Drugs and philosophy

[lucasdr]

As most people here, I want to learn more about life and what life's all about. I'm especially intrested in the eastern philosophy. A lot of people consider Hinduism or Buddhism as religions, but I'd rather fit them in the category philosophy.

I love the way the Hindu's state it. They consider life as one big play/game. Everyone has a role in this game. Some people are bad, some are good. If you would go to a play you would also cheer for the 'bad guy', because his acting was good. Everyone is equal this way...

Everyone has a part of god ('Saguna brahman') in him and the only thing the brahma wants is to play a game of hide and seek. They believe that hide and seek is the essence of life, everything consists of come and go.
Apart from the Brahma we are also individuals. We reincarnate and there are two stadiums in playing the game of life:
There is a time when we are totally drawn into this game. We follow our desires and passion and we forget who we truly are. This could be considered as the more down-to-earth people. The western civilisation...
In the next fase the individual withdraws and develops himself to a truly enlighted person (also called a 'mukti'). This person has found himself and knows that from within he contains that central power and that 'life' is just an illusion. These people could be considered as the more spiritual people and fits more in the Eastern lifestyle.

'What the fuck is he talking about?' you might question yourself. Well I believe entheogens suppress the left part of the brain (which handles all our thinking, the more rational part). This way the right 'subconscious' part is more active. Stuff like coke and speed do the opposite.

I was just wondering, do you guys think that there's actually a higher power and that life is one big hallucination? Like doing drugs is just looking at life in another way. Experiencing a different kind of hallucination. A Hindu might state it as acting in a different play...
Or are you more about chemicals make my brain go crazy but I do learn more because the subconscious part of me is exposed?

 

[voodoochild]

Well, as a Person interested in Drugs, i´m more into the philosophy of somebody like Hunter S. Thompson, or Jim Carrol etc.

 

[Silence_Inc]

good thread.

i for myself am very interested in all kind of religions and ways of percieving the 'questions of life' and the overcoming of maya or in other words overcoming illusion. this is now at age 23.

i do have to note that everything is in evolution. when i first started using psychedelics i saw them as substances outside myself inducing a certain state that effected me in a way that i liked - even loved. and i even thought i learned something from it. i believed i regained a certain contact with myself and my enviroment (mostly nature and animals - not the cities or other poeple). although i couldn't touch the experience through words and could not really take it out and explain it to others ...

also it divided my sense of self from the outer world - i became sort of individualistic (not more or less than before but now i became aware of it in a way) i was with the group of trippers that looked diffrent at life ... the others were the poeple eccepting normal reality as normal and they were different from myself. so it was me and them. us and they. dividing the world in good and evil. this was all at the age from 15 to 21 - than it all changed when 1 trip of acid and the right words at the right moment totally made me loose my ego.
i floated in silence for about 5 hours when my rational self wanted to ask the next question. and BAM - my illusion started again. but i found that i learned a great lesson. the next years where integrating this lesson and finding my next path to follow. now i feel we all are the same - living all illusions - all diffrent ones - but all with the same effect - blocking reality ... i thought about it for years and read a huge pile of books about buddhism to shamanismto terrence mckenna and other great thginkers ... they all point to the same. it is all one big whole. now the thinking part is subsiding for the part of action. i'm now using psychedelics and plant teacher more as a spiritual quest - guidence ... a more shamanic way of using them ... the way of the warrior ... . less thinking - less talking - more action - through the field of love. and yes - psychedelics learned me this - and therefore i will be eternally gratfull - and will keep asking there help for guidance - until no more is needed/wanted.

 

[lucasdr]

Well, as a Person interested in Drugs, i´m more into the philosophy of somebody like Hunter S. Thompson, or Jim Carrol etc.

There's also room for Western philosophy. I thought maybe this threat would grow a bit bigger and a nice discussion would set off... :p

 

[svandamme]

Well, as a Person interested in Drugs, i´m more into the philosophy of somebody like Hunter S. Thompson, or Jim Carrol etc.

HST's philosophy ? lol , not sure if you wanna go there

the man was entertaining in many ways, but let's face it , the world isn't big enough for multiple HST's
it's a miracle in it's own right that he
A didn't croak in one of his adventures
B didn't end up in jail

and let's face it , he wasn't the most gentle character either... beeing a freak isn't a philosophy if you ask me, no matter how entertaining or how good his fictional , political or sports writing is...

 

[Razputin]

I think everyone has his own ideas about life and/or the next. Maybe I only speak for myself, but I agree to some points of view from one philosopher or writer, but I also disagree with him on other subjects. For instance, I like some ideas that Karl Marx points out, but I also agree to the opinion that communism isn't the way to rule a nation.
I feel the same about religion too. (apart from the fact that I'm an absolute atheist)

 

[voodoochild]

he had a philosophy, even if it was kinda weird. and i would rather be like hunter, then like some budda priest, thats for sure.

 

[lucasdr]

But are you guys using your trips to learn about your environment or is it pure to learn about yourself?

 

[Silence_Inc]

isn't that the same thing?

 

[lucasdr]

isn't that the same thing?

It depends on how you look at it. You might see it as one thing, but I don't think a lot of others here do.

It's great how I discovered to deal with fear using entheogens in combination with Eastern philosophy. I now see life as an acting game and 'the spiritual world' as my true living environment. If I fuck up, I'd better fuck up without hesitation, 'cause I wanna play my role well :p
Meditation is also a great way to escape from the everyday life and rest.

Dealing with fear has always been a big deal to me and I'm glad that I'm heading in the right direction. :D

 

[tryptonaut]

The highest level of enlightenment in buddhism includes the knowledge that there is no ego, no "you" and no "I"
Believing this concept is one thing, but if a person gets enlighted they will KNOW it, FEEL it... (I can understand the concept, but really knowing it is hard to accomplish, I guess)

From what I have seen and understood on trips is that the only religion/philosophy that seems right to me is buddhism. I felt that there is a Karma that becomes bad when I do bad things. I'm not a buddhist (yet?) but I changed my lifestyle quite a bit. I don't eat meat anymore (at least as far as I can avoid it) and I re-think everything I do to avoid doing bad things. I have seen on my last strong shroom trip that bad deeds hurt my soul and because in this realm we're all connected they also hurt our collective soul.
It was a frightening experience because I felt transparent to the whole world at that moment, I knew I was not alone and never alone because on the spiritual level we are all together.

 

[Silence_Inc]

ya man! BRO's ;)

hèhè ... it's great to acces this knowledge and to have lived it - even if, for a brief moment - your life is changed!