Altered states of consciousness. The divine within. We've all heard these words at some time of our lives but not many of us took their time to research what psychedelics really are and only few reading this will have their personal experience with an entheogen.

• An entheogen - (/en·the·o·gen/), from Greek, literally meaning "generating God within",[2] is any psychoactive substance that induces a spiritual experience and is aimed at spiritual development.
• Entheogens are derived primarily from plant sources and have been used in a variety of traditional religious practices for thousands of years. With the advent of organic chemistry, there now exist many synthetic substances with similar properties.

Nomenclature has been a problem.... The word "psychedelic" is etymologically innocuous, literally meaning "mind-manifesting,' but it is dated, tagged to the "psychedelic sixties" when recreational use of the drugs took over, and thus clearly inappropriate when speaking of shamans, Eleusis, and the Native American Church. We need a word that designates virtually nonaddictive mind-altering substances that are approached seriously and reverently, and the word "entheogens" does just that.
– Huston Smith, Cleansing the Doors of Perception
(New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 2000)

So there are many substances the earth is providing us with but do you ever think why the number one entheogen of our society is alcohol and tobacco made in factories and it is legal almost in every country across the world? Advertised on every corner and showed as a normal thing in movies and tv shows.

Programming is what I call it. Those who own the media, own the industry. As cannabis can be grown almost everywhere by anyone, the alcohol industry would go down. But that's only how I feel. I'd rather hang out with someone high than drunk.

As for the comparison

There are only 14 countries in the world where drinking alcohol is illegal and it is mostly muslim countries.

---

14 Countries Where Drinking Alcohol Is Illegal
5 Countries with strict smoking bans

---

But the map below shows Legality of cannabis by country. Only the countries in blue color have this lovely plant legal. I don't think that you have to be very bright to see that there is some sort of agenda. Feeding society with lies about this divine plant. Saying its a gateway drug.

---

Speaking about gateways. An enlightening read.
Cannabis – The Gateway Drug to Higher Consciousness and Happiness

Psychonaut

If you didn't know what a psychonaut is, by this time I think you might already have an idea.

Lets look at the definition.

Psychonautics (from the Greek ψυχή psychē ["soul", "spirit" or "mind"] and ναύτης naútēs ["sailor" or "navigator"] – "a sailor of the soul"[1])

A Psychonaut is a person who explores activities by which altered states of consciousness are induced and utilized for spiritual purposes or the exploration of the human condition, including shamanism, lamas of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, sensory deprivation, and both archaic and modern users of entheogenic substances, in order to gain deeper insights into the mind and spirituality.

As astronauts explore the depth of space and aquanauts explore the depths of the ocean, a psychonaut explore the depths of mind.

---

Are you a psychonaut?

For me, psychedelics are the natural remedy. I'm a regular cannabis smoker (as much as regular can mean if you're living in a country where its prohibited) and I have taken shrooms for three times. I have had both - good and bad trips. While the good ones inspired me to be creative, the bad ones showed me what areas of life I need to improve.

I've never used alcohol regularly. I drink maybe once or twice a year just to remember the next day that it is a poison.

In the end - thanks for reading! Be welcome to comment and engage in a discussion! Namaste!

---

Resources:
New world encyclopedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia - 2
Wikipedia - 3
Council on spiritual practices
Reddit
Images:
Pixabay
Pixabay
Pixabay