Conscious.expansion

Riaz | Striving for Self-Actualization

Our highest needs as human beings is self-actualization. Becoming the person we know in our hearts we're meant to be. My newsletter is about achieving this. I'm by no means there, but I'm here to share my experiences with you in hopes that they may guide you on your own journey. My emphasis is on alternative methods of personal, mental, and spiritual development such as psychedelics, meditation, breathwork, etc. It's only through trial and experimentation that you'll be able to figure out what works for you!

trust in your own experience

Hey Reader, Since I started posting content about psychedelics on Instagram and TikTok, I noticed something really interesting. Now, if you don't follow me, I've mainly been posting clips from high profile people speaking about psychedelics. Sometimes the posts are specific to a substance. Sometimes they're tips on how to have a more positive experience. But, the interesting thing I found is that the topic that seems to get the most engagement and views is related to...(drumroll please) 'Bad...

over 1 year ago • 1 min read

Belief, Milkshakes, and Psychedelics

Hey there Reader, I recently stumbled across this quote from the renowned psychedelic researcher, Stanislav Grof: Psychedelics are "nonspecific amplifiers" of the human psyche – they amplify whatever contents exist in the mind, be they conscious or unconscious. It got me thinking about a study that was done in 2011, completely unrelated to psychedelics, but instead assessed the power of belief. There's a link between the quote and the study that I'm theorizing may play a role in explaining...

over 1 year ago • 1 min read

Shake, shake, shake off your trauma

Hey there Reader, Have you ever heard of the saying, ‘shake it off’? If you haven’t, it essentially means to ‘get over’ something. If you’re like me, you probably haven't put much thought into where this saying came from. But a recent psychedelic experience with one of my closest friends inspired me to do a little digging. Before I go any further, check out this video The impala was quite literally staring death in the eyes with its neck in the grips of the jaguar. Talk about a traumatic...

over 1 year ago • 1 min read

Exploring the 5 Levels of Psychedelic Experience

Hey Reader! As one of the resident experts on psychedelics within my friend group and family, I'm often asked to describe the psychedelic experience. What does it feel like? What do you see? Is it scary? The psychedelic space is at an interesting point today. Older generations still cling to beliefs molded by the propaganda fed to them while also seeing so many stories and studies demonstrating the healing potential of psychedelics. With that in mind, answering these questions about the...

over 1 year ago • 2 min read

full article as promised

Hey Reader, I just finished writing up the full article documenting my first experience with holotropic breathwork. You can read it here: Read the article As always, if you have any questions or want to share your own experience, feel free to shoot me a reply :). Until next time! Riaz . . . . .

almost 2 years ago • 1 min read

Holotropic breathwork trip report

Hey there Reader! Tears. Dancing. Convulsions. Uncontrollable laughter. I witnessed all of these this past Saturday at the holotropic breathwork workshop. I started writing this trip report and quickly realized that an email wouldn't be sufficient to cover everything I experienced. So I'll just give you some of the highlights from my experience now. In the next issue you'll get a link to a longer article that I'm in the process of writing. First, some context. Holotropic breathwork is done in...

almost 2 years ago • 3 min read

A framework for psychedelic experiences

Hey Reader, If you've ever experienced a moderate to high dose psychedelic trip, you'll probably agree that there are a lot of similarities to very vivid dreams. Like psychedelic trips, dreams can often unfold in some pretty 'trippy' ways. They're also known to be highly influenced by your mindset and current mental state (just like the 'set' in psychedelics 'set' and 'setting' guidelines). Intense emotions are another characteristic common to both. Lastly, with both dreams and trips, there's...

almost 2 years ago • 1 min read

Our highest needs as human beings is self-actualization. Becoming the person we know in our hearts we're meant to be. My newsletter is about achieving this. I'm by no means there, but I'm here to share my experiences with you in hopes that they may guide you on your own journey. My emphasis is on alternative methods of personal, mental, and spiritual development such as psychedelics, meditation, breathwork, etc. It's only through trial and experimentation that you'll be able to figure out what works for you!