Drugs Don’t Work? Try A Cosmic High…

By Séamus Anthony

You don’t need drugs to get high. Pure, substance-free bliss is waiting for you right now!

Sound like advertising copy?

Maybe, but it’s true.

The only thing is – it’s one of those you-had-to-be-there scenarios.

Language is powerful, but not enough to fully convey the fantastic life experience that is a “Cosmic High”.

There are descriptors: Nirvana, Bliss, Samadhi, universal consciousness, the mind of God, clarity, awareness, the Tao, perfection, oneness, no-mind, beginner’s mind – the list goes on but none of them suffice.

If you really want to know, you’ll have to go there yourself.

The good news? It’s not necessarily difficult … but it may take some patience.

Set Your Controls for the Heart of the Sun

The most tried and true method to make the connection is meditation. If you have never meditated, or you have and found it frustrating or un-enjoyable, take heart, this is normal. But if you want the reward you have to do the work!

You do not need to give your life (or your cheque book) over to an organisation if you do not want to. There are many methods, and beginning with an informal approach is fine. A book, a website, one class – all of these can be enough to set you off on the journey. The only requirement on your behalf is a little commitment. It may take you a few attempts, but you can make “the connection” and feel the incredible peace and blissful well-being that is on offer.

Here’s the basic formula: The intensity of your experience will be directly proportional to the effort you put in.

Sorry, instant bliss, while not impossible, isn’t a reliable goal.

The hard yards

This morning I meditated for an hour. I wanted to make the connection, so I made the time. I resolved to sit until it happened.

As usual, my mind wandered a thousand times, and I had to bring it back to awareness of the moment (focus on the breath) over and over.

I passed through several stages. There was one long period where I could not hush my mental voice from continuously telling me to stop and go get breakfast; that I had done enough for one morning. After all, Zen masters say that ‘this is it’ so why not get up and make a cup of tea?

Another stage I regularly pass through when meditating is a creative surge. I get so inspired to write or play my guitar or make plans to rule the world or whatever that I can barely stay on my cushion for excitement and the desire to get on with things. This is extremely testing, for as an artist I always want to run with the muse, but I know that this is a device of the ego to distract me into ending the meditation session before making the full connection with Tao. The ego is scared, for making the connection means surrendering, abandoning the illusion of separate-self, disempowering the ego, weakening its day-to-day hold thereafter.

I kept at it, always returning to the breath. Trusting that, eventually, I would ‘get there’. Getting there is actually returning to where we already are; waking up to where we have been all along. Strangely this often requires hard work, whereas mentally travelling to some imagined paradise is comparatively easy (but nowhere near as rewarding).

The time ticked slowly by, and I grew very impatient. I was tired of trying, frustrated with doing nothing, eager to get on with my day. But I made myself persevere, focussing on releasing the concept of effort. This is the great paradox of meditation: The work is to forget the work.

Beginner’s headspace

Eventually my mind grew comparatively still, and out of the stillness appeared a dream-image of a child’s face, smiling and full of wonder.

‘It’s easy! Can’t you see?’ the child said.

And then I got it. I mentally looked out at the world through the eyes of a child, as if everything was new. Pure, unadulterated bliss was mine – the Cosmic High. It had been there all along, it was just that I needed to let go of all my clouded adult preconceptions and just see ‘what is’.

Then, call me a tripper, but I had a second pleasant dream vision. I would like to present it to you now as an analogy for spiritually inspired personal growth, and also as a guided meditation that you might like to use. If you have never meditated before, just sit or lie down comfortably with a reasonably straight back during a quiet time. Gently focus on your breathing.

Climbing the tree

You are standing at the foot of the tallest pine tree in the forest. You can’t see very far because the forest is thick and the sun can’t get through. There are animals everywhere, bouncing around, chattering; lots of noise and activity. As you start to climb, you notice that the branches of the tree are also busy; home to many more animals and birds, all getting on with their day.

Climbing the tree is not intrinsically difficult. It requires focus and determination, but all you have to do is keep climbing one branch at a time. As you get higher up the tree, there are fewer animals, and consequently less noise and activity (the animals represent thoughts).

Eventually you are near the top, and as you scale the last few branches you see that this tree is indeed the tallest in forest. Perched on the uppermost branch, you now see the wonderful view – the forest stretching for miles, the mountains in the distance, and above you, much higher even than the tallest tree in the forest, eagles soaring on the breeze. Onto all of this shines the sun; the air is crisp and fresh, and you truly feel that you are free.

You can now see where you have been all along.

This article barely scratches the surface of the topic of getting high by using meditation, so if you would like to learn more about how to achieve a mind blowing Cosmic High without using drugs then visit PsychedelicMeditation.com for an amazing eBook I wrote on the subject. Peace out trippers.