Here's a gratitude game I play with myself.
I pick a modern object and ruminate over how much history went into making it possible. Take this rig: the metal components come from tens of thousands of years of metal-craft. The paints and rubbers come from synthetic versions of natural dyes and fibres that cost hundreds of thousands of lives to industrialize. Then there's the engineering, and the distribution challenges...
We live on the shoulders of so many.
And we take *such* gifts for granted.
one time long ago, when i smoked, i was on acid and, as i struck a match to light another one, suddenly the whole history of our learning to handle fire ran through my imagination.
it struck like lightning.
caused cosmic laughter at human stupidity. i quit smoking, but it's not easy.
@holon42 @MLClark A friend told me several stories of his acid trips. He should have been a stand up comic.
e.g. His mom was watching TV that had a raging fire coming out of it. Since she didn't react, he decided he was hallucinating and went back in his room. 🤣
This fits him so well because he always analyzed everything. He could even rationally analyze being stoned out of his mind.
yes, i did that too. in those days it was alternative therapy because psychedelics open new pathways and we sorely needed them.
still do💪🏾
i'm waiting for mushrooms to be legalized. it's coming but the us forces against increasing consciousness are fighting it.
@holon42 There is more news about therapeutic use of hallucinagens.
Yes indeedy.
I know a ketamine derivative is now prescribed sometimes for bipolar, but I have a strong aversion to drugs after a bad marijuana trip made me realize I was *very* susceptible to being one of the not-insignificant few who can have schizophrenia triggered by weed or other drugs.
I'm super glad it works for some!
I still have to find other ways to manage my bipolar II longterm (& do, though some seasons in the world are tougher than others to survive). Cheers!
i was prescribed lithium and a series of "mood stabilizers".
they mute all emotions, yuck.
meditation and cannabis are working for me, along with qi gong and nature.
Sodium valproate, a lithium analog, for me - but it definitely muted emotions. It was a step up from the "horse tranquilizers" I was given in an outpatient program when I was in my worst bipolar crisis, but I don't engage medically with bipolar management in Colombia. Keto, though, did wonders for breaking the nervous system inflammation that made my lows especially agonizing, and CBT helps a lot for monitoring when I'm entering a low so I can take steps to mitigate the worst of it.
And nature is THE BEST. :)
Thank you so much for taking good care of yourself in the ways that work best for you now. 🤗 It really matters, as do you.
@MLClark
and you too. we have to trust our cells to tell us what we need and don't need.