Long time since I decided to stop by here.
Looks like I was beaten to it, but iboga is an African plant and it has been utilized by African peoples for thousands of years. It is widely hailed as an unprecedented breakthrough treatment for serious addictions, though iboga should not be taken lightly under any circumstances as it can be fatal. As far as entheogens go, I would say this is a good example of something that black people have used historically. I do not know this 100%, so dont take me at my word, but I feel confident saying that iboga has been used by black people as a spiritual tool for far longer than cannabis. I very well might be mistaken here, though a quick google search should provide the answer.
With the exceptions of cannabis, mushrooms, and iboga, there is no evidence which supports that entheogens have been widely used by African people. In fact, of the few that we know were utilized in Africa, usage was not widespread and was very likely refined to very specific cultures/regions.
I personally would refrain from bringing this topic up here. I've been lurking for a few months now since my last visit and there always seems to be the same people bringing up entheogens in every thread. I understand and share your enthusiasm, as a psychonaut myself, but frankly I would caution against trying to "spread the word" so to speak.
I also would like to briefly add that since Rastafari is concerned with race and the issue of appropriation is often discussed here, I should just say that I would be extremely careful about using sacred cacti and medicines such as ayahuasca or salvia divinorum. Indigenous people have very strong feelings about the use of their medicines by outsiders. If you're uncertain, I'm happy to point you in the right direction for reference.
And finally, just to play devils advocate, I want to bring up GA's point here:
"Yeah maybe the word hallucinate was the wrong word to use for true and I am one who really pay attention to such detail..... Smoke herbs and start to visually see things that completely are not there? No sa...... I wouldn't smoke and drive so much if that the case!
Really though. And higher consciousness / opening up of third eye or whatever else might be used to describe a herbs meditation is NOT the same as saying hallucinate. I would say herbs give you a higher perception of REALITY not make believe"
I feel where youre coming from. I would just say that it is unfortunate that when we think of psychedelics we think of hallucinations and seeing things that arent there. For me, psychedelics are similar to cannabis in that they also give me a higher perception of reality. Like with cannabis, it is possible to get caught up in your own thoughts/daydreams, and so of course it is possible to experience fantasies with entheogens. But this is also possible with cannabis and virtually any other substance. Anyone who smokes the herb would be a liar if they said they never had strange/silly thoughts from it. I have seen people have panic attacks and "go crazy" (to paraphrase Lemuel) from smoking cannabis on more than one occasion.
Just food for thought. :)
Blessings
|
|