Forestluv

How was your mind-body oriented in the weeks prior to the trip? What type of work did you put in the weeks prior to the trip: meditation, yoga, contemplation, self inquiry etc. Or had you been preoccupied and worrying about life problems a lot? Also, did you set intentions prior to the trip? And, I would sit up with awareness during a trip.

Smartest by what metric?

Well there ya go. . . How do you know your sober reality is more true than a psychedelic reality? How do you know they are not equally true or that a psychedelic reality is more true?

I've had many similar experiences. In particular the part about reality collapsing into who knows what. That sense of uncertainty invoked both curiosity and anxiety within me. At times I didn't know if it was sane spiritual progress or insane. I generally kept it to myself because most people would think it kinda cra-cra. Expansion of consciousness can be unstable at first and then it settles down and becomes grounded. Then, the next level of expansion. What you described sounds totally normal relative to my own path and what I've related to others along a spiritual path.

It's basically indistinguishable from LSD. Some people say they can tell subtle differences. I've read online of a few experienced trippers doing blind experiments and they couldn't tell the difference. I use 1p LSD because it's more efficient and reliable for me.

@outlandish Those are great points about maximizing potential benefits. Ideally, there would be plenty of trained professionals and the treatment would be accessible to all that suffer. Yet due to social stigmas and regulatory restrictions - that will be a long ways away. If someone has a baseline level of maturity and support, I could see a self-guided at home kit being beneficial. For example, a manual to prepare beforehand, a guided trip (perhaps with a loved-one as a sitter) and a workbook for integration afterwards. As well as a supportive online forum. Hopefully, those enforcing laws wouldn't be so draconian that they would prosecute these activities.

He seems very well versed in kriya yoga and a good teacher, yet I think he may come across a bit "out there" to someone that is rationally-minded. Like when he goes off into Astrology. I had to let go of some of the stuff he talked about.

@Leo Gura Is there an EEG machine you would recommend looking into in the $3,000 range? I'd like to start researching this as a personal meditation tool.

@Pouya I have a career in the sciences and had similar views. From a practical mindset, it doesn't seem to make sense. I would try yoga and be like "OK, what's supposed to happen now?" I've found deeply relaxed mind-body states can allow insights to arise. Also, imagination can be very powerful. I'm not referring to sleepy relaxed states. Rather, very aware relaxed states. Leo did a nice view of body awareness on his video. For me now, yin yoga is perfect for surrender and deep mind-body relaxation and connection. Ime, to much emphasis on theory and technique became distracting. Just a bit was enough. For me, it's the letting go and immersion into the direct experience that is so powerful.

I think sincerity, openness, maturity and intention are more important than the substance. Ime, I would say 4-aco-met, san pedro, and al-lad are the most gentle for novices. I don't find these as "possessive". Next would be lsd, 4-aco-dmt and 5-meo-dmt. Then Ayahuasca (due to the heavy body load and purging).

I've found kriya yoga and yin yoga helpful to relax the mind, because they give the mind body something to do.

@Pouya I shifted from traditional seated meditation to kriya. Once I started the chakras and energy, I shifted more toward yin yoga - it just resonates with me more. I found info in the kriya thread to be helpful. I've done it all solo (with the help of forum members) and found it beneficial.

There is a kriya mega thread on the forum. I haven't seen many practitioners say a guru is necessary. I've been following a book independently and have gotten good results. To me, it seems like an individual practice of personal mastery.

I think some conceptual framework can be helpful. For example, what if a person had a spiritual experience yet had no idea of what it is and no idea that it's called anything. That person may dismiss the experience as just a weird thing - that it is "whoo whoo" and default back to their prior state of mind. Yet, with some conceptual understanding, the spiritual experience may be given different meaning. They person may think "So thats what the Rupert Spira was talking about!". With that said, intellectualizing can easily become a major distraction. Ime, not much conceptual understanding is necessary to support the direct experience.

Just because it isn't considered bad, it would not default to becoming good. It would be neither bad nor good. Meaninglessness is neither bad nor good. I agree at the human level it is disturbing to see and difficult to comprehend how humans can treat each other that way. One of the hardest parts of nondual experience from my egos perspective is the collapse of relative morality.

Exactly. If there is no right or wrong, then there just is. So, why does anything happen? It seems like you are assuming that nonduality is correlated with some type of goodness. Consider the questions: "If they were nondualists, how could they care for each other?" and "If they were nondualists, how could they kill each other"? Do those two questions stir up a different feel? I think it would for most humans because the human mind wants to associate nonduality with things we consider "good" - like caring for each other. Imo, this is one of the most challenging aspects of gaining nondual experience. From a full nondual perspective, there is no difference between drinking a glass of water and stabbing myself. This revelation and experience is deeply disturbing to a psychological self.

Notice how you used nonduality with a dualistic usage of "themselves". What do you mean by "themselves"? It seems like you are using that term to refer to other humans. From a nondualistic perspective everything is "themself". So, killing an insect or plant is equally as relevant as killing another human. Yet, a dualistic mind set will not accept that. You are adding meaning. Your mind is adding in that it is wrong to kill other humans and it is barbaric to kill other humans within one's tribe. To reach full nonduality, the mind must let go of all meaning. From a dualistic perspective, you ask a very interesting psychological and social question. From a nondualistic perspective, it doesn't make any sense. It would be like asking "Why would palithiz skalid jocab in plooxic?"

Nondualists don't see it as "their own tribe". That's part of the essence of nonduality. By your rationale, the cells in your body are committing the same atrocities right now. Some of your cells are killing your own cells. You are adding personal dualistic meaning and value onto nonduality.

@Yoshy You are assuming that there is an objective sober reality that is more real than a subjective altered psychedelic reality. We could restate your question as:

Perhaps humans will look back on our time in history as barbaric as well. Consider how we treat animals, such as factory farming. From a nondual perspective, do you think humans are granted more worth than other animals? Imo, speciesism is one of the most challenging mind states to overcome when evolving into nonduality. From a nondual perspective your statement "Perhaps they are thinking 'well this is me, so I can kill this me and its fine because its god killing himself?'", is equally valid regarding killing an ant.

What qualifies as “another reality”? As soon as it appears, it becomes reality. For example, years ago a few people had this idea there were tiny beings all around us that we can’t see. They thought these tiny beings could enter our bodies and cause us to get sick and even make us mad. These people were thought to be insane for proposing such a reality. Even after Louis Pasteur proved it experimentally, it was still too radical for people to accept. It took years of work from other scientists to confirm his results and convince the public. Today, it’s ho-hum obvious stuff. Yea, bacteria and viruses exist. Yet, at the time it was a radical idea of reality.

Could you start us off with your own thoughts and experience?

He aint smokin' dandelions

I communicated with the OP and checked out his lab and survey online. His lab looks legit and this seems like a genuine research project examining personality and awe experiences with and without drugs. If you take the survey, please give honest answers.

Great question. I'm currently learning the power of imagination. Turquoise-level imagination is amazing. It feels para-normal at first. I'm developing skills to use it wisely.