Who drinks alcohol here and how much?

[Goemon_]

I mostly drink for social purposes.
Around here some people get unfriendly if you don't accept to have a drink with them. And I think there is a good reason for that, because you may not want to drink to avoid revealing your true nature or something. in vino veritas, as the saying goes.
So, I'll accept the drink offer in certain situations. One example would be if this is the first encounter with someone.

 

[Il Matto]

In answer to the thread title question: very little these days. In fact, now that I think about it, I quite naturally became a near teetotaller years ago when I sorted out my diet. Like a few others that have posted on the thread so far, I will occasionally have a glass of wine with a meal in a social situation (quite often with Italians, so, 'What ya gonna do?').

Humberman's podcast on alcohol a few years ago was really good. He mentioned that there are typically 3 different ways people react to alcohol:

1. A mostly negative reaction; flushing, vomitting, nausea, with even smaller amounts.

2. Feeling the effect, but will become tired after a few. Can easily stop drinking when they want.

3. Feeling the effect, but will tend to have a down/crashing sensation if they do not continue to drink more.

This was a good bit of information. I'm happy to say that even in my more 'thirsty' years as a yoot I still would have been firmly in the reaction no. 2 camp.
As to whether alcohol could be a medicine, I'm not sure. I understand that its objectively a poison that the body works hard to break down and get rid as quickly as possible, but that said, it seems to me that at least some of our response to alcohol is dependent on our spiritual state before we partake. Some people really do unleash their inner demons when they drink, for instance.

As Ark took a shot of Whiskey to block some attacks, i think if taken too much, it becomes the attack, it doesn't block the doors anymore, it does the opposite. Just a theory.

I've wondered about that advice from the C's and came to the tentative conclusion that their recommendation was specific to Ark in that specific circumstance (I believe the shot was to be taken after some vigorous exercise?). However, I'm open to the suggestion that a shot of whisky does something to aid in blocking attacks.
Just as an aside: if I recall accurately, Ouspensky describes Gurdjieff as consistently drinking Armagnac in their early meetings in ISOTM with no apparent negative effects.

 

[Oxajil]

I generally only drink a bit of champagne or maybe white wine at special/rare occasions, maybe once or twice a year. Alcohol makes me tired and I'm not a big fan of the taste, and red wine gives me headaches. I guess it's not for me!