book review: mushroom wisdom
11 Aug 2021
Mushroom Wisdom: Cultivating Spiritual Consciousness by Martin W. Ball
What are the main ideas?
- mushrooms consistently give people mystical experiences. mystical experiencds can be defined as direct experience of the reality that everything is connected. it is this capacity of mushrooms (and other entheogens) that makes them such a threat to organized religion(s). this is why they are so often shunned or demeaned by institutionalized systems of faith. if poeple could have direct access to [insert God(s) here], the religions wouldn’t be needed.
- the framing of “good” and “bad” trips is rooted in attachment. if you are using mushrooms as they truly intend to be used, no experience is good or bad; it all is just illuminating.
- mushrooms show us both who we are. many people are afraid to actually look at who they are. this is part of what can lead to bad/negative/fearfilled experiences.
- mushrooms show us the nature of our minds if we are willing to actually be open to what they are showing during the experience
- using mushrooms as a spiritual tool is work. it is good work, but it is work. this is very different than using mushrooms for recreation.
- contrary to popular belief, it is possible to use your attention to shape a mushroom experience. it takes skill and experience but it is very possible.
- everything in the world is made up of patterns and every pattern has some information about other patterns. mushrooms have the capacity to show us these patterns. if we choose to act on our insights, mushrooms can show us pathways to change patterns that we want to.
- the best way to work with mushrooms as plant teachers is to put in the effort to let them guide. intention is great; expectation is not.
If I implemented one idea from this book right now, which one would it be?
when using mushrooms as a spiritual tool, there is no such thing as a good or bad experience. those are judgments we have learned to apply to pleasant or unpleasant experiences. but mushrooms are here to show us what is; sometimes what is is difficult to look at. but we shouldn’t let our society’s fear of Shadow work influence our experience too much. some experiences are unpleasant/hard, but they aren’t “bad.”
How would I describe the book to a friend?
the mushroom guide i always wanted. this book flows in a way that tells me it was clearly written by someone who has done signifiacnt work with mushrooms and that feels great. each chapter is full of quotes and ideas that, in spite of the comic sans font, are deeply illuminating of the process of being taught by mushrooms. sidenote: i do have some trepidation about this text as coming from a(n apparently) white dude, but as far as i know right now, it seems excellent.
reminder: book review structure
words / writing / post-processing
543w / 15min / 3min