Holy cow this resonates so deeply that it gives me chills reading it. I’ve been a lifelong seeker and only experienced my first Ayahuasca ceremony in May of this year.
Going into it, I was’t sure what I believed about the nature of God. As for reality, I only mildly entertained the ideas of thinkers and philosophers who suggest that our experience is occurring on just one plane. I have spent my life using my limited intellect trying to sort it all out but to no avail, of course. I was, perhaps, sliding in the direction of ontological materialism before I was called to my first ceremony in May.
Not anymore!
I now know universal consciousness because I was embraced by it. You did a marvelous job describing it, but truly it is ineffable. I experienced everything you described over the course of two nights right down to the mind-blowing sense of Telekinesis.
I love that you journaled during your experiences. I did the same. As I lifted off in my first ever ceremony and saw for myself, this is exactly what I scratched on the page:
“I’ve been here before.”
“This is where I belong.”
Again, this was my very first ever psychedelic experience. The felt sense of recognition was the most profound experience of my lifetime.
The crazy thing is that I had read David Hawkins book when it was published about a decade ago, but I had forgotten about it. I only “discovered” it again on my flight out to do my first ceremony because I was compelled to read something about the concept of surrender. I was told this was the key to having a good experience. After I returned home, I devoured the rest of the book. It is so incredibly helpful that you used Hawkins’s work to navigate and describe your own journey. It feels more like “our” journey. I’ve shifted in a way that I know to be irreversible. In fact, the shift has been so profound that it provokes some transient anxiety when I meditate on it. An example, my heart skipped a beat when I read ...
“Oh you’re all if it (reality). Duh. How could you forget that silly.”
I’ve done good integration work since then, but I’m still processing. Maybe I always will be.
And yes, of course, I am the universe smiling back at myself. I know I’ll forget this and remember yet again.
Now what to make of all this as a mere mortal? It’s so big! I’m not yet sure. All I know for sure is that I’m 58 years old, and I just woke up. It is a stunning thing in every sense of the word.
Thank you, Scott, for the terrific contribution. It’s the best thing I’ve read, and I’ve read and watched a lot. Oddly (or not) I just downloaded the Substack app and yours was the first article I read.
Holy cow this resonates so deeply that it gives me chills reading it. I’ve been a lifelong seeker and only experienced my first Ayahuasca ceremony in May of this year.
Going into it, I was’t sure what I believed about the nature of God. As for reality, I only mildly entertained the ideas of thinkers and philosophers who suggest that our experience is occurring on just one plane. I have spent my life using my limited intellect trying to sort it all out but to no avail, of course. I was, perhaps, sliding in the direction of ontological materialism before I was called to my first ceremony in May.
Not anymore!
I now know universal consciousness because I was embraced by it. You did a marvelous job describing it, but truly it is ineffable. I experienced everything you described over the course of two nights right down to the mind-blowing sense of Telekinesis.
I love that you journaled during your experiences. I did the same. As I lifted off in my first ever ceremony and saw for myself, this is exactly what I scratched on the page:
“I’ve been here before.”
“This is where I belong.”
Again, this was my very first ever psychedelic experience. The felt sense of recognition was the most profound experience of my lifetime.
The crazy thing is that I had read David Hawkins book when it was published about a decade ago, but I had forgotten about it. I only “discovered” it again on my flight out to do my first ceremony because I was compelled to read something about the concept of surrender. I was told this was the key to having a good experience. After I returned home, I devoured the rest of the book. It is so incredibly helpful that you used Hawkins’s work to navigate and describe your own journey. It feels more like “our” journey. I’ve shifted in a way that I know to be irreversible. In fact, the shift has been so profound that it provokes some transient anxiety when I meditate on it. An example, my heart skipped a beat when I read ...
“Oh you’re all if it (reality). Duh. How could you forget that silly.”
I’ve done good integration work since then, but I’m still processing. Maybe I always will be.
And yes, of course, I am the universe smiling back at myself. I know I’ll forget this and remember yet again.
Now what to make of all this as a mere mortal? It’s so big! I’m not yet sure. All I know for sure is that I’m 58 years old, and I just woke up. It is a stunning thing in every sense of the word.
Thank you, Scott, for the terrific contribution. It’s the best thing I’ve read, and I’ve read and watched a lot. Oddly (or not) I just downloaded the Substack app and yours was the first article I read.
Peace to you, my friend.
i am looking for the same here: living in states I experienced with psychedelics.
But this quest need lot of attention, time and regularity... maybe we could have a community helping together to this same adventure? ;)
Thx for this very interesting article.