Carl-Richard

What a ToE seeks to do is to ground current theories in the same reduction base (a shared paradigm), along with the hope that some new answers will pop out from it (but that is not necessarily the case). To me, it looks like physicists have to learn from fields like psychology that having multiple paradigms is OK.

To get the feel for the limits of SD, you need to read about the basics like Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development or Kohlberg's theory of moral development. SD follows the same logic, only with a different construct (vMEMEs).

People who grow up in a Purple society.

You're conflating addiction and pharmacological dependence. The stats I've seen are 10% vs 20% chance of addiction for weed and heroin respectively. Here weed is 9%, cocaine is 17% and heroin is 25%: It should also be said that people who try hard drugs are already more likely to be addicts in the first place considering the gateway hypothesis, so that may skew the numbers.

LOL making history I recently discovered Kyle Dunningan, best comedian on YouTube.

I will agree that modern society clutters one's mind and that pre-modern environments are more conducive to spiritual growth, but people have spontaneous awakenings with or without guru transmission all the time regardless of culture. Cognitive ability is a bit broad, but if we're talking about abstract thought, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the utility of it. It lead to things like modern medicine, something a tribal shaman would die for.

One of my childhood friends that I haven't met in a while just became a father at 24. It's feels so weird to think about.

It's boundary dissolving, but in a murky way. It's like asking if bong water will hydrate you. Sure

That is the trade-off for complex division of labor, wealth accumulation and space travel. You start worrying about things that can go wrong

Anything is potentially addictive. Addiction is when cravings override self-control to the detriment of your life. What do you mean?

Physical dependence/withdrawal You can be in withdrawal without having cravings, losing self-control and destroying your life. This is why you can come off your prescription opioids without becoming an addict. Cravings can come as a result of withdrawal symptoms, or they can be triggered by a random thought or perception without any withdrawal symptoms. This is why addicts can relapse many years after they've stopped taking drugs. The distinction between physical and mental withdrawal is fuzzy, and all drugs possess both to varying degrees. The hype around physical withdrawal comes from the fact that some of the symptoms can be deadly, which generally applies to depressant drugs, but I haven't heard this about meth.

Call it "The Levels" But yeah, mysticism has existed for thousands of years, and Tier 2 barely started existing in the last century.

My intention is the complete opposite.

You're obviously a stoner

Most of these people never experience "true" Purple, because they're most likely imbedded in a non-Purple society.

Maybe for you. Not everybody gets addicted to drugs. The addiction rate for "hard drugs" is only a few percent higher than weed.

I'm more using it as a source of inspiration rather than a final authority. If I didn't pop my ears, I would still be taking pain meds. I didn't start oral antibiotics yet, only eye drops for my eye infection.

To expand on this: cravings can be classified as a withdrawal symptom (as it tends to happen more frequently during withdrawal), but you also don't have to be in withdrawal to have cravings. You can for example take a hit of cocaine, feel the rush, and then want to have even more. Also, having cravings doesn't automatically mean you're addicted. It's only if the cravings are strong enough to cause a detrimental impact on your life. So withdrawal symptoms seem to have a correlation with an increase in cravings, but they're also not fully dependent on each other, which means you can think of it like this: Withdrawal symptoms => Cravings => Addiction <= Cravings <= no withdrawal symptoms.

Physical withdrawals are actually not the worst parts of quitting a drug. It's the cravings. Some people liken the physical side of heroin withdrawal to a weak cold. Of course, some physical withdrawal symptoms are dangerous, which is why it's perceived as a serious thing. Physical withdrawals from cannabis do exist, and I've experienced them myself (diarrhea, nausea, unable to eat food, stiff muscles, aches and pains). Stimulants like cocaine or meth have almost zero notable physical withdrawal symptoms, yet they're still perceived as being highly addictive. This is typical addiction, yes. Weed isn't particularly different from other hedonic drugs in this aspect. The mental-physical dichotomy that most people hold in their minds is very inaccurate and is based on an intuitive understanding rather than a scientific understanding of the topic. The confusion around terminology is understandable, but it's a huge problem. It creates a harmful mentality around certain drugs and their addiction potential. The most important point is to distinguish between 1. withdrawal symptoms and 2. cravings. 1. Withdrawal symptoms are related to dependence, which can be physical or mental. 2. Cravings are related to addiction, which is fundamentally mental. There is of course overlap between these things, but it's the most accurate way (that I know about) of talking about these things.

Mass awakening won't happen over night. I think that is the mistake New Agers make. The idealism of thinking that you can simply speak the message and people will understand, convert and become followers at the drop of a hat. That essentially sums up the failure of the 1960s counterculture. Ram Dass reflects on this with Terrence McKenna: 25:37

Alright. I'm also taking some eye drops with antibiotics in them for a small eye infection (I just became asymptomatic, but it says I have to continue for 2 more days), but you're mostly talking about the oral ones, right? My mom said the eye drops could possibly leak into the sinuses and help out in the fight

I got prescribed some antibiotics just in case, but I haven't started them yet. I don't think I have to as I believe I'm going to bed without NSAIDs tonight.

I've got most of those going for me now as the flu is mostly gone. I stopped doing saunas during the COVID years, but now I'm rediscovering its many benefits

This is an extremely common misunderstanding of pharmacology and addiction, which I've tried to clear this up in this post:

Nobody is conscious. Consciousness is.