Aubrey Marcus’ Darkness Retreat Produced Psychedelic Visions
Aubrey Marcus is widely known as being the founder of health and fitness brand Onnit, a company focused on what he calls “Total Human Optimization,” which develops dietary supplements, nootropics (natural compounds that enhance brain function), and exercise gear.
Concurrent with his company’s meteoric growth, Marcus has become one of the most popular voices in the alternative, new age space with his eponymous podcast, where he discusses topics ranging from mental health to plant medicine, sexuality, and cultural paradigm shifts.
Like most stories of success, Marcus struggled in his early adulthood to find true meaning in life. While discussing his legacy in a recent interview on Open Minds with Regina Meredith, Marcus said, “I was looking for my purpose. I always felt like I had something important to give.”
This sentiment began early in his life, inspired by movies depicting sagacious masters who encouraged their protegés by telling them they had something important to contribute to the world. But like the archetypal Hero’s Journey, his road to success was punctuated by obstacles he first had to overcome.
One of the ways Marcus gained clarity on his journey was by imbibing the powerfully psychedelic ayahuasca brew, which gave him insight into the nature of his mind and his role in the universe. Today, psychedelic modalities through breathwork, sensory deprivation, and plant medicines are topics regularly discussed on his podcast.
But it was through his initial experience with the DMT-containing ayahuasca that Marcus embraced not just an internal philosophical shift, but also one in his identity. Choosing to rebrand with his middle name “Aubrey,” he began to build Onnit, based on a conversation with Joe Rogan about what kind of supplement he would be interested in trying. When Rogan responded with a cognitive enhancer made from plants and natural substances, he began formulating Alpha Brain and subsequently formed a fortuitous partnership with the world’s most popular podcaster.
Marcus’s conclusions about life are highly influenced by his fascinating firsthand experiences that drive his philosophical curiosities. While potent psychedelics like ayahuasca are an almost guaranteed method of achieving ego death and confronting inner demons, Marcus’ desire to explore the deeper realms of human consciousness has taken him even further.
In 2020, he embarked on a retreat spent in complete darkness for an entire week. This sensory deprivation was undertaken with the intention of self-reflection as well as inducing a release of endogenous DMT to produce psychedelic visions. Though the first few days didn’t exactly produce powerful visions, Marcus says he did contemplate and pick apart every aspect of his life, convincing himself he needed to change everything, but these thoughts were fleeting. Then, after a few days, he says he eventually experienced some of the most intense visions, culminating in a discussion with the Buddha, himself.
Marcus says the insight from these experiences gave him new outlooks on life including an appreciation for his family and loved ones, in addition to learning how the machinations of the ego shape our daily thought patterns.
Marcus’s work is also about helping people discover the freedom to be themselves by recognizing who they are in all their complexity. He tells Meredith we are really a mixture of good and bad, courageous and fearful, and that we don’t have to pretend to be one or the other. It’s about being aware of the “shadow aspects” that we suppress instead of embracing who we are.
Marcus admits, “I know nothing. But every day I ask questions and take a seat at the table where Truth likes to have snacks.”
How to Connect With the Divine Energy Your Higher Self Holds
Connecting with the Divine Energy within your Higher Self can be a transformative and enlightening experience. It can guide you toward a deeper understanding of your true nature and spiritual potential. To embark on this journey of self-discovery, you’ll need to do a couple of things that seem easy but might be harder than you think in practice. From finding a quiet and peaceful space to silencing your mind and communicating with the divine, it requires more than simple meditation. Divine Energy pervades all of existence. Embrace this connection with an open heart, and let it illuminate your path toward spiritual growth and self-awareness.
What is the Higher Self?
The Higher Self, also known as the Divine Self, is the Self that exists at an even higher level than the soul; it is in every human being ever born. It is the true self essence of the Universe that dwells in your being, the source of all light and life within you, and your true motivation for living. It is a belief held by Hindus and New Age thought alike.
The Divine Self is what powers you and makes you wonder. It is the spiritual journey of the soul light at your core that chose to be incarnate at this point in time. It’s ever-aware and has been thinking since you began existing in this lifetime, and since your birth in other lifetimes. The body and the physical realm, in which we dwell in our own life, are thought to be but a vehicle for the Higher Self.
Divine Energy and the Higher Self
Divine Energy is the sacred yet infinite force that connects everything in the universe and transcends the physical world. It is believed to provide life, consciousness, and creation with things like love and wisdom. The concept of the Higher Self is closely related and represents the purest essence within individuals that connects them to the Divine Energy. Aligning with the Higher Self allows one to access ancient wisdom and spiritual growth – leading to a deeper understanding of one’s purpose and a sense of oneness with all creation.
If you’ve ever experienced synchronicities, where coincidences that are too uncanny to be coincidental occur in your life, you may be in the process of connecting with your higher self.
In the same beliefs, the soul is closer to the personality and is an intermediary between the person and her Divine Self until such time as she is able to directly experience and realize the Divine Self as who she is.
How to Contact Your Higher Consciousness
If you’re interested in opening up to your Divine Self, the practice promises guidance, peace, harmony, and illuminating light through its higher knowledge. Believers also claim that you can more easily turn away from the distractions of the physical world, and restore yourself in the light, love, and power of this eternal Self, because it will reveal the illusions, desires, and attachments that keep you trapped in a lower vibration and on a lesser path, thus enabling you to find your higher path. You are also supposed to gain a greater ability to recognize limiting, disharmonious, and restricting energies and forms.
