Sir-Sister-of-Suck wrote: ↑Sun Jul 08, 2018 12:14 am
Greta wrote: ↑Fri Jul 06, 2018 11:57 pm
I think the reduced cynicism - appreciation that human relationships are far from the only important things in life - stems from reduced anxiety.
It's something like that, although I still don't feel like that's a fully accurate description to all the ways that I feel different since using pot regularly. I started working out more, I feel less frustrated when I get in an argument with someone, I feel more 'connected' to people, I've gained an odd sense of humor about everything. And in general, I'm more confident that the world will have a way of working things out for me, this is more so what I meant when I said I have a reduced cynicism.
Hehehe, all of these effects will reduce, or you will stop noticing them, and you will have a new "normal". The risk there is that the new normal may become unpleasant when you take a break. Daily weed use in young people is a real inhibitor. The issue here is, if you feel wonderful while sitting around, why make the effort to achieve? Through family I have met a lot of young stoners out there whose lives are stagnating and leading them to depression because they cannot galvanise themselves to make the sacrifices needed to get ahead in life.
// old cow trying to give life advice to whippersnappers (for now)
Sir-Sister-of-Suck wrote:Just an example that comes to mind, I had gotten into an 'argument' with my sister a few weeks ago - and some of her ideas are pretty out there; My immediate family is much more conservative than I am, so we get into it a little bit. We talked about everything from violence in early american movies, to politics and religion, and I just walked away feeling like it was much less of an 'argument,' and much more like a mature 'discussion'. I was very satisfied with how the conversation ended, just left with this overwhelming feeling like I wouldn't have felt like that before. I would have been frustrated that I didn't get more in, or frustrated that she had these opinions at all. Funny thing is, I hadn't even taken pot that day.
That's the positive, hopefully a breakthrough that's achievable now at any time, stoned or straight.
I'd spent many years off the smoke and then synthetic weed became available. The first strains were very subtle and I didn't notice anything. Then I was on some stupid forum and some bloke tore into me. I wrote a suitably scorching retort and stopped before posting. I stopped and had a pipe of the (then legal) synthetic weed. I returned to my posting, thought, "Oh God, what a grump", scrubbed it, and found a way of getting my point across without letting it become a flame war. At that point I decided that it was pretty good stuff. Of course it's illegal now.
Sir-Sister-of-Suck wrote:I've heard that the CBD in marijuana acts in a similar way to antidepressants, because it encourages serotonin release in the brain. Except it's not done by a reuptake, so the side effects aren't the same. I mention this because some of these radical differences are common in people who suddenly go on antidepressants. It's hard to put a finger on exactly what's different.
I think it's dopamine - quite possibly the key chemical evoked in experiences of what is perceived to be supernatural - which is why weed always agreed with me more than other intoxicants. Being ADHD I don't produce much dopamine naturally - and if you "cain't get no satisfaction" you do crazier and crazier things to get the kind of buzz out of life that others take for granted. I was very messed up because no one knew about autism spectrum disorders back then. I stumbled upon pot in my mid teens and it helped until I overdid it.
Still, aside from the nicotine addiction of the tobacco mixer, I always found it very easy to stop smoking weed when it wasn't around. Nicotine, which masquerades as a side player, is actually the primary driver with most heavy weed smokers. Nobody talks about this because it's 100% the government's fault. I think that if weed had been legal and a non-tobacco mixer been on the market, the number of people claiming weed dependency would reduce by 90% or more. There are many weed smoking tobacco addicts who have never smoked cigarettes and they have have no idea that that's the case.
Sir-Sister-of-Suck wrote:I have noticed one interesting parallel between the deeply religious and the psychonaut type, and that's the adamancy that they're correct about what they believe; It's a very common thing for the religious to say that they are '100% certain' that a god exists, and I've heard very similar points made by people like Mckenna, that their experiences are something more than mere hallucinations. They can't just 'believe' the fractal elves are real, they 'know' they're real. Unlike the religious, this is something I can relate to as someone who experimented with a lot of these drugs, they can create this overwhelming sensation that what you saw or felt was 'real'. But eventually, I realized how absurd it is to be as certain that your experience on a mind-altering substance is as real as your own existence.
Where does any such certainty come from but subjective experience? Psychonauts and some theists are speaking of their own experiences without relaying on others' testimony. "I've seen it with my own eyes!" so to speak. Of course, our eyes can deceive us but, if the vision is alluring enough, even the educated can be seduced into mistaking their individual subjectivity for objective reality.
What is required of an experience for it to be deemed reliable? The strength, clarity and,
especially, the subsequent efficacy of the experience is one factor. If you have a "cosmic experience" and you find it provides subsequent insights and solving of life problems, might that suggest that there was something real about it? In terms of verification, the most important factor is repeatability but that presents a problem for spontaneous rare life events.