What are the dangers of psychedelics?

[Grateful Dead]

@StarStruck Have you seen Michael Thaft? He has beautiful hair and claims to have done over 1000 LSD trips

[StarStruck]

@acidgoofy @Benton @Adodd I heard the same from Sadh Ghuru. I can't find the video but he said psychelics just pump a lot of energy through a person's body which causes premature aging. He didn't talk about balding but I guess IFFFF you are prone to balding balding will happen sooner, IFFF you are not prone to balding it will happen. Please read the ifs.

[SeaMonster]

15 hours ago, Thought Art said:

Don’t create false dichotomy that “with shaman good, without shaman bad”…

He is right, though.  Taking psychedelics in the right set and setting (i.e. with a shaman) is much safer.  

15 hours ago, Thought Art said:

your shaman may sexually abuse you or they may really help you. There is risk in anyway you go.

LOL.  Most people are not morons, they check reviews of others who have been to a psychedelic retreat.  It's impossible to get away with that in this day and age.

15 hours ago, Thought Art said:

Tripping is not a one sized fits all deal. 

Nothing is a one-size-fits-all deal.  Nevertheless smart people pick situations with much better odds of success.  If you have a bad trip, you need someone to reassure you and make sure you know how to handle any extreme experience.

[Grateful Dead]

@StarStruck Sadhguru has never tried psychedelics, how should he know? There are a lot of old hippies now that have been taking tons of psychedelics and I have never heard of anyone getting physical problems or premature aging from it as you say.

 

[SeaMonster]

As was mentioned above, psychic inflation (i.e. "spiritual ego") is a very common problem and the more you take psychedelics without fully integrating the insights you have received, the worse it gets.  At some point you may have serious difficulty functioning in the real world.

Also, most young people are just too immature to fully handle the effects.  Psychedelics DO NOT automatically make you more mature.  This is something that has to happen where you accept feedback from reality, not merely escape into some kind of false sense of expanded consciousness.  You still have to live in the real world after your trip, and the temptation for young or immature people is this "I know better than you because I've had cosmic insights on psychedelics" attitude (which is utter self-delusion.)

Edited April 27, 2022 by SeaMonster

[Salvijus]

The danger is in huge ignorance about how to use psychedelics properly in today's world. I think all the wisdom of proper useage is gone. Even shamans these days have weak knowledge in that regard in my perception. 

People really underrestimate how complex process it is to use psychedelics for spiritual growth. Even something as simple as making traditional chinese tea is actually insanly complex and sophisticated process that would blow your mind. All those subtle elements are gone now.

People are using psychedelics like cave men these days without any clue what it does to their system and what's the long term impact. Very poor attitude in that regard. This gives rise to very accidental results also and many possibilities for damaging yourself.

Also (this is my personal opinion it may not be true) the violent nature of psychedelics can cause subtle damage to the energy system and that would impair ones speed of growth when it comes to sober practice. 

Psychedelics also drains Ojas/life energy which is a very common argument all around like ayruveda, daoism and it makes a lot of sense to me tbh. Draining Ojas creates premture aging, fatigue, slowing down of spiritual progress (because u need to cultivate ojas to grow, not drain it.) etc.

Maybe there are more idk.

Edited April 27, 2022 by Salvijus

[Thought Art]

@Salvijus hmmm, I disagree I think more and more people are learning to use them better. I don’t think you know enough about how people use to use them to even stand on that.

There is so much science coming out, studies, centres etc..

From the podcast I listen to if say people know what they are doing. 
 

I mean, the substance does most of the work anyway…

Edited April 27, 2022 by Thought Art

[Thought Art]

3 hours ago, SeaMonster said:

He is right, though.  Taking psychedelics in the right set and setting (i.e. with a shaman) is much safer.  

LOL.  Most people are not morons, they check reviews of others who have been to a psychedelic retreat.  It's impossible to get away with that in this day and age.

Nothing is a one-size-fits-all deal.  Nevertheless smart people pick situations with much better odds of success.  If you have a bad trip, you need someone to reassure you and make sure you know how to handle any extreme experience.

Actually, every year reports come out and there are many pending accusations against shamans and retreat centres all the time. Though, I’m sure most are safe. 
 

There is someone for having a trip sitter. 
 

But also, if you are experienced you should be fine by yourself. 
 

There’s arguments for or against each method
 

 

[Thought Art]

15 hours ago, StarStruck said:

What? That stress causes premature aging and hair loss? Quick google search will give you billions of studies. 

With psychedelics a lot of life energy gets pumped through your system, if you think this doesn’t have any side effects, then I would like to sell you some land in Florida. 
 

if somebody tells you something is good and says there are no bad (i.e side effects) some bells should be ringing. 

People are reporting a lower stress and depression from properly using these substances. Even if the trip is stressful… it’s gonna last 8 hours max. 
 

Millions of people are extremely stressed day in day out. 
 

8 hours of the odd chance of a bad trip aren’t gonna make you go bald.

[SeaMonster]

1 hour ago, Thought Art said:

But also, if you are experienced you should be fine by yourself. 

There are some traditions like Bwiti where after several supervised journeys, you can do iboga by yourself.  But this is after proper initiations.  First and second time experiences can be very frightening.

[Thought Art]

@SeaMonster Different substances require different thing also

[Vincent S]

10 hours ago, Salvijus said:

The danger is in huge ignorance about how to use psychedelics properly in today's world. I think all the wisdom of proper useage is gone. Even shamans these days have weak knowledge in that regard in my perception. 

People really underrestimate how complex process it is to use psychedelics for spiritual growth. Even something as simple as making traditional chinese tea is actually insanly complex and sophisticated process that would blow your mind. All those subtle elements are gone now.

People are using psychedelics like cave men these days without any clue what it does to their system and what's the long term impact. Very poor attitude in that regard. This gives rise to very accidental results also and many possibilities for damaging yourself.

Also (this is my personal opinion it may not be true) the violent nature of psychedelics can cause subtle damage to the energy system and that would impair ones speed of growth when it comes to sober practice. 

Psychedelics also drains Ojas/life energy which is a very common argument all around like ayruveda, daoism and it makes a lot of sense to me tbh. Draining Ojas creates premture aging, fatigue, slowing down of spiritual progress (because u need to cultivate ojas to grow, not drain it.) etc.

Maybe there are more idk.

You are so right. But Ojas is also drained/wasted through heavy labor, workouts, stress, suffering and excessive masturbation. 
 
If we live a healthy lifestyle with Balance, then a bit of LSD/Shrooms/DMT and 5, wont hurt the body that much. 
 

Another reason why it is dangerous is because people don’t do the work before and after psychedelics. No preparation in the form of removing heavy blockages, traumas, dysfunctional behaviors/patterns, and no willingness to change our routines. Much resistance in other words. 
And when we take psychedelics, they have to help us work on our heavy shit that we are unwilling to face regularly, and this takes its toll on the body. 
When there is minimal resistance, the psychedelics flow through your body like water in a fountain.  
 
Integration and being willing to change is huge as well. If we stay the same, whats the point then?
 

 

[Thought Art]

If it wasn’t for my trip I wouldn’t have become a Qigong teacher… it should me my Qi and my need for developing body awareness 

[The Rainmaker]

17 hours ago, SeaMonster said:

LOL.  Most people are not morons, they check reviews of others who have been to a psychedelic retreat.  It's impossible to get away with that in this day and age.

You sound naively confident about that. What makes you think this could only happen to a moron?

Edited April 28, 2022 by The Rainmaker

[SgtPepper]

On 4/27/2022 at 7:42 AM, Thought Art said:

Actually, every year reports come out and there are many pending accusations against shamans and retreat centres all the time. Though, I’m sure most are safe. 

Thank you for bringing this up. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-51053580

This news story completely convinced me to not visit any ayahuasca retreat, which I really wanted to do this upcoming year. Maybe if they legalize here in US with licensed psychologists but it is way too risky. Shamans are overrated.

@SeaMonster Good retreat reviews do not prove that retreats are safe since many times sexual assault and rape goes unreported or even worse is not even identified, because people are not educated what behaviors constitute sexual assault.

Psychedelics and hair loss is a pretty ridiculous claim. I mean literally you can look at older hippies and see they still have a full head of hair. For example. Timothy Leary tripped like 300+ times and died with hair, so did John Lennon. Hair loss is a genetic thing. 

Just trip by yourself and choose your preferred spiritual text, and read it, let that be your shaman, or don't and look at the sky, or put on some music. It's really not that hard. You don't need some foreign shaman, Leo, or myself to validate the veracity of a psychedelic trip. 

Edited April 28, 2022 by SgtPepper

[no_name]

@SgtPepper there seems to be lots of instances of sexual abuse during ayahuasca ceremonies

Aren’t there religious churches in US that perform those ceremonies though legally? Do you think it would be safer to do it there? 

Edited May 2, 2022 by no_name

[OBEler]

@Preety_India hey it is good that you think we should demonize psychedelics even more because they can be dangerous for some people. 

We should do this also with cars, with kitchen knifes, with everything else. Lets Do this because it can be dangerous to some stupid people. World will be a safe place. 

 

This whole thread is based on your Bias and assumptions. 

Edited May 2, 2022 by OBEler

[SgtPepper]

5 hours ago, no_name said:

@SgtPepper there seems to be lots of instances of sexual abuse during ayahuasca ceremonies

Aren’t there religious churches in US that perform those ceremonies though legally? Do you think it would be safer to do it there? 

I don't think there are legitimate religious churches... it's more like ayahuasca enthusiasts start a religious church so that the government cannot persecute them due to the bill of rights. You'd have to delve more than I did to know if it is safe and authentic.

I personally think the safest thing to do is just to trip by yourself at home or a trip sitter. It is way safer because you are in a comfortable setting that is familiar. 

At the same time, if you are a male, I wouldn't worry about getting sexually abused especially if you bring other male friends. But for someone like me who wanted to take my SO, it's no good. 

[Jodistrict]

 Taking Ayahuasca alone is a bad idea.  I have been to a lot of ceremonies and have seen many purges and how extreme it can get.   Even a trip sitter is not going to know what to do if you freak out.  You want a real healer who knows what to do and how to process the experience.  The goal is to be healed, not retraumatized.

[no_name]

@SgtPepper I am a woman, and I think church is an extreme name, but basically that was the only way to make it legal in a first world country. I do feel it’s a normal establishment though and not just someone’s living room.