing a form of delusion concentration and not true samadhi.

 

[DangWizards]

I used to smoke pot occasionally (once or twice a month) to boost my body awareness which would lead to full absorption into my breath.

I quit 6 years ago when I realized I was experiencing a form of delusion concentration and not true samadhi.

What was your experience of that like?

I think I may have had a similar experience. I had smoked some weed for the first time in a while and when I was meditating and came upon a massive contradiction in myself which led to a strong feeling of nothingness or helplessness. That transitioned into an unusual visual experience, similar to a low intensity psychedelic trip, which felt full of wordless meaning, as those often do.

For a while afterwards I felt very strongly about this experience, as if it were a door and I got to peek through.

The weed being involved removes some weight from the experience as far as its value as "spiritual evidence" goes. It also seems that having such an experience hasn't "grown" me at all. I awoke from that experience to find myself the same man as I ever was.

 

[luotenrati]

Some drugs work better for different stuff. I have been prescribed ADHD meds and found that they greatly improve my concentration meditation but somewhat detract from ritual work because it is harder to relax on them. For rituals, I have found a small amount of gabapentinoids like baclofen or pregabalin to be effective because they remove inhibition.

Dissociatives like ketamine might be quite good for divination or evocation I believe. The shaman's drug of choice is usually some type of deliriant, like the use of Datura by Indian medicine men or the weird witches ointments and stuff like mandrake roots. They certainly would affect meditation concentration though and are rather toxic.

I have found psychedelics to be amazing and profound for meditation. If you have the introspective skills, they greatly boost any working.

 

[frank1]

I had an adderall prescription for awhile and sat a 10 day silent on it. Great for getting up early and staying focused as well having some euphoric moments but absolutely zero stillness.

 

[nunaphael]

Ethnogens have been used responsibly for sacred purposes since the paleolithic era, probably before that even. I think people swearing them off and such is a modern thing, that has to do with modernized values and modernized thinking. It really comes down to, can you carry out the things that you intend, can you perform whatever actions you feel you need to, while under the influence? It's not just the drug, people blaming the drug as the cause of their discomfort or lack of productivity has more to do with the fact that we "live in a society" so to speak, and we unconsciously internalize values we don't even realize we do simply because we are afraid that if we do not, we will lose affinity with others or be outcasts.

I personally see no harm in using ethnogens all you want, even to the point of "addiction" if that "works" for you. If you can do "work", if you can still carry out your conscious intentions and see them manifest in the world, then whatever means you follow to do so, I cannot fault you because were I in your shoes, I may very well make the same decision. I simply do not know how you process information on a personal level, so it is not my place to tell you what you should or shouldn't do.

That massive disclaimer aside, I do use vaporized cannabis and it does assist in my meditations, but I don't use a lot of it at one time. A small amount is all that is necessary. A large amount is what I call "recreational" and is a totally different experience for another context, not the sacred. Party time is party time, but sacred work is serious business to me and so I don't indulge when it's time to get serious. I also have to stay away from a lot of other drugs because I have digestive problems and things like cigarettes or alcohol will send me to the hospital. I found my boundaries and a system that I can sustain that doesn't harm my body or bring harm to my environment or other people.

 

[Ignotus]

A substance can definitely serve as a tool for meditation or ritual. Alcohol is probably the most obvious example. It´s used to loosen ordinary consciousness and make it easier to enter trance. Or flying ointments used by witches in the old days. Often made from a mix of henbane, belladonna and some kind of fat and were used for astral travel. Some historical accounts even describe the ointment being applied to a broomstick, which the witch then would ride and rub between her legs (the blood supply allow the substances to be absorbed much faster). Thats one explanation for where the flying witch on a broom came from.
But in my opinion, substances definitely shouldn´t become part of your daily practice. Using them occasionally for a specific purpose or as a tool is one thing, but once you only practice with substances, or cant meditate without them, it becomes a real problem. Not to mention that an addiciton can also feed or create all kinds of other bullshit like psychogons.