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I took a strong psychedelic once, and a high dose at that. I tripped for over 12 hours, and by the end of the trip I was seriously considering changing my life

I took a strong psychedelic once, and a high dose at that. I tripped for over 12 hours, and by the end of the trip I was seriously considering changing my life in significant ways. For days after the trip I was considering making these changes. My thought patterns and assumptions had made a complete jump from one train of thought to another. This experience made me realize how much of our outlook on things is dominated by whatever mode of thinking we happen to be in, and that mode is more shaped by custom and habit than anything approaching logic and reason.

pell 7y ago
I know it's a very private question, but would you be able to describe the trip and the long lasting effects more?
- flattone 7y ago
  There is a spectrum of retrospectives. Re trip description. Most people tend to just say it's cool, you see stuff/colors brighter and emotionally impactful etc. My key story for last is laying in a bed in close proximity to a freeway. I could not choose to unhear/see with my eyes closed as a car drove down the freeway cylinders/rods and combustion. . I on extremely rare occasion hear this type of story from other peeps. Long lasting effect ... In the immediately following week I had the most significant behavior shift I can think of... Had been smoking since 11 years old... The LSD was approx 9th grade ..solidly solidly stopped for about a year. Pot. Everything. I'm back. I'm an idiot at heart give or take.. but what a beautiful year.
filoeleven 7y ago
> My thought patterns and assumptions had made a complete jump from one train of thought to another. William James uses the analogy that our set of habits are like an irregular polyhedron resting on one of its faces. Everyday experiences may rock it up onto an edge, but it will usually come to rest where it was, or perhaps on a neighboring face. A more singular, meaningful experience has more “push” to it, overcoming the force of habit in a way that no amount of daily prodding would, rolling the whole thing onto a new face that would take ages to land on otherwise. He was writing about religious conversions at the time, but there seems to be a lot of overlap with the effects of a psychedelic experience.
flattone 7y ago
Agree here. The heaviest experience of my life ..well above guns pointed at me a couple times, almost drowning, cliff mistakes on snowboards. . .was the first time I did LSD. I was probably 15 and took enough for 4+ confident people (a heavy guess... 3 and a quarter sugar cubes each with a drop "or so" from a visine bottle (typical sale vehicle)). I gave up on it doing anything about an hour after eating the first cube. Got dropped off at home .. had to go skiing with best and his mom. Vaguely remember running through my neighborhood at 3am, waking up a different friend, and leaving minutes later.. being in the bathroom at my house, and being in my friends mom's car the next morning. Later in life I returned to mature versions of this activity and found incomprehensibly beautiful visuals, patterns, self realizations about state of mind, perspective, the meaninglessness of "cool", purpose of building things(socially, as a species, not regarding myself). For me lsd is about the thoughts that result from the general "high". While I have only done it 6 or so times and may never again. . I believe it has amazing properties for some people and not so good for others. Some old pals are from last I saw them ...quite literally fried, but perhaps due to other activities. #dothingslikeanadult
- katzgrau 7y ago
  > For me lsd is about the thoughts that result from the general "high". 100%. It has a reputation as a thing that weirdos do to have fun or see cool things. If you "do it like an adult" I've found that it invokes a deeply introspective and thoughtful mode of thinking that can give you new perspective on different areas, both major and minor, in your life. But like good advice that you might get from a wiser person, it's only useful if you use your insights to better yourself. I've made immense progress in the areas of personal development and management due to such insights. It wasn't overnight - it inspired small changes in behavior that only years later, I can see the dramatic effects of. If it inspired even a 1 degree correction to a better direction, 10 years later the difference can be immense.
  - flattone 7y ago
    Jesus... When you put it this way ...lsd kind of... Sort of saved my life (quite a reach but I was 100% no idea what or why anything was and just trying to have fun and have friends to avoid painful self truths). Finding a a way to detach yet still seeing yourself. .. it is beyond. I want it again but don't want to be so... There is a also an iffy side to LSD which I only discovered the last time I did it 2 years ago. Never had a similar feeling ever. Vaguely felt like I wasnt seeing and thinking from the same brain / identity I'm used to. So I approximately said no more. Anyway... I deeply appreciate the reply here too. Had no idea what to expect here. Thank you.
sizzle 7y ago
This is what I fear most. I might abandon my livelihood and passion for technology after a rather earth-shattering trip that makes me question everything I believe in.
- corporate_shi11 7y ago
  What I've found is that in the short term you may question everything, but in the long term you settle back down and only continue questioning what you should have been questioning in the first place.

pell 7y ago

I know it's a very private question, but would you be able to describe the trip and the long lasting effects more?

flattone 7y ago
There is a spectrum of retrospectives. Re trip description. Most people tend to just say it's cool, you see stuff/colors brighter and emotionally impactful etc. My key story for last is laying in a bed in close proximity to a freeway. I could not choose to unhear/see with my eyes closed as a car drove down the freeway cylinders/rods and combustion. . I on extremely rare occasion hear this type of story from other peeps. Long lasting effect ... In the immediately following week I had the most significant behavior shift I can think of... Had been smoking since 11 years old... The LSD was approx 9th grade ..solidly solidly stopped for about a year. Pot. Everything. I'm back. I'm an idiot at heart give or take.. but what a beautiful year.

filoeleven 7y ago

> My thought patterns and assumptions had made a complete jump from one train of thought to another. William James uses the analogy that our set of habits are like an irregular polyhedron resting on one of its faces. Everyday experiences may rock it up onto an edge, but it will usually come to rest where it was, or perhaps on a neighboring face. A more singular, meaningful experience has more “push” to it, overcoming the force of habit in a way that no amount of daily prodding would, rolling the whole thing onto a new face that would take ages to land on otherwise. He was writing about religious conversions at the time, but there seems to be a lot of overlap with the effects of a psychedelic experience.

flattone 7y ago

Agree here. The heaviest experience of my life ..well above guns pointed at me a couple times, almost drowning, cliff mistakes on snowboards. . .was the first time I did LSD. I was probably 15 and took enough for 4+ confident people (a heavy guess... 3 and a quarter sugar cubes each with a drop "or so" from a visine bottle (typical sale vehicle)). I gave up on it doing anything about an hour after eating the first cube. Got dropped off at home .. had to go skiing with best and his mom. Vaguely remember running through my neighborhood at 3am, waking up a different friend, and leaving minutes later.. being in the bathroom at my house, and being in my friends mom's car the next morning. Later in life I returned to mature versions of this activity and found incomprehensibly beautiful visuals, patterns, self realizations about state of mind, perspective, the meaninglessness of "cool", purpose of building things(socially, as a species, not regarding myself). For me lsd is about the thoughts that result from the general "high". While I have only done it 6 or so times and may never again. . I believe it has amazing properties for some people and not so good for others. Some old pals are from last I saw them ...quite literally fried, but perhaps due to other activities. #dothingslikeanadult

katzgrau 7y ago
> For me lsd is about the thoughts that result from the general "high". 100%. It has a reputation as a thing that weirdos do to have fun or see cool things. If you "do it like an adult" I've found that it invokes a deeply introspective and thoughtful mode of thinking that can give you new perspective on different areas, both major and minor, in your life. But like good advice that you might get from a wiser person, it's only useful if you use your insights to better yourself. I've made immense progress in the areas of personal development and management due to such insights. It wasn't overnight - it inspired small changes in behavior that only years later, I can see the dramatic effects of. If it inspired even a 1 degree correction to a better direction, 10 years later the difference can be immense.
- flattone 7y ago
  Jesus... When you put it this way ...lsd kind of... Sort of saved my life (quite a reach but I was 100% no idea what or why anything was and just trying to have fun and have friends to avoid painful self truths). Finding a a way to detach yet still seeing yourself. .. it is beyond. I want it again but don't want to be so... There is a also an iffy side to LSD which I only discovered the last time I did it 2 years ago. Never had a similar feeling ever. Vaguely felt like I wasnt seeing and thinking from the same brain / identity I'm used to. So I approximately said no more. Anyway... I deeply appreciate the reply here too. Had no idea what to expect here. Thank you.

sizzle 7y ago

This is what I fear most. I might abandon my livelihood and passion for technology after a rather earth-shattering trip that makes me question everything I believe in.

corporate_shi11 7y ago
What I've found is that in the short term you may question everything, but in the long term you settle back down and only continue questioning what you should have been questioning in the first place.