From the Archives: Processing Psychedelic Experiences
A journal entry from 2018 about safe and effective psychedelic use, reflecting on my own substance-induced psychosis that caused Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
In 2017, I experienced a substance-induced psychosis at the Coachella Music Festival that led to a major depression and career failure a few months after graduating from university. When I finally decided to slow down long enough to process my experience, I spent nine months at a simple, low-stress job that gave me the time to read and to focus on some much-needed healing. Below are my notes and reflections drawing connections between:
Eliminating Satan and Hell: Affirming a Compassionate Creator-God by V. Donald Emmel.
The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead by Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, and Richard Alpert.
The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley.
Cleansing the Doors of Perception: The Religious Significance of Entheogenic Plants and Chemicals by Huston Smith.
Notes
Satan, Hell, and Sin
Based on the historical myths and context of the early Jews and Christians, Satan and hell as we understand them today do not exist. After death, bodies are buried underground. Satan should be called systemic evil, and original sin is none other than human choice to perpetuate systemic evil. Sin is not genetically inherited.
The Three Bardos
There are three bardos that are revealed to our consciousness during a psychedelic experience laid out in the Tibetan Book of the Dead:
The first bardo includes two stages: the primary clear light and the secondary clear light.
The second bardo involves visual and auditory hallucinations that are peaceful at first, but based on the person’s personality (set and setting) and desire to cling to the ego, can become evil in interpretation. An experience of death is common and an ego death can actually be a good experience.
The third bardo is re-entry into the physical world. Depending where the person is in their dying journey, incarnation can occur in one of six categories. This manual can be used to help individuals achieve enlightenment in the beginning or if they are not ready to let go of their ego, attempt to help them re-enter at a higher level.
Entheogenic Plants
Entheogenic plants inspired the Hindu Vedantas and have been a source of religious experiences for a long time. They reveal to humans our divine origins and provide a nobler reason to our existence than Western scientific thought. They can be a source for personal transformation and healing, although they can also produce psychotic breakdowns and have negative consequences. They did not prove to be helpful in healing schizophrenia, but they reveal individual personality and traumas followed by an interconnected universal human experience that can be equated to the experience of birth. They affirm interfaith truths and the Tibetan Book of The Dead experience of clear light as a void.
Reflection
So overall, what am I left feeling and believing?
Respect Psychedelics’ Transformative Potential
First, that the use of psychedelics in controlled, safe settings can be a transformative experience to ignite somebody’s sense of the sacred. They can also be a shortcut for examining the inner psyche. In order for this to work, there must be an established church or organization to monitor its use. Peyote is revered as a medicine and psychedelic substances should be regarded with such respect and the acknowledgment that visions can be both of “heaven and hell”.
An Awakening to Divine Nature
Second, there is a sacred, universal call for all of us to wake up to our divine nature and realize that the driving force of the universe is love. During a psychedelic experience, this energy is tapped into when one’s mind is calm and open to receiving it. Now knowing that hell and Satan do not exist as we have come to believe them to, it is our individual duty to make daily choices that break the systemic evil we see around us. Collectively, the ruling kingdom of love will come again once we all awaken to our divine nature of compassion.
Safety First, Discipline Best
Finally, given the pros and cons of psychedelic use, I advise only doing it in the safest conditions with an experienced guide in order to receive its sacred message. Otherwise, its power is not only being wasted but also has the potential for dark side effects. I rather recommend tapping into your divine nature and sacred calling through other methods, such as yoga, meditation, or fasting. They are not only safer, but also prove to instill the discipline of a spiritual practice that can reveal lasting personal transformation as opposed to a momentary high that is too quickly and easily forgotten.
Anyone with history of mental illness in their family should be aware that their gates may be more sensitive and strongly consider only the sober methods of accessing the divine. I have too many friends who gave themselves permanent diagnoses after drug use and I was lucky that my experience didn’t lead to the same for me.
Check out some of my other musings on God, mental illness, and the Divine Feminine:
How Living With an Open Heart Can Redefine Your Understanding of God. HuffPost. Jan 15, 2016.
Attributes of the Divine Feminine, a graphic created using Michael Babcock’s Goddesses Knowledge Cards®. July 9, 2019.
Haikus for Healing: A Reflection on Mental Illness as God’s Call to Humanity. State of Formation. July 23, 2019.
From the Archives: Predestination. Substack. Dec 28, 2023.
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