Drugs and Status. (9.5)
Do Psychedelics effect our EGO?
Intro.
Animals like to get high.
From Dolphins playing with pufferfish to get ‘hits’ off toxins to Reindeer eating magic mushrooms to monkeys drinking alcohol.
The altering of consciousness is something we evolved to enjoy.
Is there any correlation between Drugs and Status?
Stoned ape Theory — Drugs and evolution
Terrence McKenna proposed the theory that the reason Humans evolved so rapidly compared to our ancestors due to Psychedelic plant consumption.
The theory goes that there was an explosion of awareness, creativity and social progression once humans started ingesting hallucinogenic plants such as psilocybin mushrooms.
McKenna and his theory was initially mocked by most in the mainstream.
However recent clinical research has shown the benefits Psychedelics have on PTSD, Creativity and emotional evolution and his theory is gaining new interest.
Status & drugs.
Just like meditation, taking mind altering substances removes people from everyday consciousness.
So does this mean we can change our relationship with Status structures when we take them?
Does getting high allow the brain to stop processing Status?
Can some drugs dissolve the EGO so we don’t feel affected by imagined opinions of others?
Inflated Status.
Psychedelic drugs are generally considered to remove or dissolve the EGO.
Users often speak of being humbled.
However other drugs such as cocaine or speed are thought to d the opposite.
Do some substances momentarily increase or sense of status and magnify the EGO?
Addiction & Drugs
Addictive behaviours are associated with emotional trauma.
For brief moment the addict no longer feels the pressure, problems or pain of normal life.
In a sense the person becomes addicted to escaping.
Are we addicted to escaping the status structures we live in?
Alcohol & Bonding
Drinking has been used a method to enhance bonding since recorded history.
Like anything used in excess, alcohol can be harmful.
But are their benefits to those times when a little alcohol helps us empathise or connect?
Does alcohol become so addictive because it helps us to briefly stop processing Status?
Conclusion
A more level headed and rational approach to the reasons why humans take drugs is under way.
Books such as ‘Stealing Fire’ are showing that it is completely normal for Humans to desire altered Status.
It may have even been one the reasons we began evolving rapidly 200,000 years ago.
