Thoughts on conscience, entities, ufos plus AYAHUASCA

[Ufocurious]

I am listening to Dennis McKenna and the Paratopia guys and just loved this:
DM: How does it feel being dismissed as a whacko by whackos?...LOL

 

[Ufocurious]

The reason to start this thread: I have started to take Ayahuasca. It is a slow approach, I will do it every 2 weeks. So far, I have taken it twice. The first time nothing happened, except for higher awareness of the environment I was in, and a feeling that my barely open channels shut down for about 4 days. BTW, it is not a good feeling being in this planet completely shut to the unknown and "hyper" realm that surround us. According to the people that I am doing the Aya with, the first time is like that. Before the work starts, the Ayahuasca has to balance the chakras.
The second time was very different. I will tell another time. Now I am researching other people's experiences with the plants and DMT. I did not do much research before because I did not want to go into into the experience with much knowledge and expectative. But I saw the machine elves! The did a parade Cirque de Soleil style for me. Thanks mother Ayahuasca. Thanks DMT.
All I can say for sure is: amazing, better than expected, a definite conscience opener.
Is it Huxley's SOMA? Is it a drug? Is it the spirit molecule?
I have no idea. But it is something worth to get into. At least for me.

 

[Randall]

The reason to start this thread: I have started to take Ayahuasca.

I don't mean to be a "buzz-kill" but your mind and your brain work well enough without it.

"Last August, 18-year-old Nolan left his California home and boarded a plane to the Amazon for a 10-day, $1,200 stay at Shimbre in Peru's Amazon basin with Mancoluto – who is pitched in Shimbre's promotional materials as a man to help ayahuasca recruits "open their minds to deeper realities, develop their intuitive capabilities, and unlock untapped potential." But when Nolan – who was neither "flaky" nor "unreliable," says his father, Sean – didn't show up on his return flight home, his mother, Ingeborg Oswald, and his triplet sister, Marion, went to Peru to find him. Initially, Mancoluto, whose real name is José Pineda Vargas, told them Kyle had packed his bags and walked off without a word. The shaman even joined Oswald on television pleading for help in finding her son, but the police in Peru remained suspicious. Under pressure, Mancoluto admitted that Nolan had died after an ayahuasca session and that his body had been buried at the edge of the property."

Read more: http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/the-dark-side-of-ayahuasca-20130215#ixzz3BtESL1Pd

Peruvian shaman confesses he buried body of U.S. teen who died from drinking hallucinogenic herbal brew at spiritual retreat:

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2202459/Kyle-Joseph-Nolan-death-Peruvian-shaman-confesses-buried-body-U-S-teen-spiritual-retreat.html#ixzz3BtF38ltF

Is Ayahuasca Neurotoxic? Friday, Jul 27th, 2012

"A recent toxicological study, conducted by Alex Roberto Melgar Figueroa and submitted as a Ph.D. dissertation to the Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto in Brazil, has assayed the neurotoxic effects of ayahuasca in laboratory rats. The abstract, in Portuguese and English, is here, and the full text — alas, only in Portuguese — is here. “The results of this investigation,” the author reports, “indicate the presence of oxidative stress in rats treated with ayahuasca, with statistically significant values of neuronal apoptosis measured by TUNEL assay.” In other words, the author says that ayahuasca killed off brain cells in experimental rats."

More Here: Is Ayahuasca Neurotoxic? | Singing to the Plants​

It's also hard enough to get people to take claims of the paranormal seriously, let alone adding hallucinogenic brain damaging drugs to the mix. We need clear minded, rational, intelligent people, and besides, maybe some of us might worry about you getting involved in that. This is serious stuff. Preserve what is left of your brain. It gets harder and harder to do that as we age without adding extra stress from drugs, alcohol, whatever the case may be.

 

[Ufocurious]

Ufology
Thanks for the concern. But I did my homework.
Firstly: I am in Brazil, and here Ayahuasca is legal. The Ayahuasca we are taking is clean, with just the 2 plants, the vine (jagube), and the leaves (chacrona). The people I am with are from my work. It just happens the "padrinho" (godfather) is not a shaman, but someone that has studied to be able to open his own shamanic center. And he is a lawyer who works in the same bank as me.

In Peru, some people are mixing other plants such as TOE to enhance the effects of Ayahuasca. Nolan was left unsupervised with the brew and probably died from a overdose of the Toe added to the Ayahuasca. I saw the film about that place, and even before learning that it was the place Nolan died, and I knew it was a bad place. The shaman there made people walk through the forest under the effects of the Ayahuasca. No way. It is completely irresponsible. In the place I am going to we are supervised by people who do not take the brew. It is serious and sacred. It is their church, but no Santo Daime or UDV.

After my first real experience I can tell it is not like alcohol. One never loses their sense of self and we know who we are, where we are, and that we are in a DMT trip. Once we open our eyes we can behave normally. There are the eventual bad trips, but there are people there to help through, and even the ones that are in the force, as its called the Ayahuasca induced state, are able to come out of the state at their will to help.

There a no side effects, and next day everyone is fresh and happy. That is the reason I called it SOMA.

So, do not worry. I am doing it very carefully.

And the outcome is really interesting...

 

[Polterwurst]

Ufology
So, do not worry. I am doing it very carefully.

Just watch out for yourself and don't take any risks. The DMT might not be harmful (I think we're all supposed to have it in us anyway, so that's probably not what killed the brain cells in these rats), but who knows what else might be in the mix.

Thanks for trusting us enough to talk about this. I have to admit I'm very curious about the spiritual side of DMT myself but I don't know if I'd have the guts, given the opportunity, even if it was pure DMT.

I'll probably not find out, though, because here in Germany, all drugs (except for beer, schnaps and nicotine of course) are absolut verboten.

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

UFOcurious—I admire your courage to explore the higher realms of your reality. I firmly believe that psychedelics are a wonderful tool for those of us that have what could be described as shamanic tendencies. If you are in a place of fear or paranoia in your life these wonderful medicines will bring you to the place that will allow you to understand your fears so that you are able to conquer them within yourself. Sure, hallucinogens are not for everybody, but I can honestly say they were instrumental in helping me heal from a very traumatic childhood and adolescence. My shrink at the time was the one that made this statement. Everyone is different Randall—one man's paradise is another man's hell. Psychedelics force you to face your inner demons–up close and extremely personal— and then they make you deal with your particular brand of personal denial in your life. If you get through this process, a huge and wonderful world opens up for you to explore. Some people are unable to deal with what they have not been dealing with. To each their own.

Happy trips and trails UFOcurious, I'm extremely jealous!!!

 

[Randall]

Ufology
Thanks for the concern. But I did my homework.

You are most certainly an adult who is capable of making your own informed decisions, but personally, I'm choosing at my age and stage to preserve as many brain cells as long as possible, not speed up their aging by stressing them out with drugs. Also, if I want to be taken seriously as a ufologist, I can't be thought of as someone who is into hallucinogenic or mind altering drugs. It's tough enough already to be taken seriously.

Firstly: I am in Brazil, and here Ayahuasca is legal.

Legalization is a separate issue. Whether or not these substances are good for us shouldn't necessarily have a bearing on the rights of individuals to use them. However I think it should have a bearing on the rights of individuals who choose to use them to receive medical benefits and other payouts from society at large that result from the high-risk behavior.

So, do not worry. I am doing it very carefully. And the outcome is really interesting ...

Sigh. Have you tried being really straight and going to one of these places where people take it to watch what happens to them and to interact with them from a clear minded objective point of view? Have you done that and then asked yourself if you would you really want that to be you? Personally, being clean and clear-headed is where I'm at, and that outcome is really interesting too .

 

[Randall]

Everyone is different Randall—one man's paradise is another man's hell. Psychedelics force you to face your inner demons–up close and extremely personal— and then they make you deal with your particular brand of personal denial in your life. If you get through this process, a huge and wonderful world opens up for you to explore. Some people are unable to deal with what they have not been dealing with. To each their own.

Tell it to the parents of the young man who flew to Peru to find their 18 year old buried on the property of someone with "shamanic tendencies". Had he lived a few more years he probably would have matured just fine and learned how to "face his inner demons" without mind altering drugs. For that matter, maybe you would have turned out just fine without them too. And I'm pretty much certain that @Ufocurious' brain in ten years would be in better shape if she gets out of it now rather than going into it for who knows how long.

But ya sure Chris, "to each their own", and that also means I can express any concerns I might have for those embarking on this path. Surely you realize that your support for this could encourage some reader of the forum to get on a plane and fly to South America where they could end up in all kinds of trouble, and I don't see that as a responsible thing for a representative of the Paracast to be doing. But hey, it's your's and @Gene Steinberg's show.

Bottom line: I'm sure it's possible that drugs can have some therapeutic effect, and my personal view is that most of it should be legalized and regulated, but that doesn't mean I think it's good for people, and I still encourage people to stay off the happy pills, or whatever jungle juice version of the same they're tempted to explore, and deal with reality "up close and personal" without the drugs.

 

[Wade]

I've been flip floppin about trying this for some time, while I'm not anti - drug per say be it Rx or not, when it came down to it I just said to myself "is this trip really necessary ?"

I think part of my blasé-ness about it is that I have such vivid lucid dreams that if I do have a need to escape or heal I can find it via that route. There has been a number of times that I have been agitated and very distracted and a good trippy dream usually cleared it up....Also breezy, cloudy days... I understand is not the same thing but my blue funks are very short lived.

I can certainly understand why some people would want to consider it for personal healing or insight if not only because I'm even more ambivalent about psychiatry and pharmaceutical aids.

In the end I think the only reason for my interest in DMT based drugs is that I have a personal meme going with the whole mantis thing which I understand is a common aspect of DMT trips. If you do encounter one of these beings I would definitely like to hear in what context it took place.

 

[manxman]

Contentious as ever Randal, you sound like a tabloid rag.

I would have a ago wade.

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

Bottom line: I'm sure it's possible that drugs can have some therapeutic effect, and my personal view is that most of it should be legalized and regulated, but that doesn't mean I think it's good for people, and I still encourage people to stay off the happy pills, or whatever jungle juice version of the same they're tempted to explore, and deal with reality "up close and personal" without the drugs.

Nancy Reagan woulda loved your "anti-drugs" posts. "Just say NO," right Randall?

Let's get real: Many times the number of people die from legal drugs than illegal ones, Randall. I would bet that you have never taken psychedelics, or that you did once and didn't like what your psyche revealed to you. As someone who has "tripped" many hundreds of times, I speak from a place of authority on the subject—you do not. I have seen people transformed into amazing individuals after being lifted out of the darkness of their everyday demons of denial. Have you? Out of all the countless times I imbibed with others, (many for the first time) I only watched one person, one time, have a bad trip. Because they were surrounded by loving, experienced individuals, their demons were effortlessly transformed and they ended up having a wonderful, tranformative experience. Have you ever seen this Randall? My guess would be no.

As to your "happy pills" comment, I take that to mean the ridiculous over prescribing of mood stabilizers and anti-depressants that are making the drug companies billions of dollars and turning the western culture into a bunch of zombies that bumble around in a state of waking coma. I would never be so crass as to describe hallucinogens as "happy pills" and I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on that one.

We all have blind spots Randall, and most of us are (sadly) in a permanent state of entrenched denial. That's one of the most important theraputic aspects of psychedelics, they open the doors of your perception to see your blind spots and help you transcend your denial into a place of wondrous clarity.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT advocate recreational psychedelic use. These are powerful tools that should be used w/ care and w/ purpose. They are not a ride in Disneyland or an escape and should only be used w/ supervision in a proper setting.

 

[Ufocurious]

Oh boy
I was having lunch, and came back to turn off the computer as I have to go out and bammmm
Poor rats.
Thanks Ufology


I am not going to do Ayahuasca forever. It is an experiment. It is not about issues, which I have plenty but I go to a psychologist for that
My experiment is about to be able to differentiate between lucid dreams, dreams, and OBEs. I am a lucid dreamer, and I have had my possible OBEs adventures. Add UFO sightings, paranormal experiences, and voila, I am a weirdo. Plus, these people I am doing with have had shared visions, and I want to experience that. My main goal is to discover what is between my ears, and what is not.
Anyway, if I come to a conclusion that everything is between my ears, a whole new research has to be done, because if all the weird stuff I have experienced is my brain doing, I have a very powerful and psychedelic brain.

BTW, I have been around people drinking and doing drugs while I am sober, and I don't want to be like them (well, lier, sometime is fun to be a dummy). Ayahuasca is different. It is all internal. You do not become a dummy. If some brain cells are killed, well, is it worse than all the environment stress and lack of sleep we are exposed every day? I will take my chance. Some other researches from that same university show the other side of Ayahuasca, such as the increase of serotonin receptors. Actually, there are more research showing benefits than harm. When I have the time I will list them for you.

I am too curious to let this chance go by.
However, it may not be a good idea to post it in the forum because it could look like a drug advocacy.

BTW I don't do drugs, and very rarely drink alcohol.

So, if Gene and Chris want to delete the thread it is fine with me. I was only trying to share all the stuff I will probably go through as a journal.

By Guys, I gotta go.
Have a nice weekend.

 

[Ufocurious]

Here is the experience #2

So I did it again. This time there around 20 people there, and 3 children!!!!!!!!!!
They actually helped, but did no take it. There were 4 adult helpers, who keep an eye on us, rekindle the fire, change the music, etc.
One of the women there was very interesting person. She told me she has the ability to see and talk to spirits. She went through the same stuff as the boy in the movie Sixth Sense. However she had her deceased grandmother to help her during the process. When she was 15, her granny said goodbye and her deceased father assumed the post as guiding her. She had incredible stories to tell. She is a surgical instrumental nurse. She actually sees the spirit doctors helping the atheists doctors during surgeries. She also told me that during a surgery the patients' astral body are taken away so they do not see the surgery in case they become aware they are out of their bodies.
Anyway, the Ayahuasca took a while to take over. Then I felt my head cold and a soft blow (as someone blowing air) in the back of the top of my head, and voila.
I saw geometrical white lines against a black void. As I went through it I made up the most incredible video clips to the music that was playing. I even saw the machine elves. They were a bunch of little tiny figures on a parade. It was a cartoon future city all in black and white, as it was their clothes. It was a circus parade. There was much more, but I don't remember. Time passed really slow, but the scenarios changed quickly. I was amazed by their complexity. The funny thing was that when I opened my eyes to go to the bathroom (#2 twice, no vomit), I would be normal without any "trip". I could talk and behave normally. But once I was back on my chair, all I had to do was dive through the lines and go back to the incredible geometrical worlds my brain was making. No one there that I spoke to had seen this geometric world ever. They attributed to the fact of me being an architect. However, this is a normal trip with people from the north hemisphere, so it could be a unconscious collective of some kind.
Even in the trip, I was lucid, but it didn't feel like a lucid dream because I had no control. It was neither a dream, because it had logic. Very interesting. The whole time I was lucid and aware of my environment to a point that I had to cover my head to escape from the fire luminosity and the other people's come and goings. I was also aware it was the DMT working.
During the whole ludic trip I had three psychological insights. They are interconnected and were things I have to work on the relationship between my mother and my daughter, and some about myself. It felt really good as it could be my higher self untainted by other people's and my ego opinion, or else... But the messages were good, sound and clear. They were through stories I could watch. My part was a notebook with drawings and text. I am amazed.
I will keep the work with the force, as they call the mother Ayahuasca here. Two of the helpers could get into the force without any Ayahuasca,just from being in there. All was done with love and respect.
Let's see what I will find out.

 

[SRL+]

Maybe “Ufocurious” would document the experience(s) with some pictures and such, so all of us may be able to glean some additional insight.

 

[Polterwurst]

So, if Gene and Chris want to delete the thread it is fine with me.

I for one am very grateful for the opportunity to "participate" in your experiment and would find that unfortunate. I've read the book by Dr Strassman and am very fascinated by the accounts.

If I may ask, did the "psychic nurse" say anything if the DMT state and the times when she is seeing or intuiting the "other side" are similar? Or is this something totally different?

These stories addressing your own situation seem to indicate that DMT really is some kind of access to the greater self, the unconscious, maybe what's been called "the soul". Our own bodies are producing it, as with all other mammals and lots of plants, there's no evidence for it being a harmful or addictive substance.

I guess the most interesting question is, if there's verifiable information you could find that is factual and was definitely unknown to you before. Which would mean that something like the collective unconscious actually exists.

 

[Wade]

@Christopher O'Brien here is my question about employing these as tools. If one is an accomplished Shaman wouldn't one be able to have an experience or go to a place without any "help? That's What I thought made a Shaman a Shaman. I am under the impression that these drugs help a layman get there but for a Shaman it's closer to a placeb or maybe an enabler/helper Like an ouija board or voudou talisman is considered to be.

 

[Christopher O'Brien]

@Christopher O'Brien here is my question about employing these as tools. If one is an accomplished Shaman wouldn't one be able to have an experience or go to a place without any "help? That's What I thought made a Shaman a Shaman. I am under the impression that these drugs help a layman get there but for a Shaman it's closer to a placeb or maybe an enabler/helper Like an ouija board or voudou talisman is considered to be.

Depends on the shamanic system, but generally, yes, that is correct. Hallucinogens are tools to gain insight brought about through these higher states of awareness. In general, Shamanic systems train aspiring adepts to interpret these experiences/insights in themselves and others. Once you have the experience needed to accomplish this, there is no need for altering the Shaman's state of awareness. Personally, I rarely alter my awareness w/ psychedelics anymore. I don't have a need to. I have gained most (but not all) the personal insight I have sought to move forward with clarity and confidence in my life. But that's me—each one of us is different w/ uniques needs and circumstances, etc...

 

[Randall]

Nancy Reagan woulda loved your "anti-drugs" posts. "Just say NO," right Randall?

Actually, I think the whole "War On Drugs" was ( is ) a waste of time and money and drain on resources that would be better spent doing other things. Also ( yet again ), to quote: "I'm sure it's possible that drugs can have some therapeutic effect, and my personal view is that most of it should be legalized and regulated."

Let's get real: Many times the number of people die from legal drugs than illegal ones, Randall. I would bet that you have never taken psychedelics, or that you did once and didn't like what your psyche revealed to you. As someone who has "tripped" many hundreds of times, I speak from a place of authority on the subject—you do not.

If you want to talk about "getting real" then I'm sorry to say that your "place of authority" as someone high on psychedelics cannot be considered to be either objective or reliable. That's not to say that you aren't a trustworthy person. I believe you are sincere, but if a person high on psychedelics were to say to me that they saw an alien craft dematerialize before their eyes, let's just say I'd probably throw the report in the low-confidence bin, one down in reliability from hypno-regression, and I seriously doubt that anyone, save a few people like yourself would give it any weight at all.

Then there are those who would say that if you made the same report while allegedly totally straight, that it was probably some after-effect or flashback of some kind, and still not take you seriously. So am I going to advocate that in any way shape or form here on the Paracast public forum? No way. We need clear headed, straight, reliable people, and the further away we are from the drug-subculture, the better off we are.

For other people who don't mind losing their credibility and their brain cells in pursuit of the insights that may ( or may not ) come from drug induced experiences, I think that should be, at least for the most part, a choice that is theirs, and that they shouldn't be unfairly persecuted ( or prosecuted ) for it.

I have seen people transformed into amazing individuals after being lifted out of the darkness of their everyday demons of denial. Have you? Out of all the countless times I imbibed with others, (many for the first time) I only watched one person, one time, have a bad trip. Because they were surrounded by loving, experienced individuals, their demons were effortlessly transformed and they ended up having a wonderful, tranformative experience. Have you ever seen this Randall? My guess would be no.

I think we're all amazing individuals whether we happen to be high on drugs or not. That's not meant to try to diminish your own personal experiences. Anything positive that you came away with from it, or saw others experience is perfectly legitimate within the context of such experiences. But that still doesn't have a bearing on the reasons I gave for not going down that path.

As to your "happy pills" comment, I take that to mean the ridiculous over prescribing of mood stabilizers and anti-depressants that are making the drug companies billions of dollars and turning the western culture into a bunch of zombies that bumble around in a state of waking coma. I would never be so crass as to describe hallucinogens as "happy pills" and I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on that one.

Ayahuaska contains Harmala alkaloids are MAO-inhibiting beta-carbolines. The three most studied harmala alkaloids in the B. caapi vine are harmine, harmaline and tetrahydroharmine ( Wikipedia ). Harmine and harmaline are selective and reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), while tetrahydroharmine is a weak serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI).

It turns out that Serotonin reuptake inhibitors are used in a variety of pharmaceutical antidepressants, and when you look at the link there and check the symptoms they are used to treat, it's not surprising that the effects you reported from using unrefined variants produce similar results. So the "happy pills" analogy is actually quite accurate, and again, I've not said that drugs don't have any therapeutic value, it's that I'm not an advocate of that kind of therapy other than as a last resort.

We all have blind spots Randall, and most of us are (sadly) in a permanent state of entrenched denial. That's one of the most important theraputic aspects of psychedelics, they open the doors of your perception to see your blind spots and help you transcend your denial into a place of wondrous clarity.

Or so you might think you have clarity until you come down and find that the beautiful sunny garden you think you're standing in is actually the middle of the interstate highway at 1:30am, and you're not standing, but laying flat on your back. Trust me, as a teen growing up in the 70s who was into playing guitar in a rock band, and who had some older hippie friends, I've seen enough and heard enough stories from users besides yourself to respect how powerful hallucinogenics can be, and "clarity" wasn't one of the strong features, even if they thought so at the time.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT advocate recreational psychedelic use. These are powerful tools that should be used w/ care and w/ purpose. They are not a ride in Disneyland or an escape and should only be used w/ supervision in a proper setting.

I'll give you credit for the above. As a parent, I realized that my son might be exposed to and tempted to get into recreational drugs, and knowing that outright forbidding it would be a waste of my time, I could only hope that if he did wade into those waters, he would find someone with the experience and attitude that you have shown in your posts here, and that he would also not feel that he should hide it from me. So it's not that I don't get what you're saying Chris, but now that he's a full grown adult, I'm also just as glad he decided not to get into it in the first place.

 

[Tyger]

I for one am very grateful for the opportunity to "participate" in your experiment and would find that [a deletion of the thread] unfortunate. I've read the book by Dr Strassman and am very fascinated by the accounts.

I agree. I am interested. I was once in an 'occult school' (for lack of a better description) that used such under the very clear conditions you and Chris describe. It was always stated by the teacher that such use was intended only for 'showing the way'. Once shown, one was to undertake the physical exercises and diet and higher disciplines to achieve the awareness as a conscious norm.

For a variety of reasons it is not my path, and I have never indulged even slightly, but I am interested, and would feel honored to hear your stories.

If one is an accomplished Shaman wouldn't one be able to have an experience or go to a place without any "help? That's What I thought made a Shaman a Shaman. I am under the impression that these drugs help a layman get there but for a Shaman it's closer to a placeb or maybe an enabler/helper Like an ouija board or voudou talisman is considered to be.

I think there needs to be a distinction between spiritual enlightenment and phenomenon.

I am not schooled in shamanism. I probably should do some reading on it. @Ufocurious, I think you suggested an author some time ago on another thread. Care to say again?

 

[E. L. Wisty]

May I add here that I agree with ufology rather that Chris. As I've said already, I've taken huge quantities of psychedelic drugs. And I mean HUGE. If that gives me the authority to argue with Chris on an equal basis, well, fine, bring it on, Chris! Because I have exactly zero belief that any of the extraordinary things I saw under the influence of LSD (or any other drug - I wasn't especially fussy) were actually real, however real they may have seemed to me at the time. Just like Chris, I don't take illegal drugs any more. Why not? Because I got bored with them. Since I did at least have the sense to steer clear of seriously addictive substances like heroin, I always had the option of giving them all up any time I wanted to, and one day I realized I was spending too much time in smoke-filled rooms talking incoherent shite with boring people. So I walked away and never went back.

Does that make me a better person? No. I simply made a lifestyle choice. Are you a bad person if you want to take recreational drugs, legal or otherwise? No, of course not. I did it to a downright ludicrous extent because I was young and foolish and it seemed like a good idea at the time. My friends did it too, and they were basically nice people. Absolutely nobody I knew turned evil because we took drugs (though we never went anywhere near heroin, which was obviously something quite different from what we were doing, and no fun at all). So I will not be a hypocrite and say that any young folks reading this shouldn't take drugs because it's stupid. Actually, it is stupid. But no more stupid than anything else you do in the 18-25 age-bracket, and considerably less likely to kill you than some.

So, guys and gals younger than me, you have my blessing to experiment with any drugs you feel attracted to that aren't hideously addictive. I can say from personal experience that if you're going to smoke anything, tobacco is vastly more addictive than marijuana, and LSD isn't addictive at all. Also, having taken about 3,000 times the recommended minimum dosage just to see what would happen, I can safely say that it's very difficult to OD on LSD. And since I only know one person whose sanity was irreversibly damaged by taking LSD because he had the bad luck to be a latent schizophrenic, it's a lot safer than Russian Roulette. And if you have the extreme bad luck to damage your brain in irretrievable ways on your first trip, you won't actually die, and you'll probably get a disability pension for the rest of your life.

So, basically, at my old fuddy-duddy time in life, taking LSD is about as sensible as jumping off the Chrysler Building wearing a parachute. It makes you, as the young folks say, "awesome", and if you're that young, maybe the risk of death is worth it. Though with LSD, you don't actually risk your life - merely your sanity.

As you will all have gathered by now, I don't think that the subjective experiences created by psychedelic drugs have anything whatsoever to do with objective reality. I should know - I've had enough of them. And you know what? I could tell you about a drug so extreme that they never even bothered to ban it, because the hallucinations it induces are so horrific that nobody who knows what it really does would take it for fun. I never took it myself, because several of my friends said "I took this stuff out of sheer ignorance based on the assumption that since it wasn't illegal, it must be pretty mild, and I nearly lost my mind!" One of them genuinely went mad enough to spend the next 6 months in a psychiatric hospital. I won't tell you what it's called because there have to be a few people on this forum stupid enough to try it, even though it would guarantee them at least 3 days in Surrealist Hell, and give them maybe a 10% chance of an absolute screaming mental breakdown. But if you want want to spend the next 72 hours seeing every object in the world bisected, including every person you know cut down the middle with their internal organs hideously pulsing, there's a legal herb that will do it, so long as you utterly ignore the instructions for safe usage. A good friend of mine told me so in terms which I have no reason at all to doubt.

Frankly, as a psychedelic experiencer, I must be up there with at least 90% of all the shamen who have ever lived. Yet for some reason, I'm still an atheist. Why? Because I take it as a rule of thumb that if I take substances which I know will cause my brain to malfunction, and immediately thereafter I experience very weird things, this isn't objective reality. Let's be honest here. If flying saucer people from another star, or another dimension, or whatever, are supposedly real, yet they only appear to you personally, and only when you take drugs that you know in advance are going to make you see things, maybe they aren't really real!

Of course, as both an atheist and a skeptic (in the true sense of the word), whatever you choose to believe, if you're doing no harm, I will defend your right to believe it - well, probably not to the death, because I'm just as much of a coward as you are. But I think I should point out that, if you take any psychedelic drugs at all, your chance of gaining massive insights into what is really going on, and being granted amazing yet rather vague psychic powers, is massively smaller than the risk of permanently damaging your sanity. Just saying.