How To Use Psychedelics For Personal Development
By Leo Gura - August 8, 2016 | 22 Comments
Key guidelines for using psychedelics safely for personal growth.
Adrian says: I was surprised that you don’t consider THC a psychedelic. Do you believe it cannot be used effectively for enlightenment work?
Ethan says: THC is not a psychedelic. It can certainly be both beneficial and used for enlightenment work, but it’s a different class of drug.
Ronney says: Focus
Craig says: Thanks!
Unfolder says: Leo, what do you think about Salvia?
Leo Gura says: I haven’t tried it yet. It definitely has potential, but it can also be pretty intense for many people. I don’t like the fact that it robs you of motor functions, which can be dangerous.
My guess is, there are better alternatives.
Unfolder says: Well, in my humble opinion, there is no alternative for Salvia Divinorum. It owns a whole category to itself. Where LSD, Mushrooms, Mescaline and DMT have somewhat comparable effects, Salvia is totally different and the absolute weirdest thing I have ever experienced. It’s like Neo waking up from the matrix, seeing the truth that lies beyond this dream called life. This doesn’t mean I think it’s a very useful tool for selfrealisation, but I was just curious if you have experienced it and what your thoughts on it were. Thanks Leo, appreciated!!
G says: Once again, this comes at the perfect time as I prepare for incorporating psychedelics in to my ongoing practice and inner work. I’m interested if you have any tips on setting intentions for a sitting. I’m wanting a balance of “surrender to what I need” however realise that is very ego-based and am aware of that very illusion (ie there is no “I” to need an experience). Thanks.
Jane Love says: I am absolutely horrified that you are recommending that people (you know not who) take psychedelic drugs. This can only (mostly) lead to life-long suffering. You have revealed yourself as being on the worst possible path encouraging others also to take the worst possible path. I cannot believe that you are speaking the words you are speaking.
Sevi says: Hi Jane,
Every of us are in a different state or level in our evolutionary journey. Wouldn’t it be nicer to give a little more credit to a person who has already proven himself? Since he is doing his best to serve and help people through his knowledge and personal life experience.
Leo Gura says: You’re horrified because you haven’t researched this subject much at all, and have no first-hand experiences.
So your reaction is ideological.
If you do the research, you will discover the many clinically proven benefits of psychedelics that you were never taught in school. School was an indoctrination program against psychedelics, which is totally unscientific and false. It’s actually a crime against your humanity. Because these substances were used in many spiritual traditions around the world for thousands of years.
So bottom line: open your mind and do the research. If you do, you’ll discover something absolutely amazing that’s been missing from your life. Then you’ll come back here one day tell me, “Leo! I found God!!! I found infinite love!!!” And I’ll be like, “What took you so long, silly?”
Laszlo Leka says: It’s worth reading the book Island by A. Huxley. In this book Huxley creates a utopian society on a secluded island where, amongst many currently socially unacceptable things, the usage of mushrooms for revealing what’s hidden from (or more like by) the mind is the norm. Although I haven’t tried it yet, I am positive it is not harmful if used carefully.
Nunzia says: Salvia! Hey , wait that shit is grown in my flower garden. I love that plant. I didn’t know it was smokable.
kidding..
Its an awesome video. Great insight Leo. Your resources and teachable suggestions are profound. It’s the gift that keeps on giving. I do admire how you went into great detail explaining to be cautious and study anything throughly before taking any substance that alters the minds perception. So job well done.
Your mind must be equipped, grounded and strong. You cleared up a lot of stuff up for me. Thanks.
Jake says: Hey Leo, forgive my for my naiveness about this topic, but i suppose i would be fooling myself if i wasn’t in the slightest bit skeptical.
Upon beginning my study into enlightenment, i have heard many stories from indian gurus and holy men about these naturally hallucinatory experiences that come from higher states of consciousness (not drug induced), and becoming a near vegetable and put into mental institutions, labelled as schizophrenics. It is probably an egoic fear, but are these stories true? and if so shouldn’t i be concerned about devoting all my time to end up disconnected from reality and living in a mental institution? From my current perspective, it doesn’t seem too inviting to put so much work into something that could possibly lead to bad things? After all we cant really know what enlightenment is like until we are there? i understand how ridiculous this comment may sound but just thought id cover all bases before deciding that this is the right path for me. Maybe you can shed some light on this fear of diving into the unknown?
Would love to hear from you!
Hi Jake, (since you may have been overlooked)
If one pays close attention to what the instructor suggests, the student would realize that a tremendous amount of investigation, study, preparation and comprehension is to-do, all necessary to ensure a positive result. So if the,,, lets say curriculum is designed such that only those students that really get it, as well or nearly as well, as the conceiver himself understands it, well there’s a good chance then that the aspirant may have a result approaching that or even exceeding that of the instructor himself. So the further along you proceed the more of it will become useful to you. And if you want to avoid the loony-bin (incidentally they once nabbed me for a stretch, bion) postpone stuff way at the end of the process such as experimenting with LSD, until such time as most all else is mastered or understood.
At that point all you need is a person who has taken their own advice and survived to tell about it, and presumably that is in fact the situation we have here. And from where I’m looking this is as for real as whether a bear poops in the woods. However…the skeptic….
On the other hand (if you know me by now you may wish to stop reading here for all we know the guy moved to Nevada due to the ease with which one can locate, kidnap and experiment on unsuspecting working girls and boys (better include both out of respect for the PC or gender police) who are even now being dosed with a variety of molecules and one species of toad while restrained, questioned, examined and more-often gagged and kept in a deep pit that used to be a water well, now with an ordinary abode securely and unsuspectingly atop it.
haha I make myself laugh sometimes. Hope y’all had a laugh too. Luv ya LG.
So, what was the question anyway? Oh, Jake no one should tell you whether or when Enlightenment is the right path for you, especially Enlightenment, since it is incomparable and by a large margin the most prized thing in all of creation. Enlightenment is such a big deal in fact that, we had to create an imaginary entity who is said to despise it– the Devil– b/c no real being could ever pass it up.
Talk about tempting!
Signed: He who can’t even score pot in all of New England (and it’s legal!)
Purusha says: Hi there Leo, I enjoy a lot of the words coming out of you mouth. Thanks Brother! Been experimenting with some inner travelling in the Float tank during the last 30 years. Ever tried psychedelics in the isolation chamber? Nothing to distract you in there you know,,,,,,,,,
neil byrne says: instead of watching the news ya should watch teletubies and pokemon all week before ya do some lsd, id love to meet picachu ina trip
Steven says: Thank you for the detailed evaluation of this topic. My 50 years of experience verifies the accuracy of your words. This is the informative instructional knowledge that has been missing since the 60’s when the kids first got into the medicine cabinet without the “doctors” consent.
awhatever says: Very good. Only thing that came up for me (besides having no idea how to acquire this stuff and left to my own its been hopeless as I am in fact entirely alone in the world):
Ok so you do all the study and checks and then sit and ingest and wait and wait and sure enough things of interest are happening but you make a good guess after the appropriate time (lets say after 45 min) and realize you for your body and situation it just was not enough. So besides trying again next week, what about taking a supplemental dose, is it unheard of. What to do, what to do.
Obviously it depends among other things on what the shabu is exactly, so lets pick one if you like as an example, say al-lad and you realize you need more to get deep enough, ever experimented as such?
I can imagine a first time psyconaut enlightened (little-e enlightened, who for instance can easily tell an Enlightened teacher from a wannabe) individual would realize more product is required.
Is there any discussion of this nature in other videos?
Tu
Erik says: Hi Leo and thank you for this video
Ive had one session with rather low dose of psilocybe semilanceata or liberty caps. This gave me quite a valuable lesson with some rather interessting insights
This offcourse makes me want to explore this further and use it in my development but unsure of the frequency that would be most beneficial.
What Is in your experience a minimum spacing of sessions? Im thinking once a month as a maximum. Open for comments from anyone
Best of luck on your path to everyone
ary says: “elves, and goblins, and Jesus…..!” I just can see it as an illustration in a ladybird book called this is not what enlightenment looks like – I just can’t stop laughing.
Max Gron says: Magic mushrooms are certainly a drug that boosts your consciousness and Leo talks of precautions you can use before taking psychedelics. It’s to do the personal development work, as the previous video I watched of magic mushrooms talks of using them not for recreational purposes. This stuff is of those hippies who take their trippy colourful, fantastical ways of life seriously, as hippies aren’t in line with reality and as Leo says aren’t good results makers. I can’t say what I’ve done to transform my life, but I can say I’m more focused, more contemplative and have a piece of Leo’s psychology which has changed my beliefs gradually, I don’t believe we’re in a simulation, and I find this hard, and I don’t believe we’re atoms/molecules, yet still I’m tied into success. What Leo’s prescribing is dangerous, I get an easier way to enjoy life through Epicureanism but Leo’s simplicity is extremely complicated and well worth the trouble to watch the same videos again and to not have any distractions. What I think of this is that I’m conscious, I’m well aware of what’s going on, even that life’s a dream, it’s so.