LSD and the Breaking of the Mind – Part 3
‘The Windows to Heaven’
A strong psychedelic encounter can be a mind-shattering and life-changing affair but it is ultimately a fleeting experience. An experience that is so-far removed from normal reality that it is almost impossible to retain any clear memories and even more difficult to be able to describe it accurately. After all as Lao Tzu said – ‘The trip that can be spoken off, is not the eternal trip’.
OK, maybe he didn’t quite say that but the sentiment still rings true. In fact it was Lao Tzu and Daoism that helped me make sense of the psychedelic experience. In short the Daoist philosophy states that there is an unimaginable oneness that pervades throughout the Cosmos. This is the primordial chaos from which all existence sprang forth. It is like the moment before the Big Bang, both formless and infinite and containing the inexhaustible potential for all of creation. This unfathomable state, known as the Dao, then divided itself into the two polarities of Yin and Yang under the motive force of Taiji and the Universe as we know it comes in to being.
‘Everything in the Universe, tangible and intangible, is created from various vibrational frequencies. Zoom in close enough and every atom in its smallest part is made up of a vibration. If you look at existence in this way then it is possible to see how Yin, Yang and Taiji combine to create everything from emptiness’ Damo Mitchell
It is certainly possible to get a glimpse of this concept through the use of hallucinogens such as LSD. Every sense that we have is created through a vibration of some kind and the psychedelic experience is often one where these senses and vibrations merge together seemingly in to one. However the experience is short-lived, as it is not grounded in this earthly realm to which we must come back down (hopefully) eventually. The Daoists were keenly aware of this and whilst they didn’t have access to LSD there are certainly records that show that hallucinogenic mushrooms were part of their pharmacopeia. However the basic principle of Daoism is to return to the source of all, back to the Dao. To do this, one must transcend the opposites of Yin and Yang and reunite with the Oneness from whence we all came. To attempt this through a transient experience on a hallucinogen is ultimately futile. According to Daoist thought, only the realm of consciousness is everlasting and immortality can only be achieved when our spirit is permanently merged with the Dao. Quite a lofty goal indeed, but its philosophy seemed to align well with my own ponderings, so I inevitably was drawn towards Daoism and I began to study its off-shoot, Chinese Medicine about twenty years ago. After all it’s not practical and certainly not advisable to take LSD every day!
Chinese medical theory also has a pretty good analogical model to explain the psychedelic experience. Basically they see the body as representing the Earth and the head represents Heaven. Around the neck, between ‘Heaven’ and ‘Earth’, there a group of acupuncture points known as ‘the Windows to Heaven’. In theory, a healthy Spirit should be able to move freely between the Heavenly and Earthly realms. However this is not always the case. Some people’s windows are firmly stuck shut and these are the type of people who never experience any wonder or magic in their lives. Hallucinogens have the power to blast these windows open, forcing the Spirit from the Earthly realm into the Heavenly one. Unfortunately, due to their forceful nature and a possible lack of preparation of the Spirit, sometimes these windows don’t close again or are even completely blown to pieces. This can result in the Spirit never returning to Earth and sometimes serious mental illness. The idea of using acupuncture at these points is to ‘oil the hinges of the window’, so that they may open and close more freely and the Spirit can move between Heaven and Earth more readily.
Strong hallucinogens clearly do have the power to let one glimpse these ‘Heavenly’ realms or higher states of consciousness and it’s true that some people may well need their doors (or windows) of perception kicked open but if you can open these doors yourself, freely from the inside, then a much more lasting and realised state can hopefully be attained.