Trapped

[Nature Boy]

Does anyone feel as though the drugs you're using are trapping you and preventing you from progressing in your life or achieving your ultimate goals?

I'm not sure whether I should just keep on living the way I'm living and see how things work out or whether I should make some kind of decision and change.

One of the main issues that surround feeling trapped by drugs is because of legality. As long as drugs are illegal you stay roped in because your priority becomes getting whatever's available when it's available. You don't get to choose as such.

Anyone else feel like this?

[billyloner]

if you feel they are preventing you achieving your goals then give them a rest. personally, my only goal is happiness. i enjoy my life at the moment, i enjoy my friends and i enjoy drugs. i even kinda enjoy work.


but i have no long term goals, nor have i ever had any. so i cant really talk about them with much authority. but i can say that drugs certainly shouldnt be something that holds you back - quite the opposite, in fact...

[Solidly-here]

You decide: It's a Trap . . . or, It's a Fantastic Gift. Whatever your answer is, you are right.


I KNOW that my life is as Good as it is because of Marijuana. When I feel that my life is worse-off because of it, I will stop using it (for a while).


I have smoked off-and-on for over 20 years. During that time, I have taken several multi-year breaks in my Marijuana usage. During those times, my life was STILL OK.


Stopping it will let you know if you are in a Trap. But then, you may be in Another Trap. You are the Only person who actually creates the Trap. You are the one who wonders if you are in that Trap. I have nothing to do with your Trap. I am busy, creating my own Traps (life is stuffed full of potential Traps).


My Ultimate goal is to have the most Fun I can with these few years of life I have been given. Marijuana helps me obtain a little of my Ultimate goal: It's Fun, and it allows me to see life differently. I can see things as being OK, just the way they are.


Another Goal: To know myself, and how I think, how I feel what I feel, and how I see the World. Marijuana (and psychedelics) give me glimpses of these things. The more I know about myself, the more I can teach myself that my life is going along pretty well. So, Today, my life is going along pretty well. Tomorrow doesn't matter. Today is where I live.Edited by: Solidly-here

[BrugmansiaBrujo]

Well stated Solidly-here.



Only a person who has also been "solidly-there" on psychedelics could have that insight.

[Nature Boy]

I did some more thinking about this last night after eating some psilocybe McKennai (which were mind-blowing by the way) and came up with a lot of the conclusions solidly-here pointed out. I've never been much of a goal setter either but maybe I should, though I won't necessarily, set goals. Nevertheless, you can allows live by the motto "take every day as they come".

[Solidly-here]

Gee! Good for You . . . Good for Me.


It's real nice that two people think that my view of (this tiny piece of ) Spiritual Life is valid (Thank's guys). I don't know what view is (Ultimately) best. I just know what I am doing now. Now, I think that my views above are right. Years from now I will look back, and see that a New View is in (now that I am further along the Path). But, this one is Real for me Today.


One thing about Spiritual Life, it keeps changing. New ways to experience life. New ways to feel. New ways to see my life.Edited by: Solidly-here

[BrugmansiaBrujo]

Any view you have, any thing you do is OK, as long as it makes you
happy and does not adversely affect or hurt another human being.

[Trippopotamus]

It's always good for me to take on a new perspective. Living life to
the fullest is the only way to live it. But when i do take a new
standng point on life, i find that long "breaks" from drugs make me
lose sight of whats really important. Once every few months can keep me
full of insight but any longer then that i find that my opinions take
over, and my knowledge tells me not to think in certain ways, but my
opinions still pretty much bug me. Try not to think of what i just said
as crazy sounding, it makes some sense i just cant get it into words.

[BrugmansiaBrujo]

Our opinions are formed largely based on our inputs. Which any more
these days is a constant barage of media and political propaganda and
spin, as well as constant barage of advertizing hype that trys to
convince us we'll be miserable unless we aquire this or that widget.



The government wants all of us to think and stay "within the box" that
they put around us. Tripping allows us to think outside the
box. Which is why drugs are illegal, the government fears
independent thinking, as independent thinking erodes their power, or at
least so they believe.

[billbong]

If u want to change for whatever reason then go for it +good luck if not then thats cool 2 whatever works for u

[oldman]

drugs don't stop dreams from happening people do. No body is forcing the stuff down your throat so be a big boy and do like alot of us do from time to time and TAKE A BREAK! If you're goping to go blaming the drugs then why don't you buy into that disease theory and that way you can blame this terrible disease for all your misfortune and expect a pat on the back if you control it. Bottom line is this -- People often make bad choices that lead to not getting what they want. Figure out what decision is going to get you where you want to be. Sorry for being a jerk but I am right. I've been so low I could hang my feet off a dime and got my stuff together several different times and live a life others dream of right now. My wife wonders how can some people do the wrong thing so often, but they do, don't be one of them. the only rehab line I think is good is theone about insanity being when someone makes the same mistake continuously and expects a different result sometime.

[RickyTarr]

Tripopotamus


That's weird you would say that about time off from drugs and losing sight of goals.


I have had the same experience. Without drugs in moderation, I find it difficult to socialize, and it seems that reduced socialization, has a negative effect in visualizing success in my endeavors, kind of like a confidence thing.


Ricky Tarr

[BrugmansiaBrujo]

The happy middle ground is definitely the way to go. Drugs in
moderation, can indeed be social lubricant; and a valuable time to
reflect within oneself on ones goals and one's progress.



Drugs in moderation also means drugs only during appropriate times/settings/circumstances, at least in my book.



Drugs to excess can make SWIM's goals become very limited, along the lines of "where will I score next" types of goals.

[TheLight01]

Moderation is the key, but at times it is so difficult, but if you succeed in fitting it in with your "normal" life it can be a very meaningful and useful thing.

[oldman]

take a break for awhile dude. You will be all that much more efficient not having to score anymore or be pissed cause you got some bunk rolls, or ripped off completely. Things will fall into place you'll find. I'm not saying that if you do drugs bad things will happen, I'm saying when drugs start controling your life, that game needs a time out. One thing those couselors back at Hazelden said (one of the few that are true) is that if you're not happy with living sober after doing it for ahwile, drugs'll always be there when you want to go back, then they'd say this shit about and we'll be here again if you do decide to use again.


I took a break when I was 20 of about a year. I worked my ass off put all money in the bank didn't look at my statementsso I wouldn't know how much was there, anyway after about9 months I had more than enough $ for a down payment on a house, and still had some $ for repairs and stuff. Just before a year clean some dude at one of my jobs had a bag of coke showed it to me and asked if I needed any, "yes I do thankyou very much" and it was back to the races. At 22 I got sober again and returned to College slowly (I had failed out when I was 18 I really shouldn't have smoked a joint in the parking lot or my room before class everyday) After about 5 years I finished college and got a teaching job (that I hated). Started my own business bought 2 more houses and then got back to business as usual (or how I like it). That went goo for awhile until I got busted growing weed and faced several felony charges. I got so fuckin crazy during that ordeal the smart thing to do would've been to buckle down and fix the problem not go to drinkin between a quart and half gasllon of Vodka each day (which is what I did and subsequently went to rehab, got out stayed sober for 6 months until the trial was over.(received2 misdemeanor possession counts)Now I've got to be cool about stuff still because I get drug tested each month.

[a-SalviaLover]

Well, I had those feelings about DXM and Ketamine, but when I tried shroomz I forgot about the idea of freaking out like on a dissociative, shroomz are a lot better and cleaner way to freak out and I don't think they stop my progress. I am progressing on a different way with different ideas. The ideas I get when on mushroomz are some kind of genius enlightments. Unfortunately I don't feel any relation between them and the real life. Well the real life sucks so what's wrong about building your own ivory tower where you can think of your own world.

[icecrew]

i love it when people talk about marijuana like its a drug, for me its
the same thing as drinking a beer...just something that relaxes me,
drugs are dope, coke, pills, watever...weed is not 1 of them its
naturally grown world wide plant which all people smoke

[Alfa]

About getting whatever's available when it's available; I would not use drugs, just because they are there.


Icecrew: Coffee and cigarettes aredrugs.


Solidly: if your goals are fun and self exploration, what trace of your existance will you leave behind? Your goals go for me to, but I feel the need to interact with this world to the extent that I change it to some extent.

[Solidly-here]

When I change, the World changes too.


Alfa asks a sage question: "If your goals are fun and self exploration, what trace of your existance will you leave behind?"


Just because my Ultimate Goal is to have Fun, it does NOT mean that I do not do Real things too. First, a Goal is something that I do not have (or at least, not all of the time) ... just something that I dream of my Life being. If I had the ability to just have non-stop Fun, then I would have to pick another Goal for myself to achieve.


As I seek Self-exploration, I am looking for the reasons I do what I do. This can help me adjust my attitude, so that I can do More of the things that I do for Better reasons (love, friendship, compassion).


Moving toward my Goals, I still have a Real Life. I have volunteered 1000s of hours of my time. Of those, maybe1,500were hours of tutoring 3rd and 4th-graders in Math and English. I look at this time as leaving a trace of my existence here, long after I leave this earth.


But, more than that,timeswhen Ipresent myself as a joyful person to those around me, it touches them, and can help transform their day (or a few minutes of it) into a joyful time too. I do my little part in making the World a Better place to live. There are 6 Billion others who can do their part to change the World too (if they want to); it's up to them to decide. I only worry about my part.


I am not sure how long an answer you want (I feel at least 20 paragraphs coming). I am going to do my part anyway, SO I might as well do it with the Best of intentions. If people feel that I am Fun, they may have more Fun too. Then I win twice: (1) I did my part, and (2) others had more Fun. I have changed MY part of this World. I have done the right thing, for the Right reason.


I wonder if one thing I said above didn't come out the way I intended it to: "I can see things as being OK, just the way they are." What this does NOT mean is: "I don't care what happens."


What I mean is: "I do not need to keep second-guessing all of my past actions. I am HERE now." This also means that I don't need to worry about the PAST actions of other people. The real issue is: "How is he treating me today?" What's happening now?


I have been socially active all of my Adult life. I will probably continue to be socially active in the future. I see things which (I think) should be changed in society. My attitude (when I am thinking well) is: "The World will still be OK if this particular issue is never resolved." This helps me keep what I am doing (advocating for change) more a matter of kind assistance . . . instead of a HUGE black-and-white confrontation: "I AM RIGHT, you are wrong."Edited by: Solidly-here