Upvote as well. My personal mystical experiences have been very positive in my life. My friends and I call it "cleaning out the cobwebs" and do it a couple times a year. And yes this stuff is not good for people with mental illness, but let's not throw it away all together. Psychedelics have an incredible promise to heal, and have helped me substantially with my own trauma. However they should be used in chorus with a certified therapist. Beyond that I get a little agitated when people feel that none of it is of any substance and we already "know" reality. I think we are actually very far from understanding the nature of reality and these experiences may hold legitimate truths in them. Let's not be reductionists and keep an open mind
These experiences might reveal something about consciousness and the human mind, but they do not tell you about the rest of the cosmos. The only way we can learn about that is through observation (astronomy) and experimentation (particle accelerators), not introspection. Heck, introspection can't even reveal to us that our minds are made of neurons.
What basis do you have for saying that? I'm willing to bet that more than a few scientific discoveries were made on, or inspired by, these "introspections". Thinking and perceiving reality differently seems like an excellent way to discover new observations about the world.
That's not what I or yahyaheee are talking about. Giving scientists ideas is not the same as figuring out how the cosmos works. Scientists are inspired from sources as varied as drugs, fever dreams, and even strokes. But they don't actually discover whether things are true until experiments are performed and observations are made. In other words: A scientist may have first conceived of benzene's correct structure in a dream, but other scientists conceived of many other likely structures. The answer wasn't known until x-ray diffraction was performed on the molecule.
Yahyaheee is saying that the last step isn't necessary for some facts. That is, he thinks some drugs, when combined with introspection, can reveal true facts about things outside of the mind. I disagree.
But unlike the parent commenter, didn't you have hypomanic episodes before going down that path? I think most who do that sort of thing don't end up in a hospital. At worst, they end up following Deepak Chopra.
Also, thank you for sharing your experience. It takes courage to talk about one's mental issues. And thank you for requests. It's crazy useful!
Then, your manic episode was me, 20 months ago (the having a "Kundalini awakening" and believing I was raising the vibrational frequency of the universe part - not the hospital admission or lithium prescription part, I managed to chill out without much need for professional intervention).
Your point of view now was me, 18 months ago, believing all my problems had stemmed from purely materialist/biochemical causes, and rejecting all the spriritual stuff as dangerous woo.
Since then, I've found a balance that seems, as objectively as one can be about one's self, to have me in a much better place.
My quality of life, as reflected in my work/career, my friendships/relationships and my sense of contentment and happiness, is good and has been steadily improving for many months.
I take no psychiatric or any other medication (I had been on benzo's then SSRI's years ago). I eat healthily (not obsessively), drink only moderately and socially, I sleep well, and I do regular conventional exercise with increasing ease.
I also practice holotropic breathwork [1], occasional kundalini yoga, nutritional supplementation (mostly amino acids and minerals like calcium and magnesium), near infrared light therapy [2], kinesiology and self-muscle-testing [3].
I don't make any specific claims about the efficacy of any particular practice, but overall the system seems to be working.
I don't believe I have any magical powers or access to secret wisdom about the true nature of the universe.
I find merit and value in the philosophies of public figures across the spectrum of thought on these matters; Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, Rupert Sheldrake, Bruce Lipton, Lissa Rankin, Bernardo Kastrup, Rudy Tanzi, Sir Roger Penrose, and the late Wayne Dyer.
I don't believe any of these people are 100% right, but neither do I think any is 100% wrong, and each has been very valuable to me and many others in developing an optimal approach to life.
And this is the most important point.
It's unhealthy to adopt either materialism or spirituality with extreme conviction, just as it's unhealthy to reject either of them with extreme prejudice.
Extreme anything is unhealthy.
Balance, restraint, modesty and tolerance is healthy.
I understand why you need to adopt a staunch anti-woo position right now given what you've been through.
Just be careful not to be too contemptuous and dogmatic against philosophies and practices that others find beneficial in more healthy and balanced ways than has so far been possible for you.
But thank you for sharing your journey and insights so candidly. More people need to be made to feel comfortable talking about this stuff, and it helps the world when you lead the way.
