The Mushroom Diaries - Vol. 14 Laughing into the Void

 Terence McKenna once said, the mushroom speaks to me... and he was quite correct in that these beautiful bits of fungus do indeed speak to those of us who are willing to listen, it's a conversation with the universe and i know that may sound like some whacked out hippie bullshit but until you take a heroic dose and sit in a dark room you probably won't ever truly grasp the power these wonderful bits of fungus have. 

It was another Friday spent on the couch, hell one could call it a therapists couch as every time i take these things i seem to learn something new or remember important things lost in the fog of consciousness, which always makes me wonder about all those things lost, kicked out or drowned out of our memories and thoughts because of the clutter of the modern world, because of the worrying about rent or quarterly reports, because of the captains of industry doing there damnedest to keep us to occupied and exhausted to realize we're pissing it all away. I mean the last thing the hegemony wants is the veil being lifted and the recognition that there is more to this living than toiling away at one of the numerous bullshit jobs they provide. 

This trip we went back to the grind so to speak, the remnants of a bag of ground boomers that i had left sitting around as i wait patiently to hear when the connection gets more soul food in. I had no idea how much i took, i knew it wasn't a massive dose but since i wanted to make sure i got where i needed to go i added a bit more dust from another bag... seems i have a lot of these bags lying about... and sure enough as they began to kick i could do nothing more than smile.. i usually kick off the night watching/listening to a few songs and then relaxing, eyes closed or staring calmly at the ceiling. There are times while laying there that i go from eyes fully open, deep breathes that seem to channel the universe through me, an almost electrical sensation of energy that leaves me buzzing, to unconsciously slipping into that void, suddenly asleep yet it doesn't exactly feel like sleep and there is that beautiful nothing to which i've come to equate with that actual last slipping into the void... or what we silly humans call death... which is really part of life... or what you were before you were born... except on these occasions i come out of it and think wow, that was fucking amazing and yet what can i say about it? how do you describe nothing? it's peace and tranquility and when my eyes snap back open i sometimes look at the clock to see how long i've been gone because when i hit that state i have no idea as time is meaningless there. Sometimes it may only be a few minutes, sometimes it may be half an hour, sometimes a couple hours... every time is brilliant.

This night was one of those nights were i wasn't really trying for anything though as i lay and wandered my mind, daydreaming about things, i'd slip in and out of this... it usually happens on the way up as i say or during the peak of the trip and less so when i'm on what i call the descent or downside but that's a misnomer as it's all important and good. This night had caught me with the giggles, a laughter that i couldn't seem to shake as i pondered my silly little life at the current moment. It was a beautiful pondering and as usual my father was there, the boyos were there, the boyos in particular kept making me laugh as they wandered in and out of the mushroom realm, and as the saying goes love is laughter and i laughed so much that there was no need to try and gauge "how much", call it infinite because there really was no quantifiable number... it was as vast and expansive as the universe itself.

Of course all the laughter wasn't just about the boyos... some of it came from the absurdity and ambiguity of existence. The current happenings of my own miniscule and insignificant plot in the cosmos, the strange and hilarious thoughts that would cross my mind listening to music or seeing the advertisements... if one ever wishes to know how utterly ridiculous shit really is i highly advise taking a dose and contemplating the ads shown on the telly, the language used, the images shown, the feelings they attempt to convey, the pathos poured in, it really is a giant steaming turd, a comedy where the joke is on the consumer being Barnum'd into believing the useless shit being peddled is actually needed. Call me weird but i find it great fun at 2 or 3am to study these things. To understand and grasp the manipulation and coercion of modern commerce. At times i wonder if "they" all eat mushrooms too to come up with this garbage or if they're just that twisted naturally. 

As i've stated previously i tend not to hide my use of psychedelics... from the boyos yes at least until they're old enough to understand and then i'll sit with each of them and have an honest conversation about them, about all substances in fact. At almost 51 it's interesting to find out who still uses these things. My gig has brought me into contact with many people and it's interesting to talk to them and discover more than a few still partake. I'm not sure if they indulge quite as much as our hero here but they're out there. The question first formed when i realized how many people i saw in there 60s and 70s at the dispensary, when one of the check-out girls at the local Aldi told me her 70-something uncle had told her the key to keeping a youthful mind was mushrooms. It's good to know we're still out there as i can only say humanity will benefit from it and hopefully realize that these naturally occurring and organic substances weren't put here to harm us but to help us... if the world wants to sing in perfect harmony it doesn't need Coca-Cola they need a bag of shrooms... and an evening spent laughing on the couch.