Hi guys. I am having real trouble reconciling what I perceive to be a grating dissonance in two aspects of the psychedelic community. Perhaps you can help me make sense of it. These observations do not apply to all of the community here, if you feel like either point I am about to make is an unfair description of you then it is probably not meant to describe you at all. I think these are very common qualities in the psychonaut community at large, though.

The first relates to the reasons we use consciousness-expanding drugs. Unlike the tourists who might try mushrooms or acid to "get high" and "trip balls", as committed psychonauts we seek out something more lasting from the ephemeral psychedelic experience. Call it enlightenment. Call it inner peace and tranquillity. Though we may disagree on the fine details, we can all agree that it can be a lasting, positive experience - something that materially improves our mental well-being. We wouldn't do it otherwise. These feelings manifest in peculiar ways, but I think the common element is a kind of harmony with the universe. It's a form of optimism.

On the other side of the coin I see some clear undercurrents of deeply entrenched disharmony and bitterness towards the parts of the universe we actually have to deal with. In the most extreme forms it shows up as elaborate conspiracy theories and hopelessness, but more commonly it appears subtly as a general misanthropy that kicks in about two degrees of separation from the your immediate group of friends and family. It's the attitude that people (often in the context of 'voters' are mostly stupid. That politicians are mostly corrupt. That executives are mostly greedy. That conservatives are usually closed-minded. The term 'consensus reality' seems particularly disharmonious with humanity: it suggests that virtually everyone else in the world is wrong about their perception of reality itself. It's a form of pessimism.

I don't understand how the same person can hold these two beliefs at the same time. What does inner tranquillity mean if you're not at peace with the world?

What is inner harmony, if you're at peace with a world that is (in large part) not at peace with itself?

Hmm, as to me, that I was born not at peace with the world. I realized this when me was three years old and has declared about this my mother. Thereafter for me nothing do not change. This nightmare with which I live. But I got accustomed and play "controlled foolishness". I that, who can hold these two beliefs at the same time - terribly? I consider that this phenomena there is characteristic human society since beginning. It was, there is and will as problem between "individual" and "collective". With this it is necessary to live. Simply one people this feels the more, other do not notice. Strange, but if I could once again choose what be, that I have chose same, - what there is... And I'm agree with said above:..."What is inner harmony, if you're at peace with a world that is (in large part) not at peace with itself?"...

I think that the psychadelic experience can help inform people that we are at core so much more than our labels and the things we do. Trouble is we have to deal with living in a modern day society that dictates the complete opposite. And some people still choose to fight over political issues, and lose themselves in all that jazz, and become disconnected and bitter by seperating from their core selves.

-There are examples of this everywhere.

I think a big part of the problem, what tends to create the dissonance with people in the first place, is that so much of the psychedelic experience can barely be englished at all, and those parts that *can* be put into language usually only make sense to people who have had the experience themselves.

So people are having this amazing, transformative experience, and they- naturally- want to share it, work it out, think things through with other people, but they find that almost no one else speaks the language they're using (what's 'ecstasis' mean to most people?), and that can lead to alienation, bitterness, a feeling of being somehow unfairly treated or excluded; and people who feel like they're being oppressed, however indirectly, tend to hit back. Obviously it's *them*. They're stupid, and unenlightened, and greedy, etc.

Add in other factors outside of the person's psychedelic experience- diet, habits, personal life- and usually there are elements that are skewing their perceptions in a paranoid or unhelpful direction.

That's my theory, anyway.

One thing I've learned from DMT is that things are rarely one way or the other, even at the same time. It's reasonable to be embittered by the current state of human affairs while maintaining a sense of optimism that everything will work out somehow. The concept of harmony embodies balance which entails drawing on all parts of the universal spectrum, not just the light, pleasant and peaceful parts. I'm not quite sure I take psychedelics to find inner peace. I don't know if that was ever a goal. I take psychedelics to learn, change, experience, grow, improve understanding and partake in the mysterious and sacred. I'm sure I have other reasons as well, but I'm not sure inner peace was one of them. If one is completely at peace, then there are no forces left to move or motivate someone to change or grow. I know I for one want to continue to grow till the day I die, and if that means being in a flux of unrest, then so be it.

I don't believe being at peace with the world is a prerequisite for inner harmony. Can one not choose to not take it personally and accept the state of the world as it is? Can't detachment bring inner peace?

One can see that while they are at peace with the world/universe/themselves/whatever, others are not. I would generally guess that I am happier and more at peace than a large percentage of the world. I also see that I am incredibly lucky, having been born healthy in a 1st world country to parents that were educated, loving, and supportive. I want everyone to have the opportunities I have been given. I want everyone to feel loved. I dont want anyone to be exploited. I dont want anyone to have to worry about where their next meal is going to come from. I am happy and at peace with the world at this moment, but I still want to focus the actions of my life towards making the world a better place for others.

In life do good, seek out what works for you, then you cannot be sad.. Be thankful, for there are people out there who are suffering whilst you are laughing!!

I completely agree.

It's not a easy thing to do, but we should all realize that we are all enacting one of the infinite faces of the universe. I, myself thinks that he is right as much as a politician or a policeman does. We should all learn to be more compassionate.

I have had this internal argument to many times to count. So far, this is what i have come up with:

Acceptance.

Acceptance.... and grace... i suppose.

Work to change everything you can, and when you realize that you are suddenly living in two seperate worlds that dont always mes (psychedelics and "normal" then you just have to accept that these things must remain apart. DO the things that are within reach to meet a goal, but do not foul your mood over things that are out of your control.

If suddenly you find yourself thinking way too much, well then it's time to start doing.

Wish I had the time to respond to you all individually, but I just wanted to say thanks for the responses and that you've cleared it up for me just as I hoped you would. I am confused no longer. The dissonance was in my understanding of the community, not in the community itself.

I think the first reply summed it up nicely: