It was a feeling akin to what Huxley described as 'an unspeakable sense of gratitude for the privilege of being born in the universe,' citing Blake's observation that 'gratitude is heaven itself.' In my life, there has been nothing so comforting as this state, rocked by LSD or MDA, in which I felt immensely grateful to the Lord for the breath in my body and the gift of life. The sense of belonging was consummate. It was as though I'd attainted the deceptively modest goal that Huxley ascribes to all of us: 'to discover that we have always been where we ought to be.

• observation
• heaven
• life
• happiness
• joy
• love
• psychedelic drugs
• gratitude
• zen
• awakening