...These are SWIM's primary reasons for an interest in psychedelics. SWIM has previous experience with mescaline, psilocybin, salvia, LSA and nitrous oxide. SWIM has been fascinated by DMT since hearing about it 5 years ago, and has read and researched about it since that time. However, being so difficult to find, SWIM decided the only option was to do an extraction, which is where the Nexus has been so very helpful!

Philosophically, SWIM would say he tends to lean towards many of the far eastern ideas, especially Taoism. However, SWIM is interested in the concepts, not the dogma, and so does not claim to be in any way religous or to have any actual beliefs. In terms of truth, SWIM tends to come down on the side of science in most practical cases, but also has an understanding that there are questions and aspects of existence which science will never be able to provide answers for. Whether justly, or simply just coincidentally, these happen to be the questions which concern SWIM the most.

SWIM has had some real and valuable insights as a result of psychedelics, and hopes to have many more. SWIM has also had a few frightening experiences, but is determined to accept these as things which can also teach us a lot and be valuable in their own right. SWIM is hoping to gain a lot from DMT when he is finally ready and able to go through with it, but is also under no illusions that the experience will necessarily provide him with what he is looking for, or expects. Indeed, from all the reading on the subject, SWIM is aware that DMT is most likely to provide things which could never be expected, but in a paradoxical way, SWIM is expecting and accepts this.

Anyway, that's enough about SWIM. Hope it wasn't too long, boring or pretentious!

Greetings!

Long boring and pretentious it certainly wasn't!
You should take a look at mine, whoa man.


I think I have a lot in common with SWIY, especially with regards to the eastern philosophies. Has SWIY looked very deeply into the esoteric and occult?

Just in case SWIY is interested, doesn't know of this site, and in the interests of spreading good resources, check it out, it's got an impressive collection of free quality pdf's for download. I even found The Magus! What a find, I couldn't believe it, I'd been searching for days!

http://www.holybooks.com/category/buddhism/

Welcome to the Nexus, humana

I think it really depends on how you define science. For me as a scientist, I don't see science as providing any kind of answers at all, but rather as a means to posing questions. So I find science can be applied to all and everything. But maybe that's just cause I'm inclined to hope so

I hope you enjoy your stay in this great community.

cheers & love
Enoon

SWIM tends to be wary of such things to be honest. While SWIM has reached some of his own conclusions about aspects of existence (existence = suffering being one of the main ones), he is also aware that these kinds of conclusions are simply the culmination of a subjective personal experience, and not necessarily an objective truth.



Do you mean even with regards to things which are illogical, or experiences which defy all sense of reason to the point at which their meaning simply cannot be communicated using any kind of rational framework? I guess it's possible to argue that the word 'science' is simply synonymous with the word 'knowledge'. But if we accpet this, then we also must accept that there are things which we can know which can't be proved in any empirical way, and must always remain personal and subjective. This is where SWIM disagrees with religion. As far as SWIM is concerned, any religous insight is simply a personally discovered truth which does not (and should not) apply to anyone else.