HSPTL WNTR SHOWER PLAN

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Of course, experiences of psychosis and psychedelics are not identical. Crucially, there are fundamental differences related to the voluntary nature of the experience as well as the timeline. In most cases, psychedelics are ingested by choice and their effects last only a number of hours. In contrast, experiences of psychosis usually come about without any willingness on the part of the individual, and can last for days, weeks or months. Subjective experiences are not identical either; even in the past century, some researchers noted that hallucinations and synaesthesia – when multiple senses are experienced simultaneously – are often more pronounced in those who have taken psychedelics than in those experiencing psychosis. Others thought the similarities between these experiences were exaggerated.

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While we might accept that experiences of psychosis and psychedelics are different in important ways, we might also acknowledge that their phenomenological (‘what it’s like’) similarities make them worth looking at in tandem. Both kinds of experiences are highly variable, but can involve a number of overlapping psychological and physical sensations, including changes in sensory experiences related to vision, hearing and smell, as well as one’s sense of self, as ego dissolution and depersonalisation are common. A variety of emotional responses are also common across psychosis and psychedelics, including feeling paranoid, scared, euphoric or withdrawn.

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The illusion that there is a constant self always there knowing the five aggregates intrinsically means a two-tier structure like that of Cartesian Theatre or "Cogito, ergo sum". However, the slowing down of “speed” in vipassana reveals that the reality is single-tier. The sense of self just emerges out of the process of alternating of “aggregates” (or “awareness”) and “awareness of awareness”.

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I have a theory that the moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. I have tried this experiment a thousand times and I have never been disappointed. The more I look at a thing, the more I see in it, and the more I see in it, the more I want to see. It is like peeling an onion. There is always another layer, and another, and another. And each layer is more beautiful than the last.

This is the way I look at the world. I don't see it as a collection of objects, but as a vast and mysterious organism. I see the beauty in the smallest things, and I find wonder in the most ordinary events. I am always looking for the hidden meaning, the secret message. I am always trying to understand the mystery of life.

I know that I will never understand everything, but that doesn't stop me from trying. I am content to live in the mystery, to be surrounded by the unknown. I am content to be a seeker, a pilgrim, a traveler on the road to nowhere. ~Henry Miller

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