Writer and educator Stephen Gray has been involved in spiritual work and psychedelics for 50 years. He contends that the human enterprise has reached an unprecedented nexus point. We are now faced with an inescapable choice: either we awaken to our true nature of connectedness to all or we continue toward a dystopian and possibly even uninhabitable future. He joined Richard Syrett (Twitter) on Friday's show to reveal how psychedelics, when used properly, can serve as an awakening journey essential for the long-term health of the planet.
"They're not for everybody," Gray cautioned, noting psychedelics or sacramental medicines are best utilized by people who understand their power. Some do psychedelics alone, with or without setting intentions, others may have a sitter, guide or therapist, while still others may use them in a ceremonial setting, he added. Psychedelics, such as psilocybin mushrooms, ayahuasca, LSD, peyote, and cannabis, are non-toxic, Gray revealed. "Essentially, what they do is they open and connect channels," he explained, pointing to MRI scans that show high levels of connectivity between parts of the brain when one is on psychedelics.
According to Gray, there is an eternal divine reality that does not belong to any particular religion. It is a universal potential available to every single human, he noted. "What the psychedelics potentially do is they open up parts of the brain that connect you to an unconditioned reality... it's the unified source consciousness of the world," Gray revealed. He suggested some who use psychedelics can access the source to the point that it becomes their functioning guide.
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Open Lines followed in the latter half of the program. Gary in Scranton, Pennsylvania, told Richard about a Brazilian man named Athos Salome, who has been called a modern-day Nostradamus for making uncanny predictions on a variety of things, including the most recent World Cup. "I never thought Argentina would make it to the final and he predicted that before it even started," Gary reported, noting Salomé called both Argentina and France for the World Cup final.
Chris from Milwaukee shared an experience he and a friend had about 16 years ago with the psychoactive plant salvia divinorum, also known as mystic sage. "We both smoked it independently and talked to a friend of ours, and had remarkably similar experiences," he revealed. According to Chris, he and his associate both saw a grey alien holding up a grid of the universe and asking for help. "Our experiences were identical," he noted.
Jeremy in Northbend, Oregon, a self-described '70-year-old hippie who grew up in San Francisco,' talked about what he learned about psychedelics through his own experimentation. "What we found with LSD... it only took you so far," he reported, comparing the experience to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, which starts out in black in white and then turns to color when Dorothy arrives in Oz. He suggested the best writings on the topic were done by psychedelics advocate Carlos Castaneda. Jeremy recommended doing psychedelics with someone who is spiritual and in a natural setting. Plants are here to teach us, he suggested.