Leslie Avila

Psychedelics allow us to move from this three dimensional world, where we believe only what the five senses perceive, where time seems chronological, where our logical minds lead us to answers, where we rely on proof over intuition……… to a place of logical fallacy, mystery, wonder, nothingness, dreams, oneness.

 

Too many times have professors, persons of authority, scientists, HUMANS in general, think that they obtain the power and ability to understand and define happenings and occurrences of the world around us with data, numbers, logic, and rationality. But some of the mysteries of the world cannot be explained through these methods; they continue to be mysteries to the mind for a reason. I believe they are not to be explained through words and numbers, but you still try. And no matter how close you get, you are not capable of getting THERE. Being it. Holding it, smelling it, able to refer to it at all times. You just can’t. You get a taste of it, yet continue to be hungry for more. 

 

For what? What is IT? 

 

The answer you are all looking for when you look to physics or religion, or when the mind won't stop thinking. The gap. The why, the how. The origin. The one truth, the one reality that exists at all times. The reason for life. What came before, what will come after. 

 

When you’ve been on a trip, you laugh at anyone trying to define the world beyond our five senses with words or numbers; any sort of ordered data. It may get you close. But psychedelics shoot you up and beyond your thinking. They spin you in a circle and spit you up like a baby. Psychedelics show you the side of the world, and ourselves, that is undefinable, unexplainable. They leave you speechless. And some people don’t like that answer, and some people will use my own words against me: “If you've been there, why don't you know what it is?”

 

That’s the thing. You do know what it is. Your soul does. But your mind is trying to know what the soul knows, the mind wants to define and explain it. And THAT is what you’ll never be able to get to know. It is not enough for you to catch glimpses of this eternity inside and all around us. You need to catch it! 

 

But the psychonaut knows better. Psychonauts have seen the glimpse of it, got to smell it, got to hear and feel it. It is something to experience, to feel. It is not something that can be explained or understood through the mind.

 

“So you’ve met it,” they may ask, “Why can’t you explain it?” Well because you wouldn’t believe us. You’re trying to look past what it is. You probably won’t think it’s enough.  You’d want more, and more, and more, and more.

 

Let us say I try to use human words to explain what I saw; it would be a combination of thousands of words and definitions congruently creating an experience. It was me, the trees, the soil underneath us, this beaming light coming towards me, it was the sound of soft music, a harmonious DNA strand, a deep beating drum, words and thoughts coming and leaving, water flowing in my mind, the rise of the sun, the sound of a coconut, the taste of the wind, the sweet smell of silence. I experienced all of these things, but they were different. Different than what you’re imagining right now. Different than the words I just said. It had a splash of water to it, a dash of bubbles, a sprinkle of rainbows, and a hint of darkness. It was all of them mixed together, blended, indistinguishable, yet completely independent of each other. Indefinable. I just tried to define it, and here you are, still not believing me, and asking for more.

 

So how and why are psychedelics connected to healing? 

 

I advocate for the use of psychedelic / psychoactive substances as a method for healing because these substances will help us to remember our truest nature, as beings of energy, as humans, as they take us to this vast, eternal, place of everything and nothing. Our truest nature as beings of energy must be remembered as indefinable, just like the THING everyone is trying to understand.

 

The current state of the world right now, which includes our social media platforms, and the professionals who have dedicated their lives to this cosmic research, have led us to believe, and further, crave, a labeling of the Self. To define ourselves, to think we could ever understand and neatly package the vastness of our minds, bodies, and souls (the Self), has led us to have the high rates of depression, anxiety, and purposelessness we are seeing amongst our people today. 

 

We, as a whole word, have severed our connection to the vast eternal energy that we come from, and ultimately, are ourselves. And I believe this is due to the overwhelming reliance on logic and rationality to understand ourselves and the world around us. No longer do we trust our intuition to guide our everyday decisions or our lives at large, we look to our phones, we look to the data, we look to others for reassurance, we look for the proof. But like I mentioned earlier, I believe this proof is not allowing us to see the bigger picture. Because the bigger picture is too large for the screens. The tv screen, the computer screen, the research software, the research report, and last but not least, controversially, our minds. They are NOT DEVELOPED ENOUGH, NOT LARGE ENOUGH, to capture IT, and furthermore, unable to capture US.

 

When we ingest psychedelics, we are given a window to go BEYOND the mind, and we are able to experience a glimpse of the vast, complex, eternal energy… the big IT. When we experience this vastness, we begin to truly understand that we do not and cannot understand it all.

 

This understanding will be our freedom. For the mind to cease it’s endless search for answers, and to look towards the soul (of the Self and the Universe) for refuge. I know the sciences are getting some answers. It does have value. But only for the mind. For the soul needs no more answers, it has it all. It IS it all. And so if we are to feel whole again, as individuals, and as a whole society, we need to REMEMBER the eternity inside and outside of ourselves. The proof won't ease your mind. Stop looking to validate the little glimpse that we experience.

 

Psychedelic substances allow us to experience this by taking us away from our human mind for a couple of hours. As we leave our human responsibilities, our human logic, our human concept of time for just a few hours, we are able to go to this mysterious, vast, cosmic place that everyone seems to be searching for.