Hi folks,
this is my first post here. I used to frequent several like-minded discussion forums about 10 years ago and before, and it's only now that I'm rejoining the world of online discussion.
Some of you may have known me in the past under different user names, on other forums; some of you might remember me under this name. I have been studying the literature and unpublished reports on psychoactive plants of all kinds for nearly 20 years, and have a couple of publications in this field under another name. I'm a fairly private person so I won't join the dots here My interest is as a spiritual seeker on a shamanic path, seeking to better myself following a path of heart and mind, and in turn to be able to help others. Plants have been teaching me in my path and I have great love for them.
My main interest in being able to post in these forums is to contribute to discussions on plant chemistry, to help provide accurate information. My friend nen888 will be able to vouch for me. I look forward to making a contribution!

sincerely,
wira

Hey wira,

welcome back to the digital entheogen world!

<3

Welcome to the nexus wira!

sounds like you'll fit right in. If it's not too personal a question, I'd like to know what field of study you are/were in.

Also, out of interest, I'd like to know what you mean by "spiritual seeker on a shamanic path". Lately I have been thinking about spirituality and different versions of it and how psychedelics fit in with it, so I am always grateful for any new input on this topic. I personally think of myself as an alchemist in the early stages of learning. Transformation is my business

Hope to hear more from you.
Cheers!

Hi,
my field is ethnobotany, and I'm a self-trained botanist. I'm very interested in plant chemistry, but I'm not a chemist. Basically I love collecting information and trying to get a clearer view of something approaching 'truth' through its comparison and analysis.
"Spiritual seeker on a shamanic path"... What I mean by that, in more detail, is that I've always been aware of there being more to life than the gross material elements, and the ingrained social behaviours that most people combine to make what they call reality. Organised religions were a start but I knew there was more, some spark on which these organisations were originally inspired by, before they were screwed up beyond recognition by human folly. Since a young age I've been driven to scrape away the lies, distortions and half-truths to find out what was really going on, and to see how a rational, scientific world could be reconciled with a weird, unpredictable one with hidden layers and elements. One area in particular where this has shaped the course of my life is discovering psychedelics, and plant ones in particular. I became interested in shamanism around the same time, and for a while lived a live that straddled youthful hedonism and shamanic mysticism. These days my habits have matured in that I use psychedelics more rarely, carefully and purposefully, although I wouldn't call myself a shaman except in the sense that I am my own shaman, aided by plants and a natural connection. I'm still cultivating myself to the point where maybe I can be one for other people, if they need it, but generally just living day by day and trying to do no harm. I believe shamanism in this modern world can take on a variety of subtle forms, not just the going into trance, fighting malicious spirits and healing illnesses form - it's a way of life that makes spirituality practical, because now more than ever we need to face the possible futures and find out what we must do, as a shaman would through the spirit world.

Hello wira,

Welcome to the Nexus. . I really like nen888 posts and wish he would post more. I look forward to seeing you around. This Forum really stands out from the crowd of the many others that focus on entheogens, for multiple reasons.

Your introduction was intriguing. I couldn't help but think back to all those old Entheogen Review articles . . .

Again, a sincere and hearty welcome to you.

Welcome to the Nexus, wira. Looking forward to what you've in mind to share.

..hi wira, yeah i'll vouch you know a lot about entheogenic plants! , but looks like the mods have granted you
access anyway..
..glad you've come out of the woodwork now as well..

BTW, does 'wira' mean that you are acacia saligna, or a wattle in general? (or something else perhaps..?)

..look forward to your contributions...

None in particular... only found out after adopting the name a long time ago that it refers to some wattles!
My contributions won't be that frequent, but I look forward to getting involved!
Thanks for your welcomes, everyone.