How Psychedelic Drugs Can Improve You

To anyone who is interested in Neuroscience, Clinical Psychology, and the workings of psychedelic substances: Psychedelic substances selectively deactivate central "hubs" of activity in the brain; they "decentralize" information processing. In the time between when the substance is ingested and when the brain adapts to it, there is a state of confusion and "wierdness" about everything because the usual pathways of interpreting the world have had their activity reduced. As a reaction to the decentralization, the brain reroutes the information and becomes distributed across a greater area, instead of being contained in a few limited areas, thereby allowing a greater portion of the brain to be used to interpret the world. The end result is a more versatile and adaptable information processing system, assuming the brain has not been overloaded by too much decentralization too quickly.


In individuals with depression, much of the information processing is centralized in a hyperactive part of the brain that correlates with depression. This decentralization reduces the brain's tendency to route experiences through this "depression" zone, which relieves the depressive feelings, and reroutes them into healthier areas.


Fascinating, and not surprising to me at all. 


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57364710-10391704/magic-mushrooms-may-help-treat-depression-how/

For All Those Involved in the "Occupy ______" Movement...

As participants of the protest movement known as “Occupy Wall Street”, “Occupy Together”, “Occupy [City Name]”, etc. we must resolve to collectively recognize the values that underlie our movement so that we can unify our message and direction of action. These are the values which we are attempting to restore in our society, which have been stamped out by the 1%’s materialistic greed, social isolation, and reluctance to be aligned with truth and justice. These are the values which hold us together in solidarity:

Social Unity: At our core, we are not republicans, we are not democrats, we are not floridians, we are not californians. At our core we are all Human Beings, one interconnected people that inhabits the Earth.

Integrity: Each person must hold themselves and others accountable for their own actions and act accordingly and swiftly to correct anything which could harm themselves or others.

Empathy: Our emotional connection to all human beings is what makes us human. We feel empathy by sharing in their joys, sorrows, gains, losses, feeling what they do along with them, as our extended human family.

Sustainability: Moderated utilization of material and social resources that allows for the maximal benefit for all members of the systems involved, for as many future generations as possible.

Openness: The ability to properly interpret, integrate, and adapt to different points of view, states of being, and lifestyles.

Wisdom: The desire to learn life’s values and their proper application.

Any action or message that we deliver must be centered on these values. To err from this is to be caught in the same trap that has lead us to the situation that we are in now. These must be the cornerstone for any reforms in the financial system and the government that may result from this movement.

All This Rioting in England...

is the result of a failed social model and government that has no desire to inspire people to lead lives of transpersonal virtues. When materialism and wealth are your highest values, and people are unhappy, they'll turn into animals and attack each other. We have an out of date social model that is being clung to. The longer this clinging endures, the more extreme the consequences will be, until it crashes and burns itself down. 

Look at the world economy right now, on the verge of tumbling down again. Why? Because our society places more value on how much money and stuff you have over how you treat other people. The fault is not in the individuals driving the economy into the ground; the greedy bankers and corporate overlords are just the symptom. Even if you put them all in jail, more would pop up in their place. It's a systemic problem, a cancer that has spread everywhere... emphasis on wealth over treatment of others throughout the entire population is the cause. 

And it has nothing to do with human nature. Human nature has been perverted in the previous century's social system and sociological attempt at understanding. We aren't people living in meaningless, unconnected, closed bubble worlds, where selfishness is the primary driver of any activity. Human nature is that of cooperation, of SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS, the values and principles that bring people and societies together. Any social system that doesn't hold this as their highest value is doomed to destroy itself, as it is in the process of doing now, unless it is turned around. 

When transpersonal/social values are emphasized primarily, catastrophes become a catalyst for bringing people together, instead of driving them apart, like what happens under the materialist paradigm. Look at Japan after the earthquake/tsunami... almost no looting whatsoever! Because the people had a higher social ethic, instead of turning on each other, they came together and helped each other out. The complete opposite situation.  

The Flow.

EVERYTHING in life is a flow. You can feel the flows if you quiet your mind, still your inner space; halt any aversion for that which is present in the now, halt any grasping for that which is not present in the now. This balance is the means by which you can ride the flow into the path of decreasing resistance, the means by which imagination manifests progressively more easily into reality. ☯

Metamodernism... The Face of the New Era of Thought

We live in the age of "Metamodernism", transcending the duality of dogmatic absolutism (modernism) and amorphous relativism (postmodernism), into a more all inclusive worldview that incorporates aspects of both.

No single point of view has the truth, but truth does exist. Truth exists in the incorporation of all points of view into a unified, cohesive meta-unit.

http://nmc.loyola.edu/intro/postmod/table.htm (For a reference to what Modernism and Postmodernism are, follow this link)

Modernism (~1890-1950) was a general movement in thought, art, philosophy, humanities, etc. that arose during the first half of the 20th century. One of its primary features is its insistence that there is a singular idea or means that is the absolute truth. People began claiming their personal truths as the "end-all, be all", absolute truth... all other approaches are "wrong". This duality of right/wrong ways to truth is problematic.

Postmodernism (~1950-1990) was the reaction to modernism. It's defining characteristic was the claim that there is no absolute truth, that everything is relative, and to seek for truth is a futile act because it doesn't exist. The question that arises is this: if there is no truth, then what's the point of doing anything? Human values and culture descend into nihilism, meaninglessness, and purposelessness. An additional gaping hole is the fact that postmodernism is self-negating: if every idea is relative, postmodernism should be just as relative too. After such a conclusion, what value does the idea of postmodernism hold? Why bother even talking about it?

Metamodernism (1990-now) is the balance point between those two ideas. It takes the idea of truth from modernism and combines it with the relativity of postmodernism: all ideas are approaches to truth, but the truth cannot be found through one idea alone. 

The concepts of Modernism/Postmodernism/Me​tamodernism/etc. emerge from looking at the underlying themes of what everyone of a particular era of thought were trying to express. It's the culture of an era, a collective consciousness of sorts... everyone just so happens to be on the same page of underlying philosophical motivation. Fascinating, IMO. 

Since the 1990's, people have been trying to figure out what the current cultural-thought trend is all about. Now that it's begun to clarify as it emerges from the overlap era with postmodernism, I'm sure we can expect to see manifestations of metamodernism with increasing frequency over the next few decades. I think it's beautiful.

Stillness

In stillness one can find peace. Like a lake undisturbed by ripples and waves, the reflection of whosoever gazes upon it becomes clear as the turbulence subsides. Knowing thyself is effortless, actionless, and only requires one to look into the mirror of the self. Paradigm shift: meditation as stillness, peace.


Nature is still, but it is not immediately apparent how this is so. My friend Ben gave me an insight once... Every tree is struggling to survive every day of its existence, but they still live in a state of peace, stillness.

Stillness is effortless being. It is a state in which you don't have to force yourself into something that you're not to make something happen. Plants and animals are naturally what they are, true to themselves, as much as they can be, because of their limited ability to break from the natural flow of growth.

To be in stillness is to go with the flow, not against it. Nature and growth is the flow. Looking into the reflection of mental stillness allows one to remember one’s true self, and to settle back into the flow.

With Our Love, We Could Save the World...

We were talking about the space between us all,
And the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion,Never glimpse the truth, then it's far too late when they pass away.

We were talking about the love we all could share,
When we find it, to try our best to hold it there,
With our love, with our love, we could save the world,
If they only knew!

Try to realise it's all within yourself, no one else can make you change
And to see you're really only very small, and life flows within you and without you.

We were talking about the love that's gone so cold,
And the people, who gain the world and lose their soul,
They don't know, they can't see,
Are you one of them?

When you've seen beyond yourself then you may find peace of mind is waiting there,
And the time will come when you see we're all one,
And life flows on within you and without you.