Hello forum, I'm not usually one to post, however I feel compelled to share my first experience with 5-MeO-DMT. To provide some background, I have now been meditating consistently since July 2015. Generally I do vipassana meditation, and would consider myself relatively adept practitioner now, though no expert by a long shot. I came into enlightenment work completely fresh around the time I began meditating; I had no prior knowledge on the subject itself, nor any significant on encompassing subjects such as psychology (the ego, the conscious/unconscious mind etc.), non-duality, meditation or spirituality in general. I had always struggled with emotions, and coming into this work I became immediately fascinated. In the beginning, meditation was a ball ache. My practice was forced and boring, though something (probably blind faith) kept me going with this rigid routine - mediation everyday for 40 minutes - no exceptions. As I was beginning to lose patience and hope that meditation would bring me enlightenment, I had my first awakening experience around the end on January 2016. As I was sitting in mediation, I was practicing a "free floating awareness" technique as prescribed by Shinzen Young (The Science of Enlightenment)... I suddenly became aware of the nature of my ego - how it's nature is essentially a conceptual repository of past emotions, events, feelings, perceptions and so forth. I struggle to describe the following, as I am still unsure what type of awakening experience this was, but perhaps someone here can help... there was a gentle, progressive rising on energy in the body - it felt as if all this energy was collecting; as if it were going to burst outward... sure enough it did. The conceptual boundaries seemed to dissolve as this energy (my awareness) burst outwards in all directions. Before I knew it, for five minutes I was everything. Sure, bodily sensations were still there, but they were no longer mapped to discreet bodily locations; they were more stars in the night sky that I had become. I didn't appear to be located anywhere spatially - I knew intellectually that I was sitting down, but in experience it didn't feel like there was a floor anymore, or for that matter a body that was sitting. Form had dissolved, and awareness had expanded infinitely. However, it all soon returned as I curiously opened my eyes. Form came back. Everything returned. The next few months, up until my first 5-MeO-DMT experience were charged by this first awakening experience; I now had my motivation to continue. I had one other experience identical to this one (albeit slightly stronger), but nothing else noteworthy. Although, I now know better than to attach meaning to these experiences, else we create another idea in our head for the ego to grasp for. I also know now that rigid meditation routines can be more neurotic than helpful - it's important we are kind to ourselves, and enjoy our practice. Anyway, recently I managed to source 250mg of HCl 5-MeO-DMT - no advice will be given on how (sorry). I had never taken psychedelic drugs before, so I had some worries before proceeding - these were mainly fueled by bad trip reports you will all have read about online. Though, for some reason, I took Leo's advice on blind faith (don't know why, but I trust the guy) and tried it out. It was just after midnight, and everything was quiet; I had made all the relevant precautions to ensure I felt safe, secure and comfortable (get all the potential neuroticism inducing factors out the way before taking the drug). Earlier in the day I had taken a loading dose to be more certain the drug agreed with me (2mg) - this was fine, and gave me some confidence in what I was about to take. I measured out 12mg of the substance and snorted approx. 6mg into each nostril. I then queued up some meditation music and settled back calmly into bed. Tipping my head back I let the substance sit there for 5-10 minutes or so. Let me just say, for someone new to anything except weed, this was disgusting. Snorting gives no pain at all, but once it has settled, the substance tastes revolting - like paint stripper at the back of your throat. You can feel it dripping into your throat, and there is a mild burning sensation. However, I didn't panic; I stayed perfectly calm and still, as per my meditation experience. I let go and surrendered. Leo's advice is very good though on this guys, extremely comprehensive and reliable in my experience. The onset was a strange. At this time I've only had a small dose, so I can't speak for higher doses, but I can see how it might freak people out. It kind of felt like being at home with a cold, feeling fragile on a winter's day. There was some trembling, some small difficulty with breath, which I imagine might develop into shivering or shaking (maybe nausea) with higher doses, but the trick is to be OK with it. Let it be... my thoughts were as it happened - "I've taken it, so whatever happens, fuck it". Just as if you were stuck at home with a nasty cold, just don't think about it, let it be, don't react irrationally. You will be fine. Then after 15 minutes or so from initial snorting, the peak of the experience hit me. The trembling calmed, and my mind stilled. I find it very hard to put this experience into words to be honest. It was kind of similar to the state I entered when I had the awakening described above. Though this time, it endured whilst my eyes were open. There were no hallucinations, or weird sounds, no scary entities - nothing like that. I was still a body at this dosage, though I was in no way attached to it. Everything in normal experience was still there, but my god it was all so beautiful. There was nothing special about it, no psychedelic patterns or colorful lights; it was all just beautiful the way it was - without any emotional judgement or reactivity toward it all. I felt as if I had no boundaries, like I was consciousness of the universe itself. Everything was in perfect clarity - crystal clear. No sadness, no happiness. Just bliss - I now know what the word bliss actually means. It isn't what you all think. It's the state of being where attachment is relinquished, and everything in experience (including the ego) comes into clarity from the observer perspective - the true self (at least in my experience). The biggest thing I learned during this experience was that there is absolutely NOTHING to pursue. The truth is right here in front of us all - we are it with zero cognitive effort... I like Rupert Spira's analogy - we are like a screen with images projected onto it; it is impossible for the screen to seek/find itself within those images, as it is the very fabric of them. Thoughts, concepts and ideas keep our attention, and enlightenment cannot be found within them. When the mind is still, and thoughts, concepts and ideas fade, we recognise our true nature; this is what I believe 5-MeO-DMT can help us with. It is only our attention to and identification with said thoughts, concepts and ideas that perpetuate the separate self; that make us feel as if there is something out there to find. It's already here guys - you are already it. You just haven't realised yet; our true nature is aware understanding. The "best bit" of the experience lasted perhaps 15 minutes, though it felt a lot longer. I kept checking the clock during the trip. Now 5 hours later, I still have a serene sense of calm about me. There is so much less emotional resistance to everything, i.e. talking to people, doing errands, housework etc. It's all just fine the way it is. Although I've seen the truth, I can feel the state of bliss fading... but that's perfectly fine. It will come and go. Maybe one day it will endure in my experience. Who knows. Right now though, I need to focus on the here and now - I need to play the game of life. I still have so many more experiments to come with 5-MeO-DMT, but to be honest, this experience on 12mg would have been enough to give anyone "seeking enlightenment" the hope and motivation they need to move forward in their practice. Overall, and extremely positive and insightful experience. As Leo also mentions in his video, I do not recommend this substance to anyone with only elementary familiarity with psychology, spirituality, and especially non-duality and meditation... I can see for sure how some may mistake this as some ethereal, lonely, cold and desolate experience. If you've studied this stuff, you would recognise it straight away for what it is. If you've had a non-drug induced awakening experience, you'll also know what I am talking about. This substance is not the answer, nor is it a catalyst. It is important you do not get attached to these experiences. So there you go all, hope this helps some of you - please comment below or PM me (no questions about sourcing please) with questions and your experiences - I would love to share. I will keep you all posted with more experiments with 5-MeO-DMT, and higher dosages.