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The story of Santa and his flying reindeer can be traced to an unlikely source: hallucinogenic or “magic” mushrooms, according to one theory. “Santa is a modern counterpart of a shaman, who consumed mind-altering plants and fungi to commune with the spirit world,” said John Rush, an anthropologist and instructor at Sierra College in Rocklin, Calif. Here are eight ways that hallucinogenic mushrooms explain the story of Santa and his reindeer. 1. Arctic shamans gave out mushrooms on the winter solstice. According to the theory, the legend of Santa derives from shamans in the Siberian and Arctic regions who dropped into locals’ teepee-like homes with a bag full of hallucinogenic mushrooms as presents in late December, Rush said. “As the story goes, up until a few hundred years ago, these practicing shamans or priests connected to the older traditions would collect Amanita muscaria (the Holy Mushroom), dry them and then give them as gifts on the winter solstice,” Rush told LiveScience in an email. “Because snow is usually blocking doors, there was an opening in the roof through which people entered and exited, thus the chimney story.” 2. Mushrooms, like gifts, are found beneath pine trees. That’s just one of the symbolic connections between the Amanita muscaria mushroom and the iconography of Christmas, according to several historians and ethnomycologists, or people who study fungi’s influence on human societies. Of course, not all scientists agree that the Santa story is tied to a hallucinogen. [Trippy Tales: History of Magic Mushrooms & Other Hallucinogens] In his book “Mushrooms and Mankind” (The Book Tree, 2003) the late author James Arthur points out that Amanita muscaria, also known as fly agaric, lives throughout the Northern Hemisphere under conifers and birch trees, with which the fungi — which are deep red with white flecks — have a symbiotic relationship. This partially explains the practice of the Christmas tree, and the placement of bright red-and-white presents underneath it, which look like Amanita mushrooms, he wrote. “Why do people bring pine trees into their houses at the winter solstice, placing brightly colored (red-and-white) packages under their boughs, as gifts to show their love for each other …?” he wrote. “It is because, underneath the pine bough is the exact location where one would find this ‘Most Sacred’ substance, the Amanita muscaria, in the wild.” (Note: Do not eat these mushrooms, as they can be poisonous.) 3. Reindeer were shaman “spirit animals.” Reindeer are common in Siberia and northern Europe, and seek out these hallucinogenic fungi, as the area’s human inhabitants have also been known to do. Donald Pfister, a Harvard University biologist who studies fungi, suggests that Siberian tribesmen who ingested fly agaric may have hallucinated that the grazing reindeer were flying. “At first glance, one thinks it’s ridiculous, but it’s not,” said Carl Ruck, a professor of classics at Boston University. “Whoever heard of reindeer flying? I think it’s becoming general knowledge that Santa is taking a ‘trip’ with his reindeer.” [6 Surprising Facts About Reindeer] “Amongst the Siberian shamans, you have an animal spirit you can journey with in your vision quest,” Ruck continued. “And reindeer are common and familiar to people in eastern Siberia.” 4. Shamans dressed like … Santa Claus. These shamans “also have a tradition of dressing up like the [mushroom] … they dress up in red suits with white spots,” Ruck said. 5. Mushrooms abound in Christmas iconography. Tree ornaments shaped like Amanita mushrooms and other depictions of the fungi are also prevalent in Christmas decorations throughout the world, particularly in Scandinavia and northern Europe, Pfister pointed out. That said, Pfister made it clear that the connection between modern-day Christmas and the ancestral practice of eating mushrooms is a coincidence, and he doesn’t know about any direct link. [5 Surprising Facts About Christmas] 6. Rudolph’s nose resembles a bright-red mushroom. Ruck points to Rudolph as another example of the mushroom imagery resurfacing: His nose looks exactly like a red mushroom. “It’s amazing that a reindeer with a red-mushroom nose is at the head, leading the others,” he said. Many of these traditions were merged or projected upon St. Nicholas, a fourth-century saint known for his generosity, as the story goes. There is little debate about the consumption of mushrooms by Arctic and Siberian tribespeople and shamans, but the connection to Christmas traditions is more tenuous, or “mysterious,” as Ruck put it. 7. “A Visit from St. Nicholas” may have borrowed from shaman rituals. Many of the modern details of the modern-day American Santa Claus come from the 1823 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (which later became famous as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas”). The poem is credited to Clement Clarke Moore, an aristocratic academic who lived in New York City. The origins of Moore’s vision are unclear, although Arthur, Rush and Ruck all think the poet probably drew from northern European motifs that derive from Siberian or Arctic shamanic traditions. At the very least, Arthur wrote, Santa’s sleigh and reindeer are probably references to various related northern European mythology. For example, the Norse god Thor (known in German as Donner) flew in a chariot drawn by two goats, which have been replaced in the modern retelling by Santa’s reindeer, Arthur wrote. Other historians were unaware of a connection between Santa and shamans or magic mushrooms, including Stephen Nissenbaum, who wrote a book about the origins of Christmas traditions, and Penne Restad, of the University of Texas at Austin, both of whom were contacted by LiveScience. 8. Santa is from the Arctic. One historian, Ronald Hutton, told NPR that the theory of a mushroom-Santa connection is flawed. “If you look at the evidence of Siberian shamanism, which I’ve done,” Hutton said, “you find that shamans didn’t travel by sleigh, didn’t usually deal with reindeer spirits, very rarely took the mushrooms to get trances, didn’t have red-and-white clothes.” But Rush and Ruck disagree, saying shamans did deal with reindeer spirits and the ingestion of mushrooms is well documented. Siberian shamans did wear red deer pelts, but the coloring of Santa’s garb is mainly meant to mirror the coloring of Amanita mushrooms, Rush added. As for sleighs, the point isn’t the exact mode of travel, but that the “trip” involves transportation to a different, celestial realm, Rush said. Sometimes people would also drink the urine of the shaman or the reindeer, as the hallucinogenic compounds are excreted this way, without some of the harmful chemicals present in the fungi (which are broken down by the shaman or the reindeer), Rush said. “People who know about shamanism accept this story,” Ruck said. “Is there any other reason that Santa lives in the North Pole? It is a tradition that can be traced back to Siberia.” This article has been republished from Live Science https://www.shift.is/2014/12/8-ways-magic-mushrooms-explain-santa-story/

It wouldn't surprise me if most stories, fairy tales, religions ect... stemmed from people accidentally running into hallucinogenic substances and connecting with source/god(whatever you wanna call it). It does start to make sense when you really think about it and view from a different perspective. Most welcome

by Conscious Reminder Awakened souls are instinctively drawn to each other. When they meet, it’s an encounter like no other, because these people are able to identify similar frequencies in no time. If you are an awakened person, you are well aware that it’s not a problem to precisely pinpoint, even in a bigger crowd, the people who match your vibration. Some of them have already completed their awakening process (if that’s even possible), but other are just at the dawn of their enlightenment journey. When you notice someone who got stuck along the way of their awakening process, you might feel compelled to help them out. And it is a completely natural reaction, but it doesn’t always mean that it’s the best decision. So be careful with it. Sometimes people need to go through hurdles and hardship to learn crucial karmic lessons. The following checkpoints represent steppingstones to a better and more fulfilled life. If you went through the process of awakening, you had probably stumbled upon most, if not all, of these, and if not they will give you insight on the things that might follow. Don’t rush yourself through them, take your time and pay close attention, because if you skip any, it will get you right back at the starting point. So, how does the awakening process work? Awakening is a never-ending process, but there are common occurrences or checkpoints that take place. These events slowly transform a person’s life. If You’re On Your Journey of Awakening, You Have to Go Through These 11 Stages: Stage 1: Confusion At the start you will feel a bit lost, like a ship without a compass. Things seem monotonous, dull and lifeless, it it confuses you. You will be at a loss for words and afraid of moving forward in life. Stage 2: Restlessness You are not happy with where your life is going. It makes you feel restless and frustrated. All of the sudden the burning desire for change that you have been trying to keep dormant for such a long time has exploded, giving your awakening process a momentum. The idea that your life is your own responsibility starts to come out. You do everything to take it back into your own hands. You realize that your own happiness is not dependent on people or any external circumstances. Your intention to get your power back, activates your energy, your chakras, and your soul. Awakening has begun the moment you open your eyes. Stage 3: Epiphany This phase is an emotional roller coaster ride. Life is not the same anymore. All the colors shine a bit brighter, all the smells are stronger. You start to experience ecstatic emotions like bliss, euphoria, and freedom. But despite all this, pain is still present. The emotions surrounding your past confront you. You begin to ask how you have chosen to live your life. You start to question and challenge everything. Stage 4: Push and Pull There is an onset of a tug of war. You are in a dilemma between closing your eyes and opening it. Fear slowly creeps within you. All because you’re not prepared for the consequences should you move forward to the path of awakening. The leap into the unknown is far too scary when coupled with the crumbling of things all around you. Everything starts to be meaningless: your life, your beliefs. You seem to get stuck and bewildered. You begin to notice that you are walking on shaky grounds that may explode anytime. This is a critical moment because those who continue along this path transform, those who don’t go back to sleep. Stage 5: Darkness Everything around you starts to collapse, you find yourself in the dark. But you need to be in the dark to understand more of the light. The state of the world may disturb you: poverty, greed, and even the state of the environment. You wonder why this happened. The feeling of depression leads you to wonder how you’re going to blend with the society. The desire to be alone, to be with nature, and to be a hermit burn inside you. You feel alone and lost because no one understands what you’re going through. You have nothing to cling to except to seek the answer to this question: “Who Am I?” Stage 6: Connectedness You feel that there is no need to change the world. You may change it by changing yourself. You slowly feel the connectedness between you and the world. Your focus shifts to love and gratitude. You have the urge to research and study spirituality and all things metaphysical. You follow that urges. Your perception of the world changes and you realize you are sent to Earth for a higher purpose. Stage 7: Synchronicity You appreciate the interconnectedness of everything: nature, animals, the stars. You feel you are a part of the universe. As your consciousness expands, you start to see the world more deeply and more connected. With the broadening of your intuition and psychic abilities, the equality and oneness of all things are more plain to you. Synchronicity starts to manifest in your life. You realize that what shapes your reality are your thoughts, emotions, and feelings. You slowly start to shift and change your lifestyle to support this. Stage 8: Self Authenticity With this new state of awareness, you feel you are one with the universe. You get more clarity of your purpose. The tangible things you see no longer matter to you. You fix your focus on the greater power of energy and intention. Your true, authentic self starts to emerge. This authentic self is what walks you towards your higher purpose. And your higher purpose is to share your authentic self with the world. Stage 9: Higher Consciousness When you find your alignment with your true, authentic self, ideas begin to fill your mind drastically. You attract abundance through your ideas and creations. Inspiration takes place. You begin to see your destiny more clearly as things start to unfold. Your life starts to transform. Your experiences and the people around you reflect your state of higher consciousness. The challenges along the way no longer baffle you because you are fully equipped emotionally and spiritually. Stage 10: Co-creation As you continue your journey, you realize that you co-create with the Divine. Things get better, bigger, and have more flow when you surrender and work with the Divine. You feel the guidance while you create alongside with the Source energy. You feel a stronger connection with your spirit guides, guardian angels, or your higher self. Your intuition is getting a lot stronger and you even develop some psychic gifts. Stage 11: Unconditional Love You start to be in alignment with unconditional love as your work alongside the Divine progress. You feel you are love, radiate love and feel love. It becomes clear to you that this life is temporary. And it is given to you to experience and enjoy. In the end you come to realize that the whole process of awakening is for your greater good. Its an infinite loop from darkness to light and it never gets boring because Its absolutely infinite Can you remember how many loops around you've done? haha, you will

Why be Alpha when you can be Omega

both

Enjoy

Then on the comedown you DMT and everything connects into one as consciousness goes full circle The LSD will give you a purer experience and the flip will usually give you a deeper one, although at the end of the day it all depends on the person. I've had quite a few candy-flips but they didn't come close to one of my LSD experiences. Once you know who you are, its pointless going deeper. When you get to that point of truly remembering who you are you can feel far more love than what MDMA or a candy-flip or any drug can do for that matter. Because ultimately, they just show you the door, unlock the pathway and soon as you become you, the tools cease to exist.

This may help http://www.mind-your-reality.com/law_of_attraction.html

What do you think spiritual awakenings and or other similar endogenous experiences are?

Once you wake up to your true self, you realize that your anxiety/depression and other illusory concepts you bought into never existed to begin with as you are literally a whole new you

ONE is ALL ALL is ONE

Indeed, there is ultimately only ONE.

Where you are is where the entire universe resides. As you are the path, you project what you reflect.

Beyond Emotions they evolve

It all comes down to awareness.

Everything is valuable if you have the eye to see

There is no focus in Just Being.

Synchronicity in a nutshell

To all you no fappers out there trying so hard to ride the wave, i leave you with an xmas pressie you will never forget. Goodluck

Same thing happens when you die in this so called "real" life. It never ends, one cell shuts down, you regenerate somewhere else. Its still all you. There is no one else here, its all a projection of one consciousness.

@Sahil Pandit I discovered vipassana on my own many years ago when i was living alone, i decided to literally starve everything i was holding onto because it just felt natural to me to do so and i believe it was one of my most powerful enlightening experiences.

@Freyah Its who you truly are, you just have to surrender to embody more of it, of your natural core essence we always try our absolute best and always are but we just do not notice it all the time until we are completely present within the eternal NOW.

There are many Enlightened people, some are just more Enlightened than others