From "Tripping on Nothing
New, non-hallucinogenic versions of psychedelics are blurring the boundaries of the drug trip" (The Atlantic).
My first reaction: We're just talking about paying attention. Why can't you find a way to pay attention on your own, using the natural resources of your magnificent human body? Why add drugs? Americans and their pills. Just stop!
My second reaction: This is the diet drug we've been waiting for! It will make you eat a vegetable — one vegetable! — slowly and with pleasure. This too, one might do without drugs — recall Fletcherism — but these are people who are already resorting to worse drugs, and — who knows? — at some point maybe you could internalize the capacity to call any vegetable and respond with cosmic joy.
My third reaction: This is how "they" turn us into the bleak, insignificant half-humans of the future: You will do nothing and you will be happy. (See "Welcome to 2030. I own nothing, have no privacy, and life has never been better")
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61 comments:
“Born in 1849, Fletcher earned the nickname "The Great Masticator" due to his advocacy for thoroughly chewing food as a means to improve digestion, health, and even moral character.”
I’d like to see the correlation between food chewing time and political party affiliation. Democrats must swallow their food whole.
We're just talking about paying attention.
Have you ever done any psychedelics? Mushrooms or acid back in the day?
It’s door no. 3. Lots of people prefer to zone out in bliss and evade the responsibilities of life. Here is just another hip, respectable way to do that.
This story could have appeared on Seinfeld, the Show About Nothing.
My first reaction was the same as yours: just pay attention. I would add prayer/meditation to the human gifts that slow us down and focus us in the moment.
"he ate a bell pepper 'in the slowest and most intentional manner I had ever eaten a vegetable in my life.'"
Spare me from people like this who think anyone is interested in how they eat a vegetable.
“I got high and I missed it.”
I guess long form podcasts are hard for these people.
Rutabaga, rutabaga
Rutabaga, rutabaga
Rutabay-y-y-y...
"Have you ever done any psychedelics? Mushrooms or acid back in the day?"
Only LSD. Back in the day.
But the key thing about the drug they're talking about here is that there are no hallucinations, just some mental element (as described in the excerpt). Most of the article is about what constitutes a "trip." When can you say you have tripped?
Althouse said…
This is how "they" turn us into the bleak, insignificant half-humans of the future: You will do nothing and you will be happy.
Huxley called it Soma.
Prefer opiates myself.
I once took one of those focus drugs, it was a prescription drug, and I can't remember the name, but early on, I remember reading in a help file the description of some abstruse geometric function that I needed to use in a program, and I had used the function before, but I really struggled to understand the description, I only knew that I felt like it was the right one, and it worked in all of my test cases. Well this time, after taking the drug, I read the description and it simply made perfect sense to me. I also was looking for my car keys in the morning, and I looked for them differently, I was never tempted to look in the same place twice, like I might normally do if I end up searching the whole house, I simply knew for a fact that I had already looked in those places and the keys were not there. The whole house was in my head at one time, like juggling seven or eight balls in the air. Unfortunately the effect wore off after a couple of weeks and you had burned out the receptors for it. I never could find another doctor to prescribe it for me after that one moved on, though.
Caroline said...
“It’s door no. 3. Lots of people prefer to zone out in bliss and evade the responsibilities of life. Here is just another hip, respectable way to do that.”
Drugs are for people who can’t handle reality, and that number seems to be growing every year. I wonder if this blissed out guy drove while under the effects of this drug. Even without hallucinations, I wouldn’t someone under the effects driving.
My takeaway - to do normal human things like take a walk and enjoy the beauty of nature or savor a vegetable, people who are full of themselves need to take a pill.
Micro dosing LSD is supposed to be good for attention and energy, I micro dosed it once and was up for 24 hours, and it was pretty pleasant and not disorienting at all. I have never taken a dose large enough to make me hallucinate, though.
I find all drugs, other than good ol' alcohol, boring. I like reality, I don't need to escape into another fantasy world. Or trick my brain into thinking that consuming a vegatable is an incredible experience.
Its obvious that the powers that be are trying to pacify the lower classes into cow like contentment. Why else legalized Pot, decriminalized cocaine, fent, and heroin. Why else is hard liquor being advertised on TV?
And of course, you can get porn 24/7 on the computer, courtesy of a God-fearing Rabbi at Porn hub.
No family? No Job? Who cares? Here's your weekly income check, video game, porn, and pot.
A schizophrenic out for a walk is a better model than a neurotic lying on the analyst’s couch. A breath of fresh air, a relationship with the outside world. Lenz’s stroll, for example, as reconstructed by Büchner. This walk outdoors is different from the moments when Lenz finds himself closeted with his pastor, who forces him to situate himself socially, in relationship to the God of established religion, in relationship to his father, to his mother. While taking a stroll outdoors, on the other hand, he is in the mountains, amid falling snowflakes, with other gods or without any gods at all, without a family, without a father or a mother, with nature. “What does my father want? Can he offer me more than this? Impossible. Leave me in peace.” Everything is a machine. Celestial machines, the stars or rainbows in the sky, alpine machines— all of them connected to those of his body. The continual whirr of machines. “He thought that it must be a feeling of endless bliss to be in contact with the profound life of every form, to have a soul for rocks, metals, water, and plants, to take into himself, as in a dream, every element of nature, like flowers that breathe with the waxing and waning of the moon.” To be a chlorophyll- or a photosynthesis-machine, or at least slip his body into such machines as one part among the others. Lenz has projected himself back to a time before the man-nature dichotomy, before all the co-ordinates based on this fundamental dichotomy have been laid down. He does not live nature as nature, but as a process of production. There is no such thing as either man or nature now, only a process that produces the one within the other and couples the machines together. Producing-machines, desiring machines everywhere, schizophrenic machines, all of species life: the self and the non-self, outside and inside, no longer have any meaning whatsoever.
Anti-Oesipus, Deleuze ahd Guattari
This kind of reminds me of, and I wrote a comment about this before, of the passage about a meditation lesson in one of Herman Hesse's books, The Glass Bead Game, where he has the student drink a glass of milk slowly and intentionally before starting the lesson. I don't think he drugged the milk though. Then there was the Althouse post about the man who chugged his milk in great gulps, and wolfed down his steak bloody, and I noticed that you can get a good start on painting a character in very few words by describing how he eats. These are two very different people.
Swift's Yahoos. Competitive for money and status, but not really much fight in them. Vague concern about "the children." Horny. Liking some intoxicant.
Thank you for the 2030 article. Written by a Dane, of course. Denmark is one of the only countries that values a monoculture and sees the problem with multiculturalism. Denmark need Danes, with Danish culture. Economists tell us about the problem with public square that people abuse.
"Not tripping?" The guy was frying his balls off. That is exactly the feelings I had on LSD except, I had no desire to eat. LSD was better than any form of speed at suppressing my appetite.
Everything I looked at became extremely interesting, down to the fibers in carpeting. Everything seemed visually rich. It was the 12-hour duration that turned me off. But I can see why tech bros and gals are intrigued by substances that keep them intensely interested in their work for such long stretches.
Me, I now recommend a fairly drug-free existence except for legal medicines, and alcohol in moderation.
But the key thing about the drug they're talking about here is that there are no hallucinations, just some mental element (as described in the excerpt).
I'm thinking of the significant enhancement of the senses people experience with psychedelics as separate things from hallucinations. You're seeing, hearing, etc. things that are really there, but you're seeing them in a different way, you're perceiving more of what's there. There is more to pay attention to because more is coming in...maybe.
Also people often experience a profound sense of meaning to the experiences. Is that an emotional hallucination or an emotional enhancement?
Chemical mindfulness is an oxymoronic idea.
"Prefer opiates myself."
It's not easy to tame the wild chicken, I expect. :)
This is also the cutting edge therapy for Parkinson's Disease.
In college a Native American acquaintance invited me along with his friend to go choke cherry picking in the mountains. On the way up we ate some different kind of mushrooms, "Non-psychadelic, he said, "It just enhances awareness".
Beautiful summer day up there in the Bridger Mountains, warm, clear sky, light breeze. We spent hours up there and never really talked to each other, just enjoying being present in such a beautiful moment. We wandered off in separate ways.
Eventually I walked down to the car, sat on the grass. My friend came some time later and quietly sat next to me. His friend showed up sometime after that. How long? Not sure as time seemed to suspend itself.
Not much conversation on the way back, but we all agreed it was a very special day.
Far out.
I’ve spent the last few years developing an immunity to ibogaine powder.
Psychedelics or not, I've never made a whole meal or even a side dish out of a bell pepper. It stuck out at me. I can't help wondering if that's his usual meal enjoyed extraordinarily or because of his trip he selected the bell pepper for a special slow munch.
"Drugs are for people who can’t handle reality"
Go listen to Shawn Ryan's podcast where he talks about these psychedelics and the benefits they have had for himself and other SOF vets who suffer from TBI and post traumatic stress related problems. It's very interesting. They have gotten some amazing results. That's why these compounds are being studied now. They aren't using them recreationally. I don't think these are guys who can't handle reality.
I smell Bill Gates.
He wants to reduce the population with.... vaccines.
(no wonder he gave 50 million to robot-puppet Kamala. She's already on it.)
1. Title of article is outright falsity. To see something "like a 'perfectly framed photograph, distinct and standing on its own'" IS an hallucination.
2. Althouse is right about the rest of it. Try mindfulness instead of bottle or pill. Harder to get there, but no hangover and no withdrawl.
Hopefully nobody is forcing you guys who disdain all form of drug use to take these drugs against your will.
To see something "like a 'perfectly framed photograph, distinct and standing on its own'" IS an hallucination.
Maybe. Maybe it's just a matter of degree.
Or maybe you couldn't appreciate a perfectly framed photograph that was always there on the wall until you got glasses. Perception is reality.
Glasses are for people who can't handle blurriness.
Don't think I'm some kind of druggie, I'm not. I hate to even take an aspirin.
WK said...
"I’ve spent the last few years developing an immunity to ibogaine powder."
Inconceivable!
Meh. Sounds like a 5mg indica edible. Hardly a journey to the center of your mind but it will help you appreciate the wonder of a crisp apple.
But, gotta churn out that content…
I smell Bill Gates.
Like the devil, his smell is everywhere
I also never "hallucinated" per se on LSD or 'shrooms, except that very tiny things seemed to vibrate or swirl in sync with each other, like the aforementioned carpet fibers. I reacted differently to what I saw and experienced. But I did NOT have "visions" of truly extraordinary worlds or creatures. That happens in dreams but not on psychedelics.
"I'm thinking of the significant enhancement of the senses people experience with psychedelics as separate things from hallucinations.... Also people often experience a profound sense of meaning to the experiences. Is that an emotional hallucination or an emotional enhancement?"
This is explored in the article, but I just wanted to say that various religious meditations and mindfulness practices can get you to the same place. Your mind, without drugs, can get you to heightened awareness.
I was just reading about Shintoism...
If this heightened awareness idea gets to be called "psychedelic," then you could look at any painting and declare it "psychedelic."
Books are for people who can't handle ignorance.
Why can't you find a way to pay attention on your own, using the natural resources of your magnificent human body?
Meditation is supposed to do that, but just how emptying the mind gives one mindfulness is something many of us can't understand.
Why add drugs? Americans and their pills.
When it comes to attention, adderol is the gateway drug.
Born in 1849, Fletcher earned the nickname "The Great Masticator"
Salvador Dalí meant to paint his portrait, but things got muddled in the translation.
Apart from recreational use, it may also have a role in treating some psychoses without the nasty side effects.
I couldn't read the whole article because of the paywall. I can't afford the subscription because my guru charges so much.
Anyway, apparently there are medical benefits to psychedelics and they want to be able to make those available to patients without all the scary parts.
But maybe the other realms are real and if you want the cure you have to travel there and deal with the denizens. Where are the borders of reality anyway? Are they same as its horizons?
My takeaway is, Professor Althouse thinks taking the hallucinations out of psychedelics is a gyp.
"Have you ever done any psychedelics? Mushrooms or acid back in the day?"
Only LSD. Back in the day.
Reckless, didn't heed govt warnings about flying off of tall buildings with a single bound. (PurpleHaze ?)
Timothy Leary's dead
No no no he's outside
looking in...
Moody Blues, Legend of a Mind, 1968
The WEF would put something like this in our drinking water and then line us up at gunpoint to make sure we swallow. It would be patented by the Sackler family too.
The only known, confirmed LSD related fatality from "flying off a building" was a target of MK-Ultra who was dosed with LSD and then thrown out of a 5th story window. The "girl who thought she could fly" bullshit was a cover story they put out to misdirect people. Never happened.
Full disclosure: I served in the United States Navy in the 1970’s
The enlisted men’s slogan during the era was “reality is for people who can handle drugs”.
As for the comparison to LSD…
I don’t think most people who trip actually hallucinate (though that might be the objective). Maybe some enhanced visuals. I think for most people it is more of an intense state of awareness much as the author of this piece describes.
It makes/allows you to think in a way you never knew existed.
Of course if you’ve got a lot of anxiety hiding in your subconscious you’re not necessarily going to enjoy it.
I feel like the most precious gift Althouse could give herself before she dies would be a guided LSD trip.
I admire someone who can slip in a link to the Mothers "Call any Vegetable" in a post about the newest synthetic hallucinogens.
I think "mindfulness" is largely a bullshit concept. There. I said it. And meditation never got anyone anywhere. I am intrigued by the description of these drugs. I don't have the best concentration skills when it comes to things/activities that I'ma not totally interested in. The ADHD drugs sound like something I would have been into 30 years ago. I'd like to test out these newfangled substances. (Full disclosure: It is likely that the only reason I'm a professional entertainer is because, 45 years ago, I was mistakenly diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and prescribed Inderall. The effect was subtle but after a year on the drug, I found myself on stage at a comedy club open mic. Drugs can do amazing things.)
I'm pretty sure Joe Rogan podcast approves. Picture frames of perception isn't as catchy as the Doors
Stoned ape theory and all. Combined with the neuralink, humans make the next jump to ubermensch.
I, for one, am willing to take a homeopathic dose for starters, of almost anything including short half-life radionucleotides. Yeah, I've already done the full dose of that.
I still recall my druggie college roomie who explained that coke took you out of yourself for a little while, but LSD changed your address and made it hard to find your way home.
“When can you say you have tripped?“. An old drama coach told me, “Either you are trained or you are not trained.”
Likewise either you have tripped or you have not tripped, you will know the difference. If you don’t know the difference you have not tripped.
Maybe we aren't living in a simulation, but in a stoned ape's mushroom-induced hallucination. It would explain a lot of what's going on.
Anyone else worried about RCOcean? He used to post antisemitic posts only when there were Jews in the story. Now Everything is "THE JOOOOOOOS" even where there are no Jews like this story.
Society has criminalized drugs like Opium, fent, cocaine, etc. because people overdose and get sick/die. Further, use of these drugs results impaired judgement, etc. and results in auto accidents.
And finally, X percent of people will become addicted. yes, I know, not big strong you, but other people. And drug addicts cause a lot of problems for themselves and others. Although concentrated in the lower ranks of society, addication strikes any person of any class who is weak-willed or has an "addictive personality".
OTOH, legalizing them allows X percent of population to have fun. Of course these people can have "Fun" with alcohol, which we tried to ban but couldn't.
Yapping about "muh freedom" when it comes to illegal drugs is absurd. You might as well complain about having to get a drivers liscense or pay taxes.
Soma...
No one has mentioned Heavenly Blue Morning Glory seeds. Some of my friends tried them in the late fifties. The effect we mostly noticed was seriously enhanced hearing. Birds chirping outside the window were overpowering.
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