Why I do not use psychedelics

I've done psychedelics and other drugs and am not saying people shouldn't do drugs (like the author) but there are many good reasons not to do drugs. Among them is the idea that you don't necessarily need substances to reach understanding and achieve creativity. Drugs kick down doors that can be opened in many other ways.

My experience was pretty different: I didn't have any sort of "connection with God" moment, but I did get a better idea of what my own purpose was in life and switched majors because of it

At the end of it I realized that doing them is fundamentally a selfish act because there's always a risk involved. Especially if you're an adult with responsibilities and dependents. Consistency isn't a bad thing, especially when people are depending on you

In my opinion it's like learning to ride a bike or to swim. No one has to learn it, but once you learn it, it's hard to forget it and it will help you in various situations.

I had not used psychedelics until a few months ago ("'shrooms"). At the time, it caused me to be giggly, weak-limbed, and a little nauseous or hungry. Afterwards, it may have contributed to me being more open to my emotions and desires. I can't place the cause on the drugs specifically, but I'm glad I've tried them several times for the experience and am looking forward to again when in the right headspace.

Altering my senses, deeply, risk to change my consciousness, change my illusion of self. If I were depressed or in a bad place, that would probably be a nice idea, but i'm really enjoying my life right now (and I like who I am), so I won't.

Ok, good for you :) I suppose if you're lucky enough to already have a good life, psychedelics may not appear so relevant or appealing to you...

I've also known people claiming they don't want to use psychedelics, sometimes the reason is that part of them is actually afraid of what they may reveal or do to them, which is also a perfectly valid reason not to use them.

In my case, too many wrenches were thrown into my life, psychedelics made sense to me and indeed were a tremendous help for both my physical and mental health.

Another reason not mentioned here is that they're usually illegal, which is a whole other debate. My point of view is that it should be a personal choice but that you should be somewhat educated about what you're getting yourself into.

This whole post is about higher-order volition[1] - what you want to want.

This is the future. What if you could have full control over your urges and desires? What if you could make the conscious decision to alter your consciousness such that your sole desire is to find the solution the collatz conjecture, or to achieve rank 1 in league of legends, or to experience orgasmic pleasure from setting up pyramids of dominoes until the end of time.

I feel like that's the next phase of humanity. As it is, we're still trapped by the same urges and desires that has guided humanity for hundreds of thousands of years. Any true evolution beyond humanity means a meaningful break from that, but I honestly have no idea what that will look like and what implications it will bring.

Greg Egan's fiction introduced me to this idea, and it's haunted me since I encountered it.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher-order_volition

I discovered Carl Jung and Terence McKenna and rediscovered Philip K Dick shortly after my first trip and I definitely see the world with new eyes.

It has often been a struggle though, because you may notice that certain people in your life won't accept someone with a less materialist approach to life.

Of course I kept my strict distrust of organized religion and I've not become succiptible to any cults.

YMMV, of course. No medical advice, you know the speech.

Most positive stories you hear about drugs are from people who self diagnosed, self proscribed and self evaluated the results of their use. For each one I personally get to know I could not disagree harder with their conclusions. You can not be objective about it and the drugs alter the decision mechanism itself. So you have to be looked at from the outside and by a professional.

    Most of all, I don’t want my priorities re-ordered.  And that is why I don’t use psychedelics.

Fair enough. To each their own, I guess.

My favorite part:

> I would rather get execution right, and remain on the same mental track I have been on. I also don’t want my priorities re-ordered, or suddenly to feel that now I have grasped the true nature of the universe, and that x, y, and z are in fact meaningless. Let’s stick with the process, people!

Having this mindset sets you up to a gloriously ignorant life. It is basically programming yourself to lie to yourself until you die and be happy with it. You are scared to find out the truth, because it might hurt in one way or another - or set you free. Nothing truly great ever came out of this - but the exact opposite...

The author seems to be preoccupied with the whole micro dosing nutropics thing but the vast majority of people using psychedelics aren't doing that. I suspect more people are abusing strong stimulants to get an edge in society which have a much higher potential for abuse and harm...

What's the point of this?