Sunday, February 12, 2006

Expansion of Consciousness or Dangerous Illusion?

Nicotine, caffeine and alcohol are generally accepted drugs in our society -- even through they are all addictive substances.

Just a little sip
Almost everyone knows the effect of a small glass of champagne or sparkling wine, which leaves us with a pleasant feeling of elation and well being. With adults, small quantities of alcohol are relaxing; a glass of wine or a bottle of beer lifts the spirit and can even slightly improve your speed of reaction.

If, however, the party really gets going and one glass of champagne becomes three or four, then alcohol starts t change an individual's personality - often in quite starting ways. Quite people become very talkative, serious ones becomes foolish, peaceful people can become violent and happy ones can become extremely sad or distressed. Under the influence of alcohol, speed or reaction is drastically reduced and thinking processes, memory capacity and control of body movements are strongly affected, resulting in altered consciousness.

Nicotine trance

Even though smokers face harsh public critism, legal restrictions and disapproval today, the tobacco industry is still thriving. Many thousand of workers all over the world depend on the industry for jobs, and governments collects considerable tax revenue from the sale of tobacco. But nicotine is also responsible for the deaths of millions of people. It effects were well known to Native American shamas. By taking high doses, they went into a state of trance. But they also knew that tobacco was addictive, so they used it only certain occasions.

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