The God you find in the pub
When we drink with someone, we not only have the bonding experience of mutual enjoyment, but also come together in mutual vulnerability. When you are drunk, you’re easy to kill. When you’re staggering home, narrowly avoiding lampposts, it’s easy to steal your phone, your wallet, and your jacket. To be drunk with someone is an act of trust. It says,
... See moreBig Think • The “Intoxication Thesis”: The Evolutionary Benefits of Getting Drunk
I found that on the days after I drank even more than the usual amount, which often happened Saturday nights, I felt more intensely, and felt drawn to hear people talk about God. That feeling of the lingering drunkenness made everything feel loose, loose and without weight, like a cloud with no rain being moved by the wind. I’d let the sermon, the
... See moreTommy Orange • Wandering Stars
Inebriation softens the connection between the spiritual and the material; easing the weight of Being in the material, but a risky path to tread it can lead to disconnection and disillusionment;
Second, there is the creative aspect of being drunk. This isn’t (just) about Lennon and McCartney getting high and writing “Strawberry Fields Forever”; this is about the thinking-outside-the-box skills we need to survive and thrive. This is how Slingerland put it:
“So, one of the main functions of alcohol is to depress selectively the prefrontal
... See moreBig Think • The “Intoxication Thesis”: The Evolutionary Benefits of Getting Drunk
The Greeks knew that the more rational we usually are, the more important it is—at points—to fling ourselves around to the wild rhythms of pipes and drums. At the festivals of Dionysus, held in Athens in March every year, even the most venerable and dignified members of the community would join in with unrestrained dancing that, irrigated by
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