Critical listening and altered states

@hilde45 

It’s been many decades since I listened to music stoned and back then, I had neither the interest in this hobby nor the requisite $. The music did seem to be more vivid than when I listened without "enhancements", but I was not engaged in critical assessment mode at the time. 

I did combine drugs with drawing and creative writing, back then, and what I typically found was that next day, the drawings and poems were not nearly as original or interesting as they’d seemed while under the influence.  

I tend to regard thinking as generally an either/or proposition -- dominated by either left or right brain in a given moment. This may be erroneous. I’m not a scientist. I’m trying to imagine a chemically-induced state in which one’s awareness is both freed from habitual assumptions yet still capable of reliable perceptions/judgments and I'm not able to do so. Such a state would seem more easily accomplished via meditation. But that doesn’t mean it’s not possible; simply that my experience hasn’t extended in that direction.  

@mahgister 

Music absorption or immersion cannot coexist with a state of acoustic stress or dissatisfaction...

I can’t argue with this but I’m confused about how "absorption" relates to "altered states as related to what @hilde45  stated at the beginning of the thread:

Ok, this is not a question about relaxing, but about listening to evaluate how the system (or a piece of gear is sounding). 

In other words, can one evaluate a system's sonics while in an altered state that is not absorption? 

@newton_john 

@hilde45  specifically connects altered states with evaluation of sonics, rather than "relaxation". Your characterization of absorption would seem to suggest these are incompatible.  This is what I don’t understand.

I certainly can't fully give myself up to the music while simultaneously engaging in critical analysis. Perhaps others can.

@hilde45 

I guess what it boils down to is simply the fact that I'm not experienced in utilizing substances in precise doses to achieve what you describe; hence my difficulty grasping your meaning.

I don't know to whom you were referring in terms of a "need to talk" that is "more emotional than rational".  My frames of reference for examining awareness tend to be meditation and art-making, rather than utilization of substances, although, decades ago, like many of my peers, I did my share of experimentation with chemically-alteted states

@mahgister 

Thanks for your comments.

"Each perception can be a creative act" ... I'm going to have to muse on that one! 

@newton_john 

Even just listening to music for some people is sufficient to induce altered states of consciousness. No stimulants are needed.

Sure. Perhaps I misunderstand, but it seems to me, this would be evident to most here. Isn’t this, after all,why music lovers listen? 

Musical absorption is being in altered states of consciousness. As I posted above in the words of AI.

OK, but there are many flavors of altered states.

@hilde45 

"Small doses" was actually what I meant by "precise".  I never assumed you were talking about getting wasted. Having read your posts for years, that never occurred to me. 

@mahgister 

Thanks for expanding on the topic of "perception as a creative act". 

Now, another question:

I knew my acoustical optimization of my AKG K340 hibryd was done well when i cranked up the highs  with tone controls and equalization because the violin sound  was enebriating like an angelic silk thread..

I’m confused. I know you are as aware as I am that a violin, in person, can sound very strident -- quite the opposite of "angelic".  So, why offer this as evidence of having optimized your headphones "well"? 

I’d just like to say, I find this thread a very stimulating discussion. Much more interesting than talking about gear, although I recognize that has its place. 

@mahgister 

On my K340 it is celestial syrup of the most ethereal kind...Like a set of  colors distillation at the limit of the visible spectrum flowing and flying ...

@mahgister 

Oh, my aging brain!  ;o/

I didn't intend to post such an incomplete (and possible cryptic) message. 

What I mean to to ask was whether you view "sweetness of tone" as inherent to the violin and regard any stridency as an artifact of poor audio performance or whether you have deliberately configured your headphone system to present a "sweeter" tonality simply because it's what you prefer, esthetically.