Mushroom Wisdom: Cultivating Spiritual Consciousness

by Martin W. Ball

Mushroom Wisdom explores the universal aspects of the psilocybin mushroom experience as it relates to spirituality. Author Martin Ball explains how mushroom use can lead the spiritual seeker to profound states of self-awareness and radical understanding of the nature of the self, reality, and the sacred. Topics include looking into the spiritual mirror to uncover an authentic sense of self, developing “witness” consciousness to overcome self-limiting concepts and judgments, and removing obstacles of ego and self-induced suffering to trigger the rich experience of “spirit flow.” The book also addresses the creation and use of ritual, sacred objects, and the importance of sound and silence. Ball distinguishes between using mushrooms in spiritual work as opposed to simply having a pleasant psychedelic experience. Not a guide to how to have “fun” with psilocybin mushrooms, Mushroom Wisdom is a serious investigation into deep spiritual nature, drawing on both a wide array of scientific disciplines and ancient shamanic practices.

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Psychology

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 13, 2006

About the author

Martin W. Ball, Ph.D., is a writer, independent publisher, energy worker, visionary artist, and musician currently living in Ashland Oregon. In the spring of 2009 Martin underwent a profound energetic opening and transformation - the result of intensive work with entheogenic medicines and a year of profound self-exploration. The result is Martin's articulation of what he calls the "Entheological Paradigm," a Grand Unified Theory of all of reality from God to the direct experience of each human being, which he characterizes as an articulation of his view on “radical nonduality.” His approach is unique in that he sees the tension between duality and nonduality not as a spiritual or religious issue, but as an energetic issue that can best be addressed through the intentional use of powerful entheogens, such as 5-MeO-DMT. As such, his approach is thoroughly practical, straight-forward, and free of metaphysics, speculation, and attachment to spiritual or religious ideologies and mythologies. The result is a view of the nature of reality and the self that is challenging, liberating, and powerfully transformative, pointing to the true nature of being and personal responsibility as an energetic being.

Martin earned his B.A. at Occidental College in Los Angeles in 1994 where he studied Philosophy and Religious Studies. From there he went to graduate school at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Religious Studies in 2000 with an emphasis on Native American traditions, Philosophy of Science and Religion, and the Phenomenology of Mystical and Shamanic Experience, as well as the role of entheogens in religious and spiritual experience. For his Ph.D. dissertation, Martin performed fieldwork at the Mescalero Apache reservation in New Mexico where he studied with a number of medicine people and researched the Mescalero Mountain Spirit tradition.

Currently, Martin works as an adjunct professor teaching Religious Studies and Native American Studies in southern Oregon. He also provides personal healing and energy sessions for those looking to advance on their personal paths to authentic being, and enjoys servicing others as the ultimate "reality coach" for those who are truly ready to transcend their egos and embrace their true energetic natures as embodiments of the One Being. His methods are direct, immediate, and involve no ceremony, ritual, or spiritual practice, and instead rely on the direct and profound expansion into one’s fully infinite natural state of universal being.

Martin is also a prolific writer, composer, and musician. His most recent books include the psychedelic novel, Beyond Azara: A Universal Love Story, the ebook, All is One: Understanding Entheogens and Nonduality, and the fractal art book and “owner’s manual” of God’s Handbook for Operation Human Vehicles: A No Nonsense, No Strings Attached Approach to Universal Being. In addition to these works, his most influential and ground-breaking work remains his 2009 book, Being Human: An Entheological Guide to God, Evolution, and the Fractal, Energetic Nature of Reality. He is currently completing an autobiographical work, tentatively titled Being Infinite: One Man’s Journey into the Limitless Eternal.

(© http://www.martinball.net/)

Reviews

[Cintain 昆遊龍 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very powerful, personal, and honest approach, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Mr. Ball's exposition manages to stay clear from both neo-shamanic posturing and dry anthropological anecdote. I have been waiting for a book that describes both the mushroom experience in itself, and provides a non-sectarian, non-new-age-bullshit view of the use of entheogens as a tool for personal and spiritual growth. Enormously valuable are the chapters on working with the self, attention and intention. I had never previously found a book that brought insights and tools such as these to the consumption of mushrooms.
The result is an immensely valuable set of guidelines for developing a spiritual practice without adherence to religion and depedent exclusively on one's honesty, integrity, and commitment. Great work, highly recommended for anyone serious about spiritual experience who isn't afraid or judgmental, and who believes that entheogens have a rightful place in the quest for truth.

[Polina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised to find that aside from covering the topic of using mushrooms for spiritual growth, the book is at the same time the most clear headed, non dogmatic, non poetic primer on non-religious spirituality I ever read. Unfortunately it, like many others, suffers from using too many words to convey too little meaning. I would much rather read a satisfying and punchy 50 page book than have to resort to skimming through 200 to get the same amount of info. Still the information it set out to present was presented well and in a logical manner.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe the message this book contains is an important one. Truly, psilocybin mushrooms can and do share wisdom with us if we open ourselves to the learning opportunity. I believe it is our right to be able to use them as tools for our spiritual development and hope that more people will come to recognize this power of mushrooms. Because this is my belief, it was a fairly enjoyable read, and I've rated it 3 stars here so as not to entirely turn people away.

However, I must express that the writing of these important messages would grant this book a rating closer to 2 stars. It was a little repetitive for one thing. The worst part is that I noticed over 30 spelling and/or grammar mistakes throughout, and I didn't even read the 'main points' listed at the end of each chapter. Finally, though I appreciate the interesting visuals, images were placed sporadically on the pages, sometimes disrupting the text and making it difficult to read. Similarly, there were text boxes all over the place with excerpts that did not have to have a spotlight on them at all - if you're reading the book, you're going to come to those excerpts regardless, so it seemed kind of silly to have sentences such as "I had seen a golden eagle fly over our camp" stand out when they're already included in the text.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well articulated insights into spiritual experiences brought by psychedelics. Great book.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but it's a mess. Like Mr. Ball I believe that mushrooms are teachers if one listens.

Some great wisdom is in this book towards the end. Too bad it gets lost in the presentation.

Having said that, Ball's book is an editor's nightmare. Key points are included at the end of the chapter. The fonts in the book change or are made bold. There are images in the middle of a paragraph that causes massive spacial gaps. The kerning of the text is so atrocious that it distracts me from reading the material.

Worst of all, Mr. Ball repeats himself in every chapter. My guy was running out of content. The idea of writing a book about mushrooms is excellent, but the execution is terrible. Mushroom Wisdom should have been a pamphlet or a PowerPoint, not a book.

[Samantha McGuire (Mirror Bridge Books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book.. I've always been fascinated by psychedelic mushrooms and the spiritual wisdom and growth that they can bring people. I was very impressed with how this book was able to articulate the experience with words, making it easy for any reader to understand. It also has an emphasis on mushrooms being strictly a sacred experience for personal spiritual growth and not to be used recreationally..Great book!

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spelling errors in the Kindle book TOC

This is a very good book. But spelling errors in the Kindle book Table of Contents is offputting and shows shoddy editing when transferring the printed book to Kindle.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful exploration of the author's mysticism surrounding the use of mushrooms and the parts of the human experience to which such substances permit access. A recommended read for those exploring nonordinary states of consciousness regardless of your experience and interest in becoming a psychonaut yourself.