your opinion on trippinn?

so i am currently writing a controversial essey on psychedelic and/or hullucinogen drugs for school. either they are a dangerous thing or a beautiful thing with therapeutic value. so i want to know everyones thaughts, if you feel they are bad thing, how come? if you think they are helpful, explain, tell your story!

 

They're both.. depending on how you use them.

Chill out in a relaxed setting that you've prepared beforehand hand and dose yourself, take a walk and just be away from any distractions and you can have some really profound experiences and analyse your life from a different perspective. I heard an analogy somewhere, but can't remember where from but it's something along these lines.
Close one eye, then open the other. When you open your other eye you see more depth to everything.. When you take a psychedelic you're opening that other eye and can think over issues in your life with a much greater depth and understanding, they allow you to see things from a different perspective.

If you fuck about with them though your thoughts start to get a little bit deep and it can be hard to integrate yourself back into society because you suddenly notice how much bullshit is around us, and that there's no need to do all these tedious things we think we actually have to.
Being in a bad mindset and setting can cause your bad trips and all that malarky - an unfamiliar place, not knowing who you're with, trying to escape from your problems(doesn't happen with psychedelics, you only bring them to the surface) etc.
Obviously any psychological problems can be brought to the surface after use, and just generally all the bad shit you hear happening. But just a FUCK load less of it. Out of the millions of people that use psychedelics it's incredibly rare that something bad happens, just don't be a dumbass with them and 9/10 times you'll have unbelievable experiences.

 

The dichotomy you posit is illegitimate. EITHER they are beautiful/therapeutic OR they are dangerous? Can't they be both? In fact isn't danger a major factor in contributing to beauty and even therapeutic value?

I'm reading a book right now about a fellow who was having terrible emotional problems and suffering badly in his home life, and his form of therapy was getting out of the house for a couple weeks in order to hike a section of the Alaska coastline. TALK about dangerous and beautiful!!

A quote from Alan Watts:
"Finally, there are two specific objections to use of psychedelic drugs. First, use of these drugs may be dangerous. However, every worth-while exploration is dangerous—climbing mountains, testing aircraft, rocketing into outer space, skin diving, or collecting botanical specimens in jungles. But if you value knowledge and the actual delight of exploration more than mere duration of uneventful life, you are willing to take the risks. It is not really healthy for monks to practice fasting, and it was hardly hygienic for Jesus to get himself crucified, but these are risks taken in the course of spiritual adventures. Today the adventurous young are taking risks in exploring the psyche, testing their mettle at the task just as, in times past, they have tested it—more violently—in hunting, dueling, hot-rod racing, and playing football. What they need is not prohibitions and policemen, but the most intelligent encouragement and advice that can be found."

 

I don't see what will be so controversial about your essay at this point in time. All you can merely do is lay down the facts and perhaps clear a bit of the stigma that surrounds the drug. No, you don't turn into orange juice, you just turn into a sociopath. Instead of losing your spinal fluid, you lose all your friends to the Man upstairs - your Ego. And if you don't jump out of the window while under the influence of the drug, maybe the years of mental anguish from ingesting psychedelics will allow you to do it in a more sober state of mind. Cheers mate and good luck on your essay.

 

Like others have said they are both. There is a small portion of people who will not react well to these drugs, but that is not why they are illegal. Every drug from pharmaceuticals to other illegal drugs has a small portion of people who either A, hate the high or B. Have a negative mental/ physical reaction, but that does not mean we should prevent everyone from accessing these drugs.

They are illegal because they are counterproductive to the consumer society. You will not want to get up at 6 in the morning to trap yourself in a cubicle if you were tripping in the rain the night before. The drugs do not encourage productivity like for example coffee. Perfectly acceptable because it does not stimulate your mind, just a mild energy rush, this kind of high works for society.

You probably do want to get too deep into physics but we know from that that "reality" as we call it is really just an illusion, reality is a narrow spectrum of visible light, there is much the human eye and mind can not precieve. In my opinion pyscedelics help you to precieve these extra dimensions (and the beings that inhabit them). They are an aid people who seek it, they are a wise teacher. But it comes back to the good and evil you mentioned, there are "evil" beings in these realms, and you may encounter one.

People like Aleister Crowley actualy used psychedelics to contact these beings. Interesting side note, he drew the being and it looks exactly like what we would call the modern "gray alien" short gray being with almond eyes. But they came to him because he wished them to. They only have effect on those that allow them into their lives. However if your intentions are pure, you have nothing to fear.

 

set and setting is key

if you do not have a good mindset from the get-go (suicide prone) you shouldn't mess with psychedelics


psychs are a bit of both. i don't think it is OMG BEAUTIFUL THIS IS GODS FOOD type stuff - but it isn't bad or detrimental to your psyche either. though both ideas can and do come about.

honestly - the more BEAUTIFUL things i have discovered from psychedelic use is the little things that the drugs have influenced on me. a more open mind, curious mind, confident mind, extravagance...these aren't your guaranteed effect from these drugs - but they are aspects of who i am that i have uncovered with the help of my psychedelic use.

 

Gonna have to chime in with more of what's been said. Your approach is flawed from the start... to assume that things of this nature can be pigeon-holed into good vs bad is shortsighted and simplistic. To walk into a project assuming that the outcome is either "this is good" or "this is bad" is going to put you into the same camp of people in media and literature that thoughtful people ignore.
But if you're looking for a career at the Washington Post, Fox News, etc...
you're on the right track.

 

^Word, but to walk into any project, your first expectations are almost assuredly going to be different from the results. All in the experience

which is something else that is commonly learned through tripping.

another that some of the most common sense sayings become very obvious lifestyle guidelines almost. also the most basic laws of physics and groundbreaking scientific research seems to be visually apparent or understood on a lot of my trips. maybe others?

 

Certainly. However my experience watching others has been the "lighter" the experience and the more inflexible the ingrained beliefs, the less subjective and enlightening it is.
I'm also saying that in a broad sense, not just psychedelic experiences.

Not quite sure what that means, but I have had very "ah ha! I get it" moments. Moments that have become integral parts of me.
Speaking of biased opinions...

But to go on a different tangent... on the question of what have psychedelics done for me lately... I'd say to be reminded that there are few absolutes, and to remain open minded, flexible, and tolerant.

 

You would write a better essay if you just dropped acid and experienced it subjectively, than if you ask the opinions of all these people.

 

The essay would be miiiles better, but unfortunately he'd probably fail the assessment because the text would be honest and propaganda free.

 

Actually the essay would be full of personal bias and take away credibility from his or her argument if the basis is personal acid experience.

I do agree with the majority of posters in that there is good and bad on the issue but as far as a paper goes, I think you should stress the positives of psychedelics, focus on the therapeutic aspects of psychedelics as well as their spiritual entheogenic history. Maybe devote like a paragraph or couple sentences to some of the ways psychedelics can be misused but having a definitive stance on a paper even if its arguable or debatable makes a good paper

 

well actually i have to talk about both sides because its a controversial essay haha if i didnt talk about whats good and whats bad i would fail the assignment.

 

known of this is to help me write my essay, i was just curious because its something im interested in, its all about facts in it pretty much, like real rehab centers in the world helping acohal addictions and mushrooms helping headaces and stuff like bad trips.

 

Ah. In that case, check out some resources. You should check out Erowid's LSD vault. They have a ton of good stuff on therapeutic applications and other stuff.