after all these years we are still worshipping the SUN, and we don’t even know it 
BYTE, i was not trying to attack you, only exemplifying the other side of this coin.
I can count the number of times i’ve taken psychedelics on one hand. Had i not taken psychedelics (not “using” but “having had experienced”), i could very well be where i was beforehand; abusing downers, opiates and dropping out of school. Now, i’m in my third year of college attending a University of California on my way to a bachelors of science in the Cognitive Sciences. There is a certain utility to observing reality from a different point of view. The insight comes from relative comparison between the two. I changed my life dramatically, and the psychedelic experience played a significant role.
I’m not saying psychedelics are good or bad, I’m saying they are neither.
Pyschedelics are not my “distraction of choice” i’ve taken them, and now see no need to continue taking them. To quote Alan Watts, “Once you’ve got the message, hang up the phone”
either
i) take a psychedelic compound (e.g psilocybin in a low dose), or
ii) discontinue the demonization of that which you do not understand
The assumption that I’ve never taken a psychedelic compound is amusing at the very least. The assumption that I don’t understand even moreso. I’ve taken hallucinogens, and in fact, had to spend waste 3 years of my life dealing with a previously nonexistent panic disorder as a result. I guess it was at that point that I hung up the phone 
ah. very well. i’m sorry they made you develop a panic disorder. i’ve had ocd since i was young and panic attacks since i met my first girlfriend (half-joke). your argument holds more weight now that you’ve said this. we covered a wide range of the spectrum, and i think it was a fun debate 
That being said, there are many people who can handle them… but I am a firm believer that you never know when drugs of any sort might push your brain too far 
Some drugs really do enhance your clarity of mind (selectively, but in a usable way) like guarana (caffeine + extra stuff) and speed.
I find guarana (3+ grams) makes me, by default, happy: no effort. I see all my options all the time. I gain the clarity of mind to be realistic about things all the while. It’s so damn empowering.
The converse situation for me (i.e. my pre-guarana life) is to live in a slight fog all the time.
The confidence and willpower I exude while on it is so magnetic to others and one hell of a social lubricant. It’s helping me “fake it 'til I make it” and to build a more resilient mental framework for social interaction.
Thumbs up to intelligent drug use.
Hmm,
This is a subject that can hardly be discussed. since we have such things as chemicals like amphetamine (that are produced in labs) and the most healthy herbs on earth under the same category “DRUGS” it’s quite hard to agree wheter drugs push ones mind or not.
I think both sides are right - but this is just because we have really healthy stuff like ganja and chemicals that cause free radicals to flow in our veins like alcohol and other hardcore chemicals under the same term. This is why I think constructive discussion “using term Drugs” is nearly impossible for anyone. So we should really ditch that term because it actually means nothing. 
Every one must follow their own path. This is certain.
Yet, what is also certain to anyone who’s ever achieved actual enlightenment or is on that path, is that such a state of liberation has nothing to do with the mind at all. In fact, it’s a state of pure mindlessness allowing only the presence and essence of stillness to come into the light. It’s a liberation and dissolving of the mind-made self.
There’s no doubt that drugs can push you to certain levels of consciousness. But because drugs are mind dependant, they can never push you past the realm of the mind to achieve any real and lasting insight.
Also, to let go of the mind, one has to not become dependant on anything, especially physiological reactions. Drugs keep one majorly dependant and self identified therefore they have no greater purpose other than achieving a deeper state of mind. True enlightenment is past all mind and matter.
I personally don’t have any issues with people that use drugs or even depend on them. I am aware however, through my own experience and insight that they are not the greater vehicle in any great and deep insight. At best they are comparable to astral journeys.
People have a difficult time hearing that everything you need to liberate yourself from the cycle of birth and death, you already have since birth and before.
Furthermore, the cycle of drugs is always the same. What act begins with pain always ends with pain. In the context of drugs, it’s typically 10 fold.
Each walks their own path.
[quote="#<0x00005628516916d8>, post:27, topic:20364"]
Hmm,
This is a subject that can hardly be discussed. since we have such things as chemicals like amphetamine (that are produced in labs) and the most healthy herbs on earth under the same category “DRUGS” it’s quite hard to agree wheter drugs push ones mind or not.
I think both sides are right - but this is just because we have really healthy stuff like ganja and chemicals that cause free radicals to flow in our veins like alcohol and other hardcore chemicals under the same term. This is why I think constructive discussion “using term Drugs” is nearly impossible for anyone. So we should really ditch that term because it actually means nothing.
[/quote]
</0x00005628516916d8>