mind candy

Plant medicine ceremonies are very hypnotic and it is what my conscious awareness flags at the onset of the intoxication. With experience, and proper set and setting, you may learn to let go and trust, if not the plants and the ego mind will continually knock you hard in the head. I struggled with this aspect of the journey constantly as I was very wary of how hypnotic the whole experience can be. What I eventually learned is this mistrust is unavoidable if you engage the mind and I have flagged it in those situations because my mind has been front and centre to the experience. This "in your face" part of the ceremony is a good demonstration of scale. What I mean is that in contrast culture is a slow and methodical way of hypnotizing you and then to break free of this hold, which around mid-life we all get the urge to do, is very difficult because you have ensconced yourself so deep in it in every aspect of the life you have created for yourself. It is a major part of the whole character drama you are playing as Mr. or Mrs. Smith and all the expectations that are required of you to fulfill, lest the whispers begin about how you are surely not acting in character anymore. To break this spell is what I sense plant medicines, Ayahuasca and her shaman being the queen/master of this, are doing and they do it by reverse hypnosis. A heavy induction is required to break the spell. So I think part of the human experience is recognizing this and how easily your mind is manipulated. And once learning this caution at some point you disengage the mind but it is difficult because the human mind is fascinating and it likes candy. The only way out is to to disengage and sit there in awareness. As soon as you engage the mind you start to separate things and create feedback loops of thinking about thoughts. It is by observation that you remember you are everything and that the world we live in is the biggest stage for the grandest drama of all.