Psychedelics vs. Meditation/Yoga

[Terell Kirby]

I'd like to hear from some you which is more effective. Personally, I've gotten a long way through strong determination sitting, and some yoga here and there. I have not taken psychedelics yet - but I plan to in the future.

There seems to be a divide in spiritual communities regarding methods to get to awakening. Most traditionalist do not endorse the use of psychedelics as a path to reach Enlightenment. Why is this the case? Are they afraid? Is it looked at as being a short cut and not pure?

What are the pros and cons of both? After all, isn't a sober state also a "psychedelic" state in a sense? After all, everything is imaginary so there is no duality. But as the saying goes, learning equals distinction. If one radically changes their state from one thing to another, I can see it opening the mind tremendously (just they fact of knowing "something else" is out there).

[kinesin]

55 minutes ago, Terell Kirby said:

Most traditionalist do not endorse the use of psychedelics as a path to reach Enlightenment. Why is this the case? Are they afraid? Is it looked at as being a short cut and not pure?

Yes and yes.  Imo psychedelics, meditation, yoga, study, other practices and also just general 'life' all have their proper roles on your spiritual development toolbelt.  The issue arises when people start to think that a tool is either good or bad, or when they use the tool in ways that aren't beneficial.

Psychedelics are no replacement for meditation, and they should be used sparingly.  One of the most current analogies which is used to describe the function of psychedelics is 'neural annealing', which borrows a term from metallurgy wherein a metal is heated just beyond its recrystalization temperature causing the atoms to rearrange their positions.  Once cooled, the metal then exhibits new electrical properties due to its more evenly balanced lattice structure.  This analogy of annealing also applies to the way psychedelics induce a high energy state within the brain which overwhelms the usual activity in the default mode network resulting in changes to neural structure, and enabling broader connections between previously disconnected areas of the brain.

If you anneal a metal again and again without any time in between, you don't really achieve much.  Similarly, the most benefit can be gained from a psychedelic trip when it's done sparingly with the intention of breaking down and reintegrating neural structures which have formed over a number of months.

EDIT: Here's a better description of annealing than I was able to come up with -

Quote

Annealing involves heating a metal above its recrystallization temperature, keeping it there for long enough for the microstructure of the metal to reach equilibrium, then slowly cooling it down, letting new patterns crystallize. This releases the internal stresses of the material, and is often used to restore ductility (plasticity and toughness) on metals that have been ‘cold-worked’ and have become very hard and brittle— in a sense, annealing is a ‘reset switch’ which allows metals to go back to a more pristine, natural state after being bent or stressed.

Edited June 10, 2021 by kinesin

[Terell Kirby]

@kinesin very insightful. Thanks for the info. I am also of the opinion that meditation should not be supplemented..it's so life changing to have a daily practice. Using psychs on occasion as an enhancer seems like the best route.

[Guest EmptyVase]

@kinesin Amazing analogy!

@Terell Kirby I find that to get the best out of psychedelic trips, you need to meditate. To get the best out of meditation, psychedelics are very helpful.