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long boring excerpts from the book of highs
 

m...m...m on 2002-01-18 20:18 [#00071807]



Altered states of consciousness. We still do not know what
it is to be high or why we seek that state so persistently.
Peak experiences trascend the limits of normal
consciousness. Meditation- avenue to passive withdrawel from
the world. Many non-ordinary experiences are not
pleasurable- they are powerful, different, strange, even
terrifying. Still we call them “highs” because somehow
they seem able to change us for the better. One common trait
of all highs stand out: they’re all a technique of
focusing awareness, of shaking us out of our habitual modes
of perception and getting us to concentrate on something,
whether a sound, a sight, an unusual sensation. Possibly
what we call a high is simply the experience of focused
consciousness, even if on something painful or unpleasant.
In “normal” states of mind, our conscious energies are
scattered. Our attention wanders aimlessly. You can focus
on: exs. A thought, external, internal sensations, past
future, hopes, fears, objects, images, tunes. Meditation is
nothing other than directed concentration. Concentration is
power. Sometimes we enter states of concentration without
making any effort. In fact, being high might be the most
natural condition of all. An intensly unusual stimulus can
draw our single minded attention. Getting high and staying
there makes us better able to function in ordinary reality.
“using just yourself” chapter:
concentration is learning to focus “staying with” the
object of our attention despite distraction. Part of the
pattern serves as the background so another part will stand
out as the foreground. To concentrate means the foreground
stands predominate-clear of the background. Pick a thought,
idea, object, person and stay with it. The process is more
important than the subject of concentration. Concentrate on
one of your fingertips. Treat the fingerprint as a maze,
choose a beginning and end. Find out what happens to your
concentration when it wanders. Through philosophical
awareness, we focus our attention on questions and problems
brought about by the “facts of our existence. What is it
to be alive? What is the meaning of life? Who am I? Am I
real? Who are you? What is the world, solar system, galaxy,
universe? What is knowledge? One of the major problems with
dealing with questions like these is our language. Sensory
awareness: we receive info from our environment through our
senses. Sensory deprivation-find out what it’s like
without them ex. Blindfold. Examine every point and surface
where your skin and clothing thouch. Taste spices (parsley,
sage, rosemary, thyme) 5 min. each. You do not HAVE senses,
you ARE your senses.
Rhythmic and cyclic awareness. Meditations= sit with spine
straight, fix gaze on a spot ahead, let eyes stop there with
out really looking. Direct vision inward, 15-20 min. clear
attention and ability to focus and concentrate happens. Fix
your thoughts on a problem or on NO thing. Prolonged
observation (this worked for me in school heh heh, staring
at the top of my desk for long ass times, It helped me
“see” drawings in the papers little subtle shady spots.)
fervent prayer= a sentence or paragraph you make up and keep
repeating. Long times at sea, desert or arctic. Self
hypnosis= sit, say to self “I am growing sleepy, my
eyelids are getting heavier and heavier. I am sinking away.
I can’t keep my eyes open.” Deep breathing. When eyes
close, repeat a key word (ex. “deeper” or “further”
“now”) relax. As u count from 10 to 1, imagine traveling
traveling deeper into yourself. Let each part of your body
become heavy. Then light and flat away. Say “now I will
end my trance and wake up” to end. Perform a ritual each
week. The repetition over a long period of time will have
the ritual take on a spirit. Spin/get dizzy. Chant. Auditory
illusions. Unfamiliar realm. Psychological excersizes=
recite the Gettysburg address while counting backward by
3’s while saying peter piper picked a pail of pickled
peppers… repeatedly. Let a=1, b=2 etc. and say stuff in
numbers. Begin singing with force “aaaaahh” turn it into
as melodious and continuous a song as you are capable of.
Don’t worry about aesthetics at the beginning, just
continuity. Zen power yell, roar like a lion, you are
powerful and ferocious. The most turned on language is
poetry. Phosphene stimulation (lightly press fingers against
eyes till see “stars”) voluntary silence. Suffering=
forces us to reassess our place, position,goals, value
direction. Brings about transformation. Suffering,
incompleteness can be the impetus to finding a new situation
for ourselves. It demands relief, new environments, new
supports. Pain= any systems resistance to a stimulus.
Exercise to the point of pain. Long dull pain usually
promotes listlessness and depression. Continuous pain dulls
awareness. Forbidden activities. Rage= get angry w/
inanimate objects (pillow) paranoia- everything that happens
to you is part of a benefic plot, a grand scheme so
marvelous it’s hard to believe it’s happening to you.
Neurosis= phobias, avoidance, inability to perceive the
obvious, nervous. Demonic possession= to feel another move
your limbs, to feel the other in your mind. To know the
other. Not all bad. Not all good. Fasting- sensation of
hunger usually departs after first 3 days. Sleep
deprivation- after 70 hours, difficult to do any normal easy
tasks without errors. After 30-60 depth perception becomes
disturbed. After 90- hallucinations set in. 100 cant say
alphabet. 120 delerium. 150 total disorientation. Record is
268 hours, he had after effects 10 days after.
Claustrophobia. Fantasy, an important part of the
daydreaming process is the ability to let go, to go w/ the
currents of the imagination and allow to emerge whatever
will emerge. Private activity, no way this privacy can be
invaded. Theory- fantasy is used to rehearse our roles in
future activities. Image a journey to the cave of the witch
or the forest of the mythical beast. Writers often depend on
their ability to fantasize within a given situation. In this
way a plot can be carried through antire work of fiction.
Make up a story, remembering is the essense of knowing.
It’s usually activitated analogously (we see something
that reminds us of something else which activates a memory)
we rarely take the time out to try to use our memory to
completely re-create a special incident or event in our
lives, good or bad. Remember what you saw tasted heard,
smelled, touched feelings had at the time. Sleep with arm in
the air, if fall asleep, arm falls and wakes you up,
allowing you to stay at the realm between dream and awake.
Dreams are more vivid than the greatest movies. Lucid dream,
aware that you are dreaming, a way to control contend of
dreaming is to control stimuli you’re exposed to while
sleeping. Write down as soon as you dream them all details.
Shifting between sleeping and waking makes vividdreams.
Boredom translated into nervous energy or ittiots play
(making music heh heh). Forgetting, if we agree that the
only constant of life is change we must loosen our hold on
all that is precious to us. To observe the unexpected, the
unknown, and then use what one finds there in a new, unique
way: that is creativity. Perspective. Running, jumping,
mountain climbing. Survival tests: ex. Parachute into
desert, jungle or forest. The future of the present is the
past. The future of the future is the future. Social
withdrawel, believing one is superior to society at large.
Logotherapy- the patient sits in a chair and hears things he
finds unpleasant to hear. Anxiety of the child-isolated and
helpless in a potentially hostile world. Synectice= the
bringing together of diverse elements that seem unrelated.
Irrational and emotional helps in creativity. Thanatological
awareness, everyone who ever existed, everyone who exists
now, will die. This fact is very difficult to stay with, to
make truly real. There are many ways to rationalize death
and rob its eventuality of realness. Martial arts. Real
magic is always secret. Metronome, a device that marks time
with a steady beat and is adjustable. Used in training for
musical instruments. Rock throwing, automobile destruction.
Gliding, up to 45000 feet, up to 160 mph. Over 600 miles
without landing. Soaring clubs to learn, buy rent a glider,
supposed to take a plane to 3000 feet . sensory stimuli
illusion-taking given stimuli from the environment and
misinterpreting it. Synesthesias, perceiving an image with a
sensory receptor not designed to receive that image, seeing
sound, feeling color. Many consider contemporary urban life,
increased activity, lights, noise pollution to be permanent
state of sensory overload. Intricate patterns changing on
film. Moiré patterns= take 2 identical black combs, align
them and move one back and forth, a third pattern will
emerge. “repition tapes.



 

Jarworski from Wales on 2002-01-18 20:20 [#00071808]



At least put it into paragraphs dude!


 

m...m...m on 2002-01-18 20:25 [#00071811]



No! the information must be as tightly packed as possible.
there's only capital letters at the beginning of sentences
bezuk microsoft werd up does that autocatalysistically.


 

m...m...m on 2002-01-18 21:15 [#00071840]



what the hell are you all doing burrying MY important
message under YOUR insignificant messages??


 

Ophecks from Nova Scotia on 2002-01-18 21:30 [#00071853]



I can't read that, I need paragraphs. My eyes hurt...

besides, I know everything already. Nothing I can learn in
that excerpt that I don't already know.


 

m...m...m on 2002-01-18 22:29 [#00071895]



I have a rare disorder where my brain lacks a memory. So I
have to write down everything that seems interesting within
the split second of the present. I forget where I got this
information or what I just said three words ago. What am I
talking about... "what"... "what", what does that mean...?
WHOA I have many strange digits on the end of my... "arms" I
think they're called. I think I'll call them fingers.


 

Korben Dallas from _ on 2002-01-19 00:00 [#00071949]



Interesting! - didn't read all of it, as my reading
attention span doesn't last that long.

Funny how meaning undermines itself through the very means
it exists -

I'm currently quite intrigued about some philosophy of
language -

Hey m-m - do you know any books re: patterns in nature and
that sort of thing ? I take it you are reasonably well read
- if you could drop some names that'd be cool.


 

Jarworski from Wales on 2002-01-19 00:18 [#00071954]



Stop watching Memento so much dude!


 

Afromanb on 2002-01-19 00:19 [#00071955]



Becuase I got high, because I got high, lalalala


 

AMinal from toronto, canada on 2002-01-19 00:20 [#00071956]



am i the only one who read the whole thing..?

anyways.. yes, very interesting..
where'd u get it from?


 

m...m...m on 2002-01-19 05:02 [#00072008]



I never heard of memento. This is from "the book of
highs:101 ways to get high without using drugs" As for
books, I suggest library book sales (often like 1$ each) and
the actual library books too. A lot of stuff is designed for
college courses or something or are poorly and pointlessly
written, you have to do a lot of sifting, most of the stuff
is good though if you choose an interesting topic. there is
a book called "patterns in nature" (it might have been
rhythms in nature) I also wrote down excerpts from that one
so I wouldn't have to remember with my biological brain, but
they're in pen so I can't copy/paste it. Symmetry, torture,
fractals, forests, evolution, caterpillars, anything is
interesting almost.


 

Caserol Joe the Chubby from Minneappleseed on 2002-01-19 17:55 [#00072249]



I know what getting high is about, what is there to
question?


 

Caserol Joe the Chubby from Minneappleseed on 2002-01-19 17:57 [#00072250]



I mean, it's a pretty straight forward experience.


 

Caserol Joe the Chubby from Minneappleseed on 2002-01-19 17:57 [#00072251]



(sarcasm)


 


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