From someone who has been chasing highs for their entire life, it took a long time to figure out which ones were worthwhile and sustainable. From the vast range I’ve all but experimented with, I’ve had to learn to sequester this chronic desire in order to normalize my dopamine and serotonin production and to begin reprogramming this behavior. Experiencing a “high” is tantamount with experiencing pleasure, but is typically short lived. Consequently, false exercises of gratification, such as drug and alcohol abuse, addictions to social media, video games or television, gambling or shopping, food, and sex manifest easily for heedless individuals. At some point, the central nervous system discharged a signal that keeps people coming back for more until a habit and craving is formed. The ease of access and availabilty for some of these vices, all at once with prolonged experiences of fast pleasure doesn’t make one weak or defective. In most cases, dependencies are readibly established by virtue of biological pitfalls (triune brain, mechanisms of action) and many other uncontrollable factors like environment and predisposed genetics. In also a few cases, disregard and philistinism, sometimes ignorance, is the transgressor. One of the goals we want to achieve with Solaria Chip is to facilitate prosperity by sharing knowledge and ideas that often challenge the prevailing societal adaptations of complacency and even worse, degeneracy.

Today, I got up at 5 and started my morning out by getting high, but for the first time in years I did it without being under the influence, aside from the bit of caffeine in my cup of coffee. I wrote down 3 goals, spent an hour strength training, 15 minutes running, then took a cold shower and ate a few muffins for breakfast while I played around in Python. I worked on a few Spanish lessons at lunch, wrote part of this article, then spent the rest of my day hacking away at my set goals. I got ice cream after dinner because it was so hot but it gave me the energy to finish this post. Two rewards in one. Whatever you choose to put in your body and do to it is your business and no one else’s. Just as some drugs affect people differently and alcohol tolerance scales, preferences vary as much as prerogatives. There yet remains an all-purpose elucidation of ecstasy, and it’s unlikely that we may ever arrive at a proven panacea even as human expectancy increases.

Nevertheless, in my hunt for highs I’ve distinguished the most potent below:

✵ Experience awe
The great outdoors, points of interest and the Wonders of the World, adventure, are out there. Further yet, the cosmos has been made known to us through instruments that allow us to gaze at light years of exquisite expanse and peer back in time. The Hubble Space Telescope turns 33 years old and continues adding to the 1.6 million observations that produce the stunning photos inspiring people like me, to chase the high of discovery.

NGC 1333, located in the Perseus molecular cloud, births new stars between hydrogen clumps and dust filaments. Image courtesy of NASA, ESA, and STScI 🙌

✵ Do something terrifying
Fear provokes catacholamine synthesis in the adrenal gland that regulate adrenaline (epinephrine), noradrenaline (norepinephrine), and dopamine production. Physiologically, the heart rate accelerates and the major organs receive more blood, pupils dilate, essentially priming response in a state of fight-or-flight. Our sense of danger is regulated by the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, so tolerance levels will vary among individuals and requires some experimentation.

As a horror aficionado and occasional gamer, I’m thrilled during a ghost hunt in Phasmophobia or when I’m getting chased by a killer in Dead by Daylight. I have rowdy impulses, so I always seek out the mosh pit circles in concerts where I’m often fighting for my life, usually against men more than a foot taller. I love cliff-diving, but have had to scale it back a few times in Santa Cruz where the waters are rough and I also experienced the fear of becoming exhausted as I struggled to climb back up and repeatedly smashed into the rocks. When venturing into potential hazards, it is critical to assess all risks in order to fully enjoy it.

✵ Listen to music
In How the Mind Works, cognitive scientist Steven Pinker asserts music as an evolutionary and psychological adaptation, likening it to an “auditory cheesecake, an exquisite confection crafted to tickle the sensitive spots of at least six of our mental faculties”. Citing Pinker in his book, psychologist Daniel Levitin This Is Your Brain on Music presents the effects of music to have a profound impact on memory and well-being. Brain imaging reveals activation in almost every part of the brain, beginning at the subcortical structure, or the brain stem, to the hippocampus with the ability to simultaneously evoke a range of emotions or memories. I enjoy almost all genres and also take a great effort to discover new music constantly and develop my taste.

✵ Cook or bake a favorite meal
The sensory experience of taste, or gustation, is closely linked to emotions.

I don’t cook often, but I started baking banana muffins regularly. I audibly moan every time I take the first bite when they’re fresh out of the oven. It’s not exactly a cheesecake, but nailing the recipe is more than enriching enough from all the effort I put into making it and having it turn out well. Get good at cooking or baking one of your favorite foods. I have a serious sweet tooth, so any baked good would still probably do. And opposed to a highly processed and palatable Oreo (my kryptonite), I’m satiated physically and mentally by developing this skill.

Create more than you consume. Chocolate Chips are my favorite. In the previous batch, I added opium poppy 😉

✵ Laughter
Laughter releases dopamine. Other benefits include an improved immune function and cardiovascular health, increased pain tolerance, reduction of stress and anxiety, noted in the guide A Better High by psychologist Matt Bellace. His book is addresses the youth and encourages them to explore all the ways to find natural highs as they navigate the greater world of drugs and alcohol.

✵ Set goals and meet them
A pattern emerges here: produce dopamine. When we achieve our goals, the brain transmits dopamine, leaving us with positive reinforcement and the momentum to make further progress. This may be the most difficult and nebulous way to achieve a high out there, because everyone’s goals and approaches look different. But the sheer act of setting a goal, is enough to exercise the brain’s neuroplasticity in order to process emotions, problem solve, and maintain focus according to a study in the Behaviorial and Cognitive Neuroscience Reviews. While setting smaller goals plays into the reward-repeat dopamine system, emotions play a role in finding the determination to achieve bigger, loftier goals. Try one, or both, and experiment. Start today, and be high for a lifetime.