The Path to Enlightenment

[Nibs]

Hello pilgrims,

In the past year there have been a lot of changes for me and immense struggles to go along with them. I felt I had lost sight of who I really was and embarked on a soul search. My closest friend who has a lot of experience with psychedelics, and also went through the same kind of life trials i was experiencing, reintroduced me to them as he felt they would help me as they did for him. I say reintroduced because i experimented with them when I was younger, but was completely unaware of their medicinal uses.

From having little to no knowledge of these types of substances, with my friends guidance I have fully submerged into the world of hallucinogens. I began researching the chemistry of their effects on the brain, the medical benefits, and their immense potential to help find spiritual enlightenment. From microdosing LSD and mushrooms, to breakthrough doses of DMT (that I made myself thanks to this forum), i have experienced a lot in such a short amount of time and had a lot of personal growth, yet I still have so much to learn about myself and realms outside of this one. I also started reading the works of Carl Jung, as I wanted to be better able to understand my mind and give my journeys more purpose and meaning. Together I've found psychedelics and psychoanalysis are synergistic in their ability to teach.

I am extremely grateful to finally have learned to appreciate the value of psychedelics. As my interest and enthusiasm for them continues to grow, I want to learn from others their experiences and expertise, as well as share some of my own, and so here I am at the DMT Nexus.




Cheers
Nibs

 

[OneIsEros]

If you want a reading list of the “axial age” foundational authors who led to most of the major forms of “enlightenment” that have been passed down in recorded in history:

CHINESE

Taoism:
Tao Te Ching (short read)
Zhuangzi (short read if just the inner chapters, long read if done in completion)

Confucianism:
Analects of Confucius (short read)
The Mencius (short read, notable advancement for Confucian philosophy past the Analects)

INDIAN

Hinduism:
The Principal Upanishads (short read)
The Bhagavad Gita (short read)
The Brahma Sutras (short read)

Buddhism:
The major suttas in the Pali Canon (very, very big read)

GREEK

Platonism:
The Presocratics (short read)
Plato (long read)

Peripateticism:
Aristotle (long read)

In my experience with psychedelics, I now only do one of two things when I trip: closed-eyes anapanasati meditation, or, yoga, for the duration of the trip. It’s not a social thing for me now, just an adjunct to these forms of meditation. Others exist. Ayahuasca, in my experience, is the greatest sacrament, if the stomach upset does not throw you off.

Getting a transcendent taste is best fortified with study and practice. I am happy to hear of your journey

 

[FranLover]

Welcome Nibs. Good luck on this path ^_^ you seen anything really amazing on DMT?

Hi Eros Analects of Confucius is a really bad book in my oppinon. I would replace it with any of these if I could go back in time and spend my time reading another classic old philosophy book; Miyamoto's The Book of Five Rings, Aurelius's Meditations. Seneca's On The Shortness of Life, Epicetus' Enchiridion, Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (this one's not a classic nor that old but whatever.)

 

[Nibs]

Welcome Nibs. Good luck on this path ^_^ you seen anything really amazing on DMT?

I've seen some pretty cool things. I've been in contact the the jesters twice, both trips were in my bedroom. First trip was just them as basic shapes, like colored children's blocks. The second was much more vivid and I was in a full on circus . Unfortunatley that's all I can remember from that one though. Looking forward to meeting some of the other entities .

 

[dragonrider]

Yeah, welcome.

I guess we all seek enlightenment of some sort.
I don't know if books are going to be helpfull for actually getting there, but at least they'd be interesting to read.

As you may have already experienced, the path of taking psychedelic substances is not always an easy one. You will have difficult experiences as well, that will take a lot of time to integrate.

These experiences may affect your live positively or negatively. You are the one who decides. It is, and will always be, on you and you alone.

Good journeys.

 

[FranLover]

Yeah
I don't know if books are going to be helpfull for actually getting there, but at least they'd be interesting to read.

Nothing is ever wasted

 

[Nibs]

Learning the significance of Jungian archetypes in relation to the finite physical entities we meet on these journeys may help us to understand the purpose and meaning of their presence at that given moment, and what it is they are trying to tell you. Jung also believed that dreams were projections of our unconcious psyche, and so he developed dream analysis to help decipher what those visions meant to that individual. The visions we see in deep hallucinogenic states are, like dreams, projections of our unconcious, both collective and individual, so it seems appropriate to use Jung's theory for dream analysis on DMT journeys as well.

I'm aware there can be experiences that language itself can not describe, but I do believe there is a message behind each and every one.

 

[OneIsEros]

Hi Eros Analects of Confucius is a really bad book in my oppinon..)

Yeah, I don’t have a lot of love for it personally. Apparently Confucian doctrine did not develop any great sophistication until the Mencius book a couple generations later. I just list the Analects because it is the foundation text for one of the foundational schools that promoted some sort of “enlightenment”.

The majority of the forms of human “enlightenment” that have been passed down ultimately refer back to one or more of the works or authors on that list. Unfortunately, the Analects did not give great expression to the Confucian doctrines which later developed. A fairer list would include the Mencius next to the Analects, just as Zhuangzi was listed beside the Tao Te Ching. Following the same line of thought, the Brahma Sutras should be added too, since they systematized the Upanisads. List modified.

I’d recommend reading it all in the order that is listed.

The list is intended to reflect the foundations of the traditions that had some notion of “enlightenment”. An author like Hegel is a member of the tradition, but he is not a founder. This list is just meant to give a taste of the foundations, so that a reader might have a sense of which direction they would prefer to investigate should they decide to specialize.

When it comes to contemporary thought about DMT through experience with using DMT, the only attempt at a holistic account of what the experience “is” that I trust is the one set forward by Nick Sand in his two articles:

Moving Into the Sacred World of DMT, by Nick Sand - Psychedelic Frontier

"Moving Into the Sacred World of DMT," by one of the most prolific underground chemists in history, is essential reading for anyone interested in DMT.

psychedelicfrontier.com

Just a Wee Bit More About DMT, by Nick Sand - Psychedelic Frontier

Nick Sand's celebrated essay is indispensable for DMT newbs and veterans alike. Sand was the first person to smoke DMT and creator of Orange Sunshine LSD.

psychedelicfrontier.com

Sand’s conclusion is that the best use of these substances is using them in conjunction with practices like yoga or meditation. There are many others in addition to this. Learning to meditate on psychedelics, and do yoga on them, was the best thing I ever did. I also roughly agree with Sand’s conclusion that this is ultimately about union with God.