@ianb52 Good point about the "paradox that with certain altered states the detail of perception and emotional intensity are increased, but the ability to do focused critical listening (left brain-type activity) becomes difficult and not fun"
I suppose my question is not whether critical listening should be done all the time but if an instance or two of listening done in these states might break one’s ruts and open up a new insight. That insight could be carried into a critical listening session without any altered state. We do this with books all the time -- read, immerse, get an insight, then carry it forward and apply it once the book is closed.
You convey this scenario really well in your reminiscence about how tripping "produced musical experiences that I had never even conceived and permanently altered the way I hear things."
It might also be the case that the "paradox" you mention could be sidestepped by micro-dosing.
@daj "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."
Zing! And then you quote William James! One of America’s greatest, most creative, most open-minded, geniuses. To read James is to expand consciousness itself. Well done!
It was not my intention to create a referendum on drug use, casual or habitual. Obviously, for many on this forum, it’s a trigger. My OP asks a very specific question about audiophile listening and the fine-tuning of a system with critical listening supplemented -- or not -- with altered states. The fact that *this* question has been taken as a tee-up of a different question ("Are drugs good or not" or some other general question) is, um, a sociological result I wasn’t expecting. But noted, nonetheless!
