Thankfully, ever since the so-called "golden list" of Al-Queda financers turned up with a bunch of Osama's relatives on it (you know, the ones that were co-invested in the Carlyle Group with the Bush family, and flown out of the country when every other plane was grounded after September 11th), I've become a full-blown coincidence theorist. A BCCI/Savings and Loan scandal crook reaping obscene windfalls from our great leader's ongoing war on terror (while he's on the FBI's most wanted list, no less)? Obviously it's all a giant coincidence! Nothing could be more unlikely than absolute power corrupting absolutely. History doesn't have one example of people behaving so despicably! Go back to sleep, taxpayers... sheesh!

At this point you have to be a serious coincidence theorist to explain away the rotten stench in our halls of power.

"Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? Why if it prosper, none dare call it treason." - Sir John Harrington

Doug117 @27:

I understand where you're coming from, but evidence is on my side I think. You claim the use of drugs to gain perspective has been "known for ages" to be in error, yet:

a) It was "known for ages" that the earth was flat, and that we were at the center of the universe. Longevity of a belief system is no guarantee of correctness.

b) There is a surprising amount of evidence (see soma and the possibility that Jesus may have partaken after learning of it during his travels) that many modern religions had their origins as drug cults. Certainly iconography and symbolism which I hadn't found particularly meaningful gave me new insights during my personal explorations, and I personally do not believe this is coincidence.

Relying on someone as your guru or "enlightened" master strikes me as every bit as dangerous as relying on a drug experience alone as the basis for a coherent world view. Open-mindedness and inclusiveness seems to me to be a positive and enlightened approach to life; shunning an experience because someone else said so (even someone you respect) seems quite negative to me. I entertain the possibility that I may be wrong, while it sounds like you are quite sure you are correct (another warning sign I think).

My personal experience made me a better and happier person, in that I more fully appreciate all that is around me and celebrate the beauty of this life, even while for the first time deeply understanding that the separateness of an "I" is yet another illusion. I believe I could have achieved this insight through any number of means, but eating a cactus happened to be my path, and I know (with a grain of doubt :-) it was the right one for me.

I found this quote hillarious: "Drug experiences can NEVER get you God or enlightment or wisdom. Just more and more bondage."

This is no different than saying "experiences can NEVER get you to God or enlightenment or wisdom". Really? Experience is what drives us toward whatever end we achieve. A drug experience that gives you first-hand empirical knowledge of how your own consciousness works seems incredibly valid to me, especially if it demonstrates how much of this life is illusion (including organized religion). Bondage is ultimately something we all create for ourselves, and there is no wrong way of realizing this simple truth.