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When would you say is the time to "hang up the phone"?

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AwesomeUsername

AwesomeUsername

Esteemed member
Lately my intuition has told me that I should cut down my psychedelic use way down, or stop altogether but I feel I still have some work to do.

When do you know that it's time to "hang up the phone"? How do you know if you did get the message? It seems like there is always something to learn, yet I trip and realize I already knew all of this and didn't manage to bring anything back even with ayahuasca.

Psychedelics for me can be very challenging, but they are by far the most fun and pleasurable drugs out the IMO. I did a ton of them this year and I actually noticed I managed to make a habit out of it so that if I don't find the time for an intense trip at least once a weak I will microdose at work the same way people do with drugs that actually tend to be addictive.

I am not sure what would be a wise choice. Cut down? Quit? Leave it at that? I also worry that I might fall back into bad habits again or start becoming depressed again if I give my so called habit up. Is this just my mind doing tricks on me or what?
 
In my experience frequency of use has been the biggest factor in terms of psychedelic effectiveness. It's not just about tolerance, but I feel it impacts mindset as well. My advice for whatever it's worth is to take a break for 2-3 weeks, then see how things go for you. Start back slowly. If it proves effective, pay attention to frequency. Perhaps you can find a better pace for your psychedelic usage. You can definitely overuse those psychedelic muscles, so to speak. In the end you will need to do what your gut tells you is best. Good luck!
 
Try taking a break. If you feel like your intuition is telling you to stop taking drugs, that's probably an indication that you should lay off for a while. Find another hobby, something else that draws your attention in the same way.

Conversely, maybe psychedelics really work for you. If you start slipping back into dysfunctional behavior maybe that's a sign that psychedelics are a healthy part of your life. There's nothing wrong with taking medication on a regular basis if it helps you, even psychedelics. Only you can determine if your use is unhealthy or not.
 
When I found myself in a similar spot I started working on setting protocols. Identifying what I wanted to use them for and not using just to use. Breaks are healthy and useful because the magic will persist if not abused.

At my age loss of sleep hurts by itself so I try to plan so I know I have time to rest afterward and if it is possible trip earlier. I like breaks afterward because I like to really take it all in for some time to integrate.

Remain respectful, to the substances and yourself, identify your work and you will be OK.
 
skoobysnax said:
I like breaks afterward because I like to really take it all in for some time to integrate.

Remain respectful, to the substances and yourself, identify your work and you will be OK.
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I think you put it well here. These types of experiences take time to integrate and process. If we are constantly indulging I suspect it somehow interferes with integration. The goal becomes the next trip, rather than what we take out of the experience. Well said!
 
As a general rule, I don't make a regular habit of most anything chemically other than coffee and cannabis. Oh, nicotine, too, lol. But psychedelics are like dessert in a way. Everyone's favorite course of a meal, but it would be too much to simply have dessert as the main course, every course.

In reckoning my own psychedelic use with my existential-metaphysical belief structure, I sort of have come to feel like psychedelics are a cheat almost. As though we are here to grok some deeper thing without having to flip to the back of the book where the answers are, and psychedelics have the potential to do that for a person (perhaps a reason it can be so difficult to retain the experience?). And when we take them, in a sense, we've already invalidated the whole test by cheating. But, at least in this go 'round, we can take that point of invalidation, do our best to study it and remember it so maybe we won't have to cheat the next time 'round.

In my most recent smoalking, I was just barely sub-breakthrough. A spinning, pulsating, multichromatic fractal thing in CEVs and mostly surreal but somewhat recognizable OEVs. The thought-form I had reached was trying to convince me I was insane- literally showing me to myself in a white padded room and a hospital gown rapidly pacing back and forth. Considering insanity is one of my few true phobias, it was a fairly easy bluff for me to call, but there is always that brief moment... After I called the bluff- humbly, I assure- It continued on with chiding me over all the real life stupid BS I do just like everyone else (in the most loving manner, I have to add) and reminding me that "special isn't" and "average isn't", and a host of other things as I feathered back into my meatsack. But at the end of the day, I still sort of cheated to figure that stuff out.

FWIW.
 
When do you know that it's time to "hang up the phone"? How do you know if you did get the message?
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This is the full quote:

"Psychedelic experience is only a glimpse of genuine mystical insight, but a glimpse which can be matured and deepened by the various ways of meditation in which drugs are no longer necessary or useful. If you get the message, hang up the phone. For psychedelic drugs are simply instruments, like microscopes, telescopes, and telephones. The biologist does not sit with eye permanently glued to the microscope, he goes away and works on what he has seen..."
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AwesomeUsername said:
Lately my intuition has told me that I should cut down my psychedelic use way down, or stop altogether but I feel I still have some work to do.
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Lately my inuition has told me I should take them more often! :) If think we should both follow our intuition...

On the other hand, this famous quote of Alan Watts is just a personal opinion, maybe for some folks leaving a crack in the door at all times is what they need/ want.
 
Hanging up the phone doesn't mean you throw away your phone after some calls or chatting mindlessly your time away.

I think what AW meant: the drugs are there to open your eyes, but you also have to take subsequent action (meditation, life changes etc.) and not do them just to have a thrill without any consequences.

[YOUTUBE]
When do you know that it's time to "hang up the phone"? How do you know if you did get the message? It seems like there is always something to learn, yet I trip and realize I already knew all of this and didn't manage to bring anything back even with ayahuasca.
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Psychedelics will be always present on earth, so there's no need to rush. Take them when you feel you want to visit them again. Keep a little stash for the dry times. I own the phone now for 18 years, hanging up it is healthy and prudent, throwing it away is not an option. It's also telling that AW never threw the bottle away.
 
If you're unsure what patterns you'll fall into without psychedelics, I would say that in-and-of-itself is an absolutely first-rate reason to stop using. You should know what role these drugs are playing in your life and how you might react to not having them around. The only way to do that is take a break and see what happens.

Expanding on UFOs point and running with the microscope analogy - if you're doing your science right, you spend some time at the microscope, put it away for a while and do some other work on the things you first saw. Then, hopefully all that work gives you something new to look for, or at, under the microscope so you bust it out again.

You go to the microscope because you have something that you're curious about and want to explore.

If you find that a lot of time at the microscope isn't answering your question, maybe that's a sign that your question would be better answered by some other procedure like a PCR. This analogy is kind of getting away from me.

You don't just sit at the microscope looking at the same thing every day. It's unproductive and hard on your eyes. (Also your PI will be mad at you for wasting time and funds :D )

Blessings
~ND
 
Greetings
IMO and experience once I realize I´m taking spice too often without a clear objective is a clear invitation to stop and take a little time to just live my life "as it is".
Read a book or two, exercise, eat quality food, fall in love, spend some time alone in the nature, get my hands dirty trough some kind of physical work, etc. then after some time it all starts to "make sense" again.
Sometimes the challenge is just to experience reality being sober.

Blessings
 
benzyme said:
sometimes I pick up the phone just to hear a dial tone.
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lol :d

I recently bought a phone from China and I will flash it with CyanogenMod. Maybe I do some prank calls to celebrate the new purchase. *upsidedown_smiley*
 
Ufostrahlen said:
Hanging up the phone doesn't mean you throw away your phone after some calls or chatting mindlessly your time away.

I think what AW meant: the drugs are there to open your eyes, but you also have to take subsequent action (meditation, life changes etc.) and not do them just to have a thrill without any consequences.

[YOUTUBE]
When do you know that it's time to "hang up the phone"? How do you know if you did get the message? It seems like there is always something to learn, yet I trip and realize I already knew all of this and didn't manage to bring anything back even with ayahuasca.
Click to expand...
Psychedelics will be always present on earth, so there's no need to rush. Take them when you feel you want to visit them again. Keep a little stash for the dry times. I own the phone now for 18 years, hanging up it is healthy and prudent, throwing it away is not an option. It's also telling that AW never threw the bottle away.
Click to expand...

Good post, I agree.
 
*Ring* *Ring*

Awesomeusername: Hello?

LSD: Hi! It's me LSD! How's it going?

Awesomeusername: Good! Hey listen, I am glad you called because I wanted to talk to you about something.

LSD: Ok... Everything alright?!

Awesomeusername: Yeah.. well.. it's just that I don't think we should be together anymore.

LSD: What?! What did I do? We have been together for a long time. I thought everything was going good?!

Awesomeusername: It's not you... it's me! I'm sorry!

LSD: Ok.. I guess I have to respect that. Well.. I am always here if you need me.

*Click*
 
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