Why We Get High by Bruce Eisner Island Web: A New Culture Inspired by Aldous Huxley

Human beings it seems, are born with the need for periodic variations in consciousness. The behavior of young children supports this idea.

Infants rock themselves into blissful states, many children discover that whirling or spinning is a powerful technique to change awareness, some also experiment with hyperventilation (rapid deep breathing) followed by mutual chest squeezing or choking, and tickling to produce paralyzing laughter. Even though these practices may produce some uncomfortable results such as dizziness or nausea, the whole experience is so reinforcing that children do it again and again, often despite parental objections.

Since children all over the world engage in these activities, the desire to change consciousness does not seem to be a product of a particular culture but rather to arise from something basic. As children grow older they find that certain available substances put them in similar states. The attractiveness of drugs is that they provide an easy quick route to these experiences.

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