In writing this I hope to offer more than another trip report, of which there are countless to be found on the archives of Erowid. With my artwork and brief description of its source of inspiration I hope to offer a glimmer of hope to those who dealing with depression, PTSD, addiction or any of the side effects of being incarnated in this strange universe. I am writing from the perspective of a visual artist. I use images to communicate my thoughts most of the time so I will try and keep my writing brief and allow the artwork to fill in the gaps.
I got much more than I had bargained for on that evening. It was Jan 1, 2013. My intentions for the night were to listen to music and conjure up ideas for artwork, but what unfolded was far more spectacular and encouraging than I could have hoped for. Within a half an hour of eating a very small amount of mushrooms I was immersed in a beautiful and strange internal realm within which my recently deceased best friend seemed to merge with me bringing a Christ-like message of salvation and infinite love. This was a very strange experience to have as an atheistic, skeptical, scientifically minded individual. It was only a year after he had died in a car crash and I was understandably depressed. I had not fully processed the pain of losing him and the mushrooms illuminated that area of my mind forcing me to confront it. It was therapeutic like nothing I’ve ever known before. Like most trips it was a roller coaster of thoughts, feelings and emotions, but at some point I ceased to be a self at all, I was everything, a dislocated consciousness lacking all of the indicators of feeling attributed to being a human being with an identity. It was contact with the fountainhead from which pure joyous love and creation overflows, but it was also very weird. After the dust settled and I had time to incorporate and process everything I was able to make several images directly related the experience.
Making connections with realms that exist beyond our daily patterned familiar experience of reality is important for expanding your view of whatever this multiverse is that we find ourselves within. However, caveat emptor to all who enter here…
More art at ajwalkerart.com
