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Originally Posted by ethereal  Interesting  Yeah, I actually don't know too much about it either but from what it sounds like, people are experiencing the levels of 540-580 (unconditional love, joy, ecstasy, bliss, satori or mini-enlightenment). If their intentions aren't set correctly, they can also plunge into negative or lower states of consciousness as well. It's all in the intention, might want to give your friends a tip  |
In general, I have to agree with this. There are always exceptions, but, using the example of alcohol, medical science tells us it's a depressant. In reality, alcohol is known to strip away your inhibitions which, under certain circumstances, can result in some keen insights into an imbiber's personality that may have been supressed in his/her unintoxicated state. Having regained sobriety, the imbiber can use those insights to further personal development and work on character flaws that may have been exposed.
Having said all this, I firmly believe that the reality of this world is that drugs (incl. alcohol) are used almost exlusively as an escape and result in the overall lowering of consciousness due to the users' intention to forget about their problems, causing a failure to deal with them and a failure to improve one's self or one's situation.
Edit: I'll add that, in most cases, I'm very suspicious of any claims that drugs increase one's consciousness. Given their mostly illicit nature, there's always a motivation to come up with a justification for using mind-altering substances. Raising consciousness is one of the few excuses that can make a harmful drug sound like a positive experience. Also, based on what I've read, to even consider using drugs is a very selfish, low-consciousness thing to do in the first place. (Can anyone imagine Steve whacked out on drugs?
I can't.)