Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments:
An Entheogen Chrestomathy
Thomas B. Roberts, Ph.D. and Paula Jo Hruby, Ed.D.
Author Index | Title Index
Kornfield, Jack. (1993).
- A Path with Heart:
- A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life.
New York: Bantam.
xii + 353 pages.
23 chapters divided into 4 parts: I. A Path with Heart: The Fundamentals,
II. Promises and Perils, III. Widening
Our Circle, IV. Spiritual Maturity, Appendix:
Teachers Code of Ethics, A Treasury of Books, glossary.
Meditation: Reflecting On Your Attitude Toward Altered States
What is your relationship
to unusual and altered states in meditation? As you read about
these experiences, notice which ones touch you, notice where you
are attracted or what reminds you of past experiences. How do
you meet such experiences when they arise? Are you attached and
proud of them? Do you keep trying to repeat them as a mark of
your progress or success? Have you gotten stuck trying to make
them return over and over again? How much wisdom have you brought
to them? Are they a source of entanglement or a source of freedom
for you? Do you sense them as beneficial and healing, or are they
frightening? Just as you can misuse these states through attachment,
you can also misuse them by avoiding them and trying to stop them.
If this is the case, how could your meditation deepen if you opened
to them? Let yourself sense the gifts they can bring, gifts of
inspiration, new perspectives, insight, healing, or extraordinary
faith. Be aware of what perspective and teaching you follow, for
guidance in these matters. If you feel a wise perspective is lacking,
where could you find it? How could you best honor these realms
and use them for your benefit? (page 134)
Compilation copyright © 1995 2001 CSP