If you're not one for long reads, skip to the bottom.
So I recently decided to share some of what I've been doing lately with all of you. Several of you may remember that I've been breaking free of a layered existential crisis for some time now, but I digress. It's summer, and instead of playing SC2, I've been really involved in my own self-discovery and I'm attempting to place myself in situations that are highly likely to contribute positively to my spiritual enlightenment.
Currently, the situations I've been able to place myself in are solely in my mind and online, but that should be changing tomorrow. You see, I like to come up with experiments that I can use to strengthen the relationship between my mind and body.
You may be interested in cannabis or several other harmless illegal drugs. I was a regular user of cannabis several months ago, and although I found it to be helpful in my spiritual enlightenment, it could only take me so far if I used it among others. This led me to try LSD, which I currently am slightly against, but only because the times I tried it, I was in the company of some people I no longer associate myself with. Now that I am isolated socially I almost feel an obligation to try these substances again, but this time alone, with only my own thoughts to annoy or comfort me. Salvia and DMT would be next on the list.
I refer to these substances because I feel they are all harmless, with the exception of maybe LSD, but the greater reason why I refer to them is because I feel they are vital to understanding oneself and expanding one's consciousness so that one may come to a sort of realization and truth the ancients call enlightenment.
If you're interested in Dec 21, 2012, of which I am currently, I highly recommend Terence McKenna's Timewave Zero hypothesis, in which he describes time as a sort of repeating, spiraling fractal that allegedly comes to a singularity on that date. Here's a video to get you started. It's half an hour long in three parts, be warned.
I've been researching this stuff all day for the past several months, so I think it might be fun to share the most interesting things I find every once in a while. Feel free to tell me what you like and don't like.
lsd is the soul mirror. any negative or positive qualities therein are but projections from the user. salvia is worth trying but requires proper use to achieve results. PM me for salvia tips
I know a guy who was on shrooms for about a month 24/7. He came out the other side with considerably less mental problems.
I'm not really sure what you are talking about in this post though. You should make your post more friendly to people like me who don't know anything about you.
I don't see why drugs would help anyone attain enlightenment. What exactly do you think enlightenment is?
is this about the 2012 enlightment thing? I'm busy now so I only could take a quick look. edit: yes it is.
just wait for the 2012 and laugh
edit: I heard and listened quite a bit about this thing once when I was at my friend's cottage. we had psychedelics with us too.
I know he has "proofs" but actually those aren't prooving anything. and those rituals where should have happened weird things, why didn't they videotape them?
I think the drugs can help us see through that rift, but...
I feel they are vital to understanding oneself and expanding one's consciousness so that one may come to a sort of realization and truth the ancients call enlightenment.
When it comes to getting back there, you know, what is the best tool to find ourselves back to that "place" , drugs don't work. They can help us so that we know what we are looking for, but they are an awful long term solution.
Please don't say that they are vital. They are a tool, nothing more, nothing less. A tool that used improperly can have you become a zombie of yourself, basically.
the one and only serious death trip i had was from my first sizable dose of 5meo DMT (about 20-25mg i think). that stuff is like the crack of psychadellics, the high comes on quick (10-20 secs) and ends quick too, and its VERY intense. feels like you are being shot out of a cannon. i experienced extreme sensory overload, i'd call it a white-out... not a drug for recreation in any way imo. good though if you are an experienced psychadellic user, very different from drugs like mushrooms and lsd. you have to be careful with this one since the dosage is so small however (especially 5meo), ive read trip reports where people just eyeball it and pretty much OD instantly.
lsd is a little sketchy because of the synthetic chemicals that can fit on pieces of paper these days. back in the 60's lsd was pretty much the only thing you could fit enough of on a little tab of paper to actually have any effects, nowadays there's stuff like DOB which you can fit on a paper but produces a sicklier trip, way more "edgy" and a lot less fun. i know a chemist who can and has made true lsd, and that's pretty much the only person i'd consider getting it from again, just cuz of the fake stuff that goes around.
one of my favorite ways to trip by myself is to use a blindfold, turn out the lights, and put some headphones on and lay in bed, THEN dose and wait to come up. the visuals you get with 0 sensory input from your eyes are quite extrordinary, and this method is worth trying at least once imo. always be careful with doses, especially if you decide to mix and match for a single trip. erowid is your friend :D
edit: mandlebrot dives are crazy to look at during trips as well.. especially ones with decent music :D
I feel I probably overemphasized the part of my idea that involved psychedelics. I'm not trying to say that a long-term use of these substances is necessary, only that isolated, respectful experimentation is. There is definitely a limit to how much you can experiment with something before you are no longer simply experimenting. There are worse things than becoming infatuated with an irregular experience, but when you abandon reality you abandon yourself. If I am advocating anything it is simply to become more familiar with the depths of your own individual mind. I find the best way to do this is through meditation.
I mainly wanted to see what the response to this type of post would be and whether to continue with them. Maybe next time I'll keep it shorter and more to the point. When I get into details it's harder to be concise and still get all of the information across.
On June 25 2010 11:15 hp.Shell wrote: when you abandon reality you abandon yourself. If I am advocating anything it is simply to become more familiar with the depths of your own individual mind. I find the best way to do this is through meditation.
reality is what you make of it. personally i believe that the nature of the universe is infinite and we're all going to experience infinite variations of existence for all time. frankly i don't think it's even possible to abandon reality, there are only methods to experience it differently.
edit: sry if i missed the point of the OP, i really just wanted to share some insight into my experiences with the drugs you mentioned since we seem to have a common interest there.
On June 25 2010 10:17 travis wrote: I don't see why drugs would help anyone attain enlightenment. What exactly do you think enlightenment is?
Enlightenment, as I understand it, is the state of awareness in which all unknowns pertaining to reality become known. This doesn't mean you've experienced every illegal drug. There are certain states of being which are unhealthy. Rather, enlightenment includes everything you think you want to know about creation, life, the universe, and everything, but also everything you cannot possibly fathom from the experiences of your daily routine. This doesn't mean you achieve a completely blissful state, at least initially. It means you are presented with these things, but you must confront them regardless of how you feel. After you've gone through the "confrontation" process you presumably come to a state of acceptance which is my version of enlightenment. It is the ultimate truth.
Albert Hoffman invented LSD and he wrote a book called "LSD My Problem Child." As someone who has done a considerable amount of the drug, I can recommend it.
I have always been fascinated with the fact that there is a chemical aspect to consciousness, and that is something that any curious person should endeavor to explore. I will not be redundant as many people who have experimented tend to be with their personal experiences but I will say there is a wealth of perspective to be gained from messing around with the stuff.
I disagree with this assertion. You are merely "finding" yourself because you are spending boatloads of time thinking and being "trapped" within the reaches of your brain. When people get high, they often spend time recollecting and thinking about one's existence because of the way drugs make you feel. This is still possible sober, you just need to have the drive to think about these complex issues "inside of oneself"
Long term LSD usage is awful. I know a couple of guys who used it (and other psychedelics) over the years, and they are like translucent tards now, they are removed and almost useless in my eyes.
As other people said, you are not going to find enlightenment in drugs. You just CANNOT do it. Drugs are recreational for a short term high, not a long term solution.
On June 25 2010 12:17 Surrealz wrote: I disagree with this assertion. You are merely "finding" yourself because you are spending boatloads of time thinking and being "trapped" within the reaches of your brain. When people get high, they often spend time recollecting and thinking about one's existence because of the way drugs make you feel. This is still possible sober, you just need to have the drive to think about these complex issues "inside of oneself"
Long term LSD usage is awful. I know a couple of guys who used it (and other psychedelics) over the years, and they are like translucent tards now, they are removed and almost useless in my eyes.
As other people said, you are not going to find enlightenment in drugs. You just CANNOT do it. Drugs are recreational for a short term high, not a long term solution.
Surrealz, there are people not unlike myself who are utterly incapable of finding themselves through sobriety. Long term LSD usage is horrible for you, it will cripple your brain. Although in the short term, as far as getting YOU, the world, your life, and everything into perspective, nothing can rival it as far as it being a tool for exploration. Every trip I have ever had changed my life for the best, even when they were bad trips, and I trip once and at most twice a year.
On June 25 2010 12:17 Surrealz wrote: I disagree with this assertion. You are merely "finding" yourself because you are spending boatloads of time thinking and being "trapped" within the reaches of your brain. When people get high, they often spend time recollecting and thinking about one's existence because of the way drugs make you feel. This is still possible sober, you just need to have the drive to think about these complex issues "inside of oneself"
Long term LSD usage is awful. I know a couple of guys who used it (and other psychedelics) over the years, and they are like translucent tards now, they are removed and almost useless in my eyes.
As other people said, you are not going to find enlightenment in drugs. You just CANNOT do it. Drugs are recreational for a short term high, not a long term solution.
I don't understand how you can even throw this conclusion my direction when you will see by reading the initial post that my drug use is past, not present. I am "finding" myself, as you put it, without the aid of drugs (except caffeine, but that's hardly expanding one's consciousness) at present.
If you could clarify why you jumped to the conclusion that I'm getting high to find myself, I think it would be beneficial.
Edit: I am irritated to admit that upon rereading my first post it comes across as very pro-drug abuse. It was not intended this way. I think I interjected a short paragraph about experimenting with things inside my mind that should have been saved for another day. Next time I'm going to focus more on trying to help you guys understand my idea of the several programs that are run by the mind on a daily basis. These are run in the sober mind, by the way, so don't get all worked up that I'm gonna go off on some "go drop acid" rant. That's not the point. I think understanding the mind is more in line with the point, and that involves experimentation within the sober mind. I'll go into further detail in a later blog.
On June 25 2010 12:17 Surrealz wrote: I disagree with this assertion. You are merely "finding" yourself because you are spending boatloads of time thinking and being "trapped" within the reaches of your brain. When people get high, they often spend time recollecting and thinking about one's existence because of the way drugs make you feel. This is still possible sober, you just need to have the drive to think about these complex issues "inside of oneself"
Long term LSD usage is awful. I know a couple of guys who used it (and other psychedelics) over the years, and they are like translucent tards now, they are removed and almost useless in my eyes.
As other people said, you are not going to find enlightenment in drugs. You just CANNOT do it. Drugs are recreational for a short term high, not a long term solution.
I don't understand how you can even throw this conclusion my direction when you will see by reading the initial post that my drug use is past, not present. I am "finding" myself, as you put it, without the aid of drugs (except caffeine, but that's hardly expanding one's consciousness) at present.
If you could clarify why you jumped to the conclusion that I'm getting high to find myself, I think it would be beneficial.
Edit: I am irritated to admit that upon rereading my first post it comes across as very pro-drug abuse. It was not intended this way. I think I interjected a short paragraph about experimenting with things inside my mind that should have been saved for another day. Next time I'm going to focus more on trying to help you guys understand my idea of the several programs that are run by the mind on a daily basis. These are run in the sober mind, by the way, so don't get all worked up that I'm gonna go off on some "go drop acid" rant. That's not the point. I think understanding the mind is more in line with the point, and that involves experimentation within the sober mind. I'll go into further detail in a later blog.
My bad there, this wasn't directed at you specifically. I'm sorry if I may (and probably did xD) come off that way. My sentiments were directed towards a few implications people made in the thread so far about "finding themselves" with drugs. As far as your edit goes, I was not AT ALL irritated with any of your posts! I can come off that way, but my response is well....a response. Thats all. I'm just another idiot posting on a message forum.
Drugs are always just drugs. Thats all they are. Any sort of lasting impression that it leaves is nothing more than a memory. The path to find oneself and be truly autonomous does not need any aid from drugs. This thread has derailed into discussion about LSD, and is actually not at all about the conscious.
Now, if you mention mind body dualism we can have ourselves a wonderful debate on that.
If I were to go into a craft that is approaching the speed of light, time would slow down inside of the craft. When inside of the craft, would my thoughts slow down or stay at the same speed I can usually think? If thought and conscious is all electrical signals and such, thought and conscious would slow down.
On June 25 2010 10:17 travis wrote: I don't see why drugs would help anyone attain enlightenment. What exactly do you think enlightenment is?
Enlightenment, as I understand it, is the state of awareness in which all unknowns pertaining to reality become known. This doesn't mean you've experienced every illegal drug. There are certain states of being which are unhealthy. Rather, enlightenment includes everything you think you want to know about creation, life, the universe, and everything, but also everything you cannot possibly fathom from the experiences of your daily routine. This doesn't mean you achieve a completely blissful state, at least initially. It means you are presented with these things, but you must confront them regardless of how you feel. After you've gone through the "confrontation" process you presumably come to a state of acceptance which is my version of enlightenment. It is the ultimate truth.
In that case, how is this not just another fictitious concept?
It feels to me like your definition of "enlightenment" describes something that's obviously unattainable by us. Our brains are very limited constructs.
I think enlightenment isn't something meant for words, but would much more be much more along the lines of the word "acceptance" , perhaps paired with some other ideas.
Depending on your definition of "enlightenment," the method of achieving it will be different. For the Buddha, enlightenment came after he let go of all attachments he had to this world. If you have to rely on a drug to attain enlightenment, it isn't a true enlightenment (unless your definition of it is diff.)
Physiologically though, drugs mess with your brain. They make you release certain neurotransmitters and throw off mental balance. If anything, you are become further from recognizing "reality" or your reality in relation to this world (who you are).
On June 25 2010 12:50 PH wrote: Disappointed...OP has nothing to do with consciousness.
Sorry to mislead you... actually I intend to do several blog posts over the course of the next several weeks regarding this type of subject. I'm currently trying to develop one of my ideas more for the next topic so that it can be read as entertainment if desired. I think the next idea (the constructs of the brain, I'm calling them "programs" for now) will be more about consciousness. So look forward to my next post!
On June 25 2010 13:42 travis wrote: hp.shell so why do you want to become enlightened? please be careful about your answer. be honest about how you feel.
I tend to ramble and then come upon a sentence that makes sense, so you can read the following or just the next sentence. In a nutshell, I want to be able to use the truth for myself in order to connect with others on a higher spiritual level.
Well, at this point in my life, I am very curious about reality. I am basically confronting reality, so I'm trying to help the analytical part of my brain find some kind of peace. I could just say "screw this I don't care I'll just live my life," and I may HAVE to do that if this takes too long and I'm not being productive in other areas in the meantime, but some part of me is just begging to know the truths. And right now what I'm doing to take a step into the research of that is watch a bunch of youtube videos and internet articles. Which isn't the best way to go about it necessarily, but I'm at least finding ways to get deeper inside my mind where I can confront myself on a higher spiritual level. I'm questioning my very morals and values, and it's disturbing. So, I feel that if I can find truth, or enlightenment, then I will be able to let go of that desire that's making me want to know what's really happening.
Basically I have all this stress coming from the desire to know the truth, so if I knew the truth, or became enlightened, I would eventually be able to accept it and relieve that stress. It's hard for me to explain it this way, and categorizing it as a desire to release stress doesn't feel like quite the right explanation. I want to be able to use the truth for myself in order to connect with others on a higher spiritual level.
On June 25 2010 13:56 Djzapz wrote: In that case, how is this not just another fictitious concept?
It feels to me like your definition of "enlightenment" describes something that's obviously unattainable by us. Our brains are very limited constructs.
We all have inhibitions. I have let go of the inhibition that enlightenment is not possible. I'm glad you brought up your idea of "our brains are limited constructs" because it's something I intend to go into in great detail in my next blog. Look forward to more from me in the future.
EPT
