Unjourneying: Nondual Psychedelic Integration with Mira Funk, LCSW

Pragmatic Dharma legend Daniel Ingram joins me for a lively conversation about cessation, the Three Characteristics, salvia divinorum, 5-MeO-DMT, the Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium (EPRC), and the new field of phenomeniatry that he is helping to establish. He demonstrates the utility of phenomeniatry by walking us through some complex differential diagnosis scenarios.

Emergent Phenomenology Research Consortium (EPRC)

🌐 Website: https://theeprc.org

🌟 Donations: https://ebenefactors.org

Dr. Daniel M. Ingram, MD MSPH

➡️ Links & Socials: https://linktr.ee/danielmingram

Mira Funk, LCSW | Unjourneying

🌐 Website: https://www.unjourneying.com

🌟 Patreon: https://www.unjourneying.com/patreon

Mentioned in this Episode:

Daniel & Michael Taft's 2020 SFDC Q&A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgYjLxM4VMc&t=4021s

Kathryn Devaney

https://www.kathryndevaney.com/

Crazy Like Us by Ethan Watters

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Crazy-Like-Us/Ethan-Watters/9781416587095

Baksbat (broken courage): a trauma-based cultural syndrome in Cambodia. Sotheara Chhim.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23406066/

A cross-sectional survey on depersonalization/derealization and meditation-induced alterations of the self. Erola Pons et al.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13156312/

0:00 Introduction

4:20 Cessation, Awakening & the Question of What Counts

9:05 The Arising & Passing Away vs. Cessation

11:25 What Actually Happens During Fruition?

13:23 Stream Entry and the 16 Stages of Insight

19:09 5-MeO-DMT, Salvia & Psychedelic Awakening

22:10 The Hard Reboot of Salvia Cessation

29:54 The Three Characteristics: Experiential or Ontological?

39:12 Noting vs. Noticing in Mahasi Practice

42:13 Why We Need the EPRC

46:38 Why Call It Emergent Phenomenology?

50:56 What Is Phenomeniatry?

54:47 Culture, Language & Diagnostic Colonialism

1:00:08 Spiritual Experiences vs. Mania & Psychosis

1:07:47 Equanimity vs. Depersonalization & Derealization

1:15:27 Spiritual Bypassing and “Everything Is Fine”

1:18:37 EPRC, Emergence Benefactors & Closing

Unjourneying is also available on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@unjourneying

For educational purposes only.

In this first guest episode of Unjourneying, I sit down with meditation teacher Wystan Bryant-Scott for a wide-ranging conversation on jhanas, nonduality, renunciation, tantra, and psychedelics. Wystan announces his upcoming jhana retreat at Nameless Mountain, and why he still finds deep concentration valuable even after awakening. We dig into the difference between sutta and Visuddhimagga jhanas, the real meaning of renunciation in modern life, and how to work with sexual energy without fixation. We also explore nondual awareness during ordinary pleasure and the role of psychedelics, especially 5-MeO-DMT, as powerful supports on the contemplative path.

Wystan Bryant-Scott

🌐 Website: https://www.wystantbs.com

▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wystantbs108

🧘 Upcoming Retreat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4YokHVz09Y

Karmamudra: The Yoga of Bliss by Dr. Nida Chenagtsang

📖 https://skypresspublications.com/product/karmamudra

Mira Funk, LCSW | Unjourneying

🌐 Website: https://www.unjourneying.com

🌟 Patreon: https://www.unjourneying.com/patreon

0:00 Introduction to Unjourneying & Guest Bio

2:55 Welcome & Why Wystan as First Guest

3:30 Recent Activities: Nameless Mountain & Backpacking with Gabe Broussard (Vivid Void)

6:36 Upcoming Jhana Retreat at Nameless Mountain

7:53 Sutta Jhana vs. Visuddhimagga Jhana

11:03 The Role of Jhana on the Path to Awakening

16:18 Cessation of Perception & Feeling

19:39 Is Jhana Still Useful After Awakening?

24:27 Identifying as a Religious Buddhist

28:58 Renunciation, Commitment & Modern Practice

37:00 Sexual Energy, Tantra & Sensual Practice

43:50 Karma Mudra & Traditional Sexual Yogas

46:48 Nonduality, Orgasm & Everyday Bliss

54:29 Psychedelics on the Contemplative Path

59:55 Recommending Psychedelics as a Teacher

1:03:32 Integrating Psychedelics with Traditional Practice

1:06:17 Closing Advice & Where to Find Wystan

1:08:43 Outro & How to Connect

Unjourneying is also available on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@unjourneying

For educational purposes only.

If Capital-E Enlightenment is defined as a supreme state of perfect and imperturbable bliss in this lifetime, was that the actual focus of the Buddha's spiritual path? Inspired by Kenneth Folk's interpretation of early Buddhism's ultimate goal as escaping the wheel of rebirth, I unpack 11 myths of Enlightenment (including claims from contemporary teachers) and discuss their implications for the awakening process. I encourage seekers to embrace the full spectrum of their authentic emotional experience in the here and now.

Mira Funk, LCSW | Unjourneying

➡️ https://www.unjourneying.com

🌟 https://www.patreon.com/unjourneying

Related Resources:

Deconstructing Yourself: "Masters of Oblivion with Kenneth Folk"

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1zrs7fq18ZBCuaCmv0RDiX?si=a8SaWpYmRKyxDDD9fdGmhQ

Mu: Roger "Thisdell on Centerlessness, Cessations, Defabrication, Valence, and Insight"

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0laAlYPz2T9Ia44w4YiblS?si=VhGKBb9zRZWRsUnN3UHyQw

Harvard's Project Implicit (Implicit Association Tests)

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html

0:00 Intro – Why I'm Questioning Buddha's Enlightenment

1:03 My Early Romanticized View of the Buddha

3:02 The Received Western Story of the Buddha

4:57 Kenneth Folk & "Masters of Oblivion" Podcast

5:45 Nirvana = Cessation / Oblivion, Not Cosmic Bliss

9:56 Why This Changes Everything for Western Seekers

12:35 "The Buddha Is Not Your Friend" – A Darker Picture

14:28 How "Enlightenment" Got Mistranslated in the West

16:57 The "Sellvation" Dynamic in Spirituality

20:14 Nobody Has Ever Been Enlightened (Capital E)

25:00 Awakening vs. Enlightenment – My Distinction

26:23 Myth 1: You're Happy All the Time / No Negative Emotions

31:22 Myth 2: No Fear of Death

34:36 Myth 3: No Self Whatsoever

41:45 Myth 4: Seeing Reality As It Actually Is

45:11 Myth 5: No Preferences or Distinctions

49:45 Myth 6: No Thoughts

52:01 Myth 7: Complete Centerlessness

54:03 Myth 8: No Sense of Agency or Doership

57:36 Myth 9: Infinite Personal Freedom

1:03:36 Myth 10: Eternalism – "You Were Never Born and Will Never Die"

1:08:06 Myth 11: "As It Is, Not As You Want It to Be" – Goenka & Daoism

1:11:09 Car Breakdown Example – Realistic Responses to Life

1:15:31 Roger Thisdell: We Are Always Suffering (Baseline Level)

1:18:14 Reframing Awakening – Stop Making It About Ending Suffering

1:23:28 Conclusion: Enlightenment Is a Myth – Be Human Instead

1:26:55 Final Thoughts

Unjourneying is also available on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@unjourneying

For educational purposes only.

Sharing from my experience, I outline a possible spiritual awakening trajectory through five different stages:

1. Somatic Mindfulness (Vipassana)

2. Nonduality

3. Metamindfulness

4. Unjourneying

5. ???

Mira Funk, LCSW | Unjourneying

➡️ https://www.unjourneying.com

🌟 https://www.patreon.com/unjourneying

0:00 Intro & Disclaimer: This Is Just My Map

1:54 Stage 1: Somatic Mindfulness (Vipassana / Body Scan)

5:15 Stage 2: Non-Duality

8:56 The Non-Dual "Hot Tub" Phase & Attachment

11:10 Lyme Flare & the Crashing Halt

12:37 Realizing Attachment to Non-Duality

15:55 Stage 3: Metamindfulness (Noting Frames & Ways of Looking)

19:21 Stage 4: Unjourneying

20:05 Salvia Divinorum – Safety Notes & Protocol

21:15 Deep Deconstruction of Doership & Free Will

22:32 Dropping the Hero’s Journey (Marionette Insight)

25:05 Why “Unjourneying” – Neem Karoli Baba Story & Post-Psychedelic Presence

27:10 Post-Soteriological: Letting Go of Liberation as a Goal

30:26 Post-Ontological: Releasing Attachment to Any Ground of Reality

36:32 The Dance of What Is (No Goal, No Ultimate Truth)

37:53 Stage 5: Open Future – There Are More Stages Ahead

39:02 Closing Thoughts

Unjourneying is also available on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@unjourneying

For educational purposes only.

I share what I see as the essence of my work by unpacking my Hot Stove Meditation, which includes three steps:

1. Exposure therapy by intentionally welcoming in emotional distress.

2. Contacting the emotional body sensations of distress using vipassana.

3. Opening up into nonduality.

Mira Funk, LCSW | Unjourneying

➡️ https://www.unjourneying.com

🌟 https://www.patreon.com/unjourneying

Unjourneying is also available on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@unjourneying

For educational purposes only.

I'm Mira Funk, LCSW, a Harvard-educated, queer/nonbinary psychotherapist and psychedelic guide specialized in the facilitation and integration of 5-MeO-DMT retreats. Here I offer a detailed, behind-the-scenes tour of how my retreats work and what to expect, including:

📋 My Safety Screening Developed in Collaboration with Dr. Ben Malcolm

🧭 My Preparation and Integration Protocol

✨ My Vipassana & Nondual Integration Framework

🪜 Stepwise Vaporized 5-MeO-DMT for Trauma Release and Spiritual Opening

⏳ Live Demonstration of The Hourglass, a Brand New Vapor Delivery System I Invented for Clients with Sensitive Lungs

🌊 Extended-Release Rectal & Subcutaneous 5-MeO-DMT for Deep Psychological & Somatic Processing

Mira Funk, LCSW | Unjourneying

➡️ https://www.unjourneying.com

🌟 https://www.patreon.com/unjourneying

Unjourneying is also available on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@unjourneying

For educational purposes only. The vapor that appears in this episode is VG/PG for demonstration purposes, not 5-MeO-DMT.

I describe the process of working with me from beginning to end. The process begins with a 50-minute initial consultation. The client and I then agree on a retreat date and on an appropriate number of pre- and post-integration sessions.

I recommend at least 5 pre-integration sessions and 1 post-integration session.

Here is a breakdown of the session content:

1. Biopsychosocial Intake

2. Safety & Logistics

3. Hot Stove Vipassana Meditation

4. Floating in Space Nondual Meditation

5. Ocean of Love Nondual Meditation

6. Processing the Retreat

I also discuss the different medicines I serve—5-MeO-DMT, N,N-DMT, and salvia divinorum—and the different retreat formats that are possible with these medicines. Each medicine has a short-acting vaporized route of administration as well as an extended release route. There's rectal 5-MeO-DMT, analog ayahuasca, and buccal salvia divinorum. Btw, apparently buccal is actually pronounced "buckle" not "boo-kle," oops! :-) After completing a retreat with me, you become eligible to join my Unjourneying Circle, an online psychedelic integration group that meets every two weeks over Zoom. You also can participate in my group retreats.

Mira Funk, LCSW | Unjourneying

➡️ https://www.unjourneying.com

🌟 https://www.patreon.com/unjourneying

Unjourneying is also available on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@unjourneying

For educational purposes only.

I share the top six reasons that clients in my practice seek out psychedelic experiences:

1. Emotional Healing

2. Spiritual Insight

3. Neuroplasticity

4. Exploring Consciousness

5. Connection to Nature and Loved Ones

6. Physical and Neurological Healing

Mira Funk, LCSW | Unjourneying

➡️ https://www.unjourneying.com

🌟 https://www.patreon.com/unjourneying

Unjourneying is also available on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@unjourneying

For educational purposes only.

Psychotherapist and psychedelic guide Mira Funk, LCSW, defines terms commonly used in her practice. She offers an experiential definition of nonduality based on a lucid dreaming analogy from Tibetan dream yoga. Then she draws inspiration from Adyashanti for outlining psychedelic integration and nondual integration in particular. Finally, she distinguishes between what it means to journey and unjourney with psychedelics such as 5-MeO-DMT, ayahuasca, and salvia divinorum.

Mira Funk, LCSW | Unjourneying

➡️ https://www.unjourneying.com

🌟 https://www.patreon.com/unjourneying

Unjourneying is also available on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@unjourneying

For educational purposes only.

In this introductory episode, Mira Funk, LCSW, shares the story of her background and how she came to be a queer, nonbinary psychedelic therapist and guide. In her childhood, she experienced medical trauma with a febrile seizure, Lyme disease, and babesiosis. During a bout of depression while at Harvard, she took a leave of absence and lived on a farm in New Hampshire, where she first encountered Zen Buddhism in the Kwan Um tradition. She eventually traveled to Korea to live at a Kwan Um monastery called Musangsa, where she experienced relief from her existential angst.

After a short-lived career in the arts, she went to social work school and became a mindfulness-based therapist. However, something was still missing. Everything changed when she did her first mushroom trip and had a direct taste of nonduality, especially as described in the Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions. She felt inspired to go deeper with psychedelics, exploring 5-MeO-DMT, ayahuasca, and salvia divinorum. The healing and insight she received were so transformative that she resolved to devote her life to helping others through their psychedelic experiences.

Her own journey took some unexpected twists and turns when she experienced neuroinflammatory flare-ups on lion's mane mushrooms. Her difficulties led to her gender and sexual identity shift, and also prompted her to work with psychedelics in a new way she called "unjourneying," inspired by Ram Dass's guru Neem Karoli Baba, who supposedly experienced no psychoactive effects on LSD. Mira started actively meditating while taking psychedelics and discovered diminished effects and more profound mindfulness integration.

Another surprise happened when all serotonergic psychedelics started causing flare-ups. After extensive medical testing, she discovered that she has Lyme, babesiosis, and bartonella. She decided to personally work only with salvia divinorum until her condition improves with medication. She found that unjourneying with salvia induces insights that feel orthogonal to nonduality, presenting a radical happeningness that deconstructs the illusion of free will and the very possibility of spiritual practice.

Mira Funk, LCSW | Unjourneying

➡️ https://www.unjourneying.com

🌟 https://www.patreon.com/unjourneying

Unjourneying is also available on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@unjourneying

For educational purposes only.