Temporary Psychedelic Enlightenment

[Nak Khid]

Quote

Chemical Enlightenment?

Can psychedelic substances bring personal transformation?

Posted Mar 01, 2017

(excerpt)

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-the-darkness/201703/chemical-enlightenment

....But although psychedelics can bring temporary awakening experiences, I think it’s very unlikely that they can lead to a permanent higher state of consciousness – that is, a state of ‘enlightenment,’ or in my preferred term, ‘wakefulness.’ The reason for this is that psychedelics are basically dissolutive – that is, they achieve their effect by dissolving away our normal mental structures, and putting our normal  psychological mechanisms out of action. (I like to use the term 'self-system' for these structures and mechanisms.) When the normal self-system dissolves away, our sense of boundary disappears, so that we no longer experience separateness. Our normal concepts of ourselves and of reality fade away too, so that we feel we’re looking at the world and ourselves in a completely new way. The contents of our subconscious mind may open up into our conscious mind, as the boundary between them fades away as well.

This is fine for temporary awakening experiences, but permanent wakefulness can only occur if there is a new self-system to replace the normal one. It’s not enough to dissolve the sense of self – a new self has to replace it....

This self-system may be so subtle and integrated within the whole of our being that you might not even notice that it’s there.....

In other words, spiritual practice is basically constructive – it gradually changes the structures of consciousness, re-moulding our self-system into a higher functioning form. But psychedelics don’t facilitate the emergence of a new self-system. With the regular use of psychedelics, the  danger is that the structures of the normal self-system will completely dissolve way, and without another self-system to supplant it, there will simply be a psychic vacuum, which equates with a state of psychosis.

This article argues that an "ego-death" brought on by a psychedelic experience does not by itself does not lead to a permanent higher state of consciousness, that to be in a permanent state of higher consciousness  you still need a "self system".

This corresponds to what Leo has said. That he has had many powerful intense awakening experiences but they have not led to a permanent awakening.

But is a sudden intense awakening experience brought on intentionally either by use of psychedelics or rigorous mediation techniques  even necessary for a permanent awakening?    That is the question

And how do we even know what that "permanent awakening"  or "enlightenment " is a real thing or just a type of behavior?

 

[erik8lrl]

You will know when you awaken permanently. 

[Forestluv]

@Nak Khid From a rational perspective, your ideas make sense and I would agree. In this context, taking a psychedelic temporarily grants super conscious realizations that can be difficult to integrate and embody. This is a common view from a personal lens, which has value. Yet there is much more going on. 

Your creation involves a sober state that is defined as unaltered/normal and a psychedelic state that is altered /abnormal. You also create a timeline of past and future in which an undefined imagined thing can be permanent. If one observes the ISness of Here and Now, these constructs may disappear - or they may appear very differently.

Why does your sober mind state get to decide what counts as “normal”, “higher states of consciousness” and “enlightened”? Why doesn’t your psychedelic mind state decide these matters?  A post-egoic psychedelic experience is very much real. Awareness, awakeness, and being is very much present. Yet the ego won’t like that because it is no longer controlling the narrative.

 

[Arcangelo]

24 minutes ago, Nak Khid said:

even necessary for a permanent awakening?

Maybe not.

24 minutes ago, Nak Khid said:

And how do we even know what that "permanent awakening"  or "enlightenment " is a real thing or just a type of behavior?

It doesn't matter.

 

I had a S.A.E. in June this year. I was enlightened or awake (whatever you wanna call it) for about a week.

But my monkey mind came back, and I started projecting again...

 

 

Arc

Edited December 8, 2019 by Arcangelo

[Nak Khid]

21 minutes ago, Arcangelo said:

I had a S.A.E. in June this year. I was enlightened or awake (whatever you wanna call it) for about a week.

But my monkey mind came back, and I started projecting again...

Suppose you were to have ignored the monkey mind and decided to change your life at that point to behave 24/7 to the best of your ability in what you would see as in a continuous enlightened manner?