Salvia Divinorum Ceremony

Salvia is a sacrement used for battling demons.

We do not advise any illegal behavior for obvious reasons. Usage of hallucinogens must be undertaken very seriously with an understanding of set and setting principles. Proper study beforehand and usage of safety precautions are critical components to self improvement via subtances.

In scientific terms salvia simply is the opposite of cocaine and has precisely the opposite long term effects neurochemically in the brain. The need for more and general disquiet illicited in the cocaine user(and any other adictive substance) is a symptom of receptor densities in certain areas of the brain being changed over the long term. Just as cocaine is pleasant over the short term and unpleasant over long term, so salvia is unpleasant in the short term and pleasant in the long term.

While there are a variety of changes throughout the brain that occur in addiction and salvia shows curative results in all of them, dopamine is the primary receptor that is altered in these areas and the NAcc is the primary area of concern. In this area ten days after the use of salvia, the NAcc has been shown to increase dopamine receptor density as much as 65% which is in direct opposition to the long term effects of addictive drugs. In addition there is a significant upregulation in mu-opiod sensitivity following salvia use showing it has great potential for chronic pain treatment.

Beyond the technical aspect of neurochemical alteration etc, the study of psychology has shown that cognitive therapy, IE ordering of thoughts, in addition to chemical therapy far outweighs the use of either therapy alone. So back to demons…

In SGMS we treat concepts as entites. While a very small concept/entity may be no more a thinking being than a virus, the benfit of seeing it as a simple living organism within the mind as a virus is very useful. The more complex the concept, the more complex the mental organism. This is the essense of magic, but that is a subject for a different article.

The Ceremony:

Demons take root and control us through our fears. Others spread these demons to us sometimes by accident but many times on purpose to gain control over us. Battling demons and facing fears is one and the same. By recognizing a demon and calling it by it’s true name(understanding the cause) you gain control over it instead of it over you.

Before the use of this sacrement, one must prepare the mind for battle. Some small meditation beforehand is needed. During this time one should look inward and try to identify worries, concerns, anxieties and other aspects of fear. Do you fear being alone, becoming sick, being hated, being abandoned, becoming homeless, losing loved ones, or even dying itself? Once you have identified the most powerful target fear, you must then try to figure out a way in which you will be okay, you will prevail, you will overcome it. The knowledge of the solution is usually not enough to battle a demon, that is where the sacrement is a gift for us to use. To turn knowledge of a solution to belief in it.

For instance even someone sick and in pain, abandoned by friends and family might realize that not every possible action has ever been taken. There are always positive consequences unforseen. That having nothing left to lose leaves one with nothing to fear. That humans can get over even the very worst situations. That even quadraplegics have roughly the same happiness as most people after the shock wears off. That the worst that can happen, death, will simply be an end to suffering. That there are endless adventures/possibilites waiting regardless of the dire nature of the current situation. That the one and only constant is change.

Your solutions need not be extremely complex, but simply an understanding that you can bear it, overcome it. That you can continue, prevail and live. Is all that is necessary to have on hand.

During the actual use of salvia, which peaks typically for only a few minutes, this is the time to specifically NOT think of the solution but to instead think of the problem. Let it rage inside your mind for the moment. Let the pain and fear overcome you for that time. Let it rage and pour itself out. Let self pity and doubt spring fully into your consciousness. Allow the tears to come. Let your fears do their very worst. Allow it to all to boil to the surface to be purged. “you’ll never be loved, you’ll always be alone, be hated, be afraid” Dwell for a moment on all the very worst things that could happen. Experience them in that moment. Loss of freedom, of power, of love, of friendship. Let it all come right to the front of your mind. It is very important to SUPPRESS the thoughts of the solution during this time. Once you have faced the storm, and allowed the fear to take hold and win for this moment, then they are naked before you. The demons having spent thier strength have no more power over you because you have shown yourself you can take it.

Once you begin to feel the effects of the salvia wearing off and the anxiety and tightness in your chest begin to unravel, only then should you begin to think on the solutions. On the brightness of the future. Your ability to adapt. Your thankfulness for what you have now. Your ability to focus on and appreciate life regardless of the situation. Begin to think on even the unlikely but possible sucesses. The positive aspects of losses.

In this way you will face and conquer your fears. You will know they have no power over you. You will begin to forget them as they lose relevance in your life. You will see how powerless and useless they are and begin to lose them entirely.

Completely aside from established therapies, the cognitive science reasoning/mechanism for this ceremoney is twofold. Firstly, salvia is proven to be aversive and cause conditioned place aversion. This means that it becomes less likely for a person to have a desire to do certain things. Less likely for those neurons to fire. Thinking about your problems is not something you want always going on in the background but attempting to avoid thinking about them doesn’t work. Secondly it is also established through a number of studies that trying to Not think of something makes it more difficult to not think of it. And especially once allowed after attempting to supress a thought, the thought becomes all the more preeminant. This is the reasoning to suppress thoughts of the solution for a time.

This ceremony needs to be performed at least bi-weekly. Increase of dosage is preferred but can be so onerous that smaller doses can be used to assure regular repeating of the ceremony. Larger doses are desired because large quantities of kappa opioid receptors is a sign of sickness int he brain and one of the goals of salvia use is downregulation of kappa opioid receptors. More frequent smaller doses can be used but there is occasionally the effect of desensitization and upregulation in some neuochemicals which is certainly not desired. Larger weekly or biweekly doses are the most preferred but each individual must pay close attention to their emotional state.

The combination of proper cognition and neurochemical tuning makes this ceremony the single most effective and important element of our religion.