>From: "altamira" <altamira@ecpi.com>>Subject: Hedonistic Imperative
>Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2000 11:48:28 -0500
>
>
>I have just read David Pearce's web site--quickly, I must confess, without
>taking the time to ponder the contents of each paragraph. All sorts of
>possibiilities and questions ran through my mind as I was reading, and I'm
>very sorry I don't have someone around to talk to about it. I could've
>talked to my cousin Lizzie, but unfortunately she's dead.
What's the site you're referring to please?
>She was taking Prozac for a while and described the vividness of colors,
>escpecially purple, when she was on the drug. Comparing descriptions, we
>decided that my ordinary view of the world was like her view on Prozac. I
>tried taking some to see what it would be like, and I didn't notice any
>difference in colors. I DID notice a startling feeling of goodwill towards
>strangers I encountered, such as people standing in check-out lines at
>stores. I found myself striking up conversations with them and they
>sharing
>the secrets of their lives with me. I'd never before found ordinary people
>so fascinating. I only used the Prozac for a couple of weeks, because it
>was having some bad side effects.
I tried Prozac as well, and it made me tremendously depressed. I have read
that this experience is common, especialy with initial use. Prozac
supposedly blocks re-uptake of Seratonin. An apparently much more powerful
and direct alternative, based on the recent Time Magazine coverage, is
extasy, which I haven't tried yet, but now I'm tempted.
>Something I've been wondering about lately is this: what is it that makes
>me and certain of my relatives different from most people? My daughter
>brought up this question when Lizzie's son came to visit for a day. She
>commented that it was great to see him, because it's rare to meet people
>who
>are REALLY FUN to be with, as he is. The quality I'm talking about has to
>do with sensing the unexpected in the ordinary--for example, looking at
>clouds and seeing hundreds of different shade of white and at the same time
>hearing (in one's mind) all these shades of white translated into
>corresponding frequencies of sound; or listening to the rumbling of a
>machine and suddenly hearing intensely beautiful music in the combination
>of
>sounds and seeing (in the mind) the sounds translated into something like
>graphs of mathematical functions, weaving in and out of each other.
>Walking
>down a city street, pausing to look into partly veiled windows and under
>stones and into alleys can be among the most exciting of experiences. Most
>of the time I prefer to walk alone, but when I can be with a person who
>shares this way of seeing, the experience is all the richer for sharing it.
Now you're asking some interesting questions. In fact, about a year ago it
hit the major news sources that researchers had identified a gene complex
that specifically caused the "addictive personality." People with this gene
did not enjoy sunsets or flocks of birds or moonlit nights - unless they
altered their brain chemistry via alcohol or coke or extasy or heroine, etc.
Then they became closer to what you and I consider normal.
The really surprising things, however, were (1) how many people had the
addictive/depressive gene and (2) the groupings of percentages.
The native Americans tested had the highest percentage with the gene, at
about 85% of the population, which corresponds precisely to the common
experience of problems of alcoholism and other drugs in that population.
Asians also had a very high percentage with the gene. American blacks had -
as best I recall - about 60% with the gene. The lowest percentage - at
about 30%, I think - were people from Northern Europe.
>The "bipolar" people I've known sometimes seem to see this way when they're
>in their manic phases.
>
Some people have actually accused me of being bipolar because I can get so
into things in a way that they obviously cannot.
>I've always thought of this way of seeing as being "childlike," because
>young children often seem to understand it better than older people. So
>maybe the explanation for it is that some people retain certain childlike
>aspects of the nervous system into old age. I'm pretty sure my
>great-grandmother was like this, although she died when I was pretty young,
>so I can't know for sure. I'm 50 years old, but I generally feel as though
>I'm in the company of my elders when I'm with people in their 20's and
>30's.
>
>I'd like to know more about this, just out of self-curiosity. Why am I the
>way I am? It's a pleasant way of being, except that I don't come across
>many people to share it with. Is there some practical use to be made of
>it,
>or is it something to be enjoyed mostly in silence (I say in silence,
>because people usually think I'm crazy if I speak of it. Lizzie didn't
>think I was crazy. God, I miss her so much!). Maybe the Prozac made
>ordinary people fascinating to me because it allowed me to better translate
>my thoughts and theirs into a mutually understandable language.
>
>Bonnie
>
The Time article on Extasy mentioned some studies indicating that long-term
brain damage might result from the drug. However, those studies did not
rule out a host of possible intervening factors, unfortunately, and the
worst damage seemed to be a reduction in certain specific kinds of memory.
Since there are a whole lot of people who have used the drug hundreds of
times and are still functional, I suspect those studies, but I can't rule
the possibility out that there might be something there.
I really suggest you check out that article, as it might offer some
solutions or insights.
And, if you think it's worth the risk, you might suggest that those people
who you feel blocked from shareing your sense of life with try some extasy
with you, so that you can get through to them. If it works, then you can
tell them - hey, I feel like this ALL THE TIME.
This was one of the most common uses for the drug, in fact. Before it was
made illegal - which it is, quite seriously now of course, like almost
anything that makes you feel good (After all, consider that those jerks who
tend to end up in politics or religion are probably carrying double doses of
the addictive gene, and if they can't enjoy life, by GOD!, they'll make sure
no one else does either.) - psychotherapists were using it with couples to
bring them together and overcome blocks to intimacy.
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