Psychedelics As A Tool For Self Growth And Spirituality

Psychedelics are very versatile drugs. They can offer great insight and experience, as well as a lighter recreational high – it all depends on how you want to use them. Should you want to chill out, listen to music, and get lost in an orchestrated journey, psychedelics can act as a sensory stimulant. Should you want to get high, and giggle the day away, psychedelics can offer just that. If you want a way to knuckle down and explore your consciousness, then psychedelics can unlock the key to your mind. It is all down to motivation and setting, and is the reason such versatility is possible.

Now, whilst psychedelics can be used recreationally, they hold a lot more potential that goes beyond this base level of use. When used correctly, psychedelics can show us hidden truths within ourselves, as well as make us confront uninvited insights. They mediate the mind as it explores both welcome and unwelcome revelations, and can allow you to assess and address them, assimilating the good within yourself and putting demons to rest. Psychedelics can also bring you closer to (the) God(s), and the divinity of the cosmos. The psychedelic user that enter their journey with intention and respect can learn all kinds of things about themselves whilst the barriers of the conscious mind are blurred, and grow both as a person and spiritually.

A GUIDE TO PSYCHEDELIC GROWTH: LOOKING AT THE FACTORS

Due to the nature of psychedelics, there is no set guide that everyone can follow to self-growth. In order to achieve it, you need to know the factors that will influence the journey, accept them, and use them to guide yourself. So here they are:

The Contents of Your Unconscious Mind

Often referred to as the set, the contents of your unconscious mind with give you the content for the journey. This can be pretty much anything, and will revolve around you as a person – shaped by your life experiences, values, inhibitions, and ambitions up until this point. Some of these things can be unpleasant truths, and how you react to them can steer the trip, setting the foundation for any potential growth. Assessing and accepting these parts of you will help you move forward, whereas resisting them can increase discomfort, inhibit growth and result in unsatisfactory results. This is not to say you need to act on and follow uncomfortable thoughts, but recognition instead of denial can go a long way.

The Setting

This refers to your physical setting in world. Taking psychedelics somewhere you feel safe and secure can result in a very different experience to taking them somewhere you don’t. An inspiring ritual, or a beautiful and serene natural setting can help steer you towards spirituality, whilst being in a place of personal significance can help you focus inwards.

Motivation

The importance of motivation cannot be understated. Motivation will affect how you react to all of the above. If you are simply looking for a good time, the insights offered by the above points will likely be glossed over and ignored. Whereas if you are looking for a deep and meaningful journey, it will help you assess the thoughts within yourself.

Honesty

Quite simple, there is no point lying in to yourself if you are seeking to grow, as you cannot grow as a person if you do not accept the truth of yourself.

Follow Through

Psychedelics are not a shortcut to growth, they simply unlock the potential for it. After a trip, you will likely go through a period of wonder, where all of this newly learnt insight and knowledge is fresh. It needs to be acted upon and assimilated into making yourself a better person – be it through lifestyle changes or more innate decisions about your person. Without some kind of follow through, you are likely to regress back to the way you were before you accepted any new insight. In fact, by regressing, you can end up worse than you originally were, as you now know truths about yourself that can contradict the regression.

Finding Discipline

It is largely agreed that working on self-growth using the framework of a spiritual discipline works best. Whilst it is not essential, it can help guide you, call to attention goals and values, establish ethics, and act as an agent of change. Furthermore, exploring the self with the intention of passing on your spiritual findings often results in more being discovered.

There you have it. With the above you should be able to take the first steps to truly exploring the depths of your soul, and the infinite possibility of the universe! It may all sound cheesy, but the proper use of psychedelics can truly show you who you are – greatly improving you quality of life as you shed away the baggage. Just remember, psychedelics are not a shortcut to growth, but a tool that enables it. If all you really want deep down is a recreational journey, then that is all you are going to get.

Steven Voser

Steven Voser is an independent cannabis journalist with over 6 years of experience writing about all things weed; how to grow it, how best to enjoy it, and the booming industry and murky legal landscape surrounding it.

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