Merry (Psychedelic) Christmas! (Patreon)

Hopefully I don't trigger anyone the wrong way.  My channel is mostly focused on science, research, and practical aspects around psychedelics.  But there are also cultural and religious aspects which fascinate and captivate my mind now and then.  For example there is a long history of associations between Christianity and mushrooms, this can be seen in ancient art, attire, architecture and artifacts.  Some even believe Jesus spoke about mushrooms or even that Jesus IS a mushroom symbol of sorts.  This brings new meaning and context to some of the things he said such as John 6:

There is also a long history of mystics within the Christian faith (often persecuted or misunderstood).  Much has been written on these topics, and I don't intend to do a deep dive into the subject now although I'll consider doing so at some future point in time, perhaps in video form.  But I wanted to share a fun little anecdote... my wife and I started a weird tradition almost 20 years ago, where we pick a totally random church we've never been to before, and attend their Christmas eve service.  Anyway, tonight we continued that tradition.  We walked in not knowing what to expect, it was a nice building, quite a lot of cars in the parking lot, and looked like a prim and proper strait-laced kind of crowd.  What immediately struck me was the unusual, large artistic painted cross that was the centerpiece of the room, prominently elevated at the back with everyone facing toward it.  My immediate thought was "Is that Jesus depicted as a MUSHROOM???" Haha.  

When they turned the lights off and did a candle light only portion of the service, pretty much all you could see was the mushroom.  

It was kind of surreal.  I was left wondering if the leaders there knew this was the artist's intention or was it more of a secret code that only psychonauts would recognize?   Either way, I was so amused I had to discreetly wander right up to it after the end of the service and take some pictures for you.  

I know the psychedelic community can sometimes be kind of hostile towards Christianity.  I understand why, there are those who have claimed to be followers of Christ that have done some terrible things throughout history and many hypocrites attend churches and really don't know anything about what Christ taught or they know but don't apply it to their own lives.   Jesus said the world will know who is really a Christian by their love.  Without love, we are useless clanging gongs.  Christ often makes appearances in psychedelic experiences, this was even seen in the Johns Hopkins research.  This makes the historical Christian links to psychedelics even more fascinating to me.  

Here is a related story someone sent me: "I tried what I thought was a small dose of dmt last night (15mg) to test my threshold, turns out that's enough for a 15 minute breakthrough for me.  It was much clearer than before.  I have always been fairly critical of
Christianity (conservative family), but I think I am going to slightly change my stance now.  My mother died about a year ago and I asked to see her.  I heard something say "That's not what this is about". So, then I asked if I could see Jesus and he appeared.  He didn't say anything to me but there was this golden light that was passing between the middle of our foreheads.  It felt like he loved me and I loved him.  I have always been kind of a scientist/cynic at heart, but that just turned me into a believer.  I think Christianity may not be the only path, but it is a very valid path. Thanks again for providing safe resources on this stuff."

My reply:

"Wow, first it’s great that you have high sensitivity, lots of people don't have that gift.  And second, awesome trip report.  I've had several Christ encounters in my psychedelic experiences, always positive.  The way I see it is that many people (including a lot in the psychedelic community) have a negative view of Christianity because of hypocrisy and bad examples they've seen in their lives, but the psychedelic experience can strip all of that away and reveal what Christ actually represents - purity, light, and immeasurable love.  Sacrifice, love, humility and forgiveness are what humankind needs more of, and when people open themselves up to that it can become life changing.  I wish more people could see Christ in that way, it would probably make the world a better place."

I guess this is my way of wishing everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS!  And if you don't celebrate Christmas that's OK too, I love you!  ;)  Enjoy the time with your loved ones.

I'll leave you with this psychedelic Christmas song I recently stumbled upon and very much enjoyed: Tony Anderson's Immanuel 

p.s. This link is where you will find a list of all my videos plus frequently asked questions with answers.