Oh my god...

[Mechanism]

Around 8 years ago on the suggestion of a friend, I inhaled a rather large dose of 5 MeO DMT with the intention of truely understanding the concept of "nothing". I was thrown into an endless and eternal black void and the suggestion of limitless potential suffused my thoughts as I regained my senses. The idea that reality at its base level is nothing more than a blank canvas for our thoughts.

I think it's noteworthy that I had zero exposure to Buddhist lore at the time... Well today (about an hour ago in fact) I was reading a description of the Buddhist "Dharma Realm" (from the Mahayana Sutra called "The Supreme Array") in the book "Paranormal States" by D. E. Osto, which reads as follows:

Although a single unity, the undivided Dharma Realm is like the empty set or zero in mathematics. As such it lacks any characteristics, but like a pregnant void it is full of limitless possibility.

It then goes on to further describe the dharma realm thusly:

It is everything from every perspective in every dimension of spacetime throughout the boundless omniverse all at once. Its true nature is emptiness-its very lack of a true nature.

I got goosebumps reading this part of the book. I think there's a reason many cultures refer to psychedelics as "teachers".

 

[Mechanism]

Holy shit. You know how they say 5MeO mimics the experience of death? 9 years later I think I finally understand the message of the experience...

I wasn't "thrown" into the void so much as I became the void. In other words my identity transformed into potential.

At the moment of death the wave function that previously collapsed into the identity of our most recent persona expands back out into infinite potential, ready to collapse back down into another persona/perspective.

"Karma" is just the intentions, habits, desires and general state of mind of the previous persona shaping the collapse into the next one.

If the current persona can eliminate its attachments, the next collapse may be less constrained.

 

[Transform]

Welcome back!

Can we call this integration? Either way, this is a great illustration of how psychedelics aren't necessary a shortcut to instant enlightenment.
Thanks for sharing.