Spirituality and Drugs

Update – January 29, 2022

Part of the spiritual journey involves the ever-expansion of knowledge and experience. Regardless of what I know, I also realize that I never have the full picture. Recent experiences of mine have helped me come to a deeper about this topic, and so I would like to add a small update here.

I have come to find that like with most things, the intention of how medicine is used is extremely important. I am grateful to have personally experienced the use of plant medicine in ceremony and have sees first-hand how it can be used in a manner that serves a spiritual purpose. The main factors to using plant medicine appropriately include how it is prepared, how it is administered, and how it is respected.

In the Western world, we tend to use medicine and drugs as a way to treat symptoms. And although that is not wrong per so, this type of thinking is problematic because it is disempowering. I.e., you believe that something outside of yourself is needed to heal you.

The alternative is to realize that you are responsible for your own healing, and not anything external. This doesn’t mean that you can’t use medicine; it means that the medicine is there to help you heal yourself. Instead of treating medicine as an inanimate object, you are treating it as a spiritual tool containing wisdom and consciousness. The effectiveness of plant medicine – within a spiritual context – is your intention for using it and your relationship with the medicine as a helper.

Perhaps the key is that plant medicine must be taken with awareness. When medicine is taken mindlessly and automatically as a way of “treating symptoms,” the respect and proper relationship with the medicine has been lost.

Introduction

In today’s society, there is what could be called an overlap between spirituality and drug culture. Many people who consider themselves as “spiritual people” take drugs for the purpose of spiritual experiences and/or healing. That being said, most people are unaware of the spiritual side-effects of using drugs. In this article, I will explain what those effects are, and how drug use can actually hinder spiritual progress.

The Human Energy Field

The physical human body is located within an energy field that is popularly known as the aura. What is not as well-known is that this energy field does not just surround the body, but covers all areas within the body as well. Energy moves throughout the body thanks to a series of “pipelines” within the body known as meridians. Additionally, there are many points on the body that bring in and release energy from these meridians. Seven of these points are known as the major “chakras”, but there are many others as well (such as in the hands and feet).

Spheres of Light

To better understand how the body’s energetic system corresponds with spirituality, let’s use an analogy. Think of the energy field as a sphere of light (which is not too far off from the truth). The meridians are power lines that move energy through the body, and the chakras are the power stations that supply the energy. 

The intensity of the light emanating from the light sphere ranges from very dim to very bright, depending on a number of factors. The brightness of the sphere of light directly depends on the light energy being able to pervade every spot of the energy field. Now let’s say that the goal of life (or more specifically the spiritual path) is to shine as brightly as possible. Note that this is not done for its own sake. On the contrary, the brighter we shine, the more bliss and pleasure it brings us. (In other words, the closer that we come to uniting with Light/God, the more pleasurable our experience will be). 

With this in mind, note that the following factors affect the brightness level of our lights:

1. The amount of available energy depends on how well the power stations are functioning.
2. The energy level also depends on the integrity of the power lines (i.e. any blocks or breaks in the line will hinder the flow of energy).
3. The presence of any foreign substance in the energy field will reduce the maximum level of brightness.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the effect of drugs on our spheres of light.

The Effect of Drugs

Effect #1: Decreases the “Light Capacity”

First of all, drug use of any kind results in the accumulation of what could be thought of as a sticky, energetic “sludge” inside the energy field. This sludge is visible by anyone who has the ability to view the aura. The more sludge that is in the field, the less bright the sphere of light will be.

Another useful analogy is to think of the energy field as a large container, with light and sludge being two different types of liquid. If the container is empty, it has the potential for holding the maximum capacity of liquid light. But the more sludge that is added, the less room there is for light to be added.

Effect #2: Damages the Meridians

The second effect of drug use is damage to the meridians (power lines). People who take drugs for spiritual-like experiences may not realize that the experience is not only artificial, but damages our “spiritual bodies”. To produce the artificial experience, drugs force an unsafe amount of energy through the energy system. This is a bit like electrifying yourself on the spiritual level, with the effect of damaging the meridians, which reduces their overall capacity.

Drug Addiction

Because of the damage to the energy system, a person who uses drugs decreases the energy that can flow through the system, which in turn decreases the person’s capacity to feel pleasure. 

In other words, a person who uses drugs

1. Has a very intense and possibly pleasurable experience
2. Experiences a general decrease in ability to feel overall (including pleasure)

What happens next is predictable: a person in such a situation will easily fall into the trap of using drugs to repeat the experience of being under the influence of drugs.

Additionally, as the overall level of pleasure decreases (while not under the influence), the amount of pleasure while under the influence also decreases over time. This is due to the fact that the meridians continue to be inflicted with damage by the high energy current being pushed by the drugs. So instead of the temporary high that the drugs initially provided, the drug addict feels increasing levels of pain caused by the rush of energy that can no longer surge through the meridians, and the energy is therefore violently pushed through the field using whatever path offers the least resistance.

List of Harmful Drug Types

The following is a (non-exhaustive) list of drugs that can be harmful to health:

• Cannabis/Marijuana
• Hallucinogens (LSD, PCP)
• Stimulants (cocaine, crack, antidepressants, amphetamines such as crystal meth)
• Sedatives (opium, heroin, barbiturates)
• Designer drugs (such as ecstasy)
• Inhalants (glues, rubber cement, solvents)
• Alcohol
• Nicotine

Cannabis: A Closer Look

As public opinion is sliding more and more in favor of the legalization of cannabis, it’s worth taking a closer assessment of this drug. 

Let’s start with the harmful effects of cannabis.

1. As have been noticed by multiple spiritual healers, cannabis does indeed leave “sludge” in the energy field. This sludge is often found around the head and shoulder area, which prevents proper energy flow of the throat, 3rd eye, and crown chakras.
2. At the psychological level, use of cannabis (especially in high doses) can result in hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia, short-term memory loss, and difficulty in thinking.
3. At the physical level, being under the influence of cannabis increases blood pressure, intensifies hunger, and reduces psychomotor control (making it dangerous to operate machinery or drive a car).

Noting cannabis’ harmful effects, let’s now consider its healing properties.

1. “Cannabis helps in terms of relaxation.” While this may seem to be true, it is not necessarily due to the healing properties of cannabis. Rather, it is likely due to a dangerous side-effect of using drugs in general: it dissipates your energy.
2. “Cannabis reduces pain.” Cannabis use can temporarily mask the pain, which is why cannabis is addictive.
3. “Cannabis helps with anxiety.” Actually, cannabis can act as a depressant, which means the ability to feel emotions in general decreases. So rather than easing anxiety, cannabis use makes a person less aware of its existence.

In short: just like anti-depressants, the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes tends to hide health issues instead of treat them. True healing of medical issues must happen at the source, which is either the emotional, psychological or spiritual level. In contrast, drugs are chemicals which artificially alter the physical level, while causing potentially harmful side effects at other levels.

Interference with Creation

From a spiritual perspective, there is another side-effect of all drugs that is important to be aware of: it interferes with “creation”. As sons and daughters of the Creator, we are learning to be co-creators with God. The Earth could be thought of as a “spiritual playpen” or laboratory where we are practicing and learning how to create. In other words, we can experiment with creating good, but we can also experiment with creating evil. If we choose to create evil, it will have no adverse effects on God, because we are doing it inside of a “test environment”.

The process of creation mimics the Creator Himself: there is both an active (masculine) aspect, and a passive (feminine) aspect. Both parts are necessary to create anything. There is intention/action, and then there is the waiting period that is necessary to allow the creation to “come to life”. In today’s society, many people overlook the passive aspect of creation: they believe that only action is necessary.

Creation isn’t analogous to building something. Instead, it is analogous to planting something. It starts with an idea and an intention to implement the idea. This is followed by the planting of that idea (the action). Then – crucially – there is the period of waiting for the idea to sprout.

Blocking creation

The action part of creation can be thought of as sending out energy from your energy field. You are pushing your energetic creation out into the world. The opposite of the active mode is the passive side, which can be thought of as the energy of your creation coming back to you. By experiencing the results of your creation, you are bringing the energy of your creation back into you.

Unfortunately, the use of drugs interferes with the active part of creation. Think of the active aspect as flexing your muscles, and the passive aspect as relaxing your muscles. The habitual use of drugs makes it impossible for you to “flex your creative muscles”.

As a result, drug use makes creating the life you desire impossible. You literally block yourself from being about to accomplish what you want to do. In other words, drugs make it difficult if not impossible for you to complete your life mission.