heathen, I can't be certain you were indirectly referring to me, but since I was the only one I can see that mentioned sleep-deprivation and mind-altering drugs (other than the person to whom I was responding), I can only assume you were.
If so, I think you missed my point entirely. And for that I apologize. The person I was referring to, parakeet, answered this question:
What kind of proof do you need to believe in mental telepathy?***
with this:
I'd have to be able to read someone's mind without being under the influence of schizophrenia or mind-altering drugs.
to which I responded with:
What if you didn't know you were schizophrenic? Or perhaps you had a chemical imbalance that mimicked a mind-altering drug? Or suffered from sleep-deprivation.
I say this from personal experience with very strong psychadelics. I am able to, with limited success, duplicate some of the perceptual modifications, illusions if you will, without taking any mind-altering drug, as if I were actually on a (very mild) mind-altering drug. You can do this yourself... go on a fast, or go a few days with no sleep, if you want something extreme. You may even provide for yourself more proof, if that's what you're looking for. If I were to do the same thing, I might find more proof for my viewpoint. It depends a lot upon where the focus is.
I was addressing parakeet's specific answer and not encounters with the paranormal in general. I've observed, felt and thought some pretty strange things when I was fairly certain I was not under the influence of any drug or in any way obviously in an altered state. But then again, our perceptions can deceive us at any time. As well, our perceptions may be altered, if even ever so slightly, much more easily than one might imagine.
Also, I don't see how I was in any way insulting.
If you weren't referring to me, ignore this if you like.
