Salvia: A Beginner's Guide to Expanding Your Consciousness - By: Chris Robertson

If you've only recently heard about salvia divinorum, you're not alone. Although this member of the sage and mint families has been used by Mazatec shamans in Mexico for ages, its use as an adjunct to modern day spiritual practices has spread like wildfire in recent years. Those who are interested in experiencing a new breadth and depth to their consciousness are finding that salvia offers a gateway to previously unexplored territories of the mind. If you're new to salvia, this primer will help you get the most from your experience.

Legal Issues

First things first. Although salvia is often grouped together with other consciousness-expanding drugs, it is significantly different on a number of levels. For many people, the most relevant distinction is that salvia divinorum is legal is virtually every country (except Australia). Within the United States, salvia is legal in 43 states. The exceptions are Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee.

Where to Buy Salvia

Because it is legal, you can easily buy salvia online. In fact, an online source that has a reputation for quality products and reasonable prices is definitely your best bet. You should be able to find packages ranging from $30 to $100, and that include salvia divinorum leaves and/or concentrated forms that can be 10, 20, or even 60 times stronger than the leaves. You should look for a site that offers free shipping and that offers a 30-day money back guarantee.

Getting Started

As with anything in life, everyone takes a different approach to trying new things. The same holds true for salvia. Some experts recommend starting slowly, by chewing salvia divinorum leaves. You will probably experience a mild effect that will give you an idea of things to come. Because the stomach acid counteracts salvia's effects, it's important to keep the leaves in your mouth, so the active ingredient can be absorbed through the membranes in your mouth.

Other people want to skip chewing leaves and proceed directly to smoking salvia. Because the substance needs high heat to activate its psychoactive properties, and because some people find hot smoke to be an irritant, most people use a water pipe when smoking salvia.

Although generalizations can be made, every person's experience with salvia is unique. For that reason, it's helpful to ask a friend to sit with you while you have your first few experiences. Your friend, of course, should not partake, and should sit quietly in the room to watch over you.

What to Expect

While each person's experience is unique, you can expect salvia effects to last between five minutes and a half hour. Many people report feeling a loss of physical coordination, so it's helpful to lie down or recline in a comfortable chair. Beyond that, you may experience astral projection, divination, traveling to other times and places, a dream-like state, visual distortions, and a sense of becoming one with the universe.

Many people recommend starting with a small dose and then increasing your dose once you understand salvia's effect on you. Wherever your journey takes you, you can be sure that your spiritual growth will be enhanced.

About the Author

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies. For tips/information, click here: salvia
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