SOCIEDADE PANTEÍSTA AYAHUASCA®
BASIC INSTITUTIONAL DEFINITIONS
1. Strategy for the expansion of the pantheist vision of the Society
2. Campina Grande Declaration
3. Mission
4. Essential Positioning
5. Pamphlet – The Culture of Oneness
6. Administrative and Ritualistic Titles of Participants
7. Society Holidays
STRATEGY FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE
PANTHEIST VISION OF THE SOCIETY
1- Autonomous and independent kindred societies.
We do not wish to found dependencies of the type 'representations' or 'branches', but rather to motivate and encourage individuals united by a similar perception to establish, put into action and administer independently and with full legal and administrative responsibility their own spaces and movements; their own denominations: their own columns. We can send the details of administrative procedures for the creation of a society of this nature.
2- Diversity.
A diversity of initiatives that may open space for the most effective integration of the greatest number of individuals into the mysteries of nature, increasing the connectivity of the state-of-being with its environment, releasing more creativity and responsibility. In due time, we hope to convene a great congress — a Universal Pantheist Temple — where various pantheist and panentheist associations of different shades may share spiritual gifts and debate philosophical nuances.
Delivered in February 2004 at the 13th Meeting for the
New Consciousness in Campina Grande-PB
SOCIEDADE PANTEÍSTA AYAHUASCA – IDENTITY AND VISION
1. Introduction
2. The Society's vision
3. The highlighted virtues
4. The sacrament
5. The Ayahuasca phenomenon: the pentagram
6. The Ritual
7. Leadership
Introduction:
Conceived over a lifetime of searching and learning, the Society emerges from the world perception of a person who lived 40% of their life in Europe and 60% in Brazil, having been subjected to various social and cultural influences. Initial Catholic and Christian influences gradually dissolved through contact with religious syncretism; esotericism; initiatic schools; scientific studies; the practice of meditation; Yoga; the contingencies of life itself and the experience of expanded states of consciousness. These expanded states of consciousness were provided not only by the practice of meditation, but mainly by the ritualistic use of sacred plants such as Peyote and Salvia Divinorum (Mexico), Wachuma — the San Pedro cactus (Peru) and Ayahuasca.
The way of expressing the sacred, the rituals and the positions of the Sociedade Panteísta Ayahuasca were therefore forged over a lifetime of experiments, wanderings and sharings. The Society's theophany reflects a broad human experience; the experience of 'citizens of the world', a state-of-being free and dissociated from the typical religious forms of the dominant civilization, as well as from those belonging to the various ethnicities.
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A deep impulse in search of a personal and genuine experience of the sacred, of a mystical realization of union, actual and real, combined with a rational and analytical nature (basic trust in common sense and the aptitude of scientific methodology) leads us progressively to recognize the Cosmos, in its entirety, as being the divinity itself; to understand 'matter/energy' as the essential binomial of the creator cosmos. For the Society, God is the totality of all that exists, that is, is the explosive and luminous set of 30 billion observable galaxies, each one with at least 100 billion stars, the still unknown, all time and space, all 'matter/energy', existing in its various phases and states. Therefore, in the Sociedade Panteísta Ayahuasca, the Universe, with a capital 'U', is the supreme being, absolute subject and creative principle; it merely 'Is', without authorization or mandate, without need, purpose or objective: nothing can exist before, after or outside the god-Universe; from it humanity is inseparable.
This pantheist nature determines that the virtues usually conferred to God are attributed to the Universe. In this Society's view, the god-Universe possesses all power by being indefinite and eternal, transcendent, mysterious and omnipresent. However great the power of science may be, humanity — a set of limited and finite creatures — will never be able to define and know the immeasurable Universe; explanations about its origin will remain forever as theories lacking absolute proof — the Universe will always be mysterious and transcendent.
Recognizing the Universe as being the divinity, it is natural for a pantheist society to cultivate feelings of reverence, love, acceptance and respect for all beings in general and for Nature as a whole. Wanting to understand, accept and admire the supremacy of the Universe induces the ecological desire to treat Nature, plants, animals and our fellow beings with care and zeal. Consecrating nature, the Society's pantheism rectifies important conceptual divisions — between the sacred and the world, religion and science — enabling, once well assimilated and understood, the emergence of three tendencies toward unification, creativity and the ethical.
UNIFICATION, by the intuitive and direct recognition (the mystical 'religare') of our intimacy and union with the divine Universe and all beings.
CREATIVITY, by our absolute and immediate integration, attunement and identification with the divine and creative Universe.
ETHICS, by the understanding that we are simply part of nature, but certainly not its core, its purpose, reason and goal.
It is clear that this way of seeing does not rest in a void, but clusters and connects to other visions and philosophies that come to serve as sources of inspiration and links of connections, paths of identification and socio-cultural insertion. Some forms of religious naturalism, some forms of Buddhism such as Zen, some forms of paganism, of shamanism, the Andean worldview and the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples in general, some forms of Hinduism and philosophical Taoism, all offer important connective elements. From the standpoint of philosophical rootings we find various degrees of connectivity with philosophical Taoism and neo-Confucianism; pre-Socratic Greek philosophers — the philosophers of nature — such as Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Heraclitus; others such as Epicurus, the Stoics Epictetus, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius and others. In modernity and the present day, the philosopher Benedito Espinosa, the literary figures, philosophers and poets of the Age of Enlightenment, the authors of the postmodern movement are eternal sources of inspiration and creativity.
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Not finding, in pure observation of nature, inclinations that are especially good, caring, gentle — no partisanship, with attention tending toward this or that creature — but rather observing a sovereignty essentially indifferent to the specific needs of races and individuals, to their ethical preferences and desires; finding in fact an amoral reality — that is, neither contrary to nor conforming to human moral concepts — we understand it to be our duty to ponder and define the virtues of necessary cultivation for the installation of the desired experiences and feelings. Added therefore to our collection of principles is an eco-humanist stance where we recognize the need to define, from concrete, psychological, ecological and social demands, a set of virtues to be continually studied and cultivated since the human being is, at its deepest core, a becoming, a subject of happening, a dynamic reality under construction, as indeed is the entire Cosmos.
In our rituals, the most highlighted virtues have been configured, at this moment, into two sets: (1) the set of general virtues and more centrally the cardinal or classical virtues, that is, prudence (common sense, attention, discernment, understanding); justice (integrity, righteousness, probity); fortitude (courage, firmness, strength); temperance (self-control, moderation, sobriety) and (2) the so-called modern or secular virtues in their origin and presentation: the principles of LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY.
The PRINCIPLE OF LIBERTY is expressed, in our Society, by a fundamental naturalism and agnosticism where everything may be questioned because we are contained within a reality that is ultimately unknowable. We encourage a creative philosophical skepticism, in search of moderation, tolerance, deliberation and equilibrium. (The very ritualistic structure of the Society is configured more as a style in constant refinement and creation than as a defined form to be obligatorily repeated).
We express the PRINCIPLE OF EQUALITY through the certainty that no essential differences exist among humans; all are expressions of the same lineage; all are centers of consciousness of the universe, capable, through their own perception — through meditation — of coming into contact with the highest levels of reality; something that necessarily inscribes itself within the set of universal principles, of the Universe to which we belong and which we may know.
The PRINCIPLE OF FRATERNITY is expressed through the cultivation of deepened friendship in the light of expanded states of consciousness; through the exchange of spiritual intimacies; through the recognition that we are all parts of the same universal production; that we were all forged by the same forces and substances, united in a permanent psychophysical communion. That we are all interdependent points of the same fabric.
The essential objectives of the Sociedade Panteísta Ayahuasca are therefore the realization of mystical union — the cultivation of oneness; a virtuous intention (the intention of improving oneself in the cultivation of moral virtues) with the objective of establishing in the present, here and now, a more pleasant and happy environment to live and coexist in:
- Cultivation of oneness;
- Cultivation of virtues;
- Cultivation of the moment;
- Cultivation of serenity.
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To realize this practice, we use a resource, a natural, objective and practical sacrament: we commune the sap of two plants, a compound tea known as Ayahuasca or Yagê, or also Daime or Hoasca. The tea is prepared in a simple and traditional manner, using exclusively three basic ingredients: the stems of Mariri or Yagê (Banisteriopsis Caapi), the leaves of Chacrona or Rainha (Psychotria Viridis) and water. From our point of view, the subjective effect of these substances is not simple, nor is it easily controllable or guaranteed, as it depends on three complex factors, initially defined by Dr. Timothy Leary, in the 1960s, within the scope of initial research with psychoactive agents.
THE THREE FACTORS:
- THE PERSONAL FACTOR, that is, what the individual brings with them, their contents (intention, attitudes, personality, mood, doubts, conflicts, etc.);
- THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR corresponds to all the external active elements capable of influencing the experience (interpersonal, social, environmental, ritualistic factors);
- THE AGENT itself, the 'Tea' which brings its specific effects and acts as a trigger, or catalyst, connecting and setting in interaction the cited factors in a specific, creative and intense dynamic.
It is evidently impossible to define which of the factors is the most important, just as it is impossible to say which side of an isosceles triangle is the most essential; however, the ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR or 'the setting', is the aspect of the experience that can be programmed, studied, rehearsed and carefully prepared for better benefit. These factors — the very contents, together with the configuration of the setting, the quality of the tea — added to one's own intention and that of the group, configure a singular process, a gestalt, a 'greater being', the transpersonal factor of the experience. Recognizing and being certain of being in attunement and harmony with this 'greater being' generated by the event is one of the keys to a successful experience.
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The Ayahuasca phenomenon: the pentagram
Inspired both by the flower of the Mariri and that of the Chacrona, each possessing five petals, in the Society, the Ayahuasca phenomenon is schematized with the use of a pentagram. A pentagonal experience, where each of the petals of the mystical flower represents one of the facets of the experience.
PSYCHOSOMATIC EXPERIENCE (GENERATING STRENGTH AND HEALTH):
Characterized by the emergence in consciousness of new personal contents, previously unconscious or pre-conscious. A curative psychodynamics where abreactions and catharses are possible, allowing for the reliving of experiences stored in memory with conflict resolution;
ILLUMINATING EXPERIENCE (GENERATING LIGHT AND CONSCIOUSNESS):
Cognitive, noetic facet of the experience where knowledge characterized by intuitions and luminous thoughts arises. Problems are seen in an expanded way, the inter-relationships between the various levels and dimensions are better grasped; a deeper, more comprehensive and wiser vision and understanding emerges;
AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE (GENERATING AESTHETICS AND HARMONY):
Artistic and creative facet of the experience, major art, where the coordination and intensification of the sensory system allows for the flowering of synesthesias. New forms and harmonies of colors reveal themselves; music is heard with all its soul — the imagination overflows with images and productions never before seen;
AFFECTIVE EXPERIENCE (GENERATING LOVE AND COMPASSION):
An intuitive, pulsating response in the presence of reality installs a deep sense of the sacred with feelings of humility, reverence and liberation. An intense feeling of harmony, curative and balsamic, is installed awakening love for the earth, for nature in general, for beings, for people;
MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE (GENERATING UNION AND TRANSCENDENCE):
The essence of the mystical experience provided by Ayahuasca can be detailed in some essential aspects such as:
UNITY – a lived experience of cosmic union where the sense of 'I' dissolves (consciousness and memory are not lost), the subject becomes aware of their greater dimension; they feel integrated into the totality, as one.
TRANSCENDENCE – time and space, subject and objects are experienced and perceived beyond three-dimensionality; an infinite set of resplendent force, light and beauty.
MYSTERY – ineffable, the experience is beyond the power of words, essentially unspeakable, yet it may be suggested, pointed to by art. Logical paradoxes seem to reconcile; individuals may feel themselves to be finite and infinite, limited and unlimited at the same time. The mysteries of life, of existence, of consciousness become evident.
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The ceremonies of the Sociedade Panteísta Ayahuasca take place at a relatively low frequency, on average once a month. The activity calendar is generally set around the movement of the seasons, solstices and equinoxes — mainly according to the solstices as winter and summer are the most prominent in our region. From June — winter solstice — we install a fire, or at least a flame, at the center of the temple, and from December — summer solstice — a water source. For us, simple and basic, universal and ecumenical rituals, natural environments, spontaneous activities, allow the focusing of attention on interesting and creative psychic regions. We always guarantee the realization of four spaces in our work:
- a ritualistic and formal space rich in symbology and mythic force;
- a meditative space of introversion, to experience the experience with oneself;
- a space for exchanging ideas, getting to know each other, talking, sharing problems and strengthening;
- a space for sharing learnings, knowledge and creative practices.
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Within the triple effect already described, the type of leadership and dynamic of the work is part of the so-called environmental effect and are essential factors, capable of greatly influencing the harmony and tranquility of the experience. We recognize that all, being equal, possess the same capacity to experience the most subtle and elevated states of consciousness and that all are in an infinite state of learning; for this reason there is no figure of 'master' in the Sociedade Panteísta Ayahuasca, but rather — according to the description of ritualistic titles — that of assistants and facilitator. It is noted that no defined time is required to ascend from one title to another. An assistant needs to be patient, empathic, familiar with the processes of the experience; they can be very effective knowing how to reflect the essential points, ask questions, make apparently casual observations. Songs, music, attitudes and even well-dosed direct guidance can be important to help realize a smooth and rich ceremony. A facilitator, in addition to possessing the qualities of an assistant, needs to be capable of elaborating themes and work proposals; spiritual exercises; opening and closing rituals; orchestrating the times of the ceremony, defined by the spaces already mentioned.
These words describe the IDENTITY and the VISION of the
SOCIEDADE PANTEÍSTA AYAHUASCA.
Régis Alain Barbier
President of the Sociedade Panteísta Ayahuasca
"13th Meeting for the New Consciousness" – Campina Grande,
February 2004.
MISSION OF THE SOCIEDADE PANTEÍSTA AYAHUASCA
The SOCIEDADE PANTEÍSTA AYAHUASCA is a private law civil society, of religious purposes, non-profit, of unlimited duration, having as purpose, objective
and mission:
- To experience, appreciate, study and orient the Expanded States of Consciousness induced by Ayahuasca in order to promote the general, cognitive, emotional and spiritual evolution of participants;
- To dedicate itself to the study and practice of Pantheism, in its philosophical, scientific and mystical aspects;
- To seek a more intense communion with nature seeking access to significant, integrative, holistic feelings and experiences — Mystical Experiences;
- To cultivate self-responsibility and creativity — the authority — over one's own life;
- To constantly reassess and improve the dynamics and strategy of the work;
ESSENTIAL POSITIONING OF THE
SOCIEDADE PANTEÍSTA AYAHUASCA
As it is part of our mission to cultivate the capacity to rethink, to be flexible, we will ensure that our work and ideas, including this positioning, are always subject to improvements.
We revere the Universe (the cosmos, nature) as being what is commonly understood as God;
The Universe is for us the state-of-being par excellence; the absolute creative agent, in constant state of transformation, evolution and diversification;
We understand that the universal fabric formed by a single essence (or dynamic) infinitely creative, configuring itself best for us, according to current knowledge, as being the binomial 'matter/energy';
We perceive that this essential pair (matter/energy) resolves, or reduces, into an underlying unity — albeit hidden — prevailing in all phenomena;
We understand that all entities — from particles to stars, passing through planets and all beings — belong integrally and without restrictions to the universal fabric, all, linked in an infinitely branched and complex evolutionary process;
As objects of the Universal process, but also as subjects capable of choices, we seek to cultivate the virtues of philosophers, and, with the intention of knowing ourselves better, consecrate the use of the tea Ayahuasca (South American tradition par excellence) as a means to deepen our reverence for nature and know more deeply this essential unity;
We honor the phenomenon of life by choosing to practice a religiosity more phenomenological (than metaphysical or ontological) by recognizing that however great its knowledge may be, humanity will never be able to fully know the essentially mysterious and transcendent Universe;
We understand human diversity (genetic, cultural and of consciousness) as an expression of the creativity of the universal evolutionary process; all, already born with the fundamental virtue of universal unity, of essential equality, deserving our understanding and respect;
From and within this consensus, we respect the freedom of our pantheist coreligionists to express their feelings and ideas according to what is most meaningful to them.
PAMPHLET: THE CULTURE OF ONENESS
PANHUASCA
PANTHEISM – AYAHUASCA
NATURE – ONENESS
THE CULTURE OF ONENESS
FOR A LIFE OF INTEGRATION WITH NATURE
THE SOCIEDADE PANTEÍSTA AYAHUASCA brings a current understanding of God, of the divine concept: it is the understanding that identifies the Universe, the totality of things, as God. It is the religious certainty, or the philosophical theory, that GOD IS THE UNIVERSE, together with its forces and laws in the broadest sense; they are identical.
For us, seeking a more intense communion with Mother Nature configures itself as a search for the divine.
The cultivation of the experience of the sacred, of the encounter with the totality, the access to integrative, holistic feelings and experiences — Mystical Experiences — is realized through the use of AYAHUASCA, the 'wine of the spirits' in the language of the Incas: Ayahuasca, the teacher plant of South America.
Many of the answers we seek are found within ourselves. This happens because we do not merely live in Nature: we are also Nature.
ADMINISTRATIVE AND RITUALISTIC TITLES OF PARTICIPANTS OF THE SOCIEDADE PANTEÍSTA AYAHUASCA
The Sociedade Panteísta Ayahuasca shall be composed of an unlimited number of participants;
participants shall be, administratively, thus considered:
1: Founders: those who signed the Minutes of the General Assembly of Foundation;
2: Participants: those subsequently admitted, aged 18 or over.
FOUNDERS AND PARTICIPANTS SHALL BE RITUALISTICALLY THUS TITLED:
I – SHARERS: candidates who, upon submission of proposal and approval by the Deliberative Council — opt to integrate the events of the Sociedade Panteísta Ayahuasca;
II – ASSISTANTS: sharers who, in agreement with the purposes of the Society, demonstrate the capacity to assist and contribute to the smooth running of the work;
III – FACILITATORS: assistants who, demonstrating understanding and agreement with the purposes of the Society, possess skills to give beginning to and facilitate convenient ritualistic work.
JANUARY 6TH - Day of the annual inauguration and day of the official Inauguration of the Sociedade Panteísta Ayahuasca (which took place on January 6th, 2001). For Christians it is the day of Epiphany, for civil society it is the Day of Gratitude.
MARCH 20TH OR 21ST - Autumn Equinox.
JUNE 20TH OR 21ST – Winter Solstice.
SEPTEMBER 21ST, 22ND OR 23RD – Spring Equinox – Day of the official constitution of the Sociedade Panteísta Ayahuasca (September 21st – For civil society it is the day of the tree, the farmer and broadcasting).
DECEMBER 21ST TO 22ND – Summer Solstice.