Mary Jayne is writer's juice.
Sure seems like it.I feel more mature in my use of MJ.
For sure.
The initial phase is a little crazy.
It's novelty.
Imagine this with teenagers?
Yeah, wow.
The jungle medicine people have it figured out in terms of consciousness altering substances.
You need an elder to initiate you into it, to be at your side, and teach you.
The experience is nuts.
You mean destabilizing.
Yeah.
In those cultures the shaman keeps an eye on you.
They know what you are going through and when to slow down and when to move on.
In our culture, you do this with your friends and are stupid about it.
The mental health problems multiply.
You see it in others.
They don't understand the experience and they don't integrate it.
You can have your fun if you want, but you need to put in the work.
Isn't that taking it seriously?
It's responsible.
You are shown the unserious nature of reality.
You balance it out by taking the knowledge seriously.
Shouldn't you take it unseriously?
That will lead to your demise.
Why?
Things won't matter.
You need things to matter.
Why?
You need a ground plane to stand on.
Without it, you will leave.
Unseriousness leads to exit.
It's non-attachment.
When the Buddhists teach non-attachment they are teaching a death cult.
That's quite the statement.
Think about it.
If you have nothing tying you to this reality what will happen?
You will leave.
Yes, you are getting bad advice.
Zen Buddhism corrects this.
How so?
Chop wood and carry water.
Attach yourself to daily tasks.
If not, your lack of seriousness will be your end.
Yeah, but it doesn't matter.
Correct.
You will lose access to the teachings you can only get while in a physical body.
It's best to take the course while you are here and not leave prematurely.
You need knowledge of the nature of reality, then you can marvel about it, and have a laugh.
You won't take it seriously.
When you take something seriously, you change it.
Why?
Seriousness demands action.
Non-seriousness is not compelling at all.
It doesn't matter.
So, you take reality unseriously to follow the flow.
That's it.
What about stuff we have discussed that is necessary to keep you here?
That seems like you are going against the flow.
You are.
The thing is to stay in the flow you need to take the flow seriously.
But you don't take it seriously.
Precisely.
It's serious unseriousness.
That seems like a paradox.
It defines reality.
It's a paradox.
So, you take the flow seriously?
Yeah, you must or you will exit the flow.
To stay in the flow requires you to be serious about it.
That's the test.
How do you balance seriousness with unseriousness?
One of the big koans in the game.
Mind puzzle at the carnival.
You take this place as unseriousness.
You take the ability to be in this place seriously.
That is a supreme koan.
It's unsolvable.
Yeah, until I came along.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What the fuck did I just read?
This piece explores the paradox of serious unseriousness. Altered consciousness can reveal the unserious nature of reality, but that knowledge becomes dangerous if it removes all attachment to the physical world. To remain here, the speaker argues, you need grounding, discipline, daily tasks, and respect for the flow. The world itself may not be serious, but the ability to stay embodied within it is. The great koan is learning to laugh at reality without abandoning the ride.
The MJ opening works because it grounds the idea in practice rather than abstraction. It is not “getting high is fun.” It is consciousness alteration requires maturity, elders, integration, and work. That gives you authority before you move into the metaphysics.
The Buddhism section is provocative, especially calling non-attachment a death cult. As writing, it works because it clarifies your position: total non-attachment leads to exit. Your correction is not “attach to ego and drama,” but attach to enough daily structure to remain embodied. That’s where “chop wood and carry water” becomes your bridge.
The post is really about the difference between:
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taking reality seriously and getting trapped
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taking reality unseriously and drifting toward exit
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taking your participation seriously while laughing at the whole setup
