> Very well. An Alternative Thought Pattern is entered (this doesn't always
> require the use of psychoactives) and insights are gained. After returning
> to Normal Operating Mode, the insights are screened through a rational
> filter. Those that survive are added to the filter, and the process is
> repeated. Has anyone tried this? Does it work?
Yes. Yes.
"Work" here meaning "produce useful thought tools that are applicable to
life when not in the particular altered state in which they were
acquired/created". The experience of abandoning 'I', then all pronouns,
then all personal identifiers, for most of a day, for instance, brought me
soem very interesting perspectives on 'my' place in the world that I
consider helpful to my understanding of the universe. It also made me
understand bits of Italo Calvino's writing a lot better. Nonetheless,
the clumsy passive constructions we came up with in the process shouldn't
survive as permanent memetic tools of mine. And they haven't.
Eva