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LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

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Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#141

Post by joelhooks »

mdink wrote: post #134
joelhooks wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

hey, thanks. I don't do much artistic creation outside of the silly sketches anymore so they are essentially priceless to me. Cheers though :>

Just curious Y not? I think they are great!

I got out of art school and went into a more technical field doing 3d graphics for training applications. Had kids, stopped doing drugs, eventually switched over to programming computers... I always threaten to get back into it and really do miss it. The creation of images more than the psychoactive chemicals ;0

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#142

Post by blinkingled »

cal5k wrote: post #137
blinkingled wrote: post #101

My sole, true goal in life has been to attain deepest levels of consciousness, connectedness with the being, and crystal clear clarity and to do so without external dependencies like drugs. I have struggled a lot with the odds and gotten only a few moments of what I am after. But I realized one thing in the process that it requires quite a bit of unlearning, forgiving, accepting, non-reacting and seeing it as it is.…

Out of curiosity - do you ever drink wine with a meal? Have a beer with friends? Sip coffee discussing exciting new projects or dissecting a problem? These are all "drugs". Anything we put into our body, food or otherwise, is a "drug" and serves to alter us in some way. You will always have "external dependencies". You are dependent on food and water to live, social interaction to love and to feel friendship, and oth…

I used to drink occasionally, of course. But I have been consciously cutting my artificially created dependencies wherever I can.

There is a big difference between dependency on food and dependency on beer for example. Need vs. Want. I don't need beer to survive, I do need water. Beer I will use to lighten up, enjoy - water to satisfy thirst and keep the body working. Drugs fall in mind made wants. Taking drugs to set yourself free of bonds and compulsions that kill your being, joy, clarity - that's illogical - you are trading one dependency for other.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#143

Post by moggie »

droz wrote: post #20
parfe wrote: post #3

In college I lived with artists. A few of their artist friends come over with big sketch pads, pencils and whatever else artists use. They all drop acid while telling me they can't wait to see their amazing creations once their minds are opened. I went out for a few hours and came back to find them all sitting around the living room. One sketch pad had a long black squiggle on it, the same design you'd make if you fe…

I took a pottery class last winter and I observed the positive feedback loop in action. As someone who is not used to constantly bullshitting, it really threw off my chi to listen to an overly peppy woman tell me how amazing my work was even though we both knew it was garbage.

How did you discern that she knew?

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#144

Post by cal5k »

blinkingled wrote: post #142
cal5k wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity - do you ever drink wine with a meal? Have a beer with friends? Sip coffee discussing exciting new projects or dissecting a problem? These are all "drugs". Anything we put into our body, food or otherwise, is a "drug" and serves to alter us in some way. You will always have "external dependencies". You are dependent on food and water to live, social interaction to love and to feel friendship, and oth…

I used to drink occasionally, of course. But I have been consciously cutting my artificially created dependencies wherever I can. There is a big difference between dependency on food and dependency on beer for example. Need vs. Want. I don't need beer to survive, I do need water. Beer I will use to lighten up, enjoy - water to satisfy thirst and keep the body working. Drugs fall in mind made wants. Taking drugs to se…

Do you eat food for enjoyment?

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#145

Post by michaelochurch »

I don't see LSD as a "geek's wonder drug", and I'm skeptical of many of its purported benefits. Are those benefits real? Sure, but so are the risks. Could most of those, for most people, be better achieved (given enough time) through other means, such as yoga and meditation? Probably. To use geek terms, recreational drug use scales very poorly. I know a fair number of people who've used LSD once or a few times and consider it a very positive experience, but acidheads and frequent users seem to be among the most boring and damaged people I've met.

Do I think these drugs are evil or that no one should use them? Of course not. They have incredible therapeutic potential and it's a travesty that they're illegal. On the other hand, I think a lot of people overstate their power (in terms of the ability to improve oneself) relative to alternatives. Do these drugs (LSD, MDMA, mushrooms, ayahuasca) have a place, for some people and in some circumstances? Absolutely. Should psychedelic therapies be researched and made available? Of course. Should anyone go to jail or be considered "evil" or "hedonistic" for the curiosity to try some psychedelics? Obviously, no. That said, I think a lot of "geeks" tend to overstate the benefits and downplay the dangers of recreational drug use, especially as a lifestyle. Timothy Leary was actually a mess toward the end of his life, and I've seen a few "psychonauts" crack up.

There may be benefits of long-term recreational drug use that I'm wholly ignorant of, having never gone down that road and having no intention to do so, but what I've seen around me recommends against that pattern. I prefer meditation because, although it requires more time and patience, it scales better: you get accelerating positive returns, and safely as well.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#146

Post by phernandez »

parenthesis wrote: post #78
eof wrote: post #31

Let me chime in here with some personal experience. I am pretty much addicted to marijuana in terms of working and enjoying it. That is, I don't really enjoy programming nearly as much compared to when I am a bit baked. Mind you, I can work.. but it feels like such a chore (not always but I'm talking typically). There are a lot of us like this. As for LSD.. I have had many revelations while tripping, some I've had to…

>>> What it feels like is that you are tapping into something truer and deeper It might feel like you are tapping into something truer and deeper, but that doesn't mean that you are.

If he feels like he's tapping in to something deeper, then isn't that enough? It's his experience after all. It doesn't require objective validation, does it?

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#147

Post by splitrocket »

parfe wrote: post #3

In college I lived with artists. A few of their artist friends come over with big sketch pads, pencils and whatever else artists use. They all drop acid while telling me they can't wait to see their amazing creations once their minds are opened. I went out for a few hours and came back to find them all sitting around the living room. One sketch pad had a long black squiggle on it, the same design you'd make if you fe…

Nine drawings by an artist while on LSD: http://www.cowboybooks.com.au/html/acidtrip1.html

There is a distinct diregression, regression, and then a peak of intense beauty.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#148

Post by blinkingled »

cal5k wrote: post #144
blinkingled wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to drink occasionally, of course. But I have been consciously cutting my artificially created dependencies wherever I can. There is a big difference between dependency on food and dependency on beer for example. Need vs. Want. I don't need beer to survive, I do need water. Beer I will use to lighten up, enjoy - water to satisfy thirst and keep the body working. Drugs fall in mind made wants. Taking drugs to se…

Do you eat food for enjoyment?

I am not sure what you are getting at. Why is your focus on giving up - mine is on not letting it matter. I am not claiming to have given up on food - giving up is not what I am trying to do - my focus is happiness with understanding and minimalism. Minimalism does not equate to starving yourself to death. It involves doing everything "needful" without attachment or false pretenses or expectations. Doing nothing extraneous.

I am also not claiming to have been 100% done - it's my steady journey towards that goal that I was sharing. It's all about changing gradually with full understanding instead of looking at it as a means to some end.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#149

Post by danenania »

michaelochurch wrote: post #145

I don't see LSD as a "geek's wonder drug", and I'm skeptical of many of its purported benefits. Are those benefits real? Sure, but so are the risks. Could most of those, for most people, be better achieved (given enough time) through other means, such as yoga and meditation? Probably. To use geek terms, recreational drug use scales very poorly. I know a fair number of people who've used LSD once or a few times and co…

I don't see this article or the people it quotes advocating recreational use by any means. I think those who have studied psychedelics the most are the strongest proponents of moderate, intentional use in a safe atmosphere. I don't think the substances themselves should ever become a lifestyle, but the clarity and spiritual invigoration that they can help to provide and maintain, along with other practices like meditation, can make life much richer.

Re: LSD: The Geek's Wonder Drug

#150

Post by pavel_lishin »

vbtemp wrote: post #129
pavel_lishin wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The shuttle is an excellent example of many things, but not necessarily of a conceptually difficult task. It's hard , but it's not mind-bending. The hardest part comes from having to prove the systems correct because lives depend on it.

"Mind-bending" is a bit of a weasel word. What is the difference between "hard" and "mind-bending"? Do you have any experience of the challenges of spaceflight software to demonstrate that all problems are of "sub-mind-bending" difficulty?

Hm, fair enough. It just seems to me that it's a lot of number juggling and physics calculation.
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