As another year winds down, I've been reflecting on how nothing unfolds as expected, and how that's exactly the point: to learn to flow with the flow of life.

This year forced me to let go of control in ways I didn't anticipate. I let go of scaling my coaching the way I'd planned. I recently decided to cancel the Vision Embodiment workshop I'd been preparing to deliver again this December.

Instead, I spent what little time I have for myself releasing and meditating more than working. The more I let go of trying to control how things should unfold, the more the universe seems to deliver abundance in unexpected ways.

Over the past few weeks, I've had several profound experiences that tie back to where I left off in my story. Before I share what happened, let me take you back to January 2023, because understanding that moment is key to understanding what I realized just two nights ago.

Behind the Curtain

The last time I shared my story, I mentioned how I'd been wanting to try psychedelics for years but never found the right setting. In January 2023, I finally got connected to a shaman who worked with 5-MeO-DMT.

The preparation was intense: seven days of dietary restrictions, no meat, gradually reducing caffeine until I was completely off it three days before the ceremony, then a 24-hour fast leading up to it.

Sitting there before taking the pipe, I was afraid of having a bad trip. After inhaling the substance, I saw a white light and felt immediate release—all the stress I'd been carrying from an overwhelming project at work just dissolved.

But I didn't have any visions or insights. Later, I learned that usually means either the dose was too small or you're resisting the experience. Still, something shifted. I felt more certain about my life direction afterward.

King's Throne

Just two weeks later, I saw an event happening in February, a retreat for men called King Archetype. It was part of a year-long program called The Golden Journey of Man, organized by a group of coaches I'd soon become part of—but that's a story for another time.

We'd created a small men's group together by then, but sitting in a circle with 40 men on a similar path, offline in a beautiful setting, was another level entirely. The final ceremony was intense in a way I'd never experienced before.

We had to walk up an alley formed by the other men. One man would give you a sword, another would place a crown on your head. Then you had to sit on a throne and say something that represented taking full responsibility for your life.

Some men were shaking as they walked. Some were even crying. From the outside, it didn't look like much. But clearly, something about it was deeply impactful. I didn't understand what. But when it was my turn, I finally understood.

I was shaking as I walked down that alley. With all those men looking at you, it really does feel like a commitment—not just to them, but to yourself. Witnessed. Vulnerable. As the words came out of my mouth: "I take full responsibility for my life", I had goosebumps all over my body.

I believe rituals like this are missing in today's world. They can initiate real change. But the missing piece is that it's still your responsibility to actually make those changes in your life. Otherwise, it's just a powerful experience that fades.

The Real Test

After those four intense days, completely offline during the retreat, I traveled to Prague to see my girlfriend. We'd been taking turns traveling five hours every weekend to see each other. Exhausting doesn't even begin to describe it. Talking to her after the retreat, I became even more certain about the decision I needed to make. I knew I had to step up.

So after returning to work following that intense week, I told my boss I wanted to talk to him. Unfortunately, he said he needed to finish something first. I had to wait nervously for two more hours. When I finally walked into his office, I was so nervous my body was shaking again.

"Either I can work from Prague or I quit."

The words came out even more definitely than I'd planned. I was shaking as they left my mouth. My boss was shocked. I knew my position. I knew I was invaluable to the company. But this wasn't about leverage. It was about reclaiming my worth after all the work I'd done on self-acceptance. I was finally doing the right thing and standing for myself.

More importantly, even though it looked risky and scary, I knew I was taking the right path:

Not a direction chosen out of fear, but one that felt truly mine.

By March, I was officially working from Prague—which meant I could work from anywhere, not having to sit in the office at least two days a week like I had been doing.

I moved in with Veronika only four months after we met (I still had my own apartment at first, but later that year we moved into a place together). I knew it was right because she told me she loved me the first night we met.

I said I loved her that first night, too. Something I'd never been able to say to any woman in my life. Not even to my ex-girlfriend, despite being together for a year.

What changed was that I was no longer afraid of rejection. I wasn't speaking from a need for approval. I felt secure in my vulnerability. And I opened my heart to feel more deeply.

The Second Journey

Just two months after my first psychedelic experience, the same shaman sent an email. There was an opportunity—he was collaborating with a research team from Imperial College London doing a study on the effects of 5-MeO-DMT on the human brain. It was short notice, and there was a discount since it was part of the research.

I saw that as a sign. I signed up and went through the same preparation—diet followed by 24-hour fasting.

At the setting itself, I didn't even feel the helmet or the smartwatch—both needed as equipment for the experiment. This time though, it was completely different.

Right after inhaling the substance, I felt the power. Within a second, I saw strange, colorful patterns. Then, in another second, I experienced complete ego dissolution.

I forgot I had a body. I didn't know whether I was sitting or lying. I merged with everything—pure consciousness, light, unity itself.

For many, this may be terrifying—because it feels like dying. That's why it's not advised to take these substances lightly. A bad trip means not being prepared or resisting such experiences.

But all the work I'd done on myself had prepared me for this. For me, it was an incredible experience. There was just pure joy, peace, and love.

After about 30 minutes (I had to ask later how long it took—I had no idea), the shaman asked me how I felt.

"I feel amazing. I don't want to return to my body."

He said something that struck me: "It's only through your body that you're able to feel."

Looking back, I don't think this is precisely accurate, but at that moment, it helped me return from the trip in a very gentle way. He put a singing bowl on my chest and started to slowly play sounds that guided me gently back.

I lay there for another 30 minutes or so and then went on to fill out the questionnaire with the research team. Although the study was done in at least three different locations, only two were used in the final study. My results weren't included in the final version, but it's still worth reading—some of the other participants' experiences are fascinating. You can find them here.

The Deeper Knowing

Over the last few weeks, I've had several powerful experiences during meditation. But I want to share the one that's most relevant and connects to my experience from more than two years ago.

I'm currently reading Happiness is Free by Lester Levenson and Hale Dwoskin. I didn't realize until now that I'd actually read the original short book this is based on—The Keys to the Ultimate Freedom. It was one of the first books in personal growth I read 16 years ago. But at the time, I wasn't ready. Although the ideas looked interesting, I thought it was too "esoteric." It didn't resonate, so I quickly forgot about it.

Just two nights ago, I had an experience where it all clicked.

My intent during meditation had been the same for weeks now—to experience non-duality again, without substances. But nothing extraordinary happened. I went to sleep as usual—not disappointed, but somewhat disenchanted. Still, dedicated to the long-term work, I set my intent to get some insight during sleep.

And insight I got.

I'd been reading about non-duality. Like many people in the spiritual and personal growth space, I had an intellectual understanding of the concept. But having deep knowing is quite rare, even among those who've had psychedelic experiences and peeked behind the curtain.

Here's what I realized:

On the first level, you grasp intellectually that you're more than just this body—that everything is interconnected.

On the second level, you may have experienced—whether on psychedelics or in deep meditation—that you're not your body, nor your thoughts, and you've observed the observer. You may have even had the experience of merging with everything and feeling like you don't want to return to your body.

But there's a third level.

I woke up in the middle of the night with a deep knowingness washing over me. In that liminal space between sleep and waking, I understood on a level deeper than rational thought or even direct experience without that knowingness, that there's really no "me."

I got goosebumps. It was scary but liberating.

It's not that "I" felt unity in that psychedelic experience. It's not that "me" united with the universe.

It’s that there's no "me" to begin with—I am that universe expressed as this body-mind.

Yes, I'd read this before. I'd heard gurus talk about it. But I still didn't know what they meant. Now I do.

I got goosebumps again just remembering that moment.

Where Insight Meets Action

If this seems too out there for you, don't worry, I'll be sending more grounded insights soon. But I had to share this because it connects to something I've been talking about recently:

But I had to share this because it connects to something I've been talking about with people recently: how insights and awareness don't create change by themselves.

The psychedelic experience gave me insight.

The throne ceremony gave me the felt sense of commitment.

But telling my boss my truth despite the fear—that's when insight became integration.

See, most people collect insights without ever applying them in real life. They understand their patterns but don't break them. They know what they need to do but freeze when it matters.

The psychedelic journey and that middle-of-the-night realization revealed something profound about the nature of reality itself.

And to live fully as that expression, not withdrawing like a hermit, but engaging with life, means realizing you have the power to create whatever you want. If you feel limited, you're forgetting your omnipotence. If you feel like you're not in control, if you're creating what you don't want, it's because unconscious thoughts and limiting beliefs are sabotaging you. You're not seeing your full potential.

But the more you let go, the freer you become to create the life you want—not just in visualization, but in the messy, uncomfortable moments of real life. That's where spiritual insight meets embodied action.

If you're feeling stuck between knowing and doing, if you sense there are limiting beliefs keeping you from living your full potential, book a call with me here:

I'm limited with my time, but I'm committed to helping where I can. We'll dive into what's actually keeping you stuck, whether we work together or not. If you've been sitting on the sidelines of your own life, this might be your nudge.

Until next time,

Bohus "Bo" Bohunicky