Please note: The decision to ingest Salvia divinorum is entirely optional, and, ultimately, unnecessary. In some cases, Salvia d. is therapeutic, in other cases, of equivocal usefulness, and in still others a mere self-indulgence, and in foolish hands, hazardous. After years of exploring this powerful plant, I've come to respect its power, and if I had to come out and say Yes or No to the advisability of its use in general, I would have to say No. Most people are not ready for what Salvia reveals, and for the few who are ready for Salvia--those few who can handle its formidable power--they are already mature enough and self-aware enough to get along fine without it. Just as the people most qualified for marriage are those who don't need anyone else to be "complete"--who are self-sufficient, with great inner resources that make 'finding a mate' superflous--so it is with those who are ready for the Salvia experience.

My current feeling about Salvia is best expressed here.

Like the saying goes about Advice--the wise don't need it, and fools don't heed it--Salvia divinorum is best left alone by both sage and fool.

Therefore, nobody need bother, should bother, with Salvia.

Especially since there is no-one but the One, no-self but the Self, which has no separate self, or concept of self.

So flirting with psychedelics is a fool's game, ultimately, for those who are still attached to phenomena, still attached to the concept of a separate self.

Eventually, following the sensible boring everyday practical Middle Way with honesty, earnestness, and fearless persistent self-inquiry, the mother lode of the Self being one's self is realized, and that's the ultimate--there all along, plain, ordinary, glorious, the end of the brief personal false life and the resurrection into the eternal impersonal real life. So why would anyone want to go and get all f*d up with Salvia or anything, realizing this, understanding this, being this?

There is no secret mystical shamanistic thing going on here--enlightenment is for everyone, everyone is already what they need, already what they seek, and nothing special need be added, no matter how mind-blowing or powerful. Psychedelics can be counterproductive, reinforcing the notion of having a separate, special, superior-to-others self.

Not only that, our urban-industrial high-tech fast-paced mechanized motorized materialistic culture doesn’t provide any context for deep entheogenic experiences. Without a cultural context and cultural support for entheogenesis those who do engage in deep entheogenic self-exploration often find it difficult to integrate their entheogenic experiences in daily life in modern culture. Cultural dissonance is difficult to endure. There are no authentic shamans, there is very little secure secluded wilderness available to most people, and the value system of the prevailing modern culture is at odds with the value system inherent with entheogenesis. Our spiritually shallow culture is about entertainment and consumerism and self-indulgence. Without a culture that can provide a meaningful supportive context to entheogenic journeys, embarking on such journeys is likely to be fraught with loneliness and confusion—not necessarily insurmountably so, but difficult nonetheless.

Having said that:

Salvia divinorum is a deconditioner-plant that is currently legal* in most countries and most states, to buy, sell, possess and use.

A deconditioner is anything that temporarily or permanently suspends cultural conditioning in the mind, assumptions and delusions that filter out reality.

Heavily conditioned people who KNOW they're heavily conditioned MIGHT benefit from an eye-opening Salvia journey. Heavily-conditioned people who DON'T KNOW they're heavily conditioned may be utterly terrified under Salvia's spell--it's a traumatic experience to see how mucked-up one's mind has gotten, and this is not for the faint-of-heart.

Chewing a few plain dried or fresh Salvia leaves is a safe, gentle method of enhancing awareness of the natural world within and without.

The experience itself is short-lived, but the glimpses it provides of eternal living truth are unforgettable.

We are each a tendril of the one true vine, and Salvia can reveal that fact with overwhelming power.

Who we thought we were vanishes, and in its place, the true self takes over.

This plant removes the cognitive cataracts of cultural conditioning, restoring the eye of the life spirit to its pristine clarity.

The best way to learn what Salvia has to teach is to eat the fresh leaves, plucked right from the plant--although dried leaves work fine--then chew the leaves in a totally secluded natural environment such as woods or meadow. This can provide an intensely meaningful, and intensely beautiful, experience. The life energy, radiant, intelligent, speaks eloquently from every leaf, from every insect, from the whole natural world.

Another good method is to lie completely relaxed, supine, comfortably supported on bed or mat, in a dark or dimly-lit room, in silence, while chewing the Salvia divinorum leaves. This method facilitates the profound total relaxation, along with visionary insights of body, mind, spirit, the living truth within and without.

Either method has the potential to be a gateway to the nondualistic life, universal, eternal, real.

The Earth needs to communicate with our species, for we are the flesh and mind and eyes and the hands and voice of the Earth itself. We must understand we are the Earth, and to help us understand, the Earth communicates with us through its messenger entheogenic plants and fungi. Eat these gift plants and fungi, understand, and help save the Earth. There really isn’t any time to waste if we want a sustainable future for our species, and for other species.

*It is inevitable as the news media continue to sensationalize and misrepresent Salvia experiences--that Salvia divinorum possession is becoming a 'crime' in the United States as some legislators have their way. The legal status of Salvia d. is in the process of changing state by state, nation by nation. Irresponsible profiteers have turned this therapeutic plant into a commodity available to immature people who are not ready to tap into Salvia's formidable power. Some states and countries have already banned Salvia, or are in the process of banning it. This is as sad as it is understandable, and inevitable. Salvia divinorum, when used with pure intent, in the right setting, is a powerful tool for unfiltering perception and unfettering the soul. This is a plant for mature, sincere, well-grounded mystics, seers, sages, saints, artists, seekers, finders, explorers, poets, philosophers, shamans, yogis. The fact that this plant is abused by those with impure intent, in the wrong settings, is to be expected, and therefore laws will probably have to be devised to protect the immature and the stupid from themselves, and to protect the public from heedless users who would drive, operate heavy machinery, control ICBM sites, etc. while under the influence of Salvia. Unfortunately, this criminalizes the plant, as well as those who know how to use the plant effectively for the individual and collective good. We may evidently consort with the plant kingdom with impunity as long as we don't let any plant spirit interfere with our heavily-conditioned human spirit. The Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics has prepared and disseminated a paper to try to educate legislators about the true nature of Salvia divinorum.

With the stroke of a pen, peaceful conscientious people who keep company with the "wrong" plants are turned into felons.

Cognitive freedom is our birthright. With cognitive freedom comes cognitive responsibility, which means that our altered states help us cultivate and express spiritually superior altered traits.

There is a crucial difference between self-indulgence and self-exploration. Those who buy, sell, and use Salvia and other entheogens with frivolous intent are directly responsible for the prohibition of entheogens.

The raw inspiration of a more innocent time led to the composition of these tributes to the Salvia experience written to be published in an obscure magazine and Web sites:

A Primer on the Spiritual Use of Salvia Divinorum
 
 This brief primer is intended for those of us who are interested in using 
the entheogenic plant Salvia divinorum entheogenically, to "generate (an 
awareness of) the Divine within." 
 We can conceptualize 'the Divine' in many ways, and the term 'Divine' 
evokes a variety of reactions, some positive, and some negative. We can 
easily substitute other terms for the Divine (e.g., ground of being, life 
force, the Great Spirit, Tao, Brahman, universal energy, etc.) which will in 
no way change or diminish That which is within us; take your pick, make 
up a new name for God, or just let Him/Her/It be nameless and let it go at 
that. 
 The power of entheogens such as Salvia divinorum lies in their ability 
to help us go beyond conceptual thinking about divinity; we can directly 
experience the divinity within us, if we want to.
 The Mazatec people of Mexico who use Salvia divinorum as a 
medicine and religious sacrament have a word for this something-that-
lives-in-all-of-us-as-us: the Inyimano, or soul/heart/life. 
 This life within each of us, this universal Inyimano, is our true self, 
life itself, God, the Great Spirit, universally and eternally alive. Salvia 
divinorum, when used wisely, can help reacquaint us with the Inyimano. 
Salvia divinorum is a religious sacrament, a tool of the shamans, a 
powerful medicine, and must be used carefully, with great respect. The 
Salvia plant spirit teaches and heals when approached humbly with an 
open mind and pure heart. 
 
Guidelines on the Wise Use of Salvia Divinorum
 Salvia is a powerful sacrament, and should be used with respect, 
reverence, and the purest intent. Frivolous use of this entheogen can be 
extremely unpleasant. We must be receptive to the truth, and have 
sufficient maturity to be able to recognize, and benefit from, the profound 
revelations Salvia can catalyze. Such inner journeys require great 
courage, for they take us to territory usually unknown to us.
 Assuming we have already read the important safety guidelines, the 
descriptions of effective techniques, as well as much useful--and 
fascinating--background information about Salvia divinorum found at 
www.sagewisdom.org (particularly the Users Guide and the FAQ, found 
at this site), we can go right into a few suggestions to help ensure that 
our Salvia experiences are as spiritually rewarding as possible.
 
About Using the Substance Salvia
 The oral, or sublingual methods (holding quid, blackwax extract, or 
tincture in the mouth) are preferable, if for no other reason than the 
relatively long duration of the experience. The effects of Salvia taken 
sublingually emerge gradually, giving us an opportunity to adapt to shifts 
of perspective. Smoking Salvia tends to produce brief, abrupt effects with 
less time to adapt or to incorporate the experience. Start with small 
quantities of sublingual Salvia and gradually increase the amount for 
entheogenic breakthrough. Try ½ gram dried plain leaf quid and work up 
from there until desired results are obtained. It's essential to follow proper 
technique to achieve results. Each physiology is different. 
 Fresh leaves contain more than just salvinorin-A. Whenever possible, 
use fresh leaves, deep green and filled with energy. There is powerful 
magic in fresh leaves.
One fresh leaf, chewed as a quid, is a good way to start, and for some of us 
one leaf may be more than enough. We can add more leaves, one at a 
time, until the Salvia energy manifests in us to where we have the vision 
of the Inyimano. 
 Growing Salvia divinorum and chewing the fresh leaves is the 
approach used by Mazatec shamans, and is considered the most traditional 
and respectful way to use it. Cultivating Salvia helps ensure that it will 
always be available for us. Just as Salvia grows freely and gives us the 
sublime gift of our own true nature, we can bestow the gift of the plant 
Salvia upon each other. Salvia gives us so much. The least we can do to
reciprocate is to tend our Salvia plants and give them away far and wide so 
that Salvia will always survive, sharing its life and blessings with us 
forever. 
 
About the Mindset
 The mindset that works best for spiritual experience with Salvia is 
humility. 
 Our conscience should be clear. We should strive to be on good terms 
with everyone. Forgiveness heals damaged relationships, even if it can be 
only unilateral at first. We are always in each other's shoes, a fact Salvia 
makes abundantly clear. 
 Becoming as unencumbered, undistracted and unburdened as possible 
helps with the transformation we undergo during the Salvia experience. 
Salvia can reveal unexpected solutions to our problems, and provide 
answers to questions that we didn't think to ask. 
If we seek wholeness, the Salvia experience can help us return to 
wholeness. 
 Keen self-awareness, the capacity to dispassionately experience one's 
sensory, emotional and mental activities, is important when a powerful 
plant energy such as Salvia is taken in. Nonattachment to a particular 
perspective is essential, as Salvia opens us up and changes our perspective 
profoundly. 
 An attitude of gratitude for life itself is of immeasurable benefit. 
 We should be as open-minded and free from preconceptions as 
possible. We are looking for firsthand experience of the truth of our being; 
second-hand knowledge, no matter how compelling the source, is still 
second-hand. There are, however, second-hand sources that are useful in 
developing a mindset ripe for transformation from a culturally-
conditioned-self-awareness to True-Self awareness: the Upanishads, the 
Tao Te Ching, the Sutras, and other inspired written works have a mind-
expanding effect when read
with a receptive mind, getting us to ask, as did the authors, 'Who Am I?' 
 We should be physically comfortable. When we are in a condition of 
relaxed receptiveness we will be able to better handle the influx of the 
formidable energy Salvia 
unleashes. 
 A healthy lifestyle helps provide a foundation of well-being that will 
serve us well both during the Salvia experience and afterward as we 
continue to mature spiritually. The Salvia experience can inspire us to 
make changes in our way of life.
 Our intent is our destiny, with or without entheogens. What we want, 
we will get. If we want to see the truth and merge with the truth, if we 
want to heal and be healed, Salvia can be very helpful.
 
About the Setting
 Perfect solitude is the best setting. With cautious use of Salvia, 
starting with very small amounts, we can gradually work up to reach the amount 
where our journey is optimized. The setting should be safe, secure, out of 
sight and out of earshot, quiet and comfortable. An hour or two of free 
uninterruptible time is enough. Sit with spine comfortably straight, with 
perineum planted solidly on firm chair or cushion, or lie down. Have a 
mat, sofa or bed nearby for supporting the body when it becomes 
completely relaxed in the course of a strong Salvia experience. The 
revelations of the deep Salvia experience are at times visceral and 
intimate. We should be in a place where we can be free in every respect, 
with no constraints of mind or body. Baring body as well as soul is 
sometimes required as the realization of our true being unfolds.
 Using Salvia outdoors, in a natural setting, is wonderful. The 
perception of the Inyimano in every living thing is enhanced with Salvia, 
becoming an ecstatic communion with the natural world.
 Having a trusted, mature, nonjudgmental individual to serve as a sitter 
is prudent, especially when our response to Salvia is not yet known. The 
sitter should be as unobtrusive as possible so that the journey may unfold 
without distraction.
 Being in a quiet, dark, comfortable room with no safety hazards is the 
gold standard of settings for entheogenic experiences with Salvia. We are 
in a very special, sensitive, heightened state of being when the plant spirit 
of Salvia takes us over. Think of the entheogenic Salvia journey as a hunt 
for the truth: the truth is subtle and elusive, and will slip away if 
approached aggressively, impatiently, demandingly. Be receptive, and be 
ready to recognize the living truth when it appears in its overwhelming, 
undeniable power; in this moment, we realize that Salvia really hunts us, if 
we are ready to be captured. Let go and surrender to the Inyimano.
 A good setting helps make us receptive to the subtle, profound lessons 
Salvia provides. Taking care to have an optimal set and setting will make 
all the difference when it comes to having a meaningful entheogenic 
experience. As Salvia divinorum facilitates becoming one with the 
surroundings, we should be in the environment we would most like to 
become one with.
 
About Ritual
 Ritual involves both mindset and setting. We all have our own way of 
preparing for an encounter with deep reality, e.g., with meditation, prayer, 
placement of objects of veneration, burning incense. Planning Salvia 
experiences around auspicious times such as the solstices, equinoxes, and 
particular phases of the moon can be beneficial. Practicing the rituals of 
the earth-centered religions may be helpful. We should do whatever 
works for us to invoke a humble, receptive mindset to prepare for the 
Salvia experience.
 
About the Experience
 Words are inadequate to describe the changes that happen to our 
awareness during the Salvia experience. The changes must be 
experienced firsthand. The changes can be profound. The changes 
involve our livingness, our life force. Total surrender to the changes is the 
best approach, letting go and letting the life force take over. The deep 
Salvia experience is one of reunion with nature, with life itself. We leave 
the culturally-conditioned human perspective and identity behind, and take on 
the perspective and identity of life. This is both a humbling and a liberating 
experience.
 
About the Aftermath
 A genuine entheogenic experience, whether brought about by life-
changing event, near-death experience, deep contemplation or entheogenic 
substances, will change us in ways we could never imagine. 
 The shift from conditioned identity to universal identity makes 
demands on us that we must be prepared to accept. The entheogenic 
breakthrough is wonderful, but it's the follow-through in daily life that 
matters, how we are in the moment, in every relationship. 
 The Salvia experience empowers us through the direct experience of 
our inmost nature. This empowerment, to be meaningful and beneficial, is 
for us to apply every day, in 'ordinary' consciousness. The quality of our 
being determines the quality of our expressions; our expressions will 
change others, just as others' expressions have changed us. 
 Even in the midst of a culture enthralled by words, conceptual thinking 
and materialism we can help spiritualize it by working *through* words, 
concepts, and material technology, even though these things in themselves 
are lifeless distractions, not the living truth. 
 After we find the Garden of Eden within, it's up to us to help restore the 
Garden of Eden without. Cultural transformation begins with us.
 The spiritual rebirth facilitated by the Salvia experience gives us an 
opportunity to reclaim our innate innocence and purity, our true nature, if 
we want it.  To remain in this blessed estate requires dedication to, and 
expression of, unconditional love, courage, integrity and honesty: living 
the sacred life. After we have been truly blessed we bless others by the 
way we are.
 The body is indeed the temple of the Holy Spirit. Practices which 
enhance the free flow and balance of life force such as Tai Chi, yoga, 
meditation, massage, stretching, deep relaxation and being physically 
active helps enhance health, well-being and longevity. Salvia helps 
remind us to be free in the body, enjoying and honoring the divine being. 
 Spiritual cross-training is a good idea. Learn, and practice, some of the 
many spiritual disciplines: core shamanism, meditation, chanting, Sufi 
dancing, yoga, to name but a few. Salvia is an enormously useful adjunct 
to any spiritual discipline. 
 While it is certainly true that 'what comes out of our mouth defiles us, 
not what goes into our mouth' our diet should be based on considerations 
of sustainability and compassion for all sentient beings; veganism is an 
excellent way to survive, whenever possible. Plant energies are healthy 
and, especially in the case of Salvia, heal and nourish the spirit. 
 Salvia facilitates a spiritual awakening within us. The prevailing 
culture is a de facto conspiracy intent on keeping us attached to 
assumptions, pleasures and possessions, distracting us through mass media 
and ubiquitous mental and physical constructs. This
culture is destroying the biosphere while it separates us from each other 
and the natural world. Entheogenic experiences release us from this 
cultural imprisonment, and enable us to experience our true nature. Help 
restore the biosphere and our individual and collective wholeness by 
creating a sacred and sustainable culture that follows the green path of life. 
 We see with the eyes of life. Life recognizes life, and life loves life. 
To be life itself, recognizing and loving life in every form, is freedom and 
immortality, our life's work and our perfection.
 
 Swaying in bliss, raised up in slow serene strength, we enjoy the 
flowing freedom, as knowing loving tendrils of the Living One. 
 
 
The Future of the Sacrament Salvia Divinorum
 There is much fear and ignorance in our prevailing culture regarding 
entheogens, which are viewed by many people as dangerous to the 
individual and to society. By using Salvia and other powerful entheogens 
sacramentally, we will show by our example that wise use of entheogens 
can help make us better individuals, and thereby help make a better 
society. 
 Even though Salvia is currently legal, there is no guarantee this will 
always be the case. Discreet, mature, respectful use of Salvia is the best 
way to help keep Salvia legal.
 This is a critical time for Salvia, for us, and for the planet. The 
salvation of the world lies in a widespread, radical change of perspective. 
Salvia enlists us to be spiritual revolutionaries, to be the life spirit's 
agents of change. Salvia, and the life spirit vision, is to be shared far and 
wide. We would do well to grow Salvia and share it freely, far and 
wide. Our species will be transformed, one member at a time, by the 
grace of the life spirit. 
 Just as the indigenous people who first discovered Salvia divinorum 
managed to preserve this precious gift of life through centuries of religious 
and political oppression, so shall we.
 May the healing revelatory power of Salvia divinorum be always with 
us. 
 
 
 
 
 

Erogenous Entheogenous Salvia

by William Arden Ruth

In matters of sexual expression, human beings can go anywhere between two extremes: sexual obsession and sexual repression. Sometimes these extremes are reached within the same individual, as in the fallen celibate, or the reformed lecher. Most people have found ways to handle their sexual energy, finding solace, relief, and release, satisfaction guaranteed, a pleasurable respite from the pain of human existence. Sexual expression, giving in to that deep, primal drive, somehow makes everything all right. Where once was tension, is now relaxation; where once was constriction, is now freedom.

It's interesting how many people become aware of increased sexual energy when using Salvia divinorum. As well as becoming more aware of life-force, or chi, the Salvianaut often finds the chi to be decidedly erotic in character during parts of the Salvia experience. The skin especially develops a heightened sensitivity. The spine, the nerves, the muscles, every fiber of one’s being, develops a fluidity, a free-floating undulation that restores the flow of chi throughout the organism.

Heightened energy and heightened sensitivity during the Salvia experience demand that the body be in a state of physical freedom, nothing constricting, nothing inhibiting. The besaged Salvianaut lies naked on the bed, as innocent and as relentlessly curious about herself as a newborn babe. The whole body is open for exploration.

For those who take Salvia in the spirit of the mystic, or as a religious sacrament, the sexual enhancement of Salvia can come as quite a surprise. The intensity and depth of the Salvia-enhanced orgasm leaves one in total delicious abandon. Looking for enlightenment, the earnest Salvianaut may find an unexpected good time instead.

The lustiest libertine may find, though, that Salvia also awakens a heretofore dormant mystical sense, where the mind is liberated by an overwhelming visionary experience.

The Mazatec curanderas caution participants in Salvia or mushroom veladas to abstain from sexual contacts for four days afterward. The origin of this admonition is unclear. It might be related to the celibate Catholic influence upon the otherwise pagan Mazatecs, or perhaps to the need for time to incorporate the purification before mixing intimately with dualistic, baggage-laden people.

Salvia tends to give to each according to their needs, unacknowledged as the needs may be. The voluptuary might need a spiritual awakening just as much as the ethereal prude might need an awakening of the flesh. Salvia helps people be real, complete, balanced, purified, free; it shows us what we really are, shows us of what we are a part, and reminds us to let our true nature just be, free to do what comes naturally.

The Salvia divinorum experience--and the erotic experience--helps us to resume our true nature, to be a spontaneous animal, flesh that is in a state of absolute freedom.

While sexual expression is by nature a private affair, the energy behind it is with us all the time, in private and in public, and can't be turned off, for it's also the energy that is our being and our awareness. We're constantly exchanging energy with each other, the immediate surroundings, and the universe. In a very real sense we are always making love, equilibrating constantly with the infinite ocean of energy in which everyone is a center, a node. The universe is a dance of energy, forever making love to itself. From singularity to plurality, the universe is seeking itself, seeking to merge with itself, while some of its parts pretend to be separate entities.

Salvia, as well as showing us what we really are, can show us that we are all connected, and in fact expressions of the same eternal, infinite being. When the fundamental unity is realized, the individual sees herself in every form.

Some forms are quite attractive, yes. Being in the presence of a vibrantly sexual person who creates a pathway of sexual energy can sometimes be a challenge to one's composure. The dualistic response is to make every attempt to get to know the lovely one better, to get as close as possible, as often as possible, to repeat the exposure, to somehow possess the other. The nondualistic response is to be aware of the spontaneous flowing of energy without becoming attached to feeling or to form, just fully aware of the visceral force of attraction, completely enjoying of the good healthy healing feeling this flow creates, and honoring the ultimate source of this flow and feeling. The truly nondualistic lover loves everyone and hurts no-one in the course of expressing this boundless pure love.

The individual in the grip of dualistic thinking is inherently a selfish person, ignorant of the fact that she is as much in the other as the other is in her, and will conduct her affairs, sexual and otherwise, with the aim of achieving self-gratification which depends on objects or persons, real or imaged, that are seemingly outside herself.

The person who’s realized her universal identity wishes only to honor the universe which manifests in every form.

In daily life we cross paths with the universe in various manifestations: young, old, male, female, healthy, sick, attractive, repulsive. The dualistic person gravitates toward those manifestations with which she can identify, or toward those who can provide what is perceived to be lacking in herself. The nondualistic person sees only herself in different forms.

Just as the universe has both male and female aspects, so does the besaged Salvianaut, the newly liberated microcosmos of the eternally free macrocosmos. Within this microcosmos the Salvianaut's energy will flow where it will: from overabundance to scarcity, from female aspect to male aspect, from ever-abundant macrocosmos to microcosmos in need.

There is inevitably release, flow, balance, wholeness realized, in microcosmos as it is in macrocosmos.

Nondualistic lovemaking is the universe making love to itself. There is no greater love.

Typically, lovers are caught in dualistic thinking, and may find themselves too often mired in a stormy, ultimately unfulfilled, relationship.

There are also relationships where only one of the lovers has managed to realize nonduality. This kind of relationship, while not ideal, can be an opportunity to learn how to live and love nondualistically in a dualistic society. Pleasure, and be pleasured. Who is pleasuring whom? Only the nondualistic lover knows for sure.

When one is making love to oneself in every form, a little adaptability is called for. The tried-and-true techniques of making nondualistic love--with word, smile, vibes, glance, touch, gesture, attention, presence--work well.

The energy of the orgasm has to go somewhere if there are no physical orgasms. Some religious celibates have historically referred to this as struggling against the Devil. Others, such as the Shakers, found that they could equilibrate their orgasmic energy by having regular rhythmic dances, men on one side of the room, women on the other.

Although it's not practical to be engaged in sexual intercourse 24/7, it's very possible to remain in a post-orgasmically relaxed, free, ecstatic state of being, 24/7, with or without orgasms. This is sat-chit-ananda: "being-awareness-bliss." Sat-chit-ananda is the ultimate in instant gratification: pure being and pure awareness in the eternal now is pure bliss. Sexual experiences, like all experiences, come and go, while the innate self-sustained nondualistic bliss of sat-chit-ananda remains.

However it’s done, energy must sooner or later flow freely, or become stagnant. When the universal life energy flows, it keeps flowing until it reaches the ocean of energy, which is never stagnant.

Experiencing Salvia divinorum, and surrendering to our innate innocent orgasmic organism, can get us back to our true nature, our true home: this very existence, this awareness, this flesh, this moment, this universe. Now and forevermore in the Garden of Eden within and without, we love just to be this thing we are, making the kind of love this thing has for itself.

Salvia, Sodomy and Subversion

by William Arden Ruth

Lying in bed ravished by a lover, and lying in bed ravished by an entheogen such as Salvia divinorum, have a lot in common.

One of the interesting effects many people have experienced while using La Pastora is strong sexual arousal that sometimes occurs during the journey. This can be regarded as an awakening of kundalini, the ‘serpent power’ or life energy. Entheogenic unclogging, restoring the free flow of life energy, is a profoundly intimate experience akin to falling in love and enjoying subsequent uninhibited orgasmic consummation.

The merging of bodies during lovemaking is an exquisitely sensual, all-consuming experience, which at times produces an altered state of consciousness, followed by an afterglow of totally relaxed contentment.

Strong Salvia journeys are often followed by an afterglow of clarity and well-being persisting for days to a lifetime, as it involves falling in love, and merging, with life itself.

I could go on and on extolling the virtues of the medicinal plant Salvia divinorum and all that it has done for me. I love this plant! There’s nothing I’d rather do than share with others the beautiful insights and healings Salvia facilitates.

Instead, I’m attempting to write a little on political philosophy, which I don’t find to be easy, or fun. I’m neither a politician nor a constitutional lawyer. Yet I must write this, just as I must attend to any call of nature, if only because I’ll feel better after doing it.

The right to grow and use the teacher-plant Salvia divinorum is being threatened, and I write with some urgency here. Between media and government’s hysteria and ignorance about entheogens, and the entheogen community’s tolerance of irresponsible hucksters who cater to irresponsible consumers, it’s no longer possible to take for granted Salvia’s continued legal status.

Yet it’s our birthright, our constitutional right, even to be fools, irresponsible scumbags, as long as we do no harm to others. We should feel free to assume any posture, to engage in any bizarre act, to have any variety of religious and carnal experience, behind closed doors, without fear of persecution.

On June 26, 2003 the Supreme Court ruled that laws criminalizing consensual sodomy are unconstitutional. "The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court's majority. "The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime…freedom extends beyond spatial bounds…liberty presumes an autonomy of self that includes freedom of thought, belief, expression, and certain intimate conduct…”

The wild, liberating, erotic aspect of the entheogen experience, involving the vital energy of the organism, arguably puts entheogen use in the category of ‘private sexual conduct': the kundalini that flows during lovemaking is the same kundalini that flows during an entheogenic breakthrough, an enhanced circulation and connection of the life force with the Beloved, with lover, with nature. Such mergings are private affairs, done in safe, secure places such as the bedroom or secluded meadow.

Up until this Supreme Court ruling I was looking only to Amendment I of the Bill of Rights, ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…’, for possible future protection of Salvia divinorum use in the event it is to be declared an “illegal plant”, hoping that recognition of Salvia divinorum as the bona fide religious sacrament it is would perhaps ensure such constitutional protection. Those who use entheogens as part of their spiritual practices, whether alone or with a hundred others, should be afforded such protection as a matter of course, for such practices are fully within the spirit and the letter of the First Amendment.

After the landmark June 26 decision that caused dissenting Justice Antonin Scalia to bitterly ejaculate “The court has taken sides in the culture war” I looked with new interest upon the Bill of Rights and read them again as if for the first time. Several Amendments are very clearly written to protect our privacy and personal freedom:

Amendment IV, ‘The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated’;

Amendment IX, ‘The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people’;

Amendment X, ‘The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people’;

Amendment XIV, ‘No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.’

The controversial ruling of June 26 raised a lot of questions in my mind. What difference does it make what we do in private--alternative lovemaking, alternative consciousness-raising, anything we choose to do in the sanctity of our home, mind, and body--if it neither harms others nor infringes on others' rights? Why has the constitutional promise of Power to the People been broken? Why would an entheogen-user be denied the same constitutional protection guaranteed to, say, drinkers: that those who choose to alter their consciousness with entheogens, in private, are subject to persecution, while those who choose to attain a lower state of consciousness, privately or publicly, often to great excess, with alcohol can do so with impunity?

And what’s with this “culture war” talk? A so-called “culture war” has no place in a nation pretending to respect cultural diversity; every culture, mainstream and otherwise, has a right to exist.

Not only do we have the right to alter and explore our own consciousness in our private lives as we see fit, but also the right to be true to our own culture, even though an entheogen-using earth-centered culture is unacceptable to many of those in positions of authority. The recent attempts to outlaw the beautiful healing teaching plant La Pastora are attempts of an arrogant dominator culture to suppress the cognitive and cultural rights of an emerging indigenous culture living in the spirit of nature.

Salvianauts, and psychonauts generally, have a unique culture: shared experiences, shared viewpoints, shared values. There’s no reason why any entheogen-using culture anywhere in the world--especially in the United States, the “Land of the Free”--should be persecuted for their cultural practices, any more than entheogen-using Mazatecs should be persecuted for engaging in their ancient customs.

This is an increasingly multicultural country, the United States, contrary to what the Calvinists-in-charge would like to believe, and all of us have the right to live in the ways of our own culture, our own tribe. There’s no justification for intolerance, for persecution, of members of a harmless, peaceful psychonautical culture who were not criminals until discriminatory laws were fabricated that branded them as criminals.

An entheogen-using earth-centered culture can live in harmony with the natural world and a pluralistic society; it can tolerate a materialistic, authoritarian culture better than that culture can tolerate it. Ultimately, nature will tolerate only those cultures that live in harmony with her.
When I was younger I thought the ‘Counterculture’ of the ‘60s and ‘70s would prevail by the time I got ‘old,’ and that there would one day at last be tolerant, open-minded people at the helm of the ship of state. Now that I’m as old as the majority of leaders and legislators, having no undue respect--or disrespect--for them based on age difference alone, I can see that my contemporaries in high places, who now dare to tell us what we can and can’t do in the privacy of our homes, bodies and minds, have sold their souls to the highest bidder.

It’s ironic that the people who could use the help of entheogens to get their soul back, if they were interested at all in doing so, are the ones most afraid of trying them, and are the ones most intent on banning entheogens altogether.

Authoritarians crave control, and ego-transcending entheogens are anathema to them. Many physicians, scientists, religious leaders and politicians are anxious to maintain their status as intermediaries between people and Healing, Knowledge, Divinity, and Empowerment; some of them just can’t accept the fact that Healing, Knowledge, Divinity, and Empowerment already reside within us all. They have yet to learn that access to this supreme treasure within is gained through submission to the living energy of nature. As entheogens such as ska Maria Pastora facilitate such surrender, they are revered by the psychonautical culture as much as they are feared and hated by the authoritarian non-psychonautical culture.

I’m truly sorry for the cognitive stagnation of so many of my generation of whom I thought would know better than to persecute harmless entheogen users. I can understand, and respect, their decision not to try entheogens themselves, for that’s their personal business, but for them to make the use of entheogenic plants and substances illegal crosses the line, becoming the legislating of morality as they perceive it to be, not at all part of a good government’s legitimate mandate to protect the well-being of the public. Anti-entheogen laws deny individuals the right to use substances that can in fact facilitate lasting well-being.

To forbid adults the right to make, and act upon, any decision involving their private lives, whether it's how they choose to have orgasms or how they choose to alter their consciousness, is to engage in mind control.
The fact that what we do in private could be anyone else's business, and illegal, is unjust and just plain weird. Unless what we do in private negatively affects the safety and well-being of others there should be no law against it.

Laws against driving or operating machinery while impaired on any substance are justified because doing so is potentially dangerous to the public. Likewise, driving or operating machinery while being brought to orgasm, while a pleasant prospect, could also be dangerous to the public and could be justifiably subject to legal action. Driving and operating machinery are generally done in public. The government has a legitimate duty to protect the innocent, the public, from getting hurt.

If an ingested substance degrades the individual's health or ability to function in society (e.g., alcoholism and other addictions, tobacco-related diseases, etc.), that calls for intervention, medical treatment and education, not persecution.

The entheogenic substance, in contrast to other psychotropicals, is nonaddictive, has little or no toxicity, usually is used responsibly, with healthy respect, and facilitates lasting positive life changes through insight rather than through perpetual dosing. Within the context of a wholesome mindset and setting, entheogens can bring about psychointegration on a deep level, helping the individual to function in society on a new level of authenticity.

Adults are entitled to personal freedom and privacy. Only children and adolescents, learning the ways of the world, depending on parents or guardians for the necessities of life, need some limitations of personal freedom; they are not yet mature enough to be fully accountable for their actions. By age 18 or thereabouts we are presumed to know enough to be entitled to all the freedoms and privileges of adult citizens, and to accept personal responsibility for the consequences of our decisions.

Private sexual conduct and private entheogen use involve the individual expression, unfolding, and understanding of the power of kundalini--cosmic energy--which is our very being and consciousness. Those who would punish others for engaging in such intimate experiences of body and mind, explorations that harm no-one, are manifesting the old authoritarian madness of Inquisitions, witchcraft trials, totalitarianism, authoritarianism, and all the behavioral and cognitive perversions of the repressed-kundalini mindset.

Educating as many people as possible about the benefits of responsible entheogen use, as well as about the importance of standing up for our civil and cognitive liberties, will help bring about a more tolerant, vibrantly multicultural United States of Consciousness. The American Civil Liberties Union, and the Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics, are two courageous organizations that could use whatever support we can give them.

The desire of authoritarians to intrude in the private lives of citizens is as perennial as the human need for personal freedom. Consider this passage from the Declaration of Independence:

‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.’

The deconditioning effect of Salvia divinorum and other entheogens reorganizes an individual’s way of perceiving that ‘effects their Safety and Happiness’—the installation of a system of self-government within the organism that replaces a selfish, alienated, judgmental, frustrated, fearful Egocracy with an innate, primordial, whole, wise, peaceful, playful, loving, free-spirited, bliss-filled Entheocracy.
When enough sane, entheocratic people cast their ballots in the still-intact privacy of the voting booth we could one day have a government that stays the hell out of private lives, one that just does its job as outlined in the constitution.

When a government tries to be more powerful than its constitution allows, that government becomes in fact subversive, defined as "planning or attempting to subvert legally constituted authority, especially by the employment of unconstitutional means." Our votes will ultimately give the actual subversives in the midst of our beautiful democracy the long-overdue heave-ho they, and we, so richly deserve.

Prohibition of alcohol was a failure, just as the “Drug War” is failing. Attempts to take away our constitutionally-guaranteed rights of religious freedom, privacy, individual empowerment and equal protection under the law will ultimately fail as well, if not through the power of the vote, then through the presence of a critical mass of self-realized people who just can’t be stopped from living how they must live, from being what they happen to be.

My late brother Mike, a jazzman, once had one of his favorite cartoons laminated and mounted on a wooden plaque; his widow saw fit to include it with other memorabilia on display at his memorial service. I tried to track down the cartoonist to get his permission to reproduce this cartoon; if he happens to see this, I hope he’ll understand why I wanted to close this essay with his public service message:

“It ain’t a free country if a cat can’t blow what he pleases.”

The Living Truth

I am a 49-year-old man, married for 22 years, a homeowner, gainfully employed and with diverse interests and skills vocationally and avocationally.

I pride myself on having a highly-developed instinct for self-preservation. As a paramedic, I have seen the tragic results of people driving while intoxicated, and watched people destroy themselves intentionally and unintentionally through overeating, daily overconsumption of alcohol and tobacco, and engaging in high-risk behavior such as motorcycling without wearing a helmet, being sexually promiscuous without using protection, or using street drugs which diminish consciousness and adversely affect the body. I believe that the body truly is "the temple of the Holy Spirit", the very body of Buddha, and should be treated with utmost respect. We carry a very precious cargo on two legs, every one of us, and should live with due regard for the health and safety of this divine being.

I have learned for myself, just as the Mazatec people in Oaxaca have learned over the centuries, that Salvia divinorum is beneficial, safe, has great medicinal properties, and its use leads to enhanced health and well-being even when used at infrequent intervals. As the Salvia experience is one of overwhelming awe in the presence of the sacred, using it while engaged in mundane, high-risk activities such as driving a vehicle or operating heavy machinery is unthinkable.

With such a high regard for the health and safety of my body, every body, you may wonder why I ever decided to experiment with Salvia divinorum, a psychoactive plant. The reasons lie both with my primary interest and skill, which is contemplation of the mystery of sentient existence, and the inherent safety of Salvia divinorum, which happens to be a truly medicinal herb.

Salvia divinorum is not for everyone. Those individuals who are not ready for the Salvia experience find out they're not ready soon after trying it; they either get no effects, disappointing effects, or unpleasant effects. This self-limiting, selective effect of Salvia effectively discourages abuse by those individuals who look to Salvia as a "party drug" or as an escape from responsibilities, both of which Salvia is decidedly NOT. Contemplation, and soul-baring, is Salvia's forte. Salvia is not suitable for immature and casual users, and requires a certain degree of courage and honesty to use to its fullest potential. The state of unconditioned being is a remarkable experience that can only be appreciated by those with a mature ego that is ripe to be transcended.

My entire life has been one characterized by introspection, reflection, and self-awareness. Ever since childhood, I have been asking the ‘big questions’: Who am I? How is it that we, or anything, exist? What makes me different from ‘others’? How do ‘others’ experience their existence? What would it feel like to be someone else? What is our relationship with the universe?

As the cultural conditioning of American urban-industrial society gradually degraded the innocence of my childhood, I became a very unhappy adolescent and adult, coming of age in the midst of the Vietnam War and Watergate. I came to realize that those who happened to rise to positions of authority do not necessarily possess the wisdom or integrity to be worthy of their power to make and enforce laws. And so it is today. There are now those who want a psychoactive mint plant used over the centuries by indigenous Mexican people for healing and religious experiences to be forbidden to Americans, including those seeking healing and spiritual vision.

Salvia divinorum has given me unforgettable experiences of deep meaning and healing, enabling me to better understand my relationship to the web of life, the ground of being. Salvia has, literally, brought me back to life, to utter freedom, to clarity of mind, to profound peace. These persisting benefits are not Salvia-dependent. I will always remember, and cherish, and be profoundly grateful, for what Salvia has helped me be able to see: the oneness of life, the sacredness of life. Salvia has taken me to the living truth.

In our brief time in human form we have the opportunity to understand, to the limits of our abilities, the mystery of being; Salvia helps extend our abilities in this regard. That from which we come, That to which we return, awaits us; to want to better understand That, to commune with That, to surrender to That, is everyone’s birthright. Salvia divinorum, a plant which somehow facilitates a new awareness of That which lives in us as us, is a religious sacrament that only those unfamiliar with its blessings would want to outlaw.

When I first experienced Salvia divinorum in April 2000 I knew it was a genuine entheogen, a most therapeutic teacher-plant. I was so deeply affected by the Salvia experience that I made a vow to stand up for this plant if there ever came a time an uncomprehending authoritarian force attempted to make it illegal. That time has now come. There are some legislators who now want to take away one of the safest, most effective tools individuals can use to enhance consciousness.

It is sad to see how nicotine and alcohol, which are addictive, cause disease and diminish consciousness, are legal and socially acceptable; how prescription psychoactive drugs keep drug companies wealthy and the populace compliant and dependent; and how a humble plant that is nontoxic, nonaddicting and life-enhancing is at risk of being turned into a Schedule I ‘drug’, sharing the same legal status as heroin. This is not just. This is not necessary.

Does Salvia divinorum, used wisely, cause harm to the user or to anyone else? NO.

Does turning Salvia divinorum into a Schedule I ‘drug’ cause harm to others? YES. Arrest and incarceration ruins careers, destroys families, deprives individuals of rights and liberty.

My personal, therapeutic, sacramental use of a humble Mexican entheogen is between me and the universe; that it could possibly become Big Brother’s business bodes ill for the citizens of the so-called Land of the Free.

Ingesting a particular plant that helps me want to be a better person, to live more in accordance with the vision the plant provides, is an act of worship, not a criminal act. If the day ever came where I was persecuted for sharing this plant’s life with my own, I will know that I am in fact being persecuted for religious reasons, and that the First Amendment protection of the individual to practice his/her own religion without government interference is null and void. I write this now as a free citizen. I hope I never have to write from a prison cell. To practice civil disobedience along with my religion is something I intend to do for the rest of my life. My ancestors came to the New World to escape religious persecution, among other reasons; where am I to flee when my fellow Americans persecute me for the practice of my religion?

At least I have lived long enough, and was fortunate enough, to have known Salvia divinorum, a beneficent plant that has enriched my life and understanding in ways beyond all words or measure. It is my heartfelt desire that Salvia be always available to those who would benefit from it.

Salvia divinorum is a bona fide sacrament to the Mazatec people of Oaxaca and now to people all over the world. The fact that it is perfectly legal was one of the reasons I was lucky enough to discover how therapeutic Salvia divinorum is. I also knew right away that Salvia's legal status would serve as a litmus test to determine which direction our government is heading: toward more respect for individual freedom, or toward less.

Salvia divinorum is literally a Godsend: a form of life, a manifestation of God which, when consumed by the human animal, reveals the divinity within, and heals the person afflicted with the ills, the delusions, of a decadent culture.

A plant which awakens the human mind to the web of life within and without is a priceless thing in these times of alienation and impending ecological disaster. Salvia opens the human heart to the totality of life.

For those who wish to leave the false world of mass media and cultural conditioning behind to explore firsthand the deeper truth of the living moment, Salvia divinorum--and all means of enhancing consciousness--should not be denied them.

If there would be anyone who sincerely wants to ban the possession and use of Salvia divinorum "for our own good" or "for the safety of the public" they should first educate themselves about the true nature of this herb and, because of its proven safety, try it themselves and understand through firsthand experience why the relatively few people who use Salvia want it to be available in perpetuity to spiritual seekers and those in need of healing.

To deny anyone the opportunity to experience the special powers of this plant would be an abuse of power, a restriction of others’ personal freedom, which is incompatible with ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’

May all people find, by any means, the healing peace, wisdom and love of the spirit, the life of all lives.

William Arden Ruth
Oberlin, Ohio
October 21, 2002

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