Here’s the thing. Are you ready? For the Thing? Okay. Great.

I just read an article on Erowid.com, a website dedicated to the dissemination of honest, real-world information about consciousness altering substances of all kinds on the internet for the safety, knowledge, and curiosity of everyone. On the Fly Agaric page, there was an article on the ancient traditional use of the mushroom in Afghanistan. They called their ethnomycological research “cutting edge.” But here’s the thing (as promised). There is nothing cutting edge about their research. Sure, the modern, western, scientific-method of research has never been applied to this particular field in this part of the world. Granted.

But the knowledge which they are gathering is sketchy at best, an outsider’s observations. In other words, the researchers don’t really “get it.” In a universe where all knowledge is available to those who have ears to hear it, eyes to see it, the ‘cutting edge’ research is building up a body of knowledge which is limited and ultimately dead.

Just like the European explorers who claimed to have “discovered” the New World, these researchers are dong “cutting edge” research on a culture of living humans who already know all they need to in order to continue their lives and practices. Who is this dead knowledge to serve anyway? A rich man’s intellect? Perhaps, at best. At worst, a military incursion intent on cultural destabilization.

The living knowledge is carried by the living people. In this way, all real knowledge is available. All real (living) knowledge could also be said to be initiatory. Entrance into the ‘stream’ of living knowledge passed down from one generation to the next is fundamentally an initiation. From the Afghani perspective, the researcher is a curious European person whom they may be willing to initiate into their knowledge, their worldview, they way of seeing the world and their body of practices for the purpose of living rightly with their fellows, their planet, and themselves. The researcher is an exciting challenge to be tackled: can they affect change within this curious traveler?

The researcher, on the other hand, mistaking his/her own mental constructions for real objectivity, is intent on not being fundamentally changed or altered by this experience. If they are a really good researcher, like Carlos in Don Juan, they will indeed allow themselves to be deeply affected by the experience. They will carefully observe the changes within themselves and report them back to their home culture, a small but precious jewel for the home culture, an ultimate win for the researcher, and a double victory for the Afghans. If the indigenous practitioner is truly a master, he or she will observe the traveler closely and deeply, and see to it that the initiatory process is structured to unavoidably affect change, perhaps critical healing, to the curious newcomer, or perhaps simply turn them away.

So, point being? Open up. All the knowledge that matters to anyone (living knowledge) is out there and available. You just have to open up to the possibility of change, perhaps deep change within yourself. Challenges are always a part of gaining this kind of knowledge, but with challenge comes opportunity. Go for it. Be honest and true to it. Honor the agreements made in the gaining of the knowledge insofar as you reasonably can. Above all, be true to yourself, your ever-evolving self.