no, really, i did. i am not a caffeine drinker, never really have been, and i'm very sensitive, it makes me spinny and shakey (this time being no exception) but i figured i would use it medicinally today. i didn't sleep well last night, i have been working all day long and it's been very hot and muggy (ugh, humid ontario) and i have to go to parent teacher night tonight (where they will be having a complimentary hotdog barbeque with fake-o popcorn, oh joy). i joined the parents advisory council for the school this year and am making an effort to participate as much as possible with school policy and events as i believe that we are the ONLY vegetarian family at the entire school and, i fear, the only family that follows even a slightly health diet. anyhoo, i feel it's important to go tonight and to be energetic (or at least not falling down tired) so i went next door and bought a small cup of joe and drank half of it.

i gotta say, it's doing the trick. i'm alert, i feel awake, a little twitchy but all in all not too bad. i wouldn't do this regularly or anything (i don't know how people have that stuff for BREAKFAST! my word) but i think it's not so terrible this once in terms of emergency medicine of a sort.

what do you think of using "natural" (it does grow in the earth even though it was burned and then boiled) things that are mostly off your list for medicinal purposes. like coffee, weed, etc. i have been a purist in my life but i just tried something different and it didn't turn out too terrible. i'll have to drink lots of water later on but, meh, so what. that's what happens if i drink a glass of wine or beer too, my water needs go up.

i know that's not optimally healthy, i'm not looking for a debate about that. just wondering if any of you do use things like that and what, why, and how it works for you.

Coco-
Even though I am trying to go raw, I am still smoking and I still eat cooked foods that I have always enjoyed, like red beans and rice, mmmmmm! But I know that these things are unhealthy and they can make me sick, so I don't do it every day, except smoking, which I would really like to quit. And about addictions, as long as you don't make drinking coffee, or smoking cigarettes, or eating unhealthy foods an addiction and you use these things in moderation, then they can be simply pleasures and not horribly destructive vices. This is my opinion.

i wonder though if the cigarettes serve a medicinal purpose, if they can even do that. i know that tobacco was used by indigenous people in sacred ceremonies, if i were partaking in that sort of ceremony i wouldn't turn my nose up at their rituals though i have no desire to ever smoke again! i was a teenage addict too until i turned 20, i am so glad to have shed that ball and chain for good! it owned me.
i wonder if that is part of the reason why i don't have any vices now, i loathed that feeling of being owned by the cigarettes. i hated it so very, very much.

i don't feel the effects of the coffee anymore and there are no residual effects either. i have no desire for any more though! it served it's purpose but it wasn't excessively pleasurable for me.

Coco-
I didn't mean that coffee and cigarettes are always pleasures, I was just saying that you should be able to enjoy yourself, and many people do regard coffee and cigarettes as pleasures. I kind of missed your point about medicinal purposes, but I still think the point, that using coffee in moderation, like as a way to keep you up when you needed to be awake, still holds.
And it does suck to be owned by any object. I used to be addicted to pot and I just recently broke that addiction. But I still feel that as long as a person doesn't let something take over there life then they should be able to use it for any purpose, whether it be pleasure or medicine.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that even an unhealthy action can be taken if you are aware of the consequences and aware that you should regard health and wellbeing as more important. And I think you did do this and you made the right choices.

The negative effects from coffee manifest with long term use and overuse. So it's probably good to think of it as a kind of medicine. Same with weed or same with pretty much any medicine, natural or manufactured. Trying to kick a lifetime (since age 11) coffee habit myself because of GERD.

-DaveK

Hmmm... it is all relative in my opinion. I use bananas, they give me an emotional high
Seriously though.. I could do without. Or at least.. I have noticed that the more nutrition that I get the less I need to eat. If I ate only the things which make me feel the greatest, I reckon I could do without about 50 - 70 % of what I eat... so yeah, I do "use" bananas.

IMO the question realy is, how much do you appreciate what it is that you take and how do you feel about its consequences ? Although the consequences are arguably offset by how you feel anyway.

good luck dave! my mama is a serious addict, she gets bad headaches when she skips her joe. it's sad.

ya cy, i think it was fine. i mean, for me. i know there are tons of people here who are very strict about what they put into their bodies and that they would Never even consider something so terrible as coffee (shoot, green peppers are off many people's lists!). but it was ok this one time. i didn't enjoy it so much as reap the benefit of the effects. but that was what i was after after all.

hmm, interesting lightform. you are in rare form tonight my friend. very reflective i must say



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2008 03:00AM by coco.

Years ago, while still a meat eater- I found the most inspiring people to be calm, balanced, and not hyperactive. I wasn't interested in bug-eyed people, enthusiastically gesturing and chattering... whether trying to make a point or not.

If one is mellow to begin with, and satisfied with their diet and overall energy level, why would one want a stimulant to aid in presenting something false to others?

well, i think i was pretty clear about why i was using it tonight. i am usually a very energetic, active person but i felt wiped out and wanting a nap when really, i had another important thing to do that required more than an hour of my time and focussed attention. i was yawning and nodding off before we left the house for the school, it wasn't happening. the coffee didn't turn me into a bug-eyed babbling false version of a hyper-active me or anything, it just woke me up a little. it wasn't Speed, it was just burned boiled bean water! i could have had tea i suppose but what's the difference? except i would have had to drink the whole cup instead of only half.

anyhow, i did specify that i wasn't after an arguement for why i shouldn't have had the coffee, i'm interested in other people's similar experiences.

Caffeine is a drug, and it also inhibits the bodys ability to aborb
calcium and iron.
A friend told me of a book he read, Spiders On Drugs. Spiders were given ``different drugs, spiders were given heroin, opiates, and spun an even web
when under the drug, THC, the web was interesting and uniform.
methanphetamine the web was very eratic, LSD,intertesting patterns uniform.
Caffeine, The pattern of the web spun on that drug was the most eratic, more so
than methanphetamine. their are uses for all Natural drugs, just not sure for
what with caffeine.

I wonder how many homicides have been related to caffeine overdoses???



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/26/2008 04:06AM by riverhousebill.

riverhousebill Wrote:

>
> I wonder how many homicides have been related to
> caffeine overdoses???


0

hi coco

well i know cacao has some caffeine in it
some people say its not a lot
but to me it is
cuz it gets me wiped out

and anyhow
i know how it goes when u dont get enough sleep
but caffeine from cacao would make me even worse
the best thing for me would be veg juice

it helps to calm me down center me and give me enough energy

i know
i say it all the time
but its true
its kind of a constant for me

hope u get enough rest

rest is good

i just got caught up on some sleep

and i feel better now

i think i had lot of things going on

like a long time friend moving away

i hate it when friends move away

so far far far away

and the only way u can see them is to blow of a jillion bucks and go through some
jet lag just to say hullo

so... yeah, things like that

were on my mind

feeling a bit melancholy

anyhow

i got some sleep

feeling better

g luck with u

whatever works

Hey Veronique!

I'm sorry to hear about your friend moving away, that is really sad, but I'm glad you're feeling better. {Hug}

Suz