ONTOLOGICAL SHOCK

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"Ontological shock" is a term used to describe the disorientation, destabilization, or even trauma that occurs when someone encounters an experience, idea, or event that fundamentally challenges their worldview, identity, or sense of reality.

Breaking it down:

• Ontology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of being and existence.

• Shock refers to the psychological and emotional jolt when one’s foundational assumptions are overturned.

Examples of ontological shock:

• A devoutly religious person suddenly losing faith after a life-altering event.

• A materialist encountering an experience they interpret as paranormal.

• Someone discovering unsettling truths that contradict everything they believed about society, history, or themselves.

• Pilots or soldiers reporting UFOs or unexplainable phenomena, leaving them unable to fit the event into their prior worldview.

Common effects:

• Existential anxiety (What is real? Who am I really?)

• Identity crisis (If what I believed isn’t true, then how do I define myself?)

• Worldview collapse or reconstruction (leading to nihilism, spiritual awakening, or something in between).

Some psychologists link it to trauma theory, since it can provoke symptoms similar to PTSD, while philosophers discuss it as a rupture in ontological security—our basic trust in a stable, comprehensible reality.

👉 Do you want me to explain how people cope with ontological shock (resilience strategies, meaning-making, etc.), or would you like me to go deeper into famous cases/examples where individuals or groups experienced it?

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AYHSCA X PSYDELS are not for everyone. Not everyone needs them. Casualties and side-effects are serious. Some people can't even be in the same room as other people who are tripping, it is too mind-altering for them. The result is protracted fugue state that doesn't completely lift for possibly months. But, then again, I get visionary support from common herbs and flowers as teas and tinctures. They are helpful for grounding and creative practice, but the process is very gentle. I often wonder if some people create more DMT internally, or are more sensitive to the neurochemicals they do create.

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Base reality is now consciousness. As Erwin Schrödinger said, “In the whole of the universe the number of minds is one.”

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