It’s raining.  And not the rain we get at home.  It’s raining literal buckets andbuckets and buckets and all the roofs are made of tin.  It’s kinda like sitting inside a jet engine.  It’s awesome.  So one of our classes tonight was a remedial discussion on meditation and I just kept praying and praying for the guy to stop talking and let us meditate and then “bam” the rain came and it was so loud he had to stop talking and we just sat in meditation.  BUTTTTT apparently the rain makes the bugs come in and while putting away my bolster I finally got to see what has been described to me as a very small scorpion who’s sting is nothing more than a bee bite.  The friggin thing was 3 inches long.

It was another long day.  I’m still coughing a bit, but I do feel my energy levels rising.  I am also feeling the effects of my self imposed cleanse.

I know we are in review mode a bit, but I feel like the teachers are doing things because they have to and not really because they are passionate about it.  Which is weird because in a 300 you are allowed to teach whatever you want.  So we had a rudimentary Sanskrit lesson and enough anatomy guessing that I now guess I need to study that a lot more.  The human body has never interested me that much.  As a teacher of yoga I intend for you not to get hurt. I personally think you should go to a physical therapist if you are and not rely on someone like me on that level.  I’m looking forward to getting into the course material.

All day the topic of conversation was the ingesting of the “plant medicine” Mescaline  on Sunday.  I’m not doing it, but it appears I am the only one not doing it.  I asked my teacher, Sri Vish, if I should. He said “NO.”  He further explained that I was a “truth seeker” and they are seeking something else.  It does feel kinda bad to think you have to take a drug to feel oneness.  One of the guys who works here at the yoga forest described it as the best day of his life.  I thought, “why would I want the best day of my life to be a day I was completely drugged?”   So on Saturday we will all get in a van to go to some farm and have a ceremony and dinner.  I will come back to the forest alone and they will all stay in tents and then take it in the morning so that you can have a 12 – 14 hour trip.  This was not in the brochure and the energy around it feels like a bunch of 13 year olds going to Kings Island. I do hate to break from the group and this bonding experience and I’m a little jealous, but that has always been the case with me and drugs.  They’ve just never been my thing.

So Mesculine is a Hallucinogen just like LSD. Some side effects

  • Altered vision
  • Dilated pupils
  • Faster heart rate
  • Increased blood pressure
  • Higher body temperature
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Changes in motor reflexes
  • Shaking hands or feet
  • Sweating
  • Dizziness
  • Numbness
  • Contractions of intestines or uterus

I don’t like the idea of increased blood pressure for me…

Emotional

  • Lack of motivation
  • Panic
  • Terror
  • Hallucinations of death or frightening experiences
  • Uncontrolled moods
  • Psychosis
  • Altered perception of time
  • Floating sensation
  • Inability to differentiate reality from fantasy
  • Anxiety

Having mostly healed from Anxiety I don’t think I want to take a drug to possibly feel it again.  There is also a caution you might not like the reality you return to anymore and can’t deal day to day after having taken the drug.   And then if it works the way MDMA works you release your stored serotonin in one fell swoop and that would make your depressed for weeks to come.

So much peer pressure though.  It reminds me of the naked watzu tantric shamanic crystal water journey I went on where I was the only one to leave my bathing suit on.

*The sole purpose of these articles is to provide information about the tradition of ayurveda, yoga, and meditation. This information is not intended for use in the diagnosis, treatment, cure or prevention of any disease. If you have any serious acute or chronic health concern, please consult a trained health professional who can fully assess your needs and address them effectively. Check with your doctor before taking herbs or using essential oils when pregnant or nursing.