Psychedelics and unity consciousness
How a psychedelic experience of unity consciousness can change your mind for the better.
Heard the joke about the Zen monk and the hot dog vendor? If not, let me indulge you.
A Zen monk goes to a hot dog kiosk and says to the vendor “Make me one with everything”. He then gives the vendor a $10 bill. The vendor takes the money and stares blankly at the monk. Awkwardly, the monk says, “Sir, that hot dog is $4. What about my change?”. To this, the vendor breaks into a chuckle and replies, “Change must come from within”.
In Zen Buddhism, Sufism, Hinduism, and many of the other wisdom traditions, the idea of being “one with everything” encapsulates the essence of unity consciousness, a state of mind that can increase our sense of empathy and compassion for plants, animals, minerals and our fellow human beings.
Unity consciousness describes a state where a person is aware that everything in the universe is connected, that they too are connected to everything, and that everything is connected to them. It is also one of the effects of psilocybin and other psychedelics. “I am the universe, and the universe is me” was how one client described how she felt after her psilocybin therapy. “I encountered the everything and I was a part of it”, said another.
