Do you believe psychedelics have transformed your life for the better/worse?

So do you believe psychedelics have transformed your life for the better/worse?

I think my first boomer trip, five years ago, helped separate life into puzzle pieces - which help me see a bigger, more simplified picture - which, in turn, makes me a more sympathetic person and also a person who values the luckiness of our existance a bit more than those who haven't brought their minds elsewhere. Other drugs kind of just reaffirm what I learned during my first boomer voyage.

I think I may have a different perspective on several things due to using psychedelics, but I don't really feel as though they've impacted my life in a meaningful way for the good or bad.

Definitely both. There is no clear good or bad with shrooms and LSD. I prefer tabs though over mushies.

socaljoe said:

I think I may have a different perspective on several things due to using psychedelics, but I don't really feel as though they've impacted my life in a meaningful way for the good or bad.

Click to expand...

When you have tripped though have you been looking for meaning in that trip, or just taking psychedelics for recreational use?

Derple said:

When you have tripped though have you been looking for meaning in that trip, or just taking psychedelics for recreational use?

Click to expand...

Both. I can't say I ever found much meaning to be honest, but I think that's due to me not being a spiritual or superstitious person. I suppose we all go about things differently and view the experience in a unique way. I will say that psychedelics kind of opened me up to how incredibly small we all are in a cosmic sense, both in size and time, how the things that are so important to us in our little lives are less than a speck of star dust in the grand scheme, and that in itself ought to be enough to blow anyone's mind.

So I would have to revise my previous statement and say I probably have been impacted more in a good way. And the search for meaning aside, I did have some fun times too.

Psychedelics have definitely been a net positive force in my life, but the road has been bumpy. They're incredibly valuable tools for self analysis and introspection and damned fun to boot. But they are a really bad way to try to hide from reality. And will generally let you know that. Listen when they try to send you that message.

'Truckin...'

Leary said when you get the message,hang up the phone...'operator...'..

They have transformed my life for the better. I remember my very first acid trip when I was a teenager. The thing that astounded me more than any of the visuals was suddenly becoming aware of my own internal mental activity. Prior to then, I simply thought what I thought, felt what I felt and said what I said. I became aware of the whole chain of events in my mind that led to my current state. This awareness gave me more control over my own actions and feelings. Being aware of the chain of events in my mind allowed me to follow that chain back and see where I made the choice to think or feel a certain way.

BETTER

For myself it's all about looking at myself from another perspective that lets me see the pre conceved notions that I have mistankenly taken for truth

and it's always fun

MrEDuck said:

Psychedelics have definitely been a net positive force in my life, but the road has been bumpy. They're incredibly valuable tools for self analysis and introspection and damned fun to boot. But they are a really bad way to try to hide from reality. And will generally let you know that. Listen when they try to send you that message.

Click to expand...

I see psychedelics as a mood amplifier of sorts, so like you said they're a bad way to hide from reality. I'm really happy with the response I've got on this thread. Cheers guys.

I believe I am transformed for the better. That has a dark side. I believe I was sensitized to be aware of my evil nature and modify it, soften it. These drugs empowered me to be able to easily manipulate people and they also gave me the compassion to ease up on that manipulation. Furthermore, I stopped killing after I began taking such chemicals and elixors. I could no longer purposefully take the life of another creature as, I had been that creature on some deep level at one time or another - with the exception of fish but even there, I lament my having taken their life and make it as quick and painless as I can. I never did that before hand. In short I now value cognition and awareness in every creature and even wonder about plants. In short, I was granted compassion. I do not know if compassion is a "good" thing or not so I don't know if I am better for it.

Derple said:

I see psychedelics as a mood amplifier of sorts, so like you said they're a bad way to hide from reality. I'm really happy with the response I've got on this thread. Cheers guys.

Click to expand...

Using any intoxicant as an escape from reality is a bad idea, I think. Most drugs, if used responsibly and in moderation, can bring a person positive or at least neutral results, but it's a slippery slope and one with a huge downside.

I used ketamine on and off for a few years. At first, I would use it once every week or two and it really improved my mood and general disposition. But as time went by, I found myself relying on it as a crutch, a way to get away from the outside world and shelter inside my own mind. That was when I recognized that I was incapable of using ketamine in a responsible manner and decided I had to stop. I wasn't concerned so much from a physical health point of view, but mentally I recognized that I was drifting into solipsism and I don't feel that disconnect from the outside world to be healthy or particularly useful.

I agree that this is a good topic, and the replies have been interesting. No experience is perceived the same by everyone, and hearing input from others is eye opening.

socaljoe said:

Using any intoxicant as an escape from reality is a bad idea, I think. Most drugs, if used responsibly and in moderation, can bring a person positive or at least neutral results, but it's a slippery slope and one with a huge downside.

I used ketamine on and off for a few years. At first, I would use it once every week or two and it really improved my mood and general disposition. But as time went by, I found myself relying on it as a crutch, a way to get away from the outside world and shelter inside my own mind. That was when I recognized that I was incapable of using ketamine in a responsible manner and decided I had to stop. I wasn't concerned so much from a physical health point of view, but mentally I recognized that I was drifting into solipsism and I don't feel that disconnect from the outside world to be healthy or particularly useful.

I agree that this is a good topic, and the replies have been interesting. No experience is perceived the same by everyone, and hearing input from others is eye opening.

Click to expand...

On the other hand, I learned nothing from the use of amphetamines or opiates. I take opiates expressly for the purpose of treating emotional enui or existential discomfort.

canndo said:

I believe I am transformed for the better. That has a dark side. I believe I was sensitized to be aware of my evil nature and modify it, soften it. These drugs empowered me to be able to easily manipulate people and they also gave me the compassion to ease up on that manipulation. Furthermore, I stopped killing after I began taking such chemicals and elixors. I could no longer purposefully take the life of another creature as, I had been that creature on some deep level at one time or another - with the exception of fish but even there, I lament my having taken their life and make it as quick and painless as I can. I never did that before hand. In short I now value cognition and awareness in every creature and even wonder about plants. In short, I was granted compassion. I do not know if compassion is a "good" thing or not so I don't know if I am better for it.

Click to expand...

From a survival standpoint compassion is a very bad thing. Though I like to think of it as a good quality when there is an excess of things needed for life available.

They certainly have helped me and do on the regular..if I have a chore or need to clear my mind..I go to the dresser drawer..not to escape,but to marinate on whatever my mind is cooking..

I'm gonna have to agree with the general response of raised awareness. I was more aware of myself and those around me in nearly every sense of the word. I feel like certain concepts I understand because of them and a few life views have changed or strengthened because of their use. I can also very strongly agree with canndo on the compassion part, I have learned to appreciate all life for what it is and ending it bothers me on a deep level. I've also drifted further towards a general pacifism due to realizing further the pointlessness of fighting, aside from in dire self defense. I personally feel that my quality of life has improved mostly due to perception shifts caused by psychedelics. I also feel like I understand much more in a conceptual sense, where I can relate to things that I learn about on a deeper level rather than just receiving it as information, which is kind of difficult to explain if you don't know what I mean by that. My empathetic side has grown as well, I care on a deep level about people I haven't even met before simply because I understand that they're just as important as I am and I shouldn't only care about myself and the people I meet/like as most people tend to do.

I toured with The Dead in the early 90s for an entire summer and I can honestly say that I haven't been able to top this experience. If you've done this then you've truly witnessed what effects psychedelics have on people and on social groups in general.

I'd say that it's a Pandora's Box. Once you open it there's no going back... for better or for worse.

Sheesh420 said:

I toured with The Dead in the early 90s for an entire summer and I can honestly say that I haven't been able to top this experience. If you've done this then you've truly witnessed what effects psychedelics have on people and on social groups in general.

I'd say that it's a Pandora's Box. Once you open it there's no going back... for better or for worse.

Click to expand...

I have found that people who have been on a steady diet of hallucinogens tend to be dilusional, they have a hard time grasping reality as opposed to magic.