breaking open the head
i’m reading this book called “breaking open the head” by daniel pinchbeck. its about the “cultural history of psychedelic use” (as pinchbeck says). ive never taken a psychadelic drug but i’m fascinated with how they affect awareness and consciousness so this book is pretty interesting.
in the beginning pinchbeck is in africa going thru a bwiti initiation in which he consumes iboga. the bwiti use iboga because they believe it shows them a form of guidence from the spirit world.
iboga was an underground legand for its anti-addictive powers. you can read about howard lotsof, who discovered this in the 60s. he was an addict who took iboga for an extra high but instead was taken on a stern tour of his entire past. at the end of the “trip” he had lost interest in herion, and any desires for it.
pinchbeck writes:
if this were all true, then the mythic dimensions of the ibogaine story were fascinating: a plant from equatorial Africa (the archaic birthplace of humanity) that cured addiction (the modern scourage of african americans in the inner cities of the united states) by sending addicts on a long psychadelic trip (a voyage into an archaic spiritual dimension whose existence is dismissed by modern “rationality”).
he later describes that his “trip” began convicting him about certain things. he realized for the first time the negative impact alcohol was playing in his life and that he relied on it as a tool for socializing. he realized it was holding him back and he didnt need to do it anymore.
the reason this is fascinating to me is because i’ve heard this same situations described to me by christian friends in reference to God convicting them of a sin pattern and Him showing them the harm its causing and freeing them from being a binded to it. hell, i’ve experienced similar realizations myself since i’ve become christian. i find it interesting because they used this plant to get in touch with the spiritual world and if you are christian you believe god is king of the spiritual world.
afterward pinchbeck wondered:
who or what was communicating from the other side … how could eating a bitter bark take me on such a profound and carefully structured journey though my past and into my future?
he wondered if the plant had a soul or some intelligents. i on the other hand, cant help but think about god. i’m not saying i think you should take psychadelic drugs so you can communicate with god. ive just heard these trips describes as spiritual encounters before, and i know what is spiritual to me. and if god created the earth and everything on it are these plants a gift to help awaken your spirit or a poision?
i often think of god as living in another realm, or another dimension, that we cant quite grasp. dreams are on another dimension. pinchbeck describes the mind as a radio with the ability to tune into different channels. quantum physics tells us that we, as humans, arent capable of understanding how the world works on the atomic level. atheists or scientists may run in another direction with this but to me it lines up perfectly with my understanding (or lack thereof) of God.
luckily as a christian the gameplan is to rely on faith and not what you percieve to be fact.
this book is opening my head to a lot of thought. i’ll share more as it comes..
