the shaman i know is someone i deeply trust, spiritually, who is also a recovering alcoholic with a LONG time away from a drink. i completely agree with you about the current state of affairs as far as psychedelics in spirituality is concerned. i read a lot of accounts from people who say that this is a spiritual journey but like you said, all i\'m reading is someone getting really fucked up and BSing some cliche mumbo jumbo about self realization.
and tuna, my spiritual beliefs align with the ancient belief systems of north and south american shamans so i\'m not worried about anyone swaying my beliefs or focusing the ceremony on something i dont already believe in.
again, i\'m not interested in tripping. i\'m interested in a spiritual ceremony with a shaman i know, and incidentally this involves psychedelics. my dilmena is in my recovery from addiction and where i draw the line between spiritual practice (which is crucial to my recovery) and picking up (which is the antithesis of my recovery). i\'m not looking to make a habit out of this or even have it be something that occurs more than once, but there is a large part of me that feels that this is part of my path and something important for me to do.
