less is more.....

does anyone else here feel that the less you need of a substance, the better you're off? Or does everyone hold the loadie standard that the higher your tolerance is, the stronger you are?
As for the urban legend? monks that take low-level amounts of MDMA as an aid to meditation, can those of us who take a half a pill consider ourselves lucky to reach the states we want to reach?
I'm 26, and i'm afraid/shocked/appalled by the consumption behaviours of the 14-22 year-old generation. These kids are going to be sterile and brain damaged before they get their first jobs.
It just disappoints me to see bragging rights layed on how much you can consume, seems like such an American thing. It's like our attitudes to alcohol. Drink up! Bottoms up! Pound it! Social!
Does anyone ever think about the negative reprecussions our attitudes will lead our respective scenes?
Does anyone else out there believe that less is more, and that it's pretty cool to meet friendly, down-to-earth happy people that aren't fucked up? I mean, who's not friendly when their serotonin's surging through their brain?
And what is the endpoint, the ultimate state, the goal of people nowadays? Is it a zen clarity, is it emotional closeness, is it a happy contentness, or is it a state of self-alienated fucked-upness?
Just wondering, please reply......

Hey-
I think its great that me and my roommate are still able to take only a half and still get as messed up as people that take multiple pills... I have taken multiple pills in one night, but it just messes u up even more, since I have such a low tolence... thats ok though, becuase I enjoy it. I am sooo glad that I have such a low tolerance, becuase if I didn't this would be an even more expensive thing to do with friends...

gotta agree with you there liquidocean. For me if im taking more than one or one and a half in a night then Im rolling way too often. I like knowing that my use is limited and under control and that I can roll my ass off with such a small amount, yet still be in control of myself. Maybe its because we are older(im 25) and drugs for us are a supplement to the process of having a good time, not the solitary basis of enjoying one'sself. I dont get the people I see in clubs or in raves who dropped a shitload of pills and cant move for hours. Is that really fun? But hey, to each their own. I have my fun and you have yours.
I think for me taking E is a spiritual search that opens a lot of emotional doors and barriers in my mind, both good and bad, as well as allowing me to be free and open and feel good music within every pore of my body and express myself through dancing. Its about comradeship and togetherness with complete strangers and seeing that stranger's eye on the dancefloor and knowing they are experiencing the same things you are. But that spirituality comes with a price and is too beautiful and unique to do every weekend, because I feel for myself that it loses its power for me if Im rolling two nights or two weekends in a row.
For me less is definetely more, but hey, like I said, to each their own.
peace
soulwatcher

Hey Friends,
I've been rolling for more than a decade...Talk about synchronicity. Last night a friend who never tried E asked me to describe the experience. I summed it up to him with the following 3 words:
Less IS More...
It's a hard lesson I learned through lots of trial and error and the loss of a few brain cells. However, by cutting back consumption the E experience has again become a SPECIAL treat and it still is (for me) one of the best keys for unlocking spirituality and the capacity of the soul to love...
PLUR to all who know how to love...
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Sometimes you can see THE LIGHT
In the strangest of Places
If you look at it RIGHT
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Its totally subjective, just like everything else to do with this scene. I mean, yeah, I dont think there's anything big or clever about wanting to eat the most/do the most drugs to be able to brag about it, thats basing your experimentation on some very shallow foundations. On the other hand, not everyone wants to be "in control" when they take drugs, part of the thrill and excitement comes from surrendering yourself totally to the influence of an altering substance. I think its important to take what gets you where you need to be, no more, no less, and its different for everyone. I go out maybe once a month to once every two months, and when I do, I usually eat 1 and a half to two pills, and then I share another one with friends in lines or on a cigarette, over a good 10 hours. Its what gets me where I want to be, gives me the experience I am looking for. In Europe, I tended to need less but I think that pills have gone down in strength on average since a few years ago.
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"For goodness sakes, would you look at those cakes?"

I must agree. When I first started rolling one or one and a half was fine. Then I started listening to my friends who said to take more. What a mistake! My tolerance went up. Way up, fast. And it seems that it dosen't ever really come back down.
Take what makes you feel good. More is a waste in more ways than one.
I wish that I didn't ruin it (maybe ruin is too strong a word) for myself

Geez I wish I could roll off a half...
First time I tried E I took a half and felt nothing, thought I had been ripped off, but when I took the other half "BOOM" wow what an incredible feeling. No I usually take between 1-3 depending how long night it is and how long the after party's gonna be. Or maybe I only get shitty pills that has low MDMA in them, it could be my tolerance too. Who knows?
Well sometimes I've had 4 or 5 pills but damn I was f*cked up then, not gonna do that again.
PLUR!!!
Double stacked PLUR !!!

Cool
Yeah, definitely BeanQueen, i usually think that everyone trips like i do, and forget the fun trips i've had in the past where i really go for a ride, rather than now, where i take myself into a particular Zone or Space.
I don't know what people's feelings of control vs. riding their trips is, but with mdma it always seems that the people that drop a second or third hit at 4 am always seem pretty whacked out the next day.
Or when people are so floored, or so high on e that it feels like they're drunk, and that if you had something you really wanted to communicate with them (as a friend, lover, or human being), the e would actually get in the way.
It's just nice to take a hit of contact high from a place, add some good vibes, positive attitude and magically turn 1/2 a pill into 1 1/2 through just vibe alone.
Just my personal preference. I'd rather see people's beautiful personalities in a state of rapture and contentness than to see the mdma walking them around like a little puppy, but that's also fun every now and then.
BayRollerSF, what's going on? My g/f was looking through my bookmarks (Opera's my browser) and found a thread called Am i too old for this? and she was wondering that for herself and your response was awesome. Totally motivated her to where she wanted to be. Thanks. Do you hit any mixed events in the City? Synchronicity has become commonplace nowadays, my friend. Same search, different paths.
Soulwatcher, yeah, i don't see why people would go to the bother of going to a big gathering of people just to be out of it and not really be able to interact fully, but if that's their thing....
Yeah, big point, once the attitude changes from usage being the supplement or catalyst to being the basis of having a good time, the whole interaction and vibe takes on a different flavor.
Anyone ever have a great buzz going then decided to do some more and just totally blow the high and regret it? Like kicking oneself out of eden?
Anyone have any tips, tricks, mantras or attitudes that help them "jump" up a level or two when they can't or don't want to drop fully?
peace
--L/O--

Hey LiquidOcean,
Always thought provoking! In answer to your final question I find if I just close my eyes and breathe like I do when I'm meditating, it very often kicks me up a notch or two. Which is odd, because I do the same thing when I want to come down a notch or two (rare, but it has happened!). Urban legend? Damn! As soon as a read that I thought, yeah what monk? And who talked to him about this? And where did he get e? Up until now I totally bought it - it just seems to feel right. Oh well, if its not true, it should be. Still thinking about the rest of this post.
Love and Peace,
Guru Daddy

LESS IS MORE - The most brillian post ever on Bluelight.
I have done multiple pills in one night before and felt like my brain was melting. It feels GREAT but we know that can't be good for you. Especially for those in their teens or early twenties (things are still developing in your brains).
The safest way is to do halves or even quarters. I think 50% of rolling is a state of mind anyway. Take a quarter of a pill, put it under your tongue with a strong Altoid type mint and have fun. You wont melt into the couch like some phreak. You will be in total control AND have fun. Take another quarter an few hours later throughout the night. You've just saved some $$$ and some dendrites in your head!
Tolerance to E will go down when you put a few months in-between.

I typically always just take a half. Unless I am going to be at some phenominal show. But even then, I just take two halves - start with one half and the other half about 2 hours later.
It really really bothers me when people take tons of pills. It just is not necessary and I do not understand why they do not "get" it. I guess it is totally personal preference, but I sometimes wonder what in the world they are trying to achieve. Also, taking more than two pills totally makes you a zombie the next day. With halves, I always have a GREAT night and the next day, I feel fine.
I do think another aspect of my motivation, stems from the fact that I do not want to damage my body like that...not to mention the cost! Sure, no drugs is the safest way to go, but I strongly believe in "Everything in Moderation". You have got to live life and have fun, but it also very important to take care of yourself and your body!

yeah, people who brag about how much drugs they do (including drinking), bug me.
like when someone brags about how many bottles of wine they drank in such and such time. how immature/irritating! its not a contest! but at the same time, we shouldn't look down on someone just because they can't sustain a roll throughout the night by eating just a single bean (like me). believe me, i WISH i could roll all night long with just one!!!! so while it may appear to others that someone is indulging themselves by eating multiple beans in a night, they are most likely not any more fucked up than those of you that have a low tolerance and can get away with smaller doses.

Hmmmmm....
Have to say that "It depends on what you are after"
For those (rare nowadays) occasions that I go out to a public place, I agree completely. A room full of drug enhanced people is much more enjoyable that a room full of drugged out zombies. Trying to talk to someone only to realize that he's zoning out on your cigarette cherry can get annoying. Unless the drug of the evening is LSD, then I would simply give him a cool light show
At home, alone or with friends, it depends. I have in the past taken a semi-serious quantity of drugs and had some very, very powerful journeys. Are they lessened by the fact that I was on a fairly large dose of several drugs? I hope not... I was still coherent before and after the "visions", but I will admit that at large dosages, it is a simple thing to go too far. But in a setting with friends its normally not a problem as we watch out for each other. Always is depressing though when a friend just zones out all night, but we never held it against them... because we all were guilty of doing it now and then.
With my old roomate, a normal "drug dosage" for the night would consist of 1.5-2 E's, some good pot and some GHB. We shared some very, very powerful shared hallucinations while zoning out together on certain songs, to the point that we had about 5 songs that were a permanant part of our "nights" (much to the annoyance of my girlfriend, who disliked at least 3 of them). Many, if not most of these "journeys" were almost frightening in that we normally would both see the same or very nearly the same thing. The night we both came back to reality excitedly talking over each other about the hypercube (4-dimensional cube) we had BOTH just seen left me pretty floored.
One night, I was on alot of E, even for me. The regimen was: 2 e's (1, then 1 90 minutes later, fairly strong ones) some very good pot, and a fair amount of G. I normally take 2 grams of G before the E (makes the E come-up great) and no more than 1 gram an hour after that. Anyway, during the peak of the second E, my girlfriend and I had crept upstairs for some time alone, and I had the 2nd of my 3 E-orgasms (which in and of itself was one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had), afterwords I dropped the 3rd E, another gram of G and some more pot. When the E started to hit, I was laying on the floor in the living room, and one of the 5 songs was put on.
Now, I am sorry that I made my friends listen to this song no less than three times in a row, but each playing of the song took me to a level I had never felt. The third (fourth?) took me to a level that I can only explain as this: I came back to reality questioning my atheism. And it lasted until I was sober. And for months after that. Its been nearly a year, and I'm still not 100% back.
Was it too much? Maybe. I plan on doing it again (I'd like to while I still have that little, nagging doubt). Duplicating it may be difficult, as I feel everything contributed to it, even the orgasm.
(Note: Since this board is read in the good ole US of A, I will add the following: While my experience was spiritual, it was not RELIGOUS. I did not see God, Jesus, or the Devil. What I saw and felt I'm not sure I can fully describe, but it was in no way, shape or form anything of a judeo-christian experience. Sorry, but everytime I mention the phrase "atheist" I get hounded by religous people)

Although I do agree that moderation is the key, everyone has a different tolerance level. Take me for example, I can only do a half and can go all night, however, I have friends who can do 1-2 in a night.
Doing more than someone else does not mean that they are trying to "out do" the other person or prove any points...it's simple: we are all not built the same way.
So, to say that someone does 1-2 hits to "show off" is a narrow minded and ignornant statement.
Less may be better to you or I, but more may be better to him and her.
Keep Rollin' Baby!

Well.... I may be 18, but I am with LiquidOcean.
Frankly, I have never done more than 2 pills in one night... and RARELY do any more than one. It frustrates me endlessly the people who use the number of pills they have to shove down thier gulletts as some sort of status symbol.
Sure, I enjoy the self-alianation of being utterly fucked off my nut. Fine. My choice isn't it? Then again, I enjoy the self alianation of locking myself away in my basement with my computer. I don't like people. Can't stand them. En masse, I think that the vast majority aren't worth my time. Maybe that's my problem, maybe that's my blessing, maybe that's my insanity, but one thing is for sure, it's my choice. I have a small circle of friends. Which rarely expands.
I don't imagine anyone will read this... and i don't know that it realy matters. in responce to Liquid Ocean, I think I'm a little of everything you described in your post. But on no more than 2 pills, ever.
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Who you are never realy changes... It's who you THINK you are that does.

per GuruDaddy's point - yeah, i breath like that too, like that 15 minutes or so i sometimes get floored by e, or like when you're peaking during sex but don't want to go overboard sort of breathing. I think we get high off of oxygen anyways, it goes str8 to the brain. I'm calling it an urban legend because i've heard it repeated a bunch of times without a reference.
per Rob's forays - yeah, the cigarette cherry, i've caught people staring at it like it was nice cleavage . I think it really depends on whether it's kept amongst a few people that know how to travel places psychically together well. It doesn't make too much sense to get really fucked up and go into a crowd of 100+ people, people that wanna push the envelope would prolly have a better experience with a tight crew in a comfortable location. Esp. if you wanna go far sexually with someone, i don't even like for friends or roommates to be home! E-orgasms are crazy, huh? I think at any given moment in the world, you could be the only couple orgasming on e, which is a really high energy wave. It would be an awesome way to die.
per cami's point - "1 to 2 hits to show off", does that mean that they're showing off because they only need a little, or because they like to pop a lot of pills? I'll assume the former, but that's just standard neurochemistry. Standard dosage for desired effect is 80-120 mgs. If you need more than one pill, it means either you've developed a tolerance, your pills are weak, or there's something blocking you from getting high, either a physiological problem, or a behavioral one.
I just like the state when you have waited a while to drop, so has your s/o, the time you plan to spend is special, you're making even more so, you know what you're taking, you know how much you should take, you drop, you feel it come on as you should, you adjust as necessary, and then it hits you. When it hits you, you can't even think of taking any other drug or chemical.
If everyone could regulate their usage like this, imagine the collective vibe this would have.
Or if the people who take 8+ pills in a night just stuck with the first two and gave the other six out and concentrated on the contact highs and love they would receive from them.

Im loving this topic so much, I just couldnt stop myself from posting again. It is just SO interesting to see the different standpoints on the less is more issue, and the one thing that keeps popping into my mind is "Why does other peoples drug use bug some of these people so much?" For me, the whole beauty of this scene is that people in general are pretty accepting and tolerant of the fact that we will all just do what makes us feel good and feel happy, at least for 8 or so hours, and then hopefully take part of that positive time on with us into our daily lives, until the next party.
I pay no attention to how many pills the people around me eat, I just assume they are taking whatever makes them feel the way they want to feel. Within my circle of friends, some people eat more on a regular basis, some eat less. I would describe them all as enhanced rather than dried out husks. I like that term, drug-enhanced
Why should it bother you personally and get on your tits, if someone you dont even know decides they want to eat 5 pills in a night? Why should anyone feel that their pill habits are in any way superior over anyone elses? Does anyone have a moral highground to stand upon that says taking one is more meaningful or somehow better than taking more than that? I dont think so. How would anyone know what is meaningful to someone else, can they get inside their heads, experience their experience? Do you think the people who eat lots of pills give a damn that some people only took a half, or one all night? Just a few random thoughts that popped into my head, like I said. I really notice a tendency, I guess it just must be a very human thing, for people to decide that how they party is somehow the "true" way to party, they listen to better music, they eat the right amount of drugs, they have the most meaningful experiences, they know "what its all really about", and see other people who dont fall into this right way to rave as poor unenlightened fools who are somehow missing the point. I really feel like thats not what this scene is about, judging your fellow ravers.
Thanks Liquid, great topic, I wish there were more like this
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"For goodness sakes, would you look at those cakes?"

Ok, BeanQueen, you know you're pushing my buttons on that one .
I think the word you were dancing around was fascism and if that attitude has any place being around ecstasy or the dance music scene.
I'm a perfectionist, but i don't let it give me feelings of superiority or arrogance or dislike. I just want to see people utilizing their mdma with full consciousness for maximum vibe.
BUT, and this is a big but, there are a lot of people that just don't know the mysteries of dosage, and may kill off a good roll by overdosing. Anyone who's killed a good ghb buzz will know precisely what i'm talking about.
I don't want to dictate people's behaviors, i just want people to do it right.
Suppose a person becomes close in my life. I want her to drop with me. She's only dropped once before and she had a very negative experience because the person she was with gave her too much and it made her feel like her brain was frying and the next day she felt like absolute hell.
People that wanna get fucked up will get fucked up, there's no need to destroy innocent people's synapses as well.
Whaddya think?

Liquid..
Right on. I fully agree that it is rediculous to take mass amounts of drugs. Not that I particularilly care if others do, but for me I would rather take only what what it takes...if you will. I used to not follow this and I often would over drink, smoke to much weed, or pop to many pills all in the name of getting f*@#ed up. I had an experience of living with someone who is also like that, and it gave me a realization. It made me ask myself why I even take drugs. and the truth of the matter is that for me they are a mind alteration that helps me feel grounded and in touch with my spirituallity as it may be, and then I realized that if that is what I use drugs for, then getting messed up beyond function & comprehention is demolishing that aspect. Less is More in my case, for I have found in the recent years that it doesn't take much to get to the point where I am satisfied, and a little fun, and overall satisfaction is all I seek in life.
-)ixieLoca

Liquid, its people like yourself that act as a reaity heck for everybody else on the board and I really commend you for that. Your posts are always intelligent and look at some of the more dificult issues involving drugs.
I have become such a follower of the "less is more" theme because I see too many young teenagers getting way too fucked when they can hardly afford the drugs at all. Lets not forget that drugs are very dirty things we place into our bodies and they ahve the ability to ruin our lives. Too much will ruin your life as i have seen on multiple occasions unfortunately!!
I am only 20, but I thank God i can control my body and I control what goes into my body now. i am educated about the scene and I always know what i am getting into before I take the first step. I see alot of 15 and 16 and 17 year olds who don't have that respect for there bodies as of yet and they are getting in deep water at a young age. I believe its the younger crowds who compete to see who can do more pills and think its fun to pop 3 or 4 tabs in a night. After educating myself I know that its disgusting what happends to your brain from that many pills. I totally hate people who get high for the sake of getting high and for those people who do drugs to get as fucked up as possible and sit in a chair for 5 hours like a vegetable.
Me personally, I roll because I enjoy the high, I enjoy meeting people, I enjoy dancing and having a great time and hugging all my friends. I roll for all the good reasons, not the bad reasons!!!
If everybody would take some time to respect their bodies and become educated about the drugs and the scene in general then the rave scene would never get a bad reputation from the media in the first place.
"LESS IS MORE"
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Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, today is a gift!!
With all his heart,
The Doc