The Brain and Me

[Chrono Temporal]

Does the brain have a function which tells the self it is experiencing "reality" or that something is "real"?(please don't ask what is reality or real)

If so, what is the function called, what part of the brain is it in? Or is it subconscious? Please tell me what you know.

I ask because I, and many others, have had derealization and depersonalization and PTSD, and one thing that kept popping into my head against my will was "this isn't real". For that to happen, I would think there would be something inside telling you it is real.

Other things I involuntarily thought were: I am god, I'm creating everything, I'm trapped, I'm in an alien mental prison, reality is a simulation. I think this was a result of my subconscious expanding to new heights but knowing it can't brake through the limitations. Consciously this scared me.

DMT brought this on to me, and for others. There are other ways this could happen too.

 

[kyrolima]

I know what you're trying to say
it is a concept of unlimited possibilities

"real" is a statment by the mind and nothing but a conclusion of a fictional "I" who itself remains unknowing of the reality in which he put its meaning in.
Trough given meaning, a concept is put on the reality and therfore ..

real is an insane statement.
awareness is real
everything else is invented.

 

[Global]

What you consciously determine to be real and what your brain perceives as real are not mutually exclusive. This study suggests that the brain processes ayahuasca visions similarly to the way it processes external reality and as opposed to the imagination. However the judgment you make as to how real it is is somewhat independent from this. On one hand, you are processing stimuli that are presented as real but on the other hand, these stimuli can also appear as markedly different from what one's expectations of reality are and out of this conflict arises the cognitive dissonance. It's also important to take into account that some of the concepts that you associate with insanity are the blessed epiphanies of various schools of esoteric thought, spirituality and religion and for this reason should come as little surprise that it would be suppressed, ridiculed, mocked and subjugated to labels of insanity and delusion in a Western materialist society that doesn't value these concepts.

 

[Chrono Temporal]

What you consciously determine to be real and what your brain perceives as real are not mutually exclusive. This study suggests that the brain processes ayahuasca visions similarly to the way it processes external reality and as opposed to the imagination. However the judgment you make as to how real it is is somewhat independent from this. On one hand, you are processing stimuli that are presented as real but on the other hand, these stimuli can also appear as markedly different from what one's expectations of reality are and out of this conflict arises the cognitive dissonance. It's also important to take into account that some of the concepts that you associate with insanity are the blessed epiphanies of various schools of esoteric thought, spirituality and religion and for this reason should come as little surprise that it would be suppressed, ridiculed, mocked and subjugated to labels of insanity and delusion in a Western materialist society that doesn't value these concepts.

I would just like to say I never used the word "insanity" nor did I allude to such a view point. But if you see my experience as insane then I would not disagree with you. I'm trying to keep this subjective and not label it negative or positive here.
Thanks for the link.

 

[Global]

What you consciously determine to be real and what your brain perceives as real are not mutually exclusive. This study suggests that the brain processes ayahuasca visions similarly to the way it processes external reality and as opposed to the imagination. However the judgment you make as to how real it is is somewhat independent from this. On one hand, you are processing stimuli that are presented as real but on the other hand, these stimuli can also appear as markedly different from what one's expectations of reality are and out of this conflict arises the cognitive dissonance. It's also important to take into account that some of the concepts that you associate with insanity are the blessed epiphanies of various schools of esoteric thought, spirituality and religion and for this reason should come as little surprise that it would be suppressed, ridiculed, mocked and subjugated to labels of insanity and delusion in a Western materialist society that doesn't value these concepts.

I would just like to say I never used the word "insanity" nor did I allude to such a view point. But if you see my experience as insane then I would not disagree with you. I'm trying to keep this subjective and not label it negative or positive here.
Thanks for the link.

Sorry. Somehow melded yours and kyrolima's post together in my head. I saw the word "insane" in the other post, and I must have confuddled it somewhere along the way. I by no means meant to imply that your experiences were that of insanity. It seemed to me that it was the stance you were taking, and I was defending the opposite. Using the terms derealization and PTSD, "alien mental prison" and being consciously scared of the implications of thoughts such as "I am god, I'm creating everything, I'm trapped" was being translated in my head that you were fearing for your sanity. I'm sorry if I read this the wrong way, but as I indicated in my first post, I don't believe that such thoughts or perceptions are necessarily indicative of being insane.

 

[Guyomech]

The "I am God" thing is a confusing stumbling block for many seekers. You taste this ultimate truth, then come back down and look in the mirror at a wild-eyed hairless ape who is most certainly not the creator of the universe. So wondering about the origin and realness of such a thought is perfectly natural.

If God is Self in its wholeness, when we trip we see or feel an expanded definition of Self, which leads to the inevitable thought of self-as-everything. But the hairless ape needs to keep this in perspective. It's a gargantuan cognitive dissonance, possibly one of the most befuddling aspects of the psychedelic experience. Confusion is natural!

 

[SWIMfriend]

On the insanity issue...I would say this DOES have an insanity "flavor," ala schizophrenia. Spontaneous, fantastic, and difficult to control ideation is, more or less, what schizophrenia is.

Of course, it's also true that many high functioning and creative people have similar phenomena occurring. You might consider going easy on DMT at first, to see whether this kind of thing stabilizes, etc. If these things get even worse, I'd take a vacation from DMT and see what happens.

But I don't this you should be anxious or paranoid about it; there are some good things about brains getting a bit hyperactive once in awhile, too!

It's always wise to keep an eye on yourself, and keep a sensitive and sensible perspective on healthy vs unhealthy--and with ALL things in life, it's generally wise to at least temporarily back away from things that may be having an unhealthy effect...if only to observe more.

NOTE: I assume you're speaking about conditions days AFTER using DMT--and not the actual DMT experience itself.

 

[Felnik]

I believe we have much more choice in how we deal
With things than we realize . I recently for the first time got the
Reality may be simulation message during one of my last journeys .
At first it was a bit scary but its has eased . I have chosen to deal
With it in small nuggets . I have decided to stay cool about it .
And choose to see it as a an interesting thing not a negative thing .

I have predecided that I am strong and will handle it
In a rational manner.

Decide you are mentally strong. Decide you can deal with the information .
Take a break from spice and dig into reality for a while .

You decide for yourself what's real.

Be strong .

 

[Chrono Temporal]

Thanks everyone for replying.