"(I'm not really into this whole conspiracy theory about the society not wanting me to use psychoactive substances because they "open doors", I think people just generally don't understand them - they think LSD is the same as heroin. Of course there have been political reasons, but I don't think there has been a group of people with political power who've decided that mescaline is a big no-no because it dissolves cultural boundaries.) "
Yes it's the people who have been feeding our society the lies about these 'drugs' fault. The reason people think LSD is the same as heroin is because that is what they are told, and they look no further. They take the governments word for it, and then call you crazy if you tell them that LSD is actually a very good drug and it opens your mind to many new things. That's the sad thing, they do ZERO research or experimenting with the substances, yet they know it's very bad, but have no clue why!
But about the mescaline thing; look at Peyote in the United States. It is very illegal, and even the Peyote Church who has legal rights to grow and use Peyote, got raided by the DEA, and all there peyotes siezed and i'm pretty sure almost all the peyotes died? San Pedro is legal in the USA, which I have no clue why, if Peyote is legal.
"But: how would a shaman in the Amazon know if he had a thing we now define as lung cancer inside his body or not, as it's pretty hard to detect without any modern medical equipment? Has there been any study on the causes of death of shamans of the Amazon? "
He wouldn't, that's the point. He has never been subjected to it, so he has no reason to believe that anything exists. 50 years from now when a new diease comes out, you will think back and ask yourself why you never had such a diease back in the day. Also as technology progesses, so does the environmental impact. All the technology that we humans are created, is impacting us in a negative way to a certain extent. Take Cancer for example; look how many ways you can get cancer now. They now say you can get it from freezing food in plastic containers, or talking on your cellphone. Don't forget these are all products that we humans have created, so essentially, we are creating a reality of new dieases.
"Thunder used to be the "sound made by the two main gods, Ukko and Akka, having sex" in the Finnish mythology. Now we think it's electricity. Still, it happened then, and it happens now. I believe there is an "objective reality" to some extent. "
Thunder is not a diease though. It is a natural part of the Earth's cycle. It has been here since to starting of the Earth. But some dieases like cancer were not existent 400 years ago. And I do not believe that there is a 'normal' reality that anything can we compared to. Everything that we see and precieve is culturally conditioned somehow, and even if you don't think so, unconciously it is. Every thought, every action, just everything is somehow wired in the way your culture operates. There is really no way to get around this other than deep psychedelic explorations or 50 years of meditation. It's your choice which route to take, but they will both lead you to the same place.
Well I do agree, we have got a little carried away with this, but oh well, great conversation, that's all that matter. Have a great day everyone!
PEACE