What is ego death?

to say the same thing differently...
i think theres confusion about what ego death is or should be because of the words that are used to describe it. ego death is simply the "death" or dissolution of a barrier, but you could call it ego expansion and be speaking to the same expirience imo. it is an ego expansion if ego is synonomis with identity or that which ones conciousness envelops. the ego death expirience imo is when the barrier between self and other is expanded to the edge of infinity. self no longer is confined by ones skin but radiates outwards and encompasses all. its a holographic reality expirience where the whole is encoded in every part. there is no distictions to be made between whole and part. we can expirience ourselfs as physical bodies moving through space, or we can expirience ourselves as a continuous blur of interference patterns enfolding throughout the cosmos. both are equally real and unreal imo. when im observing the ocean, is wave somthing im supposed to differentiate from water?

ego cannot die, only enfold and unfold.

 

Definite confusion over the word ego.

The ego death we are talking about is not enlightenment because for one, we come out of that state, and two, you are in a state of constant delusion if enlightenment is final ego death.

Enlightenment is balance and is fed by the forces of eternal energy and love. There is no love you give without a distinct vessel in which you give it from.

So now we know your idea of ego death is not ours or you are the one ignorant of what balance is.

The ego that is left unsatisfied by its own failure or success is shed as it is the source of personal suffering. Suffering is the real illusion not our bodies and the love we give.

Perhaps what you speak of is Moksha, if we are to reach the full dissolution of self then are we living? Only in the state of realization that we are more than the thoughts and body then can we consciously escape death and then rebirth.

 

This argument is deliciously entirely useless to each and every one of us.

Enlightenment is what? A destination. There is never a destination, especially in our minds.
Although we ARE one with the absolute we don't consciously transcend to such a level outside of meditation, psychedelia, or physical death.

 

If my words seem paradoxical, it's because they are. Reality is beyond logic and reason. That's the source of Zen koans.

It is quite possible for soul to realize it's the absolute, and distance its sense of existence from this dream-world. The idea of the body continues until disembodiment, but by that point what was embodied knows itself to be everything, regardless of whether other beings know it or not. Like I said, in a dream, the dreamer is differentiated, but in reality, no such differentiation exists. Same thing, in reality there isn't even an ego to kill or not kill.

hehe, anyhow, no sense in continuing on. All the best in everyone's journey, with or without psychedelics

 

I think i experienced ego death toward the end of my salvia trip but im not sure, i felt like i wasnt me and i was watching myself, it sort of felt like nothing mattered and everything was pointless, but im not sure if that was ego death..

 

there is a big difference between dissociation and ego death. salvia, dxm, and ketamine do not produce ego death, they produce dissociation.

 

According to wikipedia ego death can be experienced via salvia and dxm, and if wiki is not right I don't know what is.

 

its when everything within your visual perception morphes into a billion little tiny "yourself/you'', and a giant mega voice combined with the colliding mass of a trillion stars yells within you and says "what are you gonna do with your life?".... and if youre cool your like "whoa, blissful man".. if youre not cool you run smack into a tree.. :coffee:

 

Ego what?

What ego???

Pfft, fuck Sigmund Freud, that Oedipus complex Mo'Fo'...:smilielol5:

ZW :coffee:

 

I wanted to give my opinion on this, but then remembered I've never done more than 2 tabs of acid and 2 grams of shrooms.

So I shall merely observe.

 

I know, whoever wrote that didn't do a lot of research. Anybody who has done gabaminergic dissociatives and serotonergic psychedelics will tell you there is a huge difference between what they do. This thread is about what serotonergic psychedelics can do, ego reduction.

dissociation is when you still have a "you", its just not connected to any other thing anymore. ego death is pretty much the opposite; either there is no "you", or everything is "you". it becomes superfluous, the you/not you dichotomy of your mind. i use the deepest depths of ketamine dissociation to deal with my personal issues directly and consciously, whereas in the depths of psychedelics there is no choice in what will be, because there is no longer a locus of will.

 

Ego death can be experienced from the initialization of anything from salvia to having stomach cramps to waking up before you are supposed to.
Not only is it not contained to only one class of drugs, it isn't even a drug exclusive phenomenon. The ego, or your sense of self, is self awareness in relation to everything that is not you. The brain, and subsequently, the mind, are very organic structures and thus are subject to all the twitches and flashes and surprises that organic substances come with. We don't work perfectly, it flashes on and off, what could it mean, probably nothing.

 

its nothing dude.I dont even know what that is. Ego death??? If thats some spiritual mumbo jumbo shit then its just nothing. Maybe a different thought running through the mind but besides that nothing?


I cant say much compared to the heavy weights that already answered the question. Ego death? Is that supposed to be a pleasent expereince?I dont understand the concept of that. lol

 

I guess it's both pleasant and unpleasant. If your ego dies, then there is no-one in your mind to care about you, you lose all emotions and everything your ego feels.

 

Take a high dose of mushrooms and you'll see what ego death is. It's when there is no longer a difference between what is "you" and what is "not you". The dividing line is blurred, broken or erased completely. It can be pleasant or unpleasant, this comes down to set and setting. The sensation can be very similar to that of literally dying, so it can be quite disturbing the first time(s).

It's not mumbo jumbo, this is a well documented effect of psychedelics in medical science.

 

With all due respect Mr.Writer, it is not only mumbo-jumbo but it is bullshit.
Medical science documents no such thing. Further more, no-one knows what it feels like to literally die except the dead, and they ain't talkin'!

Examining the effects of psychedelics from the modality of clinical psychology (Pseudo-science really) is creatively limiting IMHO.
People need to realize they are free to interpret their own trips and indeed their own minds revaluations in whatever way their creativity leads them. Consensus is not the goal here.

I am so grateful my first trip no-one filled my head with limiting ideas of what it would be like. They (older dudes) gave me the dose and said
"have fun!" and "you might not want to go home to your parents house until you come down" That is all.
They left me my own trip to discover. I was 12 yrs old. I tripped all day by myself outdoors, summertime...It was fantastic.

The only part of your supposed "ego" that needs to "die" is the bad part. We must figure out how to get rid of the bad parts while retaining the good parts.
Sometimes telling the good from the bad is the real challenge. Tripping gives no advantage here. These things must be realized while completely sober to have any lasting effect.

I don't care how big a dose of mushrooms you take, your "ego" will still be there when you come down. You may however acquire a new perspective on how to "groom your ego" so to speak.. or not.
Sometimes tripping can just be fun. A feeling of no desire, or I should say, all desires satiated...temporarily. When I come down I always still want a cigarette...


Ok I'm done... Just sayin'... lighten up, you're scaring the kids for fucksake...

ZW

 

I didn't mean the ego doesn't come back . I meant for the duration of the pharmacological effects of certain substances, there will be a marked change in the scope of that which one would call "I". This effect is tied to the metabolism of active compounds in your body. I know death has a permanent connotation but the term ego death does not imply this permanence, and the phenomena of feeling very much like you are "dying", even though you couldn't know what this feels like, is pretty common with psychedelics.

Upon sobriety there will hopefully be much to think about with regards to what exactly constitutes the user's "I", and some life changes might follow.

 

No matter the interpretation of the experience, it most commonly tends to be a time when one will re-evaluate themselves and all they identified with, perhaps even learn to give up evaluation all together. I realized the potential for a trip to bring me to a point where all that seemingly faded was of no relation to my conscious experience of life, but instead I naturally found the ability to realize what was actually important. I also learned I can act silly at time without fear of repercussions.

 

It is neither pleasant or unpleasant because there is no "you" to decide what pleasant or unpleasant is.

 

I suppose their is always retrospect. I've never had this 'ego death' but a lot of the things I enjoy most about having a good hard trip are not remotely pleasant at the time.