The book goes into more detail on the impact to sleep and it wasn’t so much impacting the quantity of sleep but the quality.

Without giving too much of the book away, it was more about the type of sleep you get and the impact over time.

He didn’t mention ashwagandha but he did briefly mention ayahuasca.

Ashwagandha is more relaxing and stress relieving rather than psychedelic.

He did discuss the difference between ayahuasca, LSD and mescaline which are all considered psychedelics and this was really interesting.

The book doesn’t mention Ross or Silk Road at all. It was more a generic discussion on legal and illegal drug markets. It did mention the Sacklers.

I’m in two minds about Silk Road.

If you are purchasing drugs via a website, you generally know what you are doing and expecting. You’re also less likely to be killed in a dark alley somewhere buying drugs. And you are also more likely to be aware that the drugs you are buying are addictive. Would it lead to an increase in drug taking? I don’t know the answer to that. Possibly. It would have been interesting to see some research done on this.

Would it make life safer for those that are already addicted?Again, possibly.

People are going to do what they want regardless of the law so I probably lean more to the harm minimisation side of things.

This book explores some of that grey area. Should opium be illegal? Does it make it more or less dangerous? Natural vs synthetic etc.

In contrast, the Sacklers actively marketed their drug as safe and less addictive, pushed it to doctors, who then pushed it to people who were injured or ill.

The company knew the likely implications.

So people who weren’t looking for drugs to get high, and who simply wanted to be well were duped into becoming addicts.

I think that’s the difference for me, the issue of choice.

Between this book and Michael Mosley’s “Just one thing”, I’ve decided that for me personally, coffee is for mornings only as caffeine takes about 10-12 hours to leave the bloodstream.

There are pros to coffee, including some beneficial health impacts on the brain so I’m not in a massive rush to stop drinking it.

Like you, I’m experimenting a bit more around intake.

Finished reading this book and I can highly recommend it! 💜

The book is comprised of 3 parts: Opium, Coffee and Mescaline.

So I thought I’d share a few thoughts on each bit.

Opium

I finished reading this chapter just as Ross Ulbricht was being released from jail.

Ross was sent to jail with a double life sentence plus 40 years, and was released after 10, for creating a website that enabled people to purchase anything, including drugs.

His treatment contrasts starkly with the Sacklers, who are discussed in this book.

The Sacklers empire created an exceptionally addictive pharmaceutical drug. They had direct knowledge of its impact and fully supported its sales and marketing. That drug, OxyContin, directly destroyed innumerable lives. And yet…not one single jail term. Not one single criminal charge for any of the individuals involved. Paid some fines. Dissolved the business.

The whole episode perfectly illustrated just how misguided the US administration’s war on drugs actually is, and seemed to underline Pollan’s thoughts on the matter in this book.

Coffee

Really interesting chapter that included a lot of history that was eye opening.

The impact on sleep was not what I was expecting but it explains a few things.

Made some adjustments to my coffee intake but I haven’t, as yet, decided to give it up!

Mescaline

This chapter surprised me the most!

The author describes a Mescaline trip. I was struck by the similarity of the trip to a very deep Mindfulness meditation. Done properly, with eyes open and senses brought to the fore, experiences are so magnified that they seem to have very similar effects.

‘The immensity of existing things’ is exactly how it can feel. Leaving the conscious mind aside and connecting to the unconscious with intense awareness.

It was a surprise to me that I’ve been hacking my brain to mimic a mescaline trip 😂💜

It was also interesting to read how Native Americans use mescaline for self-healing (physical,mental and spiritual).

It had me wondering if mescaline was a way to achieve a deep mindfulness meditation without the hassle of learning how to do it or for people that find it difficult to practice.

I’m guessing that a mescaline trip would likely be a more pure experience as the conscious mind would be tamed for a much longer period.

All in all, it was a fascinating read.

I’m a firm believer that books are called to you at a time when you’re ready for them and sometimes that timing syncs with world events. It certainly felt like that with this one! 💜

#bookstr

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Thanks so much for your support earlier this week! It was very much appreciated. 🫂

Thought I’d let you both know that it went way better than I could ever have expected 🙂

While learning new things is always a little overwhelming, the people were just brilliant.

Early days I know, but it was a nice way to start. 💜

Thanks again 🫂

That explains the Muay Thai walk! 😎

Your sessions sound like they can be either gym based or home based which appeals to me.

Many years ago I had PT sessions through a gym but the exercises didn’t translate well for home based exercise, and subsequently I fell off the fitness wagon, especially on the strength side of things.

It’s also interesting to see another PTs approach. My PTs have slammed a lot of different things into a single session. I am liking the simplicity of your sessions with less than 10 types of exercises per session.

Sorry to hear about your achilles! I’ve only known one person to snap theirs and apparently it’s exceptionally painful and takes a long time to heal properly 🫂

US voting with Russia, Syria, Belarus and Djibouti. Well… there’s a…. thing….

Just converted that to Celsius… -1.11

WTF!!!!!!!

That’s cold 🥶 Too cold!!!

You need to knit this outfit for yourself!!!

🫂

Wow! 🤩

Your PT has some very creative walks!

Thanks for letting me know 🙂

The farmer name made more sense when I saw a pic of how the weights were carried. I had never heard it before.

😳

TIL what a farmers walk is in fitness terms! 👍

Beautiful 😍

Love the railway photos 💜

Thanks!! 🙏 💜

Thanks 🙏 💜

Starting a new job today.

Always a weird feeling.

Part excited, part nervous, part curious!

No probs.

It’s fascinating watching the current politics in light of the paradox.