Have You Ever...

ThailandTom

I am not condoning the use of drugs as I do not use this specific drug, but I am curious to know if anybody has ever meditated on LSD (acid)? I had an acid phase before I became buddhist, the people who I took it with were spiritual and meditated whilst under the influence. I myself knew nothing of meditation or buddhism, so I never actually tried it...

zombiegirl

i have heard of people who do this, but personally, i would never take acid. a good friend of mine once took too much and is now permanently messed up. hand tremors, visual disturbances, and honestly, he even has a slight distrust of reality in general (but perhaps this would be only natural given the circumstances). it scares the crap out of me and i can't say that i find any chemical so harmful to our brains to be in accordance with buddhism.

tbh, i tried to meditate on mushrooms once. didn't work out very well though. i remember distinctly feeling that meditation was pointless because any insight received would be the result of a chemical's influence on my brain. it's all about lies and illusion, not truth. i don't understand people who seem to think that drugs are a shortcut to enlightenment.

ThailandTom

Yea I do not understand why people who consider themselves spiritual that taking acid helps. I would imagine you would be unable to focus on anything, you would become so distracted, but I have never tried.

Acid is like muschrooms, but times by 5 and lasts 10 hours.
I am sorry for your friend, I do not know the situation fully but he may well okay in the sense he is happy and sees the world in a different way now...

zombiegirl

he functions just fine, actually. when i first met him, i didn't know any of this. it wasn't until i actually got to know him that i realized his ideas of reality are slightly skewed during a heart to heart one night. he is aware enough to not tell these things to most people. but he is quite lucky since he is somewhat of an entertainer type, his eccentricities are welcomed and not really questioned. i do, however, know that he suffers on some level as he wishes the visual disturbances (all lights have 'halos' now) would go away. but he has come to terms with it after several years.

i've heard a lot more of this type of meditative awareness when referring to a drug called DMT. i've never tried it, but my cousin says that it made her feel completely in touch with the oneness of the world. my thoughts are that it probably just stimulates the right hemisphere of the brain in some way which activates those feelings. she refers to it as a religious experience, but i see it as just another illusion. i once watched a video where jim carey (of all people) was talking about his experience while on DMT. i remember him saying something along the lines of, "at least we know where we want to go now! ...and i've just been... trying to get... back there..." the last line was spoken with a lot of frustration in his voice and this made me think... wow, something that supposedly gives you a taste of enlightenment causes more suffering? that doesn't really sound right, lol.

have you ever tried DMT tom? although i no longer see their purpose, i do find these chemicals interesting nonetheless.

Ada_B

LSD and mescaline basically work the same way - they put the brain into a dream state while you're still awake. So you cannot distinguish between dreaming and reality. Very dangerous.

The problem is that people think these LSD-dream states are educating them about spirituality or something. They come on sites like NB claiming to have revelations, or even claiming to be Enlightened.

The Buddha, however, encouraged us to Wake Up from all dreaming - especially the dreaming we call "reality". It is the antithesis of what people are doing when they take LSD.

This reality (samsara as Buddhists call it) can be cold and hard and scary. Facing up to it is daunting. But if we are to see beyond it, to the Ultimate Reality behind it, we don't need to invest more time in dreaming, we need to wake up.

Not to mention that LSD is illegal in many jurisdictions; and it can cause major health problems, or accidents while under the influence. So taking it may not be a very responsible thing to do.

ThailandTom

LSD is one of the least dangerous drug known to mankind. It does not make you want to jump out of windows or happen to walk in front of a bus. It CAN cause you to make mistakes as you are impaired, but physically it is harmless in moderation.

DMT or as the shamans make, Ayahuasca brew, is stronger than LSD and really does open up the mind to new things. It is commonly know that we use a small percentage of our brain and I think this certain brew does tap into certain areas. I know of people who have had the most enlightening experiences whilst under the influence, they have not reached enlightenment, but they have gained knowledge and wisdom due to this experience. Ayahuasca normally causes you to vomit but then you end up closing your eyes and entering other worlds, sensing things that we cannot sense, feel vibes or make you look deep within yourself or into the world. I do not condone the use of drugs and realize the precept, but I as curious to know if anyone has meditated whilst under these substances.

If you have a somewhat sound, clear and peaceful mind, you can use LSD DMT or Ayahuasca, if not it can cause problems physiologically. I would like to add that LSD is a class A drug and there are I THINK no reported deaths, yet alcohol and cigarettes which are legal kill hundreds of thousands a year in the UK alone.

If anybody is curious of an interesting report of a woman who took Ayahuasca with a friend I will post the link, it makes for good reading.

http://www.erowid.org/experiences/exp.php?ID=70143