Psychedelic drugs and medicine

Are psychedelic drugs good for you? This is an odd question that carries such controversy that it is very embarrasing to ask. However, new studies on the potencial benefits in the use of hallucinogenic drugs to treat mental diseases will change people´s opinion. Several researches have shown some good results in the use of these psycho-active substances to treat diseases such as obsessive compulsive disorder(OCD) and addictions like alcoholism and other drugs. At the Orenda Institute in Baltimore, USA, scientists are examining LSD as a possible treatment for addiction to heroin, opium,alcohol, and sedatives. Other scientists are focusing their psychedelic research on learning more about the human brain, discovering antidotes to drug overdose, and relieving pain in cancer patients. It seems strange to use a drug to cure the addiction to another drug, but it seems to work.
Psychedelic drugs are called like this because they alter the mind of the user; they can alter perception and the sense of time and space. They produce hallucinations; that is, they make people see and hear things that don´t exist or bring into life to inaminate objects.
These drugs were part of the Hippie culture that raised in the 60`s and they were used for them as a way to connect with the nature and the universe, and other human beings as well. We can percieve their influence in the Hippie fashion and music(the use of bright colours and strange noises that represented the psychedelic experience). One of the pioneers of the use of these kind of drugs in the field of medicine was the psychiatrist Timothy Leary, who carried out researchers on the use of halluginogenics drugs to change and improve human behaviour. At that time, psychedelic drugs were legal and the scientist were allowed to work with them to do researches. However, by the end of the 60´s there had been such abuse of them that they were banned and still remain nowadays as illegal drugs. These days, the researchers must apply to the DEA(Drug Enforcement Administration) to receive approval to use these drugs.
Researches have proved the potential benefits of psychedelic drugs to treat mental illnesses: people who suffer from severe OCD experimented a significant relieve of the symptoms after taking a low dose of Psilocybin. Patients with depression improved their condition due to the administration of Ketamine. However, deep researches should be carried out because some patients who took these drugs suffered from side effects(such as flashback of the psychedelic experience). We have to take into account that the use of these drugs should be done under medical supervision due to the unwanted side effects that they can produce, and further studies should be conducted to know more about them.

Untitled #2

Take my hand, come with me
Be my partner, be my guess
Step across the threshold of my mind
You are invited to witness the kaleidoscope of my life
Watch my miseries, my joys and victories
Read my soul and all the ghost locked in it
Don´t be afraid, it´s just myself
I´m willing to make you see, what lies inside of me
Let me be the one who you really know
I will be the shelter of your dreams
The guardian of your sleep
The light that makes the night so bright
A promise that you can keep
The wind and the sun
A fire that always burn
All this and much more I will give to you
If you only open your heart
And ask me to come in

Nothing to say, just for today

ok, I suppose I have to write something, but I´ve run out of ideas. I was trying to find something interesting to write today, but I couldn´t. There´s nothing more frightnening than having nothing to say. I think I´m not inspired today, because usually I have much things to comment on, but not today. I remember the same happened to me when I used to have a band; I tried many times to compose or invent something "good" but it was imposible, it was useless. I really don´t know what to do know, let me think....mmmmm, I don´t know, this is maybe the worst blog entry ever(in the history of blog writing, lol) At this time of the year I´m stress out, I´m worried about my exams and all the things I have to do. I don´t feel like writing today, I don´t want to write today, but I have to write because I have to complete my blog. I really miss staying in my house,watching television, listening to music, being with my friends,going out on saturday nights, reading a magazine, watching a movie with my girlfriend. There are so many things I miss, because I´m so busy that the only thing I have to do now is studying. oh, I have to wait, just two weeks more and I will be free, just two week. I want to go fishing with my brother, I want to go near the river, I don´t know, near the mountains, I want to be in a desolated and quiet place, I´m fed up with the city, the traffic, the people, the schedule, the time, the computers, the weather, the pressure. I think I have to wait, it´s ok, I don´t mind,I can do it. Sorry dear blog, there is nothing say.

Mum

Some time ago I wrote here about my father, and I think I must write about my mother now. I have the luck to have my mum with me, I´m twenty seven years old but I still live with her. Ana is her name: She is a very strong woman, a very quiet and caring. She is one of several brothers and sisters and she spent her childhood living in many places, such as Rio Negro, where she lived in a small town near to the sea. She also lived in Cordoba and Chaco. She was born where in Tafi Viejo but after that she travelled to these places. She met my father here and married him. After this she has lived in the same house where we have always lived. She is a housewife and an excellent mother, who is able to give everything to her children, all her support and patient. I wonder where she takes her strenght, because she suffered a lot when my father died and because of all the problems she had to overcome. Even though she is strong she sometimes cries alone, in times when there are big problems and everything seems to go wrong. I think she does this because she doesn´t want us to see her in that way, she doesn´t want to show that she is human and that she couldn´t cope with everything. She is willing to give her life for her children and she wants the best for us, although sometimes we disappoint her. She has a great personality, she is the most easy-going and wise person I have ever known; she is by nature a great mother. She likes to stay at home, watching her favourite old Argentinian movies. Sometimes I think that she doesn´t do the things she would like to because of us; she likes to be with us and gives us everything we need, thought we tell her that we are adults and she shouldn´t care too much. My mother doesn´t have any friends, I guess she considers that we are her friends. She enjoys spending the evenings chatting with her sisters and drinking coffee. As she is part of a big family, she is never alone and her brothers and sisters come to visit her. She is the mother of her grandchildren also, who are her love and joy. Though she is old and tired, she is always willing to play with them and take care of them. I´m very glad and thankful to have this beautiful human being by my side, who is still with me, supporting me, taking care of me, loving me and giving me all the strenght that I need to face life. I love her so much. Thank you, Mum.

When the Internet is a threat

Yesterday I was amazed by the topic my friend Jesica presented for Language 4; it was about the internet communities that people who suffer from anorexia have and the way the use these websites for. It´s hard to believe that these people, the vast mayority of them girls, create these virtual communities to give support to each other, defend their right of being anorexic(they claim that anorexia is something they have chosen(!) and also advices on how to lose weight. We have to bare in mind that this not only happens with these people, but that there are other several websites and virtual communities that are a menace to society. Don´t misunderstood me, I´m not saying that these girls who had anorexia are dangerous, but they are being a menage to themselves and to other girls too, because they have to realize or their families or friends have to make them realize that they are ill and need professional help. Apart from this group, there are certain groups that really represent a menace to society; it´s the case of the neonazis groups, the websites that show child pornography and other groups of people who are in favour of unthinkable aberrations. These kind of people have found a space in the internet that they haven´t found in society. We have to be aware of the gravity of this situation, and think about what freedom really is. I know that it is difficult to fight against these websites, but something must be done. I don´t care if some of you think that we should respect their opinion or they way of living; the thing is that I can´t imagine any reasonable human being who are in favour of these communities. I believe that freedom ends when we risk someone else´s life or safety. It doesn´t exist a complete freedom really, we have to respect each other and fight against these kind of people, who are wrong and are a menace to society and its values.

Different Time, different place.

Today I was admiring some old LPs by The Beatles; it´s something strange because I really don´t know how they got to my house, because they are very old.Have you ever felt that you were born in a wrong time? I have. Maybe it´s because I like to much the 60´s, I don´t know. I would really like to live in those times, and I would really like to live in England. I think it´s because of The Beatles: I have to say that they changed my life in a way. If it wasn´t for their music I wouldn´t study English or learn to play the guitar. The first time I listened to them something happened, I know that something special happened. Their music made feel like it was something familiar to me, as I have known those songs all my life. Then I became a fanatic, listening to every record and reading books about them. Then I watched their movies; they were very silly, I mean the plot, but for me they were just amazing, because I could see them play the songs I love so much. I would also like to know their birthplace, Liverpool. I really like England, there is something mysterious in the air, maybe due to the fog and the old buildings. I love also the lifestyle and the fashion in those times; there were really good bands and I think that everyone realized that something important was happening there. I want to travel to England someday, and go to all the places that are part of The Beatles´s story: Strawberry Fields, Abbey Road, Penny Lane, The Cavern...I think that there were something a kind of magic in their music and personalities; they were really special. Anyway, I hope that someday I will have the chance to go there; I would be the luckiest person in the whole world.

best ballad ever?
The Verve-The Drugs Don´t Work

Time

This is dedicated to you, my dear enemy, my dear friend
my partner in memories, my dealer of oblivion
this goes to your dictatorship,to your kingdom of hurry and forgetfulness; to my awareness of your presence, to my battle against your mastery, against your pressure on me and my life.I won´t forget the chances I had but didn´t take and now I regret. I will be your opponent, I will take you in my hands and make you mine. Just for one day I won´t be your slave, I won´t be betrayed. I know that some day I will defeat you, it doesn´t matter how you treat me throughout the years, your allies. I have to go know, because I haven´t got enough time to talk about you, Time.

We are a target market

I´m fed up with TV and what it broadcasts;it´s seems that finally marketing beat us and they are making young people fashion victims. Sometimes I think that mass media has an evil plan to destroy originality and freedom of choice. Everything is imposed and everything is measure and limited to whether it sells or not. there is lack of artistic freedom and we are devastated by this globalized world, where everything has to be done quickly and without further thought. We are obliged to consume what they sell,while our souls rot little by little. I think that now I´m an adult,and I´m seaching for new things and they don´t cheat me. All my life I have tried to choose and I have tried to be honest with myself. I´m proud to say that I won´t be a victim of this autoritarian system, that destroys individuality and make people look and think in the same way. I want to find my own voice, it doesn´t matter how wrong I might be; I want to have the right to choose and to think, I want to find the things I like and be different from the others. I don´t want them to tell me what to say,to think, to listen to or to admire.I don´t want them to ruin our means of expression and impose feelings and attitudes. All I want is freedom of choice and things to choose.

my teaching practices

Nowadays I´m doing my teaching practices at the Colegio Nacional and I´m very glad because everything is O.K.T his year we have to practice on our own,it is different from the previous year when we have to practice in pairs. I felt terrified when I knew this, because I have to practice on my own and it´s a big responsibility in some way. I was scared to death because I was accustomed to working with my friend and classmate Pato(I need you Pato!!!). However, I´m trying to do all the work and prepare everything for each lesson. Recently I feel more confident about teaching;I haven´t been so nervous these days and I think I can give the students a good classes. That makes me feel better because when I get depressed I think that maybe I´m wrong and that I´m not very good at teaching. Nevertheless I feel good now as I said and I love teaching. My students are great;it´s hard to find respectful and well-mannered teenagers. They don´t have a good level of english, but they participate and try to improve. They are sympathetic to me,because as her teacher told them that they have to help me and to participate while I´m doing my practices, they realized that I´m also a student like them and they are willing to make my work easier. I have to say that by knowing this kind of teenagers, not only them but the ones I worked with last year,there´s still a hope.We shouldn´t generalize; there are young people that still have values and respect their peers and authorities.I have to thank her teacher, because she helps me a lot and she is very kind to me,she makes me feel confortable and gives me good advices.I hope that by the end of my practices there they will have learnt something. I´m doing my best and I want them to pass the exam.

Up to here

We are in june, it´s unbelievable how the time passes so quickly.This year is maybe one of the most productive and intense year I have ever had,I feel like I´m in a rollercoaster:sometimes the trip is fun and exciting, but there are times that it´s frightening and overwhelming.I have to say that I´m quite satisfied about how everything is going, in spite of feeling very tired(physically and mentally).This year I manage to find TIME, I´m learning how to organize myself to do all the things I have to.I think that having too much pressure for doing all the task we should to pass this last year(hopefully)of our teaching career have developed a huge sense of responsibility on me;I really feel anxious and uncomfortable when I don´t do the things I should.This year I´m doing my teaching practices as well, and I have to say that this task is very demanding. The worst part of the job is to plan lessons: it´s too much work,you have to think in everything and find material to work with.However, the good part is when you are actually practicing,teaching in front of a class,it´s really fulfilling.Concerning writing on this blog,I learnt how to concentrate and focused on what I am doing,in spite of the noise of the kids playing games in the cyber and the connection problems. I would like to have more time and money to go to the jornadas and courses,because I really like going there and learn more.In what my private life concerns, everything is o.k now, after some problems with a member of my family.My relationship with my girlfriend is great, I feel very well being with her and I love her very much(sorry about the silly arguments,I think we are still getting to know each other).One thing that I really miss so much is spending more time with my friends and going out with time,I think that in this winter holidays we will go out somewhere.I also miss playing music, though sometimes I find the time to listen to some of my favourite albums,but it´s not the same(I want to play my guitar!!!)This was a kind of very short summary of what happened this year up to here, I have nothing to complain.

Snapshots

My town in a chilly and foggy morning;
a glowing sun up in the sky;
the first seconds after waking up;
the smell of coffee;
the way you smile while you look at me;
the summer nights;
the strings and wires;
my mother´s meals;
a picture of my father;
the children´s laughs;
the great feeling that I have something to believe in;
the friday night´s meetings;
the long way to home;
the nerves,the joy,the illusion;
the excitement of waiting for you;
a crowd cheering;
a good choice,the broken promises;
the fear sometimes;
an old book;
my voice touching your ears;
the everyday struggle;
the tears,the understanding,the things to come;
a hope,a trip,a new start;
the secrets,the things untold;
the trees,the moon,the wind;
your jokes,your voice on the telephone;
the kites,the toys,my guitar;
the long goodbyes;
to be alive;
all is here
forever.

Dear Hyde(revised version)

I think that we are not only one person,we are several people according to our mood and our mental state.Sometimes we try to show or best side of ourselves to others, because we all have this fear of being rejected by society,of being an outcast. So, in order to be part of the society you have to play its game and adapt to its rules. It is the only way to have a good and plenty life. You have to be a rational human being, you have to respect the others,you have to behave correctly and have well manners, you have to think before saying what you really want to say in order to not hurting people. However,this is not so easy to accomplish.There are times when we cannot manage our feelings, and the darkest side of our nature comes to light. This is when our Mr Hyde appears, and he is not very nice. Ladies and gentleman, let me introduce to you my own Mr.Hyde. Some people think that i am a quiet young man,nice to talk to and very funny sometimes; people use to trust in me a lot, and they are open with me when they have to tell me about their problems or their secrets. However, now I am willing to show you my other self. Hyde sometimes appears when something is out of control, when I cannot get things or those times when everything seems to fail or to turn out as I haven´t expected. He tends to swear a lot,looking in his vocabulary the most ofensive and disonant words that spanish language can have(it is good to swear in your mother tongue.He also will hit things eg:doors, chairs, tables, remote controls, guitars and other objects,it doesn´t matter their value or price) My own Hyde is a very nasty person, always willing to hurt people with his words and irony(a very corrosive one)or to think they are fools and that he is much better than them(let´s face it,sometimes when we are angry we tend to think in this stupid way). The only way to calm down my mr. Hyde is to lock myself in my room,listen to quiet music and rest in my bed until he is gone. Hyde appears depending on the time of the year, when I feel that I am stress out and there is so much pressure on me, he comes out in the most violent way. There are times that he stays for a long time, unwilling to go away and disappear, sometimes he doesn´t appear for several weeks or months, and I have to say
that I don´t really miss him at that times. I think he is like a powerful and deadly weapon,because he can turn my world into dust in a little while.Fortunately,now I know how to control him. He is not a very good fellow,you know.

MTV, what happened?

Back to 1994(yes,I´m sure it was that year, because Kurt Cobain had just passed away)I remember how excited I was to watch MTV,the most important channel of music that broadcasted video clips the whole day.I was just a teenager, crazy about music and Rock, learning how to play the guitar(although at that time I had a spanish guitar and I wanted a electric guitar, which my father gave me as a present three years later).I remember that it was a good moment for Rock music,in spite of Kurt Cobain´s death and the future of Grunge was not very good.At that time Britpop was the next big thing in music, with excellent bands such as Oasis,Pulp,Radiohead,Blur and Supergrass and many others.I remember sitting the whole weekend watching videos and concerts, jumping all over my living room listening to "Basket Case" by Green day,or being in love with Alanis Morissette and got sentimental with The Cranberries.God!that was a really good time,my adolescence.I was the king in my own land,music was my pride and joy...but what happened with this channel that was part of my years as a teenager.Nowadays if you watch MTV you have to be very lucky to see a video clip, because the vast mayority of the programmes are reality shows,the most stupid ones(just watch Next!).Now it seems that Vj´s have disappeared,the shows are programmed by the viewers and sometimes they are the stars of these shows...concerning music,you will watch the most commercial music ever made, and forget about variety and good taste.If you watch MTV now you will see some videos of Belinda,Teen Angels,Hilary Duff or the so called rebel Avril Lavigne...Do you remember "Unplugged",that superb show in which the greatest rock icons played their songs with acoustic instruments?Forget about it.I used to watch Unplugged every saturday at primetime, and I had the chance to watch the best perfomances ever like the one by Nirvana, Eric Clapton, The Cure or Pearl Jam.It´s shame that this great tv channel has become what it is today,just marketing and lack of quality and soul.

Bad luck,cold days

I had a terrible week, maybe it wasn´t so terrible if you aren`t so dramatic as I am; but these last days I feel like there is a stormy cloud over my head. Everything I do or say seems to be wrong, I don´t know why. Maybe I tend to exagerate when something bad happens to me, maybe these things that happened were not so bad. I have to face it, I´m a nervous person who is unable to control my anxiety and I loss control when something, even the smallest thing,goes wrong.I wasn´t in a very good mood these days, and to add more problem I have a cold now due to these so fucking cold days.I love winter and cold, but NOT SO COLD.
I´m very worried about a lot of things and angry with people(people who are in a higher level than me, people who have THE power)because they seem to make things difficult.I hate burocracy and all that shit,I hate people´s lack of respect for the other,I hate the fact that someone who is more"powerful" than you can just treat over you,and the only thing you are able to do is to low your head and say"yes, you are right".Sorry if I`m being rude,but life is unfair,I´m not saying this for my myself but for everyone.I don´t know,I guess I have to calm down and laugh about it,laugh when everything seems to go wrong.I have to put into practice what I wrote about sense of humour,it´s good for me.Maybe I´m so dramatic,yeah that´s right, I´m being too dramatic.You have to be like Hemingway said: Grace under pressure.Keep your dignity, try to control things.Sometimes I think I´m so ridiculous,I´m a quite peculiar characther.Don´t take me so seriously.I have to say that I like writing this blog,I think I can express myself without boundaries, I feel free to say what I want the way I want to say it,though it sound silly or ridiculous.Sorry if you read this and don´t understand a word,but it was a release.