Alternate Realities

Originally posted in my old blog in September 2008.

What is the alternate reality buzz about? I’m talking about the claim by proponents of hallucinogenic drug use as gateways into alternate or higher realities. Why am I spun up about this?

Last night I was watching a documentary on the History International channel about the history of hallucinogens. This included a very broad survey of the use of those drugs in spiritual or cultural rituals for remote clans of people spread across the world. I never realized how many hallucinogenic plants exist. And that’s just the beginning. Apparently it is estimated that we have only discovered less than 1% of plant species that currently exist.

At any rate, one of the segments was about the drug movement in the 20th century that included the discovery of LSD and the relatively wide usage of a variety of hallucinogenic drugs incluging LSD, psylocibin and mescaline. Other segments included an exploration of peyote and magic mushrooms in other central American and south American cultures.

The more interesting points were not about a lot of mainstream college-age people abusing these drugs in ridiculous quantities. The shamans or people who pursued this path for further enlightenment and perspective were far more interesting. What is this enlightenment?
It seems that all the drugs really do is cause a chemical change in the brain. This will, of course, cause the user to perceive reality differently. How do we know if this perception is better, higher, significant, or simply distorted? How can this be a true alternate reality? The user is still standing, sitting and existing in the same time sequence and spacial reality as before the drug was ingested. Only his perception of reality has changed.

Now, even though the actual reality has not changed, does this change in perception count as an experience of an alternate reality? If we believe that reality is a synthesis of actual reality with our perceptions, then yes, this has to count as an experience of an alternate reality. If the experience of the alternate reality has a permanent effect on the user’s outlook, world view or daily perception, it counts as a valid experience that has now become part of that person’s fundamental personality.

This kind of experience is simlar to any vicarious experience or perhaps the experience of another culture and country. It is simply another learning experience. After any vicarious or travel experience, typically our imaginations are stretched beyond their pre-experience state. This is the same for a chemically-induced experience.

The risk/reward ratio question regarding chemical experiences is something I don’t have time to explore right now. However, any experience that involves physical movement or change brings risks along with it. How does the risk of physical damage from a chemical experience compare to the risk of injury or death from travel?

That said, I guess the risks from watching a documentary on TV (a vicarious experience) is pretty close to zero compared to the chemical or physical equivalent. However, the priinciple of moderation may still apply, since daily use of all-day TV couch-potato-ism can still lead to physical degeneration over time.