Drug Use and Ritualistic Work

There are many cultures, groups, individuals, etc. who make regular use of drugs to enhance the sensations when performing ritualistic work. They feel that when they make use of drugs (albeit natural) this heightens their awareness of the interactions with the divine. Personally (and this is just my opinion, and doesn't reflect everyone), I think this is merely a fallacy, brought on by a chemical reaction in the brain, created to make us think we're encountering the divine, meanwhile experiencing nothing more than a hallucination.

Now I say this because I had my own encounter with a chemical reaction in the brain that I felt brought me closer to the divine, but upon further reflection, discovered this to actually be an offense. I wasn't actually interacting with the Divine (or my Goddess), but performing merely out of a drunken state. I had drank too much and felt this incredible urge to pray to my Goddess. I feel though, that in this state, I had offended her, as opposed to honoring her (and to her I continue to apologize). The euphoria I felt at this time wasn't the divine Goddess descending upon me, or calling to me, but the chemical reaction, mixed with the mere sight of my prayer beads that lead to my praying in a drunken state.

I feel that if someone wants to encounter the divine, they should be in as pure a state as they can be. I feel that the use of drugs to alter one's consciousness is a smokescreen, designed to make you think you're experiencing something that isn't even there. In a purer state of mind can one truly experience the divine, perhaps in a way that's much more powerful than any drug can induce.

The mere work that is involved in preparing oneself for this shifting consciousness can be a euphoria in itself, knowing that you're working hard to experience the divine through your own personal means, rather than a chemically induced state. The satisfaction of knowing that after all this work you can change your conscious state to that in which you can experience the divine at any time WITHOUT the use of drugs or other things can be a powerful feeling in and of itself.

Now I'm not going to be so naive as to believe that everyone is going to think this way. I know that for centuries tribes and cultures have regularly used drugs to enhance their spiritual experiences. However, I'm talking about those who use recreational drugs to enhance these experiences. Personally I think it's just an excuse to get high, then play with knives and fire. Can there really be a more dangerous combination?

In all practical senses, the use of drugs in ritual can be dangerous in and of itself. As stated, using knives while not 100% can be incredibly dangerous, especially if you are working with another person or in a group. The accidental stabbing of one can bring that person out of this "altered state" pretty quickly.

Fire can also be dangerous when in such a state. One is not fully conscious of their actions when high, and can accidentally knock over a candle, or fall into a bonfire and be seriously injured, if not killed. I think the irresponsibility of people today who try to justify the use of drugs in a ritualistic sense makes no sense to me. If I want to experience the divine, I don't need to use marijuana, salvia, or whatever other popular drug there is out there to do it. I merely need to work on altering my conscious state on my own to TRULY experience something so incredibly personal between me and my Goddess.

Blessed be, and be careful out there :)