{"id":738,"date":"2010-12-26T13:28:11","date_gmt":"2010-12-26T13:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/apagansblog\/2010\/12\/thinking-about-tripping-reindeer.html"},"modified":"2010-12-26T13:28:11","modified_gmt":"2010-12-26T13:28:11","slug":"thinking-about-tripping-reindeer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/apagansblog\/2010\/12\/thinking-about-tripping-reindeer.html","title":{"rendered":"Thinking about tripping reindeer"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

The apparent
\nfrequency of animals eating entheogens<\/a> is really fascinating to me.  <\/span>It strengthens my suspicion that what
\nour society calls “normal” consciousness is as deficient as a diet without
\ncertain crucial vitamins.  <\/span>Life
\ncontinues, but is crippled.  <\/span><\/p>\n

To a point our
\nneed-driven and distanced way of relating to the world and others is necessary
\nfor maintaining physical life, but by itself does not make that life
\nparticularly satisfying. And so many people, maybe all, seek ways of relieving
\nthemselves from that constant strain. 
\n<\/span>This is a major reason for the appeal of entheogens from the natural ones like  amanita muscaria<\/a>, psilocybin<\/a>, ayahuasca<\/a>, and peyote<\/a>, among others, to the more processed DMT<\/a> and LSD<\/a>, as well as alcohol, marijuana,
\ncocaine,l<\/a>the opiates, and all kinds of intense experiences
\nthat remove us from this need driven distanced consciousness.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I think meditation falls in this category as well.<\/p>\n

Some of these
\nexperiences expand our sense of self to be more inclusive, putting what we
\nnormally call our ego in a much bigger context that is far more satisfying. At
\nits outer limits we enter into experiences of the NonDual.  <\/span>Others lead to such a focus on the
\nimmediate moment that the constant background of worry and fear are overridden.
\nOthers deaden our awareness.  <\/span><\/p>\n

Some are
\nultimately helpful, some are ultimately physically or psychologically harmful,
\nand some are simply palliatives.  <\/span>The
\nentheogens such as psilocybin and amanita muscarie are perhaps the
\nquickest way most people are able to experience the larger context of value in
\nwhich they exist.  <\/span>Now it seems the
\nsame may be true with many animals. 
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Expanding the
\nego, our isolated sense of self, to include others is satisfying, and the more
\nthat ego can be expanded while maintaining physical well being the more
\nsatisfying it becomes.  <\/span>This is why
\nexperiencing love, giving it and receiving it, is so satisfying and important.
\nWe can love an individual, with a smaller or greater level of personal need
\nentering in to the relation.  <\/span>In a
\ndifferent way we can love a group whether small or large, or even the world,
\nand again with a greater or lesser level of need.<\/p>\n

I personally think
\nthat beauty and that kind of love which is the perception and experience of inner beauty, is the redemption of the pain of physicality.  <\/span>As a species we are not particularly
\ngood at this, but neither are we  complete failures.  And we can always improve.<\/span> <\/span>That is why those I
\nregard as genuine spiritual traditions place open-ended love, compassion,
\nforgiveness, and generosity at the core of their message.<\/p>\n

People operating
\nat a level of anger and fear are concerned to preserve their personal boundaries intact
\nand extend their power to make themselves feel safer.  Because an isolated self is intrinsically incomplete and knows it, these strategies never succeed. The person is ruled by fear and anger. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>Such people are deeply threatened by these alternate ways of
\nexperiencing life, and unable to muster the courage to open themselves up.  <\/span>Or if thy once did, their encounter
\nwith the fear covering the core of their being convinced them not to go there
\nagain, and to prevent others from doing so as well.<\/p>\n

That animals are
\nwise enough to know altering their awareness can be desirable at times is a sad
\ncommentary on these poor lost souls and the pain they cause themselves and the
\nrest of us.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The apparent frequency of animals eating entheogens is really fascinating to me.  It strengthens my suspicion that what our society calls “normal” consciousness is as deficient as a diet without certain crucial vitamins.  Life continues, but is crippled.  To a point our need-driven and distanced way of relating to the world and others is necessary…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[112,108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nature","category-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nThinking about tripping reindeer - A Pagan's Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/apagansblog\/2010\/12\/thinking-about-tripping-reindeer.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thinking about tripping reindeer - 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