ivory

Yeah, that's the peak. The comedown lasts the rest of the day.

@Serotoninluv Thanks. Is there any advice you would like to share? What do you wish you would have known?

Same here. LSD feels more clean to me but the duration can be a bit of a bitch. Sometimes I just want it to end. Mushrooms on the other hand don't last as long, which is nice, but the side effects can feel shitty.

It's important to get clear on what you mean by suffering. There's no end to sadness, fear, anger, etc. It's all part of being human. That said, as you progress down the path, those emotions have less power over you. There's more space around those emotions. As for trauma, some of that will have to be processed in a way you weren't able to when you were younger. I went through a period that was so intense, and for so long, I thought it'd never end. Then again, I had a really shitty childhood. Some people go through that and other don't. Again, some of this stuff may not be cleared up a 100%. And, it doesn't need to be, you just need to get to a point where the emotional body is relatively clear. As for self-judgement, a lot of it results due to behaviors. Make it a goal to live a healthy lifestyle and most of your self-judgement will cease. My advice would be to meditate and pay attention to discomfort in the body. You need to get to a point where emotions no longer bother you (mostly). Lastly, get your shit handled and live a healthy lifestyle. Eat healthy, have healthy friends, and get rid of all vices and distractions.

At 1.5 grams you're not going to experience a whole lot of visuals. Maybe just a slightly distorted field. However, if you close your eyes, you will notice more colors and patterns. For me, the euphoria is the most noticeable side effect. Mushrooms are nice for just that, the euphoric component. You may not hear about that a lot, but enjoy the pleasant sensations. Relax and enjoy yourself, you're going to be fine.

I've decided to take the plunge. One of my friends who has been dabbling in psychedelics wants to try 5-MeO-DMT with me. My question is, is it a bad idea for me and my friend to trip sit each other not having any experience with the substance? Or should we seek someone out who is experienced to watch over us?

Depending on the strain even two grams can be intense for a first time user. IMO, you can't really go wrong with one and a half. These days I trip quite a bit and always start with two grams when I get a new batch just to test the waters. From here on out make sure you know the strain. Golden teacher is pretty mild, where strains like penis envy will rock your world. For new users I always recommend to relax as much as possible. If things get heavy going on a walk, or doing something mundane like cleaning, will help smoothen things out. Sometimes mushrooms can result in depression if your life isn't in order. Bad trips are obviously another possibility, but aren't likely to occur on less than two grams.

Bill Gates is a passionate individual and his heart is open. He's authentic.

Well, as of today the US is the least biggest funder. LOL.

@Carl-Richard Ah, ok. I did misunderstand you. @soos_mite_ah Leo posted the zizek video here:

@Carl-Richard I don't believe that everyone is in a dire situation so I would have to disagree. I also think that if you're doing this right, you're fairly content with the way things are. Your life is established and your mental health is good. Your heart is open and there's the recognition that there is indeed a better life for self and others.

Sweet! It's time then

I had a rather painful conversation with my mother the other day. She is a very successful business person, is well off, and is also a Trump supporter. She gets angry at the idea of socialized programs, arguing that she "doesn't want to pay for other peoples' healthcare or education and she doesn't feel that she should be responsible for economic inequality in the U.S." I can understand where she's coming from, but I find her hypocritical. She has three kids. One of whom is really struggling financially, has a heroin addiction, and has no healthcare. The other child hasn't gone to college yet but will have to pay her own way should she choose to attend. Obviously, if we had single payer healthcare my mom wouldn't have to pay for her's or the little one's healthcare. And if we had free education, the little one would easily be able to go to college someday. On an emotional level, my mom would benefit because her kids would benefit massively if, say, healthcare and education were free. Lastly, my mom would also benefit by not having to pay or provide health insurance for her employees. My question is, if my mom didn't have any kids at all, and she weren't a business owner, would she (or other in her position) benefit from having more socialized programs in the U.S? If you were to have a conversation with someone like my mother, how would you argue your position?

There are better books out there. I wouldn't waste my time on something that wasn't clear.

I do LSD and mushrooms fairly frequently but I'm still afraid of 5-MeO. For those that were also afraid, what was the tipping point for you guys to try? I keep hearing that there's nothing you can do to prepare for the experience, but was there a time when you guys just felt that you were ready?

@soos_mite_ah Did you see the Zizek video that Leo posted last week? If not you should check it out. In any case, this is a really interesting time. I'm really curious to see how things turn out.

I was curious to see what the correlation between political environment and looks like. This map shows some interesting data.

As someone who's been down this path I can tell you that if you try to do what you are suggesting, be prepared. It is much, much more difficult that you can possibly imagine. On another note, most likely you are avoiding life's challenges. All of that shit will follow you wherever you go. In the end, though, it makes no differences. The challenges you will face will teach you what you need to learn.

I think it's rare to find someone who has truly become successful on their own. @Leo Gura made a good point for that. I do think that hard work is a factor but so is timing and support. I would not have been able to go to college (or maybe I would have, who knows) without financial assistance and cheap rent. I was lucky. In my mom's case, she didn't have to work a side gig while building her business. She was provided with free meals and housing by my father. And when they got divorced and remarried, her new husband paid off all her debt.

I'll take heart to the book suggestion I'm with you on that. There's only so far that youtube can take you. As for arguing, I don't really care about changing peoples' minds. What I do care about is clarifying my own views, educating myself, and presenting myself clearly.

I don't imagine that going well either. The purpose of this thread was to satisfy a curiosity and I didn't mean to make this about my mother. However, I will point out that I have no intention of changing her mind. I believe that she's too far gone. As she ages I believe that she will suffer greatly. I doubt that many will want to be there for her when things go south simply because she lacks compassion and has a superiority complex. I feel bad for her but there's nothing I can do.

Apparently Spain is on the cusp of implementing some form of UBI.

This is the root of the problem, but I'm not sure we can wait for these changes to come to pass on a personal or collective level. We need a catalyst for change. That may come in the form of a crisis or through exposure to the better life. Once the value system of the majority has shifted, I think that's when we'll reach some level of homeostasis. But that will take time. For positive change to even begin, though, there are just so many unknowns to consider which makes this process so unpredictable. It's difficult to say what needs to happen.

I've enjoyed your posts here Roy and I'm not here to argue. But how would be pay for something like UBI. My understanding is that UBI is ridiculously expensive. Even at $1000 per month, the cost in the US alone would be $39,600,000,000 per year (assuming every member of the 300,000,000 population gets a payout). Obviously, we'd have to make some cuts and shift funds around. But how do we decide what we can do without? And, what are the other implications. I think that defense spending would have to be drastically cut. In the US the defense budget is $748 billion. Our "defense" strategy would have to change dramatically. We're talking about changes on a global level.

I'd be curious to learn which studies you are looking at. But in Alaska (which is has semblance to UBI), the data shows that there was very little change in the amount that people worked. There will always be freeloaders, but I think a good number of people would put the money to good use. Like education, hobbies, health, etc.