Staying Grounded #

A companion to Extreme DIY Mysticism — how to explore altered states without losing your footing, your reason, or your grip on reality.

“You can go far. Just remember to come back.”
— Someone with dirt on their boots

“In this book it is spoken of the Sephiroth and the Paths; of Spirits and Conjurations; of Gods, Spheres, Planes, and many other things which may or may not exist. It is immaterial whether these exist or not. By doing certain things certain results will follow; students are most earnestly warned against attributing objective reality or philosophic validity to any of them.” ― Aleister Crowley, Magick in Theory and Practice

It’s one thing to explore the edges of perception. It’s another to keep your footing while doing it.

This site is full of tools that alter consciousness — sometimes subtly, sometimes radically. And if you go deep enough, weird things can happen: strange synchronicities, disembodied voices, dreams that bleed into waking life, visual patterns that feel too alive.

This is normal. It’s also a slippery slope if you’re not careful.

⚠️ Signs You’re Drifting #

Every experience starts to feel like a cosmic message
You begin connecting dots that aren’t really there
You feel chosen, special, or dangerously unique
You lose touch with ordinary routines, relationships, or time
You start needing the next experience to feel okay

🧭 Guidelines for Sanity #

These aren’t rules — just checks you can come back to.

1. Write it down #

Journaling helps you track what actually happened — not just what felt true in the moment. It gives you distance, pattern recognition, and perspective.

Find someone who doesn’t think you’re crazy — but also won’t automatically agree with your cosmic downloads. Good friends are reality mirrors.

3. Take breaks #

Not every day needs to be an altered state. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is take a walk, clean your kitchen, and forget the mystery for a while.

4. Check for usefulness #

Even if something feels profound, ask: Is it helping me live better? Be kinder? Think more clearly?

5. Stay humble #

The stranger the experience, the more humility helps. You’re not the first person to meet a serpent made of data. Probably not the last.

🧱 Structures Help #

Create rituals that open and close your practice
Keep a log so you can see what’s changing
Eat. Sleep. Move. Touch grass.

This work attracts idealists, escapists, and geniuses alike. It’s easy to go too far. That doesn’t mean stop — just build yourself a return path while you explore.

🧠 Rational ≠ Closed-Minded #

Staying grounded doesn’t mean dismissing the weird stuff. It means holding it lightly, testing what you can, and integrating what you find.

You can have visions and be skeptical. You can hear a voice and ask where it’s coming from. You can believe something for the sake of the experiment — and let it go later.

That’s not being uncommitted. That’s being free.

You don’t have to be a mystic or a skeptic.
You can be a builder. A tracker. A lucid explorer.

The point isn’t what you believe — it’s how you behave once the experience is over.

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