Tell me about freeing your mind

[StonedApe]

What kind of techniques do people use to free their minds? My favorite techniques are meditation, LDs, psychedelic drugs and music. Especially those last 2.

[nitsuJ]

yeah music is one of my tops, that or submersing myself in some activity like sports or working out

[Taosaur]

all I know is, your ass will follow.

[StonedApe]

YES!! P-Funk is the key to unlocking your mind. Eddie Hazel is the shit. Listen closely now.

[DNK]

Meditation seems to work when I put the effort in.

[CoLd BlooDed]

I enjoy acid.

[♥Mark]

I find freeing my mind to be counterproductive for the reason that it operates best when restricted to the confines of my skull.

[StonedApe]

acid is probubly the best consciousness expander I've used. Anyone ever tried DMT? I've heard it cause an OBE. Like if you aren't too attached to material things and your own mortality you can go and visit another dimension. I've never tried it but it sounds crazy.

[CoLd BlooDed]

Yeah, I wouldn't say I've been expanded, just altered. My mind has been expanded from a young age, a philosphical perspective through the eyes of a growing youth.

[nitsuJ]

acid is probubly the best consciousness expander I've used. Anyone ever tried DMT? I've heard it cause an OBE. Like if you aren't too attached to material things and your own mortality you can go and visit another dimension. I've never tried it but it sounds crazy. i've heard accounts of OBE's with any type of hallucinogenic drugs, DMT doesn't last very long though, most of the time a few seconds to a few minutes, then it wears off

[StonedApe]

Me and a freind of mine have a theory on mind expansion. Like people have a veiw of the world and what existance is and this veiw is like a frame that fits around your mind. Every once in a while you experience something truly amazing(like LSD) and this blows your mind, and this little frame is blown out so far that you don't even know what is up or down. then when you come down your veiw is slightly expanded from what it was before the original experience. I didn't do a very good job of explaining this but I'm tired and its 2:00 am. I really need to get off the computer and go to sleep.

[StonedApe]

I've heard from some people that DMT trips are more real than reality. Have you heard of rick strassman? He has done some research on this stuff and beleives it is a chemical wich allows the soul to enter and leave the body. It is supposedly released from your pineal gland wich is your third eye. DMT is naturally released into to the body when you dream and when you die. Some people think this is how the soul leaves the body at death. I still haven't been able to get a copy of any his books though, so I don't know how valid his research is.

[Ric W]

I find freeing my mind to be counterproductive for the reason that it operates best when restricted to the confines of my skull. Strange.... I found that too! I use music to relax, to clear my mind of all the useless crap that's bogging me down through the day. It can take a while... If it has been a really stressing day it can be hard to listen to some tunes. Ric

[Everlong]

Meditation.

[apachama]

Philosophy and psychology. With philosophy you can examine your ideas, see if they are based on truth or just old assumptions. You can understand your relation to objects in the world better. There's nothing like it. That to me is true freedom. The freedom that comes from basing your thoughts on the good and the true. Rather than just reacting to whatever hits your mind in an ad hoc way.

[StonedApe]

Yeah, philosophy is great. Knowing the truth is the most liberating feeling I've ever felt. Too bad not many people wanna talk philosophy now though. I wish it was like the days of ancient greece were people just went around and talked about this shit while others listen. But I guess now at least you don't get killed for thinking that the world isn't flat.

[CryoDragoon]

Maybe cutting your head open and pulling your brains out? Please. Define 'freeing your mind'.

[Abra]

... Drugs don't free your mind. They destroy one's ability to think on one's own. Anyway, I think it's about choice. Look around with an objective eye, and decide for yourself what's what, without any dogma or stigma getting in the way.

[StonedApe]

Well it can mean a lot of things. My personal defintition is very complex but I can summarize it I guess. Freeing your mind is clearing away the illusions that distort your perception in life, and seeing things as they truly are, thus becoming truly aware and fully conscious. This is no easy task. But what I'm talking about is the journey to a free mind. What kind of paths do people take. How do you find the truth about life. What have you done to expeience who you really are. I find the most intense experiences to be the most useful toward seeing life as it really is. But this is not enough. You also need to work slowly and dilligently to stabalize your mind through practices like meditation and lucid dreaming. These types of activities help you to develop focus so that once you see the truth you can stay focussed on it. Life is very distracting and it is easy to lose focus. This for me is the hardest challenge. Hope that clarifies things, but it's meant to be an open question where you define what freeing your mind means.

[Taosaur]

Drug experiences can figure into an awakening path, but usually close to the beginning.

[nitsuJ]

I've heard from some people that DMT trips are more real than reality. Have you heard of rick strassman? He has done some research on this stuff and beleives it is a chemical wich allows the soul to enter and leave the body. It is supposedly released from your pineal gland wich is your third eye. DMT is naturally released into to the body when you dream and when you die. Some people think this is how the soul leaves the body at death. I still haven't been able to get a copy of any his books though, so I don't know how valid his research is. yeah DMT is a chemical inside of the brain, from what i understand you smoke it and see a flash of white light then start to trip, most people see things like lizards and all

[DNK]

Yeah, philosophy is great. Knowing the truth is the most liberating feeling I've ever felt. Too bad not many people wanna talk philosophy now though. I wish it was like the days of ancient greece were people just went around and talked about this shit while others listen. But I guess now at least you don't get killed for thinking that the world isn't flat. Was that what it was like in all of Greece? I mean, Socrates was eventually sentenced to death. If I recall, the Athenians weren't the most receptive of critical or contrary ideas in that case. My reading of history implies a few philosophical societies and circles, that as influential as they may have been, were not necessarily reflective of society as a whole. In that sense nothing has changed really, save that such thought and discourse is probably far more common today than it was at its inception, although it is also far more institutionalized and conditioned than the methods of socratic dialog.

[StonedApe]

I haven't read too much about the Greece so I'm gonna take your word for it. But what I'm saying is that people are so ignorant nowadays that when you try to talk about some deep stuff they just nod their heads and space out. I have a really hard time finding people to discuss philosophy with face to face. These forums are great but I've only got 2 or 3 freinds who have a clue what I'm talking about when I try to talk philosophy. The other problem I have with modern philosophy is the way it's taught in college. I've been slightly disapointed with the kind of things we've done in the classes I've taken. Maybe my school just sucks, but I think most people in philosophy nowadays just discuss moral bullshit and never get into any real stuff.

[DNK]

Well, like I said it was just my reading. I'm not 100% sure about it. Where are the history majors on the forum when you need them? My experience in college philosophy was a bit limited, but I found the discussions and ideas were very interesting, and not really reserved just to morality/ethics (I took general philosophy, ethics, and philosophy of religion - the latter being the really interesting and higher level course). There were only a few people in any given class that brought up really interesting ideas, but that's the same in any given class, with few exceptions. I think it varies highly by the level of the class, the explicit content, and perhaps most importantly the professor. I had TAs that were more immersed and stimulating than their respective profs, so it really is important, and will completely change the direction of the discussion, even if the basic material is the same. You could always just be unlucky with the college, too. Also, a lot of people just don't like getting into "deep" conversations in person. I myself don't even really like to. Maybe they're just not interested, but maybe they're just not feeling like it either. There's some confusing psychology about it.

[StonedApe]

I don't know man. I think it must be my college, because we do have open enrollment so... But the music departments goo so I don't really care. But what I mean is that most people are fairly materialistic now. Most people are so imerssed in the mainstream culture, and the mainstream culture doesn't talk about philosophy. Other than the philosophy to be self centered. And why don't people like having deep conversations. Thats a terrible thing. Most people are so shallow now. It's really sad. I'd rather have a conversation pondering what existance is than on what most people talk about day to day. Why don't people like to think? Sorry to ramble so much but I think that most people's minds are not free here in america. Americans are brainwashed. Tv is propaganda. Whats the ratio of people who sit in a room and watch tv every night, compared to the number of people who sit in a room with no tv and just think. tv wins bigtime. People let their tvs think for them.