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Hi Cole
I can understand your experience with shrooms as two of the experiences I have had that allowed MBT in so easily were when I was on LSD about 35 years ago. Having said that; I spent the majority of this life addicted to either speed or opiates, or both, and alcohol in between. I started at 12 and kept at it for the next 25 years or so just pulling my head out March 21, 1997, my NA clean date. In NA years I am actually only 24 since we stop maturing when we start drugs, and I am clean 12 years almost. Anyway, drugs are bad, mmkay? I'm not going to say my life was wasted as I really had a lot of experiences that I wouldn't have had otherwise, and not all bad, which made me who I am today. You have a lot going for you Cole, and while I think mushrooms more of a soft drug, I don't think your going to need to it trip on command once you start trying to access the nonphysical without it. Be careful of the choices you make, please, is all I'm saying. Don't mess up that lovely Coleness you have, please.
Love
Bette
I can understand where you're coming from.. luckily my early life experiences were such that I was "forever" turned off to drug use of that kind. My dad is one of the deepest, most inspiring people that I know- in a spiritual sense, but he made decisions with
drugs that landed him in prison, where he sits today (will be out in a little over a year-been there 8 years roughly). In his case the drug, which he ran into trouble with, was meth... Anyway, I don't want to delve into that too much- but the point is that I've come to terms what
drugs can cause, and I have no interest WHATSOEVER in getting into recreational
drugs of any kind, or even "regular" use of 'safe' mind altering "substances" (like mushrooms).
However, when it comes to certain plant based drug experiences, such as magic mushrooms, or peyote, or whatever- I think the value can be immense. I think that experiences (you're example is proof of this suggestion...) of a 'drug-based' nature are often the gateway experiences to, (if not spirituality, at least) 'open-mindedness' on the part of heavily indoctrinated/(short attention span) Westerners. As you said, LSD acted as a catalyst for you.. just as Bob Monroe's techniques acted as a catalyst for Tom... Anything can be a useful tool if it isn't abused or depended upon exclusively.. I also understand that many, most even, who try mushrooms don't have experiences like mine and simply find them "fun" or "entertaining." I found them to be neither fun, nor entertaining- but very sobering. In fact- ironically- being on mushrooms for me, was like being the only sober person in a bar full of drunks.
I also understood, understand and Tom Campbell confirms- that unfortunately my "Coleness" is an illusion... This fact
can be depressing, but it's not- when you see the bigger picture, as you and I do, and understand that we wear these bodies, and our personalities, temporarily- like a glove, as it's been put. Consciousness itself persists- and any means for altering it positively for a specific purpose (exploring different states of existence for example) while still upholding our more worldly responsibilities- are in my mind, completely valid and acceptable. Again, in my case- mushrooms most definitely quenched a fire of ego which had been blinding me to a sense of superiority I had been harboring.... AAANNNYYYWAAAAYYY :)
Thanks a lot for the concern Bette. You are a very compassionate individual, and I feel lucky to have had this opportunity to exchange data with you. :)
Cole