Spirituality & Psychedelics | Do They Make You More Woke?

When we think of spiritually conscious people, our immediate impression is that they must be a free hippy, spreading love and light, sunshine and rainbows and high on Mary Jane at all hours of the day, or maybe they're on something even stronger.

However, it's quite silly to assume spiritual enlightenment is always closely linked to psychedelics as I have come across many in the spiritual sector that do not use drugs and alcohol at all. But then again, I would class myself as deeply spiritual and I have dabbled in a few magic potions in the past and can say I learnt quite a lot about myself through them (sorry, mum).

Psychedelics do get a bad rep, and it's no surprise why. Recently, I was out with a very good friend of mine in Birmingham and we saw the effects of synthetic drugs like Black Mamba right in front of our very own eyes. To say I was slightly traumatised is an understatement.

From this heavily drugged man falling and hitting his head on the concrete to the wide-eyed zombie stare he had for a good 20 minutes as the ambulance was on their way, panic set in and my friend and I were joined by two strangers, all clambering to keep him conscious and checking that he was still responsive. Remember the bath salts epidemic? It was a bit like that, let's say. My heart nearly stopped when a man called out that he no longer felt a pulse. My internal monologue went something along the lines of:

"Oh, my God. Did someone just die right in front of me. Oh, my God. God, please spare him and I swear I'll never touch drugs again."

I totally freaked out! My friend went to help and I hid behind her and pulled her back involuntarily (I don't know why! I was freaking out! Logic was officially out the window). The other woman that was helping us came running back and eagerly searched for a pulse. We waited for what felt like forever.

The Black Mamba man was still alive, thank God.

"Haha, okay. So, God, that was a prank right? I don't really have to stick to our agreement, right?"

Eventually, the Black Mamba man started to come back around, but you could still quite clearly tell he was on another planet. I couldn't help but think what on earth this drug had offered him for him to go back to something that could quite easily end up killing him, as this was supposedly not his first time on Black Mamba and certainly not his last. Was he looking for escapism? Or deep enlightenment? Can we only really become enlightened through the use of psychedelics? To be honest, I doubt it. I think they only provide a short cut, but if we did the inner work, we'd still reach the same destination.

Psychedelics can become a gateway drug, but in most instances, if you use them with the intention of experimentation and not escapism, they can teach you so much about yourself. MDMA, for example, is known as a party drug, but if taken with the right company and in the right surroundings, all your secrets and traumas will come out your mouth like verbal diarrhoea (apologies for the lack of a better term on that one). But, they do come with their own cons. It's not a happy, life changing trip. The following days will leave you feeling extremely low. It's really not a sustainable way to find out more about yourself. Neither is using marijuana. It may be all fun and games, but long term use of Marijuana has been linked to irritability, depression, paranoia and anxiety, and that's no fun.

If you're really looking to dig deep and connect with your higher self, you can do this via meditation, using healing crystals, journalling, helping others, reading up on the mind & spirituality, as well as many more healthy alternatives to self exploration. Psychedelics are not the only way to do it, however if you do choose this route, please be safe! I'd love to tell you not to touch drugs at all but it's a bit like telling a child not to do something that already looks so enticing; they'll do it anyway. Please be safe and responsible.

#Drugs