Alex, I really appreciate the questions. I had to sit with them a little bit because I don’t think you wanted me writing an article as a response. The simple answer to your second question is that it was ineffable. From a technical perspective, maybe my Default Mode Network got interrupted as my body dealt with the shock. I think it was a sublime alignment of my mind heart and spirit in that moment that was facilitated by the cold. Better writers than I can only paint around the edges of experiences like that.

As for your first question, that one experience did not serve to move the needle much on its own. While I think it is possible for individual, one-off experiences to cause major lasting change, it is not likely. But, in no way do I believe that devalues the experience. It showed me something like that was possible when open to it. I think having repeated experiences like what I had can act like sandpaper, stripping barriers away. It takes time and effort, but all these experiences (REST therapy, breathwork, cold exposure, light work, plant medicine, meditation, contemplation, nature, solitude) point out a direction for me. The peak experience (i.e., the ayahuasca ceremony, the cold plunge) isn’t the work, it's the download. The work is the integration of the download afterward.

That was still longer winded than I’d like, but it is something I’m passionate about. And, being in the psychology field, I think you are in a position to really help people explore themselves with all of these new/old modalities that are finally coming online. Thanks for reading and engaging, Alex. I think you are doing important work.