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@Leo Gura Have you explored what is called 'Naam Simran' or a certain kind of Japa? Basically a dwelling on and remembering of God's Name'. There seem to be an infinite amount of words being used for that wich is essentially Nameless and I've found it hard to pick one that resonates. Especially as many are connected to some kind of tradition or dogma which turns me off. I've landed on SatNam ('Truth is the Name') displayed in the Mool Mantar in Sikhism. If not, how effective do you image that practice to be? I'm guessing it gives a flavor of divinity to the practice of concentration until you leave the repition altogether. I kind of like the idea of just staying with the Name. Eventually connecting it with the breath (something like SoHam has been used that way) - taking it into retreat and even into day to day as a practice.

I haven't done one, but my guess is that it might be worth it. Depending on what you wanna get out of it. Also I would be very careful in my choice. There are many cash grabs out there, who are doing 'a weekend of blasting' and then send you our into the wild which I find quite irresponsible. One of the only good examples I'm looking at is the training done by F.I.V.E. I think it's about 9 months and ~$15k.

Ask yourself: What is success?

@OMG You gotta do all of it and see for yourself either way. Changing course on this path is very natural.

Nobody said it was gonna be easy to make money with your life purpose. That's why it's so fun!

It sounds like what you're looking for is a mentor coach. Might be a bit pricey but something to look into. There are also groups / masterminds who do this as well that you can join, with more experienced coaches. (One person gets coached, the others give feedback.) Otherwise self reflection exercises can help. Looking at the ICF markers of the core competencies and sitting down after each session you do to check how well you did on all of them. (+What you could improve / what went well etc.).

Hey everyone! I was invited to give a presentation at a psychedelic symposium and just realized this is quite a big event from Kings College London`s Psychedelic Reasearch department. And it's happening in a week. Now I am nervous and wanna come up with some very valuable, novel, memorable and exciting perspectives that engage this mostly academic audience. I am just a little psychonaut , having explored and studied the realm of psychedelics and self-realization on my own over the past 9 years. I wanna talk about "Psychedelicss as a spiritual practice: The dance of detached appreciation" and would love to gather reflections on my ideas to structure the talk. Also, I would love your perspectives on the topic!! How do you think Psychedelics could be used as a spiritual practice? Can psychedelics be a true spiritual practice? What does that even mean? What is the relationship between psychedelics and self-realizaiton? How do we deal with the paradox that they may "accelerate" spiritual development through intese purification, while the pursuit of and attachment to a goal in spirituality may itself be a trap? How does integration fot into all of this? And what dangers and pitfalls do we have to be aware of when using psychedelics as a spiritual practice? Any critial, amazing resources regarding this are also very welome! Here`s some ideas I got already: 1. Psychedelics as Training Grounds for "Spiritual Traits" -Seeing them as training for deep spiritual traits. Deep psychedelic journeys help us cultivate humility, surrender, patience, resilience, non-judgment, detachment, acceptance, forgiveness and other traits aligned with Truth. So if we consciously approach psychedelics as a space for practice, we mature spiritually. 2. Psychedelics as the Direct Recognition of Reality They reveal the deeper nature of existence: Selflessness, Unity, Omnipresence, Perfection, Goodness - and all the other facets of God Leo covered in many of his videos. It’s about direct experience of qualities of reality and existence. 3. Psychedelics as the Path of Paradox Psychedelics work seems to be infinite. They make the realize deep not-knowing. The mystery beyond language. Beyond scientific understanding. Also we got things like: -The Reality of Substance-Induced Awakening -Psychedelics as a "Truth -revealing- state". -The value of temporary mystical peak expereinces -The reality that your classical mystcial experience is in no way guarandeed through psychedelics (it seems to be a matter of grace - even though psychedelics are infinitely more reliable for this than something like yoga retreats) -Psychedelic bypassing And most importantly, what I wanna make the centerpiece of the talk - which is an idea that was arising from my personal insights: That Psychedelics as a true spiritual practice shall be an end in and of themselves, not a means to an end. Just as true Meditation is not a means to reach "Enlightenment/Awakening", but an end in and of itself. It is the embodiment of Truth. Here. Now. This speaks to the trap of chasing the high, of attaching to peak expereinces, of deeming them to be better or superior to ordinary states of conciousness. I feel the view "I take psychedelics to be more realized or healed or whatever" is fundamentally flawed, even though they might hold the potential for that to be the case to some extent. From my point of view, all states of cociousness are Truth. And so the best practice I can do is to appreciate every state with uncondictional, infinite appreciation. And psychedelics are an amazing place for this practice, as it`s so easy to attach to the bliss and be aversed to and judge the demons. We attach to appearances while the core of spirituality is not to hold on to any appearance whatsoever. Simply to love all appearances. To love them. There is more - but this is just my little incomplete rant for a start. What are your reflections of this? How could I structure the talk in a way where I center it around one crutial idea, that the audience takes away, that is of immense value? (Any public speaking tipps are also warmly welcome - it will be a 45 minute presentation) To balance it with personal stories and maybe "real data" - whatever that even means. Any other contributions or insights? Thanks ❤️ PS - Leo, have you ever thought about speaking at psychedelic conferences & events? I feel your contributions might be much appreciated. I love to work in person, it opens up completely new realms beyond speaking into a camera.

@OBEler There were 1-2 occurrences where the observer vanished completely during 5-MeO-DMT. I think it's known as a whiteout / blackout in the space and is a common thing.

@Leo Gura Still, better to have entered and united with God and return to the pain of separation than to have never entered in the first place. Cause that would be an unthinkable loss. "If the cost of having had these experiences is being haunted by their beauty for the rest of my life, better this than not to have had them at all" ~Chris Bache Even though there is this incredible heartache , we can still find some sense of Beauty in that. As so many poems express: "On my quest I feel so confused and restless. Set on fire, my heart explodes with the pain of separation. In this struggle, I am caught forever unless I go beyond this You and I. " ~Rumi

@Asia P What would happen if you don't judge your current state of consciousness? But appreciate it and love it unconditionally?

@Human Mint Here it is. I am quite happy with how it went. My first real public speaking experience wohoo!

@Thought Art IPEC is great!

Coaching is the easy part. The hard part is attracting people who want to be coached by you. How are people ever gonna find out about your website? Think about how you can provide value to the people who you want to serve. And start doing it. Online and Offline.

@OBEler It was not with a shaman, and not Bufo. I was alone and planned to take a small dose. Small became medium and that became vaping more and more over an hour. Happens very fast. Yes, I did a heavy Breathwork session after which has definitely contributed to the aftereffect.

@OBEler Exaggerating a little bit. I love 5-MeO. I see great potential in it`s use - even on a regular basis maybe. (Not fully clear on this myself). But I had a period recently where I vaped a bit more & did not fully come down for a week or two. Made it hard to do my work properly. The integration became my work. I just imagine that if you are not careful in your approach with this molecule it has the potential to lead you into a dysfuctional state (that might be spiritually helpful) - but that not everyone might be wishing for in their life at this very moment. Also it`s easy to get lost in the clouds with 5-MeO, forgetting the importance of grounding. Just a small signpost that this is a very very powerful toy that we`re playing with here.

@Human Mint I'll try

Careful with the 5-MeO-DMT. Don't underestimate it's power. Even in low doses there seems to be the potential for long term changes in consciousness through regular use. It's like playing with fire. Easy to burn yourself.

For anyone interested, I decided to completely restructure the talk, leave out stuff that I assume might be too advanced for the audience & this is what it looks like now (roughly): Summary of My Presentation: "Psychedelics as a Spiritual Practice" For the past 9 years, I have dedicated my life to exploring the intersection of psychedelics and spirituality—and this talk is the culmination of my research, experience, and insights. In this presentation, I explore a fundamental question: Can psychedelics be a spiritual practice? If so, how? 🔹 What is Spirituality? There is no universally agreed definition, but we can approach it from different angles: 1️⃣ Spirituality as Deconditioning – Freeing oneself from conditioning and beliefs. 2️⃣ Spirituality as Mystical Union – Awakening to unity with existence. 3️⃣ Spirituality as Embodiment – Living wisdom, compassion, and virtue. 4️⃣ Spirituality as the Pursuit of Truth – Direct experience of reality. 🔹 What is a Spiritual Practice? A structured, intentional engagement with activities aimed at spiritual growth. Examples are endless, but can psychedelics be one of them? How Psychedelics Assist Spirituality in Three Key Ways 1️⃣ Psychedelics as Insight Catalysts 🔥 Psychedelics allow for a direct experience of expanded consciousness. They facilitate deep insights into self, reality, love, and existence. Scientific research shows that psychedelics reduce ego rigidity, open cognitive flexibility, and enable perspective shifts. Common realizations: ✅ "I am not my thoughts." ✅ "I am loved / whole / enough." ✅ "Everything is connected." ✅ "Life is a gift." 2️⃣ Psychedelics as a Gateway to Mystical Experience Psychedelics have the potential to induce profound mystical experiences: 🔹 Unity 🔹 Timelessness 🔹 Noetic insights 🔹 Infinite love Research suggests 50-80% of participants in the right set and setting experience peak mystical states. A glimpse of the Absolute. Not permanent enlightenment, but a transformative experience. 3️⃣ Psychedelics as Character Cultivators Beyond peak experiences, psychedelics can shape long-term traits and deepen personal growth: 1️⃣ Courage & Responsibility – Facing fear, commitment to truth. 2️⃣ Surrender & Letting Go – Trust, relaxation, acceptance. 3️⃣ Humility & Open-Mindedness – Psychedelics shatter certainty and teach the power of not knowing. 4️⃣ Compassion & Connection – Increasing empathy, love, and interconnectedness. Pitfalls of Psychedelics as a Spiritual Practice ⚠️ 1. Self-Deception & Certainty → The risk of false beliefs and spiritual ego inflation. ⚠️ 2. Spiritual Emergency → Deep, overwhelming realizations can lead to existential crises. ⚠️ 3. Ego Inflation & Bypassing → Seeking peak states instead of doing real, grounded inner work. 📌 Integration is Key. Psychedelics are powerful, but the real work happens in daily life—in how we embody wisdom, love, and presence. Final Reflection: The Deepest Spiritual Realization? 💡 “What if spirituality is not about gaining insights, reaching mystical states, or transformation? 💡 What if the deepest realization is that there is nothing to seek, nowhere to go, and nothing to attain?” For me, the answer became detached appreciation—loving and honoring every moment, every experience, every appearance—unconditionally. Psychedelics are not a means to an end. They are an end in themselves.

@Jodistrict Thanks. I don't really resonate with what most spiritual teachers say about psychedelics. Their understanding feels very incomplete to me. But maybe I am the one that is decieved. But maybe not. Who knows.

@Davino @Davino Beautiful bro. I have had the same insight. Thanks for sharing. The opportunity came because of a nice little connection. I met this woman at a psychedelic conference event last year and we chatted for about 5 minutes, exhanged Instagram and danced a bit at the afterparty. She followed my content, became interested in coaching & I gave her a free session. She followed my content even more and recenty we chatted again about her joining my paid community. That`s when she said that she is part of the King`s College Psychedelic Society and asked if I might be interested at presenting there. It shows again that connection is everything. Networking, making friends & helping them is one of the most powerful activities for actualizing one's life purpose. Everything comes from connection to other people.

The contemplation of "What are Psychedelics?" alone has induced deep insight and awakening experiences for me over the past 9 years. It`s a beautiful question to take on. Don't assume that you reached the end of this inquiry. Ananandamayi Ma

@Davino Great pointer. I guess my attachment to detachment comes maily from the resonance with Bodhidharma. I'll take your words into my heart and see what emerges.

@Davino Love that! Thats`s a great foundation that makes total sense.

@OBEler Thanks mate! I don't think poeple at the psychedelic reserach symposium confuse psychedelics with cocaine, but you never know. Sometimes I am shocked by the level of peoples understanding haha

@Rising Spirit Love that! I really want to be as clear and concise as possible as I am well aware of the difficulty for some to comprehend nonduality. A "provocative invitation" -I love that, anything more than that seems almost impossible for a little 45 minute talk.