Might the Gods be
Alkaloids
Alex Polari de Alverga
V. Conclusion
The thesis that we have elaborated through our exposition is that human
self-consciousness owes a great deal to our ancestors’ contact with entheogenous
plants. From this symbiosis with the cosmic intelligence of the plant mind, man
strengthened his ego and risked venturing even further in search of himself. Consequently,
he was led to God and to cosmic consciousness; he created religion.
We also spoke briefly about mystical states and focused on the
"miração", the small jewel encrusted in the shaman’s consciousness.
All that remains, is to conclude saying that we believe all the more in
the value of experience obtained from the entheogenous sacraments. By the same token,
phenomena like the Native American Peyote Church in the U.S.A., the Bwiti religion in
Central Africa, and the Ayahuasca and Santo Daime religions should become the object of
greater respect. The followers of these authentic entheogenous religions confirm the
foundations of their faith, through personal experience, thereby uniting their inner
growth with their social responsibilities.
We would also like to point out the importance of continuing the rich
dialogue between researches, men of science, and psycho-therapists, and various mystical
currents. This union fills a gap, after recent generations lost the hope that Marxist and
Freudian solutions, could unravel the enigma of human consciousness. This is because
Marxism was overly confident in the supposition that consciousness is merely a result of
social relations, as though man’s problems would all disappear if a fairer social
order could be internalized within each individual. Psycho-analysis already erred when it
over-estimated the benefits that sexual liberation would bring to humanity, having
formulated this opinion because sexual liberation had cured various cases of hysteria, and
was believed to have the ability to keep the consciousness of the ego a float. Yet, there
was a series of other illnesses that could not be healed through this type of therapy.
Having disregarded libido and the struggle between the classes as
possibilities for the motivating force behind history, all that was left was the computer
chip, which would soon demonstrate its inability to promote human happiness. Finally,
human consciousness can now assume the role that is and always has been its own. Thus, it
continues being the theatrics stage where the events that reverberate throughout the
universe are acted out.
It is, therefore, favorable to recognize that the number of people who
have access to levels of mystical consciousness increases each day. Many of these people
attain higher levels of consciousness through the shamanic tradition and the entheogenous
religions. This suggests that the so-called "Entheogenous Reform" will become an
authentic "Entheogenous Revolution" in the years to come. Revolution would here
be understood, not as an externalizing of energy which is threatening to society, but as
an authentic inner revolution, which brings regenerative influences to the whole planet.
If human evolution continues its course in the way that we think it
will, the conquest of higher levels of consciousness, through entheogens, could be the
foreshadowing of human consciousness in future times.
The "miração" and the process or inner work that it
initiates in the human psyche and spirit is one of the tools for this evolution. Shortcuts
are necessary when the distance we need to cover is great and the time at our disposal is
brief.
Thank you
18 May 1996, Manaus
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