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I have heard it said, that if you understand yourself you understand the universe. Some say there are levels to go through in order to get to this "universal un

by volume 6y ago

I have heard it said, that if you understand yourself you understand the universe. Some say there are levels to go through in order to get to this "universal understanding". There's this one Youtuber who filmed himself on 5-MeO-DMT - his gateway drug to universal understanding. Well he was more blunt, in that he became God.

dwaltrip 6y ago
I'm pretty firmly in the naturalist camp. I've had numerous psychedelic experiences. I can see how one could think such things. But I don't think we have solid reasons to start making strong claims about the supernatural. Here's one piece of evidence out of thousands more. Consider that the psychedelic effects of LSD can be prevented simply by blocking 5-HT2A receptors in the brain [1]. This is what you would expect if a psychedelic experience is a biochemical phenomenon occurring in the brain, like that sparked by caffeine. A more powerful and much more interesting one, yes, but not something that requires talking of "god" or "universal understanding". [1] https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/scicurious-brain/httpblogsscientificamericancomscicurious-brain20110802sciam-chemistry-day-lsd-a-drug-only-as-good-as-its-receptors/# https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/scicurious-brain/httpbl... (search the page for "block the 5-HT2A receptor")
- volume 6y ago
  thanks for sharing about 5-HT2A receptors! I'm just generally casually curious about how consciousness works. Check this out from 2020: https://psychedelicreview.com/the-structure-and-function-of-the-serotonin-5-ht2a-receptor/ https://psychedelicreview.com/the-structure-and-function-of-... Even though neuroscience intimidates me, I'm smart enough to regurgitate the summary: "The 5-HT2A receptor is central to the effects of many psychedelics, but it may not be the only receptor involved." Also I know enough about myself that I don't kknow any of these topics enough to evaluate Barbara E. Bauer, or https://psychedelicreview.com https://psychedelicreview.com. I can keep Googling though ... This was quite interesting news: https://psychedelicreview.com/uc-berkeley-opens-the-center-for-the-science-of-psychedelics/ https://psychedelicreview.com/uc-berkeley-opens-the-center-f...

by volume 6y ago

dwaltrip 6y ago

I'm pretty firmly in the naturalist camp. I've had numerous psychedelic experiences. I can see how one could think such things. But I don't think we have solid reasons to start making strong claims about the supernatural. Here's one piece of evidence out of thousands more. Consider that the psychedelic effects of LSD can be prevented simply by blocking 5-HT2A receptors in the brain [1]. This is what you would expect if a psychedelic experience is a biochemical phenomenon occurring in the brain, like that sparked by caffeine. A more powerful and much more interesting one, yes, but not something that requires talking of "god" or "universal understanding". [1] https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/scicurious-brain/httpblogsscientificamericancomscicurious-brain20110802sciam-chemistry-day-lsd-a-drug-only-as-good-as-its-receptors/# https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/scicurious-brain/httpbl... (search the page for "block the 5-HT2A receptor")

volume 6y ago
thanks for sharing about 5-HT2A receptors! I'm just generally casually curious about how consciousness works. Check this out from 2020: https://psychedelicreview.com/the-structure-and-function-of-the-serotonin-5-ht2a-receptor/ https://psychedelicreview.com/the-structure-and-function-of-... Even though neuroscience intimidates me, I'm smart enough to regurgitate the summary: "The 5-HT2A receptor is central to the effects of many psychedelics, but it may not be the only receptor involved." Also I know enough about myself that I don't kknow any of these topics enough to evaluate Barbara E. Bauer, or https://psychedelicreview.com https://psychedelicreview.com. I can keep Googling though ... This was quite interesting news: https://psychedelicreview.com/uc-berkeley-opens-the-center-for-the-science-of-psychedelics/ https://psychedelicreview.com/uc-berkeley-opens-the-center-f...