by AbZu

A flowing stream of thoughts based on a seed idea: Mind Movies—specifically, how psilocybin affects the brain. Any reference to mushrooms in this essay is to psilocybin mushrooms.

Mind Movies, Comida de Coco, Kopf Kino, Film Mentali, etc. all describe the same scenario: the mental creation of an imagined “Reality”. Once created, it is often very difficult for the creator to distinguish between his/her creation and Reality. Reality is actually a very deep subject and way beyond the scope of this short essay.

My intention is to focus on certain effects of psilocybin mushrooms and the change in the perception of “reality” that is produced. Specifically, your “familiar reality”. Unknown to many people, reality is in your Mind. It is only real there. Not “out there”, beyond mind. The human body perceives The Field it is immersed in by filtering the energy field. You therefore only perceive an extremely narrow wavelength that is of a relatively low vibration. Solidity is an illusion. Any inspection with an electron microscope of any type of matter will immediately demonstrate that fact.

Understanding the significance of the possibility that we coexist in a Holofractal Universe, that is sentient and symbiotic, will aid in being conscious that everything is connected, nothing is really separate. Mind separates, Consciousness unites. The space between objects is an illusion. The mushroom experience dissolves that illusion. Due to a lack of knowledge and experience on the subject, mushrooms are believed to cause hallucinations. The perception of an expanded state of awareness, in which the formative fields of causation are visible and the spaces between objects are visible as high-frequency fields of energy, is not a hallucination. You simply are not accustomed to that level of awareness and, compared to your familiar reality, consider the experience a hallucination. Mind Movie.

“Bad Trips”

I have been participating for many years in different ceremonies, in different countries, involving psychedelics. For the past 20 years I have been guiding students of the ineffable in private psilocybin ceremonies, usually on a 1:1 basis. I have seen many mind movies unfold during these experiences.

One of my favorite stories is my participation in a very large ceremony with the Santo Daime group. Santo Daime is a Brazilian religious/spiritual tradition that uses ayahuasca—a psychoactive brew traditionally made from Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis—as a central sacrament.

There were nearly 100 participants with Padrinho Alfredo and his entire entourage. Padrinho Alfredo is one of the central leaders of the Santo Daime tradition. During the ceremony there was a man rolling around the floor screaming, “Saint Thomas, forgive me. Jesus, please save me.” Non-stop. He became violent and was eventually removed outside of the large room. One woman was sobbing and crying for hours. Another was in a complete state of ecstasy. 100 mind movies being projected at the same time. At the end of the ceremony there was a woman desperately trying to get a refund of the money she paid for the experience because she had a “bad trip”. Same shaman, same substance, same ceremony, 100 mind movies.

What the majority of people fail to understand during the psychoactive experience is that “bad trips” are totally their creation. They do not exist unless created. As a rule, they are very quick to blame everything and everyone, except themselves. Do not take responsibility for their creation. The primary reason is ego entrapment and confusion. The failure to trust in the process and surrender. You can fool yourself, but not the mushroom. It brings forth to your awareness what needs to be known. Simply acknowledge.

There is a lecture by Krishnamurti that I refer to often, which is “How does a person who is confused, see clearly.” He offers many recommendations on how clarity emerges, among them are:

• Stop trying to choose between conflicting thoughts.
  If the mind says “I should do this” and another part says “No, I should do that,” don’t immediately decide which voice is correct. Observe both.
• Don’t judge the confusion.
  Saying “I shouldn’t be confused” creates another conflict. See confusion as it is.
• Observe without an agenda.
  Watch thoughts, fears, desires and assumptions as they arise, without trying to change them.
• Let observation itself reveal what is true.

For Krishnamurti, seeing clearly is not something you manufacture. When you see something completely, without distortion from fear, desire or preconceived ideas, there can be an immediate understanding.

When a person goes through what is often called “the dark night of the soul”, they are being given the opportunity to resolve whatever issue provoked that feeling. It is in the moment that it arises that the opportunity to resolve the issue is given. Carpe Diem.

Wish to mention the experience of my most advanced student. A master yogi (Master-Y), who is able to maintain his focus on extremely high megadoses of mushrooms. I have different names for the dosage levels that reflect the experience. Terence McKenna considered anything above 5g to be a Heroic Dose. I have a tendency to be quite precise, so I describe 6g > Pre-Molecular / 7g > Molecular / 8g > Transcendence / 10g + Immersive.

The first time Master-Y tried 8g, he had some difficulty maintaining his center. The second time, he didn’t notice any effect unless he moved and said it felt like 1 or 2g. Then I tried 12g and basically the same result. Only noticed something when he moved. In complete meditative composure for over 4 hours. So the next level was with one of my most potent hybrid mushrooms = 25g non-hybrid. He definitely noticed the effects but kept his composure throughout the experience. Controlling the effects with his breath.

Probable effects of 25g of psilocybin mushrooms on a horse

Master-Y’s experience reminds me of Ram Dass’ description of an experience in India where he gave Neem Karoli Baba a large dose of LSD—reportedly about 900 micrograms (three 300 µg tablets).

• Neem Karoli Baba swallowed the tablets.
• At first, he appeared unaffected.
• Later, he remarked that the experience was “like taking Christ into the heart” or simply compared it to meditation, depending on which version of the story is being retold.
• He remained calm, lucid, and showed no obvious signs of intoxication.

For Ram Dass, this was a transformative event. He concluded that his guru’s state of consciousness was already so stable and expansive through spiritual practice that LSD had little or no effect on him. This experience was one of the reasons Ram Dass shifted away from relying on psychedelics and toward meditation and devotional practice.

Mushrooms are stepping stones. Tread lightly and consciously.

Remember, when you see yourself in a mirror, don’t confuse the driver with the car. We are all, without exception, Divine Beings having a Human experience. Take good care of your vehicle of expression.

N’Joy

Unconditional Love. The Solution. Simple.