If Dionysus were a neurotransmitter…
Ⓒ By Jonathan Roseland |
Dionysus was the Greek god of…
Wine
Fertility
Ritual madness
Religious ecstasy
To the sensible modern Western mind, one of the six words listed above may seem a little out of place — Religious. When we hear the word religious, almost invariably we think sobering thoughts; we reflect on our personal experiences with these institutions and systems of morality.
Since I recently visited Istanbul, when I hear "religious" I think of soaring iconic architecture looming over a city and the melodic call to prayer that can be heard everywhere reminding people of their religious duties. The one thing we seldom associate with religion is partying — hedonism, fun, and intoxicating pleasure. This was not so for the religious followers of Dionysus in the pre-Christian Greek world. They pursued a state of ekstasis — which is where we get our word ecstasy from. A Dionysian ceremony would be something like a cross between an ayahuasca ceremony, an evangelical worship service, a rave in a Berlin nightclub, an improv club, and a swingers' party.
A modern-day Biohacker will recognize that the followers of Dionysus were quintessential flowhackers… They combined several classic gateways to flow…
Religious worship
Theatrical performance in front of others (social pressure)
Dancing
Intoxicating drink or drugs
Sex
Luckily nowadays you can party like a Dionysiac without getting wasted on wine, hungover (or pregnant!)
A Dionysus stack would consist of…
- Phenibut — To pleasantly intoxicate you, make you social, and uninhibited, and make listening to music all the more enjoyable.
- Rhodiola — To take the edge off any lingering social anxiety, lift your mood, and physically stimulate you to dance all night long.
- Schisandra — This is synergistic with Rhodiola and anecdotally stimulates runner high, aka flowstate.
- Dark Chocolate, Caffeine, and Cinnamon — Which in combination further stimulate flowstate.
- Horny Goat Weed — Fires up your libido (even for the fairer sex) and is a potent sensation enhancer. I’d drink it as a tea and share it with a friend (or two!)
- Nicotine — Stimulates your cognition to make you verbose, creative, and witty for about 90 minutes.
I would not combine all these things unless I wanted to party until the sun came up! This stack is not all that dissimilar from what I was on at the loco all-night-long Noche de San Juan beach party in Valencia, Spain once upon a time.
Usually, I don’t recommend combining Nootropics with alcohol but adding a few drinks (or some wine for Dionysus) to this cocktail would not be significantly less healthy or riskier than garden variety social drinking.
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