I believe that human life is an avenue for the universe to become aware of itself. There are several forms of life, but they still appear bound by the rules of nature. On the other hand, humans have the freedom to make decisions that may not be in accordance with our natural tendencies.

We must acknowledge this gift. Our ability to choose against the natural inclination to pursue sensory pleasures is unique.

This ability to discriminate against our natural tendencies becomes more pronounced with the evolution of intellect. Highly evolved people eventually stop getting swayed by external temptations. They find it progressively easier to have a say over their thoughts and feelings.

It is better to hone this skill by avoiding indulgence that removes this ability to discriminate. Indulgence in any habit-forming substances which induce intoxication or suppress the intellect appears counterproductive towards the evolution of intellect.

I consider indulgence in alcohol to be one of the worst substances for the intellect. It chemically works to break down any ability to discriminate, setting you back on your journey of evolution.

In the short term, alcohol – depending on how much of it is consumed – reduces the ability to discriminate and enables you to do things you regret when you wake up the following day. In the long term, it severely corrodes your ability to make proactive decisions by crossing the blood-brain barrier and degenerating the myelin sheath in the brain (among other numerous physiological damages it causes to the body).

Furthermore, alcoholics tend to start reacting explosively to externalities. As their system starts relying on an external substances to deal with mental strain such as stress and anxiety, they start losing the neural ability to self-regulate and calm themselves from such strains.

Alcohol appears to be anxiolytic by making one feel relieved from mental strains. But upon understanding that the way alcohol does this is by corrupting the neural capacity to think for itself, it becomes evident that alcohol is, in fact, quite anxiogenic in the long term. As the effects of alcohol fade away, stress and anxiety return to the brain – which now has a reduced ability to resolve the stress and anxiety on its own.

After understanding this, I don’t see any reason to indulge in alcohol and perpetuate a pattern into a downward spiral of cognitive devolution. In my understanding, alcohol is not conducive for those on a journey towards living a more evolved life.