Even if these people are all fake, brainwashed goons and you really do have access to some ultimate truth, why on Earth would you spend your time sh*tting on those people, instead of working to dismantle the system that made them that way?

Lord knows, there are a TON of people who pass judgement on us simply because they oversimplify us down to a single, poorly understood behavior (drug use). When they do it, we scoff at how little they understand (which is true), but then we turn around and do the *exact same thing* to another group of people.

I vow not to talk about the faults of others." In the Zen tradition, this is one of the bodhisattva vows. For fully ordained monastics the same principle is expressed in the payattika vow to abandon slander. It is also contained in the Buddha’s recommendation to all of us to avoid the ten destructive actions, the fifth of which is using our speech to create disharmony.

The motivation

What an undertaking! I can’t speak for you, the reader, but I find this very difficult. I have an old habit of talking about the faults of others. In fact, it’s so habitual that sometimes I don’t realize I’ve done it until afterwards.

What lies behind this tendency to put others down? One of my teachers, Geshe Ngawang Dhargye, used to say, "You get together with a friend and talk about the faults of this person and the misdeeds of that one. Then you go on to discuss others’ mistakes and negative qualities. In the end, the two of you feel good because you’ve agreed you’re the two best people in the world."

When I look inside, I have to acknowledge he’s right. Fueled by insecurity, I mistakenly think that if others are wrong, bad, or fault-ridden, then in comparison I must be right, good, and capable. Does the strategy of putting others down to build up my own self-esteem work? Hardly.

Another situation in which we speak about others’ faults is when we’re angry with them. Here we may talk about their faults for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s to win other people over to our side. "If I tell these other people about the argument Bob and I had and convince them that he is wrong and I’m right before Bob can tell them about the argument, then they’ll side with me." Underlying that is the thought, "If others think I’m right, then I must be." It’s a weak attempt to convince ourselves we’re okay when we haven’t spent the time honestly evaluating our own motivations and actions.

At other times, we may talk about others’ faults because we’re jealous of them. We want to be respected and appreciated as much as they are. In the back of our minds, there’s the thought, "If others see the bad qualities of the people I think are better than me, then instead of honoring and helping them, they’ll praise and assist me." Or we think, "If the boss thinks that person is unqualified, she’ll promote me instead." Does this strategy win others’ respect and appreciation? Hardly.

Some people "psychoanalyze" others, using their half-baked knowledge of pop psychology to put someone down. Comments such as "he’s borderline" or "she’s paranoid" make it sound as if we have authoritative insight into someone’s internal workings, when in reality we disdain their faults because our ego was affronted. Casually psychoanalyzing others can be especially harmful, for it may unfairly cause a third party to be biased or suspicious.

The results

What are the results of speaking of others’ faults? First, we become known as a busybody. Others won’t want to confide in us because they’re afraid we’ll tell others, adding our own judgments to make them look bad. I am cautious of people who chronically complain about others. I figure that if they speak that way about one person, they will probably speak that way about me, given the right conditions. In other words, I don’t trust people who continuously criticize others.

Second, we have to deal with the person whose mistakes we publicized when they find out what we said, which, by the time they hear it, has been amplified in intensity. That person may tell others our faults in order to retaliate, not an exceptionally mature action, but one in keeping with our own actions.

Third, some people get stirred up when they hear about others’ faults. For example, if one person at an office or factory talks behind the back of another, everyone in the workplace may get angry and gang up on the person who has been criticized. This can set off backbiting throughout the workplace and cause factions to form. Is this conducive for a harmonious work environment? Hardly.

Fourth, are we happy when our mind picks faults in others? Hardly. When we focus on negativities or mistakes, our own mind isn’t very happy. Thoughts such as, "Sue has a hot temper. Joe bungled the job. Liz is incompetent. Sam is unreliable," aren’t conducive for our own mental happiness.

Fifth, by speaking badly of others, we create the cause for others to speak badly of us. This may occur in this life if the person we have criticized puts us down, or it may happen in future lives when we find ourselves unjustly blamed or scapegoated. When we are the recipients of others’ harsh speech, we need to recall that this is a result of our own actions: we created the cause; now the result comes. We put negativity in the universe and in our own mindstream; now it is coming back to us. There’s no sense being angry and blaming anyone else if we were the ones who created the principal cause of our problem.

https://www.anoniem.org/...11/06/harmonious-speech/

I definitely see where you are going with this Nathaniel, and I agree with you in the necessity of withholding judgement because we don't know the details about other people's lives.

At the same time, isn't the duality you presented some kind of false dichotomy? Isn't it possible that psychedelics do help us realize parts of ourselves and our society that are usually hidden from conscious awareness, including certain games people play unconsciously and masks people wear, and yet at the same time isnt it possible that psychedelic people are often deluded about their superiority in some aspects?

Personally I rather just try to find where each one of us is lacking, independent of groups, and try to work on that or help others work on their issues. As an example, i've seen several psychedelic oriented people that do zero exercise, neglect the importance of social life and are mostly living in their minds, (not enough grounding) as well as some that seem to ignore critical thinking specially when it comes to science and pseudo-science. At the same time I've seen non-psychedelic people in the 'real world' that are definitely missing some existential exploration, or that are too caught up in their issues without having an overall perspective, that play games without realizing they are, or so on.

As for "elitism", nothing wrong with being the elite at one or another area of life if you really are, as long as you realize that doesn't make you better in other areas of life. Yes we are def part of an elite when it comes to underground psychedelic research, and no we are not the elite when it comes to having all the answers to other people's lives or making psychological assessment of others, etc.

I don't know anymore. Maybe I'm a terrible person because I wanted to understand and to share thoughts. Apologies. I wont be sharing thoughts anymore.

...sorry for trolling, but... did you know that apus apus, the common swift (a bird) actually sleeps in the jet scream? Isn't that amazing? It never perches except when feeding the younglings. It's feet have since crippled. Sorry again........peace out.....

You may look down at a lady for spending her free time at the mall ("she's too materialistic" ), but maybe she's lacking social supports and doesn't know what else to do. You may look down on the guy who comes home very night and watches TV ("he's being brainwashed by The Media" ), but maybe he's working so hard in his day job that he doesn't have the emotional energy for other things.

I don't know anymore. Maybe I'm a terrible person because I wanted to understand and to share thoughts. Apologies. I wont be sharing thoughts anymore.

Lately, I've been feeling like there's an unusually large amount of psychedelic elitism floating around The Nexus.

Lately, I've been feeling like there's an unusually large amount of psychedelic elitism floating around The Nexus.
~ND

On a global level, our civilization is facing a deadline, a cul de sac. If you look at the environmental crisis, we now know that 25 percent of all species are in danger of becoming extinct in 30 years. The oceans have become 30 percent more acidic in the last 40 years as they absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and coral reefs are disintegrating. As we punish our environment, we are seeing more industrial catastrophes, like Fukushima, which threaten our future survival. Climate change is accelerating, leading to massive floods, super storms and ocean levels rising. We must shift from an individual Ego-driven culture to a cooperative society, based on a collective and caring consciousness, if we want to survive as a species.

Three hundred and fifty years ago, Shulgin notes, the Church proclaimed, “The earth is the center of the universe, and anyone who says otherwise is a heretic.” Today, the government proclaims, “All drugs that can expand consciousness are without medical or social justification, and anyone who uses them is a criminal.” In Galileo’s time, the authorities said, “We do not need to actually look through that mysterious contraption.” Now the government says, “There is no need to actually taste those mysterious compounds.” In the past, the Church said, “How dare you claim that the earth is not the center of the universe?” Today the government says, “How dare you claim that an understanding of God and Nature is to be found in a natural plant?"