ritual:safety net for the psychonaut

[spiraleyes]

as the dosage increases, the need for ritual becomes increasingly important.

working within a ritual setting gives structure to the experience and progresses events along a positive path.

ritual can become a safe-guard if the going gets rough-it can help lead you through the experience and make it profoundly meaningful.

after repeated sessions, the ritual becomes a psychological road map, providing a framework for safe tripping.

rituals are built from the lessons learned from previous good experiences.

but at some point, for the shamans amongst us, being safe is not always the priority-pushing the envelope to new revelations is.

-paul staments

thought id type this here,seen as though there seems to be a total lack of ritual everywhere.

i think it is beneficial.

one thing id add to building a ritual, is that just as much is learnt from bad experiences-maybe even more

[Torsten]

Please don't say there is a lack of ritual everywhere.

We may not have the same rituals as are used traditionally, but there are plenty of people who use strong repetitive rituals for their trips. I personally don't relate well to drums and tinkle bells and my ritual is unlikely to include chanting or praising gods. However this does not mean I don't have a valid, guiding and reassuring ritual. The again, 100dB of bass aren't everyones perfect idea of a ritual either, but to me it has the same guiding strength as a shaman's drum might have for a more traditional person. And instead of bells & feathers I like to play with my own trip toys (whatever gadget that might be at that time).

Having contemporary rituals should not be misunderstood as having none at all.

[spiraleyes]

totally with you torsten,

wasnt talking drums and rattles or any other traditional tribal stuff.

what i really was meaning to say was there seems to be a lack of 'talk-discusion' about ritual.

i find this a fasinating part of life(in everyday things unconciously) and conciously straight and while tripping.

but there seems to be very little written about it.

[Torsten]

I think the main reason why there is so little written about it is the fact that it is so variable and still not regarded as true ritual by most. On many forums and in many discussion such contemporary rituals are no acceptable. In fact on some mailing lists I would be harrassed for presenting the rave scene as a ritualistic community. Not that such criticims bothers, me, but it certainly puts me (and other people) off posting about it.

The fact that there isn't so much detail available on such contemporary rituals may eb a good thing too. Rituals are often followed blindly without any understanding of their significance - regardless of whether this is in the established religions, a semi-religious new-age sect, or at a rave. To get away from religious control and to find security in our own imagination, we need to build our own personal rituals. By presenting a ritual in any 'packaged' form there is always the danger that others will copy it without thought and thus without relevance.

[woof woof woof]

"Ritual de lo habitual"

literally meaning/translated "Ritual of the Habit"

is the habit questionable is probably the next thing one should ask one's self.

[spiraleyes]

well said torsten.

people tell me that rituals are a load of garbage and unnecessary, but then go and do things they dont even realize theyre doing that are ritualistic.

like the trip toy thing.

really a shamans protection tool.

the the way staments says that after repeated sessions the ritual becomes a psychological road map sounded good.

im not talking about long detailed weird spiritual rituals,(but that does interest me) just simple meaningful things that offer you protection and give you a positive vibe.

it deffinetly helps to focus your energy.

i was just interested to hear what people hear had to say about this.

i guess it mostly comes down to tripping with intention.

[waterdragon]

well it's not exactly ritual but i usually try to find myself outdoors, at night, with other people in similar condition. very often i'll also take the time for mirror gazing as this can reveal a lot about how i'm feeling. small fruits ie grapes, strawberries, cherries are a useful grounding tool. it's nice to have a point of reference (taste, reflection, music, etc) that way i can tell how far away i am and use that info for navigation if that makes any sense to you.