In late 2019, I first contextualized the term "endocannabinoids". I was writing a series of texts on CBD, a cannabis extract, when I suddenly realized what endocannabinoids meant – "endo" means internal and cannabinoids provide psychic insight and pleasure. Therefore, we don't need weed because we've already got internal systems that can provide us with the exact same or even more potent substances. So, how come this system isn't working?
We eventually give up on our internal happiness systems and start relying on material things and events to give us a jolt of excitement and thrill, but that requires money and soon fades away. This artificial cycle of work->get money->spend on thrills->work keeps the entire global economy going. Without this reliance on external stimuli, you simply aren't a receptive enough target for advertising.
My theory says that we can effectively unplug from this consumerist system and be happy 24/7, without needing any external stimuli, such as coffee, alcohol or narcotics. In fact, I'll go even further and say that this is our natural state, one which we are born in and which constantly tries to provide us happiness we need and deserve. So, why isn't our endocannabinoid system working?
The human mind is incredibly powerful and can produce thoughts and thought patterns without us even realizing what's happening. In one of my favorite experiments, the rubber hand illusion, volunteers are made to believe a rubber hand placed on the table is their actual hand, which the presenter than slams with a mallet, causing the volunteer to flinch as if though their hand was actually hit. This experiment neatly proves that, to our brain, the expectation of pain is the same as real pain. What we expect is what we experience, regardless of what's happening.
If you've been repeatedly told that there's no happiness to be found anywhere and that the only jolts of pleasure are obtainable through material stimuli, and especially if you've been shown this in practice, you're liable to pick it up and become one of these happy consumers that can only feel any pleasure when buying new stuff. So, who would ever tell you this and why?
In June 2019, I moved to a new apartment at the very top of a 3-story building, meaning I often encountered other tenants on the stairs. I quickly learned why so many people refuse to talk to one another in an apartment complex – they all hate each other's guts. One evening, I was going up the stairs and encountered an apparently kind grandpa with a hat and a walking cane ambling down. I greeted him and asked if he's going to watch Partizan-Manchester United 2nd leg of Europa League tonight, at which point this rickety old man showed such hostile behavior with just his body language, eye movement and one sentence: "I don't watch that crap".
That event left me frozen and reeling as I realized just how many people are brimming with negativity at the entire world and, if you try to talk to them and get them to open, they will spill it all at you. It doesn't matter what you said or what happened, it's all just an excuse to burst out with negativity like a hellish geyser. I always thought people in my immediate familial surroundings had trouble until I realized the same can be said for nearly everyone around me. So many people are miserable and want everyone else to be just as miserable as they are; you simply can't talk to them and share your happiness, you can only lose it.
I encountered the seething grandpa once or twice since and just turned my head away. It's ironic how I was turning into another one of those people who have to hate others but there's simply no way to make such seething personalities pleasant. The only thing I can do is keep my distance.
What I was happy with was that, no matter how negative the experience, at least I had the freedom to walk on and live my life; people actually marry these kinds of personalities. Why would you ever put yourself through decades of such torture? What kind of insanity makes people spend time with negative personalities that impact their psyche and ultimately shut down their endocannabinoid systems? What do you think this kind of companionship does to your health?
Cannabinoids, CBD in particular, are being investigated by scientists for potential health benefits. In one study titled "Concomitant Treatment of Malignant Brain Tumours With CBD - A Case Series and Review of the Literature", scientists wanted to see the survival rates of patients with a lethal form of brain cancer, glioblastoma multiforme. Each patient was given 400mg of CBD a day, extending their survival way beyond what was expected from people in their circumstances. The conclusion of the study says: "This is longer than what would have been expected".
If CBD can have such positive effects on our body, it stands to reason our endocannabinoids can do something similar or even more powerful. To trigger their release, we need to gradually clear our immediate environment from all the negative influences that constantly try to convince us happiness has to come in short bursts through material stimuli. We don't need to break off all contact with these influences but simply distance ourselves from them.
It's hard to distance yourself from negativity, since it seems to be everywhere. Turn on the news and you'll likely hear about gruesome events and vile characters that you can do nothing about. In my opinion, this is by design as it makes you more reliant on external stimuli, making advertisements coming before or after these news that much more impactful. You can eventually become addicted to this combo of negative relays and advertisements, turning you into a happy little consumer.
The antidote to this overwhelming negativity is in classical works, such as art, music and writing. There's a reason why some of these things have survived and keep on surviving for centuries – they actually dispel the negativity in us, so find those you enjoy and relish them.
It's not all gloom and doom out there; I'm certain there are positive personalities, but if we try to find them in our negative or half-negative state, we'll simply ruin them just like the seething old grandpa tried to ruin me. At this point, I'd like to cite one of my favorite poems from Milorad Pavić's fantastic book "The dictionary of the Khazars":
Sometimes past springs, full of warmth and scent, bloom once more in us. And we carry them through today's winter, shielding them with our chest. And then, one day, those springs start shielding our chest from frost when we find ourselves on the other side of the window where frost is no longer just an image. One of these springs in me has been lasting for nine winters, yet it's still keeping me warm. Now imagine, in today's winter, two such springs touching one another like two meadows with scents. That's what we need instead of a cloak...
The match between Partizan and Manchester United held on 24-Oct-2019 ended 0:1, with a goal scored by Martial in 43' from a penalty kick.