outlandish

^ I don't think it's true the meat and dairy are the main drivers of GHGs. But I totally agree that moving to a vegan (or much more vegan) diet is one of the best things you could do for the planet. As a side benefit, it's extremely healthy for your body and a plant-based diet will help you avoid dying (as Dr. whatshisname says), and you can feel better about not causing animals to suffer.

Thank you for bringing this topic up. It's the critical issue of our time, and it ties in deeply with spirituality and actualization. We've been mislead into believing that the solution to climate change and environmental devastation lies in our individual hands. We're taught that if only we could we just do a better job of recycling, riding our bikes more and skipping meat on mondays, that everything will be hunky-dory. Don't get me wrong, individual actions are part of it, extremely important, and commendable. I do all kinds of those things, religiously. However, this is a collective problem and we need high level, collective solutions. That means government, international agreements and regulation. The number one solution to climate change is that we need to push the big institutions, politicians, kicking and screaming, into taxing carbon pollution. We need to end coal. We need to push government to end fossil fuel subsidies, slow down fossil fuel industry expansion, and foster renewables and robust high voltage power grids. De-invest in the fossil fuel industry, invest in renewable energy. Vote for local mass transit. This massive challenge to humanity needs Tier 2 solution and a great deal of progress through the stages for humanity as a whole. I don't know how bad it's going to get before we do make this progression. I think it's possible we won't, we could fail at this.

What?! TWO whole years of work and he STILL isn't fully enlightened? Geesh, unbelievable. I think you know as well as I do that this is a big work, it's not just like popping down to the local college to sign up for an undergrad degree! I'd also like to know if you have any direct experience with psychedelics? It sounds to me like you are speaking out of puritanism and fear. It's excellent that we have different viewpoints on this forum, but we also have to speak honestly out of actual experience whenever possible, and not just speak from ideas that we've garnered from culture at large. With psychedelics in particular there has been a great deal of misinformation, misunderstanding and fear spread around about them, which is unfortunate because they are tremendous tools for change, personal growth and healing. Luckily we're in era where the tides are turning around a bit on this, at a time when we probably need them the most.

If I'm doing seated meditation, the core of it is essentially this: Follow the breath, dwell in the stillness at the end of the exhalation, maintain that stillness on the in, bring it back to the top of the in, exhale, repeat. Like holding a bowl of water, perfectly still. Of course, most of the time I'm carried off in some thought cascade. And then I notice, rein it back in and find a moment or two of peace again. The different techniques have each have a fit so it's worth exploring to observe what fits you best, and to have different tools in your belt.

LSD won't directly give the lasting spiritual growth, but it sure can catalyze it, especially when taken in the spirit that OP describes. It really does have a tendency (for many people at least) to thrust inquiry into the nature of this existence right up front. I mean, it does this so effectively that I think it would be hard to take LSD a bunch of times, and not experience personal growth. Of course there are exceptions to this, including mentally unstable and very young people.

100ug is a good standard trip dose. Lots of acid is actually laid 60-80ug range but sold as 100ug. Ironically 60-80ug is a pretty decent starting dose too, so it does work out. Remember, whatever you dose, you cant un-take it so if you're at all tentative, cut it in half. You can always take more next time. On the other hand LSD is pretty forgiving if you do dose it a bit too high. LSD is a sacrament and a gift <3

Wicked, I came in here to post Tree of Life and I see you already did. Totally agree about 2001 too. I'll have to check out the other movies you mention. In that spirit, Solaris, both the original russian and newer American remake, are a bit yellow because they pull the carpet out from under the materialist perspective. Cant agree much that Primer mentioned earlier is yellow, but a it's a really cool movie that should be seen. Princess Mononoke is yellow..it seems very green at first but has a catharsis that is very yellow, integrating green and orange. In this way it represents the dawn of yellow in phase green, to me at least.

It's a good idea to wait before trying psychedelics if you're a teen. To me, 19 or 20 seems like a good minimum age. I have to admit that I started a bit earlier, as did a lot of my friends, and it worked out really well for most of us. Normally psychedelic trips end up being a positive event in someone's life, but very occasionally it does go the other way and can catalyze psychological problems. The rate of these types of problematic experiences are much, much higher amongst young users than grown adults.

Apparently this beautiful Rumi poem is inscribed on the entrance to the United Nations building: The sons of Adam are limbs of each other, Having been created of one essence. When the calamity of time affects one limb The other limbs cannot remain at rest. If you have no sympathy for the troubles of others, You are unworthy to be called by the name of a Human.

Nice report Arthur! I think it's a good idea to post your ROA and dosage, despite the fact that like you said it will vary between individuals. It can give others a ballpark to work from, with that caveat in mind. It can also illustrate the range of this variability when many people post their varying dosages and ROAs.

This one was really interesting ^ thanks. My take homes: 5-MeO-DMT probably has anti-addictive properties (I've noticed this anecdotally with other tryptamines as well): "we observed major downregulation of mGluR5 after treatment with 5-MeO-DMT. mGluR5 has a role in the rewarding effects for several drugs of abuse. It was shown that mice lacking the mGluR5 gene do not self-administer cocaine and show no cocaine-induced hyperactivity [...] mGluR5 may be involved in addiction [...] These effects of 5-MeO-DMT can possibly explain the therapeutic effect of dimethyltryptamines from Ayahuasca on substance dependence. Moreover, Ayahuascaseems to inhibit addictive behaviors in an animal model of alcohol dependence" 5-MeO-DMT affects dendritic spine formation (this could play a role in learning), and brain cell death: "5-MeO-DMT caused significant upregulation of EFNB2, EPHB, and various secondary messengers involved in dendritic spine formation. Dendritic spine formation can be induced by direct stimulation of serotonergic receptors" "we observed a significant activation score for dendritic spine and cellular protrusion formation, microtubule and cytoskeletal organization, and also mild activation of T lymphocyte differentiation. On the other hand, biological functions such as neurodegeneration, cell death, and brain lesion were predicted to be inhibited." In conclusion: "pathways, associated with cell death, in brain organoids were inhibited by 5-MeO-DMT." "The proteomic profile, observed after exposure to 5-MeO-DMT, points to actions on synaptic plasticity and cell survival in human brain organoids" The authors seem to suggest that 5-MeO-DMT could be investigated for potential as a fast anti-depressant, similar to how Ketamine is being used clinically for depression right now. It makes sense that it could be useful in this regard given the effects on addiction pathways (which would be related to addictive behaviour as well as actual drug abuse addiction), synaptic plasticity and inhibiting cell death. Very cool study, it's amazing that this kind of research is happening now.

Aside from what everyone has mentioned in here, there is a huge elephant lurking in the room that is just starting to be talked about. Another big part of the story, in my opinion, is the fact that we're all ingesting huge quantities of hormone disruptors *all the time*. Pesticides, flame retardants, plastics and other polymers (it's not just BPA), and all kinds of other synthetic chemicals that we're packaging our food in, wearing, drinking out of etc. Even if you eat pure organic, it's not really escapable. We're using ABS and PVC piping to plumb our houses, nearly every food item comes packaged in plastic, there are flame retardants all around. It's hard to know to what extent there compounds are affecting us, but there are dozens or hundreds of synthetic estrogen mimicking compounds in our bodies that come from our human made environment. Some of these end up blocking estrogen, some end up stimulating those pathways.. it's all very complicated and difficult to determine exactly whats going on. In my opinion, in 10 years we'll be freaking out a lot more about this issue. Anyways, regardless of the cause of so many people coming out as transgender these days, its really important and beautiful to accept people for who they are. It's very heartwarming to see that people are becoming comfortable to express themselves how they choose.

@ajasatya ^ lol so true

I think you really just need to be patient and give it time, like you said "there is a battle wound that requires time to heal". When you cut your leg, you clean the wound, and then bring the skin together and let your body do the magic of healing it back together. Have you cleaned the wound of this relationship already, or is there some dirt in there that you need to clean out still? Maybe the answer is that you have done all that already, sounds to me like you have. If so, it's time to stand back, don't pick at at, leave it be. You might need to take the bandage off every once in a while to clean the dressing, but don't obsess over it. Specific strategies that really work are to get out socially with friends more, exercise, pursue your interests etc. Common sense stuff really.

Really well produced video of Shinzen Young doing r/StreamEntry AMA:

Met the hottest girl I had ever encountered. She ticked all the boxes for me, 100%. Realized I didn't deserve her yet, and that I would have to grow a lot before she would fall in love with me. Spent the next 7 years growing myself as a person, exploring the world, dating different women, completing my education, pursuing my passions, mastering myself, getting stronger (figuratively and literally). 7 years later after first meeting, fate brought us back into the same circle again, but now it was a different story. Another decade later +, we are married with beautiful children. It was the long route to get her, that's for sure. There are different ways you can "get" the hot partner. I'm very grateful for a piece of advice an old lady gave me when I was a teen: Want the Princess? You have to be the Prince.

I know and have known a good handful of Bahais. They are indeed an interesting and admirable bunch. They're highly persecuted in the land the religion originated from, Iran, and as a result there is a huge diaspora of them all over the world. I understand that they regard their own religion as the next step in the progression of Abrahamic religions going from Judaism -> Christianity -> Islam -> Bahai faith, and that each one of these religions is an appropriate fit for humanity at it's certain stage of culture. They don't believe theirs is the one true faith, and they truly do respect other religions. I think they even believe that their faith will be superceded by the next iteration which will be brought about by another prophet at some point. In this way it has some interesting parallels with the whole outlook of Spiral Dynamics. They don't prosthelytize, they value education very highly. There's a lot of great things about the religion. It seems to me like a very advanced stage blue, because it still does have many dogmatic beliefs built in, and it is faith based. It also has very strong streaks of yellow because of the understanding that different stages fit different people/cultures, and that there is a progression and possibility for human advancement.

@Serotoninluv to me it's maybe like each psychedelic is a different facet of the jewel, offering a different view into the heart of the diamond. 5-MeO-DMT is the one with the least angle of refraction, offering the clearest, most direct view. Well, analogy only goes so far anyways hah..

Yeah AL-LAD is great go for it! Read up on set and setting, make sure you truly have the day off with no obligations, try to plan on being able to have some time outdoors, preferably in some beautiful nature. You could take it with some close friends, or solo if you're comfortable being alone.

As others have said, 5-MeO-DMT is very unique amongst the psychedelics. It points the same direction that most of the other classic type psychedelics though, just via a *much* more direct route, with less window dressing. You can access these kinds of mystical states through LSD, mushrooms and so on. People have been accessing the same mystical states without drugs, just with years of practice and their own endogenous neurotransmitters for millenia! It's all part of our innate psyche, these are just tools for catalyzing the process. For me personally, I've not had a breakthrough type experience on any substance aside from 5-MeO-DMT and I've taken hundreds of trips on dozens of different psychedelics for over 20 years. I'm pretty sure that from the substances I've surveyed, 5-MeO-DMT is the most powerful in this regard. However, many other psychedelics hint at the same thing that 5-MeO-DMT does. I can tell it can go there given the right set, setting, intention, dose. And you can read reports of mystical breakthrough experiences on LSD and mushrooms. Especially in the 60s + 70s a lot of people were dropping acid (at much higher doses than what is normal now) and having these breakthroughs. One could look towards LSD for sure. It's very long lasting, but it goes there. One thing to watch out for with LSD it can (paradoxically) be ego-reinforcing. Sometimes people get too far into acid and start thinking they're Jesus or some shit and ought to be worshipped etc., or more minor ego traps. There are drugs that sometimes get confused with classic psychedelics that I would not recommend trying to use for this. These would include DXM, ketamine, salvia, MDMA. Those may have their own lessons and merits, but it's a very different thing. And obviously any of the opiates, stimulants, benzos, booze etc. won't get you anywhere near there, they'll take you further away in fact.

A great talk here from Myron Stolaroff here on his practice of meditation and psychedelics: https://psychedelicsalon.com/podcast-579-meditation-and-psychedelics/ I love the wisdom and simplicity of his presentation. It'll be worth a re-listen or two for sure.

Thanks for your advice and insight fellas. I don't think I could do it. Vapourized tryptamines have such an unholy smell to me, I feel like every cell in my body would reject the experience. IM tho... with all the correct filters and technique of course. I keep some in storage in the deepfreeze, some on deck at room temperature. Always sealed tight away from moisture, light and locked hidden from naive eyes/hand/mouths. Nice froggie!

@Leo Gura Thanks, I appreciate you taking the time to read that! A few questions: A) Why do you say so? I've had a real breakthrough on a lower dose. It could have been a fluke, and I'm definitely intent on pushing my dose higher. My gut feeling tells me that 24mg is the dose I want to get to. For now I feel the need to get back on the horse at a lower dose before going back up. B) Agreed C) Why is plugging is superior? The sinus burn doesn't bother me, and (hypocritically I know) it feels slightly depraved to stick drugs in my bum. Snorting lines of enlightenment off a mirror? Perfectly fine somehow! Maybe it's time to open my "3rd eye" lol. Has anyone tried IM? Thanks for your insight. edit: @Serotoninluv Thank you for your insight as well. I agree that 5-MeO is too precious for generic psychedelic insight - there's a million psychedelics that can do that. I will be trying higher doses once I re-acclimatize at around 18mg I think, and dial in my mental preparation a bit better.

Trip report: 21mg 5-MeO-DMT insufflated. "Multitudinous Head Fuck" I took the 21mg 5-meo-dmt in two lines, one in each nostril. 1mg more than my previous max. The familiar burn set in and I immediately lay down on my back in a nicely prepared room to let it absorb. It hit faster than it ever has before. Maybe within 5 mins I could feel it, in the past it's taken 20-30mins to hit. Hard to gauge exact time when time-perception is dilated like this. I thought I had 5-MeO DMT figured out! What a fool I am! In the past, it has been very deep, monad, ground-state, centering, kensho type experience. This time was like the exact opposite of that. My mind was like a spaghetti machine pouring out multitudinous profound (and not so profound) insights, so rapidly I could barely hang on. It was like a rapidfire machine gun of psychedelic insight, one thing after another, strobing between multiple trains of thought. Monkey-mind revved up and amplified with pattern-breaking psychedelic power. Coupled with all this, I was aware of some intense geometric fractal type visuals, not something I think of as characteristic of 5-MeO-DMT at all. I know nothing. The mental torrent continued to accelerate until it became too much, and I lost my ability to hold still. Jumped up and began pacing around, lying back down, getting back up, unsettled as I churned through it all. When it finally started to wind down, I looked at my watch, and a mere 43minutes had elapsed since I put the stuff up my nose! I've done this kind of thing enough that I expected to be surprised, but it's always a shock how much can fit into such a tiny measure of time. I scrambled to jot down some notes as fast as I could while the trip content was still palpable. All in all it was a weird trip. I actually came out of it with some really good productive insights that I can implement in my life. Most of them are the no-brainers you need to step out of your head to be able to see. The one I'll mention is meditation. It was really obvious that I need to meditate a lot more, it's at the root of all the things I want to improve on in my life. I've been letting my meditation practice slide lately, and this gave me the kick in the butt to get my butt back on the cushion, with determination. There was so much content in the trip, tragically a lot of it is lost along the way - but of course there's only so much a mind can hang on to in a 45 minute ride. In the past I've managed to navigate through and past this kind of mental onslaught through breathing, letting go, meditation technique. This has allowed me to break through to a much deeper level. This time I got caught up in the current and went over the waterfall of mental bamboozlement, which ended up being interesting, but not really what I had intended to explore. Next time I will practice again at a smaller but strong dose, probably 15-18mg, with a stronger meditation habit in place beforehand, and a few other tweaks to my set+setting leading in. tl;dr: Was unable to set down my mind on 21mg of 5-MeO-DMT. Instead it was turned up all the way to 11, exploding into an unexpected plurality of insight and psychedelia. Will revisit soon at a slightly smaller dose and a calmer mind.

Mescaline-containing cactus (san pedro, peruvian torch) would be a great first trip! It is very kind, centering, epic and warm. It can be very challenging to eat because of it's bitter taste, but this can also be a bit of a safety valve to keep you from getting in deeper than you intended. It's also a meditative process to maintain the mastery over your body to get it down. I find that there's no more nausea once you get it down and give your body some time to accept it. Be ready for a long journey - it last for ages.