Posted by Boudicca (11/21/13 04:54 PM)

It sounds like we have very similar thoughts. My apologies if I insinuated anything about what you do/don't believe. I am a firm agnostic and about the only thing I am sure about is that I know absolutely nothing for certain lol. Atheist, theist or anything in between; it's all legit if that's how you feel. I'm really glad you had such a good experience and I hope you have many more positive journeys down the road.

Posted by David73 (11/20/13 02:16 PM)

Thanks for the replies and compliments, I appreciate them.

I bought the truffles in a smartshop in The Netherlands and they're products that are available from several online sources, so I guess the chances that they're laced with something chemical are small. I can't explain the difference between my last and my first two experience though.

Thanks for the toughts on my skepicism. I agree with what you say on my perception, and how there is no way in knowing if there is something, or maybe not. I'm a sceptic, but I'm not an atheist. I think that the firm claim of atheists that there isn't 'something' are unjustified too. It seems unlikely to me, but there's no way of knowing this, in my opinion. Who knows, maybe I tapped into something bigger than I comprehend. I don't think so, but I wouldn't want to pretend I know this for a fact..

But the fact that I tend to think this was just my brain being temporarily rewired doesn't make the experience less meaningful for me. It's like a beautiful sunset. It could be described by the physical properties of light, how pollution contributes to it, how my brain processes visual stimuli. But that is not how I experience it, revelling in it's beauty, or becoming sad because it reminds me of someone who isn't with me, or delight me because I'm looking at it in the arms of someone, or, etc. And at the end, that's what really matters to me.

I look at my trip that way, I don't need the spiritual dimension to fully experience the wonder of it all, or benefit from the insights it gave me. Yes, the fact that we are here is beyond miraculous and I feel the fact that it is or might be explainable doesn't subtract to that.

Posted by Boudicca (11/19/13 06:34 PM)

Thanks for your report, it was very well written. I do want to ask; you purchased these shrooms as opposed to growing them yourself, correct? I ask because if you buy them from an unreliable source, there is always the possibility that it might be laced with a chemical substance. That being said, I understand why you would want to experience this given your opinion that our consciousness is one and the same as our brain; that it cannot be separated. I completely appreciate your skepticism, but ask you to bear in mind that all you have experienced thus far in your life is based on your perception of what is real and what is not. Sure, it may be drugs altering your brain, but it might be more than that as well. Your perception was altered due to your altered brain state, but who is to say that is not "reality" as well and that you have conditioned yourself to shut everything else out? Also, whilst there is no evidence that consciousness can exist outside our physical brain, I think that the very fact that you are here now in this life/reality is beyond miraculous. So maybe there is something and maybe not. Keep exploring and listen to what your heart tells you.

Posted by Cosmic VOC (11/19/13 06:27 PM)

Wow great read man! Thanks for sharing this. Sounds as though you had a profound and great experience. Very well written too!