🌀🐇 #144 lucid dreaming, non duality, sacred wounds

Plus Consolations From The Forest  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ​ ​ ​ ⚡️ Enlightening Bolts ☯️ A Non-Definitive Guide to Non-Duality: A primer on unsplintering your reality. [Read it here.](​ 😇 The Halo: A non-invasive neural device to stabilize and induce lucid dreaming. [See it here.]()​ 💊 Holy Molly: Psychedelic Science was an immense quasi-religious gathering. But what was left unmapped? [Read it here.](​ 🎇 Image of The Week ​ "Have you seen the bird in the Milky Way? Beyond the man in the Moon, the night sky is filled with stories, and cultures throughout history have projected some of their most ​enduring legends​ onto the stars and dust above. Generations of people see these celestial icons, hear their associated stories, and pass them down. ​Pictured here​ is not only a segment of the ​central band​ of our ​Milky Way galaxy​, but, according to ​folklore of several native peoples​ of ​Uruguay​, the outline of a great bird called ​Ñandú​." ❤️‍🩹 The Sacred Wound The Sacred Wound is a term I first heard from Jean Houston. It expresses in clear terms what I already understood intuitively: that our suffering can be potent fuel for transformation. Tragic loss can wake us up to the gift of all those we still have in our lives. Pain can become the birthplace of immense compassion. Our hurt can catalyze us into action to be the person we wished we had while we were suffering. It can guide our gaze to hidden pockets of the world that need our help. This can turn a victim narrative into an empowering pursuit where we harness the ugly and vicious parts of our story and author them into precursors of beauty. None of this says that our struggles are deserved. Or that it's good that bad things happened. But it does suggest that we can alchemize our anguish. It means the perpetrator does not get the last stroke of the pen. The story is still being written. We can't change the past but we can choose to use the past to birth a future that shows our suffering wasn't an end. It was a beginning: “They tried to bury us, they didn’t know we were seeds.” 🧭 Following Your Bliss Enjoy this passage from the excavator of the monomyth himself, Joseph Campbell: “You may have a success in life, but then just think of it - what kind of life was it? What good was it - you've never done the thing you wanted to do in all your life. I always tell my students, go where your body and soul want to go. When you have the feeling, then stay with it, and don't let anyone throw you off…. The way to find out about your happiness is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy, when you really are happy - not excited, not just thrilled, but deeply happy. This requires a little bit of self-analysis. What is it that makes you happy? Stay with it, no matter what people tell you. This is what I call "following your bliss"... There’s something inside you that knows when you’re in the center, that knows when you’re on the beam or off the beam. And if you get off the beam to earn money, you’ve lost your life. And if you stay in the center and don’t get any money, you still have your bliss.” 🤓 Learn This Word Elegy: a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead. ⏳ From The Archives A hand-picked classic HighExistence article. ​[Consolations from the Forest: Life-Altering Wisdom from Six Months Alone in a Siberian Cabin](​ [consolations of the forest sylvain tesson] ​ “I am poised on the gangway. I will finally find out if I have an inner life.” In February of 2010, philosopher-writer Sylvain Tesson took a hiatus from his fast-paced city life and headed for a small cabin on the banks of Lake Baikal in Russia. With a hearty supply of pasta, tabasco, vodka, and Nietzsche, Tesson embarked upon the impressive 3-day journey from Irkutsk to the western shores of the deepest lake in the world, where he planned to spend six months in solitude. His consequent book, Consolations of the Forest, is a collection of journal entries written during that time, not to mention an inspiring and galvanizing peek into the vast realm of retreat. If his reasons for going sound familiar, or at the very least intriguing, you too may be prime for a retreat of your own: I talked too much​ ​I wanted silence​ ​Too behind with my mail and too many people to see​ ​I was jealous of Crusoe​ ​It’s better heated than my place in Paris​ ​Tired of running errands​ ​So I can scream and live naked​ ​Because I hate the telephone and traffic noise But before we get into some sage yet refreshingly unabashed admissions from this intrepid explorer, let’s address the pertinence of ‘the retreat’ with relation to our own lives. The Need for Retreat Our modern world is dynamic, thrilling, and full of potential. Our modern world is also incessant, confusing, and rife with conflict. Although retreating is a centuries-old concept, civilization as it currently stands offers certain conditions from which it may be wise to periodically step back. For those who may feel that stepping back implies a certain ignorance of responsibility—a mere entertainment of fantastical whim—I offer Maria Popova’s words as comfort; “we inhabit the world more fully by mindfully vacating its mayhem.” It’s not a question of turning our back on the world, but of creating the necessary foundations from which to turn our heart towards it. By periodically stepping away, suggests travel writer Pico Iyer, we can “see the world more clearly and love it more deeply.” Who doesn’t want to see more clearly and love more deeply?! So many of our interactions are shrouded by adopted stories, context, and a heavily-influenced narrative. But if we give ourselves a chance to shed those strongholds, we liberate our ability to view people, places, and situations as they actually are. That chance is offered through the paradigm of ‘the retreat,’ where isolation, simplicity and silence intersect to form the bedrock of awareness. Silence is now a rare and valuable commodity which, coupled with extended time, can unveil extraordinary (and typically dormant) creativity within each of us. Sometimes it arises from a heightened connection with our natural surroundings, or perhaps from inhabiting a space without distractions. In any case, the revelations are often profound and life-changing. ​[Continue Reading](​ 🎬 Endnote We hope you enjoyed this issue of Down The Rabbit Hole. Feel free to reply and tell us what you think. Want to help us spread the word? We love sharing these gems of wisdom and wonder with you each week. If you love receiving them and want to help us spread the word, here is one quick way you can do that: Forward this email to one friend. That's it. It will take 5 seconds and will help us spread the good vibes and reach more people. We appreciate you. With Wonder, Mike Slavin & The HighExistence Team P.S. Did a friend forward you this email? Read previous issues and sign-up to receive future issues here: [()​ ​ ​ Mike Slavin ​[Unsubscribe]( | [Update your profile]( | 40 E. Main St. #1137, Newark, DE 19711 [Built with ConvertKit](=)