The journal Psychopharmacology published the results of a study on the effects of the psychedelic drug psilocybin, one of the first such studies in the last 40 years. Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions researchers conducted the study following carefully controlled, scientifically rigorous procedures. Most participants (all but one of whom were college graduates) cited feelings of intense joy, peace and harmony after taking the drug, and in many cases these effects had a long-term effect, as evidenced by subsequent surveys taken months later. Even more notably, a third of the participants said taking the psilocybin was the single most significant experience of their lives. Accompanying editorial and commentary from prominent neuroscientists praised the study and recommended additional research. I certainly won't advocate the use of illegal drugs on this blog, especially drugs whose effects are so strong and so unpredictable. (Almost a third of the participants experienced fear, paranoia and/or other nasty emotions.) But I do support (nearly) any study that helps us unlock the secrets of consciousness and the mind. Whether psychedelics really do "cleanse the doors of perception" as Aldous Huxley claimed, or instead create "false" emotions not worth having, can be determined only through systematic study.

What is the relationship between meaning and purpose?

I think purpose is necessary but not sufficient for meaning. For example, in The Matrix, the people had a purpose but their existence lacked meaning. One possible approach would be to argue that if the person accepts the purpose, then his/her existence has meaning, otherwise it doesn't. However, with most traditional religions, the purpose is supposedly determined by the creator, not by the follower, but most followers accept that purpose unquestioningly. (Admittedly, those adherents who chose their religion, as opposed to accepting whichever one was most prevalent in their country or community or family, may have factored what each religion says about their life's purpose when choosing a religion, and so this statement might not apply to them.) If that's the case, then if those people discovered they were in Matrix-like enslavement, would they unquestioningly accept that their creator had a justifiable purpose in doing this to them? You might assume the answer is no, but consider that most adherents of traditional religions find a way to accept that their creators don't intervene to stop atrocities like billions starving and babies being murdered, and they also accept that they might not be able to comprehend their creator's means and ends, so they might be able to rationalize a meaningful existence based on a purpose they don't agree with or understand.

Why is higher consciousness important?

Here's what Pete Russell says: "In the past, becoming more self-aware was essential for one's personal salvation. Today it has become an imperative for our collective survival. Our knowledge of the external world has grown far faster than our knowledge of ourselves, bringing with it an unprecedented ability to control and manipulate our surroundings. The technologies we now have at our disposal have amplified this potential so much that we can now create almost anything we dream of. Unfortunately, however, technology has also amplified the shortcomings of our half-developed sense of self. Driven by the dictates of a limited identity, and by our belief that inner well-being depends upon external circumstances, we have misused our newfound powers, plundering and poisoning the planet so much that our collective future is now at stake. We have reached what Buckminster Fuller called our "final evolutionary exam." The questions before us are simple: Can we move beyond this limited mode of consciousness? Can we let go our illusions, discover who we really are, and find the wisdom we so desperately need? These questions face us everywhere we look. Our degradation of the environment is forcing us to examine our priorities and values. Our disillusionment with materialism calls us to ask what it is we really want. The ever-accelerating pace of change demands we become less attached to how we think things should be. Our personal relationships are challenging us to move beyond fear and judgment, to love without conditions. Social problems often reflect the meaninglessness inherent in a materialist worldview, while various political and economic crises reveal the short-comings of our self-centered thinking. From all directions, the message is 'wake up!' "

"Deep Thoughts" from Jack Handey

I wish I had a Kryptonite cross, because then I could keep both Dracula AND Superman away.

Probably the earliest flyswatters were nothing more than some sort of striking surface attached to the end of a long stick.

I'd rather be rich than stupid.

If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.

The memories of my family outings are still a source of strength to me. I remember we'd all pile into the car - I forget what kind it was - and drive and drive. I'm not sure where we'd go, but I think there were some trees there. The smell of something was strong in the air as we played whatever sport we played. I remember a bigger, older guy we called "Dad." We'd eat some stuff, or not, and then I think we went home. I guess some things never leave you.

Instead of trying to build newer and bigger weapons of destruction, we should be thinking about getting more use out of the ones we already have.

Most people think that consciousness is transparent, that it yields to introspection and that each person has a full and accurate picture of his/her own mind. But consider these lines from a fictional character in Marvin Minsky's Alienable Rights:
"Brains evolved to use parallel distributed processing. In other words, most of their decisions are made by adding up the outputs of thousands of brain cells - and most brain cells are involved in thousands of different types of decisions... the trillions of synapses involved in this make it almost impossible for the other parts of their brain to figure out how those decisions are made. So far as their higher level reasoning can tell, those decisions just happen - without any cause."
"Consciousness means knowing what's been happening in your mind. And although humans claim that they're self-aware, they have scarcely a clue about what their minds do. They don't seem to have the faintest idea of how they construct their new ideas, or choose words and form them into sentences. Instead, they say, 'Something just occurred to me' - as though someone else had done it to them."

The Universe could in fact expand forever... or it could collapse into the Big Crunch. This is influenced by how fast the galaxies are moving apart and how much total mass there is in the Universe. We can measure how fast the galaxies are separating quite easily by using ideas of red-shift. However, it is more complicated to measure how much mass there is in the Universe and if we knew that then we would be able to predict the future of the Universe. However, measuring how much mass there is in the Universe is a difficult task, seeing as most of the mass appears invisible, i.e. black holes, particles and other kinds of matter.

Depending on how much mass there is, there are two ways in which the Universe could go... if there is enough mass then we'll get the Big Crunch because if there is enough mass compared to how fast the galaxies are currently moving then the Universe will eventually stop expanding and begin to start contracting and therefore we would get the Big Crunch which would be followed by another Big Bang and then endless cycles of expansion and contraction...

However, if there is too little mass then the rate of expansion will slow down and the Universe will continue to expand forever. This means that the Universe would become more and more spread out into eternity...

"That's the day I realized that there was this entire life behind things, and this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid. Ever. Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it... and my heart is going to cave in."