Hi Alessa,

My TCM acupuncturist says the same thing. Forcing muscles to relax is not the same thing as genuinely relaxing.

How do you force the muscles to relax? You mean by various devices, like a massage gun? Or perhaps by pressing certain acupuncture points, which cause the muscles to relax but the person is still holding the tension in their body (e.g. they are holding their breath)? And so it’s not true relaxation… Is that what you had in mind?

Hi Alessa,

Progressive muscle relaxation or similar techniques are seen as stressful for the body.

He’s actually a big fan of massage and self massage too.

To me it seems a bit counter-intuitive that progressive muscle relaxation is considered stressful on the body, while massage is not. I’ve just looked it up and haven’t found that PMR would be stressful on the body…? Are there some online resources where it is explained?

Hi James,

İ was doing so much drugs and that’s what one of the biggest reason for my heart surgery.

So, if i took care myself as you said, i was dead because of the clot, which was about to explode.

And the clot didn’t have anything to do with you taking drugs? I’ve just looked it up, and yes, blood clotting in e.g. cocaine users is fairly common:

Cocaine use has been linked to the formation of blood clots in the renal, pulmonary, and coronary arteries as well as in the aorta. Arterial thrombosis can lead to myocardial infarction – also known as a heart attack – even in individuals without having a build-up of plaque

As I read, cocaine can increase the risk of both arterial and deep vein thrombosis, whereas heroin is related mostly to deep vein thrombosis.

So could it be that you using drugs caused blood clotting, which caused a health emergency and you ending up in hospital? And that’s when the doctors discovered the congenital problem with your heart (as well as the hidden clot in your heart, which wouldn’t have been discovered otherwise)?

Just trying to understand what happened…

Hi James,

Drugs accumulated calcium in my vein. But, clot happened by itself and wasn’t related to anything.

Okay, so drug use caused the accumulation of calcium in your veins. I’m reading that calcium is the main component of plaque, which causes atherosclerosis (narrowing and stiffening of the blood vessels), which can lead to severe cardiovascular problems.

It also says that plaque buildup can lead to blood clots:

Plaque buildup (atherosclerosis) in arteries can directly cause blood clots, as a rupture in the plaque’s surface triggers clotting; these clots can then block blood flow, leading to heart attacks, strokes, or peripheral artery disease, making plaque a major cause of serious cardiovascular events.

So in theory it is possible that accumulation of calcium causes plaque buildup, which can lead to blood clotting. Or your doctors told you that this wasn’t the case and that your hidden blood clot was caused by something else?

But regardless, if we step back and look at what happened, it’s that your heavy drug use and buildup of calcium/plaque lead to heart surgery (İ was doing so much drugs and that’s what one of the biggest reason for my heart surgery.).

Perhaps due to your congenital condition, the surgery was a more complicated one and lead to more severe consequences (mechanical valve and a pacemaker), but nevertheless, it was still caused by your heavy drug use. Would you agree with that?

So I don’t quite understand your conclusion that drug use actually helped you, and that it’s better that you didn’t live a healthy lifestyle? (if i took care myself as you said, i was dead because of the clot, which was about to explode.)

Because this is the conclusion you’ve drawn from this whole experience, if I understood you well?

Hello Everyone:

* I am adding this after completing this long post. This is a study I did today and I thought it might be interesting for others to read and comment on, if you’d like to.

James: “Drugs accumulated calcium in my vein.”- No: Calcium buildup in arteries is real. Calcium buildup in veins is extremely rare. Veins almost never calcify. And recreational drugs — psychedelics, cocaine, heroin, MDMA, ketamine, meth, cannabis — do not cause calcium deposits.

“clot happened by itself and wasn’t related to anything.”- clots can occur independently of calcification or drugs, but if a patient has a history of drug use, a heart emergency, a clot discovered during surgery.. it would be very unusual for a doctor to confidently say: “This clot definitely had nothing to do with drugs.”

“According to doctors, if I never used drugs, the clot would explode and I would be dead.”- Doctors don’t talk like that. Doctors don’t use the word “explode” for clots. “explode” is not a medical term and doesn’t describe how clots behave. Clots don’t burst like balloons. They break loose and move. Maybe you misunderstand a doctor, or you’re retelling it in a more dramatic language

“İ was doing so much drugs and that’s what one of the biggest reason for my heart surgery”, “I did 10 gr dried ploycibin cubensis with lemon take and 5 Meo DMT with ultra high dosages)”-

A standard recreational dose of the first is 2–3.5 g (creating a strong psychedelic experience), 5 g is considered a “Heroic dose” (term by Terence McKenna), causing an extremely intense, overwhelming psychedelic experience.

10 grams dried is not a common amount. It’s not even a “high” amount. It’s 3–5 times a typical recreational dose, double a “heroic dose”, and far above anything used in clinical trials. It is considered an extreme or dangerous dose in harm‑reduction circles, an extreme outlier (far outside the normal range).

Most people would never take this much because the psychological intensity can be overwhelming, the physical effects (blood pressure, heart rate) can spike, and the risk of panic, confusion, or dangerous behavior increases: the experience can be traumatic rather than insightful.

As to the second, 5‑MeO‑DMT, “ultra high dosages” were consumed.

5‑MeO‑DMT is not like psilocybin or LSD. It has a much steeper dose‑response curve, much stronger physical effects, a much higher risk of losing consciousness and of dangerous behavior or injury. A small increase in dose can produce a massive increase in intensity. This is why harm‑reduction communities describe high doses as unpredictable and potentially dangerous.

5‑MeO‑DMT is extremely potent, and high doses can cause rapid heart rate, sharp blood pressure spikes, irregular heartbeat (arrhythmias), hyperventilation or breath‑holding, muscle rigidity or shaking, nausea or vomiting. These effects can be dangerous for anyone, but especially for people with congenital heart defects, high blood pressure, arrhythmias, and cardiovascular disease.

Other affects of this drug in high doses: panic, a total loss of body awareness, an inability to control movement, blackouts or loss of consciousness, and a complete loss of sense of self (“ego dissolution”).

About “ego dissolution”: in everyday life, you feel: “I am me.”, “I am inside my body.”, “My thoughts belong to me.”, “I am separate from the world.”

Ego dissolution is when that sense temporarily breaks down. People often describe it as feeling merged with everything, losing the boundary between “self” and “world”, thoughts happening without a sense of “I”, no distinction between observer and experience, a sense of being “pure awareness” rather than a person

It’s not the same as confusion or psychosis — it’s more like the structure of selfhood temporarily dissolves. This can feel
peaceful, overwhelming, frightening, or profound. It depends on the person and the context.

About “loss of body awareness”- Normally, you feel: where your arms and legs are, the weight of your body, your breathing, your position in space. At very high doses, people feel like having no body, floating, being disembodied, being a point of consciousness, being everywhere and nowhere, not knowing where your limbs are, not feeling physical sensations. This is because the brain regions that integrate sensory input and body awareness become disrupted or overwhelmed.

At high doses, these disruptions become so strong that the usual sense of “I exist as a body in space” collapses.

5‑MeO‑DMT is known for producing these effects more intensely than many other psychedelics.

In simple terms:

Ego dissolution = losing the sense of “I am a separate person.”

Loss of body awareness = losing the sense of having a physical body.

Both are temporary states caused by extreme disruption of normal brain networks.

Referring to the title of this thread, are these Real Spirituality experiences?

Ego dissolution (losing the sense of “I”), feeling merged with everything, etc.… are interpreted in very different ways by different people.

There are three common interpretations:

A. Spiritual interpretation- Some people describe these states as mystical, sacred, transcendent, encounters with “oneness”, and contact with something larger than themselves. This is why psychedelics have been used in spiritual and ceremonial contexts for thousands of years.

B. Psychological interpretation- Others see them as temporary changes in brain networks, a chemically induced shift in perception and awareness. No supernatural meaning — just a different mode of consciousness. Neuroscience shows that psychedelics temporarily quiet the part of the brain that creates your sense of self and keeps track of your body. When that system goes offline, you can feel like “I” has disappeared, etc.

C. Neutral or frightening interpretation- Some people find the experience overwhelming, confusing, terrifying, and disorienting. People in this category (those who initially find the experience frightening, overwhelming, or confusing) can later interpret the experience as spiritual. When someone is in the middle of a very intense psychedelic state — especially one involving ego dissolution or loss of body awareness — the immediate reaction can be: “This is too much.”, “I’m losing control.”, “I’m dying.”, “This is terrifying.” But once the experience ends and the person returns to normal consciousness, a shift can happen hours, days, or even months later: as the brain tries to make sense of intense experiences, a person may reinterpret the experience as meaningful, transformative, and spiritual.

A frightening or chaotic experience can later be reframed as a breakthrough, a confrontation with the self, a symbolic death and rebirth, a spiritual awakening.

Many people who initially have a terrifying or confusing psychedelic experience later describe it as “the most important experience of my life”, “a spiritual awakening”, “a confrontation with my ego”, “a message from the universe”, “a turning point”. So, even when the acute psychedelic effects — visuals, distortions, ego dissolution — do not continue once the substance is metabolized, the meaning of the experience can stay (Category A) or reinterpreted (Category C).

People can have the same psychedelic experience and come away with opposite conclusions: one becomes spiritual, another becomes nihilistic, another becomes anxious, and yet, another- grateful. The drug doesn’t choose the meaning — the person does.

If someone already had cracks in their worldview, psychedelics can widen them. If a person was already depressed, hopeless, distrustful, had existential anxiety.. a massive psychedelic experience can amplify those feelings instead of healing them. This can lead to a worldview like: “Nothing matters. Everything is pointless.”

Psychedelics open the door — but the person decides what the experience means.

Personally, I never did psychedelics and never will.. !

Thank you, James, for this learning experience.

Anita

Hi Tee

Well, I think one way progressive muscle relaxation can be seen as stressful is when pain is involved, People are not fond of sitting with pain and exploring it. From a TCM perspective, there are some beliefs about intention and different kinds of qi, which can be guided by intention. When someone is ill it is thought to be better not to move qi around.

A calm mind is favoured, and a calm mind calms the body. 🩵