Soma? blissful?

Hey there

Terence McKenna argues that A. Muscaria could not be the Soma of the Vedas, because Soma is said to cause "bliss", while A. muscaria is more apt to cause bewildered delirium. I've not partaken of the great Muscaria myself, but reading through numerous accounts of the experience seems to corroborate his claim.

What say you? Is there a blissful experience to be had in the A. muscaria?

Drinking the Ambrosia and eating the bread gives an amazingly blissful experience... it's like that feeling you have right at the onset of psilocybes without your body feeling heavy or feeling confused... just a perfect bliss when you know you are one with God. Another method I learned from Don Teeter is powdering about a gram of AM, and let it soak in olive oil (annointing oil)... give it a good half hour to an hour to absorb all the muscimol then rub it on your forehead, the muscimol goes straight to the brain. Some people have claimed to have had better experiences with this method than the wine or bread. When I tried it, I didn't feel as much of the bliss as the wine (my preference), but I definitly had a lot more visual and color enhancement.

-T Doe

Terrence McKenna has made an incredible contribution to the entheogen world, I respect him very much, however I don't think he played around with AM enough to discover its sercrets that Teeter has found :)

I did this method with 6 grams and nothing happened.

How much olive oil did you use? How long did you let it sit? Did you rub just the oil or the olive oil with the powdered AM? How long did you leave it on your forehead?

I think this discussion is less about methods and more about belief.

I turned the AM into chalk dust size powder. I used the olive oil with the AM in it. I let it soak for at least an hour. I used enough olive oil to cover the powder in the soaking container. I left it on the forehead for over an hour. I put on a lot. Nothing happened.

What would be the concern with the amount of olive oil? What would happen with lower amounts? What would happen with greater amouns?

Thanks.

Razer,

I would suggest if you want to experience Amanitas. Take some time and consume them reverently over a few hours - you don't and in my opinion, shouldn't take a large dose all at once.

However, as you may have already guessed, opinions on Amanita are as varied as the stars in the sky.

Opinions may be varied, but they seem to aggregate strongly in the region of "unpleasant".

none of my experiences have been even close to what I would call "unpleasant". quite the contrary, really...

but, then again, I wasn't looking for a recreational experience from AM... and I listened closely to what the elders had to say about the proper use of this spirit. I can see how some, who may not have the luxury of proper instruction, could end up with a less than pleasant experience.

Similar to b, I have never had an unpleasant experience with Amanita Muscaria. A number of friends who have also taken it regularly have had the similar, benevolent experiences.

Many of the bad experiences I have seen posted seeem to be as the result of overdosing - 'front loading' taking the Amanita rather than spacing it out over a period of time, or alternately not taking account of (mind)set and setting.

Again, similar to b, I take a spiritual approach to picking and eating what I call The Good Teachers. If nothing else I believe this helps with mindset and setting, and followed in combination with moderation creates a learning experience. I have experienced blissfulness on them but it was very different to what I expected.