Article Are Psychedelics Useful in the Practice of Buddhism? by M. Stolaroff

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I found this article by Myron Stolaroff on the integration of psychedelics in spiritual (in this case, Buddhist) practice quite interesting. I agree with much of it, and it's expressed better than I could. I think it may be of the interest of @northape and @Here&Now as a continuation of the conversation on the Gallimore thread ( Video with DMT researcher Andrew Gallimore , I was going to post it there but it may be better to continue on a separate thread).

I will quote a section from it that I found particularly interesting, and may be also of the interest of @Voidmatrix :

Low doses

Many who have experimented with psychedelics have used high doses of substance to assure penetration into the very rewarding transpersonal levels of experience. Such experiences can be awesome, compelling, and extremely rewarding. Yet, it is often the case that these experiences fade away in time unless there are diligent efforts to make the changes indicated. In profound experiences, the layers of conditioning that, in ordinary states, hold one away from liberation are transcended and from the lofty view of the transcendental state, personal conditioning seems unimportant and often unrecognized. Yet after the experience, old habits and patterns reestablish themselves and often there is no alteration in behavior. The use of low doses often can be much more effective in dealing with our “psychic garbage.” Many do not care for low doses because they can stir up uncomfortable feelings, and they prefer to transcend them by pushing on into higher states, but it is precisely these uncomfortable feelings that must be resolved to achieve true freedom. With low doses, by focusing directly on the feelings and staying with them without aversion and without grasping, they will in time dissipate. Resolving one’s repressed feelings in this manner clears the inner being, permitting the True Self to manifest more steadily. Such a result provides greater energy, deeper peace, more perceptive awareness, greater clarity, keener intuition, and greater compassion. It permits the deepening of one’s meditation practice. The surfacing of buried feelings that this procedure permits often can bring new understanding of one’s personality dynamics.

 

[Here&Now]

Great stuff, I love it, thanks for sharing. I see they gravitated towards RC phenethylamines at low doses, which makes a lot of sense if the goal is to slightly enhance the sober mind and build mental pathways through the "psychic garbage" described in the paper. I only have experience with 2C-B, but I'll have to look into the others they listed.

Gaining skill in a bottom-up approach is a somewhat novel way to utilize psychedelics for meditation, since most people just blast themselves into transcendence and take their lessons from that vantage point.

 

[Lopsided Nobody]

Many who have experimented with psychedelics have used high doses of substance to assure penetration into the very rewarding transpersonal levels of experience. Such experiences can be awesome, compelling, and extremely rewarding. Yet, it is often the case that these experiences fade away in time unless there are diligent efforts to make the changes indicated.

That's actually a great observation. One thought was that state-based learning makes the high-dose transpersonal transcendental experience very foreign to our normal consensually-agreed-upon reality. I find that experience useful, however I also agree that given some distance those experiences fade away, or at least seem very foreign to experiences NOT that.

My question is, in addition to what Here&Now described as gaining skill in a bottom-up approach (which sounds useful), how can we make "diligent efforts to make the changes indicated" more permanent? My guess is meditation or practices like self-hypnosis and the like. However, are there any established practices specifically for not only the integration of those experiences, but the ability to reaccess them of build off of the experiences and changes from that experience? I am sure the answer to that is probably yes, but I am not sure where to look for them.

Specific to the article, taking low-doses for that specific purpose, rather than to radically change things by achieving non-duality with the Universe and all creation, sounds like a great exercise.

 

[Here&Now]

That's actually a great observation. One thought was that state-based learning makes the high-dose transpersonal transcendental experience very foreign to our normal consensually-agreed-upon reality. I find that experience useful, however I also agree that given some distance those experiences fade away, or at least seem very foreign to experiences NOT that.

That is true. Time away from the peak experience allows normalcy to set back in, and even the memory of the event starts to fade away.

My question is, in addition to what Here&Now described as gaining skill in a bottom-up approach (which sounds useful), how can we make "diligent efforts to make the changes indicated" more permanent? My guess is meditation or practices like self-hypnosis and the like. However, are there any established practices specifically for not only the integration of those experiences, but the ability to reaccess them of build off of the experiences and changes from that experience? I am sure the answer to that is probably yes, but I am not sure where to look for them.

Classical meditation (both while sober and also mixed with something like low dose RC phenethylatmines) would be a good way of anchoring the newfound access to higher consciousness that comes from extreme psychedelic experiences. This usually involves sitting still for a period of time daily and learning how to concentrate on one thing. The attached PDF in the OP provides useful instructions.

As an alternative but somewhat related method, I've always found myself leaning towards Eckhart Tolle's simple instructions relating to continuous bodily awareness:


"To stay present in everyday life, it helps to be deeply rooted within yourself; otherwise, the mind, which has incredible momentum, will drag you along like a wild river. It means to inhabit your body fully. To always have some of your attention in the inner energy field of your body. To feel the body from within, so to speak. Body awareness keeps you present. It anchors you in the Now.

The body that you can see and touch cannot take you into Being. But that visible and tangible body is only an outer shell, or rather a limited and distorted perception of a deeper reality. In your natural state of connectedness with Being, this deeper reality can be felt every moment as the invisible inner body, the animating presence within you. So to "inhabit the body" is to feel the body from within, to feel the life inside the body and thereby come to know that you are beyond the outer form.

You are cut off from Being as long as your mind takes up all your attention. When this happens - and it happens continuously for most people - you are not in your body. The mind absorbs all your consciousness and transforms it into mind stuff. You cannot stop thinking.

To become conscious of Being, you need to reclaim consciousness from the mind. This is one of the most essential tasks on your spiritual journey. It will free vast amounts of consciousness that previously had been trapped in useless and compulsive thinking. A very effective way of doing this is simply to take the focus of your attention away from thinking and direct it into the body, where Being can be felt in the first instance as the invisible energy field that gives life to what you perceive as the physical body."


Learning how to do this correctly can produce profound effects over time. When utilized before, during, and after a major psychedelic experience, it can be revelatory. It's hard to put into words what will happen, but this quote from Adyashanti is accurate in my experience:


"When we realize that we are spirit, there may be a much deeper harmony than there was before that realization, but there can still be some disharmony. So it is helpful to understand the value of exposing ourselves to the teaching, which is the same as exposing ourselves to what is, each and every moment. We need to expose ourselves as we would to the sun if we want to get a tan. Instead of putting on clothes, we take them off. If we want to be free, then we don't clothe ourselves with our concepts, ideas, and opinions; we take them off. Then something happens quite by itself. In order to deepen this harmony, we cannot hold on to concepts just like we cannot stay partially dressed and get a full tan. We will not get transformed. But once we are really naked and completely exposed, we can become transformed or awakened in a very natural way."


He's essentially describing the transformative effects of a transcendent experience, which are then bolstered by continuously making the subtle choice to remain aware of the present moment. Doing so seems to be an art form in itself; it's a highly intuitive skill. Like he says, it's similar to getting a tan. It'll happen slowly, and it'll happen all by itself when properly exposed.

That's the method that I'm aware for the gains from peak experiences to not slip away. It's a facilitation of progression rather than the typical slow regression.

 

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how can we make "diligent efforts to make the changes indicated" more permanent?

Besides what you and @Here&Now pointed out, I think the author also refers to actually implementing any change that was seen to be necessary during the psychedelic experience. That's highly personal, but I could be something as simple as "being more patient with my children". The determination to carry out those changes is often strong just after the experience, but without deliberate effort to fully make and sustain any changes over time, it quickly fades away. I'm sure we've all experienced that.

So I think part of his point is to not use psychedelics as a way to substitute for the effort required. In my example above, if someone has seen that what he needs right now is to be more patient with his children but he's failing at doing so, using another psychedelic experience to find the missing impulse to do it would be just a crutch, as the same situation would likely happen again. Instead of using psychedelics as a way to temporarily find the motivation to do what you know you need to do, he proposes using them only to help finding out what changes need to be done.

I will be reflecting about those points.

 

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Something to bear in mind is that the article was written by someone with decades of experience with higher dose psychedelics. I think this article is directed to people who already have experience with psychedelics. As for someone with zero experience and without a deep spiritual practice, the value of the shock of the first high dose psychedelic experiences is undeniable, I think, as it very often produces a lifelong shift in perspective.

So I don't think he's questioning the value of a spark to light a fire, but saying that once the fire is burning, that value is more limited. And feeding the fire becomes more important.

 

[northape]

Very interesting ideas indeed, but it's all kind of personal insights. It's similar to reading a biography of someone. Yeah, it could give you all sorts of info, but it's not your lived experience. Think of a cooking recipe, where you need your own expertise to make it good. Books are kind of useless when you see where to go. They are dead like a tape and only come alive in our mind when we read or play them. Further, we all filter them through our outlook and take only what is already present in us. Inspiration and organizing your knowledge base are the only useful features, imo.

Having a strong transcendental experience is almost a must to even get into spirituality. Just going for a low dose would be akin to psychotherapy. It could make you a better human being, but it's not about a spiritual quest. I remember Trungpa describing LSD as samsara on steroids, and I agree with the description. Psychedelics bring even more confusion, and by creating such a contrast, you see what's what. Most lessons they present are not what they seem. You can easily end up going in an opposite direction from your psychedelic revelation and see years later that you've been shown what you needed to see at the moment.

Spirituality is not about insights, but basic sanity and wisdom. Most of my sessions were heavy ones, with tons of harmalas and very few DMT fireworks. Being self-sufficient, calm, present, vigilant, and developing will power are what I got during the years. Most of it is useless in a modern life, but I'm not aiming for the best citizen award either.

Basically, most Dharma practitioners in the West still think that spirituality is about them. They train to be a perfect Buddhist or whatever image they have in their heads.
Psychedelics hint that it's not about you, but just as easily you can be swayed in the quest to know mundane reality or shamanic work. Spiritual quest is all about wisdom, and psychedelics are just a tool. If you have the inner drive to search for your true nature, they could be of help. And it doesn't matter how others use them; you'll get what is needed specifically for you. By the way, the wisdom we seek is much easier to get from someone farther along on the path. Being around a true wisdom holder would give much more than any psychedelic session. However, to see this and to get to such a being may require a few lives of deep work.

 

[Here&Now]

Besides what you and @Here&Now pointed out, I think the author also refers to actually implementing any change that was seen to be necessary during the psychedelic experience. That's highly personal, but I could be something as simple as "being more patient with my children". The determination to carry out those changes is often strong just after the experience, but without deliberate effort to fully make and sustain any changes over time, it quickly fades away. I'm sure we've all experienced that.

I can definitely relate to this. After the typical psychedelic trip, I'm left with a strong desire to improve certain aspects of my life that were highlighted during the experience. It provides a ripe moment for change, assuming the individual takes advantage of it before it fades over time.

So I think part of his point is to not use psychedelics as a way to substitute for the effort required. In my example above, if someone has seen that what he needs right now is to be more patient with his children but he's failing at doing so, using another psychedelic experience to find the missing impulse to do it would be just a crutch, as the same situation would likely happen again. Instead of using psychedelics as a way to temporarily find the motivation to do what you know you need to do, he proposes using them only to help finding out what changes need to be done.

I like that. It seems more appropriate to pick up the slack on our end rather than overly rely on psychedelics to keep repeating the same message.

 

[Quetzal7]

I was expecting something much deeper on the foundation of buddhism, and how psychedelic might be contrary to it

but was happily surprised by the validity of these simple comments ; it's a very good reminder of how to approach psychedelic practice
Well articulated and worth reading
Also appreciate the comment on low dosing ; even though, through the years i enjoyed making myself "ready" to heroic dose (and i did it respectufully and gradually), my main goal is to cultivate lower and lower amounts, where the psychedelic is just barely opening the door and i walk by myself

 

[Here&Now]

Also appreciate the comment on low dosing ; even though, through the years i enjoyed making myself "ready" to heroic dose (and i did it respectufully and gradually), my main goal is to cultivate lower and lower amounts, where the psychedelic is just barely opening the door and i walk by myself

This is exactly how I believe psychedelics are best used when the goal is the sober manifestation of higher consciousness.

 

[Lopsided Nobody]

This is exactly how I believe psychedelics are best used when the goal is the sober manifestation of higher consciousness.

I really like that. Psychedelics seem great for teaching us how to alter state and show us things that are poignant (or destroy things and break through things, depending on the substance), and allow us to leave certain things behind or assist in making change. But I genuinely think that using them as teaching aides so we can achieve something without relying on the medicines to do all of the work for us is a great longer-term goal. It also changes the relationship between us and the substances in a manner I find preferable.

 

[Jamie01]

I have a very good friend who is a devout Buddhist and has spent quite a bit of time living/working at a nearby vipassana centre. He would say no. They don’t really have a place in Buddhist practice. He views psychedelics as intoxicants. I’ve seen the guy do a whole week sober at forest raves more than once as it’s the scene I met him in. It’s pretty rare lol.

I think it’s probably an overextension of the term to assume LSD for instance os by default an intoxicant.

 

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I think it’s probably an overextension of the term to assume LSD for instance os by default an intoxicant.

Yes. This seems to vary between traditions, at some points cannabis has been used, and who knows what else.

I don't consider myself a Buddhist (those are organized religions and cultural traditions that I'm alien to), but I do try follow the path laid by Buddha. And, as he said, I think one needs to see by oneself and judge by oneself rather than follow some given dogma. The person who is the closest I've had to a "spiritual teacher" advises to approach any substance in that manner: paying attention to its effects, paying attention to your mind, and evaluating if it's being good or not. To be fair, before being first a devout Hindu and then a Buddhist monk, this person was a hippie in the 60s, and it's very likely (but I don't know) that he was lead to Hinduism (first) through his experiences with psychedelics, as it was the case for many people then.

 

[northape]

I feel that psychedelics are more in accord with the Hindu tradition. Most likely, they were heavily used by practitioners and left a strong imprint on the collective unconscious.
Rich imagery, intense emotions, and the presence of gods and goddesses are staples of both psychedelic experiences and Hinduism. Given that psychedelics are natural compounds, it is easy to see how one influenced the other. Buddhism was a subsequent phase of development aimed at seeing what lies beyond these experiences. Psychedelics are just an entry point into the mystery there. We see that investigating the sober state is sufficient; that is why the Buddha advised maintaining a clean laboratory of the mind.

The modern fascination with psychedelics illustrates a cry for help from nature and a need for psychological healing. We are far removed from the Buddha’s time and have become crazed by our hasty, stressful lives. You can see this in every Dharma center where people seek psychological help instead of the Dharma. One should start with a clear goal in mind instead of fairy tales. If you want mundane happiness, be truthful with yourself. It may not be an exit from samsara, but such an approach would bring much more maturation than aiming at a dream you have created.

(end of ranting)

 

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Rich imagery, intense emotions, and the presence of gods and goddesses are staples of both psychedelic experiences and Hinduism. Given that psychedelics are natural compounds, it is easy to see how one influenced the other. Buddhism was a subsequent phase of development aimed at seeing what lies beyond these experiences.

I partially agree, but I think it depends a lot on how they are used. Psychedelics tend to produce rich imagery and intense emotions, but how you relate to them is your choice. The most common is engaging with those images and emotions, going deep into them and "feeding" them so to speak. But that needn't be the only approach.

Recently I've been experimenting with low doses of DMT and anapanasati meditation. The images, emotions, and sensations come very strongly (it's DMT after all), but I aim to keep my awareness on the breath (tip of the nose, until piti develops) in a relaxed way, and let everything else arise and pass away. Going beyond the images. It's not easy but I've found it very effective so far. Once the effects of DMT fade, very strong awareness remains and it's not difficult to enter first jhana even though I'm "out of shape" with that. Staying in jhana is another story, but one needs practice after all.

I've found it very similar to going beyond images and emotions when they develop without psychedelics, usually a sign that sati is becoming strong, and a hindrance to be overcome.

 

[northape]

I partially agree, but I think it depends a lot on how they are used. Psychedelics tend to produce rich imagery and intense emotions, but how you relate to them is your choice. The most common is engaging with those images and emotions, going deep into them and "feeding" them so to speak. But that needn't be the only approach.

Recently I've been experimenting with low doses of DMT and anapanasati meditation. The images, emotions, and sensations come very strongly (it's DMT after all), but I aim to keep my awareness in the breath (tip of the nose, until piti develops) in a relaxed way, and let everything else arise and pass. Going beyond the images. It's not easy but I've found it very effective so far. Once the effects of DMT fade, very strong awareness remains and it's not difficult to enter first jhana even though I'm "out of shape" with that. Staying in jhana is another story, but one needs practice after all.

I've found it very similar to going beyond images and emotions when they develop without psychedelics, usually a sign that sati is becoming strong, and a hindrance to be overcome.

Sure. My post was aimed at making an impact so that people would think and experiment for themselves. There are 84,000 Dharma doors, which basically means there is a unique door for each individual. Who am I to say what is right for you? Only a liberated being could be a true guide. Teachers can only bring you to their own level.

As I wrote in Void's topic on silence, all we do is mature until we reach the abyss. The next step is the most crucial one and leads beyond. There, we dissolve into emptiness, and even if the process is left unfinished, there is no turning back.

oṃ gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā

 

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Who am I to say what is right for you?

Don't worry, I know you weren't trying to say what's right for anyone specific. I just wanted to share my experience with relating to the psychedelic effects in a different way, more in line with the teachings of the Buddha. And inspired by the article in this thread.

 

[northape]

Don't worry, I know you weren't trying to say what's right for anyone specific. I just wanted to share my experience with relating to the psychedelic effects in a different way, more in line with the teachings of the Buddha. And inspired by the article in this thread.

I feel that working with psychedelics is quite advanced. It is easy to be misled, but even a sober state is tricky. Perhaps there is no real difference regarding the work at hand.
It is all about consciousness in the end. Centuries ago, Shipibo healers reached high levels of development through working with plants. Lore says they did not even need ayahuasca at the end of their process and were closer to divine beings from a common standpoint. Given our hasty age, we may need stronger tools, but the main process remains the same. I can only speculate on this topic. Every individual needs to find the truth for themselves.

 

[Here&Now]

I'm sure my continuous praise of 5-MeO-DMT in relation to meditation is somewhat annoying at this point, but I reiterate that it's the closest thing to sober meditation in terms of the expected subjective experience of a 20-year meditator. For anyone interested in the use of psychedelics as an adjunct to meditation, I'd find it hard to label anything else as the gold standard in comparison.

Also, it looks like some researchers are starting to catch on to the very stark similarities.

 

[northape]

I'm sure my continuous praise of 5-MeO-DMT in relation to meditation is somewhat annoying at this point, but I reiterate that it's the closest thing to sober meditation in terms of the expected subjective experience of a 20-year meditator. For anyone interested in the use of psychedelics as an adjunct to meditation, I'd find it hard to label anything else as the gold standard in comparison.

Also, it looks like some researchers are starting to catch on to the very stark similarities.

5mg of 5-MeO-DMT was the closest to a nondual meditative state, while a strong dose was considered a nyam (a strong meditative experience).

These breakthrough doses may be useful for seeing what is possible and finding inspiration, but they are not the point. Nature would never flood the brain with DMT or 5-MeO-DMT at such levels in everyday life; it is simply too physiologically expensive. Therefore, we should look for subtle shifts within a normal energetic profile. Focusing solely on high doses is not a sustainable spiritual practice. They are part of the path, but not the goal.