Psychedelic Healing is Not Peeling an Onion
It's probably closer to a pomegranate!
Most of us have heard the analogy that our psychospiritual healing is like peeling an onion. We deal with layer after layer of our issues, presumably until we're sufficiently healed and happy.
I don't think this is really the best model for most of us, especially if we're using psychedelics. There are a lot of reasons for this. Here are a few:
It just isn't how the mind works.
It sets unrealistic expectations about healing and growth and can lead to frustration and disappointment.
It sets unrealistic expectations about healing and growth and can lead to grandiosity and egomania.
This just isn't how the mind works.
We aren't a simple parfait or a geologic dig site. There is nothing to suggest that our psyche is organized in neat layers, and all we have to do is dig straight down to get to the root cause of things. I'm not a neurologist, but from what I understand, our minds are better understood as a web or a net, perhaps even like a mushroom's mycelium. (I'm open to being further educated by the scientifically literate)
Sometimes, I like to refer to the mind as a holographic fractal. I understand that's new-age word salad and is probably only a useful descriptor for a small niche group of like-minded individuals.
It sets unrealistic expectations of healing and can lead to frustration and disappointment.
Here is a psychedelic story as old as time. Someone thinks that they've cleared or healed an issue. Their unworthiness and self-hatred are gone for good now. They've "Got to the bottom of it" (there's that language again) - But, wouldn't you know it, it pops up again. It's not gone at all. How can this be?
I've used the 'holographic fractal' description for some time. I try to explain that our issues don't simply reside in one part of the mind; they might be all over. And to make things more complicated, sometimes they get stuck in different parts of our bodies, too. But I haven't had a good analogy to combat the prevailing onion paradigm. Alas.
Recently, a friend of mine used the term 'grenade.' Difficult experiences blast through our system, leaving shrapnel virtually everywhere. A ceremony might support us as we pick out a shard or two, but obviously, more remain. It doesn't peel off the entire wound, leaving us healed.
I'm playing around with softening that a little with other food-based metaphors, like pomegranate. Seeds are just everywhere. I also like looking at our pain like a mycelial network, which might explain why mycelial medicine is so effective!
It's crucial for us to know we didn't do it wrong if all of our problems aren't gone immediately and that there is still more to be done.
It sets unrealistic expectations about healing and growth and can lead to grandiosity and egomania.
Sometimes, when people experience some healing or mystical experience, they mistakenly think they've crossed the finish line. We've all met folks who believe they've figured it all out. We see that it's just as crucial to recognize that our ceremonies are often the beginning of a lifetime of work, not the ultimate end of suffering.
It's a call for patience all around. It's also a call to be aware that the stories we tell about how healing happens are just that—stories. Whether we relate to ourselves as onions, grenades, or pomegranates, we can still remember that we're so much more.