Stimulants have been my spiritual teacher -- not only hallucinogens have something to offer in that department.
In fact, IMHO, hallucinogens are merely an introduction. They give the hint that there's something more than the ordinary, day to day life.
Stimulants show you that there's something less. And IME, that's where the spiritual rubber meets the road.
Acceptance: Anxiety. Compulsion. Nasty comedowns. Regular stim use forces a sort of unconditional acceptance of whatever occurs.
Attention: Stim use creates focus, concentration, one-pointedness and staying up for long periods of time in the here and now. Not all of them, but some of them are downright zen-like in their effects.
Aloneness: Stim use tends to aloneness, spending long periods of time by yourself. And that can result in coming to terms with yourself and with aloneness. The classic 'living in a cave for a time' that has served some people very well in terms of spiritual awareness.
Loss: Stim use (particularly certain kinds, such as crack) creates a lot of loss of material things, which teaches you loss and the unimportance of the material.
Helplessness: You encounter many situations where you can't get outside help or are ostracized, resulting in greater independence. Another word for independence is "freedom". A lesson that usually must be forced by life situation, but a highly valuable one.
Death: Stimulant use can be risky. You're risking your health, maybe your life. You end up coming to terms with death, out of necessity.
Neglect: Heavy stim use often results in neglect of the body, which puts the focus on consciousness itself instead of the body. And I've sure you've heard "we are pure consciousness, not the physical body" before.
Compulsion: The compulsiveness of stims forces you to question the nature of free will and choice, resulting in a deeper understanding of what really moves us.
Pleasure: Stim use creates levels of euphoria that can result in a deeper understanding of the nature of pleasure and euphoria, and their corresponding opposites.
I tell you, there is a spiritual guru hiding inside crack, meth, MDPV and all the powerful stims. Spiritual awakening requires radical disillusionment, and stims have it on offer. Most people will not be interested in what they have to teach. It's too risky. Too dangerous. You may not survive it. And that is exactly what's required to learn the truth beyond the psyche (separate self).
Do I advise the use of stimulants as a spiritual practice? No. No one in their right mind would advise the regular use of powerful stimulants for any reason. But I wouldn't advise against it either. What I would actually advise is not listening to anyone else's advice. Follow your heart -- your life is yours alone.
In my own case, after 25 years of on/off use and following several years of increasing use and a heavy MDPV binge, something happened in January of 2008 that was life-changing. I began to notice a tremendous silence and peace, clarity of thought and sense of deep intimacy with life that had no cause whatsoever. This triggered a radical self-examination culminating in an understanding of the truth of self-and-other beyond the mind. I still post occasional insights on Facebook, if anyone's interested PM me for where you can read them. I don't often discuss these matters in conversation, however, as what I get are insights on my own life (that *may* apply to others). So I treat spiritual matters as things that occur to me and are true for me, and are fun to share as essays, and mostly keep discussion to ordinary stuff that everyone talks about.
Of course, this is an invitation to discuss "stims and spirituality" or I wouldn't have posted it in a discussion forum. Anyone agree, disagree, or have your own experiences with stims as life teacher?
In fact, IMHO, hallucinogens are merely an introduction. They give the hint that there's something more than the ordinary, day to day life.
Stimulants show you that there's something less. And IME, that's where the spiritual rubber meets the road.
Acceptance: Anxiety. Compulsion. Nasty comedowns. Regular stim use forces a sort of unconditional acceptance of whatever occurs.
Attention: Stim use creates focus, concentration, one-pointedness and staying up for long periods of time in the here and now. Not all of them, but some of them are downright zen-like in their effects.
Aloneness: Stim use tends to aloneness, spending long periods of time by yourself. And that can result in coming to terms with yourself and with aloneness. The classic 'living in a cave for a time' that has served some people very well in terms of spiritual awareness.
Loss: Stim use (particularly certain kinds, such as crack) creates a lot of loss of material things, which teaches you loss and the unimportance of the material.
Helplessness: You encounter many situations where you can't get outside help or are ostracized, resulting in greater independence. Another word for independence is "freedom". A lesson that usually must be forced by life situation, but a highly valuable one.
Death: Stimulant use can be risky. You're risking your health, maybe your life. You end up coming to terms with death, out of necessity.
Neglect: Heavy stim use often results in neglect of the body, which puts the focus on consciousness itself instead of the body. And I've sure you've heard "we are pure consciousness, not the physical body" before.
Compulsion: The compulsiveness of stims forces you to question the nature of free will and choice, resulting in a deeper understanding of what really moves us.
Pleasure: Stim use creates levels of euphoria that can result in a deeper understanding of the nature of pleasure and euphoria, and their corresponding opposites.
I tell you, there is a spiritual guru hiding inside crack, meth, MDPV and all the powerful stims. Spiritual awakening requires radical disillusionment, and stims have it on offer. Most people will not be interested in what they have to teach. It's too risky. Too dangerous. You may not survive it. And that is exactly what's required to learn the truth beyond the psyche (separate self).
Do I advise the use of stimulants as a spiritual practice? No. No one in their right mind would advise the regular use of powerful stimulants for any reason. But I wouldn't advise against it either. What I would actually advise is not listening to anyone else's advice. Follow your heart -- your life is yours alone.
In my own case, after 25 years of on/off use and following several years of increasing use and a heavy MDPV binge, something happened in January of 2008 that was life-changing. I began to notice a tremendous silence and peace, clarity of thought and sense of deep intimacy with life that had no cause whatsoever. This triggered a radical self-examination culminating in an understanding of the truth of self-and-other beyond the mind. I still post occasional insights on Facebook, if anyone's interested PM me for where you can read them. I don't often discuss these matters in conversation, however, as what I get are insights on my own life (that *may* apply to others). So I treat spiritual matters as things that occur to me and are true for me, and are fun to share as essays, and mostly keep discussion to ordinary stuff that everyone talks about.
Of course, this is an invitation to discuss "stims and spirituality" or I wouldn't have posted it in a discussion forum. Anyone agree, disagree, or have your own experiences with stims as life teacher?