PSYCHEDELICS
& AWAKENING
| Non-dual living in a world of form |
Non-dual & Oneness
In a world of form — of bodies, relationships, and responsibilities — nondual awareness doesn’t mean escaping life, floating off on a cloud of bliss; it means engaging fully with life while recognizing the underlying unity that pervades all experience.
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Nondual living is not conceptual thinking. It’s the experience of being simultaneously a distinct individual and an inseparable part of everything else.
It is the awareness that “self” and “other,” “pain” and “joy,” “control” and “letting go” are not ultimately separate, even when they appear opposed in everyday life. This lived reconciliation transforms how we experience suffering, joy, and meaning — shifting us from trying to fix the world to deeply inhabiting it with clarity and presence.
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5-MeO-DMT* and the Experience of Oneness
Certain plant and chemical allies, like 5-MeO-DMT*, can catalyze this realization. The 5-MeO experience is often described as the dissolution of boundaries: the sense of a separate self falls away, leaving a raw, direct encounter with unity. Unlike some psychedelic experiences that are primarily visual or conceptual, 5-MeO is often felt somatically and existentially, leaving a profound impression of interconnectedness that can persist long after the session.
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This encounter with oneness is not simply “spiritual content” to be analyzed. It bypasses the mind’s narratives, offering a visceral, non-conceptual recognition of reality. Many people report that it touches a fundamental truth: the separateness they’ve felt their whole lives is a construct, and beneath it lies a continuity of awareness, energy, and being.
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Psychedelics and Neuroplasticity
The reason psychedelics are so powerful for this type of insight is not magic — it’s science - well, maybe it's both. Compounds like psilocybin, LSD, and 5-MeO-DMT influence neuroplasticity, creating temporary windows where the brain’s networks can reorganize. This makes it possible to perceive reality differently, break rigid patterns of thought and emotional reactivity, and experience what it feels like to be liberated from habitual self-concepts.
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In this context, psychedelics are tools for direct experience of nonduality. They create a safe, time-bound space where the separateness that dominates our daily perception can soften. But these states, while profound, are temporary — the real transformation occurs in the days, weeks, and months after the experience.
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Integration: The Real Work
A psychedelic session is only the beginning. The integration process — what we do with insights and embodied experiences afterward — is where lasting change happens. Integration can include reflective journaling, somatic practices, meditation, therapy, mentoring, and conscious relationship work.
The idea is to translate the sense of nondual awareness into everyday life: how we relate to our emotions, others, and the challenges we face.
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Without integration, even the most profound experiences can fade or be misunderstood. With careful attention, however, the insights from 5-MeO or other psychedelic experiences can shift neural patterns, reduce rigid self-identification, and deepen our capacity for presence, compassion, and meaning. The work is both practical and subtle: showing up to life with an expanded awareness while still honoring the human form we inhabit.
“The price of truth is everything, but no one knows what everything means until they’re paying it.” — Jed McKenna
Our Love Affair with the Fabricated Self
We humans have an innate penchant for cocooning ourselves in elaborate layers of personas, each one meticulously crafted to shield us from the raw uncertainty of existence - the unknown. It's as if we're architects of our own mirage, constantly defining and redefining who we are—through careers, relationships, beliefs, and achievements—building a fortress of identity that feels unshakeable.
Every new layer solidifies the illusion of a separate, enduring self. We wrap ourselves in mysticism, pursuing feel-good spiritual experiences that offer a sense of depth without confronting uncomfortable truths. Or we surround ourselves with success and wealth, judging our value by external approval and material things.
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These layers feel safe, familiar, and appealing, creating an illusion where separation from the vast unknown feels like security. We hold onto them not from insight, but from a basic need for stability in a changing, uncertain reality.
The Price of Truth
Truth is what remains when all illusions, stories, and self-deceptions are stripped away. It is not negotiable, and it does not cater to your comfort, preferences, or beliefs. Truth does not soften, justify, or explain itself in ways that make it convenient. It simply is.
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To encounter truth requires total honesty. You must confront the parts of yourself you’ve been avoiding — the narratives, attachments, and identities you rely on to feel safe or in control. There is no partial truth; half-measures, rationalizations, or avoidance will not bring clarity. The process is demanding because it asks you to face what you have been using to define yourself and your reality.
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Facing truth is about clarity and freedom. Once you see reality as it is, without distortion, you stop being a prisoner of illusion. You gain the ability to act, relate, and live with precision, presence, and integrity. Truth is the foundation of real insight, real change, and real freedom.
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The process of awakening is identifying and eradicating everything false within one's understanding of reality and self. It is not a "feel good" spiritual practice - it is an often lonely practice of self annihilation, a deconstruction of personal identity.
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So, who would choose this? To that, I can only say, you will know deep down.
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The Paradox of No-Self
The experience of no-self is not a theory and not something to be understood — it is a direct and experiential recognition that the separate “I” we identify with is a construct of conditioning. This realization strips away the habitual sense of personal boundaries and ego-driven identity. The process of awakening often feels supremely painful, because the structures that define daily life — roles, desires, frameworks — seem to dissolve. What we once valued becomes unimportant. People we held close may fall away. What made us "us" is irradiated, and most of the deconstruction happens in solitude - others won't be able to understand you. And that is, of course, all part of it.
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Paradoxically, this dissolution does not erase functioning in the world. Instead, it allows for a reintegration into life with full awareness. We engage with work, relationships, and daily responsibilities, but the motivations shift. Actions are no longer driven by avoidance, attachment, or fear of lack. Desires become aligned with presence itself rather than with the ego’s agenda.
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This is the core of the paradox: the self that seemed necessary for living is revealed as an illusion, yet living continues — fully, effectively, and meaningfully. The contradictions of life — freedom and obligation, presence and desire, individuality and unity — no longer conflict. They are held together in awareness. In this space, action, connection, and experience are no longer attempts to complete the self; they are natural expressions of awareness interacting with the world.
"All fear is ultimately fear of no-self." — Jed McKenna
* Disclaimer:
Please be advised that 5-MeO-DMT (or any psychedelic substances) may be illegal in your specific country, state, or local jurisdiction. We do not assume any responsibility for your actions. This information is provided for educational and informational purposes only, and we do not encourage the consumption, purchase, or possession of any illegal substances. It is your responsibility to research and comply with all applicable local, national, and international laws before engaging with any such substances.