The message of the mushroom, by Terrence Mckenna

[DarkColoredLight]

I appreciate you saying that you only have personal experience to back this up, but I take serious issue with this. "Apes do not know what love is?" If they don't, then none of us do.

 

It's hard enough to define and quantify love, let alone list things that do and do not experience it.

 

 

Cheers. :lightning

 

I can agree that none of us do. Because I'm under the impression that we get reflections of love, rather than feel love from the source.

 

Love has been defined as 4 different things: (1)Love of a feeling, (2)Love of physical beauty/material, (3)Love of metaphysical beauty/ego, and (4)Love of family, brethern, homo sapian kind.

 

My elaboration would like like:

1: Sex, Drugs, and Rock n Roll. I would like to add food to this cliche. Love of right now.

2: Lust, Materialistic, Collector. Love of accomplishment.

3: Ideas, Visions, Politician. Love of potential.

4: Big Picture, Empire Builder. Love of love.

 

 

I can only assume that apes had the first half of love, then homo sapians are now, and have been, learning about the second half. My only support for this is the second half is dependant on the use of language, symbols, tools, and innovation. I can't say what species does or doesn't have these qualities, but at the same time I already did.

 

This is steadily growing as a passion for me, so if anyone has some extra elite sites that may give me more insight on the matter, they would be MUCH appreciated.

 

I'll shut the h3ll up about the whole thing because imcomplete ideas+derailed thread+no one cares about love anyway=bad news for me.

 

Nice life,

anti-DarkColoredLight

[neuroflux]

thoughts from Terrrence Mckenna,,,,,

 

The experience that engulfs one's entire being as one slips beneath the surface of the DMT-ecstacy feels like the penetration of a membrane. The mind and the self literally unfold before one's eyes. There is a sense that one is made new, yet unchanged, as if one were made of gold and had just been recast in the furnace of one's birth. Breathing is normal, heartbeat steady, the mind clear and observing. But what of the world? What of incoming sensory data?

 

Under the influence of DMT, the world becomes an Arabian labyrinth, a palace, a more than possible Martian Jewel, vast with motifs that flood the gaping mind with complex and wordless awe. Color and the sense of a reality nearby pervade the experience. There is a sense of other times, and of one's own infancy, and of wonder, wonder, and more wonder. It is an audience with the alien nuncio. In the midst of this experience, apparently at the end of human history, guarding the gates that seem surely to open on the howling maelstrom of the unspeakable emptiness between the stars, is the Aeon.

 

The Aeon, as Heraclitus presciently observed, is a child at play with colored balls. Many diminutive beings are present there—the tykes, the self-transforming machine elves of hyperspace. Are they the children destined to be father to the man? One had the impression of entering an ecology of souls that lies beyond the portals of what we naively call death. I do not know. Are they the synesthetic embodiment of ourselves as the Other, or of the Other as ourselves? Are they the elves lost to us since the fading of the magic light of childhood? Here is a tremendum barely to be told, an epiphany beyond our wildest dreams. Here is the realm of that which is stranger than we can suppose. Here is the mystery, alive, unscathed, still as new for us as when our ancestors lived it fifteen thousand summers ago. The tryptamine entities offer the gift of new language; they sing in pearly voices that rain down as colored petals and flow through the air like hot metal to become toys and such gifts as gods would give their children. The sense of emotional connection is terrifying and intense. The Mysteries revealed are real and if ever fully told will leave no stone upon another in the small world we have gone so ill in.

 

This is not the mercurial world of the UFO, to be invoked from lonely hilltops; this is not the siren song of lost Atlantis wailing through the trailer courts of crack-crazed America. DMT is not one of our irrational illusions. I believe that what we experience in the presence of DMT is real news. It is a nearby dimension—frightening, transformative, and beyond our powers to imagine, and yet to be explored in the usual way. We must send fearless experts, whatever they may come to mean, to explore and to report on what they find.

 

Terence McKenna - Food of the Gods

[DarkColoredLight]

I haven't got that far in the book, but I will.

[Phileas Fogg]

Terrence Mckenna

 

Ah... Yesterday I was so shocked about this discussion, that I didn't know what think. So, I gave it a break. In general, I dislike... I hate drugs. I do not believe there are "good drugs". It's coming from experience; I've seen people going that way to ashtray.

 

I was also thinking, that the drugs we have been discussing here, DMT, psilocybin, - are hard drugs, and I don't know about your countries, but they are illegal here in Finland. And I think rightly so. I don't believe in anarchy.

 

I was thinking about this person, Terrence Mckenna. To me, he seems just a 12 in a dozen new age false guru. People get hooked in this type of things, I think it's sad. These are destructive things: drug addiction, false gurus, new age..... I see nothing good in them.

 

You speak that you want to be free of "dominator society", but this way is just self-deception. Why follow any guru?

-----------------------------

 

Hmmm... Some things that McKenna discusses, are interesting, like the Novelty theory. But then... "He remained opposed to all forms of organized religion or guru-based forms of spiritual awakening. He believed DMT was the apotheosis of the psychedelic experience and spoke of the 'jeweled, self-dribbling basketballs' or 'self-transforming machine elves' that one encounters in that state." (Wikipedia)

 

This is very typical double-binding that false guru's practise. McKenna also has a criminal history - a typical feature in new age gurus: "For most of the 1970s McKenna maintained a low profile, living in a nondescript suburban home, supporting his lifestyle with the royalties from the Magic Mushroom Growers Guide, and the cultivation and sale of psilocybin mushrooms. He said that he was frightened out of this line of work, and into public speaking by the harsh penalties the war on drugs exacted from his colleagues. He himself was once wanted by Interpol for drug trafficking."

[Tormod]

You speak that you want to be free of "dominator society", but this way is just self-deception. Why follow any guru?

 

Probably to become a unique individual, just like everyone else. :)

[Phileas Fogg]

Probably to become a unique individual, just like everyone else. :)

 

Yeah. :D And the false gurus exploit his. They are smart. They say, that please don't follow any guru. Think yourself! Then they make you bow, and show respect, and believe, and don't tolerate any discussion.

 

They confuse, and tie your mind with their newspeak, with paradoxical communication. I think all spiritual-oriented people are in the mess, and that's why I don't understand why I even write here about these things. Then if a seeker goes into drugs, or forced into promiscuous relations or used financially, he/she will lose all independence. And that is what most (all) religious movements are up to.

[DarkColoredLight]

Yeah. ;) And the false gurus exploit his. They are smart. They say, that please don't follow any guru. Think yourself! Then they make you bow, and show respect, and believe, and don't tolerate any discussion.

 

They confuse, and tie your mind with their newspeak, with paradoxical communication. I think all spiritual-oriented people are in the mess, and that's why I don't understand why I even write here about these things. Then if a seeker goes into drugs, or forced into promiscuous relations or used financially, he/she will lose all independence. And that is what most (all) religious movements are up to.

 

 

What do you mean by he/she will lose all independence?

 

The way I see it if you're not being controled by any material thing, then you'll be able to control when you get material things and be able to appreciate them more than if you're over endulging in them.

 

This is a very tricky subject :eek: But, I will agree that religion has turned their backs on their original intent, which I believe was love. They are now focused in on land and power. They could have all three; love, land and power, if they would just learn to cooperate.

 

 

If love controls your life are you free?

[InfiniteNow]

It's important to me to make mention here... when people speak of all religions, they are not truly doing so. They are speaking of their own personal concept of all religions. Most here have been cautious to leave wiggle room in their comments, but it was worthy of mention all the same.

 

For example, buddhism. Major part of that is letting go of material things, letting go of attachment.

 

 

I now return you to your regularly scheduled program. :eek:

[DarkColoredLight]

Agreed, I should of specifed the difference between religion as a lifestyle/reality and religion as a dream. Unfourtunatly the later is more publicized, therefore a more widely accpeted concept.

[Phileas Fogg]

What do you mean by he/she will lose all independence?

Perhaps I was over-optimistic in this. Might be that people have never had any experience of independence.

 

The way I see it if you're not being controled by any material thing, then you'll be able to control when you get material things and be able to appreciate them more than if you're over endulging in them.

I don't understand how could material things control us? I think people are social. We are living in a social world, not in a world of material objects. Things have meaning only when they become meaningful socially.

 

We are controlled by other people.

 

This is a very tricky subject :eek:

No, it isnt. Just bear in my mind that a human being is a social creature foremost.

 

 

But, I will agree that religion has turned their backs on their original intent, which I believe was love.

 

There is no such subject as "religion". There has been some special men, and we can call them mediators, geniuses, prophets, poets. The original intent of base man has never been love. It might have been sexual impulse, and that when the hormones boil, when you are around 20.

 

They are now focused in on land and power. They could have all three; love, land and power, if they would just learn to cooperate.

 

Who "they"????? I see nobody.

 

If love controls your life are you free?

In this human world, there is no love. The prophets have seen beyond, and have seen love. All stupidity comes, when we concentrate on base men, and make them our role models. Who cares what the fools think, and do in this rotten world? They will probably manage to destroy this planet; it will be no surprise; the prophets have prophetized about the DOOM.

[Michaelangelica]

http://www.telluridewatch.com/081806/mushroom.htm

Telluride Institute Presents 26th Telluride Mushroom Festival

Cleaning Up the Mushroom's Image

 

 

By Martinique Davis

 

Twenty-six years ago, local herbalist John Sir Jesse found a note on his front door, asking him to assist in the creation of a burgeoning new Telluride festival.

 

The note, which was signed by the Denver group “Fungophile” (literally, mushroom-lovers) wanted Sir Jesse to become the foray leader for the weekend event, which would come to be known as the Telluride Mushroom Festival.

 

“I told them that while I knew where a lot of mushrooms were, I didn’t necessary know what kinds of mushrooms they were,” Sir Jesse recalls. “They said that if I could show them where they were, they would tell me what they were.”

 

Thus began Sir Jesse’s involvement with the Telluride Mushroom Festival, which celebrates its 26th anniversary this weekend. This year’s event marks a shift in tradition, with local organizers taking the reins from the Fungophile group as the festival’s coordinators. Sir Jesse joins local agriculturalist Kris Holstrom, of Tomten Farms, as the main organizers of the event, which is now a project of the Telluride Institute.

 

“This is somewhat of a rebuilding year for the festival,” says Holstrom. This year’s festival is two days rather than the typical three-and-a-half days, and has been moved to a weekend earlier than normal to accommodate the school year beginning earlier.

 

“We’re basically pulling off whatever we can to keep a presence, and let people know that the Mushroom Festival is not dead,” says Sir Jesse. “Our goal is to make Mushroom Festival even bigger next year, with a full four-day schedule and more forays, cooking demonstrations and discussions about growing mushrooms.”

 

The passing of the Mushroom Festival torch, from the Fungophiles to the Telluride Institute and local organizers, lights a new path for the event. Holstrom and Sir Jesse have set out this year to pave the way for the festival to become more focused on education about the complex world of fungi.

 

“Our goal is to try to incorporate more of the medicinal and culinary aspects of mushrooms, and look at the fungus world more as a whole,” says Holstrom. “It seemed like in the past there was a strong focus on the psychedelic side, and while that is an important function of mushrooms in many cultures, we want to expand on that.”

 

Festival organizers are excited to welcome fourth generation botanist Christopher Hobbs, who will be presenting his research on “Mushrooms as Herbs” at the Friday night lecture at the Nugget Theatre. Hobbs, a clinical herbalist and licensed acupuncturist, has authored or co-authored 24 books on health and herbal medicine. Hobbs will be sharing insights on how mushrooms can be used as medicine for healing the human body.

 

Ethnobotany and ethnomycology authority Kathleen Harrison returns to the festival for her second year to lead a discussion about “The Healing Magic of Mushrooms” Friday afternoon. Harrison’s research has focused on the specific rituals, myths, methods, and art forms of indigenous cultures that use plants and mushrooms ceremonially. Her ongoing fieldwork with the Mazatec people of Mexico has garnered recognition throughout the field of ethnobotany.

 

Some perennial Mushroom Festival veterans will also give presentations at this weekend’s event. Gary Lincoff, who co-authored the well-known Audubon Society Mushroom Identification Book, will be on hand to lead forays throughout the weekend and will also speak at Saturday morning’s lecture titled “The Mushrooms that Connect the Plants to the Earth and Ourselves to the Cosmos.”

 

Fellow mushroom specialist Jim Gouin will present research stemming from the Cortes Island Mycoforestry Project Friday afternoon, in which he will share findings of researchers who were able to get trees to grow faster in clear cut zones using the science of fungi.

 

Tomten Farm owner Holstrom will join mushroom guru Gouin on Saturday to lead a discussion about author Paul Stamets’s theories, found in his book Mycelium Running, about the multi-faceted role mushrooms can play in restoring the environment.

 

The weekend schedule is also packed with typical festival favorites, including daily forays, cooking demonstrations with local chefs, Friday evening’s Chef Cook-Off, Saturday evening’s Cook and Taste, and, of course, the ever-popular annual Telluride Mushroom Festival Parade on main street, Saturday starting at 5 p.m.

 

There will also be mushroom displays, DVDs, posters, PowerPoint presentations, and more that will be open to the public throughout the weekend in the media room at the Wilkinson Public Library.

 

The festival will culminate with a panel discussion by local and visiting mushroom experts about “How to Clean-Up Mushrooms’ Image.” Sir Jesse explains that the discussion is intended to spread the good word about mushrooms.

 

“It seems like as soon as you mention something like a ‘mushroom festival,’ people’s eyes light up and they wear this funny grin – but mushrooms are no more deadly or psychedelic than plants,” he says. “We want to throw out the idea that mushrooms have a lot to offer, but people tend to turn a blind eye towards that because they have a bad image.” The panel will include Hobbs, Gouin, Harrison, Art Goodtimes, and Sir Jesse.

 

Thanks to generous support from the Telluride Institute, as well as grants from the Telluride Foundation and Commission for Community Assistance, Arts and Special Events, admission to the weekend’s events are very affordable. Individual tickets to lectures run $10, while admission to a one-day foray is $20. A full weekend pass is $80 and a one-day pass is $45.

 

Registration begins Friday morning in the Nugget Theatre, and single-day registration for Saturday is between 8-8:30 a.m. that day.

 

For more information or a full schedule of events, visit the Telluride Mushroom

Festival website at http://www.mushroomfestival.com.

[Michaelangelica]

it is no great accomplishment to hear a voice in the head. the real accomplishment is to make sure it is telling the truth, becuase demons are of many kinds: "some are made of ions, some of mind; the ones of ketamine you will find, stumble often and are blind."

 

Plumbing the Depths Of Depression

Scientists Hope A New Tool Will Tap Into the Source Of the Blues

 

By Neely Tucker

Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, September 26, 2006; Page C01

 

Ketamine, sweet ketamine, answer to our glutamatergic dreams. In the long November night of the soul, in the ever-dark downpour of depression, it turns out that there might be a better umbrella than Prozac and Zoloft and Paxil and their serotonin-loving ilk.

 

Of course, when it comes to antidepressants, nobody really knows anything, anyway, so why not go with ketamine, a mild hallucinogen known to club freaks as Special K

See Depression (clinical) thread

[Michaelangelica]

An interesting article on Mushrooms

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=00057DC8-20C7-14B4-A0C783414B7F0000

 

Neuroscientist Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins University and his colleagues tested the effects of psilocybin--a drug derived from certain mushrooms that appears to mimic the effects of serotonin in the brain--on 36 middle-aged Americans who had never tried psychedelics before.

These "squares" ranged in age from 24 to 64 and included 14 men and 22 women, the majority of whom were college graduates, successful in their careers and participants in some form of spiritual activity.

. . .

In follow-up interviews conducted two months later 67 percent of the volunteers rated the psilocybin experience as among the most meaningful of their lives, comparing it to the birth of a first child or the death of a parent, and 79 percent reported that it had moderately or greatly increased their overall sense of well-being or life satisfaction.

[Michaelangelica]

this was the mushroom expert i mentioned before i have one or two of his books in my librarary (Still in house-moving boxes). I think they are now collectors pieces.

 

ROBERT GORDON WASSON Seeking the Magic Mushroom

SEEKING THE MAGIC MUSHROOM

 

A New York banker goes to Mexico's mountains to participate in the age-old rituals of Indians who chew strange growths that produce visions

 

By R. GORDON WASSON

 

 

The author of this article, a vice president of J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated, together with his wife, Valentina P. Wasson, M.D., a New York pediatrician, has spent the last four summers in remote mountains of Mexico. The Wassons have been on the trail of strange and hitherto unstudied mushrooms with vision-giving powers.

They have been pursuing the cultural role of wild mushrooms for 30 years. Their travels and inquiries throughout the world have led them to some surprising discoveries in this field in which they are pioneers. They are now publishing their findings in Mushrooms Russia and History, a large, richly illustrated two-volume book, which is limited to 500 copies and is now on sale at $125 (Pantheon Books, New York).