Macrobiotics + Cigarettes?

[Bruce Paine]

"moxiesurf"

For an unidentifiable ego-free person, you certainly use a lot of self centered expressions (eight in the last post).

Please show how a psychoactive substance can give one the clarity to see the creator of the universe and not just a figment of one's imagination.

Does getting high replace prayer, meditation, and contemplation?

If drug and alcohol is not addictive then prove it!

I have maybe one or two alcoholic beverages a year, if that, and haven't ingested a psychoactive substance in more than 2 decades.

Prove that you are not an addict!

Thank you, very much.

Bruce Paine

[moxiesurf]

Bruce,
Use of the word "I" does not make make one self centered.
No, drugs don't take the place of prayer or contemplation or meditation nor do they all of a sudden allow a person to see the creator of the universe.
Drugs often inflate the ego problems and make people more self centered; at the same time they can also allow a person to see that ego problem more clearly because of that.
I never said I'm an ego-free person or that I use marijuana or alcohol. I have on occasion in the past, and never became addicted to either. People can become addicted to all sorts of things, unhealthy or healthy.
Thanks

[Bruce Paine]

moxiesurf,

It seems to me that drugs and/or alcohol always interfere with clarity, that clarity only occurs when either drugs or alcohol are eliminated.

Also, it seems to me that addictions include the desire to repeat the consumption of something.

If one has used a substance in the past by has no desire to continue, then they are not addicted, but if the desire so much to continue using the substance, so much that they feel compelled to do so, then I would consider them addicted.

Though you have used either substance in the past, do you feel a desire or compelled to continue using them?

I feel that one of the benefits of doing macrobiotics for me is since I have learned to balance yin and yang in my diet, that I've been able to eliminate the desire for drugs completely (primarily because of the elimination of meat and dairy from my diet) and that I very rarely have desire for alcohol and then just for a beer or a lite wine (sometimes while I'm eating fish or after).

Having never gotten trapped in a physical/psychological cycle of using drugs or alcohol every day, all day, so, I've been fortunate to never become an addict.

I know of some people who seem to think that they are macrobiotic who also for one reason or another use pharmaceutical medicines and argue strongly for marijuana consumption (and one of those persons appears to have no self control mechanism concerning keeping their suffering and anguish self contained and they dump all their negative feelings somewhere publically, and though I feel sorry for them, I really can't support that sort of behavior, and I don't).

It seems to me that drugs or alcohol usually interferes with one's ability to clearly see their own problem and also interfere with their ability to exercise good judgement when communicating their thoughts and feelings to others, especially when it is done in public.

So, I can't really see drugs or alcohol as being either useful substances for self-realization or even as catalysts for such activity, (and certainly not good tools for communication with others!).

Thank you, very much.

Bruce Paine

[Chris]

Adopting a healthy diet hopefully makes one tolerant and less judgemental and gives one a less holier than thou attitude.

Sometimes being overly Yang can cause one to be very precise about ones diet to the detriment of a little give and take.
Spleen/stomach maybe?

[moxiesurf]

Marijuana and alcohol have different effects on the mind. Marijuana usually makes a person introspective, and thus critical of their own behavior. All I'm saying is that can be beneficial if they see one of their problems and correct it. Marijuana users can also function well, and sometimes better than while not using drug. That can't be said for alcohol. I'm not advocating the use of drugs or alcohol for anyone, but just saying that the experiences can be enjoyable, beneficial, and do no have to lead to health problems or addictions.

Bruce, I don't have any compulsion to drink or smoke marijuana, but I can't say that I might not want to, on some occasions, use marijuana. I grew up drinking wine with meals, and drink less now, it's not a compulsion. There are many other things that I participate in that other people become addicted to, like sex, watching television, using the internet. Addiction is a problem with the individual; the problem is not with sex, tv, the internet, drugs, or alcohol.

Chris, that is how I see it too. A very strict macrobiotic approach is good for someone who is sick and recovering from illness.