Stoned Age Man?

[enlightenment]

Originally Posted by Pathless

Well, absolutely.

I also think that we as humans are able to heighten our senses in other ways, like through chant, ecstatic dance, meditation/prayer, and even diet.

The idea of shapeshifting is also an interesting concept, and one that's related to this idea of heightening senses or tuning them in to animal (and plant) frequenices, if you will. I can't say that I believe that a human can physically shift into an animal body, but I can stretch my imagination to believe that humans can psychologically shift our awareness to that of a coyote, lion, owl, cricket, earthworm, or whatever else. Some may be more accessible to certain individuals and I would imagine that such shapeshifting would require a great amount of observation and study--immersion if you will in the animal to be emulated. Some animals may lend themselves to this type of observation more readily.

Also, someone who is cultivating these different states of awareness may combine the many different techniques--ritual chanting and dance while experiencing the mushroom consciousness may lend itself to actually merging/shapeshifting into the mushroom body.

I find it interesting that all of these techniques and experiences are linked directly in some way to casting aside the rational mind for a time and plunging into the depths and power of human imagination.

I think it was William James who observed, after ingesting "laughing gas," that consciousness is not fixed, but a point on a continuum. Thinking about this can lead us to all sorts of imagination-fueled speculations about the human species. McKenna often wondered aloud if the ego is a "product of pathology"--that is, is it a kind of sickness? He pointed to the work of a psychologist named Julian Jaynes who theorized "that ancient peoples were not conscious as we consider the term today, and that the change of human thinking occurred over a period of centuries about three thousand years ago." (wikipedia--Julian Jaynes)

More psychedelicious food for thought.

Peace,
Pathless

Great data, thank you.

It sounds as if you know at least what you are speaking of.

I respect this.

Let me ask you to click on this link



Peyote (Lophophora williamsii), San Pedro and Peruvianus cacti



If you scroll down to were it says Pot Porri Cacti, as an experiment, I ordered 60gms of that, and have been told it has to be powdered and then mxed in with a fluid, to consume.

What do you think, the best you can describe, I should be prepared for with this v shrooms, which I am more used to?


Thanks

[Pathless]

chuckles...

Hoooooooodaddy-o. I don't know nothin' 'bout that stuff, but one time I was in Amsterdam and drifted into this "smart drug" shop where the shopkeeper was all bug-eyed and shook my hand enthusiastically, nearly yelling, "Power handshake!!!" He was a wild-eyed Bostonian who loved his drugs and had moved to Amsterdam, apparently to sell and consume. His shop tripped me out because he had big glass refrigerators (basically the kind that gas stations here in the states stock with soda, gatorade, frappucinos, bottled water, and Red-Bull spin-offs) full of vacuum-packed psilocybin mushrooms. He also had little plastic packages of stuff labeled ayhuasca mix, or something to that effect. While I was in there, this one intrepid psychonaut came in there. Apparently the two had talked before, knew each other, and the pusher-man (for that's what he was: a pusher of hallucinogens) excitedly asked him if he was "ready" and reminded him how to prepare ayhuasca--"You've got to boil it good and hard and let it sit there for three days..." or something. I don't remember his instructions per say, but holy kripes! I just stood there, stunned and grinning, my head spinning: "Is this--am I really seeing this??"

Anyhow, that's just a funny story. In another shop I saw a peyote plant potted just like any ornamental houseplant, for sale.

I'm not really the person to ask how you should prepare yourself for what you're planning on doing. If I were you, I would purify and prepare myself through diet, thinking clean and healthy thoughts, journaling, drawing, playing music, and treating everything with utmost compassion. I would probably want to do this for a few months before ingesting anything that is described like this:

The shamans from American tribes would boil up the peruvianus tissue for a few hours, filter and drink, to contact the spirit world and to use in ceremonies.

And I most definitely would not take anything else when I went there with that plant. And I would make sure I felt safe, happy, warm and secure as much as possible, and I would expect to be anxious as all good god getout beforehand, and I would expect to have tummy troubles from that anxiety and also possibly from the plant.

So good luck to you. Walk carefully on the flip side.

[enlightenment]

Thanks,

You know, once when I had a shroom trip that was just too powerful, I managed to negate it by literally sucking on a sliced orange.

In a flash, I was out of it, normal again (sic).

Just wondered if there was a similar method to negate this, if it comes on top a little too heavy...

[Pathless]

Speaking of ayhuasca (as we were, or at least it was mentioned--wasn't it?), here's a way cool video that attempts to present the ayhuasca experience through psychedelic use of CGI.

[Pathless]

More:

Entheogens as cultural rite of passage and catalyst for healing
A quick Terence McKenna rap about DMT (DMT is the isolated and concentrated psychoactive agent in ahyuasca)

[wil]

Originally Posted by Pathless

...and the pusher-man (for that's what he was: a pusher of hallucinogens)....

was he a 'pusher'? Did he push drugs on unsuspecting souls? Since elementary schools I've heard of 'pushers' giving out free samples to get folks hooked and then having them as addicted customers to take advantage of... I've met dealers...folks filling the supply and demand chain...but never a pusher.

[Pathless]

Originally Posted by wil

was he a 'pusher'? Did he push drugs on unsuspecting souls? Since elementary schools I've heard of 'pushers' giving out free samples to get folks hooked and then having them as addicted customers to take advantage of... I've met dealers...folks filling the supply and demand chain...but never a pusher.

Good point, wil. He was not a pusher in that sense. Probably it would be hard to be a pusher of psychedelics, since they are not addictive. I've never met a crack pusher, but it seems like they must be out there.

I guess I used the word "pusher" because he was really enthusiastic about selling these drugs. He was quite a salesman, maybe that is a more accurate term. He was in his shop, not on a street corner, slipping people free mushrooms.

[enlightenment]

Regardless, this man seemed to have a passion for legally selling what grows naturally, something which experiments have shown to be relatively harmless, some would even say beneficial, to people who are, in the main, either experiental and peaceful.

Sounds like a little piece of 'heaven' to me -

In 2005, the UK Government decided to ban the sale of shrooms, and make them a class A drug.

The MDA catergorise drugs based on their levels of addiction, and of course, the number of recorded deaths by consumption.

Shrooms fell into neither category, no matter, they were banned and made Class A anyway.

Meantime, Gordon Brown, probable next PM of the UK, he went on record last week as saying that when it comes to smoking tobacco, it was a matter of personal choice.

Technically, it is tobacco and alchohol that should be a class A drug.

Both fit the criterea that are laid down by the MDA itself.

I wonder why there is this anamoly....

[Pathless]

Originally Posted by enlightenment

In 2005, the UK Government decided to ban the sale of shrooms, and make them a class A drug.

Hey, wow--they were legal to buy in the UK up until 2005??

[enlightenment]

Originally Posted by Pathless

Hey, wow--they were legal to buy in the UK up until 2005??

Yes, of course.

Actually, there are many more that are still legal now, have you ever heard of Salvia? Peyote cactus is legal, as is Peruvian Torch Cacti, etc.

[Pathless]

Thought I'd bump this old gem back up to the top with a quote from sex educator and worker Annie Sprinkle, writing on psychedelics and sex:

"People tend to link "sex and drugs" because both are condemned by society. Nevertheless, throughout the ages human beings have continually searched for more ecstasy, more sexual satisfaction, for solutions to their sexual problems, and for aphrodisiacs. Psychoactive substances have been used in most cultures because they can be keys to unlock the mysteries of life. Of course as each mystery is unraveled, a bunch of new ones appear. Both sex and psychedelics are ultimately about consciousness, about self discovery, and going beyond everyday reality to that magical place--somewhere over the rainbow, where we feel Divine and we experience some truth. Granted, both sex and psychedelic drugs are generally used unconsciously by most people.5 We need to work on that."

From an article entitled "How Psychedelics Informed My Sex Life and Sex Work"

What do people think about this idea of sex bringing about altered states of consciousness? Also, what about the idea of "sacred sex"? How is sexuality linked to spirituality?

Maybe I should have started a new thread for this.

Oh well. Feel free to talk about rock-n-roll as well.

[enlightenment]

Hey, thanks for digging that one up from the archives...

[Pathless]

Sure thing. What're you doing, lurking just behind the browser window?

[enlightenment]

Well, I went to bed at 11 tonight, and woke up again at 3am, as I do, and thought I would just lurk a bit....