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Hey everyone! I was invited to give a presentation at a psychedelic symposium and just realized this is quite a big event from Kings College London`s Psychedelic Reasearch department. And it's happening in a week. Now I am nervous and wanna come up with some very valuable, novel, memorable and exciting perspectives that engage this mostly academic audience. I am just a little psychonaut , having explored and studied the realm of psychedelics and self-realization on my own over the past 9 years. I wanna talk about "Psychedelicss as a spiritual practice: The dance of detached appreciation" and would love to gather reflections on my ideas to structure the talk. Also, I would love your perspectives on the topic!! How do you think Psychedelics could be used as a spiritual practice? Can psychedelics be a true spiritual practice? What does that even mean? What is the relationship between psychedelics and self-realizaiton? How do we deal with the paradox that they may "accelerate" spiritual development through intese purification, while the pursuit of and attachment to a goal in spirituality may itself be a trap? How does integration fot into all of this? And what dangers and pitfalls do we have to be aware of when using psychedelics as a spiritual practice? Any critial, amazing resources regarding this are also very welome! Here`s some ideas I got already: 1. Psychedelics as Training Grounds for "Spiritual Traits" -Seeing them as training for deep spiritual traits. Deep psychedelic journeys help us cultivate humility, surrender, patience, resilience, non-judgment, detachment, acceptance, forgiveness and other traits aligned with Truth. So if we consciously approach psychedelics as a space for practice, we mature spiritually. 2. Psychedelics as the Direct Recognition of Reality They reveal the deeper nature of existence: Selflessness, Unity, Omnipresence, Perfection, Goodness - and all the other facets of God Leo covered in many of his videos. It’s about direct experience of qualities of reality and existence. 3. Psychedelics as the Path of Paradox Psychedelics work seems to be infinite. They make the realize deep not-knowing. The mystery beyond language. Beyond scientific understanding. Also we got things like: -The Reality of Substance-Induced Awakening -Psychedelics as a "Truth -revealing- state". -The value of temporary mystical peak expereinces -The reality that your classical mystcial experience is in no way guarandeed through psychedelics (it seems to be a matter of grace - even though psychedelics are infinitely more reliable for this than something like yoga retreats) -Psychedelic bypassing And most importantly, what I wanna make the centerpiece of the talk - which is an idea that was arising from my personal insights: That Psychedelics as a true spiritual practice shall be an end in and of themselves, not a means to an end. Just as true Meditation is not a means to reach "Enlightenment/Awakening", but an end in and of itself. It is the embodiment of Truth. Here. Now. This speaks to the trap of chasing the high, of attaching to peak expereinces, of deeming them to be better or superior to ordinary states of conciousness. I feel the view "I take psychedelics to be more realized or healed or whatever" is fundamentally flawed, even though they might hold the potential for that to be the case to some extent. From my point of view, all states of cociousness are Truth. And so the best practice I can do is to appreciate every state with uncondictional, infinite appreciation. And psychedelics are an amazing place for this practice, as it`s so easy to attach to the bliss and be aversed to and judge the demons. We attach to appearances while the core of spirituality is not to hold on to any appearance whatsoever. Simply to love all appearances. To love them. There is more - but this is just my little incomplete rant for a start. What are your reflections of this? How could I structure the talk in a way where I center it around one crutial idea, that the audience takes away, that is of immense value? (Any public speaking tipps are also warmly welcome - it will be a 45 minute presentation) To balance it with personal stories and maybe "real data" - whatever that even means. Any other contributions or insights? Thanks ❤️ PS - Leo, have you ever thought about speaking at psychedelic conferences & events? I feel your contributions might be much appreciated. I love to work in person, it opens up completely new realms beyond speaking into a camera.

@Human Mint Here it is. I am quite happy with how it went. My first real public speaking experience wohoo!

@Thought Art IPEC is great!

Coaching is the easy part. The hard part is attracting people who want to be coached by you. How are people ever gonna find out about your website? Think about how you can provide value to the people who you want to serve. And start doing it. Online and Offline.

@OBEler It was not with a shaman, and not Bufo. I was alone and planned to take a small dose. Small became medium and that became vaping more and more over an hour. Happens very fast. Yes, I did a heavy Breathwork session after which has definitely contributed to the aftereffect.

@OBEler Exaggerating a little bit. I love 5-MeO. I see great potential in it`s use - even on a regular basis maybe. (Not fully clear on this myself). But I had a period recently where I vaped a bit more & did not fully come down for a week or two. Made it hard to do my work properly. The integration became my work. I just imagine that if you are not careful in your approach with this molecule it has the potential to lead you into a dysfuctional state (that might be spiritually helpful) - but that not everyone might be wishing for in their life at this very moment. Also it`s easy to get lost in the clouds with 5-MeO, forgetting the importance of grounding. Just a small signpost that this is a very very powerful toy that we`re playing with here.

@Human Mint I'll try

Careful with the 5-MeO-DMT. Don't underestimate it's power. Even in low doses there seems to be the potential for long term changes in consciousness through regular use. It's like playing with fire. Easy to burn yourself.

For anyone interested, I decided to completely restructure the talk, leave out stuff that I assume might be too advanced for the audience & this is what it looks like now (roughly): Summary of My Presentation: "Psychedelics as a Spiritual Practice" For the past 9 years, I have dedicated my life to exploring the intersection of psychedelics and spirituality—and this talk is the culmination of my research, experience, and insights. In this presentation, I explore a fundamental question: Can psychedelics be a spiritual practice? If so, how? 🔹 What is Spirituality? There is no universally agreed definition, but we can approach it from different angles: 1️⃣ Spirituality as Deconditioning – Freeing oneself from conditioning and beliefs. 2️⃣ Spirituality as Mystical Union – Awakening to unity with existence. 3️⃣ Spirituality as Embodiment – Living wisdom, compassion, and virtue. 4️⃣ Spirituality as the Pursuit of Truth – Direct experience of reality. 🔹 What is a Spiritual Practice? A structured, intentional engagement with activities aimed at spiritual growth. Examples are endless, but can psychedelics be one of them? How Psychedelics Assist Spirituality in Three Key Ways 1️⃣ Psychedelics as Insight Catalysts 🔥 Psychedelics allow for a direct experience of expanded consciousness. They facilitate deep insights into self, reality, love, and existence. Scientific research shows that psychedelics reduce ego rigidity, open cognitive flexibility, and enable perspective shifts. Common realizations: ✅ "I am not my thoughts." ✅ "I am loved / whole / enough." ✅ "Everything is connected." ✅ "Life is a gift." 2️⃣ Psychedelics as a Gateway to Mystical Experience Psychedelics have the potential to induce profound mystical experiences: 🔹 Unity 🔹 Timelessness 🔹 Noetic insights 🔹 Infinite love Research suggests 50-80% of participants in the right set and setting experience peak mystical states. A glimpse of the Absolute. Not permanent enlightenment, but a transformative experience. 3️⃣ Psychedelics as Character Cultivators Beyond peak experiences, psychedelics can shape long-term traits and deepen personal growth: 1️⃣ Courage & Responsibility – Facing fear, commitment to truth. 2️⃣ Surrender & Letting Go – Trust, relaxation, acceptance. 3️⃣ Humility & Open-Mindedness – Psychedelics shatter certainty and teach the power of not knowing. 4️⃣ Compassion & Connection – Increasing empathy, love, and interconnectedness. Pitfalls of Psychedelics as a Spiritual Practice ⚠️ 1. Self-Deception & Certainty → The risk of false beliefs and spiritual ego inflation. ⚠️ 2. Spiritual Emergency → Deep, overwhelming realizations can lead to existential crises. ⚠️ 3. Ego Inflation & Bypassing → Seeking peak states instead of doing real, grounded inner work. 📌 Integration is Key. Psychedelics are powerful, but the real work happens in daily life—in how we embody wisdom, love, and presence. Final Reflection: The Deepest Spiritual Realization? 💡 “What if spirituality is not about gaining insights, reaching mystical states, or transformation? 💡 What if the deepest realization is that there is nothing to seek, nowhere to go, and nothing to attain?” For me, the answer became detached appreciation—loving and honoring every moment, every experience, every appearance—unconditionally. Psychedelics are not a means to an end. They are an end in themselves.

@Jodistrict Thanks. I don't really resonate with what most spiritual teachers say about psychedelics. Their understanding feels very incomplete to me. But maybe I am the one that is decieved. But maybe not. Who knows.

@Davino @Davino Beautiful bro. I have had the same insight. Thanks for sharing. The opportunity came because of a nice little connection. I met this woman at a psychedelic conference event last year and we chatted for about 5 minutes, exhanged Instagram and danced a bit at the afterparty. She followed my content, became interested in coaching & I gave her a free session. She followed my content even more and recenty we chatted again about her joining my paid community. That`s when she said that she is part of the King`s College Psychedelic Society and asked if I might be interested at presenting there. It shows again that connection is everything. Networking, making friends & helping them is one of the most powerful activities for actualizing one's life purpose. Everything comes from connection to other people.

The contemplation of "What are Psychedelics?" alone has induced deep insight and awakening experiences for me over the past 9 years. It`s a beautiful question to take on. Don't assume that you reached the end of this inquiry. Ananandamayi Ma

@Davino Great pointer. I guess my attachment to detachment comes maily from the resonance with Bodhidharma. I'll take your words into my heart and see what emerges.

@Davino Love that! Thats`s a great foundation that makes total sense.

@OBEler Thanks mate! I don't think poeple at the psychedelic reserach symposium confuse psychedelics with cocaine, but you never know. Sometimes I am shocked by the level of peoples understanding haha

@Rising Spirit Love that! I really want to be as clear and concise as possible as I am well aware of the difficulty for some to comprehend nonduality. A "provocative invitation" -I love that, anything more than that seems almost impossible for a little 45 minute talk.

Theme: Exploration of the paradox of psychedelics as a spiritual practice—both as tools for deep transformation and as reminders that there is nothing to attain. How we`re gonna cover that - 3 steps 0- Foundations: Define spirituality & spiritual practice (thats a hard one) 1- The progressive Path/Model of spirituality & how psychedelics can assist that practice This is seen in most religious and mystical traditions: Buddhism (The Noble Eightfold Path, progressing toward Nirvana) Christianity (Sanctification, spiritual purification over a lifetime) Hinduism (The Four Yogas—Bhakti, Karma, Jnana, Raja—methods of progressive realization) Sufism (Tariqa, a path of stages leading to divine union) Psychological Models: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory (spiritual growth as stages) Scientific Validation: Cognitive and developmental psychology support the idea that human consciousness develops in stages (Piaget, Kohlberg, Kegan). Studies on meditation and neuroplasticity also show that spiritual practice rewires the brain over time, reinforcing a progressive development model. Psychedelics as a tool for spiritual development. Facilitating the ascension of this journey. They can do that in many ways, i just wanna mention 4 here: 1- Cultivation of traits / "virtues" (Courage, trust, surrender, patience, love and so on) 2- Facilitating Insight & Remembering (Deep existential realizations)- perspective about reality, existence, life, god, your Self - “Who am I?” Facilitation of genuine Inquiry into Truth. 3- Practice of Dying Death-rebirth process → acceleration of spiritual growth. Cycle of purification and how psychedelics intensify and accelerate this process. The practice of Death & Dying Psychedelics as conscious suffering Psychedelics & Near Death experiences similarities research Chris Bache // Grof Maps as Science Data backup // COEX Systems 4-An “experience” of the Absolute The reach for the Absolute: The reality of deepening experiences → Moving further into infinity, higher states, deeper truths. The notion that we must move beyond ourselves and surrender more and more deeply to experience the ultimate. Example: 5-MeO-DMT, near-death experiences, deep meditative absorption into the beyond. Briefly mentioning - Dangers, Pitfalls, Challenges & Integration & Nuances. 2 - The Absolute Perspective of Spiritual Practice & Psychedelics as a practice of detached appreciation Many non-dual traditions challenge the idea of progress: Zen Buddhism: "You are already enlightened, just recognize it." Advaita Vedanta: "Tat Tvam Asi" (You are That), realization happens in an instant. Dzogchen (Tibetan Buddhism): The natural state is already pure awareness. Christian Mysticism (Meister Eckhart, St. John of the Cross): Union with God is already present, not something to be achieved. Psychedelic States: Many report a direct “timeless” realization of ultimate truth—paralleling these traditions. Scientific Validation: Research on mystical experiences (Griffiths et al., 2006; Pahnke, 1969) shows that peak psychedelic states can induce a spontaneous recognition of unity, transcendence of self, and loss of time-based progression. Studies on meditation (Samadhi, Flow States) reveal that non-dual awareness is associated with deactivation of the Default Mode Network (DMN)—the same effect psychedelics produce. “Seeking is suffering. To seek nothing is bliss.” The paradox: If the Absolute is everything, then it is also this moment, right here. We move beyond progress, chasing, seeking All states are valid. All appearances are truth. No hierarchy of experience. (Too radical??) The highest realization is that there is nothing to attain. The paradox of progress: from this perspective, there is no spiritual path at all—it’s all already perfect. The Absolute is not just beyond—it is also immanent, present in everything This is where detached appreciation comes in → Infinite love for all states. -Spirituality is not about preferring one state over another but recognizing the one who sees. Relate it to psychedelic practice: The practice becomes seeing the seer Detached appreciation → we do not attach to psychedelic states or peak experiences but love them unconditionally. - That becomes the practice! And then the psychedelic experience does not become a means to an end, but is an end in and of itself. Just as true meditation shall be. - Detachment as integration: Do not judge any state. Do not attach to any state. Do not prefer any state over any other. 3- The Paradox & Integration Integrating the Two – Where Do They Meet? Many traditions blend both (e.g., Christianity: "Be still and know" vs. "Strive for holiness") . -Acknowledge similarities but also disagreements, come back to not-knowing. Psychedelics show both models. Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the tension, the paradox, the suffering, the seraching - all of it. Love it. Appreciate it! The key is integration, avoiding the traps of bypassing or dogmatic progression. Psychedelics redirect us to that: appreciation of simple things (Grof findings) The realization that both perspectives are true at the same time. Holding both perspectives at once: psychedelics can be a path of progress, but progress itself is an illusion. -Is there data or research on Paradox as an inherent feature of reality? The challenge of integration: How do we live in this paradox? We can honor both the progressive path and the non-seeking path without contradiction. Recognizing language's limitations—truth is beyond words and frameworks. Traps and pitfalls (spiritual bypassing, attachment to peak experiences, superiority complex, psychedelic escapism). The importance of the foundation of spiritual work The humility of not knowing—embracing mystery and paradox. The most holistic, mature spiritual practice acknowledges we don’t know. Bringing wisdom into daily life → Grounding insights in love, service, and presence. Psychedelic Integration = Life itself Taking action: “let the beauty we love be what we do” - Rumi I know that´s a lot. Any help simplifying, clarifying or cutting out things is welcome <3

@OBEler Thanks for the input! Just got a haircut I am gonna be very clear and structured in my talk, but I am not sure how much I can deliver my presentation with every argument backed up by some reserach paper. I don't really have the time or desire to prepare the facts in such a scientifically grounded, academic way. I want to present what I feel is true, and do that authentically. Not hide behind aynthing. And I do want to talk about big picture perspectives and radical ideas. And the topic of sspirituality is a hard one to wrap around "facts" in geneal, I have has some difficulty wraping my mind around that in the last few days. When you mean, "concentrate on facts around psychedelics" , what does that mean in relation to the topic of this talk "Psychedelics as a spiritual practice"?? I'll share my new refine loose structure that I worked out in the next post:

Proof of God's Existence: 1.) 5-MeO-DMT exists 2.) You can consume it 3.) Ta Daaa

Here is a simple guide: https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/5meo_dmt/5meo_dmt_article2_vape_pens.shtml

It`s very common for people not to remeber the trip itself. You`re not alone with this. For a complete breakthrough you might go to 13-20+ mg, but with this dose it is not recommended to play with fire when there is a possibility for oyu to back-out / white-out. Also - all experiences seem to be valuable and one cannot force a full release experience it seems. Another aspect people point to is the depth of surrender as being a factor in how deep you go. Deeper surrender = deeper trip.

Here a few quotes by Meister Eckhart who have helped me clarify suffering a bit: Nothing is sharper than suffering, nothing is sweeter than to have suffered. If you love God and are ill-in God's name! If your friend dies in God's name! If you lose an eye-in God's name!! Whether it be sickness or poverty, hunger or thirst, or whatever it might be whatever God has ordained or not ordained for you, or whatever God gives you or does not give you, all this is the best for you. Every day we raise our voices and exclaim in the Our Father, 'Lord your will be done!' And when his will comes about, we get angry and are not at all satisfied with his will. Yet whatever he does should please us best of all. Those who really do take this as the best remain, in all circumstances, fully at peace. Now sometimes a thought comes to you and you say: 'Alas, if it had only turned out differently, things would be better.' Or 'If it had not happened this way, things might perhaps have turned out better. As long as you think this, you will never gain peace. You should take [God's will] as the best. If you want to be son of God and you do not want to suffer, you are all wrong. In the Book of Wisdom, it is written that God tests and tries whether a man is just as men test and try gold and melt it in a furnace.6 Some people run in front of God, some next to God, some follow behind God. Those who run in front of God are the ones who follow their own will and do not want to acknowledge God's will. This is simply base. Those who go beside God say, 'Lord, I want only what you want. But if they are sick, they beg that God might want them healthy. This one can let pass. The third group follows behind God; wherever he wishes they follow him willingly, and these are perfect. About this St John says in the Book of Mysteries, "They follow the lamb wherever he goes (Rv 14:4). These people follow God wherever he leads them, in sickness or in health, in fortune or misfortune. Love God as much in poverty as in wealth; care for him as much in sickness as in health. Love him as much when being tried as when not, and as much in suffering as when free of suffering. If you really want to know whether your sufferings are your own or are God's, this is what you should observe. If you suffer for your own sake, however this may be, the suffering hurts you and is hard for you to bear. But if you suffer for God's sake and for his sake alone, the suffering will not hurt you and will not be hard for you, because God is carrying the burden. This is really true! If there were a man who wanted to suffer for the love of God and purely for God alone, if all the suffering came down on him at once that all men have ever suffered and the whole world had as its common lot, that would not hurt him or be hard for him, because it would be God who was carrying the burden. If someone loaded a hundredweight on my neck and then someone else supported it on my neck, 1 should be as glad to carry a hundred of them as one, because it would not be hard for me, nor would it hurt me at all. In a few words: Whatever a man suffers for the love of God and for him alone, God makes this easy and sweet for him. Hope that helps.

Great work! All the best with the integration!

@The Renaissance Man Well, actually my main goals at the moment are also material. Making money ist one of my top priorities. Bit it's easy to get lost in pressure and lose perspective in that persuit. So that's exactly why I do these things I mentioned that seem to be not really related. Counterintuitively those things bring the greatest insight for business and help me align my perspective and regain a sense of commitment and motivation. For me personally, another business video or more task on my calendar are not really supportive when I feel a bit overwhelmed, anxious or don't know my next step. Actually those activities just confuse me even more.

Mostly a good dose of a psychedelic will do it for me and remind me to slow down. It's a beautiful and humbling reset. Other things that help me: Long Breathwork Sessions, Ecstatic dance, looking into fire for a night, being in nature (maybe several days), travel, conscious festivals or meditation retreats.