You’ve probably heard of (or experienced yourself) lucid dreaming, out-of-body experiences, psychedelic journeys, or even wild things like astral travel or telepathy. These explorations are fun, intoxicating, and super sexy, right?
However, because these things are often experienced in meditation or other activities that appear to be “spiritual,” we can mistake them as part of spiritual practice. Thing is, they are often more about consciousness exploration than spiritual practice, and we need to know the difference.
Psychic powers and skills and mystical experiences can all give us profound insights into the potential of our minds and bodies, but they can also distract us from the more mundane parts of our spiritual practice that actually help us transform how we show up in and experience the world.
We’ve got to ask: Is our intention in pursuing them for spiritual practice or for fun/exploration?
Both are legit, but they’re different, and if we can’t tell the difference, we can get into trouble. It’s also important to be very intentional about what we are using our time for in our explorations.
I like to joke that a psychedelic trip or sudden mystical vision is like borrowing the universe’s glasses for a minute – we can see with amazing clarity, but once we hand the glasses back, we’re still ourselves, with all our usual habits waiting patiently for us at home and – let’s face it – old beliefs.
Many of my spiritual teachers have advised me to be cautious about being seduced by these psychic powers and mystical experiences. We can get hooked by these moments and not want to put the energy into the more “normal” things like walking meditation or being with our hard feelings or thought work and self-coaching.
So these flashes of insight we have, or these profoundly mind-blowing experiences of out-of-body experiences etc. might be real and profound, but the real (and often hard) work is weaving that insight into our daily life.
Enlightenment isn’t measured by the peak experiences we have; but it’s measured by how we show up afterward, day after day, for our people and the more-than-human world.
I studied dream yoga with Andrew Holecek, and he said that when these practices are done with the right intention and guidance, they can be an avenue for spiritual practice. However, people are often more interested in the entertainment they bring. He also noticed that these powerful experiences tend to attract those who often aren’t ready for the potential consequences;)
In other words, if we chase these highs carelessly, we can end up more confused (or ego-driven) than we started.
So, are these mystical experiences tools on the path, or distractions from it? As with other things, the answer is they can be both.
Many spiritual traditions acknowledge that altered states can occur on the path. In Buddhism, for example, deep meditation can lead to all sorts of extraordinary phenomena called siddhis, like the ability to be in two places at once, out of body experiences, telepathy… AND Buddhist teachings are clear that while entertaining, they have nothing to do with enlightenment or freedom from suffering 😉
They’re cool side effects, not the goal itself.
So Buddhism has always been wary of this exact thing, recognizing that it’s almost impossible to exercise these kind of powers without ego.
There’s also other dangers beyond distraction. One thing I see is that people will enter into circles that really are intended for conscious exploration, but they come into it wanting to heal trauma or for spiritual gains. These are often not the best containers for that.
I’ve seen many people destabilized from these experiences – and not just ones that use substances. It can take weeks, months, or even years to stabilize them again, and some don’t at all. So this is a real risk of pushing the edges of conscious exploration.
And just to be clear, let’s talk about the difference between conscious exploration and spiritual growth:
Spiritual growth is about transformation. It’s about becoming more awake in how you live your life. It often looks like growing in compassion, patience, wisdom, equanimity, love, kindness. It’s the day-by-day stuff. It might even be hard to notice from the outside. It also tends to be humbling vs ego-inflating, right? It often involves facing our shadows, and other really hard things.
Consciousness exploration, on the other hand, is more about experience and discovery – pushing the boundaries of what consciousness can do or perceive. It’s about visiting the outer (or inner) reaches of the mind: altered states, astral travel, intense mystical visions, psychic phenomena, etc. It’s like being an explorer of a vast inner cosmos.
The key difference between the two is intent and outcome. If we’re pursuing consciousness exploration for its own sake, we might rack up a lot of wild stories and esoteric knowledge, but that doesn’t automatically make us a kinder or wiser human being.
True spiritual growth changes our relationship to all the ordinary stuff of life. We come back down from the mountain (or out of the psychedelic journey) and we integrate what we learned in how we speak to others and ourselves, how we handle stress at work, how we cope with pain or disappointment or shame…
Now, I don’t want to sound like I’m totally down on mystical experiences or psychedelics. They can be profoundly valuable if used skillfully. And many people (including me) try psychedelics or a mystical technique, touch a state of unity or deep self-love, and then say, “Wow, I want more of that in my sober life – how do I get there without needing these?”
In this way, mystical experiences can be like a sneak peek that inspires us to walk the longer road of practice (and it’s long, y’all).
In teachings, we’re reminded over and over that enlightenment requires a radical shift in our being, not just a brief insight. And that shift usually involves a shitton of patience, ethical living, and repeated practice.
So where does all this leave us?
It leaves us with a balanced, nuanced view. Nothing is black and white, and there is no right or wrong… as usual 😉
Mystical practices can open doors to realms of consciousness and give us inspiration.
AND walking through that door and actually changing – that’s up to us, and usually it’s the result of steady practice, not one-time flashes.
Mystical experiences are not the measure of spiritual maturity; how we live is.
It’s totally okay (and awesome!) to enjoy a beautiful mystical experience or have new skills with our psyche. We just need to remember to let it humble us and teach us, instead of getting hooked by it so we chase it for the next sexy experience… the next mystical high.
You will learn:
// The difference between conscious exploration and spiritual growth
// How conscious exploration can distract us from our spiritual growth
// Why (and how) we should approach altered states with caution
// What Buddhism says about the dangers and potential of mystical experiences like telepathy, astral travel, and dream yoga
Resources:
// Episode 97: Psychedelic and Spiritual Practice
// Episode 153: Psychedelic Exceptionalism
// Episode 227: Plant Medicine and the Spiritual Path – A Conversation with Spring Washam
// If you’re new to the squad, grab the Rebel Buddhist Toolkit I created at RebelBuddhist.com. It has all you need to start creating a life of more freedom, adventure, and purpose. You’ll also get access to the Rebel Buddhist private group, and tune in every Wednesday as I go live with new inspiration and topics.
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