Is it possible to get a “contact high” from a documentary? Do you remember that term? If you do, then you probably know what I am talking about. I think I got one this week, and
Hippy days: Mom and Stephanie
I was reminded, or should I say transported, back to my past experiences with these so-called “spirit’ molecules.
The documentary DMT: THE SPIRIT MOLECULE documentary http://thespiritmolecule.com/ weaves an account of Dr. Rick Strassman’s groundbreaking DMT research through a multifaceted approach to this intriguing hallucinogen found in the human brain and hundreds of plants, including the sacred Amazonian brew, ayahuasca. N-dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, is an extremely short-acting and powerful psychedelic.
Utilizing interviews with a variety of experts to explain their thoughts and experiences with DMT, and ayahuasca, within their respective fields, and discussions with Strassman’s research volunteers, brings to life the awesome effects of this compound, and introduces us to far-reaching theories about its role in human consciousness.
The film transported me back to my few, but profoundly spiritual experiences, in the 1980’s with the compounds used in LSD and Ecstasy. During one long-lasting and strong trip I recall thinking, “ah-ha, so THIS is what the yogis were experiencing and trying to convey to us!”
I remembered some of my deeper experiences during long periods of practice in yoga, meditation, and observing silence.
Reality altering experiences also happened when I was in grammar school and in my teens, during sustained periods of high fever as well. I often had acute strep infections when growing up in the suburb Kendall Park, NJ.
Somehow all these experiences tie themselves together by a fact: they elicited chemical changes within my brain. I can’t explain why, but this documentary did a great job graphically illustrating and articulating the reasons for my chemical induced mystical experiences from a scientific view-point. It made more sense to me.
We naturally have these compounds occurring in our brains. The compounds are made by plants too.
Sometimes through long periods of intense focus, or sudden happenings of grace, or during illness, or with the help of chemicals, we go beyond our puny identities, and expand into the oneness and unity of all things. Yoga =Unity, but it is not a concept when you EXPERIENCE the unity. It becomes a concept when we go back and attempt to intellectually explain the experience to others.
Words can only POINT to the experience. Now, it even feels futile to write this blog at all.
Those of you who know, know, and there is no need to write anything else. Ommmmmmmm…
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Amidst the family hardships of late (mom is still in the hospital), a good thing happened today: My newest book, Yoga at Your Wall, by Stephanie Pappas (Codependent Yogi) is in stock and available at Barnes and Noble in Bridgewater, NJ at the Somerville circle! Support your local struggling yogini and pick up a copy! 🙂 Barnes and Noble Somerset Shopping Center 319 Route 202/206 Bridgewater, NJ 08807 908-526-7425
Find Your Body, Lose Your Mind 