drug-like effects during meditation

[Unbound]

Having played around with psychedelics I can say two things - one, it is a profound experience and, like a dream, can be used to gain much wisdom and connection with yourself and two - it is absolutely unnecessary, and it takes extra balancing sometimes in order to accomodate with the "stretched" portions of consciousness.

That being said, in my personal experience, the states I experience through meditation are not of the same type as the dreamscapes of psychedelics. The primary difference being that in meditation it is obviously much more within the bounds of what is really accessible for me, whereas psychedelics can sometimes open doors that you are not ready to walk through.

However, on the other hand, my psychedelic experiences were a major source of ego death for me, and while I say they are unnecessary, I cannot deny the role they have played in my own awakening, even if it was just a matter of verification or expansion. That being said, I haven't used any psychedelics in awhile, and I am very conscientious of the act at this point as I have much respect for the capacities, and a lot of my time spent after psychedelics was based around grounding a lot of the expansions I experienced.

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Ultimately, I think it comes down to the individual. Some people work incredibly well with psychedelics and it's more like coming home than shifting away from reality. It all comes down to how you use it and the intention you hold while engaging.