The Natural Mind Essay Research Paper The

The Natural Mind Essay, Research Paper The Natural Mind, by Andrew Weil, is a book about humans and their interaction with an altered state of consciousness. To find a way to help the drug problem, the problem with humans and psychoactive drugs, Weil explores the positive aspects of drugs. His stand is not that drugs are good but that when a person alters their consciousness it is not all bad. Three of his concepts in this book really stuck to me. In The Natural Mind he displays that man has a natural drive to reach an altered state of consciousness, also that drug use and drug abuse are two totally different things and should not be mistaken. Another concept that Weil makes clear, clear in this book, is that in order to get control of the drug problem we need to start a new

belief system about drugs and find a new program to teach people about mind altering drugs. First of all, one of Weil s concepts in the book is mans natural drive to reach an altered state of consciousness. At early age s children play silly games in an attempt to alter their conscious state. Children spin around as fast as they can, as I remember doing as a child does, so they can feel dizzy for a brief moment. When watching a child do this it is normal to see the children wobbling around as they try to walk. It is similar to seeing an ECU student walking out of a club downtown after having too much to drink. As children get older they advance to household and school supplies to alter their consciousness, and then they move to an underground drug circle. A student can swipe a

bottle of rubber cement and bring it to the playground during recess. This student and the friends he chooses to be a part of this drug experiment will meet in the corner of the playground or under the jungle gym and sniff the glue until their heads are in the clouds, or also known as high. When I was eight years old I took part in an experiment like this. My friend Todd and I sniffed gasoline to get high. Todd inhaled too much and passed out, but was O.K. after a moment. When children finally reach adulthood most of them conform and use conscious altering drugs that are socially are accepted. It usually depends on the group that person hangs out with, but most adults drink alcohol. It is a legal mind altering drug so it is socially accepted. This is displayed by the champagne at

dinner parties, the toast at wedding ceremonies, and the many parents that keep beer in the refrigerator not thinking ten year old Jason is curious about why daddy talks so much after a few beers. Also, Weil explains in The Natural Mind that drug use and drug abuse are two different things and should not be mistaken. People have a misconception about substance addiction. Any person that smokes marijuana is termed a marijuana abuser. This is not true. Most people will not kill a person for a sack. In fact, I have never heard of a person doing this just to smoke pot. In the book there is an advertisement about a school that states that when a person is high on marijuana, if they eat a cheeseburger then it tastes better. The advertisement goes on to say that the marijuana messed up

their immediate memory so they do not remember what the last cheeseburger they ate tasted like. This statement is false and gives a misconception of marijuana. Just because a person likes the taste of a cheeseburger more when he or she has smoked pot does not mean that they are a drug abuser. Marijuana gives people the munchies , it is a side effect due to the use of the drug. Plus, when the drugs are used in a social setting to add to the pleasure of that setting, this type of use is fine. The drug use is a part of the social atmosphere and only helps the people involved have a good time. It is when a person starts using drugs with expectations of relieving an undesirable feeling, like depression or boredom, the person starts gaining characteristics of an abuser. Drug use