Thoughts On Religion, Consciousness, Psychedelics, and MORE from Canada

Hey Everyone,

I've been a long time lurker on ATS with the occasional comment here and there. I'm a writer at heart and have been typing a lot lately (I write screenplays). I don't always have story ideas but I do have this insatiable urge to write these days. Once I reach the 20 post mark I would like to start sharing some of my stories and thoughts here on ATS.

I will be writing about:
My experiences growing up within a small, devote Seventh-day Adventist church located in a remote logging/mining/fishing town on Vancouver Island in Western Canada.

My struggle with organized religion; leading to my eventual leaving of the Church.

My life after Church which eventually leads me to cross paths with an Ayahuasca shaman in Peru.

My life and world views after my time in the jungle.

------

As therapeutic as it may be for me to write these stories, I'm also hoping they'll at least spark a few people's interest

Cheers

reply to post by blaqueice


Hello and welcome!

Looking forward to reading your thread about your experiences with an Ayahuasca shaman in Peru.
I'll be looking out for it (providing it's within T&C's )

reply to post by blaqueice


Hey Blaqueice, welcome aboard!

I'm really looking forward to reading your stories, especially about your time spent in Peru and your meeting with the shaman.
I always enjoy stories of other people's travels and adventures!

Peace

reply to post by blaqueice


Welcome to ATS. Look forward to meeting you in the forums......here's your Welcome Pastries....enjoy...



Des

Hi , and welcome to the Introductions Forum of the ATS community. For now you can reply to any thread in any member forum you wish, as well as send & receive (PM's) Private Messages to Staff only. Once you have achieved 20 posts, you will then be able to start your own threads and additionally send & receive messages to and from fellow ATS members.

General ATS Discussion Etiquette.

Index of Important ATS Related Threads

New Rules for Avatars and Mini-ProfileBackgrounds

Hey new members!! Come here if you need advice

Starting a New Thread ?... Look Here First

ATS Video Tutorials

Signature Guidelines

Terms & Conditions

Take some time to look around and orient yourself

I do want to add however, that the discussion of mind altering substances, such as psychedelics, is strictly prohibited by the Terms & Conditions.

i) Narcotics and illicit mind-altering substances: Due to abuse of the subject matter by some (promoting various aspects of personal use, and discussing actual personal use), no new topics on this subject are allowed in any form.

~Tenth
ATS Moderator

Interesting...

So what are the major changes after your Peruvian experience?

It is most likely the change from one world to another one (and so on) what we would mostly be interested in, not a single set of ideas.

I have no idea about seventh day adventism (is it a Christian sect?) but I am familiar with some amount of psychedelic research. Not traditional ayahuasca though, and the shamans I interacted with were all non-drug type.

reply to post by Destinyone


and where are these pastries located!? In the best Homer voice possible, "Mmmmmmm, pastries"
Lol those look mighty tasty!

reply to post by blaqueice


Hello and welcome!

I would be interested in reading any further threads from you. Your life journey sounds to be interesting.

reply to post by blaqueice


Hi, Im intrested to hear more about your experiences, ive never met any shamans but next year I plan on traveling everywhere and visiting a shaman is on my top things to do list.

Thanks for the warm welcome and delicious desserts.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
I do want to add however, that the discussion of mind altering substances, such as psychedelics, is strictly prohibited by the Terms & Conditions.

I know Ayahuasca would be considered a grey area here but if I was to discuss my experiences in the jungle (which include Ayahuasca ceremonies) would that be violating the T&C as I would be discussing the plant and not the psychoactive ingredient, Dimethyltryptamine?

Ayahuasca is a legal and respected plant in Peru and I took it as part of traditional ceremony, not for recreation.

It is even legal in the United States when consumed in this manner.

Ayahuasca Legal Status - Wikipedia

A court case allowing the União do Vegetal to import and use the tea for religious purposes in the United States was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on November 1, 2005; the decision, released February 21, 2006, allows the UDV to use the tea in its ceremonies pursuant to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

In a similar case an Ashland, Oregon based Santo Daime church sued for their right to import and consume Ayahuasca tea. In March 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Panner ruled in favor of the Santo Daime, acknowledging its protection from prosecution under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Religious use in Brazil was legalized after two official inquiries into the tea in the mid-1980s, which concluded that Ayahuasca is not a recreational drug and has valid spiritual uses

If it's something that I ultimately need to censor out of my posts than I don't mind playing by the rules... but nothing illegal would be being discussed or promoted and there could even be some healthy debate/discussion that results from it.

reply to post by blaqueice


Discussing your experiences is fine, but we don't want you discussing taking drugs or the effects those drugs had on you.

It may not have been for recreational use, but it will still fall under that banner. If you'd like to make sure, just send me a copy of your OP before you post it and I'll vet it with staff.

We always want to encourage the discussion of what our members have experienced, but as you said, it's a bit of a gray area. '___' is the most illegal drug on the planet in most cases and we look at US law as the base of reference when determining what is illicit and what is not.

~Tenth

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Copy that. Isn't it weird that '___' is the most illegal chemical on the planet when it can be found in almost every living thing?

Originally posted by blaqueice
reply to post by tothetenthpower

 

Copy that. Isn't it weird that '___' is the most illegal chemical on the planet when it can be found in almost every living thing?

yes, some would say they smell worldwide conspiracy regarding it. I hope you can tell us your story, but at the end of the day, rules is rules, and it keeps our website respectable. Ooo vicar....

reply to post by blaqueice


Welcome to ATS!

Seems like you have been digging quite a bit into the mysteries of human life.

As for me, I did the same and finally ended up practicing Falun Dafa Qi Gong which has no membership and fees and has a simple and basic foundation, which is to practice Truthfulness-Compassion-Tolerance in daily life. Then it has the additional feature of very powerful exercises that makes you achieve great energy and health in a very short time span - under the condition that you really improve your heart and mind in daily life..

Some link for you: Falun Dafa Qi Gong

Exercises(give it a try - this is powerful): Exercises


I wish you all the best in the future!

reply to post by blaqueice


Welcome! Glad you joined.

How do you do new friend?



peace and love
~nat the curious cat~

reply to post by Gaussq


The digging never stops.

Thanks for the links. I have never heard of this practice before. It certainly sounds interesting. I will continue to read more about it.

Cheers

I would be interested in reading on your changes in world view etc.
Why don't you talk about that instead of confronting these guys about their policy?
We would all tacitly recognize that there was a source of your experiences in Peruvian tradition... no one wants to attack Peru here. Plus it is already stated in your OP.

Yes, I would be interested in reading about your changes of vision, sounds, world view, plus your conclusions drawn after your experience with this native ceremony.

How do you view Christianity? The white man's role in the world? The spirit of the forests which is supposed to whisper mysterious secrets of life and rebirth to devotees of this native cult?

Music structuring consciousness? (The Icaros you probably heard?)

WELCOME

Ooo OOooo!
Very nice to meet you, welcome aboard.
I'm very excited to read your posts and hear about your life's journey.

(not to pimp my thread, but the bottom link in my signature is toward it: I'm hoping people will feel secure enough to post their journeys in spirituality, whatever they happen to be. We want to get to know you!)

Have a great time, and ... buckle up!

reply to post by blaqueice


Hi blaqueice

Inspirational introduction!

I shall strive to seek out, some seriously self generated spooky, storylines that are just as stimulating as that introduction was,... to share in kind with you, once I have also achieved my 20 posts minimum quota requirements!

In the meantime, please stay healthy and dry!

From Soggy!