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You're watching a great movie, completely hooked. Two hours fly by. For a while, it's as if you forgot yourself. Push that feeling as far as it goes, until even the "me" is gone. That's called ego dissolution, also known as ego death. First, what is "me"? Normally, it's as if your mind draws a line that separates you from the world. Inside the line is me: my body, my name, my memories. Outside is everyone else, and everything else.
The line is always there, but you hardly notice it. Like a fish that doesn't notice the water. Ego dissolution is when that line fades, or even disappears. There's no inside or outside anymore. You feel as if you and everything around you have become one. Despite the word "death," nobody dies. It's temporary. After a while, the line comes back on its own.
When does this happen? Scientists have recorded it most often after people take psychedelic drugs. Some people find it in deep meditation. Others, in the moment they nearly die. In 2016, a team of British scientists gave one of these drugs to twenty volunteers, then scanned their brains. There's a set of brain regions that usually work together, closely tied to thinking about yourself. Under the drug, the links between them loosened. The looser they got, the stronger people's sense of "I'm gone."
This feeling isn't always a good one. Some describe deep calm, a sense of being connected to everyone. Others are terrified, hearts racing, afraid they'll never come back. There's also a very mild version, and you've probably felt it. Scientists asked tourists to draw themselves. People standing before a vast valley drew themselves smaller. People on a busy waterfront drew themselves bigger. That feeling of being struck by something huge is called awe. One thing to be clear about: those psychedelic substances are controlled drugs in China. Using them on your own is illegal. The scientific studies are done under close supervision.
So, ego dissolution is when the line between "me" and the world fades for a while. You don't need to chase it. Next time a sunset or a starry sky makes you suddenly feel a little smaller, that's the same line, loosening just a bit.
Normally, an invisible line separates "me" from the world. Ego dissolution is when that line fades for a while.
Researchers call it ego dissolution; it's often called ego death.
In 2016, British scientists gave a psychedelic drug to 20 volunteers, then scanned their brains.
A set of brain regions usually works together and is closely tied to thinking about yourself. Under the drug, the links between them loosened. The looser they got, the more people felt "I'm gone."
There's a very mild version you've probably felt: scientists asked tourists to draw themselves. People standing before a vast valley drew themselves smaller; people on a busy waterfront drew themselves bigger. That feeling of being struck by something huge is called awe.
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