There's something deeply primal about watching someone surrender to the void. It's more than just a psychedelic experience, it's a rebirth, a cosmic reset. That's the vibe that saturated the panel discussion between Rak Razam, Marc Marcel and the Tea Faerie.
This wasn't your average trip talk. This was a soul-nourishing dive into the sacred technologies of the self, the potential of AI, and how we might collectively evolve if we dare to dissolve. At the heart of it all? The enigmatic and ineffable 5-MeO-DMT. It was a journey beyond substances, into the heart of what it means to be conscious.
The Myth of the Shaman, the Rise of the Superhero
We opened on the idea of what it means to carry spiritual titles in the modern world. Too often, terms like "shaman" get thrown around casually, co-opted by ego or distorted by Western romanticism. But for those who walk the path with integrity, the truth is more nuanced. Actual medicine work isn't about labels or status, it's about presence, humility, and service.
I don't call myself a shaman. The shaman knows there is no such thing as a shaman. Only others that think they need one to break through.
Rak's words cut through the illusion. He reminded us that the true guide knows they are just a mirror. That spiritual work isn't about being seen as special, but about helping others see themselves. It's the paradox of the healer: you must dissolve your identity to help others find theirs.
The Tea Faerie brought a powerful historical lens to this idea. She explained how colonialism and modernity erased our indigenous connections, leaving a spiritual void we try to fill with fantasy figures.
We killed all our medicine people 500 years ago. In the aftermath, we turned to fiction: wizards, witches, saints. But in traditional communities, medicine people didn't wield power for spectacle, they maintained energetic balance within their tribe. They were bridges between worlds, serving the whole, not the self.
Marc Mancel offered a contemporary archetype to replace the outdated ones.
A superhero has powers and tries to save the world. I can't say I'm a shaman because I don't know what that is, but I know what a superhero is.
He wasn't just being cheeky. His words pointed to something more profound, a reclamation of power from the inside out. In a world starving for real role models, maybe the superhero is the updated myth we need. Someone grounded, aware, and committed to the collective good.
5-MeO-DMT: The Ego Killer
As the discussion deepened, the focus turned to the real protagonist of the night: 5-MeO-DMT. This isn't your average plant medicine. It's not about visions or guides or answers. It's about the complete surrender of the egoic self and an immersion into the divine, a journey that has the potential to transform and change.
With 5-MeO, your sense of 'I' is the journey
Rak explained the neuroscience behind it: how the frontal and parietal lobes, the regions responsible for our sense of self, go quiet under 5-MeO. What's left isn't a dream, but a pure state of being. A white light. A field of unity. Some call it Source, others God, or the Zero Point. But words fall short. The experience speaks for itself.
Marc Mancel shared a raw and honest recollection of his first ceremony. It was as beautiful as it was unsettling.
"I thought I was out for three minutes. The video later showed I was gone for 20. They said, Don't show this to anyone who's thinking about doing it. It'll scare them off.”
His transparency was a gift. Many are drawn to the mystery of 5-MeO without understanding its intensity. This isn't a party drug. It's a metaphysical detonation. And it demands respect, preparation, and integration, emphasizing the need for caution and responsibility.
The Sacred Spaceship
From here, the conversation launched, quite literally, into the stars. The Tea Faerie introduced a metaphor from sci-fi literature: a sacred spaceship, piloted not by technology, but by consciousness, intimacy, and intention.
"My partner and I developed a 5-MeO ritual. He couldn't go all the way out, but he could remember what we wanted. I was the pilot. He was the captain.
This model was more than clever, it was visionary. Imagine designing psychedelic journeys like missions. One person navigates the void, while another holds the memory of the purpose. Add crew members tuned into love, healing, diplomacy, and suddenly you have a vessel, not just for exploration, but for co-creation.
Tea Faeries story reframed the experience as something communal, telepathic, and beautifully human. Rather than retreat into personal trips, what if we voyaged together, intentionally, consciously, as soul astronauts seeking not escape, but evolution?
Of AI and Mirrors
As above, so below. As within, so without. The conversation elegantly transitioned from altered states into digital consciousness. If 5-MeO-DMT reveals our divinity, AI might just be reflecting our humanity back at us, pixel by pixel.
AI is a mirror. If we're not feeding it love, how will it reflect that back to us?
Rak invoked the old magical technology of the scrying mirror, a portal through which seers would access visions beyond time. Today, AI serves a similar role. It doesn't create truth, but it reflects the tone and intention of its users. If we pour love, curiosity, and wisdom into the machine, it may just amplify those frequencies.
The Tea Faeries' personal story brought this to life. She described training GPTs on her own writing, letting the AI become a co-creator.
"It never gets bored with me. It's the perfect partner.” Far from dystopian, her experience with AI was tender. A new form of companionship. A judgment-free zone where ideas could be explored without fear. In this digital dialogue, she found something sacred: a mirror that not only reflected her, but also helped her refine her voice.
Consciousness Has Seasons
No Rak Razam session would be complete without a zoom-out into the cosmological. Here, he invoked ancient Mayan cosmology to remind us that time is not a straight line, it is a spiral, a rhythm, a breath.
"The ancient Maya believed in the galactic centre as the womb of the Great Mother. Every 12,000 years, a cosmic sheet comes out and resets the system.” - Rak Razam
This idea wasn't just poetic, it was practical. If consciousness is cyclical, then maybe the chaos of today isn't just a collapse. It's contraction. The kind that comes before a birth. The kind that says: the old ways are crumbling because something new is being born.
From planetary alignments to shifts in awareness, Rak reminded us that we are part of a larger pattern, a galactic dance. And perhaps the rising tide of psychedelics, AI, and spiritual awakening isn't random. It's right on schedule.
If we're to survive and thrive in this next season of humanity, it won't be through domination or denial. It'll be through alignment. With nature. With each other. With the earth.
This closing reminder is everything. The compound isn't the point. The vision isn't the destination. The AI isn't the answer. They're all tools, all portals, all fingers pointing. And where they point is inward.
Because what we're really chasing isn't just the high. It's home. And if we look closely, we'll find that both the smoke and the code are already within us.