From: scerir [mailto:scerir@libero.it]
> The Original Message was:
> > I suspect that experiencing a wide variety of conscious states
> > has added a certain amount of resilience to my personality.
>
> Are these different conscious states consistent with
> one personality [one soul]? Or is this personality
> splitted in many othogonal states of mind?
> scerir
I meant this in a very prosaic, practical way. IMHO, my singular
personality is more stable for having used psychedelics. I am more calm.
I am more likely to respond to potentially alarming or confusing situations
in a calm and clear way. I am more competent and more able to act
effectively in confusing situations, or in other altered states.
There is a separate effect which your mention of "orthogonal states of
mind" prompts me to mention: I believe psychedelics have helped me
integrate various aspects of my personality, specifically various parts of
my world-view which I previously felt were fairly separate. One phenomena
frequently noted in the use of psychedelics is a tendency to see more
patterns and connections relating previously unrelated phenomena.
In truth, this may be largely illusory. The mind has a tendency to see
patterns which may not actually exist. But, while the psychedelic mind
produces many false-positive patterns or connections, it also produces some
true-positives that were not apparent to the non-psychedelic mind. (Or at
least this is my own experience.)
I should also add that I agree with the poster who commented on other
techniques, meditation in particular, as viable routes to some of the same
effects. I would also encourage anyone who wants a more predictable
psychedelic experience to experiment with the combination of psychedelic
substances and grounding techniques such as meditation and yoga. I find
that they mix quite well, and indeed potentiate each other.
cheers,
mez
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Mon May 28 2001 - 09:50:30 MDT