Yimpa

@Sincerity woah, did you make that artwork?

@Lila9 Thank you. It’s all necessary for my growth, and I wouldn’t be where I am now without going through the experiences. And I continue to grow with you all, in both direct and mysterious ways — I remember being deathly afraid of roller coasters as a kid, so I actively avoided them. Yet, another uncle of mine “forced” me to do it, unplanned when we were at an amusement park. It happened to be one of the most thrill seeking rides in the entire world - El Toro. When we got to the top of the hill, I screamed to him “I love you”, and then we all fell to our death. He still remembers that moment I uttered those words (words I’ve never told him prior). Ever since then, I’ve been able to go on any roller coaster and have a great time. It’s truly amazing what’s possible when we face our fears head on - whether it be in the moment or decades later.

Speaking in a compassionate, loving way is helpful. However, what we tend to lack is a deep understanding of the whole human experience. Most of us learn to treat others lovingly, yet we’re not taught to also love and understand ugly truths. When our perspective and experience is narrow, so is our impact on others. No amount of manipulating words can substitute for deep integration.

I relate to that. I’ve tried a bunch of SSRIs and psychiatric meds when I was a teenager (I’m 27 now). Most would work for a few weeks, but then I’d stop taking them. I intuitively knew they were like bandages to me; not allowing deep exploration of my psychological issues. This trial and error approach eventually came to good use, though. Two years ago I did ketamine infusions at a clinic. Before they accept you, there’s a thorough interview process. They want to make sure you’ve tried several conventional meds first. So, of course, I had a long list of stuff I’ve already tried, and they were very happy to accept me 7 rounds of ketamine later, I was able to uncover psychological traumas far deeper than any conventional meds I’ve tried. 6 sessions were done under the guidance of a therapist (she’s done a shit ton of psychedelics herself); then the final session I did solo with just a nurse monitoring me. Sounds easy? Not at all. This required facing a ton of suffering post infusion. Sometimes even during the trip. My mental health became significantly worse than before I started ketamine, but it slowly got a lot better. It takes courage to undergo such treatment, but it can yield powerful results if you’re willing to put your entire heart into it.

Including bias

And purposely staying in jail puts you at an advantage, depending on the context of the game being played.

Little kid: Enlightened master Principal Skinner: World-class scientist

The idea of human suffering won’t have a a human meaning if you’re no longer human. I know that sounds preposterous, yet many believe that transcending being a human is the way out of suffering, so there’s that. Suffering is not a mistake; the mistake is running away from it and not willing to understand it at deeper levels.

Mystical experiences where you expand beyond your physical body is definitely possible. This is not something to be glossed over. Why do you think religion is still practiced by billions of people? Even if you’ve never had a mystical experiences, you still believe that there’s something beyond your current identity. And for those who’ve had mystical experiences, the mistake is then rejecting the human or physical self completely because you’re thoroughly convinced that the only way to live is through mystical states.

I feel that. I mentioned a traumatic event to my therapist yesterday. It had to do with something my uncle did to me as a child. 20 years later, that same uncle has debilitating cancer and is going to die any second now. Really puts things into perspective, huh?

Depends on what your definition of “bad trip” is. When you lose your sense of identity, you won’t be thinking of vipassana because you’ll be too busy trying to find yourself, lol. In other words, vipassana is practiced while you’re in your human body and identity, but when you experience beyond being a human… well, you get the point.

For me, certain relationships changed meaning significantly, but for the better. For example, one relationship started off like lightning in a bottle, seemingly out of nowhere and completely unplanned. I tried so hard to recapture that moment after the initial high point, but then I slowly began to realize that letting them go and live their own life freely was the best thing for the both of us.

Yep, of course it is. I am prescribed it from a doctor.

I’d say it’s realizing more and more that all meaning is imaginary, and all attempts to make reality better is an illusion. This may sound paradoxically depressing, but deeply understanding why we do anything to begin with starts to shed light on the matter. If we are doing things for the purpose of survival and to reach some goal/achievement, yet God is eternally dreaming, then what does that say about meaning?

It seems to have really helped this dude, even though he was on the verge of suicide prior to taking it.

Have any medications helped you?

@Buck Edwards This might be useful to watch first (his post-trip report):

I don’t see the problem. Where is the problem?

That’s really impressive that you watched every single video of Leo’s. Including his blog videos? That’s a hell of an achievement right there.

It’s amazing how much growth can happen in a span of 5-12 months. Hallelujah!

To live with more integrity is to allow the opinion and judgement of others (and you own!) be fully expressed, while not compulsively reacting to it by getting rid of the uncomfortable feelings or avoiding them. I feel like this is the trap people fall into when spiritual teachers preach about “remaining neutral”. You need to learn how to handle discomfort in a healthy way as opposed to attempting to remain neutral about it. Perhaps emotional integrity is what you’re lacking right now, but it can be developed. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/childhood-emotional-neglect/202202/6-signs-relationship-lacks-emotional-integrity

That’s a really impressive story; something I’d expect from The Onion. He probably smelled like a thousand spoiled onions.

Are those two people?!

You.