Even Kids Seek Altered States

The desire to alter one's state is inherent in every human being.



"The long history of drug use and even children's desire for spinning, swinging, or sliding indicates that the drive to alter one's state of mind is universal.[3]"
en.wikipedia.org...

Regardless of what changes your mood, whether it's a drink of alcohol or something to smoke, or yoga , or exercise, not one of us is satisfied with our current state


The examples given about children altering their states is rather profound in its implications. The fact that there is a long history of drug use among the human race has both the obvious pros and cons, but is still based on the same philosophy.

So what is the natural way to alter one's consciousness? We all know of many ways.

Isn't this all just about exercise? I don't think so.
Is that the real reason why kids do all that spinning and swinging? Just to get endorphines going? Is that we were doing when we were all young?
Or is this literal in its sense? Getting dizzy is an altered state.

This wiki entry combines many ideas with its brief expression, and I have elaborated upon them.

Why all the partying that people like to do?
Why the need to alter our moods at all?
Why the need to alter our minds period?

IMHO it's because we all want to hit that metaphorical "refresh" button within us.
We humans are a restless race. We are not getting satisfaction unless we are constantly changing our states regardless of the means.

Originally posted by dragonsmusic
The desire to alter one's state is inherent in every human being.
IMHO it's because we all want to hit that metaphorical "refresh" button within us.
We humans are a restless race. We are not getting satisfaction unless we are constantly changing our states regardless of the means.

People seek a change of state because they are suffering. The paradox is that seeking causes separation, which is fear, which causes more seeking,which causes emptiness, which causes more seeking.
Reality is NoSeeking in the Heart as LOve-Bliss-Fullness


www.beezone.com...
6. Suffering: suffering is your own activity.



Your suffering is entirely your own,

It is your own activity.

And it is a radically present activity,

Not caused by something else.


You are not suffering

What is happening

Or has happened

Or will happen to you.

Your suffering is your own activity.


Nobody put you into

Your present state.

No one is keeping you in it.

It is a present activity.

It is your present activity.

Something has already happened.

You are already suffering.



Suffering is not your symptom,

It is your activity.

That is the paradox.



In every case

There is one fundamental activity.

One thing is the suffering.

It is an activity, this activity.



Our suffering is our own activity.

It is something we are doing

Moment to moment.

It is a completely voluntary activity.



What are you doing?

What are you always doing?

What are you doing now?



Grasp it.

Fall into truth

And grasp onto nothing after that.

Throw away everything but that,

And continually know that.



Fear is the very mood

Of the ego.

Fear is your creation,

Not something happening to you.



If you are troubled

By what arises,

You are not in your proper

Relationship to things.

You are not existing

In relationship to what arises

At all.



The drama is unnecessary.



What has all of that

Got to do with you?



When you enjoy truth,

You are already free.

And if you are free,

What has all of this

Compulsive limitation

To do with you?



Why are you conditionable?

Why are you suffering

These conditions?

It is your own action.

When this contraction

Does not occur,

No conditioning occurs,

No thought binds.

There is only bliss.



All of this

Is already bliss.

Bliss is the nature of this.

Bliss is the nature of consciousness,

Bliss is the nature of this event.

There are lots of someplace elses,

But they will be no more blissful for you

Than this if you are not

Already blissful.



If you were already free of suffering,

It wouldn't make any difference to you

Whether this room appeared,

Or a ballroom in vienna,

Or a seventh plane party!

The fact that suffering is gone

Would be the thing

That makes you happy.

When suffering no longer distracts,

You see that you are already happy,

That you are happiness.



It is your own activity.

In every second,

See that it is not only

That you are disturbed,

But you are disturbing everybody else.



You are disturbed!

You are asking questions.

You have this dilemma.

That is true.

That is the whole point.



You are suffering! Yes?

Since you are only suffering,

Why are you defending

All of this nonsense?

It is time to be rid of all of that.

It is utterly unnecessary.

It can be abandoned!

All of that i want surrendered.

I want to see all the beards, all the hair,

All the mantras, all the clothing, all of

The suffering, all of the sorrows, all of the

Long faces, all of the yoga, all of the visions,

All of the beliefs, all of the philosophies,

All of the religion and spirituality,

All of your racial and personal history,

I want to see your birth and your death.

I want all of it.

Such are the implications of truth.



All attempts

To relieve the life of suffering

By various means, remedies,

Do not produce truth.

They may heal disease.

But only truth produces truth.



Only the most radical approach

To a man's suffering

Is useful.



I see men suffering.

While they are being truth only,

I see them suffering.

The fact they are suffering

Doesn't make them any less the truth,

Any less the same thing

That is all beings, all things.

It simply means that they are suffering.

If you look at all beings

From the point of view of truth,

There is only truth,

And truth has this

Little chronic problem!



It is not that truth is absent.

Truth is always already the case.

It is simply not obvious to men.

Truth is not absent.

Men are suffering.


Wherever we are

Fundamentally concerned,

We are also

Fundamentally in conflict.



The you who does all of that

Is itself the suffering.

It knows nothing.

It is itself the suffering.



The man having an ecstatic vision

Is in the same condition

As the man watching a tv commercial.



The state of the ordinary yogi

Is as much an illusion

As the state of the

Dying, suffering man.



The only ones

Who are not suffering

Are those who are living truth.



We are mad.

The ordinary state of our existence,

Although it is usually kept intact

And relatively calmed

By the politics of human society,

Is founded in the madness of a prior logic,


continued at link above

[edit on 21-2-2010 by RRokkyy]

reply to post by RRokkyy


That could be.
That could be at the heart of it.
I'm interested in what's coming from when you wrote "more to come"

reply to post by RRokkyy


Very cool.
Thanks.