shrooms

[bov]

Has anyone here done enough shrooms to experience ego death? That's my goal.

 

[Silvermorning]

Ego death - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

.

Interesting.
And no, OP. I can't touch weed cause it gives me paranoid thoughts, cant imagine what shrooms would do. Only edibles for me.

 

[CoalmineCanary]

I'm looking for micro-dosing treatment of mushrooms. I can tell you my experiences with LSD and ego but since this is a controversial treatment I won't share my anecdotal experiences here because everyone has a personal experience with psychedelics. As with my rTMS, ECT, and CBT treatment, if people wish to know more about my personal experiences, just message me and I'll answer what I can.

 

[TattiQueen]

Ego death - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

.

Interesting.
And no, OP. I can't touch weed cause it gives me paranoid thoughts, cant imagine what shrooms would do. Only edibles for me.

Thank you for attaching, I was about to ask what exactly ego death entails. It is quite interesting.

Has anyone who has experienced this written any books of the actual account and experience? I would love to read into this further. The further reading Section of the wiki doesn't have any specific books of experiences.

 

[Giraffey]

There are many different definitions of the concept of ego death and I can't say I'm familiar with them all, so I shall go with a definition which I have recently been discussing with a colleague in relation to dreaming and the nature of consciousness itself. If you take this definition of ego death, then I have experienced it a number of times. Not through psychedelics but a form of sleep training and advanced dreaming, to describe it in very high-level terms, a form of meditation if you will.

To me, I experienced this as the bare minimum level of consciousness, the total loss of the subjective self, of spatial and temporal awareness, absence of all my senses, of awareness of my body and mind, absence of thought - leaving only the feeling of existence, the feeling of being alive at this moment. It is a beautiful feeling, a feeling of peace and serenity, of purity, the first time I ever experienced that state I conquered my fear of death. It is difficult to describe the experience without resorting either to metaphysical terms, becoming very technical or implying more phenomenological quality to the experience than there was, for example, it is not akin to laying in a floatation tank in darkness and silence, in this state you have no body, there is no 'physical' quality, it is the purest phenomenological state.

There are other descriptions and variations of the subjective experience that is perhaps more akin to a form of dissociation, I can't say I have experienced those, but what I did experience was a magnificent spiritual experience that really changed the way I think about what it means to be sentient.

 

[Niftypoint124]

Yes, though (anecdotally) I can say there seems to be a split between themes of "ego death" and "homecoming", depending on your headspace.

I find it interesting you're shooting for that experience specifically - any particular reason why?

 

[bov]

I guess for me it holds the same fantasy as conventional death: I want the psyche that formed to get razed to the ground. A factory reset. I know that's not going to happen, it's just the fantasy. At least no matter what I'll experience some change.

There are many different definitions of the concept of ego death and I can't say I'm familiar with them all, so I shall go with a definition which I have recently been discussing with a colleague in relation to dreaming and the nature of consciousness itself. If you take this definition of ego death, then I have experienced it a number of times. Not through psychedelics but a form of sleep training and advanced dreaming, to describe it in very high-level terms, a form of meditation if you will.

To me, I experienced this as the bare minimum level of consciousness, the total loss of the subjective self, of spatial and temporal awareness, absence of all my senses, of awareness of my body and mind, absence of thought - leaving only the feeling of existence, the feeling of being alive at this moment. It is a beautiful feeling, a feeling of peace and serenity, of purity, the first time I ever experienced that state I conquered my fear of death. It is difficult to describe the experience without resorting either to metaphysical terms, becoming very technical or implying more phenomenological quality to the experience than there was, for example, it is not akin to laying in a floatation tank in darkness and silence, in this state you have no body, there is no 'physical' quality, it is the purest phenomenological state.

There are other descriptions and variations of the subjective experience that is perhaps more akin to a form of dissociation, I can't say I have experienced those, but what I did experience was a magnificent spiritual experience that really changed the way I think about what it means to be sentient.

Thank you, SlowMo, for your thorough reply as always. I hope your hunger strike achieved the intended effect and ended.

 

[FoolishDog]

I'm brand new to this site, hello everyone. This is my first post.

I guess I can only speak from my own perspective and my own ideas about what the ego death is. My understanding of the ego, and the death of the ego, comes mostly from the Occult. Mysticism, Kabbalah, stuff like that.

It also happens that I've had a little bit of experience with drugs and substance abuse. My experiences with psychedelics has been pretty limited however. I've done them but never experienced the kind of spiritual experiences that some people describe. I guess you could say I have the Hunter S. Thompson school of thought regarding drugs, not that of Timothy Leary or someone like that. It's my personal belief that the vast majority of drug users are not really qualified to administer drugs. We do it recreationally, or as a vice. I'm in recovery now, I've been sober for 3 years, and personally, speaking only of myself, I don't know that there's a drug out there that's going to make me better.

Anyhow back to the ego. Now I could go on about the ego in relation to the environment and the self for a very long time but that's kind of another topic all together. Since you're asking about it I'm pretty sure you already have your own ideas about what is actually happening during an ego death. I'm trying to keep this brief. Something I feel I should mention. Many modern Occultists who have experimented with many different drugs for many different purposes find little use in psychedelics. Contrary, I know, to what the music festival crowd might say. My own feelings pretty much mirror theirs. I think theirs a big difference between an ego death and getting so high you forgot who you were.

In short, I've done a lot of drugs. I've gotten so high that I forgot who and where I was. I've experienced psychosis. I've felt pretty much every which way I think I could have but I've never had a mystical experience with drugs. I think for the most part it's not that easy. Then again, I could always be wrong. I certainly don't know everything.

 

[bov]

Thank you for your thorough reply and congratulations on your sobriety.

 

[SanJunipero1]

I had a really bad trip last time I did shrooms (my fault as I accidentally took a big dose of what I thought was a mild fungus but was actually an incredibly potent one. It was so intense and awful that I tried to CTB on the spot (not because of the shrooms, I was already planning to anyway so it just felt like why wait, do it now and end this horrible feeling knowing otherwise I'll have to wait hours in this state). I couldn't go through with it (and was at that point my second attempt) so I used the trip to try and figure out how to move forward if I can't end things. I decided that writing and comedy is what I really want to do so that I would launch myself fully into that pursuit. And that's what I'm doing now.
I still want to die and if you gave me a button to push to end my existence I would push it. But I know I can't overcome my survival instinct so I'm using my suicidality to be fearless and go after what I want.