4 ms·

I know there's a stigma to being anti-psychedelia. But how are we so certain that we aren't causing irreversible harm to these people psyches? The phenomena the

I know there's a stigma to being anti-psychedelia. But how are we so certain that we aren't causing irreversible harm to these people psyches? The phenomena these people are having can be equated with full blown religious experiences at least according to the anecdotal of what they experience. Whether they be pure ecstasy or rummaging through the depths of hell. But we all have our own internal language which really express what we experienced. What we express to others is not the truth of the experience. I understand people can function in society. It's not difficult to function in society to at least pass by unnoticed. Even in the face of ultimate authority, we will not express the complete truth. Unless these authorities are aware of some way of seeing it all, how do we know these people aren't affected by this in a serious way? I just don't know how people can go through these experiences and not be affected. Thinking they are gods while under the influence, seeing the true nature of it all, and yet go back into traffic the next day. How can these two things coexist.

shoes_for_thee 7y ago
I hate to gatekeep here, but I guess I'm going to kind of do it anyway: A lot of people who have taken psychedelic drugs and report a religious experience or an experience where they encountered ultimate reality, are mistaken. So we get someone who had a moderately intense psychedelic experience for the first time and it overwhelmed them. That person has heard a lot about the mind-expanding properties of psychedelics, and figures "hey, that must really profound. That must have been religious. That must have been a mystical experience." And they go about their daily life enjoying the totally-real benefits of taking LSD here and there. They feel happy and sociable. They feel more appreciative about their life. Great. but look.... sometimes... folks who have mystical experiences have a difficult time integrating that experience. They obsess over it. They attempt to repeat it, but fail because they discover that it is not repeatable. They change their priorities in accordance with their new knowledge, to the bafflement of their friends. They find themselves unable to relate to other people because their priorities have become so far-fucking-out. They seek out people who may have experienced something similar by immersing themselves in religious practices, befriending religious teachers, and devouring everything they can get their hands on. and so on and so forth. My only point is that psychedelic experiences can seem very important and religious in nature. How genuinely important that experience was tends to be reflected in the person's reaction to it.

shoes_for_thee 7y ago

I hate to gatekeep here, but I guess I'm going to kind of do it anyway: A lot of people who have taken psychedelic drugs and report a religious experience or an experience where they encountered ultimate reality, are mistaken. So we get someone who had a moderately intense psychedelic experience for the first time and it overwhelmed them. That person has heard a lot about the mind-expanding properties of psychedelics, and figures "hey, that must really profound. That must have been religious. That must have been a mystical experience." And they go about their daily life enjoying the totally-real benefits of taking LSD here and there. They feel happy and sociable. They feel more appreciative about their life. Great. but look.... sometimes... folks who have mystical experiences have a difficult time integrating that experience. They obsess over it. They attempt to repeat it, but fail because they discover that it is not repeatable. They change their priorities in accordance with their new knowledge, to the bafflement of their friends. They find themselves unable to relate to other people because their priorities have become so far-fucking-out. They seek out people who may have experienced something similar by immersing themselves in religious practices, befriending religious teachers, and devouring everything they can get their hands on. and so on and so forth. My only point is that psychedelic experiences can seem very important and religious in nature. How genuinely important that experience was tends to be reflected in the person's reaction to it.