Drugs & Kundalini

“Our meditations are nothing but drugs — perfect drugs, without any chemicals in them. A man who can meditate will not be able to enjoy the drug, any drug. Because, his meditation gives him so much peace and the drug will disturb it.”
~Osho
People explore drugs for the same reasons they explore Kundalini and other spiritual pursuits. And I use Kundalini as a stand in for all types of awakening experiences. So why do we take drugs? Why do we search for the spiritual path? Why do we believe drugs can be a shortcut to enlightenment? 

Simply put, to reach for something out of reach. Call it higher consciousness. Self-realization. Whatever. Some impulse keeps driving us to know more about what lies beyond the boundaries of our perceivable material world. Intuitively, we know we cannot accomplish this without stopping the mind. And that’s why we turn to drugs — because they stop the mind. They put the day on hold. Our frustrations, our disappointments, our shames, our guilts, our regrets stopped by a puff of smoke, by swallowing a tablet, by sniffing a line.


Turmeric & Death from JJ Semple on Vimeo.

Drugs provide us with a blank canvas. But what about our urges? They let our curiosity run wild. Most of the time we don’t know where our curiosity will lead us; we just go forward, confident there is something out there and we will find it. So what’s the difference between drugs and Kundalini? Do they somehow lead to the same place?

“Many people start their journey towards God, truth, samadhi, because they have had a certain glimpse somewhere. Maybe through drugs, maybe through sexual orgasm, maybe through music, or sometimes accidentally. Sometimes a person falls from a train, is hit on the head and he has a glimpse. I'm not saying make a method of that! But I know this has happened. A certain centre in the head is hit by accident and the person has a glimpse, an explosion of light. Never again will he be the same; now he will start searching for it. This is possible. The probable is no longer probable, it has become possible. Now he has some inkling, some contact. He cannot rest now.”
~Osho

That’s a big picture description of my explorations. In the 60s and 70s when I was young, I experimented. I didn’t know Spiritual from Wonder Bread. I sat in church, listening to the minister drone on, eager for the sermons and the strictures and the admonishments to end. Yet, I dug the Bible on an allegorical level. I could identify with Jesus and the challenges in his life. But there was nothing to shake me or open me up. And I needed something — a means of turning my mind off, a platform for my curiosity, a way to harness my energies:
“We spend a lot of time learning the poses and practicing them. It gets so it doesn’t feel right unless we start the day with Yoga. At no time, however, do Margo and I discuss its spiritual aspects. The pure physicality preoccupies us. Years before the appearance of the Yoga mat, Margo sews together some padded quilting to cushion our bodies against the hardwood floors. We lie on our ‘mats,’ watching and learning from each other, until our movements are synchronized. Sometimes, Yoga practice leads to sex. It seems like a natural extension. Frequently, I am stoned during practice. To me, there is no separation. If I think about the spiritual aspect of my life, it is from the Timothy Leary point of view. According to him, the sacred mushrooms, Yoga, mescaline, pot, Buddhism and LSD share a spiritual connection. I accept the notion that certain drugs stimulate clarity; it happened to me. Once with the cat, once in the GWU Hospital, once on acid in the mountains of West Virginia, lying under a tree with Margo, Roper and friends. Looking up at leaves swaying in the breeze, the flora and fauna come alive. I find myself observing the cellular structure of nature. Or so it seems. I don’t realize until much later that I am not even scratching the surface. At the time, however, it’s all very meaningful. In my wayward fashion, I’m looking for empirical knowledge. And to be honest, drugs are an instrument…”
Deciphering the Golden Flower One Secret at a Time — JJ Semple
Drugs were the instrument; they opened me up. I was able to say to myself, there is something out there (or inside me). And I proceeded to explore. Not having an addictive personality, I accepted the insights my drug experiences and moved on. Not as in, “Wow, drugs are bad for me. Better find something else.” I didn’t approach it that way. I didn’t condemn drugs and step away from them. I got to a point in my practice where they became superfluous. It came about organically, in the natural order of things.

As I got deeper into Yoga and meditation, before long drugs faded away of their own accord. Here were activities, unlike religion, that actually gave something back, something I could feel in my body. It was a beginning, yet I knew this practice could take me farther than any religion. That's when I found out that "the something out there" was actually inside me and I could actuate it through meditation.

I had given up on orthodox religion; I had exhausted it. Why? I didn’t feel comfortable with the one-way, take-it-on-faith approach. I wanted to play an active role in my spiritual development. If there was something out there, I knew I could find it on my own. Orthodox religion doesn’t allow that. They want you to take everything on faith. They are the go-betweens. You on one side; God on the other. The Church in the middle.

That wasn’t me. And by the look of things nowadays it doesn’t suit a majority of people. People want to take responsibility for their own development — up to a point. Remember Jonestown. Keep it in the back of your mind. Every time someone offers you the Keys to the Kingdom think about Jonestown. And remember how you got into this work. Remember that it’s up to you — not some surrogate — to see it through.

All the time knowing there’s something out there, be skeptical, be suspicious. You will get to the point where drugs don’t matter. And that’s important because addiction is always a danger when you play with drugs. In spite of all the claims and counter claims about gateway drugs, if there’s such a thing as, or not, I know from personal experience that one tends to sample. What follows next is purely a function of psychological makeup. If you have an addictive personality, if shutting off the mind at all costs is of paramount importance, you go deeper into sampling. You get hooked. 

You don’t need drugs, in fact, once you get into meditation, you unleash the true energies in the body, and they are more powerful than any drug, including prescription medicines. All drugs, whether prescribed or surreptitiously consumed, are addictive. They are a crutch to fall back on, and, in the act of falling back, these chemical elements act on the natural processes of the brain, inhibiting the production of endorphins and other useful, beneficial neurotransmitters and hormones.
“The really religious person is one who has become aware of the futility of desiring, of the impossibility of having anything here in this world or thereafter in the other world. You can only possess yourself. You can only be the master of your own being. If you are not trying for that... It is hard work, there is no shortcut to it; notwithstanding what Timothy Leary says, there is no shortcut to it. Acid, drugs, are not going to help you there. That is very cheap, it is very cunning. It is a chemical deception. You want to get into the world of your innermost being without any effort. It is a dishonesty. Without earning it you want to possess it.”
~Osho
I know there are people that meditate and still use drugs. I can’t imagine what this does because I can’t imagine it for myself. I also realize there are those who don’t accept meditation is more powerful. They don’t accept it because they haven’t experienced it. Meditation eliminated my interest in and use of drugs.

https://amzn.to/34pOtjg

11 comments:

  1. wonderful piece of information, I had come to know about your blog from my friend Nandu , Hyderabad, I have read at least 7 posts of yours by now, and let me tell you, your website gives the best and the most interesting information. This is just the kind of information that I had been looking for, I'm already your RSS reader now and I would regularly watch out for the new posts, once again hats off to you! Thanks a ton once again, Regards, obiee training in hyderabad



    ReplyDelete
  2. Mekah,

    Thanks for you interest; we appreciate it. Any suggestions on topics to cover, let us know... Also Like Us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheKundaliniConsortium?skip_nax_wizard=true

    ReplyDelete
  3. I just stumble your website. 4 mo living with kundalini and I know very little. . Newbie newbie.

    The shift has happen very fast. I not in suffer of my ego anymore. Where I am at.

    I on occasion I have to prescription drugs for sleep like If I go out of town or to at important appointed a long drive. . I must have enough sleep to drive safe and not be a danger.

    After my awakening medication make me very sick the next day, and tweaks after medication out of my system and then super tired. I need to recover From taking the medication at least a 1-2 days.

    Feel like poison this only started happening 30 days, it didn’t affect the first 3 mo awaking.

    Any advice. What kundalini hates so much. It a danger to me time medication I just get sick and sick of take it here and there.

    ReplyDelete
  4. There's a lot of information in my books and on my websites. However, as you will discover, you can only get a limited amount from reading or speaking with others. The real work on learning to live with kundalini must be done by you. Don't worry or panic, there's plenty of time; it will be with you for the rest of your life. Learn to listen to your body; it will tell what substances to avoid and which ones to ingest.

    As to your questions, they are not clearly expressed, so I am unable to reply. I think you'll find out that, when soliciting advice, it behooves you to express yourself clearly. Reread what you've written: is it clear to you? It isn't to me. I suggest reading The Biology of Consciousness: https://amzn.to/2QF53I7. It has some suggestions that apply to all kundalini events, some case studies, and some information that readers use to extrapolate and apply to their specific situations.

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  5. I see that it is not clear. I have to refrain from writing on my 4 inch screen. I was surely convinced it was coherent. I am living with active kundalini 4 mo now. I didn't know entirely what going or that I even still had it. I Feel so blessed I got a response. I thought you might be too big and famous.



    The awakening was stared to heal me of things that were beyond medicine. The things it healed me from were killing me. Now, I am overwhelmed!!! I am also highly em path now and it has been a struggle to this new heighten sensitivity and now more health issues. This path is lonely as you can't relate to anyone.


    How can I connect with others like me? I was awakened by a living master. I had to cut off contact due to the abuse, he was no good to me even when I had access.


    do you do consultations?

    The monk told me that shaktipat in his voice, touch, eyes and semen. It seems to be active even without any shakipat transmissions. Do us non guru active kundalini people transmit something too?



    Do all active kundalini people transmit it? IS shaktipat only reserve for guru's

    I wanted to make a comment on your shaktipat thread. It your blog. I don't wanna over step.


    thank you kindly,
    J

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In this work, no one should "be too big and famous." If they pretend to be, you should steer clear.

      !) Why be concerned with shaktipat? If your kundalini is already active, how is it possible to make it more active? Concentrate on yourself and you will learn to adjust to living with an active kundalini.

      2) "The awakening was stared to heal me of things that were beyond medicine." This is normal. There's a lot to assimilate. Yes, it can be scary, but as long as it's not painful, you will live through the physical and psychological adjustments that kundalini makes. Don't fight it; kundlaini energy is intelligent. It knows what to do.

      3) Every experience is different. Don't expect advice that others offer you to apply to your condition. The sooner you accept that you are on your own for the most part, the better off you will be.

      My books "Deciphering the Golden Flower One Secret at a Time" and "The Biology of Consciousness" https://amzn.to/2KTYWfe explain in detail how I managed the awakening phase you are now going through.

      If you'd like to comment on the Shaktipat page, please do...

      Delete
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  10. Excellent .. Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…I’m happy to find so many useful info here in the post, we need work out more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing. rehabs in Florida

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