On the mysteries of life. I was reading an interview with someone who lived through the 60's...?

Question

...he was in his 40's during that period from 65 to 69. He's a writer by the name of Norman Mailer. When asked about LSD use in the 60's he explained that it opened a big highway to the mysteries of life and he was totaly against it's use, and never did used it himself. He said this,

"I felt it was too easy. I have always had this very strong, call it a feeling, call it a prejudice, call it a conviction, that the mysteries are not easily available. You have to earn entrance in to them." he goes on..."the people that were taking it were seeming to become less and less as they took it. They got emptier and more vapid"

What are your thoughts reading this? Can you describe an experience in which you earned into a mystery of life?

I ask this because I have used LSD in the past, but to this day I feel denied by "public conciousness" [as I call it], and it's mysteries. I keep thinking that people are seeing something in me, they don't want to learn or just don't like.

Answer 1

Respectfully, Norman Mailer was always one of the tremendous geniuses that never lived up to his potential as a writer. As much as he had great gifts, none of his writing ever matched that potential. Perhaps more struggle might have been the answer to unlocking his greatest works. I think you can still use drugs and be a great achiever, but not if you depend on them for creative purposes.

Answer 2

Well I disagree a bit with the authors interpretation, but not with the thought per say. I can't really say that LSD opens the path to anything (I never wanted the "easy" fix), but I really doubt it. But I can tell you why I believe what the author said is true about people becoming less not more if they used this kind of path. And since I don't use drugs I will use a different analogy. A parent struggles through life they were born to a poor or lower middle class family. They work very hard and now can provide their child with things they could never have. So that is what they do. The give them all kinds of fancy toys, and later cars, and pay for college, ... And with this you would think the kid would be so grateful, but instead the kid is a spoiled brat? Why? Because in the effort to give the kid everything the parent didn't have they took away some of the most important things they experienced in life. They learned to work hard, to appreciate what life had to offer. They on the other hand taught their kid to expect the world to give them anything they wanted without doing anything. So even if LSD gave you some great insight, you would still lack the desire to make use of it. That desire is spurred on by the fact that you want something really badly not for someone that thinks everything should just flow to them.