Psychedelic Yoga, "Yoga Meditation Techniques & Psychedelics"

Anonymous Yogi Mystic Sets San Francisco on Fire! “Psychedelic Yoga, the Application of Yoga Meditation Techniques to the Use of Psychedelic Sacraments,” by Sri Brahmarishi Narad

“Psychedelic Yoga, the Application of Yoga Meditation Techniques to the Use of Psychedelic Sacraments,” by Sri Brahmarishi Narad

otqtxwmy October 5, 2023

Why Read It

Psychedelics and Yoga are two of the most powerful medicines available to the human being, and the intersection of the two is largely unexplored territory. This short treatise was written and distributed by an unknown yogi in late 1960’s in San Francisco, and in it the author presents this novel idea that psychedelic experience and yoga can be paired together to bring about rapidly accelerating states of enlightened consciousness.

The ultimate aim of the Perennial Philosophy is for the human soul to realize the Self, and once a soul sets out on this quest, it utilizes a host of techniques of ecstasy to be an active participant in this unfolding cosmic dance of reality. This short work outlines a number of such techniques that combine yoga and psychedelics. This area of work will likely gain significant attention over the next hundred years, and this short essay is one of the first known, documented works to address this topic directly with specific recommendations for how to initiate into the practice of psychedelic yoga.

Overview

The Author provides a general introduction to the idea of combining psychedelic sacraments with yogic practice. Psychedelics cause profound energy movement at the subtle levels of the human body, as does yogic practice. By combining the two medicines, two very powerful energy currents are at work in the body, and the author suggests that there is a way to work with both of these energies for the rapid growth and expansion of human consciousness.

The Author’s major point is that “the most spiritual and powerful aspect of man’s nature is the faculty of attention or consciousness.” The entire work is focused on how to direct attention or consciousness, while under the influence of psychedelic sacraments. Left to it’s own meanderings, consciousness may be overwhelmed by the psychedelic and generate fear, confusion and other lower vibratory states. The entirety of the essay touches on a number of yogic techniques designed to help direct attention during the psychedelic experience, including meditation on the breath, the chakra centers, sound current, and the “I Am” Principle.

Key Takeaways

Techniques of Ecstasy: Very specific instructions to initiate into a number of timeless meditation techniques, including meditation on the breath, sound current, the light in the head, the chakra centers, mantra yoga, and meditation on consciousness itself, or the “I Am” Principle.
Attention Is Primary: The ability for the human being to bring conscious attention to a particular object in space is its superpower. By placing attention on attention itself, or by becoming conscious of consciousness itself, or by becoming aware of awareness itself, a person begins to move into unlimited freedom.
Energy Flow: Energy, or consciousness itself, moves through the body and environment in geometric form through specific lines, waves and nodal points. Yoga and Psychedelics are both known to induce significant increases in energy activity, and the combination of the two healing modalities opens a space where the imprints that unfold upon consciousness during the psychedelic experience carry a heavy charge of energy that will impact the future experience of existence in time. Hence, the importance of utilizing yoga to guide attention during the psychedelic experience.
Evolution & Consciousness: As the consciousness of the human being grows and expands, she gains increasing conscious unity with the in-the-moment unfolding, power of evolution, and in this space, she grows into a capacity for conscious direction that seems to be the hope of this realm and age of existence.

Quotes

“Seek ye first the kingdom of pure consciousness and all of these other psychic manifestations will be added unto you. Placing the attention on the attention itself can be done in any location in space since pure consciousness, which is the same as God, is an omnipresent principle.”

“The fact that psychedelic drugs induce a greater sensitivity to subtle spiritual and psychic energies, and speed up the influx of impressions from deeper levels of consciousness, raises the immediate question of how these energies can be properly understood and handled. Obviously, if these energies are not guided, they can do more harm than good. The application of traditional Yoga meditation techniques while under psychedelic experiences, provides a constructive solution to this problem.”

“The goal of all Yoga practices is to discover and directly experience what the attention or faculty of consciousness in man is. The yogi seeks to know that principle by which all else is known. This goal is achieved by observing the observer or placing the attention on the attention itself. This may at first seem very abstract and hard to grasp in terms of practical application, but there are workable, time-proven methods for achieving this state of pure consciousness which when consistently applied and practiced are bound to yield results.”

“When properly used, psychedelic drugs help to speed up the evolutionary process. When man has evolved to superman, he will, under the direction of the superconscious mind in accordance with God’s will as it manifests in evolution, take an active part in the molding and directing of the evolution of the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms.”