From Captive to Observer

Dear Friends,

I recently watched the documentary In Waves and War, about three former Navy SEALs who use psychedelic-assisted therapy, specifically ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT, to help heal.

It’s a beautiful telling of the journeys of these three men as they work to heal their past and open their hearts more deeply.

At the end of the movie, there is a quote from one of the vets that really hit me. He shared the shift that happened after the psychedelics:

“If I go into a dark place now instead of being in it as a captive, I’m in it as an observer.”

The Shift

The experience, we could say, is less painful because the sense of “me” has lessoned; there is a shift from “this is happening to me,” to “this is happening.”

The experience is teaching us instead of defining us, we could say. And to get the teaching, a shift needs to happen.

Rick Doblin, Founder of MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies), put it this way based on their research using MDMA for healing:

“MDMA doesn’t give you new information. It allows you to look at information you already have without fear.”

Many Experiences, One Lesson

Now, not all of us (or a very few of us) are going to take psychedelics (and there are dangers in them as well) but the lesson, as I see it, is the same.

Are we lost in the mind, or are we observing the mind?

Do we believe we are our thoughts, or can we also sense the dimension of awareness in which they arise?

The observer rests in awareness—in clear seeing. The captive is busy trying to ensure that X happens and Y does not. One welcomes experience; the other resists it.

Now, this is WAY easier to say than to do. The habit of the mind is to identify, to cling, to turn life into problems.

And yet, the shift from IDENTIFICATION to OBSERVATION is always available.

We just need to remember.

Blessings,

SOREN

UPCOMING EVENTS: Intentions + special event with Gabor Maté and Jack Kornfield

DECEMBER 23rd. Lessons and Intentions: Starts December 23rd at 9am PST. Join us to explorer lessons from 2025, and intentions going into 2026.

JANUARY 6th. With Gabor Maté, Jack Kornfield, and Cecily Mak. Join us for a free event on Living Undimmed, as part of Cecily’s virtual book launch for Undimmed. Please join us.