Your brain on drugs

I originally was posting this in the 'Who are you on MDMA' thread but there is a difference.
I am interested to hear what all a y'all think about while peaking/coming down... or more importantly HOW you think.
I wonder why these chemical reactions that alter our normal thought processes lead us to challenge ideas and approach issues in new ways.
This may not be something that you think about but it plagues me after every time I peak.
You know when you are thinking about something 'deep' and you sort of hit a wall... the train of thought derails etc.
I find this fascinating
I think of the mind like a root system with each root fiber representing a thought path you travel...
If you understand how you establish, navigate and maintain these paths it can help you question and answer in different ways... more effective ways.
some travelled paths (eg. 'what do I want to do with my life') get used so frequently that I feel they become 'ruts'. Before you really have the opportunity to ask some real questions, expand the path and gain some ground- you can find yourself at the end of the path faced with the same questions that ended your interest in the topic last time!
I used to just move on and think about something less taxing but nowdays I press on... If you do this the paths GROW and you find youself moving in the right direction
I don't fully understand how the drugs let you see your thinking from this objective point ... its almost like the chemical reaction caused by the drugs allows you to return to points in that path rather than send you all the way back to the start(ie the origional question)
I have to stop writing this shit

welcome to the wonderful world of neurotransmission, axons, dendrites and synaptic pathways.
to get you started:
Feldman, RS; Mayer JS; Quenzer, LF "Principles of Neuropsychopharmacology"
Sinauer (1997)

add,

• personality strategies & issues ;liebert & spiegler's 1998
• The brain book ; peter russell 1989..Found this at an op-shop for 20c..Good overall view for first timers.
• Drug Use in Australia-A harm minimsation approach-edited by Magaret hamilton etc..
  This is a good overview book, with contributions from people on this site, I believe
  

Just thought I would add these off topic 'cos they're good reading........

Dude, you sooo don't need to stop writing this stuff... And definately don't stop thinking it...
I've spent many a reflective Sunday afternoon reflecting on many issues and I'm sure I'll continue to do so... Why do the drugs allow us to think in those ways? I've got no idea but reading some of those books sounds like a worthy endeavour...
I agree with you about the way in which some trains of thought can lead you around in circles, and this is extremely evident to me which under the influence of acid, but not so much on mdma...
One thing I always notice after the mdma has worn off is that my vocabulary expands quite extensively (or not so much expands, but the more infrequently used words because more easily accessible, rather than thinking a more common word, and more complex word will enter my train of thought...) It's a very useful phenomenon if you're trying to write a novel...
Great thread Dude, I hope it gets some more responses...

I'm surprised there aren't more topics like this on the site. As a person who has only been into this scene for about six months, already i get frustrated seeing so many ppl who have been introduced to ecstasy the wrong way and who have totally missed out on the sort of experiences that you're talking about. I love it. So much in fact that i no longer smoke or drink, due to the fact that I can now have a meaningful and benaficial experience rather than just sitting around laughing at nothing and having conversations that dont make sense.
What I find most interesting is how the experience doesnt just remain in the 'drug world', it stays with you forever and broadens your way of thinking in every-day life.
Has anyone ever sat down on mdma and just put down on paper these kind of thoughts?? I think about doing it all the time.. but never get around to doing it.

Indeed good thread - very incitful. I belive it takes the inhabition from what our freedom of thoughts are based apon. eg.. what we can think and act apon to what we think we are allowed to think and act apon, based loosly on a social structure - why certain peer groups are more attacted to a certain type of drug. Though unfortunatly can have a negitive affect as well, as you still need to posses a strong mind. I think to many of us have seen the affects of a 're-wired' brain due to MDMA - which we need to be aware of, when we do it we are changing our thought patternes, short or long term will be up to the individual... I my slf have found the experince to be life changing, removing fear replacing it with a benevolance that allows me to learn and understand to a greater degree, intouch.
Fuk I can ramble... 'twas like i'm in a chill out room with a many smiley people.

i've given up trying to explain it all, but now i just enjoy it and try to carry the good bits over into my normal life. MDMA is an eye-opening experience, provided you approach it right. it's very different going out with people who've never had anyone do rolling tricks on them, or hug them and talk shit for hours. and it's great fun initiating these people into some of the fun things we do
and i don't ming comedowns either... they make me think about things!

found this link shows 2 pics.
Pic 1 of a healthy brain
and
Pic 2 a picture of a E users brain.(this brain was similar to that of a 60-70yr old)
http://www.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/tows_past_20010928_e.jhtml;jsessionid=WB01K2WUJEOLTLARAYFCFEQ

What do I think about?
In all seriousness.
I always wonder where I left my brain and my plot and wonder if the homing device on them works OK so they make it back to me.
If you think Im joking.. you havent been around me at a recovery.

Hey what great responses!
Do some of you believe drugs have changed you for the better?
> I can't think what I would be like today If I hadn't had drugs before...
The society we survive in dictates (our direction, whats important along the way) so much and as I see it the choice is adhereance, abstenance or drugs-
You could stick with the progrtam get your wife and 2.5 children or You could hike into the hills and meditate or drop a pill and while your wiring is gathering back together challange a few of those ideals and beliefs before it all makes sense again!
but there is a line...a line that must not be crossed
for beyond that line the structure of reality is a fortress that protects only the weak and you are left in your own interpretation.
However that might be
Crazy Dude
crazy dude
[This message has been edited by Dude (edited 25 October 2001).]

yeah! whats up with the crazy thoughts on the comedown?? i had a really crazy comedown, the first of its sort where i decided that sunday morning i would go on an acid trip and it was so messed up like i was just stuck in this train of thought which kept going round and round and whoa the keyboard is really moving heaps whoa.....