(Replying to PARENT post)
Afterwards, I couldn't work out what it was. For many years, 5 or so to be exact, I've worked backwards from there with much though, research into religion and spirituality, meditation and mindfulness. This also includes several other doses of LSD between then.
The last dose was profound and shared with my soulmate. We lay on our bed, with soothing, space-like/new age/dreamscape music in the background, this was a perfect soundtrack for the experience. The feeling of closeness was immense. Everything melted away, it was as if we had direct access to each other's minds and emotions as though there was no body to separate us. I remember crying genuine, gushing tears of joy at the overwhelming sense of love for her. I don't see anything metaphysical about it but that last experience offered insight into the realisation during my first time and is also an event I look back on positively.
From what I've worked out, I explain the realisation that we are all connected as one like this:
The universe is a beautiful, immense whole composed of vast celestial bodies and ourselves, as part of that. Everything we see on earth is the universe. What is most interestng and profound is the idea that we are a part of the universe than can observe itself in it's wonderful entirety. From this, you realise the folly of violence, wars and how our world currently works. By hurting others of allowing them to get hurt, we are hurting ourselves.
From my study of religions, I can fit this idea in quite well. This includes new thought, Buddhism and even Christianity. With Christianity in particular, seeing Jesus as someone who got this but had to explain it in terms of the framework of understanding of his day masked sense. It also shows how modern Christianity has moved far and away from this idea.
I don't really share this as it's an untestable and perhaps laughable idea but it has bed a profound spiritual journey for me that has provided a lot of inner value.
(Replying to PARENT post)
The mind races here and there, you have terrible (and wonderful) fantasies, you think about the future (personally, I love imagining giving lectures). The mind rebels, sometimes very strongly indeed and in all kinds of ways, against the act of simply observing the breath (or any other single object). Eventually, if you stick with it, something good may happen, and the experience will stick with you for a lifetime - and you can protect that experience with daily meditation.
(Replying to PARENT post)
Same way our forebearers did: drink.
(Replying to PARENT post)
I'm not discouraging psychedelics a few times in life... they do quickly break through habitual patterns of thinking exposing a deeper reality, but I wouldn't encourage their use either. I don't think they are the answer.
What I would recommend is a couple of hours in a sensory deprivation tank from time to time. I personally have gotten a lot out of these sessions and believe it to be a much more "truthful" method of self exploration. Do at least two hours in a session. At the end of hour one the mind is still letting go... at least in my experience.
(Replying to PARENT post)
(Replying to PARENT post)
1 - it's incredibly hard to produce.
2 - it's incredibly hard to ensure something is pure LSD.
Those problems are not there for psilocybe mushrooms, for which the LD50 has never been found (read: it's totally safe).
(Replying to PARENT post)
Other human beings are a subset of your environment. So you may ask "How can I improve my perception of my environment?". This is (only) 1 of the many benefits of the experience you live through when you ingest the substance LSD: Handled the right way, you can experience the most awe inspiring moment of your life, you can not just see beauty, but live it, be immersed by it and be a part of it. You're likely to ask yourself over and over "why was this hidden from me all those years?". You can literally feel your entire environment in a very positive, magic and vibrant way (hint: find yourself an isolated place in nature that you like and listen to your favorite music). And part of this feeling is very likely to stay with you, after the experience. It may be subtle, but a very subtle positive change in the way you feel and perceive your environment can change your thoughts dramatically and therefor your general behavior. You can become very positive.
This is why it's completely wrong for humanity to keep this substance illegal. This substance can lead to a whole new appreciation for our Planet, the Universe and for the human beings around us.
(Of course, "follow the money" seems to apply here as well, when I think how this molecule seems to be able to replace heavy side-effect ridden anti-depressant therapies which are of course one gigantic cash cow for the pharma industry.)
Note: It is absolutely mandatory to educate oneself about the substance as much as possible beforehand and to prepare one's experience by respecting all the rules that apply (and: there are a couple of medical conditions which make the substance very risky for you, should you suffer from one of them knowingly or unknowingly).