The Light Itself

The Light Itself

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The day of

The Ritual

Even though the chosen practice will vary from session to session, our ritual will follow a similar structure, which allows us to develop a mental connection to each part. You are free to design it the way you like, so long as it works for you.

I can share with you an suggestion of structure. After the preliminary preparation, practice concentration meditation for one hour to set my mind to the task at hand. Perform a short Ritual of Consecration of the Space, then this is the time where you can prepare and ingest the substance. You can then meditate while waiting for the effect to kick in. From this point on, the substance dictate the structure. There isn’t much you can do about it. As soon as you feel you have enough control to perform the practice you’ve chosen, get to work. Once you feel the effect has waned too low, perform a short prayer to close the Ritual.

If you don’t practice meditation, you can replace it by a prayer or another practice that is part of your faith. I would highly recommend that you learn concentration meditation however. It is the best tool to bring you on the proper level. If you had some daily chores to attend to before starting your ritual, meditation will clean your mind of all distractions. Your attention will be reset so to speak. It has the power to make you one with the work.

Most faiths have their own version of what I call the Ritual of Consecration of the Space. It is a purification ritual intended to incline the mind to consider the room in which the ritual is taking place as sacred, holy, pure or protected. It is turning the Setting into a safe place to perform the spiritual practice. Shamanism has a Ritual of the 6 Directions, which is the one I use. I wrote it myself with symbols and intentions that I personally care about. I believe it’s a good idea to write your own prayer if your faith allows it. Ceremonial Magic has the Banishing Ritual. Christians have Dedication. If your faith has no such rite, a simple prayer will do. Just ask for protection from distractions and temptations.

Here is my personal ritual as an example:

The Ritual of Consecration of the Space – Ritual of the 6 Directions

[I hold a ceremonial fan in my right hand]

[Facing East]
O Spirit of the East, Great Eagle
Also as you see all from above,
Also I see where Destiny takes me.
Teach me Wisdom.

[Wave the fan]


[Facing South]
O Spirit of the South, Great Lion
Also as your heart is filled with temerity,
Also I face adversity without flinching.
Teach me Courage.

[Wave the fan]

[Facing West]
O Spirit of the West, Great Serpent
Also as you shed your skin,
Also I let go of my sinful past.
Teach me Self-Improvement.

[Wave the fan]

[Facing North]
O Spirit of the North, Great Bull
Also as you charge forward undeterred,
Also I take on the hardship of Life.
Teach me Determination.

[Wave the fan]

[Facing the Earth]
O Spirit of the Earth, Great Mother
Also as you give me life and feed me,
Also I foster all of your children.
Teach me Love.

[Wave the fan]

[Facing the Sky]
O Spirit of the Stars, Great Father
Also as you shine your Divine Light over me,
Also I seek to become the Light Itself.
Teach me the Truth.

[Wave the fan]

The closing prayer is similar expect it’s shorter and dedicated to offering thanks. I personally use a simplified version of the shamanic Ritual of the 6 Directions that I wrote. I replaced the pleas for protection with words of gratitude.

The uncharted lands of consciousness

Drawing a Map

The entheogenic experience will be different every session, but it will follow a common structure that you can map. With repeated attempts, you will go through some phases. Identifying them is going to prove useful to plan your practice. The map will be different for every practitioner and each substance will have its own rhythm as well. I can give you an example of what the experience can be like in the hope that it will give you some clues on what to look for.

 

Someone’s account of the Entheogenic Ritual

I wait for the effect to kick in. it usually takes between half an hour and an hour. I take this time to meditate so that when the effect starts appearing, I can feel it clearly and I’m already in the right mindset. At this point starts a clearly identifiable climb in intensity. If I’m often having visions, they get bigger and bigger (I have what’s commonly called hypophantasia, so sometimes I have no visions at all). 

At the peak, my ego usually dissolves. It feels like pouring out into the Universe as if the boundaries of what I am just broke, like a crumbling dam. For a few minutes, I live an intense trip that I usually struggle to remember later. However, I’m present during this phase. Even if I can’t tell with accuracy what happened, I can remember the overall sensation of exaltation. 

After a few minutes, I regain my mental faculties, but I don’t have total control yet. I can remember things from here on, but I still struggle to move my body. This tends to be every exciting part because it I free enough from my mental control to allow “out of this world explorations”, while still having enough mental capacity to remember. This exciting part lasts about an hour or two. It always ends the same way for some strange reason. I have one or more clear thoughts about the physical world outside of the experience I’m going through in that moment. I usually realize I’m hungry or I notice thoughts about the practice start creeping in. 

I take a short break to eat, drink, go to the bathroom and reflect upon what just transpired. I take some time to come out of the shock. The peak and the few hours that follow really are overwhelming, every single time. My thinking quickly turns into metaphysics. I ponder my place in the Universe, the nature of reality, God and more. This phase is marked by the outburst of energy. I feel like standing up and pacing in the room. I can feel the energy rising up like a flood. 

After a period of time that can last from a few minutes to a couple of hours, the storm of energy reaches its climax. This is where a key moment happens every single time. I see myself as the most beautiful thing in the Universe. I say “I see”, but it isn’t a visual sensation, I supposed I should say “I know”. It’s as if I was seeing myself as a baby. I see the parts of me that the people who love me see in me. Everything else becomes irrelevant. In this brief instant, everything revolves around me. Reality is made for me, as a gift, just because I deserve it. To someone who hasn’t experienced this, it might sound self-centered, but you have to remember that the self is gone at this point. What I see is how beautiful we are. My reality is all that is. Facing this tsunami of emotions, I uncontrollably simultaneously break in laughter and in tears, neither out of sadness nor out of joy. I am humbled and disarmed by the spectacle. All the energy flushes out through that funnel of humility until I’m left speechless. 

The energy gone, I can barely stand on my feet so I lie down a little bit and enjoy the aura. Once I recovered my wit, I start practicing. 

After a few hours, I will feel the effect has waned or maybe I’m simply bored with the practice. At this point I focus on one single exercise: emptying my mind. I like ending my sessions with this, because the substance is making my mind hard to tame, meaning keeping the mind empty is a challenge. I learn a lot by meditating on the natural state of silence of my mind at this point. It feels like lifting weights and every break through despite the low effect is a reward that keeps me trying again and again. It’s really exciting. 

At one point, one thought will dawn on me in the middle of my mystical reverie: “Is this over?” It indicates to me that it is indeed over. I express my gratitude and close the ritual.

So to summarize the phases of the experience:

Waiting phase (about 1h).
The climb (about 1h)
The peak (10-15min)
The strong phase (1h)
The philosophical/energy build up phase (30-60min)
I see myself as beautiful and release all the energy
Practice (4h)
Practice natural mind specifically when the effects becomes too mild for any other work. (1-2h)
Decision to end

Keeping the mind in check

The Attitude

While you are under the influence, it is going to be hard to keep your mind in check. It will work against you by trying to analyze, categorize and interpret what you are going through. Sometimes, out of nowhere, you will realize you’ve unconsciously been going on a train of thoughts or a meaningless visual trip for a while. It is important that you develop techniques to tame the mind into submission. You can’t allow yourself to study the experience as it happens. Force yourself to keep the analysis for later, after it’s over. For now, be content with letting go of any resistance and allow yourself to live it all, no matter what. Other than the meditation techniques explained on this site, a simple way to quiet the mind is to follow your emotions. The substance will speak to you and emotions are its language. Follow your feelings and see where they take you. A useful quality to develop is curiosity. It will always keep you wanting for more. Approach the ritual with the attitude of wonder. “What do you have in store for me?” After every explosion of the senses, ask yourself “what’s next?” Every new discovery will add onto the previous and it will escalate until it reaches a mystical climax of biblical proportions. Celebrate what you are given and be excited for more. In no time you will surf it like a wave.

Your personal piece of paradise

Development

With all the keys given to you, now comes the times to experiment with your own personal ritual. I must insist that you create your own ritual. It’s ok to use mine as you begin exploring entheogens, but I encourage you to work towards developing the framework, the choice of substance, the set, setting and prayers that suit you perfectly. Learn to analyze the effects the ritual has on you. Change one thing at a time and observe your reaction. Discard what doesn’t work and fine tune was helps you. Strive to trigger your imagination in a way that will elevate your soul. Remember it is a deeply personal endeavor you are undertaking. A ritual designed by you (even if it is a bit sloppy) will always be better than one written by somebody else (no matter how perfect it seems).

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