David1

I think i will get a deeper insight in my own mind and behaviour. I have experience with psilocybin mushrooms and those experiences are the reason i'm on a self developement path now. It helped me alot in the past, and because of people like Graham Hancock, Terence Mckenna...i'm curious about DMT and ayahusca. I want to travel that far, first of all because i think the jungle is the natural setting for ayahusca, and i know how important setting is when taking psychedelics, and secondly because i like to travel and South America is 'terra incognito' for me. Thanks for the advice :). I've read your previous posts. I'm very aware, and concerned, about the importance of the shaman. And the precence of other people. Because of previous bad experiences i had, i don't like other people around while under the influence of psychedelics. How did it go with you? Were there other people around? I don't get what you mean by this. The whole point for me is, to use the insights i get to improve my life. To become aware of certain behaviours and beliefs that are not serving me, and to change them. Maybe you mean relegious or spiritual insights? Well, i learned to shut up about them. Because, well you know...

Early 'new thought' book about developping and strenghtening willpower. Not that world shocking, but available for free on youtube and librivox as audiobook. Neat to listen to during workouts or during the longer drives. Librivox link

An enjoyable overview of (western) philosophy, poored in novel form. Although written for young adults, still very useful for adults who want a basic insight in philosophy.

To me love is wanting another person, or animal, to be happy. It's a great feeling to see someone else florish and truely be happy, and knowing you played a part in that.

There are no rules. Except for the laws of physics. All other rules are in your head only.

Those games really prey on ego and status. Just as real life companies and society does. If you see the 'trap' in a game like wow, you're more likely to see it in real life too.

What if Mike Tyson spits you in the face?

You react in this way because a spit in the face is culturally seen as very provocative act. In another culture, a spit in the face could be very friendly act. Or an invitation to dinner :).

I didn't read the book, but the movie is awesome.

Alot of people vastly underestimate the influence of the mind on the body and visa versa. Taking full responsability for ones own health, both mental and physical, not only means taking care of your diet and workout routine. But also making sure that you're not unhappy in your job or relation. Not adressing these issues will, sooner or later, backfire on your physical health. Maybe i'm kicking in an open door with this, but at least it's a reminder of how much self developement is needed. And what the consequences of not doing it can be.

İ know that doctors put people with hard to treat epilepsy on a ketogenic diet. Not eating any carbs forces your body to switch from burning carbs to burning fat. The liver converts free fatty acids into ketones that the cells and brain can use as an energy source. Somehow this greatly reduces epilepsy attacks. Lots of info about this online...

İ guess enlightenment can be seen as a spoiler. İmagine you were omnipotent...that would get boring really fast. Not being in the 'know', now that's when things get interresting

Allan Watts formulates this idea in a great way. You have to learn a skill, and with the skill you learn the discipline that is needed to learn any other skill. I'd say, the most important part is the discipline, because once you learned that, you can choose any skill you want.

Have you read about ayahuasca? İ've heard many accounts of people with the nastiest addictions there are. Who tried to get rid of them for years, without succes. But who were cured after a 10 day ayahuasca retreat in the amazon. There is alot of information about this on the internet. All the best!!

In his book 'The human zoo', Desmond Morris claims that primates in the wild don't masturbate. It's a behaviour only observed in captivity. That would be an eye opener... Don't know if its true though.

@Ayla i think polyamory is a very mature approach toward a relationship, because it shows unconditional love. 'I will love you, but only if you don't have sex with someone else' that's not real love.

Whenever i have these kind of thoughts i remind my self of the following : 'we are the universe experiencing itself'. Remembering that immediatly gives more meaning to my life. The true purpose would then be very simple...to make sure the universe has some great experiences

Hey, it sucks for me too. It's an emotionally very hard thing to do. And that's exactly why i do it. I can't think of anything that is this uncomfortable, but offers the same health benifits. If there was a pill on the market with these health benefits...people would stand in line for it.

It disolves your ego for a moment yes. You can not function as a human being without an ego. You need an ego in every day life. What psychedelics do, is they expand your consciousness. The unconscious processes of the mind become conscious. The funny hallucinations and patterns you see, and this is just my personal speculation, are the mathemathical functions your brain performes all the time. But under the effect of psychedelics you become conscious of them. It will most certainly not become an addiction. In fact, psychedelics have been used to cure addictions. Psychedelics do not cause damage to your body or brain. Two cups of coffee cause more damage than a strong dose of psychedelics. What you are saying is all lies fed by the establishment. You have to know the history of psychedelics and why they made it illegal. Back in the '60 LSD and other psychedelics were legal. What happened was that people turned against the war hungry government...massive protests against war. Imagine a massive self developement outbreak...people quiting their boring jobs, joining communities, caring for -and loving eachother, protesting against war...an explosion of art and creativity. This would scare the shit out of government. That's exactly what happened in the 60's. That's why psychedelics are illegal. Not because they are harmful.

Tool, the have alot of great songs...

"But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin." Aldous Huxley

Ray Kurzweil was hired to be a chief engineer at Google. There is big capital behind this idea...

I think sometimes about all the kids in the world that don't get chances. Imagine how many geniuses, how many potential Einsteins, Mozarts...there are out there who will grow up in poverty and never get the chance to develop their potential. I want to seek them out, and give them the opportunity. The potential benefit for the world could be huge. Personally, i want to develop myself further, to get better every day, in every way. Gather alot of positive experiences, learn one or more crafts, i'm thinking drawing, sculpting.

I have experience with psilocybine mushrooms, and it has absolutely changed my life in a positive way. The experiences made me quit smoking, lose weight, put me on the path of self developement and overall live a healthier, happier life. It expanded my consciouness, made me realize and see behaviours and assumptions that were previously unconscious. On top of that i feel it has brought me into contact with what Napoleon Hill calls 'infinite intelligence', what Terrence Mckenna calls 'the logos' and what many others talk and write about under different names. The mushrooms triggered ego death 'by accident'. I didn't plan it, i never read about it...and i can tell you, it wasn't a fun experience at all. My ego protested heavily, it said 'you need to go to a hospital, you're dying. There was a bad mushroom in the batch...'. Now i know this is a normal reaction, but at the time it scared the shit out of me. After ego death, the beauty and insights started to come through and it was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.