Don't Feed the Goliath

Sometimes a single experience with psychedelics is enough to eradicate even the most deeply entrenched habit. 

Sometimes. 

Most of the time, however, the habit comes creeping back. 

When the habit returns, a common reaction is to fall into a spiral over how weak we must be to fall into the same bad habit again. 

We might feel as if we failed the medicine by allowing its work to come undone. 

Often, we end up concluding that if the habit is so strong to have survived the attempted psychedelic eradication, then it must be well outside of our capacity within ordinary waking consciousness to work on it. 

A feeling of helplessness might set in and we soon begin planning out our next psychedelic experience to attempt to again tamp down the habit. 

And the cycle continues.

Eventually, a sort of mythology arises around our persisting habit. The mythology includes stories such as,

• I am genetically predisposed to suffering this habit

• This habit is the direct result of, or only way to cope with utterly unalterable life circumstances

• This habit must be intrinsically tied to my identity and being on a deeper level

• I am uniquely incapable of breaking this habit

And like that, a Goliath is born.

This Goliath was nurtured by our neglecting the essential practice of Psychedelic Integration. 

The truth is that Psychedelics, while certainly magical, are not a magical cure for our problems. Psychedelics help to highlight our problems by granting us a broader perspective within a richer context of our higher values. The changes that are necessary to bring our lives and behavior into alignment with those new perspectives do not occur passively. 

This is why we need integration.

Ignoring integration not only devalues the psychedelic experience, but it also feeds the Goliath.

Unfortunately, the importance of integration has not gained very much attention in the prevailing culture around psychedelics. 

It's also not considered a very straightforward endeavor, in fact there’s quite a bit of mystique around it!

These facts have raised the energy barrier to getting started with integration.

But there are people out there (such as yours truly) who have expertise in guiding us through the process, or teaching us some techniques to simplify our own solo efforts. 

Check out my podcast Episode 10 to hear more about integration and be sure to join my e-mail list to get in on the goods!

📸PC: Logan Weaver from Unsplash