shamanism community this morning which began with the following:Gee ... a whole bottle of coke? Most, if not all, of the Shamans I have ever worked with use some forms of entheogens in their practice, and the idea that a bottle of Coke would even remotely effect one's mental state is laughable to me. I'm reminded of the stories of Aleister Crowley excusing himself from the dinner table, "shooting enough heroin to kill an elephant", and returning for dessert and after-dinner chit-chat ... how can one presume to be a Shaman or an Occultist without the ability to overcome the effects (I am assuming, of course, that the post was referring to consuming a product of the Coca-Cola Corporation, and not some large quantity of cocaine!) of a bottle of Coke?"Last night I, stupidly, drank a whole bottle of coke before going to bed so I couldn't get to sleep despite my exhaustion."
Perhaps, due to my own rather high "tolerance" for caffeine, this strikes me as particularly pitiful, but it boggles the mind what would happen to this "Shaman" were he or she to find themself in a ritual involving Ayahuasca? If a few milligrams of caffeine makes you trip so much that you're convinced you're being contacted by a "spirit helper" (NEW! From The Folks Who Brought You "Hamburger Helper" and "Tuna Helper"!), what are you going to do when you play with real "paleo" Shamans?
Man ... maybe I'm jealous ... I need to have something like four Venti Mocha Lattes before I'm in any danger of not getting to sleep, and will frequently nod off despite having just consumed a pot or more of coffee. It amazes me that there are "delicate psyches" for whom a poorly-timed bottle of fucking Coke would have any effect!