7 ms·

Seeing God and Burning Plastic

65 points by SherryFraser 2y ago

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
aaron695 2y ago
[dead]
triyambakam 2y ago
I get the impression that the well furnished Ayahuasca tourist experience has not been the predominant one for very long. I have met a great number of people who stayed in very rustic conditions to endure their Ayahuasca experience.
- Loughla 2y ago
  We slept outside under the stars. It wasn't for tourists, it was part of an actual religious ceremony. I didn't speak the language so I didn't get a lot out of the actual ceremony. But I believe the experience on the drug would translate nicely if you were being pampered. You're going to confront every demon you've ever had, so being comfy might be nice.
- mojomark 2y ago
  I did it with my wife about 3 times, in the US. One in a very nice yoga retreat place and twice in a cozy home. It was OK. I thought the evolution and music were interesting and soothing, but honestly, the thing that turns me off is the overly sweet nature of participants. My humor is a bit dark and sarcastic and I just felt like I couldn't be myself or I'd ruin someone else's experience, which is not what I want(ed) to do. I'm pretty sure I'm done with ayahuasca. However, give me mushrooms once a year or so and that's enough of a mind opener for me... and no vomiting (yes, I know it's part of 'the work', but it's just gross to me)
  - johnisgood 2y ago
    Personally I do not believe vomiting to be part of the trip, it is a side-effect that could completely distract you. If you feel nauseated from mushrooms, you may try psilacetin instead. It is shrooms without the shroom matter, available (not sure if still is, used to be) in a small-ish tablet form.
throwup238 2y ago
I’ve never done the ayahuasca ritual but I extracted and freebased DMT using acid-base extraction and the whiskey bottle method back when Mimosa hostilis root bark was easy to buy online, which did “change my life” (I was in high school so life changing insights weren’t hard to come by), but I absolutely hate the woo-woo that has grown around the drug. DMT is by far the most intense known drug except maybe datura - especially when ingested like in the ayahuasca ritual - and could possibly lead to real insights into our psyche and social conditioning, but instead it’s a bunch of celebrities and influencers peddling drugs that promise people they people can talk to god. The most common trip report describes people talking to aliens or god, which is just so damn fascinating. I saw my life “flash before my eyes” on my trip, which is one of the possible explanations for near-death experiences (I’m highly skeptical of the original research though). There’s just so much to research here and none of it is going to get done in a Brazilian jungle. > At the end of the hike, she told me that the best way to deal with the problem of plastic accumulating at her center was to burn it in large, ceremonial heaps. The smell of the smoke, she said, clears her retreat of bad energy. In my mind this practically proves that these “shamans” have no actual insight* and are just exploiting the demand (good for them). By some accident of fate, the tribes living in South America discovered that combining a tea with MAO inhibiters and a tea containing psychedelic alkaloids could lead to a crazy experience. That’s it. They’ve got no more insight into the nature of the universe or god than the first person to discover nixtamalization and make a tortilla. > I’ve done Ayahuasca several times, each ceremony fundamentally life-changing. In one ceremony, the shaman helped heal years of abuse. One led to my divorce. The penultimate ceremony convinced me to make this film, instead of using my savings to buy a house. I don’t know anything about the author’s circumstances beyond these few sentences so I’m not one to judge especially given my own “life changing” experience, but this reads to me like a manic response brought on by intense psychedelics. It brings to mind Arctic Monkey’s guide to Burning Man decompression. The first rule is that you don’t make life changing decisions right after going to Burning Man. The high/glow fades, the consequences stay with you. All that said, looking forward to watching the documentary when it comes out. Thank you for reading my nonsensical rant. * I’m nonreligious and don’t believe in anything supernatural so I never thought they did, but burning plastic to clear negative energy is beyond stupid. When does burning plastic not produce noxious fumes that should immediately signal that something is wrong? Just dig a fracking hole and bury it.
zdw 2y ago
Relevant SMBC: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/transcendence-3 https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/transcendence-3
- hbosch 2y ago
  Relevant tweet: https://x.com/sulfidehex/status/1737269555074941003/photo/1 https://x.com/sulfidehex/status/1737269555074941003/photo/1
  - karmakurtisaani 2y ago
    Eh, a bit of a straw man there. SMBC did it better.
npinsker 2y ago
Aside from the content of the article (which is great), it’s written in a refreshing, no-frills style that gets to the point and doesn’t smell of “I’m a capital-W Writer, let me show you what I can do.” Wish more pieces were written like this.
- glimshe 2y ago
  Me too. A normal Capital W writer would waste 1000 words describing the aroma of the morning wind where they do the rituals.

65 points by SherryFraser 2y ago

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

aaron695 2y ago

[dead]

triyambakam 2y ago

I get the impression that the well furnished Ayahuasca tourist experience has not been the predominant one for very long. I have met a great number of people who stayed in very rustic conditions to endure their Ayahuasca experience.

Loughla 2y ago
We slept outside under the stars. It wasn't for tourists, it was part of an actual religious ceremony. I didn't speak the language so I didn't get a lot out of the actual ceremony. But I believe the experience on the drug would translate nicely if you were being pampered. You're going to confront every demon you've ever had, so being comfy might be nice.
mojomark 2y ago
I did it with my wife about 3 times, in the US. One in a very nice yoga retreat place and twice in a cozy home. It was OK. I thought the evolution and music were interesting and soothing, but honestly, the thing that turns me off is the overly sweet nature of participants. My humor is a bit dark and sarcastic and I just felt like I couldn't be myself or I'd ruin someone else's experience, which is not what I want(ed) to do. I'm pretty sure I'm done with ayahuasca. However, give me mushrooms once a year or so and that's enough of a mind opener for me... and no vomiting (yes, I know it's part of 'the work', but it's just gross to me)
- johnisgood 2y ago
  Personally I do not believe vomiting to be part of the trip, it is a side-effect that could completely distract you. If you feel nauseated from mushrooms, you may try psilacetin instead. It is shrooms without the shroom matter, available (not sure if still is, used to be) in a small-ish tablet form.

throwup238 2y ago

I’ve never done the ayahuasca ritual but I extracted and freebased DMT using acid-base extraction and the whiskey bottle method back when Mimosa hostilis root bark was easy to buy online, which did “change my life” (I was in high school so life changing insights weren’t hard to come by), but I absolutely hate the woo-woo that has grown around the drug. DMT is by far the most intense known drug except maybe datura - especially when ingested like in the ayahuasca ritual - and could possibly lead to real insights into our psyche and social conditioning, but instead it’s a bunch of celebrities and influencers peddling drugs that promise people they people can talk to god. The most common trip report describes people talking to aliens or god, which is just so damn fascinating. I saw my life “flash before my eyes” on my trip, which is one of the possible explanations for near-death experiences (I’m highly skeptical of the original research though). There’s just so much to research here and none of it is going to get done in a Brazilian jungle. > At the end of the hike, she told me that the best way to deal with the problem of plastic accumulating at her center was to burn it in large, ceremonial heaps. The smell of the smoke, she said, clears her retreat of bad energy. In my mind this practically proves that these “shamans” have no actual insight* and are just exploiting the demand (good for them). By some accident of fate, the tribes living in South America discovered that combining a tea with MAO inhibiters and a tea containing psychedelic alkaloids could lead to a crazy experience. That’s it. They’ve got no more insight into the nature of the universe or god than the first person to discover nixtamalization and make a tortilla. > I’ve done Ayahuasca several times, each ceremony fundamentally life-changing. In one ceremony, the shaman helped heal years of abuse. One led to my divorce. The penultimate ceremony convinced me to make this film, instead of using my savings to buy a house. I don’t know anything about the author’s circumstances beyond these few sentences so I’m not one to judge especially given my own “life changing” experience, but this reads to me like a manic response brought on by intense psychedelics. It brings to mind Arctic Monkey’s guide to Burning Man decompression. The first rule is that you don’t make life changing decisions right after going to Burning Man. The high/glow fades, the consequences stay with you. All that said, looking forward to watching the documentary when it comes out. Thank you for reading my nonsensical rant. * I’m nonreligious and don’t believe in anything supernatural so I never thought they did, but burning plastic to clear negative energy is beyond stupid. When does burning plastic not produce noxious fumes that should immediately signal that something is wrong? Just dig a fracking hole and bury it.

zdw 2y ago

Relevant SMBC: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/transcendence-3 https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/transcendence-3

hbosch 2y ago
Relevant tweet: https://x.com/sulfidehex/status/1737269555074941003/photo/1 https://x.com/sulfidehex/status/1737269555074941003/photo/1
- karmakurtisaani 2y ago
  Eh, a bit of a straw man there. SMBC did it better.

npinsker 2y ago

Aside from the content of the article (which is great), it’s written in a refreshing, no-frills style that gets to the point and doesn’t smell of “I’m a capital-W Writer, let me show you what I can do.” Wish more pieces were written like this.

glimshe 2y ago
Me too. A normal Capital W writer would waste 1000 words describing the aroma of the morning wind where they do the rituals.