ChadT

Most of my psychedelic use occurred in my late teens / early twenties. I'm 43 now. I have done LSD maybe a dozen times and mushrooms two or three. I never really took to mushrooms, but really enjoyed LSD. I had some of the most fun experiences of my life on LSD. One thing I always took away from my LSD trips was how unconcerned I was with what anyone thought while I was on it. Which was huge for me. I have always been fairly introverted and socially self conscious. Having that weight lifted during a trip was a wonderful experience. I have always considered myself a fairly spiritual person and I'm sure those trips influenced my consciousness in some way. Been a long time ago. One of the most profound spiritual insights I have ever had was when smoking opium. I was just sitting there thinking about life and had a thought that really spoke to me. I wrote it down at the time. I still use it as a guide. I've been completely sober for 9 years now. Those days are behind me. Alcohol was my drug of choice. Sobriety has been a far more spiritual, consciousness raising experience in my life.

Thank you!

I'm sure this is going to surprise you but... I would be highly skeptical of that claim. I haven't looked into witchcraft in any real depth. Perhaps I will. When I get sick, I'm pretty sure I am still going to look to medical science for help and not a witch doctor. Guessing that's not what you mean by "deeper facets of reality" though. I have checked out Buddhism in some depth. I still have Buddhist sympathies. Although, much of the mystical tradition is lost on me. I can only speak to my current level of consciousness. I don't claim to be enlightened, or know the "truth" in any absolute sense. I'm not even convinced that such a thing exists, or is attainable. I'm certainly open to the idea though. When I said that "I believe science is the best tool we have for understanding reality", perhaps I should have said that I have found it to be an extremely valuable tool for understanding reality and of great value to mankind. I'm not immune from making overreaching claims from time to time. Lastly, the Harrisite in me has the add... I don't see being a dogmatic rationalist as all that bad of a thing to be. Maybe not the dogmatic part of the label, but I wouldn't argue if someone called me a rationalist. It wouldn't capture the totality of who I am, but it wouldn't be a bad start. Clearly we see things differently and you may not believe this, but I hear a lot of what you are saying. It's something I will continue to consider as I navigate my way through this life.

But science has found clear value in meditation. Art and science don't have to be in opposition.