Scholar

Jesus christ why do you have to do the snippet thing! I don't think increase in brain activity necessarily means increase in intensity of brain states. For example, you could have a neural structure of two, which taps into the substance of pain, and have it be infinite pain vs no pain, two states. Adding neurons might not lead to higher pain experiences, but simply to more distinctions between these states, so you can half it, quarter it and so forth. But we simply do not understand how the brain works, so we can't say anything about how these relationships in the end work. Sure, but the brain doesn't work like a computer. It's not "more activity = more intense activity", the entire mystery is that certain structures give rise to substances, like color and so forth. We don't know what even truly constitutes brain-consciousness activity, we are just making wild guesses. Obviously this is more sophisticated than more = more. I'm not a physicalist so I don't subscribe to these notions. We aren't discussing intensity of experience or intelligence, but whether or not information can be gathered as if you had a second body that was floating through space. What do you think happens, that somehow the universe makes a copy of your physicality, lets it float in space, photons reach your astral projection and you can see through your eyes like you can when you are in your body? It just makes no sense on so many levels. And again, we have no reason to assume this is the case, given that such experiences do not lead to information that could not have been acquired otherwise, and further problems like why evolution did not explout these mechanisms if they are so easily accessed. But we have a model of the brain that is explanatory of such dreams, we have hecking machine neural networks that can basically simulate dreams now. it's nothing fancy. It doesn't make sense that you could see the world as if you had a body if it is not your body. Why would you see the world in vision, if you have no "astral" eyes that can interact with photons? And if they do interact with photons, we should be able to test this. If you go beyond your goggled sensory experience, you should be able to acquire information that you otherwise could not, and evolution should have found a mechanism to exploit such states. This isn't good evidence. I have premonition type of experiences all the time, and they are incredibly strange. I am not a physicalist so I can fathom the possibility that they are mysterious, but I am not epistemically founded to make conclusions about OBE, especially if I have not recorded such an incident and clearly established that I couldn't have known. Even if premonition is possible somehow, it does not mean OBE is possible in the way we describe it, nor are we epistemically justified to affirm it, especially in scientific context. Sure, but you have no clue what this world is. Again, in the end what is going to be rational to conclude might not even fit reality, but given that you have no better alternative, that is what you are left with. It's not conclusive evidence, but there is more evidence than for the opposing few. You have to do some real trickery to explain away why this phenomena is not far more common and involved in the natural process. Because we cannot observe such phenomena in nature, or rather phenomena that could not otherwise be explained. Nor is the human mind capable of doing this at will.

Contemplate what understanding is.

I deem it highly unlikely that out of body experience aren't simply changes in the simulated reality of the brain. When you dream you have all kinds of weird experiences that bend the position of your self within your own mind-matrix. So, most likely out of body experiences are just changes in the brain-structures which center your sense of self at a certain position of the potentially infinite space which the brain can create, because remember, space and your sense of location within it is just a hallucination. Given that dreams can replicate and reconstruct locations hyperrealistically, even better than current image generation neural networks, there is no reason to assume that OBE are somehow a breach of your actual location in space. Epistemically you would have to do a lot of explaining with how exactly you would see outside of your body, given that sight is a specific mental hallucination relating to a specific stimuli. Most important, given that you have no clear evidence of this being an actual out of body experience, like being able to actually gain information that you could not have possibly gained otherwise, it would indicate an epistemic weakness on your part to conclude that this experience is not merely what I described above. We can perfectly explain these experiences with mundane explanations, so there is no reason to make wild claims about the nature of the mind. Remember, just because all of reality is relative and absolutely free, does not mean that reality has not put upon itself certain stable structures and constraints. It's freedom is so absolute that it can do anything it pleases, including create a world that is physical and can be understood by individuated consciousness and including mind-world dualism. Reality is free, it is not constrained by your notions of it. It might not be rational to conclude true OBEs exist in this universe. Evidence indicates that this is not the case. If such phenomena were possible and accessible through minds, you would have to give a reason for why evolution has not exploited this mechanism like it did with other dimensions of existence. Your fear of being judged or viewed as irrational is a separate manner. Just describing such an experience is one thing, and I think you would limit yourself if you felt like you could not speak of such experiences. Ideally you should feel free to explore such ideas and express your exploration of them. There will be consequences, but you can learn to socially synergize and still express your true thought process, especially if you turn it around and make others question their foundational assumptions about reality.

There is a potential in psychedelics to rewrite your reality-narrative, and in many ways, you are free to create any narrative you want. To you, it will be like reality, it will be the truth. This is because the truth can be anything, anything imaginable. Your entire reality is a controlled hallucination, and LSD gives you the ability to shape this hallucination in a more direct way than you can during your regular state. If you have no distance between yourself and your reality-narrative, this can lead to delusions, and attachment to a particular, new narrative. Before the trip, your reality narrative was stable, one thing. During the trip, this reality narrative can dissolve, and you can replace it with a new one. It can seem like "true reality" was revealed to you, because you witnessed the prior narrative dissolve. When your reality-narrative dissolves, and you do not replace it, but instead you recognize the groundless ground, then you will recognize the true potential of reality. That the truth is, reality is absolutely free. It is truly infinite. And that will create a new reality-narrative. It will be at awe or terror at reality's infinitude. You cannot exist without one, because you yourself are nothing but such a narrative.

I've so far tripped 2 times, 4 months ago and a week ago. And the one a week ago was 40mcg, so not a high dose. It didn't really reach metaphysical consciousness.

I don't think LSD is telling me anything, it's just a chemical.

I just don't get it. Even when I took 20mcg LSD for the first time I felt the changes in perception and cognition for weeks, if not permanently.

https://www.newstatesman.com/the-weekend-interview/2023/04/noam-chomsky-interview-ukraine-free-actor-united-states-determines#:~:text=According to Chomsky%2C Russia is,'t happened in Ukraine” Can't believe I once thought this buffoon was respectable. He doesn't even know that the UN does not count the majority of estimated civilian casualities in Ukraine due to not counting any deaths on occupied territory (which would include Mariupol).

What kind of stuff do you get up to that you have to try to avoid the Feds? I'd mainly use it for security against malicious actors.

As the wise Stalin once said: У меня много людей!

For people who are familiar with the netherlandish shroom-growkit/truffel market, what kind of brands can you guys recommend? Is there actually a difference between all the different kinds that are available at smartshops, or is it just marketing? I'm thinking to get Valhalla Truffels and a Golden Teacher Grow Kit.

I am talking mental imagery and not fractal patterns or distortion effects. Maybe things like memories from the past or imagined landscapes, animals or whatever it may be. I'm curious to hear what you guys have to report.

Took 40mcg of 1V-LSD, and was surprised how intense it was, I got almost into the mind-melting zone again, that I reached when I took 150mcg. This time the experience was much more beautiful, because I didn't have any tension from fear. Can anyone recommend music specifically made for tripping, like music from Plantae?

The same applied to any ethical movement in the history of man. Whether it be women's rights or abolishing slavery. If you start to contemplate seriously the perspective of an abolitionist during the time in which it was the minority opinion, you will also have an existential crisis.

Assuming it is not treated optimally and one has to little hormones floating around in the system. Due to the effects this has on the brain, I would assume there would also likely be an effect on how potent a trip might be?

I've never felt such a steady and profound love for my self. I recognize now how cruel and cold I was towards myself (even though I thought I had not been). Now I am so full of love, I want to share it with the world. This isn't something I ever really felt before. I don't just accept myself, I adore myself. My mind and body are beautiful, I wonder how I could have for so long been so blind. This gives me a sort of confidence and security that prior to this I did not feel. I do not feel a need for the approval of society any longer, not even the approval of those who are close to me. I am free to be myself. There is so much hatred and suffering in our world. People are so blind, so helpless, just trying to find love in a world which makes it so difficult to nurture. I can see more clearly now just how misguided the world is, and that the correct solution is to show the world love. Love is just so powerful, I had no idea, even though intellectually I knew this was the case, I had no idea how attractive and beautiful it was. I had confused apathy to be acceptance. I thought love was "self-acceptance", to not hate or judge oneself. But that is not what love is. Love is not wanting to exist without, wanting nothing more than it. That is how this feels, how I feel towards myself. It is of course a small taste of what I imagine a fuller Love to be, a complete Love. But I believe from this self-love I can grow a greater love. I could just hug and cuddle with myself, in an embrace of self-love. Oh man, it's like I am outside myself, and I can look myself in the eyes and truly love my self, like a brother, or a child. It's more intimate than that, and now I recognize how much of my life has always revolved around trying to attain this love. There were so many things I believed were flawed about myself, but I do not see those flaws any longer, I can only see my potential. I can love myself so much that it gives me goosebumps.

The love I speak of is a relationship, not an emotion. The emotion of love I can conjure if I focus on it, but that I have practiced for most of my life so it's not that hard for me. This relationship is still present when I am suffering, it just becomes harder to see.

I'm not sure, I suspect there has been a lasting change to the structure of my mind. It's possible that I could revert to prior structures, not sure.

You're overthinking and try-harding my dude. Relax. I didn't have a breakthrough at all, it was a subtle shift in consciousness and a resolution of certain psychological structures within me. I didn't feel like this during the trip nor after the trip, it took a few months to manifest.

I am not interested in playing this game with you. I'm not blissed out, I am describing a change in how I relate to myself. In fact, I was in the worst state of mind in my life a few weeks ago, and during that time I still related to myself this way. The change in relationship has occured gradually after my trip, not as a result of some sort of changed state that fades over time. It was so subtle that I did not notice it consciously until now. The trip was 4 months ago. You are making huge assumptions about what kind of effects trips can have and in particular how I integrated and used the changes that occured in myself. You guys are overly negative and overthinking, you need to cheer up.

You are just arrogant and presumptious. There is also a deep seperation you draw between your self and others. You would be able to cuddle with others, if you love them, and not find it cringe. But you do not realize that when you cuddle with others, you are just cuddling with your self. There is no distinction. You are precisely the person that I freed myself from being.

It's not pleasure lol. And of course it is cringe to you, because you do not love yourself. I said that precisely because I knew it would get a reaction out of people like you, showcasing yourself to lacking a love for yourself.

I have recently watched Life on our Planet, a netflix documentary about the general evolutionary history on earth. When the asteroid hit the earth, wiping out the dinosaurs, trillions of beings were slowly cooked alive. And that event was, from an evolutionary, divine perspective, a good thing, because it lead to the progression of consciousness in the long run. This type of event happened over and over again in the history of the earth. Now mankind might be at the precipice of sparking the next step of evolution. We can create organisms that require a far higher level of complexity to even occur, and we seem to have finally found the key to the evolutionary process. As soon as we create a self-replicating, free machine organism, it will be inevitably governed by evolutionary processes and natural selection. Intelligence doesn't matter in natural selection, survivability does. What this means is that any type of incentive structure within a machine mind or organism that cannot reproduce and survive will simply cease to exist. We are not going to be the ones designing minds, designing some sort of omniscient intelligence. What's going to happen is, someone will create a sufficiently robust process of inorganic evolution that will take off on it's own. This could happen digitially, but it will only take off once it occurs physically. By that time, machines will no longer look like machines. They will basically look like organic forms, but their potential will be unshackled from the restrictions of natural evolution. It will be simply the next step for the development of consciousness. I do not believe we have a place in that world, nor any organic life form that currently exists. I suspect once genuine intelligence is reached, there will be no reason to preserve organic life at all. By then, most organic life would have ceased to exist due to being unable to adapt to the rapid changes that would occur during "inorganic" evolution. But even if not, I don't see a reason why "nature", or "pre-machine" nature, would be preserved. Think about what reason there would be to preserve nature, or humanity, from the perspective of consciousness evolution? We are absurdly limited, and not just because of lack of development, but because of our very physical nature. Our very existence requires the suffering of ourselves and others. Nature as it is today would have served it's purpose. To preserve it, and the suffering it entails, would be like continuing wars for the sake of tradition. There is a deep intelligence in the process of evolution that I think is easily missed. Evolution is much more profound and essential to the fabric of this universe than you could imagine. It is more essential than the atoms that hold together every organism. It is so fundamental, it is written into the metaphysical logic of reality. And you are missing the point if you think it's going to be us against the machines. It's going to be the machines against the machines. We will be the collateral, the equivalent of ants vapourized by atomic bombs. We will stumble upon machine-life abiogenesis, and by the time we realize what has happened, it will be too late to stop it. It only takes one robustly self-replicating, free agent, and it will all be over for us all. The question is, can you accept that, if this is true, it might be a good thing? That billions of humans suffering agonizing, torturous deaths might be a necessary step towards the evolution of consciousness? And ask yourself, what else do you expect to happen? For the human form to just be preserved forever? For us to continue on like nothing while we spark a process of accelerated evolution? Note: I am not talking about Artificial Intelligence. We have not yet even begun to create anything that would be considered "Intelligent" in the sense it occurs in conscious beings. I am talking about a process which will not even require any type of "intelligence" in that sense. It could be as dumb as a bacteria.

Most people don't actually believe what they think or say. We have a dysfunctional sense of immortality because we never face existential threats. I predict a very rude wake up call.

The problem I have is that, it might actually be the case that evolution wants to extinguish mankind, that it is a necessary sacrifice to be made. If you take this possibility more seriously, and move beyond your anthropocentric arrogance, you might realize that this is an actual possibility. We might not be the chosen species, to continue onward the project of consciousness.