We look at the world once, in childhood. The rest is memory.
Enjoy the childlike wonder. Or don’t enjoy, not everything a child perceives is fun.
Changes at this basic level are temporarily re-writing how your neural network connects to itself, which translates to a change in how you perceive the world at the most fundamental level. It is very different from consciously trying to adopt a different perspective, as in that case there is no change to the underlying network processing everything that makes you yourself.
Some people find experiencing this malleability extremely upsetting and disconcerting, as it destroys the idea of your "self" being something concrete. This understanding is the oft-referenced "ego death", and for sure it is both exciting and terrifying.
Acid (LSD) is much stronger in muuuch lower doses and is more of a refined component - its a totally different dose scale. Doesn't mean you wont have a bad trip though, just that your stomach won't hurt lol. Buckle up. Great way to spend 500 years in an afternoon.
No, my "hobby" is laying flat and loosing fat (which is done mostly by the brain burning calories AFAIK). I once gained sixpack abs this way. Unfortunately I don't have enough time to lay flat these days so I don't have the six pack any more. I also am very aware of the tricks my brain plays on me all the time and hate that.
Humans don't need to save energy any more. Energy-saving and accumulating features of a human body are an atavism doing obvious harm (e.g. inclining us towards wrong judgement) and no good in today world. We have infinite amount of calories readily available 24x7 all year round. Sugar is dirt-cheap, almost everyone has at least some fat deposits they don't need, don't want and occasionally torture themselves to get rid of.
It would certainly be great if our brains could expend as much energy as physically possible to actually power our perception and thinking rather than save it.
> It would certainly be great if our brains could expend as much energy as physically possible
That's... not how the body works. You should really talk to a med student so you don't make any dangerous health decisions.
I suspect that’s why some of the self help stuff actually works. It has nothing to do with “the law of attraction” or anything supernatural like that. It’s just that your own state is the biggest filter that determines which “frequencies” out of the spectrum of reality you perceive and which you do not.
The problem is, of course, that the world is wildly interesting. There are so many things we can see and learn and do today. You’d have to say no to all of that to keep your system clean. The very fact that you’re here on Hacker News shows that you’re probably not that kind of person. :) (Me neither.)
“Ok, stop getting on my case about it.”
“What? I didn’t say anything at all!”
“Oh… well, the you in my head was getting on my case about it.”
Awareness helps a lot.
- https://dougnoll.com/de-escalate/nonviolent-communication-ba...
> Many people ask me about the difference between Nonviolence Communication basics and the Noll Affect Labeling System. This lengthy article explains those differences. Fundamentally, we peacemakers want to minimize human conflicts, calm people down, solve problems, and make durable agreements for lasting peace. Peacemaking and mediation help achieve these goals. Unfortunately, as will be explained, psychologists, counselors, therapists, peacemakers and mediators have mistakenly tried to create empathy through the use of "I" statements during active listening. "I" statements are important, but not for creating empathy and certainly not for de-escalating anger or other strong emotions. The inappropriate use of "I" statements comes from a misunderstanding of the work of Thomas Gordon, the inventor of active listening, and Marshall Rosenberg, the creator of Nonviolent Communication.
I highly recommend Douglas Noll's book, _De-Escalate_.
(Basically, doing one “core dump“ when you begin dating, and then having regular “radical honesty sessions“ where both of you can bring up those apparently “small“ and “unimportant“ thoughts you might have had throughout the week that, if suppressed, can turn into the seeds of resentment.)