When I was reading the text, I too thought about what was brought up in class. Pollan is saying meditation and prayer can essentially be put on the same scale. So whenever you pray or meditate or go into a hypnotic state, your really getting a high. Hmmm, last time I prayed or did yoga I wasn't flying high in the psychedelic sky. I thought this was one far stretch Pollan made. OK, If you would bring up middle-eastern people that are the suicide bombers, maybe I can give some credit but not anywhere near what Pollan is trying to get me to believe. In that situation, there is more than just praying and getting this idea to kill yourself to kill others and make a point. There is a lot of teaching and that whole nature vs. nurture thing that is very very much involved. More so than just praying. But anyways, I was just wondering what you guys thought about that. We didn't talk too much about it in class and was interested in if you guys shared the same ideas as I did.
Another thing that I thought was interesting was someone mentioned reading a book about how if the black market drug dealing were to be stopped our economy would crash. Logical? I guess in some regards. I can see that in maybe the drug dealers themselves and maybe some others supplying and making whatever tools they need. Yea, they lost their "clients" and now they have no or hardly any income. But the more I think about it I feel that is completely absurd. First of all, if people would stop wasting their money on drugs, we wouldn't have such a problem in this country in the first place. Secondly, if they put their money elsewhere in the market like I don't know, food, then I would say it would help the economy. Third, if the drug dealers and suppliers would get real jobs then again, more help to the economy. My last point I have goes along with a story. So I use to work at Staples near Pittsburgh. One day, we get this package from UPS. No name or address aside from the store address to be delivered. So my manager opens it. There lies all kinds of drugs. All good mix of everything you could think of. So before we even call the police to come get this stuff, a guy walks in and asks for a package. He was pretty rough looking and we were all like its gotta be for him, just has to be. He says his name and we tell him we don't have a package for him (we really didn't!). So he starts flipping out, yells and screams for a while and then the managers makes him leave. Not ten minutes later does this obviously drugged up chick come in and try to get this package. She has obvious track marks all up her arms and it was definitely obvious it was their package. So this was at like 6 pm. We close at 9. From 6 to 9, we have druggie after druggie come in and try to get this package (the police have taken it at this point). After they realized we weren't giving it to them, we noticed them stealing things. For weeks after, we had various things stolen from the store. We later tracked them trying to return to other stores. Now rests my last point, with these kinds of things going on, people will pretty much do anything to get more money for the drugs. Stealing things ruins the economy because its honest people that have to pay for it, and they're already working hard for their money.
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I definitely think it's important to distinguish between a marijuana high and a 'spiritual' high. I brought this up in class, but did not expand on it.
ReplyDeleteThe method of meditation is used to experience reality as directly and clearly as possible, beyond any conceptual filter, within the present moment. This is similar to being high on marijuana in that the past is forgotten and the future is not worried about. This leaves more room for the mind to focus on the sensations of the body within the present moment, although on weed these experiences are distorted in a way. Also, THC itself does not produce these effects, but only facilitates them for the user.
Contemplative prayer (different from regular prayer) focuses the mind on a conceptual framework of the Absolute. This may produce a mystical high, such as "being at one with the Absolute". This is like a marijuana high, which helps produce spiritual experiences by making regular conceptual insights seem extraordinarily profound.
Both meditation and contemplative prayer require self-discipline and practice. In this respect, they're more genuine methods of "getting high". Meditation produces a high, after the practice is finished, with feelings of awe and wonder at the profound sensational and emotional experiences of reality. Contemplative prayer is getting high on the holy spirit, or whichever conceptual framework is preferred. As far as the legitimacy of contemplative prayer actually connecting one with the Absolute in reality, well, that's a different discussion all together.
I think that individuals would be better off if they sought their highs in healthier and more productive experiences, such as meditation. I didn't always think this way, but a critical analysis of the benefits and deficits of different methods has yielded knowledge in favor of more positive pursuits. I think that we are all searching for happiness, but we often look for it in the wrong places and this often leads to physical, psychological, and economical disadvantages.
I just want to comment on how drugs are intricately woven into our culture and society. Entire decades have been defined by drugs (60's and 70's). In my opinion, more often than not, a person has experimented with drugs at some point in their life. And as put in class, Wall Street is known for running on drugs from cocaine to adderall most recently. Yes, hard drugs are a negative part of society, but it is something that will not change because humans have a instinctive desire to alter reality. That desire is never going to disappear because it is a reach for pleasure. Seeing beauty, tasting sweetness, and obtaining a "high", are all pleasing to different human senses. People gain pleasure from these experiences because they are not felt in every moment.
ReplyDeletePeople seek a greater power or at least something more interesting than the normal day to day mundane tasks. The highs we seek are an escape from reality; everyone achieves this release in different ways. Unfortunately, drugs are a negative outcome from this goal. Drugs are probably used more often because you can achieve the high sensation with less effort than healthier forms such as meditation. People usually like the easier and quicker way of reaching a goal. Like Pollan said, humans desire control over nature and with the use of drugs we can control our own bodies to feel a certain way. This continues to demonstrate human control over nature (that is if we consider humans nature.) We can even conquer and manipulate ourselves.
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