A glimpse of Enlightenment

Some experiences are difficult to express in words and in fact all words do is convey a limited understanding of the true essence of any experience one may have had. So this is my attempt to explain an experience we had this weekend which is almost impossible to express and convey in words as to what actually happened to us.

I have been on a Spiritual path for many years now and my understanding of reality, life and Universe has been slowly but surely evolving and I am at a place where a lot of life's big mysteries have been revealed to me. This journey is infinite so it will be preposterous to claim that I know it all since there is so much to learn and it is a never ending process. In the grand scale of the Universe, I will always be a child and there will always be lessons to learn and insights to gain. 

So here is my attempt to explain a magical and mystical life changing experience that we had this weekend.

Me and my wife took our annual retreat to an island called Koh Chang. Having lived in Bangkok for many years, Koh Chang is our favorite gateway and we make it a point to visit the island almost every year. Besides the unspoiled beauty of the place, pristine beaches, jungles and friendly people, one of the reason we go there is also to experience the magic of mushrooms. 

Magic mushrooms as they are commonly called is mainly used in the modern day world for recreational purposes. But the mushrooms go way beyond that, they are a tool which connects us to the spiritual realm if used in the right way and with the right intention. Ancient civilizations have widespread documentation of mushroom use, both ritualistically and also for meditation purposes. Magic Mushrooms have played a huge role in Humanity's evolution and Terrence Mckenna even claims that ancient apes first ate the mushroom which connected them to the Earth's consciousness and taught them many things including art and culture which eventually gave birth to Human consciousness. Due to a lot of propaganda and hidden history, the significance and the role played by mushrooms is buried and lost thus not many are aware of it in today's world. There are accounts in both Indian Vedas and Western literature where Mushrooms were termed, "The Food of the Gods". Vedic literature talks about a drink called 'Soma', an elexir that gave mortals eternal life and enabled them communion with the Gods. A lot of evidence points to Soma being some kind of a mushroom drink. In fact, the Vatican also has many hidden references to mushrooms in its art and sculptors. There are many interesting articles and documentaries on it and I am sure there is some degree of truth to them. I can go on and on about the significance of mushrooms but there are many articles out there if one wants to learn more.

We first tried the mushrooms at Koh Chang in 2014, more so for recreational purposes. Having had many mushroom trips at various places, the mushrooms at Koh Chang was different. It was potent and pure. When we did it, we felt connected to the Earth. The sky, the plants, the sea and everything around spoke to us. It was visually stunning and we felt that we were a part of something much greater than ourselves. It was a healing experience every time and mostly it showed us things that were outside in a different perspective.

But this time, it was different and I will explain why. We did the mushrooms at around 10 PM at night and got back to our resort. The first hour of the trip is the most difficult one. The mushroom slowly creep in to the blood stream and the body is very uncomfortable at this point. There is anxiety and restlessness, and also a feeling of uncertainty of not knowing where it will go. Once this period is seen through, the true magic is experienced. So for the first hour, with soothing Native American flute in the background in our room, we felt the mushrooms kicking in. It is almost like a roller-coaster ride. It was after an hour and a half of having drank the mushrooms that we decided to step out of the room. The resort had a beautiful garden overlooking the vast sea and the sky. We stepped out, went and sat on one of the reclining chairs. That is when the mushroom truly kicked in and spoke to us.

Unlike previous experiences which were mainly visual trips, this time it showed us what was within. It showed us the Universe that exists within our Being and how truly magnificent it was. Words came out from my mouth and these were wise, ancient words filled with truth. My wife heard these words and immediately understood and related to it. 

The words that came out were something like this, "Right now, the mushrooms has opened up a different dimension within us. We are experiencing a different dimension from our usual sensory perceptions and all these dimensions exist and are real. Our brain receives electromagnetic waves which our senses interpret to perceive reality. Right now, our brain is tuned to a different frequency which is making us experience a different reality but it exists here and now. Reality is like a TV program, there are 100s of channels floating in the air at the same time but the picture that comes in the TV is because it is tuned to that one frequency. If you change the channel, the frequency gets changed and some other picture will form in the TV. Just like this, infinite realities exists, in different planets, galaxies and dimensions in this Universe. It is all happening within us, it is not happening separate from us. We are just tuned to this one channel on Earth right now but all other channels are also there and we are experiencing all of these channels without being aware of them. We are truly multi-dimensional Beings. Psychedelics like Mushrooms, Ayahuasca open us up to our multi-dimensional selves and enables us to explore this world. That is what the Shaman does, this is how he/she is able to explore the Universe, both the past and future as it all exists within the self." 

Having said these words, a profound insight arose. I felt the presence behind all these realities & dimensions, you can say the true reality behind all other realities. And that's when I knew it, it is the 'I AM' presence. People have named it 'Christ Consciousness/Buddha/Krishna Consciousness/The True Self etc' and many other words to describe it. For a brief moment, this consciousness sprung in us. And it was a feeling of pure unbounded bliss and peace, a complete understanding of everything, a state of existence where there were no thoughts a.k.a no mind and it felt like a primordial, ancient but very known feeling that arose in both of us. We felt this presence everywhere, in everything, it was life itself. At that moment, we both felt like very ancient Beings, having always existed, where both past and future merged into the now, where multiple dimensions all came together at that very moment and we felt true empowerment where there was absolutely no fear. Is this what Enlightenment is? 

We were dumbfounded by this experience and as the mushroom wore off, we slowly came back to our usual normal self and that feeling slowly went away but it has left a life long impression on us. The mushrooms gave us a glimpse of the true reality, the one that sages spoke of, the ultimate truth of who we really are. Suddenly we both felt truly healed and excited to live out the journey that life has already planned ahead for us. Words cannot express the feeling but this is my attempt to do so. This experience could also be a result of other factors such as Janmasthami (an auspicious day which marks Krishna's birth) along with Meteor showers that happened that night. It was a powerful night to trip on Mushrooms.

I have come to the realization that the Mushrooms gave us a glimpse of enlightenment but only for a brief moment. The sages like Buddha, Ramana Maharishi  and other enlightened masters reached there through their own inner work, devoid of any substance and once they were there, it permanently set in. The 'I Am' expressed itself in them and they were able to live in that state of pure joy, bliss and peace without any desires and complete stillness.

I feel grateful to have had this experience and the one lesson I have learned from this experience is that who we truly are is beyond anything we can imagine. The 'I AM' presence lives within all of us. It creates Universes and everything that exists and it is infinite, truly powerful and is the source of everything.