Open Your Eyes and Just Be
on peace, presence, and seeing through the clouds
During my third Ketamine therapy session (out of four), I entered a different kind of space. It was strong.
This time, it wasn’t about visions or symbols in the usual sense. It was quieter, almost like a whisper through the body.
I entered a K-hole (for the first time, I believe). But what stayed with me was not the intensity. It was the simplicity.
At some point, I kept repeating a phrase with these words out loud, not like a thought, but like a knowing:
Open your eyes and just be.
Not in a poetic way. Not as a philosophy. But as something to do.
I then realized that other philosophers I truly respect had the same insights:
“The ultimate truth is so simple. It is to just be.” – Eckhart Tolle
“We’re so busy being somebody that we forget to just be.” – Ram Dass
“You do not have to prove yourself. Just be.” – Yung Pueblo
The True Reality
I then saw stars behind a veil of clouds. And I realized the clouds were my thoughts, my projections, my fears, my noise. The stars were always there, still, silent, and real.
The insight was simple:
“If I focus too much on the wrong reality, the clouds, I’ll never see the stars.
But if I just be still… the clouds might pass and will see the true reality.”
It was a picture of reality I hadn’t quite seen before: The True Reality behind reality.
I felt at peace, and it felt amazing.
What I felt today wasn’t something I “reached.” It was already there, underneath.
Peace isn’t a reward. It’s a default.
It lives behind the clouds. It shows up when I stop reaching, performing, and narrating.
And the crazy thing is:
Peace is not boring. It’s energizing.
It makes you feel light. It’s freedom from internal friction. I’ve realized that peace doesn’t come from solving everything.
It comes from not needing everything to be solved right now.
And it’s not passive. It’s a skill. A state. A muscle you build by doing less, seeing more, and not reacting to every cloud that drifts across your sky.
So what now?
I don’t need to add more. I don’t need to fix anything. Now, I just need to remember:
Open your eyes and just be.
I felt it, and it felt great!
And I don’t want to live in the clouds anymore. I want to see the stars.
“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”
―Alan Wilson Watts
What a beautifully raw and grounded reflection. The idea that peace isn’t something we chase but something that’s already there, waiting behind the noise—so powerful. “Open your eyes and just be” hits with a rare kind of clarity. Thank you for putting this into words, Matt.