Part Four: Cyber-Shamanism: The Fusion of Modern Technology with Ancient, Plant-Based Shamanism
By Zoe Seven
On the night I decided to fuse this ancient shamanic wisdom with modern technology, I recall being in a large room together with about forty people, including psychiatrists, psychologists, anthropologists, artists and even housewives from all over the world. The lodge where the retreat/seminar takes place is in the Amazon, near the city of Manaus, Brazil. There participants have access to a lecture hall complete with PA system and a film screen as well as a large space – a circular room with a roof but no walls – surrounded by a large net which is there for the express purpose of keeping bothersome mosquitoes out of the ceremonies.
After a short meditation, each one of us was given the brew – a bitter-tasting tea – and were instructed to “put the intention into the brew by mentally talking with it and stating one’s intention for the jorney”. My only intention during this first attempt in combining ayahuasca together with brainwave synchronization was not to have a sizure or psychotic break and to see what was there – in this combination – to be explored.
Near the end of my forty-five minute session with my light and sound machine I began to feel thouroghly relaxed, with all of my extremities feeling warm and heavy. In turn my sense of awareness felt as though it was slowly rocking sideways as well as back and fourth. With some effort I removed the eyesets with my right hand and gently opened my eyes. I should state here that my eyes were completely open during this entire experience. (In fact, most of my experiences are now done with eyes open as opposed to shut.) By this time the room was almost pitch black and the only discernable light was coming from the moon and the stars outside in the night sky.
My consciousness entered a colorful and flourescent landscape that boasted various shapes and forms which were suspended in mid-air above me. Some of these were brightly colored patterns of swirling light which began to form around the empty space of the room in which I was having my experience in. These interconected and flowing lines, which formed the most exquisite patterns I have ever seen, appeared to be “alive” as well as though they were being weaved by an invisible spider of sorts – seemingly appearing out of nothing. Then, within a few minutes, these lines and designs, which at first appeared to be “organic” and “alive”, given their curvy, flowing and wavy nature, began to morph themselves into highly complex and intricate geometrical patterns. When this change began to occur the patterns stopped moving, stoped being alive, and everything became sterile and “un-alive”. I remember wandering what had happened and as soon as I had this thought in my mind, suddenly, a thought popped into my head: I somehow understood that my consciousness was shifting from the human perspective that I was familiar with to a non-human one that I had not experienced before. It was as though I was entering a different type of psychological space.
Again I wondered what exactly was it that I was seeing and experiencing and seeminly got another answer in the form of a thought. I was seeing the framework – the blueprint, if you will – of what we perceive as three-dimensional reality. I also understood that what is manisfested here, in physical reality, not only has a counterpart in the non-physical dimension, but it’s composed of focused, electromagnetic energy pulses which are shaped by thought and intent. In other words, the whole basis of physicality are not its physical (atomic and subatomic) building blocks but rather mental ones.
I also recall seeing what I can only describe as tiny pinpoints of electric-blue light. Strangely, I somehow knew what to call them as well as their function – reality weavers. They are what helps weave together the fabric of reality. Hence, the reality weavers are the actual builders of the blueprint of physicality, while consciousness is the engineer. As these insights and acompaning imagery were swirling through my consciousness I suddenly found myself not at the shamanic retreat but rather encased in a seemingly large and long structure. What I mean is that the landscape wasn’t expansive and square but rather long and narrow, as if my perceptual focus had been somehow altered. The structure was something akin to a rectangle, but had no walls, ceiling nor floor. Yet somehow I could detect its “shape”. Light or more like a shimmer seemed to emmanate from within the structure and tended to fade into darkness as soon it left the structural space. Outside this space was nothing but pitch back darkness. While I was observing my new surroundings I noticed two things: First, I saw what I can only describe as beings; and second, I realized that they really weren’t beings. Let me explain.
End of Part Four
Copyright: Zoe Seven, Author and AVS Journal, Michael Landgraf, Publisher (2006) Granada Hills, CA. All rights reserved.