voidness

I have wondered about this too. The issue I face is that, suppose you maintained consciousness throughout the sleeping state, and indeed since the big bang and unto the death of the universe, you could only verify those times for which you have memory. So those times in which you're able to call on your memory would you be able to be aware of your awareness passed. All we can truly verify is the awareness right now.. So in states for which memory is hindered (such as sleep) we can't say our level of consciousness after the fact.

You can go VERY deep with 'traditional' psychedelics. 5MEO is the Holy Grail, but it doesn't mean that you can't arrive at the same truths using other compounds. From my experience, LSD is more than capable of bringing you to similar places as 5MEO. The issue is that LSD isn't selective in the types of experiences it provides you with and you may give up 12 hours of your day for an experience which was certainly profound, but still not what you were after. If you can reliably pull yourself out of loops and trances and put your attention back to meditation or self inquiry during your trip, you should have no problem going very deep. In any case I wish you luck!

@Leo Gura Your wisdom never ceases to amaze me Leo. I initially was ready to bring forth a counterargument along the lines of... But if distinctions are the nature of reality, then how is it that states of consciousness such as that described by the Sufi phrase "the passing away of the passing away" possible? But this mode of thinking is a trap... because this state alone is a distinct from some other state for which there are distinctions present. I had this same insight of substanceless substance this week -- although I put it as: No thing exists... and yet nothing exists within somethingness ...Yet another distinction! Confronting these truths head on is quite a task -- I appreciate your guidance Leo!

It came to my awareness that basal consciousness creates distinctions, whereas higher consciousness dissolves distinctions. Is it creation of distinctions a mechanism within consciousness or the consciousness itself? When I look out the window at a tree, it does not feel like a mind event to give it a distinction from the grass; it seems as automatic as the rendering of my visual field. So is it consciousness itself which is creating the distinctions? If this is the case, then we have quite a paradox, because if consciousness is the foundation for everything as Leo contends, and consciousness is made out of itself, then there is no room for distinctions to begin with...?