Question from a course attendee: I enjoy a few glasses of wine on weekends over dinner. Are the few glasses of wine and few beers I have likely to seriously affect my current spiritual development?

Belsebuub’s answer: A few glasses of wine are not going to bring consequences that are really bad, just see what affects you; it’s getting drunk that is more of a problem.

Question: A lot of the “great works” have come from people who “expanded their minds” by taking consciousness-altering substances/drugs. A lot of the great poets of the last few centuries produced their best work while high on opium and relatively modern day bands such as The Doors and The Beatles probably produced their best work while “tripping.” Did all of this “creativity” come from the inferior dimensions? If so, is listening to music created in such a fashion damaging my spiritual development?

Belsebuub: It’s possible to be creative in positive or negative ways and, while some music is good or harmless, some is actually quite harmful to the psyche, even though it may have been creatively produced. Drug-inspired “creativity” tends to bring the vibrations of the inferior dimensions with it, if the drug has induced those vibrations in the composer. The examples you give are not that heavy and the egos that are stirred up by the music may have less of an effect upon you than the ones stirred up by depriving yourself of the music, just because you think you shouldn’t listen to it.

Much depends on the mood you’re in too, if it’s really low then a lot of music would be at a higher vibrational level than the state you’re in. Observe the effects of different things upon your psyche and elevate your inner states, then you may feel differently about what you listen to.

Question: Recently I’ve been invited to several twenty-first parties where there is a lot of drinking going on. I find that I am in conflict as to whether I should go or not. On one hand, I feel rude not going because these are important occasions to the person involved; however if I go, I am put in the situation where I’m around drunkenness, etc. Even though I am not drinking, is it best to avoid these situations or to confront them?

Belsebuub: It depends on your relationship to the people involved and the nature of the party. If you know it’s going to be bad you might want to avoid it, but whether you do or not depends upon your circumstances. If you look at the situation carefully and objectively, you’ll be able to decide what is best to do.

Question: Last night I got home and my husband had drunk four pints of beer. He wasn’t really very drunk, but I noticed a big difference in his behavior. He was acting like a maniac. You mentioned elsewhere about watching a cockroach and the horrible energy it radiates. Well he was just like that. He was hyperactive and his thoughts were all over the place. He kept going off on tangents and barking orders at me and snapping at the kids. He was talking way too loud and was just generally being obnoxious. It was like he had these dark, floaty clouds following him. Anyway he went to sleep after dinner and snored like a hog. When he woke up he had a killer headache and he regretted drinking so much. It struck me that the reason I noticed all this so much is that normally when he has a drink, we both have a drink, so I’m in the same state as him and therefore don’t notice it. This time however, I was stone cold sober. It was quite the revelation. Just thought I’d share that with you!

Belsebuub: Thanks for the example.

Question: I have never taken drugs of any kind, and never will. I drink very little these days, maybe a couple of beers on the weekend, or a glass of wine at a restaurant. But since starting this course, I’ve noticed that I can drink less and less. What I mean is I can’t physically drink anymore. I used to be able to drink two beers at a sitting; now I can barely get through half a bottle. It’s like my body is rejecting it. Is this normal? Is this because I’ve started on the path and my body is not accepting the alcohol like it used to? Sure seems that way.

Belsebuub: The body and particularly the psyche become more sensitive when you take up the work of self-knowledge, so you are more likely to feel the effects of the alcohol. It’s quite normal and is a good sign.

Question: The lecture did not mention anything about smoking. I am not a smoker, but I’m pretty sure that would be included under the heading of a drug? Isn’t tobacco considered to be a drug? Just wondering because it was not mentioned.

Belsebuub: Nicotine derived from smoking is a drug, but it’s not as harmful as alcohol. It brings its own problems to the body, but the actual effect of the drug nicotine is not as harmful to the psyche, as it alters the consciousness very little compared to alcohol. Nevertheless, the addictive feelings when they arise do override the spiritual feelings of the essence and can weaken the drive to practice the esoteric work. Egos also get fed when the craving is not being satisfied, since someone in that situation could do things they normally wouldn’t do in order to get a cigarette.

Question: I thought I’d share this. For the last few years I have been using biofeedback technology to ensure that when I try to relax, I really DO relax. I have tried a few experiments to see if anything can help a person relax—the results have been surprising. I would have the feedback sensor on and be in a relaxed state; the machine would indicate how relaxed I was. I would then take a drink of beer—just one swallow was enough—after a few seconds, the feedback sensor went crazy and indicated that I was in a very stimulated state (remember I had only one swallow). I tried the same experiment with tobacco. The same thing happened but much quicker—almost instantaneous. I have tried having a joint as well with the same results; the only difference was that the effect lasted longer. Trying to relax after drinking or smoking is a waste of time—we may feel relaxed mentally, but physically we are in a stimulated state. I am a normal guy who likes a drink and the occasional smoke, but I have had to make the (very tough) decision to stop both to help me progress on the esoteric path. I know we all say, “I need a drink to unwind” or, “I need a smoke to calm down”—the truth is it doesn’t work like that.

Belsebuub: Yes, real relaxation is different to the “pleasurable sensations” that people feel with drugs and alcohol.

Question: When this course started I was drinking and socially using drugs, but saw myself doing this in my dream one evening and realized it was that which was blocking my spiritual development, so I have since stopped even socially drinking or using drugs. And yes, I will agree that alcohol especially allows the ego to run wild as many of my friends become run by their ego when under the influence.

Belsebuub: Well done. When you see yourself in a dream like that acting with an ego, you can be sure it is that which you most urgently need to change.

Question: I was wondering, outside of alcohol and illegal drugs, if there were other things that we take in that could hinder us from astral projection or our spiritual work, such things as caffeine, dead food, or overdosing on sugar as we do in America?

Belsebuub: The alcohol and illegal drugs are the main problem, however it helps to keep the body in good shape with good unpolluted food without hormones or pesticides if possible, clean water, air, etc., because the body is an instrument that we need for the work, and when it is ill, it is more difficult though not impossible (depending on the illness) to do it.

Question: Is coffee bad—should we aim to throw that habit?

Belsebuub: There is no need to give it up unless you have a medical condition that prevents you from having it; its effects on the psyche are fairly minimal unless you drink loads of it.

 

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