the eye of Nova's mind

FDA looks to curb abuse of cough medicine -- "On Sept. 14, the FDA will ask a panel of outside experts whether dextromethorphan should be available only as a prescription."

DXM hits MSN's front page: Teens turn to cough syrup to get high, feds say

I'm glad that the National Institute on Drug Abuse has decided to track this trend (the article says that this is the first year of the government doing so). Still, some of the articles in the wake of the study disappointed me with their small bits of misinformation.

ABC News is just about to air a story about cough syrup abuse. You could tune in right now.

Edit: It's amazing, still, what reporters put in or leave out. The lead-in was the story of a mother who lost her son due to cough syrup abuse. Well, except in the rarest of cases DXM alone in one setting won't kill you. What syrup did he do? The kind with acetominophen in it (which will destroy your liver)? As someone who has been investigating DXM closely for the last five years, I find this story loose. What was the actual cause of death, according to the coroner?

Coricidin has been implicated in several DXM-related deaths in the US, because of the maleate in it. But the reporter said the youth died from syrup, not from Coricidin. (Although the slang for Coricidin was included in the story, which helped muddy the issue.)

The reporter did give parents some signs to look for: slurred speech and empty cough syrup bottles "when it's not the cold & cough season."

While you're at it, why not give some harm reduction information, like, "Tell your kids to stay away from syrup that has acetominophen in it"?!

Parents tell their kids not to have sex. But some also tell them, "If you're going to have sex, at least use a condom." Harm reduction! Is it so hard?

I went to Fahrenheit 9/11 Thursday night. (Good movie, btw.) After it let out, I went to the parking garage, got into the line for the exit, and proceeded to not budge for 25 minutes. I've never seen anything like it. The line was just not moving. By the time I backed up and got in a line I noticed was moving, it was around 2:40 a.m. I didn't get to bed until 3:30, which meant the earliest I went to sleep was around 4:00.

I was pretty much dragging ass all the next day. In fact, I went to bed at 8:00.

I woke up this morning and went out to meet this man at an insurance company who had placed an ad in the paper this week. Apparently there were computers to be had for $90. So I bought one. There was a better one (i.e., had more RAM) for $60 more, but I'm rather broke. I brought the box home, hooked it up, then took it back down when I realized that I didn't know exactly what I needed to do to get it hooked up to the Internet. I believe it has a modem, but I'm so hardware illiterate, I really can't tell. (There were areas where the phone jacks go in, so that's a good sign. But I still can't get it to work.) Plus, I installed Rollercoaster Tycoon and, to my dismay, found that there were small hesitations when it ran. So, back to the box with the whistling power supply.

I had thoughts about DXM, so I took a nap (classic mental avoidance technique). In my dream, I repeatedly had the sensation of waking up in my bed, getting up and walking--I could feel the carpet underneath my feet--but later I'd look down and find I was still in bed. The first time this happened, it was novel enough to be intriguing; the latter instances just agitated me. Later, I ran into Blade, who was commenting that he was wanting to spend time with a mutual friend of ours, but he was resisting because of other people who were there. I told him that if seeing that person is what he wants to do, he should do it. He said, "Really?" and I said, "If that's what you want to do, and it's in your power to make it so, you should do so." He and I ended up on a couch, sleeping feet to face; I had my arm around his calf. I thought, "I really hope I don't 'wake up' like I have with the carpet under my feet feeling." And soon after, Blade's leg disappeared from my arms, and I fell to my knees weeping.

I don't nap well on Saturdays.

I've drawn up some halfway decent ( submission guidelines for BRoM ). The only thing I need to do is secure a P.O. box; then I'll be ready to announce the magazine. Oh, and I need to call Kinko's and find out how much a print job would run.

Today's been a good poetry day. Thank God.

Bleach Boys
by the Dead Milkmen, found on Beelzebubba

I've got some buddies, and we all drink bleach
You know we practice what we preach
We're not a drunken bunch of frat boys trashed on beers
Or a stoned bunch of hippies with no careers
I want to drink bleach with a Georgia peach

My pals and I all drink Clorox
Or eat Snowy Bleach right out of the box
Teenage suicide rates shot high
And we understand the reasons why
Bleach does more than whiten socks

Don't you want to hang out with the bleach boys, baby?
In a world where ministers murder golf pros
Don't you want to drink some bleach tonight?

Maybe there'll be a party at the beach
We'll bitch about life and chuggle the bleach
No one's gettin' high and no one's gettin' drunk
Got a case of bleach stashed in my trunk
I want to die with Clorox within reach

I'm very proud of the respect I've earned
And my voice is very deep 'cause my throat got burned
Bleach keeps you young, so I've been told
'Cause no one who drinks it lives to get old
Drink it with a chaser was the first thing that I learned

Don't you want to hang out with the bleach boys, baby?
In a world where midgets run for mayor
Don't you want to drink some bleach tonight?

Had 26 friends in the beginning
But now it seems our numbers are thinnin'
Some people drive fast, others love to bet
Still others snort coke in a private jet
But drinkin' bleach is my way of winnin'

Don't you want to hang out with the bleach boys, baby?
In a world where welders own our schools
Don't you want to drink some bleach tonight?

I'm so bored, I'm drinkin' bleach
I'm so bored, I'm drinkin' bleach
(repeat 8x)

I AM SO BORED!

( my DXM spoof--Dex Dames )

I'm still temping at the leasing office of a local apartment community. The days are getting longer, so I suspect I'm getting tired of my assignment. But I'll keep going; I don't have anything better to do.

I don't have much time to write anymore. I got a few poems out last week, while on a DXM trip. But in general, I'm just too tired in the evenings to devote much time to creative writing. This makes me unhappy.

Last night, I had a strange dream, one that featured sexual activity. This is always odd for me, because my dreams rarely focus on that (especially since I declared myself celibate). Blade was one of the people I cuddled with. It was nice to remember what that was like.

Let's see.

I've registered with two temp agencies, but no placements as of yet. One did call me this morning at 8:30, hoping I could be an emergency replacement for someone who was unable to make their assignment, but I had no transportation today, so I had to decline.

I'm reading a lot about the mechanics of poetry, to supplement my regimen of writing. This is helping a lot. I find I'm writing more in meter, which is strange, but it's such a departure from my normal style that I feel compelled to keep doing it, just to see how it might contribute to my work.

There was a very cool want ad in yesterday's paper. Apparently a local library is looking for a circulation clerk, which I used to be about a decade ago. It's a salaried, full-time position, so all I need to do is fill out one of their applications before the deadline next week. (I'd hoped to fill it out online, but found out that their apps only exist at their branches.) Just thinking about applying to this job excites me.

Two nights ago, I had what I can only describe as an astral projection experience. It occurred at the tail end of a dream sequence. Near the end of the dream, I found myself going through a scene I'd already "lived" through, which triggered some sort of self-recognition (though I didn't thoroughly realize that I was dreaming). I exited the building where this scene took place and found that I needed to cross a road. Unfortunately, this road was populated with scores of blond women wearing royal blue outfits; they had to have been clones. This was very frightening, or at least daunting. Then I realized that I didn't need to wade through them: I could simply rise above them--that is, fly. And I started to rise. Part of me was focused on my breath, and at one point I noticed that I'd taken a stuttered breath, and I worried that this would somehow change what was going on. So, I started following my chain of breath, and once I reached the exhalation of that weird breath, I had the distinct sensation of materializing in my bed. I was staring at the wall of my bedroom, awake. My immediate thought/sensation was, "This is wrong." My heartrate was very fast and very pronounced. And I knew, upon waking, that my breathing in my "dream" was how I was really breathing. So, I have to believe that my unconscious self was doing something that I consciously would not have been able to achieve.

In other news, I haven't smoked any illegal substances in nearly a month. I'm hoping to clear out my system, in case I apply for a good job and would be required to take a drug test. And my DXM intake is now once every 10-14 days, which is quite an accomplishment, considering how often I was taking it not even six months ago.

I want to talk about the significance of theta, or the theta brain wave pattern, with regards to spirituality (and perhaps paranormal perception) and possible entheogenic use (specifically DXM).

Nikola Tesla "planned to exploit the resonance frequency of the earth, which he calculated to be approximately 8 Hertz based upon certain parameters such as the thickness of the ionosphere and the velocity of light." (http://www.medicalacupuncture.org/aama_marf/journal/vol2_1/bioelectricmag.html )

For those who do not know, the brain experiences four main brain wave states. The first is beta, which is the waking state. Calculation and reason happen in the beta state. IIRC, beta runs between 24-30 Hertz. The second is alpha. Alpha is the state that most meditation will relax into. Alpha is, IIRC, between 8-20 Hertz. (See http://brain.web-us.com/brainwavesfunction.htm .)

The third and fourth states are theta and delta, respectively. The brain enters its most imagistic part of slumber, REM sleep, when its wave pattern changes from a delta state (deep, non-REM sleep) to the theta state. Theta resonates between 4 and 8 Hertz. (Delta resonates at all frequencies 4 Hertz and below.)

William E. White, the author of the DXM FAQ says in one of his papers: "the flanging or strobing effects of DXM and other dissociatives seem to occur at theta rhythm, which may be a consequence of their effects on the posterior cingulate." (http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/dxm_health1.shtml )

As for the significance of the alpha and theta waves, Susan M. Castle states the following: "It is during the alpha and theta brain wave states that we are the most open to what we hear. During these two states, we have direct access and influence into the subconscious mind. When positive suggestions and statements are introduced in these states, powerful transformations begin to occur in our waking moments. We begin to make changes based on the suggestions we have 'heard' in the relaxed brain wave states.... Research clearly indicates that the most powerful time to introduce suggestions and invite change to occur is in the alpha and theta brain wave activity states."
(http://www.relax-online.com/assoc/M1000/jhtapes.html )

In "Biomagnetism and Bio-Electromagnetism: The Foundation of Life," H. Coetzee stated that, in the 1990s, "work with high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction on human brain tissue of the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, and meninges (membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord) identified magnetite-maghemite crystals." He defined magnetite as "a black mineral form of iron oxide that crystallizes in the cubic or isometric system, namely all crystals which have their crystallographic axes of equal length at 90 degrees to each other." After some discussion, he inquires, "Could these crystals use their motion in a variety of ways to transduce the geomagnetic field into signals that can be processed by the nervous system?" (http://www.affs.org/en/articles/biomagnetism.html )

The heroine of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within postulated that her dreams were actually communication between herself and the earth (or, rather, Gaia, the Earth's spirit).

And I speculate that hypnosis occurs when the brain is in a low-alpha or (most probably) theta state.

I imagine the human brain as an organic black box, our consciousnesses mere witnesses to history. The brain is designed to receive information. I am going to venture a guess--pure speculation, of course--that in different states of consciousness, our brains become able to be attuned to different types of information, and most probably by other-than-normal mechanisms. In other words, our usual five senses may or may not come into play. The interplay of our normal senses may be irrelevant to the flow of information that is being received.

It is my further speculation that the theta state puts one's personal resonant frequency in sync with that of Earth. If the earth can communicate, if its spirit can contact our own, such communication should be most direct at the theta rhythm.

My last speculation is that gnostic meditation or other deep, focusing meditation may elicit a (sometimes spontaneous) low-alpha or theta rhythm, which might trigger paranormal activity which could manifest as signs or portents. This is the Holy Spirit, magnified wihen brought in accord with the nearest, most immediate celestial body--the Earth. No, not magnified. Amplified.

One usually only experiences the theta rhythm during the sleep cycle. Yet it has been shown that DXM intoxication can produce results similar to TLE (temporal lobe epilepsy), or to temporal lobe lability. These physiological disturbances in the temporal lobe are often accompanied by what I would term as paranormal activity. This activity can and often manifests during periods of sobriety (also known as ictic periods). These paranormal effects include: recurrent deja vu or jamais vu; autoscopy and/or remote viewing; ESP; telepathy; and clairvoyance.

Thus, it is the culmination of my speculations to suggest that the theta pattern can help stimulate the outward signs of the Holy Spirit. Which is why I, once under the effects of DXM, I immediately recognized it as a sacrament.

http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/dxm/dxm_health1.shtml

After reading all I have about neuroscience during this last month, I could not ignore what this document said.

So, as I told F, I have decided to discontinue my DXM use. ("Forever, or just for a while?" he asked. "The first one, most probably," I replied.)

I haven't tried to meditate or trance since my last DXM dose (Thanksgiving night). But I have started taking a multivitamin, and capsules of spirulina/blue-green algae. Because I want to take care of my health. I want to take care of myself.

So this is not to say that I have renounced all of my previously held ideas. I'm saying that I do not need to kill myself, or individual parts of myself, in order to trance. I am all the more stunned that lysergic acid--one of the most physically benign substances on the planet--is listed as Schedule I in this country, but DXM HBr--which may affect the brain by straining and/or fundamentally disturbing cellular processes--is readily available in cough medicine, which is sold over-the-counter.

I'm not calling for the restriction of cough syrup. I'm wondering why the government refuses to make available safer alternatives.