Hi Reader,

Welcome to this week's Maps of the Mind Newsletter...

🍄 인연 (Inyeon): Threads of Connection

Some people enter your life for a moment and stay with you forever.

A glance, a sentence, a strange moment of timing.
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Something brings you together, and somehow, in some way, they stay with you.

There’s a word for that in Korean:

인연 - Inyeon

Inyeon means something like fateful connection.

It refers to the invisible threads that tie people together. The sense of meaningful encounters.

I first came across this word and concept in 2014 when I was living in Korea, and it recently found its way back to me, through a message from someone I shared a deep connection with during that time.

And I’ve been thinking about it since, about the people in my life. The ones who stay, the ones who drift, the ones who show up for only a moment but leave something behind. There are many connections I don’t fully understand, but they live on with me in some way.

And when I think about the chances of those connections, how those threads influence my life, and how big and unlikely it all is, I feel a sense of awe.

A sense of awe at being part of such an incredible and enormous and and unlikely universe. It brings a feeling of being small in a good way.
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It’s a feeling I've had from psychedelic experiences many times..

And I think it’s part of why these threads between people can feel so sacred. Because when we see our connections as special, or sacred, something shifts.

There’s more presence. More gratitude. More wonder at the complexity of it all.

So here’s a little invitation this week:

Think of someone who’s passed through your life (recently or long ago) who left a mark.

Maybe it was a short conversation at a train station.
Maybe a deep friendship that ended.
Maybe someone you barely knew, but who made you feel seen.

Think of the chances it took for your paths to cross.
The invisible threads.
The timing that brought you into the same moment.

Then write their name down. Doodle next to it.
Maybe even reach out.
But pause and honour what that thread meant.

Some people arrive for a reason.
Some for a season.
All are part of the great weaving.

If this stirred something, press reply and let me know, I love to hear from you!

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🎵Psychedelic Supplements

The 2023 Korean film Past Lives is all about the concept of Inyeon. Beautiful film that really got me...

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An LSD journey playlist without lyrics from the MindMed LSD study:

Phase 3 Session 1 - Contempo... Prayer • Violin Sky PREVIEW   ​

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❤️ Love and mettā,

John

John Robertson​
​Psychedelic Facilitator & Educator​
​Maps of the Mind​
​
​Named Webdelics' Top 100 Psychedelic Thought Leaders and Content Creators​ 2025

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