Cartography of the Divine: Psychedelics and Meditation

Author

Paul F. Austin

Date of original publication

Oct 17, 2022

Source

Timestamp

Talking points

00:04:58

Coming in to psychedelics

00:12:01

Teaching the practice alongside meditation

00:18:30

The creation of Bridging Heaven

00:30:25

Designing a low-dose 5-MeO meditation retreat

00:39:58

Intertwining yogic philosophy into 5-MeO practice

00:56:23

The risks of casual 5-MeO

01:01:20

What's the objective?

It's well-known that psychedelics are increasingly seen as a global solution to the collective trauma and healing needed to address the civilizational crisis of our era. This likely contributes to their popularity as a means to reconnect with our true selves and regain balance in our lives. There are risks and downsides, of course, but used in a safe set and setting with intention, psychedelics can open up worlds within us.

But how can we further utilize these substances? Do we need to be unwell to take them? Isn't there more than the medical model for psychedelic use? Can we learn from indigenous cultures about how to use them collectively and individually for guidance and understanding of our place in the world beyond just personal healing?

And if so, how do the consciousness maps from ancient cultures, like the Vedic Eastern traditions with their meditation practices, intersect with psychedelics to improve the human condition rather than just heal it?

This is where "charting the sacred" comes into play.

Maps left by our predecessors guide us to the core of our being, to the divine landscape that lies at the heart of every individual. This can be referred to as the Zero-point field, the unity field, or "samadhi," etc. Every culture has its own way of describing it, but the key revelation remains the same.

Today, we have access to 5-MeO-DMT, whether synthetic or natural, which serves as a replicable means of engaging with this sacred landscape. Out of all the psychedelics, 5-MeO is the most compatible with dissolving the egoic structure to reveal this divine geography within us, time and time again. Furthermore, we're discovering that once this geography is awakened, it can maintain a connection within the human body through what are known as "reactivations."

My experience with 5-MeO-DMT in 2006 was life-changing, and it sparked an understanding that is now transforming both the world of psychedelics and life on Earth. 5-MeO-DMT is already present within us, and its role seems to be to connect to and reveal the divine within us. And with the training wheels of external 5-MeO, we can access it ongoingly, on demand. It's revolutionary.

5-MeO-DMT, like other psychedelics in the tryptamine family, can be found in the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, and within us humans. We have a natural psychedelic within us that can be accessed in extreme situations such as birth, death, near-death experiences, mystical experiences, or through darkness retreats, breathwork, and meditation.

We are discovering ways to modulate consciousness and unveil the infinite potential within us that is usually suppressed by our default mode of being. Psychedelics, when taken externally, can lower our "default mode network" and allow our consciousness to embark on a journey within or beyond ourselves.

Learn more about Amazonian hallucinogenic shamanism

But 5-MeO-DMT is even more unique.

A pivotal study conducted a few years ago, available at braintap.com, compared the brain activity of monks meditating and people on 5-MeO-DMT in separate EEG studies. The results were virtually identical, showing that consistent meditation can lower egoic activity and enable deeper exploration of the mind. Eastern traditions describe the mind as "sattva," like an ocean with vast depths hidden beneath the surface. 5-MeO-DMT takes you straight into this ocean, away from surface thoughts and into the depths.

We now believe that 5-MeO-DMT is the neurochemical catalyst for the mystical experience, leading us to question the nature of this experience and how to integrate it into our culture best.

Typically, psychedelics facilitate the dissolution of the ego, not the mind itself. A witnessing consciousness can be present during these deep experiences. Just as babies exhibit unfocussed consciousness in their early months, we can exist without the ego. After years of engaging with these altered states, my conclusion is that the modern ego is a trauma response to a global civilizational collapse that occurred around 12,800 years ago.

The ego has risen to prominence, always seeking protection, anticipating danger, and planning its next move. That's where psychedelics come in – I believe that's why I got into them in my 20s, as they help relax the mind and allow it to be present. With the endogenous psychedelic or entheogen, 5-MeO, we discover the divine within, recognizing that it is always there, always within. It's a relationship we're only beginning to understand. And yet, modern psychedelic culture still treats 5-MeO as if it's LSD or psilocybin, as an external substance that provides a peak experience.

However, that's not the case. This is a connection to the divine geography within you, accessible by all cultures worldwide through various methods and practices. It's something we've lost sight of in the West due to busyness and ego reinforcement.

Now, we have the comprehension and a map to guide us to that place, enabling us to remain connected.

Inspiration for this comes from some enlightened beings in India, who, in their traditions, refer to this as jivanmukta – the enlightened ones. They demonstrate the potential to maintain a meditative state continuously, allowing for an optimal state of mind where the ego is reduced and greater possibilities can unfold. 

I believe that human consciousness has a capacity we are on the brink of unlocking, and perhaps this consciousness desires to unlock within the human organism. We follow Patanjali's eight limbs of yoga and the Yoga Sutras, using the ancient sequence of practices, such as asanas, to calm the body and mind. Once these are achieved, we work with low doses of 5-MeO. This synergistic blending optimizes and facilitates entering a meditative state and realizing one's full potential.

The experience of feeling these states or modes of being is life-altering and exciting, which is what we're passionate about with Bridging Heaven.

With the www.bridgingheaven.com retreats, we collaborate with experienced meditators to anchor their practice. Using low doses of the 5-MeO medicine, we encourage individuals not to let go entirely but to stay with their practice, focus, and maintain their edge. Our goal is not to view 5-MeO as merely a peak experience but rather as a molecule within the human organism that can entrain us and teach us how to utilize our operating system better, transcending our Default Mode.

To master the map and find our way home.

Join us at: https://www.bridgingheaven.com. The next retreat is July 4-9, 2023, in Tepoztlan, Mexico. JOIN US!

Key takeaways

  • Psychedelics, like 5-MeO-DMT, are being recognized globally as tools for collective trauma healing and personal rediscovery, addressing the modern civilizational crisis.
  • Various ancient cultures offer maps pointing to a sacred, unified field within every individual, sometimes referred to as the Zero-point field or "samadhi."
  • This psychedelic's power to consistently dissolve egoic structures and uncover the internal sacred landscape, and its consequent reactivations, differentiates it from other psychedelics.
  • Unlike other psychedelics that focus on external peak experiences, 5-MeO-DMT taps into the divine within, suggesting a global cultural amnesia towards this internal connection.