Spring Break
Bless Me, Ultima
A Journey to Understanding
Adam Ennes
Issue date: 4/27/09 Section: Editorial & Opinion
From a very early age my father made sis and I go to Sunday school, church, and eventually to get my holy communion. I feel that I wasn't grateful then, but I am now. Though I don't see what my father does when it comes to "God" and religion, I am happy that I had some kind of structure to question, than rather having nothing to contemplate at all.
I believe that the presence of such plentiful belief structures inspires us to question the reality of such concepts. It was this that led me to study Taoism and Buddhism with much seriousness during and after High School. I see though how most religious institutions (Buddhist included) are clouded by centuries of dogmas that prevent true religious experiences from manifesting.
I recall one "puja" (Buddhist ceremony) I was participating in. These ceremonies are very long, there is a lot of repetitive chanting, and you sit in the same spot for hours. I am very sensitive to energy, so after about the first hour I went into a trance. My partner at the time thought I was falling asleep, but I was actually entering a spiritually induced state of psychedelia.
The whole experience of Buddhism has branched far from what Buddha taught a millennium ago. Just as Christianity has branched far from what Christ taught just some six-hundred years plus years after Buddha. As the times change, so does culture, tradition, and religion.
I wrote a paper titled "The Shamanic Roots of Religion", and in it I try to convince the reader that most if not all of today's modern religions are based on ancient practices that once used one or more plants or fungi as a means to reach "God" by entheogenic means.
I go so far as to state that it is the actual chemical molecules (of which I've named Earthly Transmitters) manufactured by these Earth bound sentient beings that are the basis of consciousness in all organisms here on Earth.
In these days of modern science, we have found that our human consciousness is in fact chemical based (serotonin, 5-HTP, DMT, melatonin, acetylcholine, dopamine, GABA, etc.). These molecules govern our mood, hunger, thoughts, feelings of love, sleep, dreams, senses, ad infinitum.
I believe that the presence of such plentiful belief structures inspires us to question the reality of such concepts. It was this that led me to study Taoism and Buddhism with much seriousness during and after High School. I see though how most religious institutions (Buddhist included) are clouded by centuries of dogmas that prevent true religious experiences from manifesting.
I recall one "puja" (Buddhist ceremony) I was participating in. These ceremonies are very long, there is a lot of repetitive chanting, and you sit in the same spot for hours. I am very sensitive to energy, so after about the first hour I went into a trance. My partner at the time thought I was falling asleep, but I was actually entering a spiritually induced state of psychedelia.
The whole experience of Buddhism has branched far from what Buddha taught a millennium ago. Just as Christianity has branched far from what Christ taught just some six-hundred years plus years after Buddha. As the times change, so does culture, tradition, and religion.
I wrote a paper titled "The Shamanic Roots of Religion", and in it I try to convince the reader that most if not all of today's modern religions are based on ancient practices that once used one or more plants or fungi as a means to reach "God" by entheogenic means.
I go so far as to state that it is the actual chemical molecules (of which I've named Earthly Transmitters) manufactured by these Earth bound sentient beings that are the basis of consciousness in all organisms here on Earth.
In these days of modern science, we have found that our human consciousness is in fact chemical based (serotonin, 5-HTP, DMT, melatonin, acetylcholine, dopamine, GABA, etc.). These molecules govern our mood, hunger, thoughts, feelings of love, sleep, dreams, senses, ad infinitum.
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