If we recognize the power of entheogenic substances to open us to the universal truth and full dimension of human experience, and if we accept the role of the shaman as hierophant and psychopomp into this realm, as enacted for example by the Huichol mara'akame, we have to conclude that today in Western society we are deprived of two key resources for complete human growth. Young people, in their hunger for meaning, will still gravitate toward entheogens. The more experienced among us may try to ease their journey, but in the absence of qualified guides not all will benefit from their experience.Rick Doblin
About This Quote
The use of entheogens (psychoactive substances) has been around for thousands of years. The ancient shaman used entheogens to enter into a world of altered states of consciousness. To them, entheogens were sacred substances that allowed them to commune with the divine. Upon realizing the benefits of entheogens, many people today continue to use them to experience altered states of consciousness.
If we recognize the power of entheogenic substances to open us to the universal truth and full dimension of human experience, and if we accept the role of the shaman as hierophant and psychopomp into this realm, as enacted for example by the Huichol mara'akame, we have to conclude that today in Western society we are deprived of two key resources for complete human growth. Young people, in their hunger for meaning, will still gravitate toward entheogens. The more experienced among us may try to ease their journey, but in the absence of qualified guides not all will benefit from their experience.
In this quote, Dylan quotes from Carlos Castenada’s book Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, which was originally published in 1968. In this book Castaneda describes his journey with a Yaqui shaman named Don Juan Matus in learning how to utilize psychoactive plants to enter a world where they would learn about themselves and others in a deeper way than they had before. He explains that because people today lack a point of reference to allow them to understand what they are missing when they don't use entheogens, many continue to turn away from these substances.
Source: Manifesting Minds: A Review Of Psychedelics In Science, Medicine, Sex, And Spirituality
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