I can say this after a lifetime of meditating...and two and only two trips on shrooms done in the last ten days: psychedelics are NOT just the trip and that's it. The lasting (and by that I mean they don't disappear after the trip is over) effects are HUGE. IMO, they are BIGGER than the trips. The changes in me have been PROFOUND and seem substantially "permanent."

But I also agree with others: it's best to work on yourself using ALL available methods.

....but passing up psychedelics--used with sincerity--is passing up something VERY important and useful and LASTING.

I see the peceptual change that occurs with psychedelics as potentially being a type of personal evolution. I see this change as continual like many things in the universe I believe the changes in perception that psychedelics bring about are infinitely constant and consistently progressive.

The fact that psychedelics can potentially alter perception on a permanant basis is something that is a very unsettling idea for some people.

I personally view a human beings "sense of clarity" as a false illusion based on the need to exist comfortably. I can see clearly now that the way that I veiwed the world before I took psychedelics was a complete illusion. Therefore although I am now more cognizant it does not change the fact that my day to day reality is in a sense based upon perceptual illusions.

It seems to me that if psychedelic explorers can keep in mind that the human awareness is nothing more thatn an ever expanding perceptual window of consciousness then they should never have to worry about losing their marbles or going coo coo or w/e. The view in front of this "window of consciousness" will always shift and change continually IMO.

For a person to expect that their perception of the world will always be the same and that it should be concrete in some way is a rather ludicrous expectations for humans to have IMO.

Anything eaten, food, water, is a drug. Denouncing use of food as a permanent change makes sense to me, in a way, since it is your diet, and it can change. Psychedelics cause a permanent shift in consciousness if you make it a permanent part of your diet (or if you choose to permanently believe what you experience, rather than denounce). Every piece of food you put in your body will have an effect, and will have some sort of "tolerance" factor in a way, cause the body to react a certain way, produce more/less of something. Dose/frequency determines what is poisonous. This is part of the "secret" to eternal life (we all live eternally anyways, why worry about anything).

There is a lot to be said about the mind, and what these yogis or whoever says. They are certainly saying I think the wrong thing to discourage people from eating psychedelic food, but they are very right about many other things. Does the enlightenment last forever? Only if you make it, by thinking it all the time and practicing it. Practicing love, forgiveness, not getting angry and radiating bad emotions. Radiating love and happpiness and peace is what we want to do.

I think even other people's thoughts and opinions have just as much effect on the universe as any chemical reaction. Chemical reaction is energy, and so is thought. Matter is energy, light is energy, everything really is energy.

Honestly, I still don't know how to say things non-controversially, but I strive to have no disagreements, even though there are differences in opinion, I believe everyone will come to an understanding.

To this I would say: What about the Tibetan Buddhists? They use chants all the time to reach unprecedented states of mind.

What about nutrition and health? I know getting correct amounts of vitamins and fats can be crucial to brain function - is eating food "cheating"?

And let us say chants and nutrition are wrong, is there a universal law that says I'm not suppose to be doing this? Because if there was, I don't think it would allow drugs such as psychedelics (or marijuana) to be doing what they are doing in the first place. Anyone that says otherwise is childish. They are jealous that you are able to achieve what their religion will not let them achieve, because you can use drugs, and they can't.

Oh Lord, the endless debate... I've been in it so many times that I'm sick of it.

I gained a lot of new skills on psychedelics. I learned to chant mantras, I learned to transfer energy, to draw energy, to see Nature as it is, to see the fingerprint of God in each human being, to dance, to laugh... Would I call this permanent? Absolutely. Has it changed my life and relationships? No doubt.

However, I am far from enlightened. I have no idea if this is the right path to Enlightenment, but as I see it, this is the ONLY path, so... get on with it.

I see psychedelics as something that can give the explorer a glimpse of what lies beyond our normal senses and, in some cases, act as catalysts that can help bring about spiritual development in those who also practice spirituality on a daily basis.

Either way, I think they have more of a therapeutic value rather than anything else. Psychedelics may not have turned me into the Buddha, but they inspired me to permanently change my life for the better.

there seems to be an idea by some people that if you take a shortcut or come by something easily you either don"t deserve it, or its not real. Like you have to suffer and work hard for your art. Psyches definitely make you "work" for something. If i am doing a manual job and discover a tool that make the process easier, or even possible , i use it.
Over the years psyches have had a lasting effect on my perceptions of the world, and the thought processes i go through in between trips are long term. They have changed me for better and worse . No way is this temporary.
Whether i have touched "God" or not is debatable, but sometimes the beautiful, absurd simpleness of it all has me in tears of joy. Not every day, but the doors have been opened long ago and have not shut. Sometimes wide open, sometimes just a crack.
If you"ve got a good socket set (ratchet set?) in your mental tool box, use it whenever possible. The good quality ones from a reputable manufacturer are guaranteed for life