Critical listening and altered states

@dwmaggie 
  Cut the fiberous Core out, and you won't get sick. In my youth, I got sick as the devil the first couple times, then I was told to cut that center core out and went through a moving away gift of about 100+ buttons one summer and never got sick once.

ianB52.....+1, works nicely on omnis...something diff to work while... *G* ;)

...coming to the art theater next to you....

"Summer of The Buttons", an alt fantazy......

It doesn't matter what energy you've wasted on..... ;) 👌

Isn't reality for people who can't face drugs?

I find THC to give a hyper sharp focus. It can also turn on the the illuminated, 3 dimensional inner landscape of visuals, sound, emotions and an ineffable blend of them all, that I would bet many a person doesn't even suspect is there to be experienced. (won't even go into what other substances have to offer) Show me a person with a fearful, negative attitude toward the use of mind altering substances and the exploration they make possible, and I will show you someone who is most likely locked into the consensual dream state of life as the character they learned to be. There is nothing beyond these confines for them. Bless their hearts.

"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."

“Our normal waking consciousness . . . is but one special type of consciousness, whilst all about it, parted from it by the flimsiest of screens, there lie potential forms of consciousness entirely different." William James

We have just so many breaths allotted to us. In the end, it's just a question of knowing yourself. Get curious if you are not now. Or continue dreaming. Who is there to care?

I remember the listening scene from the '70s where I grew up (not far from hillbilly country) and what was a listening session was in reality a party, with bodies on the lawn the next morning. Thankfully, I wasn't one of them.
I do most of my listening alone. At one time, I belonged to a club (NYC crowd that met in Westchester and other places) and had my share of sessions with OPS ("other people's systems"). This was obviously before the Internet, which changed how we communicate, putting present circumstances aside for the moment. 
I'm sure I learned during those listening sessions; what the equipment at the time was capable of, what a really good reproduction of double bass or piano (hard to do) is like. 
I find myself listening alone quite a bit and I'm good with that. In fact, when I have had people over during the years (and this extends for decades), I wanted to make sure they were impressed.
But me, alone, exploring music without regard to making sure the stuff is "buffed to a show finish" is a different kind of experience. And in that, I do find some jewels. 
I continue to learn, about artists and their music, and in the process, reassess my perspective on what music is.