• Psychedelic Drugs Welcome Guest
    View threads about
    Posting RulesBluelight Rules
    PD's Best Threads Index
    Social ThreadSupport Bluelight
    Psychedelic Beginner's FAQ
  • PD Moderators: Esperighanto | JackARoe | Cheshire_Kat

Psychoactive drugs and human consciousness

M

MordecaiLives

Greenlighter
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Messages
44
I'm a very curious person when it comes to self-awareness in living things, so of course my greatest curiosity lies in the realm of genesis. where did it all begin? hypothetically, is it possible to catalog an instance or specific organism where consciousness began?

the idea popped into my head that it all started with the ingestion of psychedelic plants. i am in no way taking credit for this theory, as i know that it has been discussed over and over for years. i simply have a limited bank of knowledge concerning the subject.

is it possible that such an event could have sparked the evolutionary path of the human brain? and, if so, are our brains moving toward an eventual symbiotic relationship with psychedelic plants? has communication through consumption been discussed? (this is tangential) would that mean that humans should practice shallow, nude, earthen burials for the dead?

anyway, the real question i have for all of you is:

can anyone direct me to any threads or forums dedicated to this discussion, or even books or other websites? i am very interested in this subject.
 
MordecaiLives said:
is it possible that such an event could have sparked the evolutionary path of the human brain? and, if so, are our brains moving toward an eventual symbiotic relationship with psychedelic plants? has communication through consumption been discussed? (this is tangential) would that mean that humans should practice shallow, nude, earthen burials for the dead?
Click to expand...

Even if the first part of what you're suggesting is true (which I don't personally believe, but I don't think is insane either), the idea of communicating with with nature by decomposition in the ground is pure magic. "It follows" type logic doesn't apply, so you'll have to believe on faith as with anything religious.
 
i know the idea is pretty farfetched, but with a subject like this one, i can't help but think in a very broad manner. i'm not proposing that these plants have "souls" which are directly attempting to communicate with humans by letting us eat them. imagine that it works like the nitrogen cycle; perhaps certain chemicals produced by the human body/brain have a similar effect on plants. it's a difficult thing to imagine, because we all know that plants don't have brains, but perhaps a chemical produced by humans, when consumed by plants, effects the plant on a cellular level that is neither harmful nor beneficial to the plant physically.

i don't know, i'm definitely grasping at straws here. too bad we can't monitor the future evolutionary patterns of plants.
 
Maybe plants have played a role in the evolution of human consciousness. However I don't think they are the biggest factor. I believe that the universe is supernatural in origin and God thought it all into creation, including the development of humans. I think the plants play a part but are not everything.
 
You'll want to check out the book "Food of the Gods" by Terence McKenna, in which he proposes and supports the thesis that psilocybe mushrooms were the catalyst for modern human evolution on the grasslands of Africa some ~12,000 years ago...
 
Check out some Lakota lore as well. The Lakota were nomadic plant gatherers of healing and 'talking' plants. I'm not sure where to point you on that one as far as literature though.

This talking or consciousness,however; isn't within the parameters of what we humans refer to as speech or 'brain'.

Also, in South America there is the claim that the entheogenic plants (some of them) have quit 'talking' because of an influx of dumb, disrespectful tourists looking for a party instead of seeking a spirit. d/k, could be.
 
MordecaiLives said:
i know the idea is pretty farfetched, but with a subject like this one, i can't help but think in a very broad manner. i'm not proposing that these plants have "souls" which are directly attempting to communicate with humans by letting us eat them. imagine that it works like the nitrogen cycle; perhaps certain chemicals produced by the human body/brain have a similar effect on plants. it's a difficult thing to imagine, because we all know that plants don't have brains, but perhaps a chemical produced by humans, when consumed by plants, effects the plant on a cellular level that is neither harmful nor beneficial to the plant physically.

i don't know, i'm definitely grasping at straws here. too bad we can't monitor the future evolutionary patterns of plants.
Click to expand...

I think you're on to something. I've had similar thoughts, especially recently, thinking about the natural order of things being ingested and of things decaying. There's no need for an overarching consciousness in order for something like what you described to be happening -- but it does raise the possibility. I'm a huge skeptic regarding souls and such, but I do at least have the audacity to hope ...
 
egor said:
anthropomorphism strikes again;)
Click to expand...

anthropocentrism strikes again! Anything non-human, from ant to dolphin, is equally lacking in consciousness, and therefore lacking in importance. Any understanding of the universe should, of course, start with a focus on humanity! We were made in god's image after all! <_<
 
queenscarlet88 said:
anthropocentrism strikes again! Anything non-human, from ant to dolphin, is equally lacking in consciousness, and therefore lacking in importance. Any understanding of the universe should, of course, start with a focus on humanity! We were made in god's image after all! <_<
Click to expand...

No, its both really. Seeing human traits in non-human is anthropomorphism...

Either way, you'd be hardpressed to convince me that our conciousness is so special- I think all things have conciousness, in their own way, even, perhaps, water and the sky :)

We are god, and he is OUR image....
 
swilow said:
Either way, you'd be hardpressed to convince me that our conciousness is so special- I think all things have conciousness, in their own way, even, perhaps, water and the sky :)
Click to expand...

Funny you should say that. I'm currently developing a hypothesis wherein any network of nodes which have 'memory' and can 'communicate' will spontaneously develop an emergent intelligence. A network of ants forms a colony. Humans, a culture. Neurons, a mind. And if our minds, being one of these emergent systems, can host a consciousness, why not any of the others?
 
I think the trouble with this idea of plants stimulating consciousness is that so few people actually enjoy the psychedelic experience. Compared to the number of people who gain satisfaction and euphoria from having a round of golf or a religion or having more money than someone else the number of people who enjoy tripping is tiny.

Even in the areas of mexico where mushrooms were known about it wasn't as if everyone was going round tripping on mushrooms - it was something done by the few rather than the many.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top