While microdosing can boost your creativity, productivity, and flow, there are ways to optimize your microdosing results. In essence, the more mindfully you practice microdosing, the more personal growth and transformation it can bring.
We’ll keep repeating it; microdosing (or psychedelics) is not a quick fix. Microdosing might shed light on your thought and behavior patterns, but in the end, it’s still you who has to look at them and make a determined attempt to those patterns that don’t serve your highest potential.
We’ve collected various mindfulness concepts to help you optimize your microdosing results and help you find your way. You may already know (some of) them. It’s also likely that some concepts resonate more with you than others. That’s perfectly fine. Every human looks through the words of others to find their own truth. However, if a concept is appealing, we encourage you to dive deeper and find more content from the authors/teachers mentioned.
Psychedelics as a signpost
Eastern traditions like meditation, yoga, and psychedelics appear to be very different at first glance; one seeks stillness by turning within, while the other creates a hurricane of impressions from outside. However, the moment you go through this hurricane, you arrive at the same point as Eastern meditators—entirely at peace with yourself, as an inherent part of “all that is”. In the end, only the journey is different. The destination is the same.
With this in mind, when we compare using high doses of psychedelics with microdosing, we are comparing a hurricane to a fresh breeze. Microdosing “stretches” this inner journey over a more extended period with significantly less disturbance, allowing you to integrate the universal insights more subtly during your daily life.
Microdosing increases awareness
When someone points at something, they want you to look at the object, not their finger. Microdosing is the same; focus on what microdosing is pointing at for you as a person, not just the direct effects (increased focus, creativity, flow, etc.). But what could microdosing be pointing at? In essence, microdosing causes an increased awareness that allows you to observe your mind. All the hectic thoughts about the past and the future, judgments about yourself and others, and worries about what could go wrong.
When you realize you are not your thoughts, you can transcend them and experience your true nature and boundless potential. You’ll be able to make your own choices, regardless of what others say. You’ll believe in yourself to accomplish anything and fulfill your dreams.
How to use an increased awareness
An increased awareness is not a direct benefit or solution. Becoming aware of the rigid patterns in your life, work, and relationships isn’t enough to change them. It can be frustrating when you suddenly get the insight that your work doesn’t fit with you or your relationship is not working. In many cases, it will be challenging to transform these insights into actions.
READING TIP: The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Pillar 1: Setting intentions and gaining insights
On a microdosing day, start by formulating an intention or question for that day. For example, what do you want to pay extra attention to that day? What do you want to become more aware of? Which behavioral patterns would you like to change? It’s best to write down behavior and thought patterns as soon as you notice them.
Set your intention by thinking about why you want to work with microdosing in the first place. Make a small (daily) ritual out of this.
Step-by-step plan for setting an intention:
- Take time and space to sit quietly and undisturbed. Connect (in meditation) with the field of all possibilities, love, and creation.
- Ask yourself what you need: now, this week, this month or this year? Wish big! Do not let yourself be limited and make yourself small, because you are the field, the field of all possibilities!
- Is it in line with the universal intention? Does your intention also create more happiness for your fellow man and environment? Maybe it is not immediately visible. So ask yourself the question: is my intention serving the greater whole?
- Formulate your intention positively and avoid the word ‘not’. For example: I feel in balance. So don’t say: I do not want others to disturb my balance. So formulate it so that you already feel balanced and feel how that feels to you.
- Even better is to add gratitude to your intention. Believe that your intention is already real and feel grateful for it. Speak in the present tense. The intention then becomes: I am grateful that I feel in balance.
- Allow the intention to sink in, repeat it several times out loud. Write it down. Feel it in your body and believe it is real.
- Let go and trust. Let the universe work for you and give it space to let your wishes and intentions come into being in a creative way. Be open to all possibilities and let yourself be surprised!
- What is beautiful about intentions is that they are unbound to the outcome. Not knowing for sure if your intention will become reality, or that something much more beautiful may arise. Being open to all possibilities and trust that life wants you to live your most beautiful life.
Try to set a positive tone with your intention. Some examples:
- Today I am consciously watching my breathing
- Today I leave my judgments and opinions as they are
- Today I am patient
- Everything is good
- I am a positive person
You can view an intention as a spear you use to hunt for what you want to become more aware of. This way, you become a hunter for insights.
You might also become a gatherer of behavior and thought patterns no longer serving your life path. Observe your actions that day without passing judgment on yourself. What are your triggers? When do you lapse into automatic behavior? It’s helpful to translate your curiosity about yourself into concrete questions: Some examples;
- What do I want to change?
- What do I want to focus on?
- What do I no longer need?
- What do I want to let go of?
- What do I want to transform?
Pillar 2: Using your energy wisely
To optimize your results while microdosing, it’s essential to become conscious about how you use your energy (and time). There is as much energy involved in making yourself happy as in making yourself unhappy. The key is then to channel your energy in the direction that makes you happy. So what do you spend energy on? If the following guidelines sound a bit haphazard, we invite you to try not to judge. Leave that judgment for what it is.
Pillar 3: Letting go of judgment
We experience reality through the lenses of our past-conditioned thoughts, judgments, and opinions; we see the world with blinders on. We don’t see things as they are; rather we see them as we are. Our judgments reveal more about ourselves than about the thing or person we are judging!
When you attach too much to what you think you know for sure, you miss out on everything you don’t know yet. Letting go of your judgments gives you more energy. Therefore, when you notice you are judging, we invite you to question yourself; is my judgment founded on truth? Can I be sure it is true? Where does it come from?
Pillar 4: Being in the present moment
Being in the present moment is much easier said than done. It will take some effort at first, but can become second nature after some practice. We often find ourselves in unfavorable situations, ranging from traffic jams, unpleasant company, or grieving a loss of some kind. When we refuse to accept a situation, it causes/increases suffering while the situation remains unchanged. We can only influence our reactions to the situations in our lives.
By increasing our awareness of the situation, staying in the present, and not getting carried away by our emotions, we can let go and accept what is. Try not to overanalyze or understand everything that is happening. Being present means surrendering, and then you can direct all your (mental) energy to the now. That is where your true power lies.
TIP: to learn to be more present:
Try observing a plant, person, or animal. Immerse your actions. Begin with simple tasks such as brushing your teeth, cleaning, or cooking. Observe your breathing and what it does to you when you consciously experience this.
If you are depressed, you are living in the past.
If you are anxious, you are living in the future.
If you are at peace, you are living in the present.
Pillar 5: Not taking yourself too seriously
Being able to laugh at yourself makes you light. A little self-mockery never hurt anybody. However, focusing too much on the self can be exhausting, and you become deaf and blind to the rest of your life. Because you’re tired, you don’t see the surrounding miracles anymore.
Pillar 6: Letting go of control
You don’t have to control your nervous system, blood circulation, or breathing. You don’t control falling asleep and waking up again. These are all automatic processes that don’t require any conscious decisions. You just let it go, and remains under control. Many other processes in life are the same.
In the video below, philosopher Alan Watts explains that you’re in control when you let go of control. It sounds like a paradox! But, this is why the control freaks among us should have a look.
Pillar 7: Reacting or creating
Do you find yourself constantly reacting to situations as they unfold? Do your emotions constantly trigger you? Do you often wonder why it’s all happening to you? What if you try something different? What is if you actively create the life you want to live instead of reacting to it? You can create your life by deciding what circumstances that you want to be in. You decide where you want to be, whom you what to be with, and when you want to be there. By doing so, you create opportunities and seize them. In short, you are in control!
However, as previously stated, there are always situations beyond your control. But you can regain control when you choose to accept what is instead of being a victim of your emotions. This process takes a lot of practice and awareness, but the gain is significant when you experience how much more pleasant life is when you’re not at the mercy of your surroundings. So always make the decision; do you want to react, or do you want to create?
Pillar 8: Trusting your intuition
Intuition is a higher form of intelligence that operates differently than the mind. It’s more like a primal instinct that always leads you to the right place, probably because our intuition isn’t hampered by ego, judgment, and criticism.
Whenever you feel compelled to follow a particular path, do so. And vice versa, if you feel you shouldn’t, under no circumstances go against your intuition. There should be no fear or ambition involved in your decision to stay on that path or abandon it. Instead, you must look carefully and consciously at each path.
You owe it to yourself to ask one question: Is this a path my heart wants to take? And be honest when answering. Learning to recognize and trust your intuition takes courage and doesn’t come naturally to most of us. Nevertheless, it’s a fantastic journey to experience what happens when you learn to trust your intuition and act on it.
Pillar 9: Don't believe the stories of your mind
The mind is a fantastic tool when you know how to use it effectively. It can, however, be incredibly destructive as well. To put it more accurately, it’s not that we misuse the mind, as it’s that it uses us. It’s as if we are possessed without knowing it, and we mistake the entity that has taken possession for ourselves. That is the problem of our age—we believe that we are our minds.
Freedom lies in the realization that we’re not that entity—the thinker. Then we can begin to observe the thinker, and a higher level of consciousness is active. Start listening to the voice in your head as often as you can. Pay particular attention to repeating thought patterns, those records that may have been in your head for years. This is what is meant by “perceiving the thinker”, which is another way of saying: listen to the voice in your head, be there as the supervising presence.
Do you ever think: “What if…”, “I have to…”, “I must take care of…or else…” You identify with your mind at that moment, which frightens you by projecting you into an imagined future. You’re powerless to stand up to such a situation, simply because it doesn’t exist. It’s only fantasy. Simply appreciating the current moment can stop this madness. You can stop this insanity by acknowledging the present moment. Constant inner worry doesn’t lead to action, but only to more worry. It’s like betting against yourself.
Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles. It takes away today’s peace.
Time for something else. When you catch yourself worrying and overthinking, follow these steps:
- Become aware of your breathing
- Feel the air flow in and out of your body
- Feel the energy field inside you.
- The only thing you ever have to cope with in real life—contrary to the invented expectations of the mind—is this present
- Ask yourself what “problem” you have now. Not next year, tomorrow or five minutes from now.
- What is wrong in this present moment?
When you listen to that voice, don’t judge. That, in essence, is the same voice. Soon you’ll realize: there is the voice, and here I am, listening to it. That awareness of “I am” comes from a place beyond the thinking mind. When you listen to a thought, you’re aware of it and yourself as the witness of that thought. A new dimension of consciousness has emerged.
Pillar 10: Ending the illusion of time
The mind and time are inextricably linked. If you identify with the mind, time has trapped you. You are caught in the tendency to live from memory (past) and expectation (future) rather than in the present. This tendency occurs because the past provides a sense of self, and the future promises salvation or happiness. But these are both illusions.
Each time you focus on the past or future, you’re missing the now—the most precious moment there is. The only moment there is. It’s the setting in which your entire life unfolds. Life is happening now. There has never been a time when your life was not now, and there never will be.
Second, the now is the only thing that can help you transcend the mind. It’s the only way you can access the infinite and formless realm of being. Have you ever experienced, done, thought, or felt anything outside the now? Is that even possible? No. Take time out of mind, and it comes to a halt— unless you chose to use it.
Pillar 11: Meditating
Meditation is a well-known tool for personal development for a reason—it’s mighty. Therefore, we feel the need to mention it here as well. In fact, it’s scientifically proven that meditation is good for you. Neuroscientist Andrew Newberg became known for his brain scans of meditating monks. He saw that the brain is in a flow during meditation. Parts of the brain that create the idea of separation become inactive, causing you to feel more connected.
Additionally, parts of the brain that define time and space fall dormant. Away they go the worries about the past or future. Something similar can also happen when you focus intensely on beautiful music, nature, or a painting. In a meditative state, deep feelings of peace and happiness arise. You can also benefit from this in your daily life. You become more resistant to stress, more adaptive, and gain more self-knowledge.
How to meditate?
- Start small. Even five minutes a day can make a difference.
- The key is consistency. Rather five minutes every day than half an hour once a week
- Start with a guided meditation
- The goal is not to have no thoughts; the goal is to become aware of your thoughts
- Becoming aware of your thoughts helps you change destructive thought patterns
All these are excellent tools to optimize your results when microdosing. In addition, they can be complementary with microdosing, because microdosing makes you more conscious. Microdosing then becomes a tool for mindfulness.