Foreigner
Bluelighter
Thanks everyone for your replies. I'll try to address some key points below.
About tolerance (or being acclimatized to higher doses): the first time this friend did acid he accidentally did 5000ug because the dealer told him the wrote dose per tab, and later corrected this mistake with the right info. He was able to let go and not have any resistance, despite the extreme intensity. Then he went out shopping the next day and ran all of his errands. So, this person has been doing high doses from the start.
My friend has always been somewhat of a social outcast. He doesn't want to attend most of the events I go to. He is highly judgmental of other people, probably because they've been judgmental of him. I am concerned that his delusions are a result of his isolation and LSD is magnifying them. He can function in the world to a practical degree but he spends most of his time alone and that concerns me. I'm one of the few lucky people to have an "in" in his life and I'm worried that his delusions are going to isolate him further. I'm very open to esoteric things, but the things he's saying are hard for even me to accept.
My friend seems excited and hopeful. He has also made it clear that he wants to leave planet earth entirely because life here is mundane, boring, and annoying. He even said that last time he met these beings he asked to go with them, but inevitably the experience ended. This leads me to believe it was just a product of tripping and not something that actually happened.
He describes his experiences with vivid recollection and intricate detail. He's gifted with words like that. I have seen really vivid things on LSD too but somehow I always manage to ground myself back in reality after it. It's hard for me to really make an objective assessment of what "reality" is, but there is something axiomatic about knowing that a non-tripping state is your naturally grounded state and that tripping is somewhat a fantasy. My friend seems to think that what happened was very real and is even striving to get back there. Part of me will never give over to the idea that what I'm seeing on LSD is "real", and I think that's what has kept me sane.
I appreciate your persective but I find it a bit too materialist. I see bright red in someone's aura where they have extreme pain, and I know this without any other information. I point it out and they confirm it. I can see when a couple has been fighting, or if they've had sex in the past hour, just by how their auras mesh together. I can tell a fake plant from a real plant by its aura. I can tell when a tree is dead or merely in winter hiberation from its aura. I can tell if a substance is toxic or not based on its aura. I can tell if an animal is about to attack me, or if it will be friendly, based on its aura - even if its physical behaviour seems neutral. Most usefully, I can tell when someone is lying because of how their aura changes.
I have gone through the whole "I might be crazy" thing, and it's been through experimentation that I know I'm not. And I have seen auras before I ever knew what drugs were.
Tests have been done on this phenomenon, you can read about a lot of the studies here:
http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/evidence-for-psi/ (Under 'evidence' section)
The site also addresses Randi's Million Dollar challenge and why it's a load of BS.
The problem is not in the testing, but in the conclusions -- that being "psychic" means you have 100% accuracy, or you're a fraud, which is not the case. No psychic has ever been 100%, yet the experimenters set the bar very high, and if no one reaches that bar then they "aren't psychic". If you looked at high-jumping and set the bar very high, and then said that every jumper had to get over that bar in order to meet the criteria, most people would undoubtedly fail. Though, what about people who make it over the bar 50% of the time? Or 60%? Is there not something special happening there? According to the way experiments are currently conducted, no there isn't.
The other thing is that in instances where accuracy has been very high, the experimenters have tried to dismiss it with physical explanations. The reason is that modern science is extremely reliant upon materialism for explanations -- i.e. the brain is the be all and end all of everything. Yet psychic abilities prove non-material phenomena to be real. IMO the two are incompatible, at least in modern science decides to budge on paranormal things -- or hell, even just admitting there is a real connection between mind and body.
Also keep in mind that what you said in your last post about 5ht2a agonism and retinal colour saturation are also theories. Just because you have a theory does not mean you have disproven anything -- you've only given some ideas (which I appreciate). I'm now researching colour saturation because it seems interesting, although it doesn't explain the obvious correlation I've had between what I'm seeing and the nature of the subject I'm observing. Does aura due to colour saturation explain the object's health, vitality, and social intent, in your experience?
(to be continued)
About tolerance (or being acclimatized to higher doses): the first time this friend did acid he accidentally did 5000ug because the dealer told him the wrote dose per tab, and later corrected this mistake with the right info. He was able to let go and not have any resistance, despite the extreme intensity. Then he went out shopping the next day and ran all of his errands. So, this person has been doing high doses from the start.
folding_space said:What are you really concerned about when it comes to your friend? Are you worried that the two of you are drifting apart because his use of acid is giving him an unusual perspective that you do not share? Or do you suspect that his views and behavior are making/will make him unhappy?
My friend has always been somewhat of a social outcast. He doesn't want to attend most of the events I go to. He is highly judgmental of other people, probably because they've been judgmental of him. I am concerned that his delusions are a result of his isolation and LSD is magnifying them. He can function in the world to a practical degree but he spends most of his time alone and that concerns me. I'm one of the few lucky people to have an "in" in his life and I'm worried that his delusions are going to isolate him further. I'm very open to esoteric things, but the things he's saying are hard for even me to accept.
zn13bt said:How do you think your friend feels about what he's been experiencing? It's not clear from your message whether it's been troubling him or not.
If you want to engage your friend about these experiences he's been having, you could try asking him how he knows that he's communicating with a distinct entity instead of an aspect of his own psyche, and how he evaluates the usefulness of the messages he receives.
My friend seems excited and hopeful. He has also made it clear that he wants to leave planet earth entirely because life here is mundane, boring, and annoying. He even said that last time he met these beings he asked to go with them, but inevitably the experience ended. This leads me to believe it was just a product of tripping and not something that actually happened.
He describes his experiences with vivid recollection and intricate detail. He's gifted with words like that. I have seen really vivid things on LSD too but somehow I always manage to ground myself back in reality after it. It's hard for me to really make an objective assessment of what "reality" is, but there is something axiomatic about knowing that a non-tripping state is your naturally grounded state and that tripping is somewhat a fantasy. My friend seems to think that what happened was very real and is even striving to get back there. Part of me will never give over to the idea that what I'm seeing on LSD is "real", and I think that's what has kept me sane.
sekio said:The real thing to ask, is "what are the nature of these phenomena"?
I appreciate your persective but I find it a bit too materialist. I see bright red in someone's aura where they have extreme pain, and I know this without any other information. I point it out and they confirm it. I can see when a couple has been fighting, or if they've had sex in the past hour, just by how their auras mesh together. I can tell a fake plant from a real plant by its aura. I can tell when a tree is dead or merely in winter hiberation from its aura. I can tell if a substance is toxic or not based on its aura. I can tell if an animal is about to attack me, or if it will be friendly, based on its aura - even if its physical behaviour seems neutral. Most usefully, I can tell when someone is lying because of how their aura changes.
I have gone through the whole "I might be crazy" thing, and it's been through experimentation that I know I'm not. And I have seen auras before I ever knew what drugs were.
Tests have been done on this phenomenon, you can read about a lot of the studies here:
http://weilerpsiblog.wordpress.com/evidence-for-psi/ (Under 'evidence' section)
The site also addresses Randi's Million Dollar challenge and why it's a load of BS.
The problem is not in the testing, but in the conclusions -- that being "psychic" means you have 100% accuracy, or you're a fraud, which is not the case. No psychic has ever been 100%, yet the experimenters set the bar very high, and if no one reaches that bar then they "aren't psychic". If you looked at high-jumping and set the bar very high, and then said that every jumper had to get over that bar in order to meet the criteria, most people would undoubtedly fail. Though, what about people who make it over the bar 50% of the time? Or 60%? Is there not something special happening there? According to the way experiments are currently conducted, no there isn't.
The other thing is that in instances where accuracy has been very high, the experimenters have tried to dismiss it with physical explanations. The reason is that modern science is extremely reliant upon materialism for explanations -- i.e. the brain is the be all and end all of everything. Yet psychic abilities prove non-material phenomena to be real. IMO the two are incompatible, at least in modern science decides to budge on paranormal things -- or hell, even just admitting there is a real connection between mind and body.
Also keep in mind that what you said in your last post about 5ht2a agonism and retinal colour saturation are also theories. Just because you have a theory does not mean you have disproven anything -- you've only given some ideas (which I appreciate). I'm now researching colour saturation because it seems interesting, although it doesn't explain the obvious correlation I've had between what I'm seeing and the nature of the subject I'm observing. Does aura due to colour saturation explain the object's health, vitality, and social intent, in your experience?
(to be continued)