TheAlchemist

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  1. Posted · Edited by TheAlchemist

    Decriminalizing also doesn't really solve the problem of the black market, the substances continue to be sourced from the black market which funds organized crime. There is no regulation on the purity of the drugs, so overdoses and impure (and maximally addictive) substances continue to flood the markets, because that is what is most profitable. You also need a good social security system to help those who are struggling with addiction so that they have a safe place to sleep, access to food and water and basic healthcare, without which there ends up being even more problems and costs down the line for society as a whole. That's what they did in Portugal, they funneled all the money they spent on imprisoning and prosecuting the users towards rehabilitation, housing and healtcare for the addicts. Eventually we also need to ask why is our society producing so many addicts? Most people don't get addicted despite trying hard drugs, but the proportion of people that do get addicted is much higher in certain environments and circumstances than others. 

    Decriminalization solves part of the problem but a strictly regulated and controlled market through legalization is what will eventually be needed to handle the problem along with a realistic plan for how to prevent escalation of problems tied to addictions. It's not any different than with alcohol. I think we have actually gone too liberal on alcohol, the marketing of it should be more strictly regulated and controlled, just like with drugs. A regulated and controlled market with bans on all drug marketing and strict quality control seems like a reasonable solution. 

  2. Posted · Edited by TheAlchemist

    31 minutes ago, BlueOak said:

    The momentum is also useful for governance, and while individuals are still more important than groups, a single individual, personality, and face is enough for people. This fits the dual system very well: Good and bad, right and wrong etc The way our minds work, an individual in mind is easier to remember and relate to than a group, or even symbol.


    That's the crux.

    How do you get people to relate to a group or (many groups/people at once) more than they do a single individual?
    *How do you get people to see everything as a functioning whole, not a separated right left dynamic?

     

    Those are some really solid questions. Somehow, I think this all ties to aversion to insecurity. The idea of the world as infinitely complex and ever changing conflicts with our desire for a solid and secure identity, and these models and simplifications of the world provide relief. 

    The idea of the world as an infinitely complex functioning whole which we are an expression of challenges other core assumptions we hold about the duality of man/nature and even the rigid distinction we make between self/other. This is exposing the "operating system" which is mostly invisible to us, just like any ideology is from the pov of those living in/as it. This feeds insecurity and a drive towards overcompensation through simplifying the world and desperately clinging to some past identity and idea about our place in the world. 

    So thinking about the "how", the way forward probably needs to be something that addresses this core insecurity, some way of feeling secure despite constant change and despite a lack of concrete, "true" identity. Or a kind of identity based on paradox.

  3. Posted · Edited by TheAlchemist

    One of the major challenges is that this conversation can't really be constructively had in the current political climate, the identity of both left and right is contructed largely on being an antithesis to the other. So if you start bringing up the excesses of the left (rightfully so) it is vacuumed up and weaponized by the narratives on the right.

    Neither side has a clear and compelling vision for the future, the movements are largely fuelled by resistance to the other, so downplaying the resistance of one side feeds the other, as of course the resistance itself does too.

    This is a very difficult predicament to break out of. We have to find some kind of synthesis that takes into account the underlying core needs that drive both the left and the right. The solution isn't some compromise or either side "winning", it is some (still invisible) path that will emerge and provide a compelling vision forward. Not something that somehow magically unites the left and right into some one big happy hippy human family but just trancends and includes these sides enough through a more positive and meaningful vision for the future that it gains more attraction than the drive towards engaging in the culture war. I think that us getting tired of the polarization itself as a phenomenon is a subtle signal of what is coming. 

  5. Posted · Edited by TheAlchemist

    Honestly I don't know, pain can be so intense and invasive, it can throw out all the fancy spiritual ideas we like to talk about. They don't feel relevant in the midst of it. Pain is so raw and direct, and utterly undeniable, it throws any conceptual games in the trash. 

    I don't know if my compassion is of any help, but I really feel for you and truly wish I could somehow ease the pain and take it away. You're right, it doesn't make sense and I'm sure it's utterly unbearable at times. It's a testament to the power in you that you have made it to this moment through all these hellish states. All I can say is I really think you are an absolute hero for every minute you endure it. I see you as a brave explorer in the deep dark caves of reality where meaning is nowhere to be found and absurd levels of pain test every fibre of your being. You didn't choose to go to this place but maybe only you were up for this task, only you could explore these dark senseless caverns of consciousness.

    Anyways I hope you find some solace and relief, whether it be through spiritual approaches/perspectives or through strong painkillers (as instructed by a medical professional) if necessary. 

  6. Posted

    The greatest bullshit is thinking you have transcended the bullshit into some higher realm. Bullshit is an inherent feature of our collective human engagement, it's not something that can be eradicated. The most dangerous forms of bullshit claim that they are "post-bullshit". But it's not all bad, once we recognize our bullshit it can humble us in a healthy way, and we can make some cool bullshit cakes and fine pastries 

  8. Posted

    Pretty much, although I wouldn't use the term slavery for our condition in western liberal democracies but I totally see your point here.

    I think we should also put focus on the actual physical slavery that goes on to sustain the western consumerist lifestyle. Instead of the slave labour happening in our own countries where it can't be denied or hidden, it has been neatly tucked away on the other side of the planet. To my knowledge there is not a single mass produced product that you can buy where the whole production chain from raw material to end product is transparent.

    Mostly, not even a little bit of the process is transparent. This is super convenient for preventing the cognitive dissonance and pain that would arise if we knew and fully acknowledged the conditions where all the minerals were mined, the plastic for our toys was melted or where that cool shirt I found in H&M was made. If we knew the realities of the whole production chain and acknowledged it with full clarity, I think the typical response might range anywhere from crying to anger to puking. 

    This is not to deny the benefits of living in such a system, there are plenty for plenty of people. But I do think we should be shocked away from our trance like state where we believe that our current system is without some dark dark shadows.

  9. Posted · Edited by TheAlchemist

    @Princess Arabia very interesting perspective there. So the mans sexual attraction is based on a more direct desire for the woman, whereas the womans sexual attraction is based on the mans desire for her, the tension that exists between the man and herself? The desiring itself being a kind of intangible, ethereal "object"

    So the man is "turned on" by the beauty and existence of the woman and is identified fully as his body. The woman is turned on by the man being "turned on due to her. So she is in some sense looking at the whole interaction from a kind of meta perspective, and experiencing the excitement from the tension between the man and the woman, perhaps not totally identifying with the woman part, but seeing the interaction between the two as a whole, and then channeling/experiencing that excitment through her body.

    Lmk if I'm interpreting your point here correctly, there's some interesting parallels in psychoanalytic theory to support these views too..

    Also, clearly it's the case that not every man that is turned on by the woman will sexually excite the woman. So there needs to be some level of pre-existing attraction towards the man so that this sexual attraction can be unleashed. Is this what you would call attraction as opposed to sexual excitement? If there exist a certain level of attraction (non-sexual) towards the man, then the mans expression/display of excitement toward the woman can unleash the womans excitement too? 

     

     

  10. Posted · Edited by TheAlchemist

    From a materialist perspective it would probably be something like fainting, you lose awareness of what is happening and enter a timeless and spaceless nothingness, similiar to how it was before your birth. The atoms that made "you" up slowly disintegrate and merge back into the rest of the world.

    From an idealist perpective with consciousness as primary it would probably also be an experience similiar to fainting. A shift into a timeless and spaceless "realm", but not because your essential subjectivity disappears, but because you are released from the frame of who you thought you were, a specific person in a specific place and a specific time. Consciousness doesn't in and of itself have these qualities when it is not being filtered through the lens of "human". So that would be something totally inconceivable, something that can't possibly be captured in human language constructs. 

    I think we lose all sense of human identity regardless of what happens, since it is very deeply connected to identification with the body. I see no reason to think consciousness is a product of the body itself, the other way around makes more sense to me as crazy as it might sound. Nothing changes from the pov of consciousness, all the apparent change happens within the contents of consciousness. 

  15. Posted · Edited by TheAlchemist

    One way to identify what is likely a social construction and what is not is through memory. Imagine your memory was wiped clean today, you lose everything you learned in your life but you still keep your verbal and thinking skills etc.

    Would you still be afraid of hell? No. The only reason you fear hell is because it is a powerful idea that was installed in you, that plays into your human psychology and biases, attaching itself like a parasite, feeding the belief in the dogma, spreading it and keeping the construction alive.

    It has been implanted into your mind from a young age and is connected to a large web of beliefs, perhaps about how you are inherently evil, how punishment is justice, how you deserve to suffer and ideas about how God is this all seeing eye that is watching you every second, every minute and passing judgement to you and everyone you love. Consider for a moment that none of that might be true, it might all be a construction. How would that feel?

    Consider that maybe all that is like a psychological virus that intelligently plays the human mind like a flute to spread itself. These beliefs are not an essential part of you, they are just deeply conditioned constructions. And it's possible to live without these specific beliefs. 

    So, when those thought come up realize "oh here comes the program again", it's not you, it's not based on anything real that you see, it's a story layered, a filter on top of reality which you have been trained to look through. And it can be hard at first to even realize you're wearing those glasses, even harder to eventually take them off for good. Also, if you don't have another set of glasses to put on then the ones you grew up with might always feel the most attractive in times of crisis for example.

    So start building a worldview as your personal project which somehow integrates but transcends all these beliefs you hold. Or you can also go the deconstruction/atheist route at first to get some healthy distance from those belief systems, but I think ultimately the anti-christian atheism should not be the end point, but that's for you to decide. Look into the history and development of the concept of hell and heaven, contemplate the idea of hell and if it really makes any sense for you.

    Eventually this web of beliefs will start unraveling and you will get a kind of meta perspective on these belief systems and how they operate at the mind level, playing into various fears and biases that most of us as humans have. It might also be completely healthy and valid to take serious distance from any engagement with those toxic idea, just looking at it all as a pure constrution, a fantasy. And all those reasonable and kind people you know in the church, they aren't stupid or bad people now, they were just looking for answers in this life and this rather intelligent belief system managed to hijack their mind, but that doesn't make them bad people, just makes them human. 

    Good luck!

  16. Posted · Edited by TheAlchemist

    1 hour ago, Jordan said:

    It seems like a tricky problem. Power corrupts people so easily. Even if the leader of a community is perfect, the 2nd or 3rd in command will still take advantage of their power right? The problem is the power difference and people being able to abuse it. I remember even for me as a kid I was much more giving and helpful when I started collecting a couple Pokémon cards then as soon as I had many, I did not even want to give any to my close friends. I think to avoid being taken advantage of or being corrupted yourself it is important to have separation from your spiritual community. Be connected with a community for a small part of your week but be separate and question your beliefs as you go about the vast majority of the time and spiritual work.

    Yes. Having an identity that is spread through multiple focal points, each of them like a pair of glasses we wear temporarily, never fully identifying with one. Basically building a kaleidoscopic identity, but with some core values. That might be difficult to manage and may result in some hits to self-esteem/confidence but I believe it would be one way to avoid at least some of the problems. With taking distance from the community I think the community spirit might not be as strong, but ultimately it should probably be more sustainable and healthier. 

    With the pokemon cards experience I think you discovered and illustrated nicely how the whole structure of corruption of the mind through money/power works.

  17. Posted · Edited by TheAlchemist

    8 hours ago, Jordan said:

    Isn't a big part of spirituality about questioning things? It sounds like a good way to start a cult by only allowing people that will follow your teachings without question.

    Exactly. That's one aspect of how sects and cults form. And often questioning is even to an extent highly encouraged in those groups, BUT if the questioning is directed at the core ideas which unify the group then it is seen as a problem. And for good reason, a community always functions on some shared ideas and ideals which need to seen as unquestionable so that the group can continue to exist.

    Again and again new sects and cults will form, partly due to people like me who think they will be the one exception. But we need to realize that some of the problematic aspects of communities are core elements of community itself. Because of course, communities also have healthy forms and many real benefits for the participants so we shouldn't abandon them. Maybe the best we could do is have a community that has a strong shared belief system, but each member knows that fundamentally the belief is an illusion, but each member will pretend as if they believe in it fully. This way at least the questioning would not produce defensiveness, because it would not be seen as an attack on their identity, but just on an illusory idea/ideal/belief. They will of course pretend to defend it to keep the community alive.

    But then again maybe, eventually the line between acting like a believer and really being a believer will dissolve, the members identities will get attached to the belief/idea and ta-da we have a well-established cult yet again ready to take on the world :)

  20. Posted · Edited by TheAlchemist

    If you don't have the psychological resources to quit right now and to face the underlying emotional pain, you can develop a healthier relationship with the weed. Instead of dwelling on negative thoughts and self-loathing, you can leverage the high to inspire you. Listen to music with a positive message, get in touch with your creativity, draw paint, sing, dance and do some yoga while high. Or work with your emotions and really deeply feel them, whatever they may be

    The suggestion is that it is not the substance itself that is the problem here necessarily, but more so ones relationship with the substance and to oneself. The underlying pain is what is fueling this habit, and you can either drop the habit and face the pain, or do your best to face the pain bit by bit to uncover the root cause. This way you might get to root of the pain and the need to use slowly drops away or becomes more balanced. The shame and self-loathing that reflect the pain are much more destructive to your spirit than almost any substance known to man. 

    So, if you can't quit right now, start to build this healthier relationship with the plant and then you might discover something that you didn't expect. You can learn to relate to yourself in new ways, you can learn to work with your emotions and thoughts in new ways, but the most important is self-compassion and self-love for now, I believe.

    This is a great opportunity to build some solid groundwork of self-love, if you can love yourself now you will have a very good foundation for when life blesses you once again. You won't be run by fear of returning where you are now, since you already accepted and loved yourself here. And your ego wont get inflated at that point, since you learned the lesson of humility in the face of life. 

    I believe you can learn to love yourself no matter where you are now. You can do it man!

  21. Posted

    Finally. This will certainly have effects on other European nations as well, I know here in the Nordics many who haven't thought about the situation much will be reconsidering their views, since Germany is generally quite respected here. 

    Sweden is an especially interesting case, they are super progressive in so many ways but generally their views on drugs are highly conservative, at least as they are reflected in the laws. This will surely stir up some cognitive dissonance. 

  25. Posted · Edited by TheAlchemist

    @MellowEd If you really need to have a hell in the world as a way of being released from guilt/shame/sin etc. then maybe that will be granted to you. You can envision all those who wronged you and mocked God being tortured for eternity as punishment. Does that bring you a deep satisfaction? What makes you think God requires torture for justice to be served?

    Sounds like a very human idea.