"Spiritual Drugs" Are Bullshit

in #health7 years ago


source: livescience.com

What most people call Spiritual Drugs is nothing more than metaphysical woohoo nonsense experience. In other words, blind belief in the "unlocking" of..."something", supposedly "greater" than us. Nonetheless, like Christopher Hitchen's eloquently put it "What can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence".

Life sucks. For the most part is pain and struggle. This is after all why so many people find themselves desperately chasing delusive concepts such as "happiness". Since the dawn of our evolutionary timeline, human always tried to escape the reality of life by doing physiological "hacks". We turned into hallucinogenic drugs because it was one of the simplest ways to get away from the mundane in a time we knew nothing about how our brains or bodies work.

The way these drugs work is rather simple. In order to function, our brain integrates different signals (such as glutamate and serotonin). What hallucinogens more or less do, is to disrupt these processes so that normal sensory perception is altered by them. This is how the experience turns out to be "different" and "without words".

In other words, the experience is similar to some visual illusions when poisoned, getting hit on the head and feeling dizzy or having a fever and seeing all sorts of....things. People believe in the "supernatural" part of these drugs because they are buying into the cult delusion of trying to find an easy way out from their daily problems.

A good example of these drugs are LSD and Ayahuasca. Thing is, the public seems to be immune to the dangers since almost always there is some kind of conspiracy theory linking them to the "real" reason they are banned. Ayahuasca is a tea, containing the psychedelic drug DMT. It almost always induces profuse vomiting, discomfort and other physical effects before the start of the hallucinogenic experience. It is believed that it brings personal enlightenment by confronting the user with their darkest fears.

I am not going to argue about the dangers of these drugs even if many people have died in the process of taking them. I have tried both DMT and LSD and you just have to be careful. They can be fun but they can also give you a pretty fucked up trip. It is a gamble really.

I this post I am only tackling their "spiritual claims". The fact that these drugs use as a post-hoc narrative after someone is on a "personal quest" should make everyone skeptical. It is much like the fortune teller, making bank on self-fulfilling prophecies. "You will meat a tall blond girl with blue eyes" she says looking through her bullshit cards. The gullible individual hat lacks confidence follows up on her assumption and starts tall blond girls with blue eyes. Eventually he lands one and the fortune teller becomes "the real deal".

Drugs like Ayahuasca work much the same way. People describe their experiences based on what other people have said. After taking the drug they claim that their problems magically disappeared based on the same process that others have described. Similarly, when we watch TV right before we go to bed, we might have parts of the show pop-up in our dream story. The brain is not such an awesome tool. It mostly reshuffles things around.

There no proof, of "spiritual" realms, "astral" or whatever people like to call their experience other than hearsay from the people who make the claims. Truth is not a democracy. Simply, people seem to turn more and more gullible when numbers in support of something increase.

Individuals that gather up around spiritual drug-cults are usually buying into two false narratives. The first one is a classic. It revolves around the idea that if something is "old" or better "ancient" it must be good. The belief comes mostly from westerners that are fed up with the modern world — that rightfully seems to be more and more superficial and fake. But even though the modern world does revolve around fake ideas, so does the ancient one and in a much greater magnitude. We have VR and alcohol, they have plant piss that can mess with some of our brain's receptors.

There is no grand conspiracy about spiritual drugs either. No one is trying to "hide" the keys for unlocking the doors of the 12th Dimension. These things are illegal because at some point some people saw the side effects they had, got scared and so they pushed through democratic means their ban. Governments found out that they could profit and so they reinforced campaigns, pushing other substances as a replacement — such as cigarettes and alcohol. The war on Drugs is a joke but so is the spiritual path towards them.


I am very vigilant when it comes to public education and information that arrives on our laps. I am also equally skeptical of claims that are made from completely uneducated individuals that push "alternative" ideas because they were too lazy to study or even research themselves. I have seen Ayahuasca being pushed by one of the most popular personas here on Steemit, following his own personal path towards "enlightenment". I wrote this so people will think twice before taking these kind of drugs. Bullshit is ok. Dangerous bullshit is not.











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I remember doing research on Ayahuasca for my degree thesis. What's "cool" about it is that it was traditionally consumed by indigenous indians of south america in religious ceremonies. It was part of their culture and the ceremonies had a spiritual, not recreational purpose; yet the war on drugs had it banned in most countries. Natives still have several court battles going on to this day, with the claim that its a cultural heritage element and they have the right to maintain it. For western people it rhymes well with the "hippie" trend of back to nature-spiritualism-drugs and chillin'. In my opinion, anyone should be able to smoke or drink whatever they want; however let's not forget that indigenous cultures had no knowledge of modern chemistry and human physiology back then and genuinely attributed these effects to spiritual causes. Purposedly ignoring this knowledge today is just too pretentious.

It's a portal to demonic dimensions. Those who open that door may in fact be leaving a backdoor down the road. Not 100% certain, but my research is leading my to the conclusion it is not what people make it out to be.

There are definitely heaps of people flocking to the Amazon or local 'shaman' in search of something to fill their emptiness or because they believe medicines , like ayahuasca, will provide spiritual enlightenment. Some may wear their experience like a badge of honor, the simple fact of taking ayahuasca may make them feel as if they are on a higher spiritual level.

However, before we completely dismiss Ayahuasca and LSD, why not incorporate these substances into research and attempt to discern their true potential as medicines?

Ayahuasca, in particular, has the potential to be a powerful tool in treating severe forms of depression, drug addiction and PTSD. So far, the evidence is mostly subjective but their are some in the medical profession that believe in its potential to heal people who have experienced trauma. I'm thinking of the work by Dr. Gabor Mate especially. LSD, psilocybin and mdma in prescribed doses or micro-doses may also be beneficial.

What are your thoughts on this?

Excellent. Many hallucinogenic drugs have worked for depressed people. These drugs today are very useful in therapies. Good answer.

Ayahuasca, in particular, has the potential to be a powerful tool in treating severe forms of depression, drug addiction and PTSD

Not more powerful than getting a pet or making some good friends. Medication starts being medication when it surpasses the placebo threshold which is around 33%. Unfortunately, no research on LSD can demonstrated anything beyond that.

I have to point out here that research on the subject is limited due to bias in regards to these drugs. Nonetheless, nothing of significance has be shown. Another interesting part is that modern medication for depression are not any better and might cause even more problems than simple drugs such as Ayahuasca.

It's misleading to say that "nothing of significance" has been shown.

There were more than 1,000 peer-reviewed clinical papers detailing the use of psychedelic compounds (administered to approximately 40,000 patients) published by the mid-1960s.

LSD was seen to have a greater than 50% success rate in treating alcoholics in just a single-session:

quote.jpg

Source: Smart RG, Storm T (March 1964). "The Efficacy of LSD in the Treatment of Alcoholism" (PDF). Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 25: 333.

In addition, there are studies ongoing today: https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/04/health/lsd-reconsidered-for-therapy.html

The founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson said that, "I am certain that the LSD experiment has helped me very much. I find myself with a heightened color perception and an appreciation of beauty almost destroyed by my years of depression.”

This is just one use of LSD.

Maybe you will enjoy this TED Talk by a current research scientist:

LSD was seen to have a greater than 50% success rate in treating alcoholics in just a single-session:

that's like giving weed to tobacco smokers and claiming that it cures puffing.

Since nicotine addiction often is a self-medication for repressed trauma, weed might treat the underlying anxiety and stop the person smoking tobacco.

However, I think LSD would be more effective than weed for nicotine addiction.

Scientists have found that LSD will cure a person of tobacco addiction: http://www.newsweek.com/how-acid-helped-stop-smoking-413593

And other psychedelics are also effective at treating tobacco addiction:
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150615-could-psychedelic-drugs-make-smokers-quit

And:

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/06/live-like-youre-on-mushrooms/487286/

pets can cure tobacco addiction. exercise can do that as well.

addiction is not a substance problem. Is a human connection problem.

Nice article. I've never experimented with LSD and Ayahuasca, and don't plan to given the associated risks. For those using these so called "spiritual drugs" as a means to reach enlightenment, it's kind of ironic and a pointless pursuit since you are only artificially augmenting your reality rather than developing a deeper understanding and appreciation of the practice of spirituality.

To me it just seems like another excuse to escape from one's woes and deny facing their current reality. At least stick to marijuana, it's safer ~

Great information and very well explained. I really liked the way you guided people about these drugs :)

The beliefs in the outer body experience dates back to ancient practices that the natives of the land would practice. The human body is amazing in itself that we can produce naturally chemicals which are exactly to those of using a substance. An example would be a runners high. When the adrenaline gets going in the body you experience some outer body things as well. Substance use disrupts the natural flow of chemicals released in the synapses gap hence the spacey feeling. Serotonin levels be vanish and the users mood swings changes. Great read with interesting information. Reminds me of my college days sitting in those psychology lectures. Peace be with you 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

upvoted, didn't know that.

Did you know that all old religions worshipped fallen angels? That's where these shamanic practices come from, the worship of reptilians and winged reptilians (avians).

Or even the "high" of being in such great physical shape that you know you can run all day long...even in 90 degree heat and 90% humidity. I'm wondering if the "ultimate" high can actually be achieved without the use on any drugs or stimulants. I think proper diet goes a long way towards creating a "natural" high also. It's very tuff to break bad habits, so small gains and steady progress is the way I try to approach things. :-)

Calling bs on a spectrum of reality altering drugs is a bit much? As no one claims they give you special powers, it gives you a higher conscience of yourself and expands your mind.

Mhm. Anyone claiming that people claim spiritiual "bullshit" is just not understanding what these people are talking about.
Through psychedelia, humans experience a deeper connection with themselves. You come out of the experience with a renewed sense of self. Ask anyone.

I'd like to have some examples and evidence from @kyriacos about the type of spiritual bullshit he has heard.
I can't really think of any.

Seems like Kyriacos is creating 2 false illusions here.

  1. Sober normal life is just boring old suffering - NOT the intense explainable unexperience of being alive.
  2. Users of psychedelics tend to be new-age spiritual proselytizers.

When really..

  1. Sober normal life is a mixture of anything you perceive, you do not need drugs to see the insane magic of the world.
  2. Most psychedelia users I've met and hung out with do NOT have some weird idea of their spiritual path. They do the substances because it's interesting to experience. It is something different and new.

A beautifully well written comment.

it gives you a higher conscience of yourself and expands your mind.

I explain that is not "higher" or "lower" . just messes up with your perception much like alcohol does.

I enjoy reading opinions on this matter, i do not agree with most of what you have said and believe you have a somewhat cynical attitude. But regardless, if you compare psychedelics to alcohol, you are most definitely not educated about the reactions that take place in a humans body on either a psychedelic substance or alcohol. There is no comparison, and even though i agree on few things conveyed in this article, i believe that statement has no merit. I invite you to look up the many studies that have been released recently detailing the profound psychiatric implications psychedelic substances carry, and to maybe re asses, at the very least that specific statement. This is obviously not a scientific paper you have wrote and carries alot of personal emotion within it, but that statement is simply not true. And also, there are political reasons that these substances are illegal, and remain illegal. It is not cocaine or heroin, and these substances procure a potential to enhance the sense and broaden the brains capacity for connectivity. If you feel that statement is simply not true, this has been proven in laboratory settings, in double blind studies.
Have a wonderful day and thank you for the article! Much love

http://www.maps.org/

i would love to debate this topic sometime, i like your point of view, even though i am in disagreement with much of it, it was a good read!

How were your experiences with psychedelics like?

dream like, happy, socializing with others, tripping out by-myself looking at the stars. they were pretty awesome, like most good dreams.

I've seen people that ended up in the hospital from a panic attack, hurt themselves trying to do stupid shit.. so it varies greatly. you really can't know how it will hit you because their effect depends on your given psychological state.

I've slowly come to the conclusion that people's bodies are their own property and they should be able to put into them whatever they're dumb enough to.

It's the pseudo-intellectual metaphysical mumbo-jumbo that he vomits onto the keyboard that turns me off about @craig-Rant and I don't know if that's from the drugs or his ego.

I've slowly come to the conclusion that people's bodies are their own property and they should be able to put into them whatever they're dumb enough to.

absolutely agree

It's the pseudo-intellectual metaphysical mumbo-jumbo that he vomits onto the keyboard that turns me off about @craig-Rant and I don't know if that's from the drugs or his ego.

check the dollar vigilante as well. It seems to be the new way to trade cryptos. when everything else fails, drugs come to the rescue.

I bit on the Doll Vig the first week or so when I got here but I've seen that kind of digital product launch promo too many times before and stopped looking. It's sad who people will follow just because they've managed to accumulate some coins.

And while a lot of people seem to think that it takes some kind of special insight, some of them just got lucky and were in the right place at the right time.

Remember, Even a BlindSquirl finds a nut now & then. ;-)

Dollar Virgil is also setting traps for himself which will end up being a part of his "ultimate" demise. The thing he is hoping for (end to the marriage betwixt politics and big business) would lead to the destruction of the bitcoin bubble. There's a reason he failed to recognize the 2001 tech bubble and let a $240 million company go on to become worth next to nothing. And he didn't learn the reason during teh tech meltdown. Dollar Virgil is in fact the type of entity that is creating teh situations he wants to see destroyed. He's stemmits "most interesting member" as far as I am concerned. It isn't very often you get to see a self proclaimed ex-spurt get taken down by his own stupidity. I will be there for every step of the journey. Be careful of the "facts" he interjects into his arguments. he just recently said "the dollar is off by 90% since 2011!"...he meant since he started tracking bitcoin of course. He'll ignore the very thing that will kick his ass until he can't ignore it any longer.

http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/advchart/frames/frames.asp?show=&insttype=Index&symb=dxy&x=33&y=9&time=13&startdate=1%2F4%2F1999&enddate=2%2F18%2F2017&freq=1&compidx=aaaaa%3A0&comptemptext=&comp=none&ma=0&maval=9&uf=0&lf=1024&lf2=2&lf3=8&type=2&style=320&size=4&timeFrameToggle=false&compareToToggle=false&indicatorsToggle=false&chartStyleToggle=false&state=11

That's the problem we have in our society, people are always ready to follow a "cult of personality" no matter what their track record is.

I can sometimes spot them now, but I still fall under their spell occasionally.

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