In Part One I attempted to draw some comparisons between the cognitive and emotional function and outcome of psychedelic use with other experiences/practices, including near death experiences, out of body experiences, breath work, meditation, yoga, qigong, and other mystical and spiritual practices. (If you haven’t read it, you might find the background helpful!)
Before moving on, I want to revisit what started this train of thought in the first place.
First, I fear that the business model used for most psychedelic-assisted therapy will exclude many, many people due to financial, logistic, or legal/moral reasons. So part of my inquiry was driven by an attempt to find possible functional alternatives to psychedelic-assisted therapy for those who can’t access it.
Second, we can’t just wait for people to become physically or mentally ill before trying to address their needs. We need to take a proactive approach, which includes building inner resilience by providing opportunities for people to gain some insight in to “what life is and what life isn’t,” because many mental health issues have, at their root, dysfunctional or disordered thinking, and/or dysfunctional or traumatic experiences.
Psychedelics seem to allow both a reprocessing and a reinterpretation of thoughts, beliefs, and experiences, but encouraging a proactive/preventative use might have mixed results. Many of the practices we are discussing here have the capacity to do the same thing; but they can be implemented more safely and without the constraints surrounding psychedelics. Imagine what future mental health issues we could reduce or eliminate by dismantling the spell (of our default programming) before we get caught up in it.
Third, these practices could both support psychedelic-assisted therapy and allow people to continue to integrate and evolve beyond their psychedelic-assisted therapy experience; without the need for further psychedelic use. So even if we don’t pursue them as replacements to psychedelics, there would still be a functional use for them in daily practice, in conjunction with, and in support of, psychedelic-assisted therapy.
With these thoughts in mind, let’s take a quick look at a few examples.
I won’t go in to all of the historical references here, but I think we can say with some degree of certainty that psychedelic substances were used by many in the early spiritual and mystical traditions. In fact, some argue that it was these psychedelic inspired experiences that served as the origin of many traditions.
Regardless of what role they played historically, somewhere along the way, many traditions and practices continued to evolve without the use of these substances, while maintaining similar outcomes.
What I find interesting is the fact that even though many traditions of yoga, meditation, qigong, etc emerged from psychedelic inspired origins, most no longer condone the use of psychedelics in spiritual practice. I started wondering if investigating why this was the case might give us some insight in to the pros and cons of using these practices instead of or in combination with psychedelic-assisted therapy.
I contacted two people from different traditions to hear what they had to say about the issue.
Mingtong Gu, from the Chi Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, said:
“In many traditions, psychedelics [are] considered great benefit to open the gate to spiritual experience as well as therapeutic benefit with proper guidance and support. WHQ (Wisdom Healing Qigong) acknowledges this common experience but [does] not emphasize it as a main practice. We continue to invite deep opening, as well as simultaneous integration, for both short term and long term development through consistent self-initiated and self-responsible practice.”
Master Gu’s response reflects many of the other opinions that I found, which is that psychedelics can serve as a catalyst to lead someone to a higher understanding, but that further insight and understanding could only be maintained by prolonged spiritual practices.
Some take a stronger position on the issue, however. While I wasn’t able to get a direct response from Sadhguru, of the Isha Foundation, the Isha representatives responding to my request sent me a number of videos in which Sadhguru spoke on the subject.
In every video I watched, Sadhguru appeared to not recommend psychedelics in any occasion, even in the context of psychedelic-assisted therapy. It should be noted that this was my interpretation of the videos that were sent to me. Because Sadhguru did not respond to me directly, I can’t say for sure what his stance would be when presented with different circumstances.
His reluctance to be in support of psychedelics, while a harder stance than some other traditions, reminded me of something I ran across twenty years ago.
I was listening to a lecture by Ram Dass, the former Harvard psychology professor previously known as Richard Alpert, who was expelled from Harvard (along with Timothy Leary) for his use and support of psychedelics. He was talking about the “trappings” and possible danger of high experiences, like the ones frequently experienced on psychedelic trips. Elsewhere, he wrote:
“For many of us who have come into meditation through psychedelics, the model we have had for changing consciousness has been of “getting high.” We pushed away our normal waking state in order to embrace a state of euphoria, harmony, bliss, peace, or ecstasy. “
And,
“Psychedelics could chemically override the thought patterns in your brain so that you are open to the moment, but once the chemical loses its power the old habit patterns take over again. With them comes a subtle despair that without chemicals you are a prisoner of your thoughts.”
And finally,
“The trap of high experiences, however they occur, is that you become attached to their memory and so you try to recreate them. These memories compel you to try to reproduce the high.
Ultimately they trap you, because they interfere with your experience of the present moment. In meditation you must be in the moment, letting go of comparisons and memories. If the high was too powerful in comparison to the rest of your life, it overrides the present and keeps you focused on the past. The paradox, of course, is that were you to let go of the past, you would find in the present moment the same quality that you once had. But because you’re trying to repeat the past, you lose the moment.”
This position seems to mimic what Sadhguru is saying, but it’s worth looking at the whole issue in context.
Thus far, the psychedelic-assisted therapy movement has had therapy as its goal, not enlightenment. And from what the current research has shown, many individuals receive tremendous benefit, and only end up taking the psychedelic substance a handful of times.
In my opinion, it would be wrong, especially in a therapy context, to throw the whole psychedelic experience out just because of some possibility of getting trapped by “experience” on your way to enlightenment.
In fact, in Ram Dass’ quote above, he says, “The trap of higher experiences, however they occur,” which includes spiritual practice induced experiences as well, which is the topic I heard him speaking on many years ago.
This idea is emphasized in the Zen tradition, as well.
In essence, a student goes to his teacher and says, “Teacher, in my meditations I am filled with images of demons and places in hell. What should I do?” And the teacher responded, “Don’t worry. Just keep meditating. It will go away.” A week later the student comes back and he is elated. He says, “Teacher! You were right! Now in my meditation I am filled with bliss and images of angels and heaven.” And the teacher said, “Don’t worry. Just keep meditating. It will go away.”
An amusing story, of course, but again we see this idea of disregarding experiences, positive or negative, as any type of ultimate reality or goal, because all experiences are impermanent and subject to constant change.
This is what Sadhguru and Ram Dass are cautioning about above; attachment to blissful experiences as some sort of elevated version of Reality.
This is actually something I have had some experience with in my own practice, and while I understand the warning, these experiences, especially ones that can knock us out of our current programming, can be an extremely potent catalyst for change. As long as we don’t turn to psychedelics as a way to “keep the high experience going,” they seem like a legitimate avenue to create positive change in one’s life.
[Even Ram Dass’ guru, Neem Karoli Baba, appeared to acknowledge this. You can read the story of when Ram Dass gave Maharaji LSD here. The truthfulness of the story has been questioned by many people, but Ram Dass always maintained that it happened as he described it.]
There are many other spiritual and mystical traditions that we could mention, but for now let’s move on to the subject of breathwork.
Even though breathwork has been around for perhaps thousands of years, in terms of modern day modalities, you have to start with Holotropic Breathwork, developed my Stanislov Grof. When LSD became illegal in the late 1960s, Stanislov came up with this technique as an alternative way to access deeper states of consciousness.
This technique is still around today, and it includes other elements of early psychedelic work as well, including having a “sitter” that attends to the “breather.”
Since then, we have seen the rise of many different styles of breathwork, and while they all have their own end goals, many offer the opportunity to experience similar types of benefits that psychedelic induced altered states of consciousness provide.
In fact, just recently, Jeff Tarrant, Ph.D., of the NeuroMeditation Institute, did a small study where he showed that participants doing the SOMA Breath technique exhibited the same kinds of brain wave states that we see with psychedelic use.
This is just one small study, of course, but the anecdotes of thousands of students of these different breathwork styles indicate that these modalities hold some promise, for both mental health issues and personal development.
And we still have all of the esoteric experiences to consider. Out of body experiences, astral traveling, lucid dreams, psychic powers; regardless of what your personal belief is about what is happening during these experiences, they all present openings to disrupt our default programming, creating a massive cognitive reframe and allowing us access to ideas and resources that we didn’t previously have access to.
Of course, scientifically, these examples are more slippery, but we don’t need “absolute truth” to heal and grow and evolve. Sometimes we just need an expanded context and healthier narratives to get us to a better spot, and there are many ways to create those openings.
So, again, I am not suggesting that we not pursue the psychedelic path, which has already shown enormous potential, I am simply trying to suggest that there might be alternative avenues for those people who can’t or won’t use psychedelics.
Additionally, I am looking for practices that can be used proactively that give people the opportunity to break the default cognitive programming that sometimes leads to disorganized thinking and mental health issues in the first place, as well as practices that can be used to both support psychedelic-assisted therapy and allow for greater integration after the therapy session(s) end.
I think many of the practices listed above have some potential to accomplish the goals stated. And I hope that this movement in the world of psychedelics forces science to open up to the idea that practices currently outside the realm of science can have practical application in people’s lives.
In Part 3, I take a look at the technological options that might contribute to the areas of mental health and personal development.
When science classifies drugs or substances they are typically grouped by biochemical “how” or mechanism: what they block, what they inhibit, what they bind to, what they regulate, etc. As psychedelic research continues to unfold, this type of classification of psychedelics (and related substances) will continue to expand and be refined in this way.
Classifying substances in this manner can be helpful in the medical model by providing insight in to further research and discovery and to provide alternative pathways in to different intervention options.
But for the purposes of this thought project, I want to classify psychedelic substances by their cognitive and emotional function and outcome rather than by their biochemical action. When seen through this lens, psychedelics are a catalyst, and the apparatus that creates the actual healing arises through a variety of subjective experiences; creating cognitive space by decreasing emotional processing, disrupting our current default programming, providing cathartic releases, and creating a cognitive reframe and a new understanding of Life and of one’s place in it.
So the psychedelic inspired biochemical effect creates the fertile soil from which transformational subjective experiences take root and grow. Much of the actual healing arises from both the subjective experience and, more importantly, from the narrative and meaning we assign to that experience.
Psychedelics seem to allow many to break through some deep programming or (mis)understanding, which allows a new, updated program and understanding to be installed; one that changes how we want to live going forward.
After interviewing at an integrative psychiatry clinic last year, it occurred to me that based on the business models of many who will be practicing psychedelic-assisted therapy, there are likely going to be many, many people who could benefit from this therapy that are going to be left out; due to financial constraints, logistics, or legal/moral issues.
So I started thinking about alternatives; ones that operate via the functions I mentioned above: subjective experiences that create cognitive space, disrupt old programs, provide cathartic release, and reframe our understanding of the world and our place in it.
Of course, we can probably find a few things in the conventional medical and pharmaceutical models that fit those criteria, but those models have not been fantastic, so I was looking in a different direction; one that includes the larger experiences of ego dissolution, a sensed holism, a continuity of life, and the perception of a larger purpose.
Other places where we have heard that same language used to describe healing experiences and major life changes come from near death experiences, out of body experiences, breath work, meditation, yoga, qigong, and other mystical and spiritual practices.
These areas have always contained the same potential for healing and transformative experiences, they just don’t tend to have the same immediacy that psychedelics provide.
Outside of the near death experience example, these practices usually need to be cultivated for a long period of time before the individual enters the room of transformative experience, whereas taking psychedelics is like kicking down the door to the room.
But the opportunities are there, and some claim that the understanding is different. I will take a closer look at these opportunities in Part 2, and in Part 3, I will shed some light on what technological solutions might be available for addressing issues of mental health and performance.
If you peek in to the deep explanations of “ego” and “self” in philosophies like Buddhism, you will find the concept of “illusion.” That is, there is no real, inherent “self.” “Ego” is illusory.
This can be a lot to wrap your head around, but if you back out of this ontological explanation one step and just look at it all from a psychological perspective, the concept of “illusion” is much easier to see, regardless of what is happening from a higher perspective of Truth.
From this vantage point, we can eventually come to see that the “you” that you take with full confidence to be “you” is actually a constructed multi-variable narrative that you have accepted to be true. This is not to question your experiences that you have used to construct your version of “you,” but to point out that those things that happened aren’t as straight-forward as you think they are. In reality, the actual events have been skewed and embedded with bias and emotion, resulting in an interpretation that wasn’t inherently true. This means that, to some degree, you created your own version of the meaning and significance of those events, and made that part of your story. And then this version of “you” becomes the lens through which you view and interpret future experiences, which further ingrains the narrative.
Therefore, your version of “you,” of who you think you are based on past experiences, is heavily fabricated by variables that aren’t necessarily in alignment with reality.
So what does this mean?
It means this: you have the power to (re)create who you are, because the definition that you have now of who you are is at least partially self-fabricated. So if you aren’t happy with the person you believe yourself to be, you can work to change it by changing the narrative that you have held on to so tightly. A different version of you is so much closer than you think. Break free from the hypnotic spell that you have cast upon yourself and move in to a future of more freedom and volition.
Understand the illusion, and then change the story. Step in to, and live as, the person you most long to be.
We humans are peculiar in a number of ways; many of them being a direct result of our high powered brains. For instance, we share the stress response that other animals have, but we have the unique ability to store those events in our brain and bury the subsequent tensions deep in to our tissues, which can lead to future suffering and angst.
One of the peculiarities that stands out to me the most, however, is our ability to willingly ignore and/or relinquish our power, especially when it comes to choosing how we want to feel. Despite all we have learned, via both philosophy and science, we seem more than happy to give up happiness to feel anxious, angry, and crappy. On a daily basis.
Over two thousand years ago, when the Buddha declared that life was suffering (technically, dukkha), he added that the root cause of that suffering was due to our desire and ignorance regarding the nature of life.
Without going in to all of the philosophical bits (we will do that on another post), the immediate take-away is that it is not life, inherently, that is “suffering,” but rather our misguided ideas about it. This knowledge, rather than being depressing, should be liberating, but it typically isn’t, because rather than choosing a different relationship with life…one that might bring about more happiness…we resolutely dig our heels in and fight back against it.
Even modern day brain science and psychology are showing us that yes, happiness is more a by-product of a conscious decision, rather than the result of external circumstances.
But we still fight it; as if we find some pleasure or satisfaction in feeling angry or anxious. So we refuse to let it go and find the happiness (or at least contentedness) that lies within our reach.
First, let’s be clear…
If a person has had some trauma in their background, the idea of “choice” gets more complicated. A host of psychological and biological processes hijack our volition and instead we are taken for a ride that is difficult to recover from. I would argue that this is not the case for most of us, however.
Additionally, I am not of the mindset that we always need to be happy. Most times, feelings of anger, sadness, anxiety, etc, are indicators that something is out of alignment. These feelings are valid, and should be expressed appropriately.
But how long do we hang on to them?
Because more often than we would like to admit, we hang on to them far longer than we need to. And that’s the peculiar piece…when we choose to hang on to them by refusing to acknowledge that we can choose differently.
There are many different thoughts and ideas as to why we do this. I will address these in upcoming posts. For now, here is my challenge to all of us:
When you catch yourself in an inner space of anxiety, or worry, or anger, first ask yourself why, so that you can take the appropriate action to change any circumstances that need to be (and can be) changed or addressed. Then, give yourself permission to let the negative energy go and see if you can find a more joyful moment.
That moment is accessible to you right now, at any time. If you don’t want to find it, that’s fine, but ask yourself why you are choosing differently. What are you getting out of holding on to it? How is it best serving you? The answers to those questions might lead you to a great deal of insight regarding how you feel throughout the day.
(Originally Published June 20, 2019 on LinkedIn. HypnotIQ, as mentioned in the article, is a process that we use in MindBody Ops.)
One of the most difficult things to explain to people is that they can’t trust their thoughts. We live in a society that idolizes intellectualism and thinking, and yet very few people understand how thoughts arise in their minds, or where they come from.
I am not talking about consciously willed thoughts, like when you are thinking about a problem; those thoughts have directive and function. I am talking about the thoughts that ramble through our mind all day long; many of which we are aware of, but most of which we are not.
If you have a meditation practice you have experienced these thoughts firsthand. You have witnessed the crazy drama that unfolds moment to moment in your mind. The more you see how it all happens during your practice, the better you get at witnessing it as you go about your day, making you less reactive and giving you more control over your life. (If your meditation practice is more like a guided visualization, that might help you relax in the moment, but it likely isn’t providing you many tools with which to make real change and growth.)
As a therapist, there are numerous techniques that can be used to help people address their issues, but developing this awareness of one’s inner “thought world” might be one of the most important tools in the toolbox.
And yet, a very close second in terms tool importance, is the ability to not associate with or attach to the thoughts that your awareness brings to light. This isn’t just some philosophical Buddhist non-attachment concept; this is based on the fact that most of these thoughts are just the ramblings of programs that other people installed in us (or that we, in a reduced state of consciousness, installed in ourselves). And many times these stories, or programs, are rooted in very little reality.
If you aren’t conscious of these thoughts, or if you are aware of them but can’t help but become entranced in the narrative, they will determine 90 percent of how you are feeling during the day. Thus, you are not really in charge of your life, they are.
I always chuckle to myself when people say that they don’t believe in hypnotism, or that they can’t be hypnotized. We LIVE in a hypnotic state, and are always open to suggestion. It is how our minds work. If you listen closely, you will hear when people fall in to a narrative. It’s like they go on autopilot when they are talking; as if they have told the story a thousand times before (it likely that they have, by the way, even if many of those times it was only in their own minds).
To be fair, the narrative in and of itself might not be the issue. It could be that they are just good at telling the details of the story. The problem lies in the entrancement. They become fully consumed by their own story. They have a visceral experience of it as if it is reality, when in many cases it is based on projection and fantasy.
If you have never considered this, you won’t agree with what I am saying. I understand. Trust me. I know how easy it is to be duped by our own cleverness and intellect. It is true, though. And you can discover it yourself if you take the steps that are required to see behind the veil.
It is time that we all learn the mechanism of thought; to see it for what it is. And then, once we have gained an inner awareness and the ability to not associate with those thoughts, if we want to investigate the content of the thoughts, we can do so in a reasonable way.
But if we just get caught up in the content, without ever examining the actual origin of the thought, we are already caught in the sticky web of make-believe, and it is extremely difficult to find perspective and truth and power from that place.
The fact is, regardless of our life circumstances, a great deal of our suffering and unhappiness is self-inflicted via our lack of understanding of this inner world.
It is time to break out of this prison. You are holding the key to the cell, you just might not know it yet. HypnotIQ is here to help lead you to your own path to freedom.
