Re:Shifting views about psychedelic drugs require a new cate...
by s1artibartfast on Sunday July 02, 2023 @02:33AM
(#36558847)
To be clear, when I say basically everyone is selling it, I'm speaking in a us centric context. I don't think the phenomenon is unique to the United States, but I do think it is more pronounced here. I too have met people that live on less than a dollar a day and are happier than people making six or seven figures.
When I say everyone is selling it, what I mean is that if they have bought into it, they are propagating it as a normative worldview. I think is accurate and the only way such ideas survive. It is systemic and relies on Broad acceptance. At the center, it depends on hundreds of millions of people believing in it.
It is helpful to step outside of that system and get a radically different perspective. Psychedelics are just one way to do this, and probably not even the best. The challenge is that even after experiencing that perspective, you step back into a world where everyone believes something different and you start to forget.
The solution is pretty simple. For one you have to make an intentional effort to be present in your life and live it in a way you find meaningful, despite external forces trying to convince you otherwise. Second, you have to surround yourself with friends and loved ones that reinforce this healthy world view.
In the end, I think I'm less cynical than you are. I don't think there are more powerful tools for mind control waiting to be deployed. I also don't think it would be a bumpy ride if more people took control of their lives to improve their happiness. Life and society would simply get better and better as more people did so.
When I say everyone is selling it, what I mean is that if they have bought into it, they are propagating it as a normative worldview. I think is accurate and the only way such ideas survive. It is systemic and relies on Broad acceptance. At the center, it depends on hundreds of millions of people believing in it.
It is helpful to step outside of that system and get a radically different perspective. Psychedelics are just one way to do this, and probably not even the best. The challenge is that even after experiencing that perspective, you step back into a world where everyone believes something different and you start to forget.
The solution is pretty simple. For one you have to make an intentional effort to be present in your life and live it in a way you find meaningful, despite external forces trying to convince you otherwise. Second, you have to surround yourself with friends and loved ones that reinforce this healthy world view.
In the end, I think I'm less cynical than you are. I don't think there are more powerful tools for mind control waiting to be deployed. I also don't think it would be a bumpy ride if more people took control of their lives to improve their happiness. Life and society would simply get better and better as more people did so.