Looking at the different mystical and religious parallels can provide more insight into understanding the concept of ego death and how it has found its way so prominently into psychedelic culture.
The Buddhist concept of anattā is often referred to as a doctrine of “no-self”, being a composite Pali word consisting of an (not) and attā (self-existent essence). While it can be interpreted as denying the existence of the self, it is more to do with being a process of non-attachment. The impermanence of everything is recognised, and any sense of an unchanging, permanent self or essence is disregarded. Buddhism emphasises that change and impermanence are fundamental to our existence, but the translation of anattā to “not-self” in some of the Buddhism-related literature might be incomplete when trying to understand this concept. Peter Harvey, a contemporary British scholar of Buddhism, has said that a more complete understanding would be to translate anattā to “non-self”, with the idea of it being a non-essential or permanent thing which doesn’t take possession of the concept of self.
The psychologist Jack Engler said in a 1988 interview with Inquiring Mind that the concept of the self doesn’t really differ in Theravada Buddhist philosophy and Western psychology, as both view it as something that is constructed. But is this representative of how we actually experience the self? Are we not a stable, unchanging reference point that spans time and different states of consciousness? When we actually dig a little deeper, it might not be quite so…the “self” as we know it could be nothing more than the moment-to-moment construction of consciousness.
Does this way of understanding the “non-self” have parallels with understanding ego death from a psychedelic perspective? Perhaps we’re using this term too frequently with not enough care…I recently spoke to friend and psychedelic/religious scholar Robert Forte, who has a particular interest in the meditative practices of Theravada and Zen Buddhism. When I asked him about the topic of this article responded saying that “this whole notion of ‘ego’ ought to be examined more closely as it’s used so much in pop psychology. It’s a made-up concept, and used mindlessly in psychedelic hype.”
In Hinduism, the ego is presented as ahamkara, which can be understood to be the false identification of the self with the material, which prevents liberation (known as moksha) from the cycle of death and rebirth (Saṃsāra). Ahamkara roughly translates as “I-Maker”, in the sense that the ego has an inclination towards self-preservation, self-gratification, and self-importance, where it is entangled with the physical and mental aspects of reality. This attachment to the physical is one of the major obstacles to connecting with the divine oneness or cosmic unity, as it creates suffering and keeps us stuck in the cycle of death and rebirth.
This concept of ‘cosmic unity’ might have parallels within psychedelic experiences, as notable psychologist Benny Shanon has claimed that psychedelics, such as ayahuasca in particular, have the power to radically shift our metaphysical worldviews towards the concept of an all-permeating cosmic consciousness. Shanon has identified this as “idealistic monism with pantheistic overtones”, where we understand the interconnectedness of everything as a harmonious whole.
In other traditions, such as Sufism, there is the concept of Fana, which is the annihilation of the self in preparation for union with God, with the word being translated as “to die before one dies”. This is the idea of the individual ego and self, where there is recognition of the fundamental unity between God and all that exists.
I’m reminded here of a track by electronic artist Shackleton titled ‘Death is Not Final’, which has the lyrics:
“Death is not final
Only a misunderstanding of time
The eschaton is always has always been imminent, and is always happening
It′s happening right now
Die before you die
Die before you die”
This was one of the first electronic pieces of music I listened to after first encountering psychedelics, and the lyrics have stuck with me ever since, almost like something of a mantra to remind me of the true nature of these kinds of experiences. Another piece of music which was quite pivotal in my early psychedelic sonic engagement was ‘Meditation is the Practice of Death’ by the stoner/doom band OM, which focuses on similar themes. I appreciated having this wider concept of ego death being presented within the psychedelic creative spaces, with music having the power to transmute these ideas into more of a sensed ‘knowing’.
These concepts seemed to feature prominently in early psychedelic research, with individuals such as Leary, whom I mentioned previously, and others at a similar time who laid the foundation for the attention placed on the concept of ego death within the wider psychedelic culture. The prominent psychiatrist and psychedelic researcher Stanislav Grof contributed much to the conversation surrounding ego death, claiming that the main objective of psychedelic therapy is to experience this and transcend into the peak psychedelic experience. In this state, boundaries between subject and object are dissolved, and there is a ‘stepping outside’ of one’s self to allow for a unified experience.
But is this the main objective for everyone who takes psychedelics? I can see how this concept has become the “main objective” of psychedelic therapy, as it’s almost like some kind of signifier to know that a peak experience has been achieved, and then we can comfortably say that these substances are actually ‘doing’ something. This makes sense within the context of a psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy session, but I have personally heard this term used a lot in cultural contexts, where ego death might serve more like a badge of honour rather than being useful psychotherapeutic terminology.
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Ever since you reached out a few weeks ago to discuss these ideas I’ve been waiting to see what you were going to write. This is a great and provocative essay that I hope will ignite long, and overdue, intelligent conversations about psychedelic experiences… I’m thinking of posting it to my facebook page, but maybe better that you host the conversation here? To start, I’d recommend we examine just what is this concept of “ego,” in our western psychological traditions? You know the word was an invention of Freud’s English translator… anyway, great and engaging well referenced writing, profound and important, so refreshing in light of all the trivialities hyped about in the psychedelic space…. I also once became the bed in a salvia experience….