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daba
Stranger
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Religion and Drugs
#3971562 - 03/26/05 05:41 AM (19 years, 7 days ago) |
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Have psychedelic drugs influenced your religious status?
Please choose the most applicable option.
Note: "Religious" here refers to organized religion only, namely Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, etc. Do not consider "spirituality," (e.g. Taoism, "Be-here-nowism," etc.) as a religion in this poll. Also, Buddhism is not a religion and should not be thought of as one when voting.
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SWEDEN
Miracle of Science
Registered: 10/25/04
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Re: Religion and Drugs [Re: daba]
#3972897 - 03/26/05 02:50 PM (19 years, 7 days ago) |
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Other
I was not religious, used psychadelic drugs, and I am pretty sure now that all organized religions are tools of fear used to make masses of people obedient and stupid.
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daba
Stranger
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Re: Religion and Drugs [Re: SWEDEN]
#3973062 - 03/26/05 03:55 PM (19 years, 6 days ago) |
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Well, that makes you fall under the "I was not religious, used psychedelic drugs, and I am still not religious" category! But thanks for sharing.
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Silversoul
Rhizome
Registered: 01/01/05
Posts: 23,576
Loc: The Barricades
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Re: Religion and Drugs [Re: daba]
#3973465 - 03/26/05 05:47 PM (19 years, 6 days ago) |
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I don't really like to use the term "religious" to describe myself, as I do not associate myself with any particular religious institution. But anyway, I was agnostic prior to using psychedelics, and then saw God while on mushrooms.
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Basidiocarp
Dr. BunsenHoneydew
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Re: Religion and Drugs [Re: SWEDEN]
#3976117 - 03/27/05 01:36 PM (19 years, 6 days ago) |
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Quote:
SWEDEN said: I was not religious, used psychadelic drugs, and I am pretty sure now that all organized religions are tools of fear used to make masses of people obedient and stupid.
We don't need to make the masses of people obedient and stupid-- they come conveniently prepackaged that way (hm, kind of like SPAM, heh).
Most organized religions takes advantage of this and try to control the stupid masses...
-------------------- "...if the mind is actually part of a continuum, a labyrinth that is connected not only to every other mind that exists or has existed, but to every atom, organism, and region in the vastness of space and time itself, the fact that it is able to occasionally make forays into the labyrinth and have transpersonal experiences no longer seems so strange." Visit the Psychonautical Society
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Basidiocarp
Dr. BunsenHoneydew
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Re: Religion and Drugs [Re: Silversoul]
#3976193 - 03/27/05 02:01 PM (19 years, 6 days ago) |
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Quote:
Paradigm said: I was agnostic prior to using psychedelics, and then saw God while on mushrooms.
I, too, was agnostic for quite sometime. I have always been spiritual, but never part of an organized religion. I then had an intensely powerful psychedelic experience with a girl that I love very much, and had the most intense realizations about our relationship, and also about the general nature of the universe as a whole. It was overwhelming, and to this day is still very hard for us to put into words. It sounds cheesy, but I can tell you that I felt an overwhelming presence of goodness there with us, saw light, heard music, etc. And my friend upstairs who was also tripping said he saw and felt the whole thing happen even from up there. But I don't think that a third-party "God" came down to hang out with us. Granted it did feel like all of the collective goodness of the past, present and future was there with us for a fleeting moment-- I could have died at that moment and been completely at peace. I contend, however, that the intensity of our collective love, energy, and thought of that moment created what we experienced and what my freind felt and witnessed from another room upstairs.
So in my view now, "God" isn't some bluehair sitting up on a cloud controlling things. I avoid using the word God now, in fact, although I am a far more spiritual person than I ever was. EVERYTHING is "God". WE are "God". This entire universe as a whole comprises "God." We are progressing towards becoming "God..."
So I'm not agnostic anymore-- I have a pretty clear idea of how things are at least in my own head and heart. But you still won't ever see me at an organized church service. The love I share with my friends and family is enough of a "religion" for me.
PARADIGM: Can you elaborate a little more on the experience in which you saw God?
-------------------- "...if the mind is actually part of a continuum, a labyrinth that is connected not only to every other mind that exists or has existed, but to every atom, organism, and region in the vastness of space and time itself, the fact that it is able to occasionally make forays into the labyrinth and have transpersonal experiences no longer seems so strange." Visit the Psychonautical Society
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pink_buffalo
deranged
Registered: 02/19/05
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i was not religious and the first time i used lsd it kind of opened my mind up to the fact that i should believe in something weather its religion i dont no i havnt figured this situation out yet
-------------------- death, its a one and a life time experence ill be ready will you?
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CyruxMafia
Sufi Master
Registered: 03/26/05
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For me thats what i never understood, i always feel apart of something great something more profound under mushrooms. Its like reality disolves and there i am faced with my creator. Like in mushrooms they always describe the splitting of the ego or sharing the ego with God. Does no one else see this as a profound experience?
-------------------- Love Mercy, Act Justly and Walk Humbly - Micah 6:8 "Although they plan, Allah also plans. And Allah is the Best of Planners." [Holy Qur'an 8:30] "Allah says: O son of Adam devote yourself to worshipping Me, and I will fill your bosom with richness and remove your poverty. And if you do not do this, then I will fill your bosom with occupation and distraction and I will not remove your poverty."
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero
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Re: Religion and Drugs [Re: daba]
#3984320 - 03/29/05 05:51 AM (19 years, 4 days ago) |
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Hmmm... I really dislike the wording of the poll... specifically the use of the word religious. I think atheist, agnostic, and spiritual are much better terms to use.
For example, I would I cannot honestly answer yes to: "I was not religious, used psychedelic drugs, and I became religious thereafter," but I can answer yes to: "I was an atheist, used psychadelic drugs, and I became faithful thereafter." I am no longer atheist and I am most certainly not religious.
Perhaps I am making too much out of nothing... but for me, religious implies organized religion, or church and books/bibles and listening to somebody claiming to be holier than me tell me why they are holier than me, etc... while faithful implies that I know the name that cannot be spoken.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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TODAY
Battletoad
Registered: 09/25/03
Posts: 10,218
Loc: Metropolis City, USA
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Re: Religion and Drugs [Re: daba]
#3985047 - 03/29/05 12:04 PM (19 years, 4 days ago) |
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" was religious, used psychedlic drugs, and now I am no longer religious"
i started using psychedelics when i was around 13 years old, which was the same time i began to cast aside religion. i don't think it the two events are related because i had always questioned the relgion i was raised to believe. i think i got the courage to cast it aside when i started to become of age.
-------------------- ca'rouse (k-rouz) intr.v. To engage in boisterous, drunken merrymaking.
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daba
Stranger
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Re: Religion and Drugs [Re: Seuss]
#3986139 - 03/29/05 04:32 PM (19 years, 3 days ago) |
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Quote:
Seuss said: Hmmm... I really dislike the wording of the poll... specifically the use of the word religious. I think atheist, agnostic, and spiritual are much better terms to use.
For example, I would I cannot honestly answer yes to: "I was not religious, used psychedelic drugs, and I became religious thereafter," but I can answer yes to: "I was an atheist, used psychadelic drugs, and I became faithful thereafter." I am no longer atheist and I am most certainly not religious.
Perhaps I am making too much out of nothing... but for me, religious implies organized religion, or church and books/bibles and listening to somebody claiming to be holier than me tell me why they are holier than me, etc... while faithful implies that I know the name that cannot be spoken.
I tried to imply that "religious" meant organized religions only. See the Note in italics.
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Locus
Registered: 03/11/04
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Can you or someone else try to explain what to be Agnostic actually means? I had read it about a while back, but I didn't really get a good understanding of it. I'm wondering if I fit under that category or not... Thanks
-------------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity. ~ Albert Einstein "Fear is the great barrier to human growth." ~ Dr. Robert Monroe ~~~*Dosis sola facit venenum*~~~ *Check my profile to listen to my music*
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Basidiocarp
Dr. BunsenHoneydew
Registered: 01/17/04
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Re: Religion and Drugs [Re: Locus]
#3988429 - 03/29/05 11:56 PM (19 years, 3 days ago) |
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Quote:
Locus said: Can you or someone else try to explain what to be Agnostic actually means
An agnotic believes that such matters as the existence of a God or an afterlife can neither be proven nor disproven, assumed nor denied.
-------------------- "...if the mind is actually part of a continuum, a labyrinth that is connected not only to every other mind that exists or has existed, but to every atom, organism, and region in the vastness of space and time itself, the fact that it is able to occasionally make forays into the labyrinth and have transpersonal experiences no longer seems so strange." Visit the Psychonautical Society
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero
Registered: 04/27/01
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Re: Religion and Drugs [Re: daba]
#3989082 - 03/30/05 05:50 AM (19 years, 3 days ago) |
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> I tried to imply that "religious" meant organized religions only. See the Note in italics.
Doh! I misvoted then. Please remove one from the 3rd option... I was atheist, used psychedlic drugs, and became open-minded to spirtuality and even more disillusioned by the motives of organized religion.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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Silversoul
Rhizome
Registered: 01/01/05
Posts: 23,576
Loc: The Barricades
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Quote:
Basidiocarp said: PARADIGM: Can you elaborate a little more on the experience in which you saw God?
Sure. I probably should have put "saw" in quotation marks because I "saw" God with my Third Eye, not my two physical eyes. I was on 5 grams of shrooms, and when I closed my eyes, I felt this oneness, an ultimate consciousness, connecting through each dimension. The first thought that came to my head was "God."
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Locus
Registered: 03/11/04
Posts: 6,112
Last seen: 3 years, 2 days
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Ah, i see... so I if i am correctly interpretting that then i think i am agnostic. But I believe in a higher power and an afterlife, and i am a spiritual person anyway, just not any organized religion. so being agnostic is just stating that you think it cannot be proven or disproven, which i do believe.. okeydokie, got it. thanks buddy
-------------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity. ~ Albert Einstein "Fear is the great barrier to human growth." ~ Dr. Robert Monroe ~~~*Dosis sola facit venenum*~~~ *Check my profile to listen to my music*
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Basidiocarp
Dr. BunsenHoneydew
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Re: Religion and Drugs [Re: Locus]
#3998349 - 04/01/05 12:08 AM (19 years, 1 day ago) |
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Quote:
Locus said: Ah, i see... so I if i am correctly interpretting that then i think i am agnostic. But I believe in a higher power and an afterlife, and i am a spiritual person anyway, just not any organized religion. so being agnostic is just stating that you think it cannot be proven or disproven, which i do believe.
Unfortunately it goes a bit deeper than that (and perhaps my explanation was a bit too simplistic). In order to call oneself an agnostic, one has to be as ready to accept the possibility of NO afterlife and NO God, as one is to accept the inevitability thereof. It really is quite an uncomfortable fence-sitting position to be an agnostic, and that's why I wasn't ever quite comfortable with it. If you feel that you have decided that there is definitely a higher power and an afterlife, then you are not an agnostic-- You simply haven't found a way to express your faith yet.
I believe that there is a hella lot about our existence and the universe that we have only just begun to understand. Does that make me agnostic? Nah, it just makes me the open-minded, spiritual scientist that I have always been. Personally I think that breaking things down to such trivial dichotomies as "God" vs. "No God" or "Afterlife" vs. "No afterlife" is a waste of time.
I am an intensely spiritual scientist-- call it what you will. Labels in this area, I think, are wholly inadequate.
-------------------- "...if the mind is actually part of a continuum, a labyrinth that is connected not only to every other mind that exists or has existed, but to every atom, organism, and region in the vastness of space and time itself, the fact that it is able to occasionally make forays into the labyrinth and have transpersonal experiences no longer seems so strange." Visit the Psychonautical Society
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Locus
Registered: 03/11/04
Posts: 6,112
Last seen: 3 years, 2 days
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well, you said to be agnostic is to accept the possibility of no afterlife and god and such... which i can do. i just choose to believe there is an afterlife and higher power despite realizing that possibility of not being one. so that still makes me not agnostic then eh? alright, well that is fine by me, but how you explained it would have made me thought that i could still be agnostic in the way i just explained it to you, but that is not so then as you just said in your last post. so my understanding now is correct?
-------------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity. ~ Albert Einstein "Fear is the great barrier to human growth." ~ Dr. Robert Monroe ~~~*Dosis sola facit venenum*~~~ *Check my profile to listen to my music*
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Basidiocarp
Dr. BunsenHoneydew
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Re: Religion and Drugs [Re: Locus]
#4010241 - 04/03/05 08:49 PM (18 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Locus said: i just choose to believe there is an afterlife and higher power despite realizing that possibility of not being one. so that still makes me not agnostic then eh?
Correctomundo, at least as far as my interpretation goes. In my eyes, definitively choosing to believe in a higher power/afterlife and choosing to accept that there might not be such things are mutually exclusive decisions. That is, picking one stance automatically rules out the posssibility of picking the other. If you choose to believe in God, then you can't simultaneously also believe that there might not be one. Likewise, if you choose to have doubts about God, then you can't simultaneously believe in God. One or the other.
From the description of your beliefs, I would say that you are a spiritual person that believes in the existence of a higher power as well as an afterlife. However, you have not yet found a way to fully connect with and thus describe your spirituality and faith. I don't think you're any more agnostic than I am, IMHO.
An agnostic pretty much believes in nothing, except uncertainty. If you fall on either side of the fence, then you can't be sitting on it, nor can you be on the other side of the fence at the same time.
-------------------- "...if the mind is actually part of a continuum, a labyrinth that is connected not only to every other mind that exists or has existed, but to every atom, organism, and region in the vastness of space and time itself, the fact that it is able to occasionally make forays into the labyrinth and have transpersonal experiences no longer seems so strange." Visit the Psychonautical Society
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Locus
Registered: 03/11/04
Posts: 6,112
Last seen: 3 years, 2 days
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Re: Religion and Drugs [Re: Basidiocarp]
#4012771 - 04/04/05 01:23 PM (18 years, 11 months ago) |
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ah alrighty... thanks for letting me know
-------------------- The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity. ~ Albert Einstein "Fear is the great barrier to human growth." ~ Dr. Robert Monroe ~~~*Dosis sola facit venenum*~~~ *Check my profile to listen to my music*
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