Nature is good but isn't necessary to trip.

The first time I took LSD was under less than ideal conditions. It was in high school... and I mean during school hours my junior year. It was 1988. Yes, stupid and irresponsible I know but it was a great experience.

I only took 1/3 of a tab... a friend had it and we split the tab between three of us. Coincidentally there was a field trip that day for Jr's and Sr's and I had not turned in my permission slip and so didn't get to go. I suppose that's how I justified taking LSD in school to myself. Everyone else was already gone on a trip so....

The friend who had the LSD was a "bad kid" and was in in school suspension so he went to sit under out of class supervision all day. The other friend got on the bus and went off on the field trip. I went to mostly empty classes.

I had guitar class that semester. The class was mostly freshmen and sophomores with shag hair aspiring to be the next Metallicas and Iron Maidens. They were a pretty wild group. I on the other hand was outwardly at least pretty studious and responsible and respectful of authority.

The class had a sub teacher that day because the regular teacher was chaperoning the field trip. So there wasn't a real lesson... just a bunch of amateur Bevis and Butthead antics while the sub teacher read a magazine and I sat in the back watching the whole thing with a godlike sense of enlightenment. At one point one of the kids wadded up a paper and threw at the sub hitting her in the head. I didn't see who it was but did see the paper hit her. So she flips out and starts yelling. And I'm trying not to burst out laughing. Not because she got hit by a paper, but because of the utter ridiculousness of the whole situation. Here we all were, on a little ball of mud in infinite time and space and we don't have anything better to do but sit in a room wasting limited time and acting up and throwing papers and get upset when we get hit by a papers. And that's what life in society was... silly monkeys acting out because they didn't understand the deeper implications of existence. And now I knew how trivial it all was and it was entertaining to watch.

So the sub gets really mad and calls in the assistant principal. He come in and says "OK, who threw the paper?". No one speaks up. I'm just grinning away in the back at the petty foolishness of the whole thing. He sees me and singles me out.

(principal)
- "Who threw the paper?"

(me)
-"I didn't see who threw the paper"

(principal)
-"Ok... if you don't tell me who threw the paper you will get detention"

(me)
"If you have come to a place in your existence that it is your destiny to give me detention, than I will take the detention, but I did not see who threw the paper".

At this the assistant principal stops and does a double take. He pauses for like 30 seconds completely confused and bewildered (and briefly wondering about his destiny). But he can't back down so he gives me three days detention. So I tell him "I accept that this is who you are and this is what you feel you must do, but it does not in any way affect who I really am". At this he does another double take, gawks for a bit and then leaves the room.

Later he comes up to me at lunch and apologies for his anger and rescinds the detention. And he is looking at me like I'm some kind of strange wizard or something. I just smile and say ok, fine and keep eating my lunch.

I never looked at the social/organizational aspects of school the same again. I also never took LSD in school again. I'm in my 40's now and even though I did have other experiences later I haven't for nearly two decades and wouldn't take LSD at this point. I'm not against it.. I just wouldn't take it. I don't think I need to. I have gotten out of it what I think I can... some useful, some maybe not so useful and honestly I have zero interest in exploring it any further. Sorry for the long post. I think the original point is that sometimes being in a normal situation under the influence of LSD can give you a whole new perspective that is actually more truthful. It breaks the layer the mind puts on reality and you have no choice but to see a more objective view of the situation. It's certainly not reliable though and a lot of confusion results sometimes in people thinking things that aren't really so. And sometimes you mind needs to put a layer over reality for you to function. Just my opinions.