RUE DE SALVIA

The mind altering drug Salvia Divinorum has been legally available to buy over the counter in many countries for some time now. The plant, which is a member of the Sage family, is generally smoked, wherein it produces an altered state of consciousness; lasting for anything up to fifteen minutes. It is often said that psychedelic experiences tend to vary greatly from person to person. However, in researching user's accounts of the drug on the website Erowid, I have identified a number of persistent themes running throughout the course of a Salvia trip. Experiences which are common to most users, who take a moderate dosage, include;

the experience of being pushed or pulled (also known as Salvia Gravity)
being ripped apart and stuck back together
being folded or forced face first into a corner (also Salvia Gravity)
being told that the world is an illusion

Of these, the first three experiences are inextricably linked, in that they all represent the same process of being blown or pushed around the lines and vertices of an undefined polytope. The method by which this process occurs has been defined as Salvia Gravity, and this includes the feelings of motion, dissolution and resolution, and of course the feeling of being pressed into a corner. An attempt to describe the experience of a Salvia trip in terms of hyperbolic geometry can be found here.

From what I can gather, the experience most people have of Salvia is profoundly negative. Their fits of laughter are merely a defense mechanism to distract them from their uneasy terror. Having said this, immediate, and long term, after effects can be very positive. I would only advise people to try this drug if they are well practiced in the art of meditation, or have an open, confident, relaxed frame of mind; in which case you probably don't need to take this drug at all. Congratulations!

If you do, however, manage to take this drug, and find yourself in the unpleasant situations described above, you could try one or more of these practices;

1)  The conscious entity that resides within the Salvia Bardo does not have very good multitasking skills. It also appears that if you ask it a question it is under obligation to respond to you. By combining these two bits of information, you can easily distract the Salvia plant from its task by asking it repeat, rapid fire questions of a relevant nature. Normally, the entity is very abrupt, so try to ask him questions which are not of a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer. The fact that the entity is obliged to answer your questions suggests that it is a paid administrator, who you entered into contract with either when you smoked the bowl, or countless eons before hand.

2)   The Salvia Bardo is a holding mechanism for conscious awareness. Just as it is impossible for a passenger in a car to halt its movement by pressing in the opposite direction against the seat cover, it is impossible for a conscious life form to negate the motion of the Bardo mechanism while being swept along inside it. The only way to address your own forward motion in a vehicle that you have no control over is to bail out. You can bail out of a Salvia experience by peeling your consciousness away at a ninety degree angle to the mechanism while at rest. It is unclear if this is advisable however, as the salvia spirit itself suggests that you would be better to go through with the entire experience and have done with it.

Nevertheless, the ability to detach from the mechanism may be desirable, as it could afford you the opportunity to investigate the polychoron from an outsiders' perspective. You may even be able to get a hold of the Bardo Administrator, and get a look at the information on his out-dated computer screen; although I highly doubt this.

3)   Other methods of consolation during this difficult period include; singing mantras and counting the number of branch points or corners within the Bardo mechanism to get a better idea of its size.

THE SALVIA BARDO

The psychedelic effects of Salvia Divinorum––a member of the Sage family––can be described in terms of hyper-geometric harmonics. No-one should find this too surprising, as just this type of mathematics is considered to be the underlying structure of the Universe.

Firstly, it will be revealed to anyone who takes a satisfactory dose of this substance that the material reality, in which we live, is actually comprised of an infinite number of spermatozoon-like creatures –the plasmate – who continually soar upwards in a bountiful display of light and colour. These creatures are akin to the spirits and fairies that make life in the physical Universe possible. (See; Theosophy)

If, for any reason, you become fearful of this display, or you fail to remain within the nature of mind; as the Buddhist refer to it, then you will descend into the Bardo of Dharmata. Buddhists believe that when you die you encounter what is known as the Ground Luminosity. If you fail to recognize yourself in this shimmering light, then you will pass to one of the 100 Mandalas; each one controlled by either an enlightened being or a wrathful one. I believe that Salvia Divinorum is a gateway to this Bardo of Dharmata, and that, for many people, it is a place of pain and fear. Those who have taken it describe themselves being repeatedly ripped apart and then stuck back together.

They also describe a sinister presence, which may in fact merely be a facet of their own moral consciousness that they have yet to face up to. In addition to being ripped apart and recombined there is also the feeling of being conversely stretched to a point at infinity (a mathematical device used in the formation of eliptical curves) and of being pressed, face-first, into an acute angle which is associated with a powerful gravitational force; commonly refered to as Salvia Gravity. Once free, of the grip of this force, the process of dissolution; of being rendered into an almost infinite number of thin slices, and of passing over a leading edge, occurs once more.

The experience of leading edges and corners has lead some people to speculate that they are trapped inside a five-sided polygon, of some kind. It should be noted that the force, or energy, that drives a person around this object is by no means inseparable from one’s own energy, and this means that we are that object, at least for as long as the experience lasts.

The object (for want of a better term) is best described by hypergeometric harmonics or by the hyperbolic tiling of Poincare’s Disc and the Riemann Sphere. To illustrate this concept take a look at the drawing below.

Poincare's Disk Triangles

Imagine that your body is represented by the point on the sphere labelled 1/0. This fraction represents an infinity of other fractions (or lines) combined. Now when the Salvia Divinorum takes effect all of these lines break away, one by one, and travel in a clockwise direction around the disk. Then, when it comes time for the Central Channel––that channel which contains your own conscious perspective­­––to move, you find yourself being wrapped around the Poincare Disc, ascending to the hyperbolic space above, representing the infinite. Although your conscience is stretched to infinity, it travels the line in a finite amount of time; because it is the line. It then reconvenes at one of the fractional vertices, or corner. Here you experience the feeling of being pressed into a corner (see; Salvia Gravity), because that is exactly what is going on. The feelings of Salvia Gravity become more intense at the rational numbers where an infinite number of vertices combine to produce the field. Implication; you are a rational number of some considerable value.

A good animation which describes this process from an outside perspective can be found here. It depicts a Poincare Disk textured by aliens or little green men. In reality the aliens would be stretched unrecognizably but at least it will serve as a visual reminder to anyone who found it difficult to follow the explanation above.

You might be wondering what any of this has to do with you. Maybe you aren’t interested in hyper-geometric mathematics or have no interest in taking Salvia. But, remember, the Salvia Divinorum experience closely mirrors the Buddhist description of the afterlife, so this could happen to you after you die. If you miss the Ground Luminosity, and do find yourself in this situation, don’t worry. Ultimately, nothing can hurt you (by that I mean your immortal soul). Secondly, the whole process is you, the vertices represent the chakras and the lines are the meridians of your energetic body. Despite being incredibly unpleasant, it appears to be an attempt to heal you, or free you from your personal Karma. Just keep praying or doing whatever daily ritual you do, as long as it is focused on love and compassion, and you will be fine. Good acts are essential too.

Om Mani Padme Hum.                                                                                     Important links perhaps