Solid introductory material into shaman psychology

books:


	• Mushroom Wisdom: How Shamans Cultivate Spiritual Consciousness Martin W. Ball Ronin Publishing, 2006 - 192 pages average customer review:based on 8 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great book

Thuis was my first book over the subject. It is good, direct and clear for anyone. I will recommend it to everyone who wants to learn much more over the alternate state os conciousness with the mushrooms.

Explicitly Elucidatory on the Subject!

Praise for Martin W. Ball Ph.D. for his asserted efforts in professing his rendition of such a contentious issue! For far too long society (political and religious) has retained the capital and exclusive rights to abrogate an individual's right to such an innocuous endeavor. The irony is that a beverage that has an insurmountable and prolifically definitive negative data due to the accidental deaths, overdoses, habitual addictions, teenage consumption, criminal domestic violence, diseases, doltish behavior, etc. so forth and ever continuing, of which it is conducive finds itself ubiquitously accepted as a mere nuance of fermented passion. By my interpretation it seems that in society this substance is quite often over shadowed by the debauched science that is shoved down our throats in proliferation about other "drugs." The only thing I can do is deride at the ignorance of the masses, their only flagellation to the negative events spawned by alcohol is, "Drink responsibly." Also, not many criticize the Fed or corporations whom so boldly continue advocacy for the prescription medications that are actually killing us. Herein lies the reason, profit! For the rest of us, especially those of us who abhor alcohol, our natural entheogens-those you can walk into nature and consume without manipulation-are artificially labeled the scapegoat for society's moral declivity. Consequently, there are those of us that will not allow the spiritual substances to become merely a vestige of days gone by.

First and foremost, I respect the author's humble beginnings by his exhortation to the reader that by no means are his claims scientific or isolated to any one spiritual or religious path. For any of his book to be resonant with an individual you will have only had to experience an entheogen in the fashion that he so eloquently describes. I cannot, myself, advocate Dr. Ball's rendition of the revelations of mushrooms, simply because I have never consumed them. However, this has been the most spiritually resonant book I have ever read due to the commensurable effect marijuana has on me. For the past five years I have indeed vectored (metaphorically) individuals that for me marijuana is spiritual. Placing it into the context of the human language is a severe injustice. Our language is eons away from obtaining the evolutionary position of calibrating such profound divination and vibratory emotions. While Dr. Ball tries to ameliorate the comprehension of that convolution, he is severely limited in capability in actually describing the way it makes one feel to experience "The Witness", as he calls it. This is not due to his inadequate writing, it is due to the inadequate complexity of our language. Had I not experienced this effect with marijuana I would indeed have had to emphatically disagree with him.

There are going to be those critics of this book that will say he is trying to guild such an imprudent substance that is detrimental to our state of being. By no means is the author trying to proselytize anyone in the use of illicit substances, he merely is describing his experience with the use of mushrooms by his interpretation. I personally do not advocate the use of entheogens for any social settings or for recreational use due to those events and individuals being the ones that disenfranchises the more prudent behavior of the rest of us that actually use these for spiritual enlightenment. I have to say that from a political position the government, especially the Fed, should not be in the market of abolishing anything on a social level. If drugs (alcohol, crack, cocaine, heroin, prescriptions, etc.) are reviewed for abolition it should be exclusive to only the State in which it is an issue. Here is where we find ourselves getting trumped on the 10th Amendment once again. Not to mention, I have no problem with people drinking alcohol, or doing any other drug for that matter, as long as I can continue to experience marijuana, and, eventually, mushrooms IN MY OWN HOME without its abrogation or criminalization. Also, if an individual is prosperous, intelligent, docile, gratuitous, healthy, altruistic and over all prudent in behavior what is the predication for such a reason to obviate their right to isolate their use in their own home?

The synergy that is revealed with the affinity to the entheogens is solely by experience and may not be for everyone. For you to believe or identify with what the author speaks of you will have had to FEEL, SEE and KNOW of what he references. If you have no profound experience from your use of such items, then this is not the book for you. If there is a wonder about the elucidative and narrative information that your use of these substances has had about your morality, spirituality or life in general, then you should read this. If you have never consumed any of these substances, then do not read the book and subsequently post a review that will be disingenuous to and mitigate the profound reflection of which the author proffers.

I do recommend the book, but beware there are a several instances of grammatical errors both by human and machine; but, do not let that deter you if you are interested in the subject at hand.

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A "how to" book on working with Plant Teachers

I remember a Terrance McKenna comment that went something like-- "If you want to work with psychedelics, the first place you should go is a library." Unfortunately, back in the 60's there was nothing to speak of in any library. So psychedelics exploded into the spiritual vacuum of social club Christianity, creating a backlash of fear and loathing. Bit by bit, this situation is being rectified with books like Mushroom Wisdom. This book is a must for anyone considering following the arduous spiritual path of working with Plant Allies.

Solid introductory material into shaman psychology

Finally, we have post baby-boom author with the authority and integrity of McKenna to talk about psychedelic experiences. This material is more of a general orientation into modes of thought, consciousness, and perspectives used by mystics, shamans, knowers, etc. There is scant material here on mushroom specifics but enough to make it an almost required resource for anyone researching psychedelic experiences. If you are new to the spiritual path or psychedelic studies then there is much more than a pinch of good information here. Much of the authors music is also good expecially Shaman's Path.

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Not good writting, but fairly good info.

I bought this book because I was looking for a guide on using mushrooms ceremonially. Although, he does touch on this towards the end of the book, he basically just talks about spiritual enlightenment (not that thats a bad thing). He is not the best writer, lots of errors with the grammar and confusing sentence structures. I will continue my search!

reviews: page 1, 2

Mushroom Wisdom explores the universal aspects of the psilocybin mushroom experience as it relates to spirituality. Author Martin Ball explains how mushroom use can lead the spiritual seeker to profound states of self-awareness and radical understanding of the nature of the self, reality, and the sacred. Topics include looking into the spiritual mirror to uncover an authentic sense of self, developing ?witness? consciousness to overcome self-limiting concepts and judgments, and removing obstacles of ego and self-induced suffering to trigger the rich experience of ?spirit flow.? The book also addresses the creation and use of ritual, sacred objects, and the importance of sound and silence. Ball distinguishes between using mushrooms in spiritual work as opposed to simply having a pleasant psychedelic experience. Not a guide to how to have ?fun? with psilocybin mushrooms, Mushroom Wisdom is a serious investigation into deep spiritual nature, drawing on both a wide array of scientific disciplines and ancient shamanic practices.

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