7 ms·

Have absolutely seen first hand the positive effects of psychedelics when done right. I've also seen/experienced the negative effects. If there's one thing I

Have absolutely seen first hand the positive effects of psychedelics when done right. I've also seen/experienced the negative effects. If there's one thing I really hope this doesn't lead to is more certainty in spirituality. It's totally awesome if someone wants to follow what-if-ism ("I like to think this, but know it's wrong and will cede the point in a serious context"). If people like to put up crystals and imagine them doing things, go for it. Brains are weird and organic, there's no happiness in being purely sterile about them. Everyone believes in some fantasy narrative most of the time, doubly so when they're happy. But if we start allowing each-other to really, fully believe in these happy thoughts, we'll be setting ourselves up to be taken advantage of.

h2odragon 6y ago
"allowing each other"? You're free to express your doubts about my reality and my interpretation of it, but you sound close to saying "some thoughts are too dangerous to thunk," and don't we already have enough of those?
- seph-reed 6y ago
  > but you sound close to saying "some thoughts are too dangerous to thunk," Some thoughts are too dangerous to be thunk indefinitely. Thoughts can trigger the release of chemicals in your body, essentially acting like a drug themselves. This can be highly addictive. Addiction can easily make a person cruel. Poorly thought thunks are indeed very, very dangerous (ie self inflation, blaming others for everything, believing things will fix themselves). This doesn't mean these thoughts shouldn't ever be thought, but we should never lose our way back home to reality. I've seen many a hippy who followed spirituality too far, and became so hooked on their own vibe juice that they are no longer capable of basic scientific conversations.
palimpsests 6y ago
"more certainty in spirituality" sounds like a contradiction in terms :) Many spiritual traditions hold the primacy of Mystery and the unknown as axiomatic. Well-facilitated psychedelic-assisted therapy naturally provides a safe space for each individual's experience of the transpersonal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpersonal_psychology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpersonal_psychology). Given that these experiences occur in reality, they are, by definition, non-dual. In other words, beyond (or before) polarized concepts like "happy" or "sad". The guide and the medicine will help people integrate these experiences back into their daily lives. What this can look like, for one, is a much greater capacity to sit with uncertainty and discomfort. If psychedelic therapy is regularly egosyntonic, that's something to track very closely and can indicate inefficacy / weakness of one or more aspects of the process (e.g. inadequate preparation, not working with a trained guide, etc).

h2odragon 6y ago

"allowing each other"? You're free to express your doubts about my reality and my interpretation of it, but you sound close to saying "some thoughts are too dangerous to thunk," and don't we already have enough of those?

seph-reed 6y ago
> but you sound close to saying "some thoughts are too dangerous to thunk," Some thoughts are too dangerous to be thunk indefinitely. Thoughts can trigger the release of chemicals in your body, essentially acting like a drug themselves. This can be highly addictive. Addiction can easily make a person cruel. Poorly thought thunks are indeed very, very dangerous (ie self inflation, blaming others for everything, believing things will fix themselves). This doesn't mean these thoughts shouldn't ever be thought, but we should never lose our way back home to reality. I've seen many a hippy who followed spirituality too far, and became so hooked on their own vibe juice that they are no longer capable of basic scientific conversations.

palimpsests 6y ago

"more certainty in spirituality" sounds like a contradiction in terms :) Many spiritual traditions hold the primacy of Mystery and the unknown as axiomatic. Well-facilitated psychedelic-assisted therapy naturally provides a safe space for each individual's experience of the transpersonal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpersonal_psychology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpersonal_psychology). Given that these experiences occur in reality, they are, by definition, non-dual. In other words, beyond (or before) polarized concepts like "happy" or "sad". The guide and the medicine will help people integrate these experiences back into their daily lives. What this can look like, for one, is a much greater capacity to sit with uncertainty and discomfort. If psychedelic therapy is regularly egosyntonic, that's something to track very closely and can indicate inefficacy / weakness of one or more aspects of the process (e.g. inadequate preparation, not working with a trained guide, etc).