In the Shamanic Christian Zen scheme, the Philosopher archetype is in the fifth position. It is preceded by the Mystic, Shaman, Warrior and Monk/Nun archetypes. The sixth position is held by the King/Queen archetype.

The antithesis of the Philosopher is the Muppet, which represents delusional thinking. The problem with Muppetry is that logic only works in a logical world. You cannot counter illogicality with logic. Thus the saying, “you can’t argue with a sick mind, so don’t try”. The same applies when you argue with your own “sick mind”. Both Freud and Jung understood this very well.

Sometimes is is culture itself which creates sick minds. Sometimes it is a subculture, as happens in the formation of cults. Joost Meerloo calls the systematic attack on people’s capacity for rational thought “menticide”, whether applied to one person in an abusive relationship, or to millions. In The Rape of the Mind: The Psychology of Thought Control, Menticide and Brainwashing, Meerloo argues that the ground for totalitarianism, for example, is laid by engineering a confused and submissive population through various propaganda techniques, including carefully orchestrated waves of fear.

Once common sense has been sufficiently weakened, the would-be totalitarians can move in to establish some semblance of longed-for order amidst the chaos. And they can play fast and loose with the truth, moulding reality to suit their own agenda.

“Menticide” is also common among thinkers who have lost touch with reality for other reasons than cynical political control. Too much exposure to radical skepticism, moral and epistemic relativism, postmodern deconstruction and critical theory in a population can lead to a type of menticide, especially when combined with mind-bending drugs. Whatever the thinking, whatever the theories, however, once minds are severed from their roots in the body and reality, delusional thinking and mass psychosis become real and present dangers.

When it comes to thought control, menticide and brain washing, the trick is to circumvent the ground and foundations of thinking. In other words, you must erase the first four positions by encouraging dissociation from reality, sense, body and feelings. Someone firmly established as a Mystic, Shaman, Warrior and Monk-Nun, is immune to mental manipulation and cognitive distortion.

I cannot speak truth as a Philosopher aligned with reality unless I am grounded in mysticism, shamanism, body and feelings. And you cannot hear the truth I speak unless you too are so grounded. And vice versa. True speech, true understanding, true dialogos, is only possible when both parties are in the fifth position. Otherwise we are in Muppet Land clutching at the flotsam and jetsam of the shipwreck Reason … which is why I am no longer talking about anything (unless we are in the fifth position).

However, I would go even further than this and say that this grounding in the Mystic, Shaman, Warrior and Monk/Nun archetypes (or in dhyana, kundalini, karma and bhakti yoga) crucially depends on the last of these, that is, the “grace of devotion”. Bhakti yoga is about the higher feelings and religious devotion. I would say that this is the natural emotional response to the lived experience of “remembering God”.

I identified six ways to remember God in the recent blog post of that name. They are: prayer, scripture, ritual, art, mantras and entheogens. All these are forms of bhakti yoga and belong to the fourth position, that of the Monk/Nun (with the understanding that “entheogens” here refers to the numinous-aesthetic-devotional element of the experience).

So I would make the stronger and obviously more contentious claim that, not only do we need to be grounded in mysticism, shamanism, body and feelings in order to think straight, but that our minds our ultimately unreliable unless and until we “remember God”. Jnana yoga requires bhakti yoga.

In psychedelic shamanic ceremonies it is customary to keep noble silence. In a Zen retreat or sesshin you are expected not to talk. Trappist monks keep their traps shut.

Ours is a very talkative culture. For many, retreats are a welcome break from all the blah blah blah. Places for the ten day vipassana silent meditation retreats notoriously sell out like hot cakes. You can find retreats of all kinds all over the country and they are increasingly popular.

But in the hurly burly of modern hyper-connected urban life, it is difficult to resist the draw of the jaw. “Not here, not here the darkness, in this twittering world”.

The Four Quartets is a love poem to Christian mysticism. T.S. Eliot was one of those sensitive poet who appeared to have been continually pained by the incessant vulgarity of the chattering classes. He could see that English culture was progressively losing its connection to its spiritual roots, which is what gives his poem its elegiac quality.

Mysticism is at root concerned with silence. Etymologically, it derives from the Greek verb muo, “to shut”, as in “to shut your mouth”. Historians have speculated whether this has something to do with the secrecy surrounding the Ancient Greek mystery cults. What happens in Eleusis stays in Eleusis.

Intense meditation retreats are designed to quiet the mind, especially the overactive verbal part, mainly associated with the left brain hemisphere. They are a training in mystical consciousness, releasing dormant powers of perception and insight normally covered over by layers of verbiage.

As I explain in my book, mysticism is a portal to deeper and wider realities. I quote Chuang Tzu, the Chinese sage from the 4th century BC, who said that “the portal of God is non-existence”. This is why the system I have developed begins with mysticism.

The system proceeds sequentially through a series of archetypes, representing specific faculties and capacities. First the Mystic, then the Shaman, then the Monk (or Nun), then the Philosopher and then the King (or Queen).

These archetypes are associated with different yogas: dhyana yoga for the Mystic, kundalini yoga for the Shaman, karma yoga for the Warrior, bhakti yoga for the Monk/Nun, jnana yoga for the Philosopher and raja yoga for the King/Queen. Dhyana yoga is about meditation; kundalini yoga is about energy; karma yoga is about action; bhakti yoga is about devotion; jnana yoga is about knowledge and raja yoga is about Self-realisation.

The idea is that we should move through all of these during the course of a psychedelic journey. First, we enter a state of mental quiet through meditation. Then we awaken our inner somatic energies as we “come up” on the psychedelic to energising shamanic music. Then we stretch and exercise the body in a flowing sequence of martial art movements. Then we adopt a devotional attitude by listening to sacred music. Then we work through and process our experiences in dialogue with others. And finally, we meditate on the essence of who we are.

Talking should be kept to a minimum until the jnana yoga stage, the “Philosopher” stage, which is the fifth stage. Crucially, you don’t talk until you have worshipped. Jnana follows bhakti. Otherwise the intellect suppresses the emotions and/or intellectualises them. Until you have acquired the grace of devotion, meaningful talk about serious questions inevitably rings hollow.

As I said, we live in a very talkative culture. Our inner muggles like to natter, our inner divas like to pontificate, our inner muppets like to argue and our inner victims like to moan. Whether we are being sociable, wise, intellectual or just need to get something off our chest, we love to talk. And talk is cheap.

But it really is mostly a lot of hot air, unless we first pass through the Mystic, Shaman, Warrior and Monk/Nun stages. That is, unless we first practice dhyana yoga, kundalini yoga, karma yoga and bhakti yoga. Then you can talk. Then your words will carry weight. Then they won’t just be swept up in the general maelstrom of the collective unconscious meaning-generating-machine known colloquially as “the Matrix”.

“You must seek the grace of devotion with earnestness, ask for it with real desire, wait for it with patience and trust, receive it with thankfulness, keep it with humility, use it with diligence, and commit to God the time and manner of His heavenly gift. Above all, humble yourself when you feel little or no inner devotion, and be not too depressed or discouraged, for God often grants in one short moment what He has withheld for a long while. And sometimes He grants in due time what He delayed to grant at your first request.

Were grace always granted at once and to be had for the asking, the weakness of man could hardly support it. The grace of devotion must therefore be awaited with firm hope and humble patience. When it is not granted, or when it is withdrawn, regard this as due to yourself and your own sinfulness. Sometimes it is a small matter that hinders or conceals grace – if, indeed, it may be termed a small thing and not grave that delays so great a good. But once you have removed this obstacle, whether small or great, and have perfectly overcome it, you shall have your desire.

As soon as you shall yield yourself to God with all your heart, and seek nothing for your own will and pleasure, but place yourself without reserve at His disposal, you shall find yourself united to Him, and at peace. Nothing will afford you more joy and satisfaction than the perfect fulfilling of God’s will. Whoever, therefore, raises his intent to God with a pure heart, and disengages himself from all inordinate love or hatred of any creature, shall best be prepared to receive grace, and be worthy of the gift of devotion. For Our Lord bestows His blessing where He finds vessels empty to receive them. And the more completely a man renounces worldly things, and the more perfectly he dies to self by the conquest of self, the sooner will grace be given, the more richly will it be infused, and the nearer to God will it raise the heart set free from the world.

Such a person will overflow and wonder, and his heart will be enlarged within him, for the hand of the Lord is upon him, and he has placed himself wholly in His hand forever. Thus shall the man be blessed who seeks God with his whole heart; he has not received his soul in vain. When he receives the sacred Eucharist, he merits the great grace of divine union, for he does not look to his own devotion and comfort, but beyond all such devotion and comfort he seeks the honour and glory of God.”

Thomas à Kempis

Baptism is an initiation rite that uses water as the elemental symbol of spiritual purification.

The idea is that through baptism you are cleansed of your sins so that you can embark on a new spiritual life with a clean slate and a clear conscience. You are “born again” into a completely different mode of being. Symbolically at least, you are free of your besetting sins, whatever they may be.

You could say that the clinical use of psychedelics for the treatment of conditions such as anxiety, depression or addiction is a kind of baptism by fire. It is an intense form of therapy whose effectiveness depends on the direct confrontation of the sufferer with his or her deepest psychological issues. Sometimes, it seems that water just isn’t enough, as John the Baptist indicated in his famous prophecy:

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.”

Matthew 3:11

In the clinical context, it is primarily those issues around greed (addictions), fear and anxiety (a victim mentality) and depression and despair (inner demons) that the psychedelic therapists focus on. These are represented in the Tibetan Wheel of Life by the lower three realms, the hungry ghost or “addict” realm, the animal or “victim” realm and the hell or “demon” realm. The hope is that intense psychedelic therapy can go some way towards curing these seemingly intractable conditions.

In a spiritual context, there are also the higher three realms to take into account, namely the human “muggle” realm, the fighting spirit “muppet” realm and the heavenly “diva” realm. These must also be cleansed and purified before the neophyte can enter the Holy of Holies.

Conceited divas are not fit for the spiritual life:

“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Mark 10:25

Revolutionary muppets are not fit for the spiritual life:

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

Matthew 7:15

Reluctant muggles are not fit for the spiritual life:

“And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.

And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.

And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9: 59-62

Neither muggle, muppet or diva, nor addict, victim or demon is fit for the spiritual life. However, these ego structures are burnt up by the miraculous effect of the Holy Spirit in a psychedelic baptism of fire. Then, and only then, is communion of the soul with God in the psychedelic kingdom possible.

There are therefore two stages in Shamanic Christian Zen training: Psychedelic Baptism and Psychedelic Communion. And you can only partake of the second once you have undergone the first. As Thomas à Kempis, always succinct and to the point, said, “the reason why so few receive inward light and freedom is because they cannot wholly renounce self.”

Religions generally have four ways to remember God:

1. Prayer
2. Scripture
3. Ritual
4. Art

In Christianity, there are set prayers, such as the Lord’s Prayer, the Hail Mary and the Jesus Prayer, as well as petitionary prayers and “freestyle” prayers where God inwardly teaches the soul the right way to pray. The other three ways involve reading the Bible, especially the Gospels, attending a church service and/or taking Holy Communion and engaging in sacred art and music.

I have two other ways to remember God:

1. Mantras
2. Entheogens

I call my main mantra “The God Mantra” (see the blog post of that name) and I sometimes call psychedelics “entheogens”, which means “generators of God within”.

The distractions of everyday life make it difficult to keep your mind rooted in God, to practice the presence of God. It takes the same conscious effort as being in the here and now, or being aware that you are aware (Self-remembering). Ultimately these three practices converge in the same experience of Zen flow.

Religious people have access to the first four ways, and sometimes (Hindus and Buddhists for example) to the fifth. The rare religious believers with shamanic sympathies (or practicing shamans) who take psychedelics potentially have access to all six ways. SBNR (spiritual but not religious) people who take psychedelics have access to two or three at most, since they are unlikely to regularly attend religious services, read sacred scriptures or pray.

Non-religious people who take psychedelics may not have access to any of the ways, since they don’t regard psychedelics as entheogens, are unlikely to frame their experiences in an explicitly spiritual manner, and are unlikely to have powerful and compelling mystical experiences in the first place. (For some reflections on why this is so, see my post Why Naturalists Don’t Get High.)

Nominal Christians go to church once a week (usually less) and only occasionally read the Bible. They only pray in times of particular stress and mostly disapprove of psychedelics. So although they consider themselves to be religious, they don’t actually “remember” God very much at all. They are too busy with their lives. Their minds are on other things.

Religious, SBNR or atheist, most people don’t “know” or “remember” God at all. These are really just identity markers, which define people as members of particular social groups with particular views and tastes. Their predominant motivation in life is to be successful and respected members of their respective tribes.

Those who have had direct experiences of God or the Divine, however, have a very different motivation. They may have had one or several mystical experiences, but for them that isn’t enough. There is no resting on your laurels when it comes to the true, living God. The goal of the genuine mystic is to sustain the vision, to keep faithful to it, to keep the covenant and commandments, to remain in the presence of God, to pray without ceasing, to live a life of meditation and service, to worship, give thanks and praise, and do everything to the glory of God.

The Buddha taught that all suffering is ultimately caused by craving, tanha. He organised suffering into three types:

1. Suffering of suffering: birth, old age, sickness, death, coming across what is not desirable.

2. Suffering of change: not being able to hold on to what is desirable; not getting what we want.

3. All-pervasive suffering: general misery.

The general misery, or unsatisfactoriness, of the third type is related to our human-all-too-human failings and shortcomings. The Platonist in me recognises three types of “general misery”:

1. The inability to be good.

2. The inability to appreciate beauty.

3. The inability to apprehend truth.

Thus, when societies lose sight of the Good, the True and the Beautiful, the people suffer.

God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son.

The Bodhisattva so loved the world, that he gave up his only chance of Nirvana.

The problem child of the Enlightenment is worshipped like the golden calf. Instead of a calf, though, the idol of Modernity is a great big golden problem.

With great power comes great responsibility. And with great problem-solving capacities comes a whole lot of problems. The experimental cosmologist Brian Keating said that the greatness of science is that it makes puzzles out of mysteries. He also said (gleefully) that whenever a scientist solves a problem, she is just setting herself up to face an even bigger problem.

Scientists feed on problems. So do journalists and politicians. So do activists of all stripes. Even religious leaders bow to the graven image of the Golden Problem.

What is it that has filled the God-shaped hole in our hearts once filled with beauty and mystery?

Science. Politics. Economics. Social issues. Environmental issues. Health issues. Gender. Race. Class.

Problems.

Taking psychedelics in a clinical setting is serious. Taking psychedelics in a ceremonial setting is serious. Whether the intention is psychological or spiritual insight or healing, the therapeutic aspect is almost always at the top of people’s wish list. So we proceed cautiously and sensitively. We make sure everyone is safe and comfortable so they can take the inner journey into their troubled psyches in peace.

But sometimes the old skool way is the best. And when I say old skool, I mean old skool: hardcore rave, psy trance, techno, garage, jungle, dub. This is actually closer to the Shamanic Way. Why? Because it’s about energy.

The disease of modern Western civilization can be summed up in three words: TOO MUCH THINKING.

It can also be summed up in just two: INTERMINABLE ANALYSIS.

Or even in one: KNACKERED.

In The Birth of Tragedy, Friedrich Nietzsche describes two streams of human engagement with the divine: the Apollonian and the Dionysian. The Apollonian is ultimately about the mind and the Dionysian about the body and energy.

Shamanic energy accumulates with periods of intense stillness and concentration. Typically this involves playing or listening to music, singing, drumming or chanting. Or just listening to the rain. The Chilean transpersonal psychologist Claudio Naranjo calls this “form meditation”. It often has an intensely aesthetic element and so could also be characterised as “Apollonian meditation”.

The accumulated energy can then be channeled into what Naranjo calls “expressive meditation”. In traditional indigenous shamanic communities, this generally meant either dancing or fighting. The original Bacchanal was not a drunken orgy, but a “Dionysian meditation”.

This is what the early nineties rave scene was really all about, especially for those who knew what they were doing. It’s also what the sixties festivals were all about.

Although hedonistic and commercial forces took over and ultimately prevailed in both cases, this is not hedonism. This is “cutting off the green lion’s head” and “waking the baby dragon”. This is “the way of the peaceful warrior”, the “Mystic Shaman” turned “Warrior Monk”.

Remember God.

Parashiva Shiva Shakti.

Remember God.

Amun Ra Atum Ka Ba Gaia Jah.

Remember God.

Mystic Shaman Warrior Monk Philosopher King Friend.

Remember God.

Peace Love Goodness Beauty Truth Consciousness Bliss.

Remember God.