Windows are important

I once heard the artist Alex Grey describe psychedelics as windows and meditation as the door. It's an apt analogy. The idea is you're in a dark room and from your perspective that's all there is. There's a window. You open it and you see that there is so much more light and joy and beauty to the world. You haven't left the dark room, but you have seen what exists beyond it.

What is the dark room? What is the light beyond it?

To my understanding, the dark room is all the thoughts, fears, regrets, and anger that keep our minds clouded from the liberated beauty of being present in the world. Psychedelics are a broad term. In example, my first experiences with marijuana opened my eyes to the beauty of being truly present in the world. Each substance of course has its own qualities, and are thus different colored stained glass windows in a sens. But nonetheless they are windows into the world beyond the "normal" turbulent fog of mind.

However, glimpses beyond the room need not be from substances. Through listening to the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, the author is able to guide listeners to deep presence through his description of the NOW. It's more grounded and yet perhaps even more magical than the substance-induced experience. These glimpses of the NOW, at times prolonged, gave me an understanding of my capacity beyond substances. It also introduced me to the primary tool necessary for breaking through the walls of my dark room, non-judgmental awareness and acceptance of what is.

Still, without a disciplined approach, it felt as though pockets of light would temporarily open up in the room, only to close off again in time. It was only when I came across Vipassana that I found a structured approach, for diligently sharpening my capacity to break through the walls and progress beyond the room. I found Vipassana unique in the sense that it develops an understanding of how we create the walls in the first place and hence can lead to everlasting results.

What I have described is my subjective experience. Any experience with substances, the Power of Now, and Vipassana will vary widely. Each tool ought to be approached with care. Vipassana meditation is ideally introduced within the context of a course with guidance and support. Psychedelics, though often self-prescribed and casually consumed, ought to be prescribed if necessary to specific dosage, for specific conditions with guidance in intentional settings.

Caution: Opening a window too bright, in a room too dark can be blinding.

I and many others on this path have suffered the consequences of going further than was appropriate for our conditions.

In my personal journey, Vipassana has become most effective and appropriate for the gradual lasting declouding of mind, and when needed books like the Power of Now offer inspirational glimpses of clearer skies.

Wishing you safe travels on whichever path you now take.

With love,

Naser