Sorry if the Subject line baited you, it was intended to.

I am extremely excited and humbled to be a part of this forum. I'd like to give a brief history of my journey here. I spent about 30 years being against psychedelics and pretty much anything that didnt fit into my Western Christian box. Then, i started to get really interested in Cosmology and Quantum Physics. Once I gained an understanding of the double spit experiment, string theory, and the almost 100 % likelihood of a Multiverse, my whole world started to spin. That is to say, the ground of my reality was utterly shaken. I started to think, "my God! What are we really living in? Whats going on?"...I had never stopped to ponder these things so intently and the feeling left me awe-struck and dumbfounded. I began to feel like Neo, scouring the corners of the Web for clues to the Truth. Needless to say, I have found some freaky stuff. Whats amazing is this is all hard science. That our reality is more like something out of a science fiction movie than what we have been taught to believe, and this has hardly reached the mass audience. I started to let go of all the preconceived convictions I had on Reality.

Then, I started to find all these correlations between what was being discovered in physics and what Buddhism and other Eastern religions had taught for thousands of years. I read books and books on everything in between these two subjects. I Discovered Alan Watts, whom has changed my life completely, and basically teaches that "You're IT." If you dont know what that means, message me. Slowly all the pieces started to come together. I would have flashes of insight and glimpses of Satori, this feeling that I can only describe as walking two inches off the ground. I started to realize just how complex everything is, and realized that nothing is the way it seems. Sometimes I felt I was losing my mind and definitely refrained from telling people all of this. Still to know, my family and wife have no idea...they have a hunch that somethings stirring...but, i have had to keep this to myself.

Now I am at a time where Im really pushing the boundaries of my mind. I have listened to nearly every minute of Terrence McKennas speeches and know that there is something going on in the psychedelic realm. That it is a tool and a gateway to more. I feel a great deal of anxiety when considering the notion of doing DMT, but I have learned that everything I want is on the other side of fear. So thats why Im here. To learn more and prepare myself for hyperspace.

Welcome to the nexus! Many of us can definitely relate to that tale

Glad you made it out of the box... That is not an easy thing to do after 30 years, so good for you man. It was very hard for me to decondition myself from that kind of programming after half that time. Luckily psychedelics are master re-programming tools, in some ways.

What psychedelics are you interested in working with?

Ive only worked with mushrooms so far and have had so many unbelievable experiences. However, I havent taken any "hero doses", but plan to explore more down the road. That being said, I am interested in DMT, Aya, and Peyote. In that order. DMT just fascinates me...but it also scares the hell out of me.

I enjoyed your introduction.

Seems like you are all ready spiraling down the rabbit hole, and DMT might help to quench the thirst of all that curiosity.
While it can seem scary, I believe the rewards are worth the risks.

Its amazing when we open our minds and realize that our old beliefs systems might have been holding us back from the mysteries of the Universe. And your right, you might just find that the truth is often stranger than fiction.

If your a fan of McKenna ands Watts, I highly recommend
Richard Albert aka Ram Dass. You can find many of his talks and lectures on YouTube. Great stuff about Spirituality and Psychedelics. He has several books as well.

I wish you well on your journey and welcome to the Nexus!

From Christianity to Alan Watts with Psychedelics. I love these kind of stories. Congratulations, and welcome brave traveler.
Since you have already met our galactic shroom overlords, i would encourage you to consider the following:
You might know that Psilocybin is 4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine, basicly an oral form of DMT.
If you put an RIMA (reversable MAOI like Rue) into the mix you have an very potent drug, which is very close to Ayahuasca.

The difference to an pure shroom trip is subtle, but oohhhh the priice!!
Its very benificial, in terms of Serotonin upregulation and general well feeling afterwards.
Its also a very helpful tool to meditate (even Rue tea alone).
My suggestion: learn/research the whole MAOI/RIMA topic and start with baby steps (low dose).

sugarbeargrizzly:

I can relate to your personal story. I've always been a spiritual person, but lived a life denying it. I've walked around with 'intuitive knowing' about things all my life, and have had lucid dreaming and OOBE's, and all sorts of weirdness, but still managed to turn a blind eye to it all. I did the most unthinkable thing someone in my shoes could do: I became a neuroscientist. Then I had a life crisis, of sorts, and came full circle to see the world completely the other way around. Now I see science as fodder for the exploration of the divine.

Congratulations on seeing past the veil! I wish you peace, love, and joy.

Awesome. welcome so you're interested in extracting? You'll be making changa in no time.

Thank you! I know of Ram Dass but havent really listened to him yet, I'll check him out tonight. Any recommended videos?

Fascinating, I had no idea that was possible! Could you elaborate a bit more on the difference in the trip? More potent? Lasts longer? Or something different all together?

That is awesome! Congrats on the rebirth! I love Alan Watts, I am currently finishing up "This is It" and about to read two of his other books as part of my thesis research. Speaking of him have you read his essay on "The New Alchemy"? Very interesting and early commentary on LSD and mescaline.

Extracting my own has reduced my pre-flight anxiety quite a bit. I used to be terrified of breaking through after my first time (3 years ago which I did while on LSD). Now I have broken through 3 times and through my reading of Alan Watts, William James, Dr. Thomas B. Roberts and a few others, have evolved my fear into curiosity of trying to see how much and what I can learn from the experience.

I'd love to discuss Alan Watts writings and its relationship to the psychedelic experience with you, I've only just begun reading him!

Hey SBG, welcome! Great intro. I'f love to hear more about your shroom experiences- even low doses can lead to real "breakthroughs" in terms of seeing your perception of the world radically change overnight. If you are comfortable with psilocybin that would be a good one to try gradually upping your dose. The really amazing things start happening around 4-5g. And if you try a psilohuasca mix, as Ryusaki mentioned- that is an amazing experience but can be quite strong. Up to double what you'd normally expect... So if possible I'd recommend having a sitter on hand in the next room if you try either a MAOI mix or a "heroic" dose of shrooms. This may not be possible, and it is ultimately upon you to find your own limitations, but that level of breakthrough can be a little disorienting. A good sitter knows to hang back and let you have the experience on your own, to just be there if needed.

At any rate, I wish you the best in your travels; if you feel like sharing the crazy details of some of your experiences, this forum is the place for that.

I didn't mention it in my intro, but neurology also fascinates me. I find it surprising how few people actually realize that their entire perceived experience is really 'all in their head'. That is to say, that what we sense as "out there" is really "in here" *pointing to my head*. Its so counter-intuitive that the mind quickly dismisses it, but yet, there it is. Thats how it works. So when you realize that its all in your head, but that your head is "out there" too, then you're really stumped. Combine that with the whole observer effect described in quantum physics and you start to see yourself as this focused awareness making its way through an ocean of static (probability), collapsing on whatever you focus your attention on. The weirdness never ends lol

In the case of lucid dreaming and OOBE's, I dont think anything could snap you out of the illusion easier. I mean after all, were just living in a more consistent dream. Im reading a book right now called The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep, and it outlines steps one can take in the Lucid Dream World to fully awaken from the illusion. Of course, gaining lucidity on an almost nightly basis takes a tremendous amount of work, but its possible. I have a dream journal next to my bed but I havent made a single entry. Its too damn hard to write in it in the middle of the night when I wake up. Like I said, it takes willpower.

What did you experience in the OOBE? I had one once, I think, its fuzzy.

Wow, where do i begin....This is It is one of the few books I havent read, but I just looked at it and the articles sound fascinating. Added it to my wish list. The New Alchemy is also on my to do list. However, I have read some of his other work on the subject.

I also deal with pre flight anxiety and I have no idea why. Well, I take that back, I think I do know why. Its my ego holding on to its concept of sanity.

Maybe we could start an Alan Watts thread. I have so much to talk about when it comes to hime and the Mystical/Psychedelic experience. I have some great lectures to recommend.

Whats your thesis on?

Oh wow! New Alchemy is in "This is It." So you should thoroughly enjoy it, I have an insanely busy schedule and I read it in about a week.
I haven't read anything about this through Alan Watts but have you looked much in to the Zen Garden and the Tea Ceremony? The garden is all about altering consciousness to prepare you for the tea ceremony. I am really fascinated by Japanese Zen and Shinto as not just philosophies and religions but as cultures.

My thesis is still being refined but in a nut shell I'm developing a concept I'm calling Psychedelic Architecture that aims to end spiritual segregation (as I'm calling it) The research will culminate in a project that is a public space dedicated to achieving the psychedelic consciousness. My full working abstract is here : My Potential Architectural Thesis Thanks for asking

As for Ram Dass videos/lectures to get you started. There are so many, the few I can think of off the top of my head would be.

Ram Dass and Leary at havard

Here we all are "Be here now"

And the talks he did on the Bhagavad Gita its like 20 something diffrent series.

So many more.. Just look through on YouTube and watch any that appeal to you. They are all gems.

This really got my wheels turning. First, I am also fascinated with Zen but feel like I still know little about it. But then again, "the sound of rain needs no explanation."

I appreciate your decision to actually define what psychedelic means, because one of the first problems with getting people to consider this is getting away from the stigma of the word 'psychedelic.'

Furthermore, and correct me if Im getting off the track of your thesis, but it occurs to me that that any religious architecture or framework needs some kind of answers to the core questions. Namely,
Who are we?
Where do we come from?
Why are we here?
Where are we going?
What does all this (existence) mean?

If you read enough Alan Watts you realize his love for Vedantic philosophy. He even once said, "the Hindus have the inside dope on religion." But being from the West, we dont get it. We see a bunch of colorful gods and demigods and think they're wackos for believing in such nonsense. No one has ever taken the time to intelligently describe just what Hinduism is telling us. Furthermore, Watts will also tell you that all the details like reincarnation and so on are also misinterpreted, that any person who has attained Moksha will tell you the same. Christianity believes in a personal God that is separate from us and has characteristics. In Hinduism, you're IT. That is to say, you are God. Not the personal God that lives up in the sky, but the deep down fabric of existence. And it is all of us, only were pretending that its not. Its as if we got bored and came up with an elaborate story to live out, for nothing more than the fun of it (though I have a slightly different opinion on this). So this takes care of the "what does it mean" question. It means the same thing as the meaning of music or dancing. You dont dance to get to a certain spot in the room, you dance just to dance. Same with music. So Hinduism tells you that the you that you think of as you isnt really real. Its the ego, a bunch of thoughts and ideas and images you have collected. The real you is everything. And this takes care of the whole problem of Evil. God isnt doing this TO you. Youre doing it to yourself. Because there is nothing outside of God. Its you! The problem with this is the whole idea of non-attachment. To realize that you are God, you have to completely shed the ego. But when you tell yourself youre God, its just another way for you to hang on to yourself. Thats why Buddhist teach 'Non-Atman". So you stop clinging on to yourself, you just let go. And this is the birth of responsibility.

To tie this into Psychedelics Im reminded of a Terrence McKenna lecture where he takes DMT to a Guru and he asks the guru, "What do you make of this?" The Guru says, "its the first Bardo, once you go past it there is no coming back." So to me , thats what DMT is...a look over the edge. I have found that all of this is connected, but you have to be very wily to tease it all apart. To not get caught up in belief.

I guess my point is, for me, the religion of the psychedelic and mystical experience is the complete opposite of Religion. The answers to the core questions are more like koans or music or the sound of rain.

That was a huge ramble and I apologize if it makes no sense.

Totally agree, Watts describes that issue with Christianity by describing that relationship of god to nature, god to man, man to nature, in Christianity is separate, but in the East is accepted as one.
In Dr. Roberts book on "The Psychedelic Future of the Mind" he defines the characteristics of a mystical/psychedelic experience as:
Paradoxicallity of perspective, Objectivity (in touch with a reality realer than real)
Transcendence (of self), Transience (of space and time), Mood Uplift, Unity, Sacredness, Ineffability (from normal experience), and Changes in attitudes and behaviors.

I can recognize these while on DMT or LSD but I am still striving to learn what each of these elements mean and how they provide the answers for those questions, which is deeply personal so there can't really be a definitive answer. I think my project aims to just help you find those answers for yourself inwardly but allowing for this to be a daily ritual while on your lunch break or on your way home.

I think we are really lacking a relationship to nature. I live in a city in a beautiful subtropical enviornment, yet the entire city is designed to be experienced from a car, even though its WAAAAY more pleasurable to walk in this environment all year around unlike say winter in New York City, there are very few opportunities to do so. But this is just one facet of our disconnect, how about creating things from natural sources like clay pottery, painting with found things or just expressing your spirit through the canvas. I think there is something mystical about creating things. Even if your not good at it, I still think its a very constructive spiritual process.

Someone once said to me "to learn to draw is to learn to see." In a way drawing has expanded my consciousness to a degree.

I totally agree, William James was the first to postulate that there is a difference between the "religious experience" and religion itself, which really birthed this idea that maybe mysticism is in the brain. And with that I really want to stop using the term Spiritual, because it is the wrong term and associates itself to religion (faith) and thus exclusivity, and replace it with Psychedelic. I have said this numerous times and it is the basis of the thesis but I believe it is neurochemical (a First Nation shaman disagreed with me on this) thus requires no context other than needing to understand the elements of the experience (Dr. Rick Strassman disagreed with me on this) So honestly, I'm making these assertions based on my research so I could be wrong.

Sorry for this long post and I do not mean to hijack your thread I just really wanted to add this to the discussion.

[edit] definitely check out the Ram Das stuff, and if you're not familiar with his story look in to it.

Definatly more potent. I'd say 3 - 5 times stronger.
Not really longer (in my case shorter), but you come out different. The euphoria lasts longer.
The effect comes more wave like. One moment you are completly in it, then comes a short time where you are sober and wonder if its already over.

I have worked often with pure Rue tea, up to very high doses, and in my case i don't have to vomit, nor do i get strong nausea.
The tea gives me a very strong hypnotic trance state, when combined with shrooms, it makes the experience slightly different, there is an added layer of complexity (especially the visuals), but at the same time i feel more in control of my mind.
It has a different narrative, the tea makes it more directed, the breaks in intensity give you a chance to integrate better. On the other side too much rue will make you drunk (motor activity fails like with alcohol intoxication), you might want to lay down.

But thats only my limited experience i made over the last year. I took high doses of rue and combined it with low doses of shrooms (max 1gr).

I would have to muster all my courage now to take a high dose of shrooms alone, not to mention both together. I think i too will (again) proceed with baby steps.