I had a "peak experience" last year at the end of march... Before I tell the story, I wanted to tell you that before this happened, I did not believe in spirituality, it is/was just my nature as a scientist. Show me facts and I believe you... It was a saturday evening. I was in London for my 6th and last month of internship. I was sitting at home, thinking about going out, it is indeed my last week here, so better do something fun! I read about this party called Whil-y-gig. According to the reviews: "A crazy place". A party that has been going for 32 years, every month. I didn't think much about it and just went. The queue was huge ,waited for 1.5 hours in line, in the cold. Luckily, I met some nice people standing there, they all seemed so cool and chill. Funnily, the guy I first talked to was a dealer. He was at the party with a bunch of friends. Its like church they said. They do that every other month. This guy also told me that everyone at the party is going to be on some kind of drug, mostly MDMA. And if I needed any, I should come to him :) At that moment, I was very again drugs. They are bad etc. but I was curious! I went in, passed security, wanted to pay for my entrance and noticed a sign saying "kids under 12 years enter for free". And I was like WTF. Then I noticed that there are families entering the venue. Gandpas with their daughters and their grand children (about 14-16 years old). Then I entered the place. As if you are beamed out of your reality and into another place. Colorful, magnificent place...
I got rid of my coat and started talked to the people there. Very nice and open people. After 1.5 hours, I knew that if I ever try anything, it is going to be here. So I did, I had my first dose of MDMA at a goa kind of party in the heart of london. And I can tell you, it was the most intense and spiritual experience in my life. I was euphoric, danced like I was in sync with every single beat in the nice music. I talked to people about my deepest fears. Meditated in a triangle with a swiss neuroscientist and a gay topless meditation guru named marcel... It was fascinating. I never felt this warm, connected and free as in that night. It is a beautiful feeling! Since then, I know how good I can feel, and there is something so beautiful that my brain is capable of doing. Even though I know it was a chemical compound inducing something in my brain, it is spiritual for me :) At the end of the party, 5:30am, everyone heads to the dancing area (most were chilling in the bed and coutch area by that time) and sits on the floor. The music changes to a very mellow one. Then, a huge white parachute is dropped on everyone. And people start waving it above the crowd. Then colorful balloons drop down and everyone start to be sucked into this magical moment. Next, people started lighting up joints, big and small, taking a few hits and then passing them into the round. I have never felt so in peace with myself before. And I wish you all to have this feeling one day :)
If nothing else, psychotropic drugs serve as a great reminder that the way we perceive reality is simply the way we perceive it. When a chemical can change so drastically the way which we experience the world, that is proof that our version of reality is one version among many possibilities (none of which I'm arguing are "right" or "wrong"). We hear sounds in a very distinct bandwidth. We see light in a very distinct bandwidth. We taste and smell only that which we can taste and smell. And it is all mixed together in a specific way that allows us to discern what is important and what isn't. There's a lot more going on in the universe than any of us can ever know. It's difficult to understand this (in a visceral way, even if we recognize it intellectually) until you've experience the world in an altered state of mind. For that reason, I think many more people should try LSD or mushrooms, or whatever else might do it (never tried MDMA, but seems like that has some similar effects).
But that was long ago, in a province far away.It's difficult to understand this (in a visceral way, even if we recognize it intellectually) until you've experience the world in an altered state of mind.
So true. To be honest, I dived into some university biology courses as a direct result of intense observation of tidal pool life forms during an drug-induced, altered-reality event.
Cumol, that's a great description. When I first sketched out my blog, I had a line that describing spiritual experiences was like trying to describe an acid trip. Your line:
Your story reminded me of a time when I felt close to it all. It reminds me also of a piece written by wrenauld about his experiences at Burning Man.I never felt this warm, connected and free as in that night.
struck me. Drugs help people blur their margins and feel more connected.