The Entheogenic Evolution: Psychedelics, Consciousness and Awakening the Human Spirit

by Martin W. Ball

Though now largely banned by governments and mainstream religions alike, entheogens have played a direct role in the spiritual practices of countless cultures. Martin W. Ball, Ph.D., makes the case for the value and significance of direct spiritual experience through entheogen use and how they can alter our collective understanding of the nature of reality and our personal relationship with the divine. Exploring topics like 2012, U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding religious use of psychedelics, the phenomenology of entheogenic shamanism and mysticism, the history of sacred medicine use for spiritual practice, and practical advice for working with 5-MeO-DMT, Ball takes his readers through a philosophical, spiritual, and personal journey into the heart of the sacred in search of a vision of hope and transformation. Both inspiring and insightful, The Entheogenic Evolution is a call to awaken.

228 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2008

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

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Update: I have recently become aware of some absolutely atrocious space-holding practices performed by the author, including touching genitals, vomiting on clients intentionally, and taking very dangerous substances at the same time as his clients with no sober sitters or access to proper medical care. Please do not promote anything else this author puts out. I will not be. Spread the word. The psychedelic communities need to deal with their sexual assault and abuse problems.

I really liked this book. This one, more than any I have read to date, has a more spiritual centered focus of the use of mind-altering substances. It is very informative in terms of the power that some of these substances can have in generating spiritual experiences.

My strongest complaint is that the book is told from largely a personal perspective without very much real research involved in the writing. However, the author does freely admit this, and doesn't try to pass the book of as something it is not, though he is enthusiastic at times.

I do enjoy the legal discussion of the use of these substances, and it is a very interesting perspective that the author presents in terms of what should be added to the laws of our nation to protect spiritual practice as long as it is not harming the rights of others and that the government has no right to hinder these experiences.

I would definitely recommend this to others trying to learn more about spirituality or mind altering substances. It may be difficult to read for people who aren't much interested in phenomena that cannot at the moment be scientifically studied, but readable if taken with a grain of salt.