BootsnAll Travel Community

The reason I started this thread is so that people can discuss there expierences with altered states of mind whether it be through meditation,dreams,or the use of mind altering plants.

If someone can start the thread off that'd be great otherwise ill share some experiences of my own later on.

Go ahead peacemaker...prime the pump with your tales!

Fo my own story...go to "ask old hippy" thread and a 4 part story starts 2 posts down... and then continues on page 3 of that thread.

thanks for the reply oldhippy!.on behalf of your own tale of the other realm i happened to already of read it and thought it was a fine example of what altered states of perception can bring about in us human beings to the point where we become truly one with the all powerful force of the universe,but of course every person has there own unique experiences with the altered states.

my most infuential and powerful experience being in an altered state began on a rather robust fall morning before i packed up and headed out to run some errands.what i recall before my experience began was that i was really not looking forward to getting up and facing the day which was really quite odd as i had attempted to meditate the night before.

after i got up and dressed i was still feeling quite groggy and tired but really didn't think about it much until i realized aside from me being tired and groggy it was storming outside aswell.

being that i still had some dagga lying around in my room which i was hoping to save for the weekend i figured i would just smoke it now and get some more for the weekend.i took the dagga and packed it into the bowl of my glasswork pipe then helded the pipe up to my mouth and sparked it with my lighter.

after i inhaled the second hit i could feel the effects coming on quite strong with the usual sensations of a feeling of floating,a change of mind world connection,and of course a fabricated mouth.the familier sensations took hold and did a good job of turning the once groggy and zombie like me into one happy camper!.after i took another couple hits i put away my pipe and headed downstairs to get something to drink and to get ready to head out.

as i began out the door i was still feeling the same way and having the same sensations i always do when i smoke some dagga but as i started walking down the sidewalk towards the bus stop things started to change.the familier started to fade deeper and deeper away from me and the effects i had been having seemed to magnify themselves at an incredible rate to the point where i was aware of what i was doing but it seemed asthough i was somehow witnessing my suroundings and experiencing things before they were supposed to happen,it seemed although i was living in a future or in a different timeframe than everyone else.

the next thing i recall thinking was that the meditation i did the night before somehow interacted with with my subconcious mind and released some sort of divine wisdom or knowledge within me when i smoked the dagga.

once i reached the bus stop i remember standing with the other people waiting for the bus and it seemed asthough they were performing some sort of ritual to try and elapse time or switch to the timeframe i was in.from my observation at the time it seemed as though they were standing in a circle chanting some sort of supernatural melody or spell but what they were actually most likely doing was repeating a verse from some sort of gothic type music.

once i boarded the bus i looked around and found a space to sit next to a girl which i had never really known or spoke to before atleast not at a meaningful level but sure enough to make things all the stranger she started to talk to me about the topic of religion!.i can't really recall the whole conversation but i clearly remember her mentioning to me how she believed that all the religions all centered around the same book of worship and that they all had a different lesson to teach in detail from the worship book which all the religions were derived from.

after she spoke those words for some reason i had a strong notion that the reason for everything that previously happened and the reason for me switching time barriers was so that me and this girl would have that very conversation and that the conversation somehow drew me closer to god and gave me an everlasting bond with the almighty spirit.

once we got off the bus and headed for our classes i remember thinking that i had learned what i had subconciously gained from the previous meditation i had done the night before and that the truth was somehow released by way of that girl.shortly afterwards the effects started to subside and were fully warn off by the end of my first period class or possibly second i can't really recall.

well that was my most influential time being in an altered state of mind and in a way i think it has changed my life for the better.im not quite sure how it's effected my life entirely yet but for one thing it made me take altered states of mind and mind altering plants more seriously to the point where i now only use those specific plants to gain insight and not just to wake myself up!.also the odd thing about that whole experience was that the girl that i talked to about religion never really talks to me much anymore but i did come to find out her name is mandy and she has the same music taste as me which is just about anything!.

looking forward to hearing other peoples stories now that i broke the ice.

*peace be with you all*

Come on people i'd love to hear your stories as they all hold great meaning so don't be shy to post them.

ill throw one of mine in the mix

Me and three of my friends decided to take a journey, haha. i really prefer to be alone for these things, so while they were inside, i stayed outside. the normal effects were there for about an two hours, while i just looked out over the yard as the sun set. It was incredibly beautiful (picture perfect sante fe sunset), but i didnt really know what i was in for. i decided to sit on this rock chair and meditate. before i even began sitting, i started to feel instantly "at one" (just cant word it better!). as i sat, a deep appreciation came over me, and thats when an interesting experience happened. i was so placed in "oneness," that my experiental knowledge of both the physical (perceived by senses) world and the spiritual (perceived on an energetic level) world equalled out to my full experience at the time. it was at this point i realized that "physical" and "spiritual" are both part of the dualistic world.

much later that night, as i was letting my dogs out to go to the bathroom, i was emotionally at a loss. i was staring into the stars just wanting some "proof" of what was (even though my previous experience was quite clear). i suppose what i wanted was physical proof, even though i KNEW there was something more, i didnt seem to understand it. nothing happened, so i got up, stretched (was lying down for a good amount of time), and simply stood for a second. right then, i felt a raindrop on my shoulder. i found this odd, since there were no clouds in the sky. as i looked up in enquiry, my eyes slowly grazed over a shooting star.

the fact we can experience anything at all, is a miracle, but some events strike some very special chords.

Sounds like you had a profound experience,good for you!.

I find alot of times when i get done meditating i feel at peace with the world and feel one with the universe as you describe in your account.

Also i can see how you sometimes feel overwhelmed with the universe and would like some answers to these higher or profound powers which we sometimes come into contact with either on an emotional level or more.

I also agree that our minds powers of perceiving anything at all is quite a miracle and when we experience these profound states of mind it can really be powerful and emotional aswell.

all experience is the "chance for enlightenment," and your position on the matter decides your experience.

we realize at some point that all that is shown to us and learned has been known all along. and as long as we think we are experiencing anything one way or the other, we will perpetuate that bias. to truly accept everything as equally miraculous ends that, and interestingly enough, starts it all over again.

if i can say anything to sum up that particular experience is that we are not our minds, nor are we what our minds experience. Our minds, and the nuerological aspects of them, are one small part of our experience. the brain, and the "state of mind" that it produces, are simply an organic system. Through psychology, i learned some very interesting things, but that is another discussion!

and, if you havent noticed, i tend to type a lot, haha

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Originally posted by sinahptik:

....i decided to sit on this rock chair and meditate. before i even began sitting, i started to feel instantly "at one" (just cant word it better!). as i sat, a deep appreciation came over me, and thats when an interesting experience happened. i was so placed in "oneness," that my experiental knowledge of both the physical (perceived by senses) world and the spiritual (perceived on an energetic level) world equalled out to my full experience at the time. it was at this point i realized that "physical" and "spiritual" are both part of the dualistic world..

As I watch others around me seek "spiritual enlightenment" I've always been painfully aware of the huge hole in the plan. Most of the time they want to basically leave their body behind, and seek something miraculous (in their own way of thinking) by getting away from all the unspiritual, un-lofty things.

Not to say that I myself haven't done the same. My first taste of what I thought "enlightenment" felt like came when I was 14 or 15, after reading about Zen Buddhism, and brain storming. I had a moment of clarity that was nothing logical, just sort of felt very steady and clear and rounded. Not something one can describe to others.

Those were the fleeting, self-induced type of altered states of mind, though. I wanted something more consistent.

Three years ago, I started Shaolin Kung Fu. I liked the motto of "Chan(Zen)& Body As One" (a translation that's not quite its counterpart in Chinese, but you get the idea)and I wanted to work towards the level where my body isn't something I want to get out of, but something that can do things however crazy my mind can imagine.

That's a tall order, but it's something I could see myself working honestly towards.

One time, my Shifu had us to this fist form as fast and as powerfully as we can, and would start us up as soon as we were done. He wanted us to do this for 30 times, going full out physically, with a very strong spirit, "as if your life depends on it!", sort of speak.

After a series of sensations: mostly tiredness and feeling winded, and even wanting to throw up, we kept going best we we can. Then it happened: I felt the spirit pulling through, and carried the body (which by now had been so drained of all the tension that we thought meant power)in a sequence that felt like lucid dreaming. It was fluid and strong, and so very here and now that I felt I could fly if I wanted to! My perception felt as if someone had cleaned the lense and zoomed in. The critical mind (what my Shifu calls the Monkey Mind) was not on, but replaced by something much more comprehensive and grand. I didn't really feel any pain, or windedness in the body, it was as if it's transparent. The body and the mind were in perfect unison.

escapism is as special and miraculous as every-thing else, but the results will most likely not be along the lines we thought, or want (or it may be the catalyst for "enlightenment"). we go into things with the thinking "it will turn out this way" thinking that something will come up that we didnt have before. when we realize that everything is available in this moment only, a paradox occurs. something currently "unobtained," will most likely stay that way, until a psychological shift happens. its interesting to think about how the shift from "future" to "now" takes place, and its effects on the mind. the "future" never "arrives." subjectively, and objectively, "future," "past," and "present" are too often grouped together when they are vastly different concepts (in thought, and very importantly, in experience). people look for something through spirituality (and lack therof), but looking back, our ideas on how things would be experienced in the future is frequently very different from how they are experienced now.

words can only limit these ideas though, and for as much as i like to talk about it all, every time you point towards something, you point away from something else.

quote:

Three years ago, I started Shaolin Kung Fu. I liked the motto of "Chan(Zen)& Body As One" (a translation that's not quite its counterpart in Chinese, but you get the idea)and I wanted to work towards the level where my body isn't something I want to get out of, but something that can do things however crazy my mind can imagine.

i believe our reality is governed only by limitations that we support ourselves. where did you train? ive been extremely interested in shaolin kung fu, but have had no exposure to it directly. i also find many martial arts centers (here in the US) arent exactly where i want to invest a lot of energy... (i also havent looked in many years)

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where did you train? ive been extremely interested in shaolin kung fu, but have had no exposure to it directly. i also find many martial arts centers (here in the US) arent exactly where i want to invest a lot of energy... (i also havent looked in many years)

I'm still studying in New York's Shaolin Temple Overseas Headquarters headed by Shi Guolin. Most of the time I'm at the one year old Chinatown branch these days because Shi Guolin is actually teaching the Yi Jin Jing class and the Basic class almost everyday.

Agreeing with your sentiment about many martial arts centers here in the US...(and adding that even in China now, the traditional styles are fast becoming lost) I'm just taking advantage of the fact that Shi Guolin is teaching now, and taking as many classes as I can until he gets too busy to teach. I'm finding the Yi Jin Jing (internal)is helpling me towards the goal of being in the here and now more percentage of the time in a day because it's working with qi and breathing, which we do 24/7 anyway.

Back in April I also organized a 6-people group to go to China to train for two weeks. I posted about it in the Travel Buddies section of the Bootsnall site. Incidentally, one of the members who's never had Shaolin training met us in China from Aurora, Colorado.

Of course, from reading your post and discerning what you probably already know, it means that you don't need go looking for "something" such as "Shaolin Kungfu" perse, but that you will come to "IT", whatever it may be, that will be just what you need.



When you are no where but thoroughly HERE, you are at once EVERYWHERE!

that is quite an interesting occurance! i wish it couldve been me, haha.

its sad to here that martial arts are becoming mangled even in their native lands. i suspected it might be happening due to globalization/americanization, but wasnt sure. everything always changes though, haha.

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When you are no where but thoroughly HERE, you are at once EVERYWHERE!

my signature says the same thing. paradox = truth. i think thats comedy, haha.

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qi and breathing, which we do 24/7 anyway.

never heard such a concept from someone else, thats refreshing! no matter what changes, we always do what we do, and be where we are.

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its sad to here that martial arts are becoming mangled even in their native lands. i suspected it might be happening due to globalization/americanization, but wasnt sure. everything always changes though, haha.

Truly wholesome anything is hard to come if it is being label as a two dimensional subject. But, yeah, capitolism has a lot to do with it. That is not to say, that there are no gems mixed in there somewhere, just that it's getting harder for those exceptions to hang on to their principles where the world around them is enticing them to go a different way.

[/QUOTE]quote:
When you are no where but thoroughly HERE, you are at once EVERYWHERE!

my signature says the same thing. paradox = truth. i think thats comedy, haha.[/QUOTE]


I just made it up because of your signature


[/QUOTE]quote:
qi and breathing, which we do 24/7 anyway.



never heard such a concept from someone else, thats refreshing! no matter what changes, we always do what we do, and be where we are. [/QUOTE]


Most of us take breathing for granted and seek outside of ourselves for methods to improve our health. Then we think we can't live without that something, whether it be a pill, or an exercise routine. Truth is most good things are free and readily available. If we can establish the basic connection within ourselves, anything we do using that connection will be meaningful and significant.

Well, at least for me anyway..

quote:

Truly wholesome anything is hard to come if it is being label as a two dimensional subject. But, yeah, capitolism has a lot to do with it. That is not to say, that there are no gems mixed in there somewhere, just that it's getting harder for those exceptions to hang on to their principles where the world around them is enticing them to go a different way.

i think there are still gems everywhere! just in the wonderful state i grew up (and currently live) in, there are countless amazing places. most are COMPLETELY desolate, since they take some exploring to find (some truly amazing roads, lakes, wilderness areas, etc). and most mountain towns are also really incredible, although sometimes overpriced (touristy/ritzy mountain towns are outrageous). and really, all that judgment is just from my perspective anyway.

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I just made it up because of your signature

awesome! it thought it might have been in response

quote:

Most of us take breathing for granted and seek outside of ourselves for methods to improve our health. Then we think we can't live without that something, whether it be a pill, or an exercise routine. Truth is most good things are free and readily available. If we can establish the basic connection within ourselves, anything we do using that connection will be meaningful and significant.

Well, at least for me anyway..

its interesting that things that happen every day that ensure our survival are so frequently ignored and unappreciated. it seems we make the assumption that since its been that way in the past, it will continue to be that way in the future. but a little thing called "change" proves that assumption wrong, haha. i catch myself constantly doing that...