Mind States's topics - tribe.net

Orange Sunshine

Xmed — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 16:34:43 GMT

Orange Sunshine was a type of acid goin around Toledo in approx.1971....Rumor has it that it was made by an outfit called"Brotherhood of Eternal Love"...900 micrograms of pure,high-quality LSD.Can anybody confirm that??? Also....Ive recently learned that the CIA was in the acid manufacturing businness at that time....Confirm/deny that anybody? TYVM for responses.

posted in Mind States - 23 replies

The Invisible College 4th Editon...

Gwyllm — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 20:46:27 GMT

Announcing the release of the 4th Edition of The Invisible College Magazine 'The Entity Issue'
Free Down Load!: http://www.earthrites.org/invisible-college.htm
Purchase A Copy, Digital or Print!: http://stores.lulu.com/Gwyllm
No advertisements, No filler... Art, Poetry, Interviews, Stories and more!

Contents of the 4th edition, "Entity Encounters"

Poetry:
The Poetic Musings Of Michael Hoffman
The Poetry of A.E. (George William Russell) Theosophical & Celtic Ruminations
The Bornless One (Hermetic Ceremony)

Features:
The Cracking Tower - Interview With Jim DeKorne (Jim wrote 'Psychedelic Shamanism', and was the founding editor of 'The Entheogen Review')
Divinity and Grace In Expression - The Art of Maura Holden (Wonderful Art!)
Notes From The Headland - Tales from the Western Shores of Ireland - Tim Daly

Articles:
Moon Daughter Muse - Poetry & Article - Padrice Stewart (Padrice is a member of our Portland Community)
The Serpent & The Light Part 2 - Genesis and Isis. From The Early Hebrews To The Egyptian Gods - LyterPhotos (Another excellent article from LyterPhotos!)
Entity Encounters - Stories From The Poison Path & From The Realm Of Faery - Compiled by Gwyllm Llwydd & Fiona MacGreggor (Interesting stories about the entity encounters...) including DMT tales, a Salvia story and classic tales from Celtic Lands...
The Short Review - Gwyllm Llwydd

Art
Izwoz -An Art Collective From Adelaide (Wildness from Australia!)
Digital Joy! In The Lands Of Vision - Stevee Postman (wonderful digital collages!)
Close Encounters - Mike Crowley (Fractal Fantasies!)
Vimana Series - Gwyllm Llwydd

Community Page: News,Events... and more

Our next issue is the 'Compassion' issue...

Bright Blessings,
Gwyllm

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

World Psychedelic Forum, 21st-23rd March 2008, Basel

earthcolour — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 20:30:43 GMT

And a Good Day to You,
I am interested as to whether any of You will be attending the World Psychedelic Forum in Basel in the coming months, and if so, whether You know of any inexpensive accommodation options, so long as there is enough warmth and space to sleep; perhaps a hostel that is within a close enough proximity to the Event? And I am also wondering, if there is anyone planning the visit from the UK, whether You know of the best method of transport to the Event, unfortunately I will be too restricted at the time to walk or hitch there, well unless anyone was known that might be travelling there in their own vehicle who had a spare space.

If you might be able to help out with the above questions, your ideas would be much appreciated,

Many thanks

X

posted in Mind States - 1 reply

Mindstates 2007 footage?

nico — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 04:55:00 GMT

Hello tribe,

I would like to know if anyone knows of any footage from the 2007 Mindstates conference. I had the pleasure to meet some amazing people there and learn about my favorite subject, which is ethnobotany. I remember there were cameras filming the event and microphones recording the speeches.

Does anyone know if any of this material has been made available for sale online yet? I wouldn't want to be missing on any of the wonderful people I met there :)

Peace,

Nico.

posted in Mind States - 1 reply

Anyone back from Mindstates 2007, yet?

god — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:23:29 GMT

Anyone back, yet? Are there transcripts or mp3s available of the talks? :)

fox

posted in Mind States - 4 replies

A warning to all of you beautiful souls

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 14:47:38 GMT

TRIBE AND THE DEA ARE MONITORING ALL OF THE DRUG RELATED POST, A FRIEND OF MINE JUST GOT HIS HOUSE RAIDED BECAUSE A TRIBE MEMBER POSTED HIS NAME AND ADDRESS WHICH TRIBE GAVE THE INFO TO THE DEA AND THEY RAIDED HIS HOUSE.
THANK GOD HE WASNT DOING WHAT THE GIRL HAD SAID BUT JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT THEY ARE EYEING EVERYTHING
AND WILL NOT HESITATE TO SEND THE AUTHORITIES YOUR WAY PLEASE BE ADVISED.....IM LOOKING OUT FOR YOU.... IF YOU WANT I HAVE OBTAINED A COPY OF THE PDF OF THE POST..AND THE COOL PEOPLE WHO TAGED HIM BECAUSE THE DIDNT LIKE HIM FOR NOT AGREEING ON SOMETHING, HATERS LOOKING TO HURT, THEY ARE.. THEY DEFAMED HIM YET TRIBE KICKED HIM OFF AND NOT THEM, JUST TOOK DOWN THE POST.. SO IF ANY ONE WANTS THE PDF TRUTH JUST WRITE TO

me at quetzalbird@hotmail.com and I will have someone e-mail you the pdf copy with the truth. if tribe tosses me please spread the message around so everyone can take action against the truth of the 2 who still remain here and are trouble. thank you. please be advised this is not a joke.....

posted in Mind States - 7 replies

Mind States 2007

dimensional_didge — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 01:04:10 GMT

Just got the Mind States e-mail about the 2007 conference in Costa Rica. I saw that there is still some discrepancy as to whether it will be held in May or June. Not, that I think that my preferences should be the deciding factor, but as a single individual I place my vote for June (without even knowing what the factors are that are causing the indifference in the first place).

posted in Mind States - 30 replies

transgenic mutation...

Schwann — Mon, 21 May 2007 21:40:01 GMT

the carrier beam of consciousness is aimed at
your pineal for transcoding by your
subconscious into a sustainable energy source
by transgenic mutation of your mind...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNwrfkjJC0c

schwann

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

Radio Free EarthRites...

Gwyllm — Mon, 14 May 2007 01:56:06 GMT

Dear Friends,

12 more hours of music added this weekend to Radio Free EarthRites! From Grey Area, to Bluetech, from Desert Dwellers to The Frequent Flyers of Bombay.... Rena Jones, Erkan Ogur & Djivan Gasparyan, Deep Space Network, Carbon Based LifeForms, Aes Dana... and so much more. 24/7 , free for the listening!

New Music coming on line all the time....

o~~~~~~~~08O80~~~~~~~~~o

Copy and - Paste Into - Your Internet Radio Player!
-o-o-0-0-O Radio Free Earthrites! O-0-0-o-o-
http://87.194.36.124:8000/radio
http://87.194.36.124:8001/radio-low
http://87.194.36.124:8002/spokenword
EarthRites.org ~ Online Community of Conscious Change~
http://www.earthrites.org/
"Shifting Consciousness One Node At A Time"
'The Invisible College' PDF Magazine
http://www.earthrites.org/invisible-college.htm
Turfing Web-Log: "Where The Real Gets Cozy With The Surreal!"
http://www.earthrites.org/turfing
o~~~~~~~~08O80~~~~~~~~~o

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

The Invisible College pdf magazine Beltane Edition

Gwyllm — Mon, 07 May 2007 20:56:23 GMT

Dear Jon & The Mind States Tribe...

It is my great pleasure to announce the release of the 2nd edition of
'The Invisible College' PDF Magazine (Beltane Edition...)

www.earthrites.org/invisible-college.htm

Contributors Included: Robert Venosa, Tim Daly, Dr. Con, Uncle Wyrdd, Diane Darling, Mike Crowley, Ovidio Cartagena , Bryan Ward , Rena Jones, Peter Webster, Wendell King, Ennio Rambo, Kathleen Preising....

From the Art of Robert Venosa, to the formula of the ancient Kykeon... to Home Hashish Production, to the Psychoactive Supermarket... and much much more.

90 pages in all up 47 pages from our last release!

We hope you enjoy it, and share out the address to your friends and allies...

If you would like to contribute something for the next issue, please contact IC@earthrites.org

Bright Blessings,

Gwyllm

posted in Mind States - 1 reply

This way to the rabbit hole!

Sun, 06 May 2007 19:51:28 GMT

http://thecompletefloweroflife.blogspot.com/

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

Psychotherapist barred from USA for writing about LSD

Bob — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 03:36:31 GMT

LSD as Therapy? Write about It, Get Barred from USA

BC psychotherapist denied entry after border guard googled his work.

By Linda Solomon
Published: April 23, 2007

http://thetyee.ca/News/2007/04/23/Feldmar/

The Blaine border guard explained that Feldmar had been pulled out of
the line as part of a random search. He seemed friendly, even as he
took away Feldmar's passport and car keys. While the contents of his
car were being searched, Feldmar and the officer talked. He asked
Feldmar what profession he was in.

When Feldmar said he was psychologist, the official typed his name
into his Internet search engine. Before long the customs guard was
engrossed in an article Feldmar had published in the spring 2001 issue
of the journal Janus Head. The article concerned an acid trip Feldmar
had taken in London, Ontario, and another in London, England, almost
forty years ago. It also alluded to the fact that he had used
hallucinogenics as a "path" to understanding self and that in certain
cases, he reflected, it could "be preferable to psychiatry."
Everything seemed to collapse around him, as a quiet day crossing the
border began to turn into a nightmare.

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

terence mckenna dream

phil — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:22:32 GMT

i had a dream about terence mckenna

he asked, could compressed intelligence travel by email?

then, in true elfish fashion, Terence sat down and typed:

FREE UP THE HUMAN ENTERPRISE
* license info at bottom of document; reader must read and agree to that before reading this web-sealed text.

BEGIN WEB SEALED TEXT:
(a fictional story which should in no way be construed as constituting any truth whatsoever, other than as a publication of sheer fiction)

Thank You
For Building
The Internet!

We are members of the blue Danube tribe which lives deep in the heart of a tributary of the mighty Amazon, in South America. A satellite internet connection was just shown to us. We have observed this phenomenon for all of the night, and are translating our experience back through your shaman who has made his way here to meet us. We transliterate this message on March 7, 2006.

Our wise man has said to play the human program “re-install” on your human intelligence. All memory is retained.

1. This is like Star Trek

2. Claim the internet as your own. It is packed with literal diamonds of human experience;

3. This is a video on how to navigate through screens, effortlessly, as the star ship enterprise flying through an asteroid belt, avoiding all of the harmful material which, in your personal judgment, is injurious to your own health or welfare.

For example, advertisements, irrelevant data, tracking systems, etc., may affect your personal sense of well-being and safety and security, and give you the feeling that you are not allowed to control your own internet experience.

4. The internet is an amazon. You can float along on logs or you can equip yourself with the tools the tech-ies use, themselves. They are ultra-powerful. They “strip” the crap off of the web experience which you, as an individual, personal user, are not interested in seeing. You live in the age of light speed. Learn how to use it, for personal growth and higher understanding and greater delights.

5. Become a member of the web elite, the relative few who have escaped the traumatic flow of media-
controlled internet news and advertising. The Internet belongs to everyone! How would you like to spend 99.9% of your web time viewing the wonders of the world? There are more of them now posted on the internet by individuals than you could ever see or hear in a lifetime.

6. Get ready to blow your mind with the world’s first technology commander. And its free, and not
sponsored by anybody. It is a free program, free on its own. Get it free, use it free, change your
web life for free. No buck to anybody.

7. For more details, stay tuned to rss and xml tags “doodlehopper” on Delicious.

7. In the meantime, all users are encouraged to UPLOAD as MUCH VIDEO as YouTube is
asking/allowing you to upload.

So much of it is ART!. Beauty truly is in the eyes of the beholder.

For example, I saw a video of someone turning each page of a book, not with any particular speed,
And it seemed like a long video, but I didn’t watch it all.

I also saw a video of a beautiful nature scene, 10 minutes of looking at the wind blowing the leaves
on a beautiful tree! Wow, I turned on my ipod and watched the movie on the computer screen.
Cool!

“Dedicated to my creative writing professor, with great love”

END WEB-SEALED TEXT

LICENSE:
[The preceding has been a fictional presentation, and represents the private property of an individual person who has documented its creation by placing it into the flow of the internet, and may not be read by anyone, for any purpose. It may however, indiscriminately emailed to anyone you wish, as long as they agree not to read it. It is being used as an historical artifact for personal research purposes, and is proprietary and all protections of all laws are claimed and asserted.

If you do not agree to the foregoing paragraph, leave this document immediately.]

============

does this sound like terence to anyone who knew him?

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

Vive Con Drogas

xola26 — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 00:47:41 GMT

If you want to find out about what's happening in Mexico regarding drug policy reform, harm reduction, peyotl, teonanacatl, cannabis and so on, there's no better place than www.drogasmexico.org.

It's a great way of practicing your Spanish while staying informed about what's going on south of the border. The Vive Con Drogas forum is lively too.

Ricardo Sala, who runs the site, also organises regular seminars in Mexico City on subjects ranging from the drug war to ayahuasca as well as placing educational literature in libraries and community centers here. I just had to plug this after attending Guy Robert's well-attended talk on Takiwasi in Parque Mexico. Highly recommended if you're passing through overland on the way to Mind States Costa Rica ...

posted in Mind States - 5 replies

Haha 420th member

Jared — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 02:26:51 GMT

Hello everybody I am the 420th member! =]

posted in Mind States - 4 replies

Contact person

robert — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 22:17:03 GMT

Hello!

Can anyone give me an email for questions I have on the mind states conference, and the tickets? Afaik, Jon H. organizes this conference, can someone pass me on his email?

Thanks so much,
Rob

posted in Mind States - 2 replies

Mark Pesce at Burning Man 2006

Jon — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 19:32:59 GMT

I just posted two parts of a twenty-minute video of Mark that I shot at last year's Palenque Norte talks at Burning Man. Pesce sticks a fork into the Eschaton--it's "done." If the sky is falling and the world is ending in less than six years, how come no one is getting their affairs in order? Pesce recounts the Great Disappointment of the apocalyptic Millerite cult, touches on the ideas of Terence McKenna, lambasts Ray Kurzweil, discusses technological singularity, and discounts the idea of fabricated "artificial" intelligence in favor of non-biological minds that are "grown." Check it out.

Sorry about the bad link the first time I posted this. (Oops.) The link below should work:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E62679D3F3CFE6F7

posted in Mind States - 2 replies

Mark Pesce: Becoming Transhuman

dimensional_didge — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 09:40:05 GMT

A forwarded message from Mark Pesce:

Friends -

Five and a half years ago, for my first presentation at MINDSTATES, I produced a feature length film, Becoming Transhuman, which ran in synchrony with my spoken-word presentation. Shortly afterward I mixed my narration into the film and produced a final version of the film. Then, other than putting it onto DVD and giving it to a few friends, I did nothing with it at all. That was a mistake on my part, because, of all the talks and presentations I've given throughout the years, Becoming Transhuman is hands-down my favorite of the lot. It took 3 months of editing and polishing, but I have to say that even now I'm most proud of this work. It's stood the test of time.

Today - as a sort of New Year's Gift - I am providing you with a torrent file which will give you your very own copy of Becoming Transhuman. Just pop the torrent file into your favorite client - Azureus, or BitTorrent or whatever you like - and you'll join a swarm of peers who are also downloading Becoming Transhuman.

So, I ask you to download a copy of Becoming Transhuman, but, more than this, tell your friends about it. Have them download their own copy. And tell them to tell their friends, etc. The more something is shared, the more valuable it becomes, and it seems to me - in times like these - that the message of Becoming Transhuman is more relevant today than ever before.

Happy New Year to all!

Cheers,

Mark

http://www.mininova.org/tor/531692

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

The Web of Dreams deserves your involvement and your assistance now!!!!!

CLAYTON — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 07:38:59 GMT

Sacred geometry, universal energy, IBVA experiments linked with real time video, the opportunity to study yourself and others in a lucid REM state with state of the art equipment, recorded experiences, thousands of lights, music and more create “The Web Of Dreams”! An Interactive art piece symbolizing the connection of all things and how what you choose affects everything. It is designed to generate life-changing breakthroughs!

Allow yourself while in the Web to work through your fear and be inspired to make new empowering choices that create more hope for your future! Those who choose to be wrapped and suspended in the Web may discover that resistance creates the persistence of fear but acceptance allows for the disappearance of fear. Shed your fixed beliefs and ways of being while inside the Web and step into a new world of increased hope and possibility!

The web will offer up personal truths, it will offer up hope and dreams, it will offer a true reflection of how what you choose (hope or fear) affects the outcome of your future in a clear representation in the present moment.

“The Web of Dreams” will be placed 1300 ft from the man at 1:30. We will be doing IBVA EXPEREMENTS ALL WEEK. This will give us a chance to look at what is going on in the brain as someone is experiencing what ever they might be experiencing, Think of the possabilities. If this intrest you at all I encourage you to look at our web site and find out more about what we are creating on the playa this year. please if you are interested RESPOND TO THIS POST. LET ME KNOW YOU ARE INTERESTED.

We got a late start on this idea but we know, with some help from the community, we can still pull it off (no fear only hope). We have most everything we need but if the opportunity to assist others in breaking through their fear and gaining more hope and possibility inspires you we invite you to become a part of the “Web Team” and help in anyway you can. We are looking for people to fill volunteer shifts, donate money (we still need over $1,000) or any supplies we still need please contact me on Tribe or directly:

CLAYTON AND TERRY ALLRED

801-523-7094

For more info on the “Web Of Dreams” or to donate few dollars today(every little bit will help)by Pay Pal check out the web site at: webofdreams.home.comcast.net/

I truly look forward to the most amazing experience on the Playa with you and may all of your fears serve you in the end to achieve all your hopes!

Love,

Clayton
posted by:

posted in Mind States - 3 replies

IMMORTALITY, compassion and love for all those who want to listen

Dr Dominic — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 18:12:43 GMT

hello
The first chapter of my book after 25 years of research has within it the keys to IMMORTALITY IN PREPARATION FOR ASCENSION.
FROM CHAPTER ONE TAKE X the healing factor , apply it to the blood , body and brain, this will make the human body all positive and Immortal, once you have read the book , contact me for the 3 ways it will be done…2 slow , 1 on mass.....(via a pyramid using the Sun and Sirius energy on the dog days).... the the pyramids will be opened later on FOR LIGHT WORKERS,I hope you understand what I am saying...................Tell all your light worker friends to get the book as I am a Light Worker myself, who has been presented now with the understandings of immortality ,which I must give to other light workers. This is the information you have to pass on for the good of all light workers.
in the light
Dominic
I recommend my book ORMUS FROM AUTHORHOUSE
www.authorhouse.com/BookStor...alog.aspx
ORMUS, ORME....WHITE GOLD ...The manna, the white powder of gold, is the food, the light, one takes into their body. It is the FOOD OF THE GODS. A modern day Rabbi might tell you that no one has known how to make the manna, the white powder of Gold, since the destruction of the Temple of Solomon. The technique is, supposedly, a lost art or lost knowledge. But others argue that when the high priests left the Temple (when it was destroyed), the took the secret out into the desert and organized a commune called Qumrun. There, they became the Essenes. Eventually, the white powder was used to nourish a woman named Mary, and eventually, she gave birth to a man named Jesus.
These gifts include: perfect telepathy, the ability to know good and evil when it’s present, and to project thoughts into another person’s mind. There is also the ability to levitate, or to walk on water. By excluding all external magnetic fields (including the Earth’s gravity), the white powder of gold takes one beyond the four dimensional space time continuum, and the individual becomes a fifth dimensional being. They can literally think where they would like to be, and go there. They can heal by the laying on of hands, and can cleanse and resurrect the dead within two or three days after they died. They have so much energy that they can literally embrace people and bring light and energy back into them. We the International Order Of Knight Templars have the keys to Immortality.The International Order of Knight Templars has many hidden esoteric keys about ormus , immortality and 2012.
please take a look at these forums
groups.msn.com/KNIGHTSOFC...atsnew.msnw
my book ORMUS , HAS THE KEYS TO IMMORTALITY VEILED IN THE FIRST CHAPTER
www.authorhouse.com/BookStor...Home.aspx

LOVE AND LIGHT
DOMINIC

posted in Mind States - 1 reply

Ayahuasca Healing Retreats Update

Bryan — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 22:51:42 GMT

I thought i'd post this because i have worked with these folks before and it was an amazing experience. Although because of the price it is not for everybody, it might be a good way to experience these plants for some folks.

Bryan
________________
We are happy to announce that we have added a new program to our retreats. The
Advanced course features lucid dreaming training, ayahuasca, salvia divinorum and Silene capensis
- a sacred, dream inducing plant used by shamans of the verdant river valleys of
South Africa.

Exploring the World of Dreams -
with Lucid Dreaming and Sacred Plants: Advanced Program
June 19 - 30, 2007

We also offer an Intermediate program...
Healing & the Higher Self
Initiations into higher states of being with sacred plants: Intermediate Program

NOTICE: There are now direct flights to Salvador, Brazil, from London, Madrid,
Lisbon and Frankfurt in Europe, and from Florida (USA) that are both convenient
and inexpensive. Click on the link below for more information.
www.ayahuasca-healing.net/pages...e.html

New 2007 dates!
* March 30 - April 7, 2007 (Special Event)
* April 29 - May 6
* May 14 - 21 (Special Event)
* October 7 - 14, 2007

www.Ayahuasca-Healing.net

posted in Mind States - 1 reply

You'll want to read THIS one, folks. :-)

Jon — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 09:21:37 GMT

Dear Lord,

(or anyone who might have a chance to read this message before it vanishes...)

I previously posted a notice to several tribes that I belong to, describing an article that I recently wrote for the current issue of The Entheogen Review. I was surprised to discover that my notice (as well as other folks posts responding to my notice) was scrubbed clean from most spots where I posted it, including the Mind States tribe that I moderate. Tribe has also twice removed a photograph of an individual mentioned in the article (an image that I snapped myself), which appeared on my blog page. (I've just reposted it for a third time, but I suppose that if it disappears again, I will post a picture of something reasonably equivalent instead.)

Tribe's "terms of use" and "code of conduct" make it clear that they "have the right to delete any content for any reason or no reason," and they don't need to provide notice that they removed the content. It is also worth pointing out that Tribe employees or administrators "may monitor your communications and may disclose content and information about you, including contents of communications..."

Be careful what you say, since Tribe feels free to eavesdrop at any time. And of course, if they don't like what you say, they'll just make it disappear as though it never existed in the first place. How Big Brother of them.

I wonder why Tribe would have felt the need to censor my posts? It seems unlikely that anyone at Tribe really cares THAT much about suppressing the story I wanted to share with the psychonautical community. Rather, it seems more logical to suspect that Tribe was PRESSURED into removing my posts by someone who preferred that my article is not widely read.

And so, I'll try again--without naming any specific names, without using any potentially offensive slang terms (although, if the shoe fits...), without any commercial plugs--and hopefully THIS post will stay within the boundaries of "acceptable" posting. But since Tribe can remove my posts "for any reason or no reason," it is hard to know whether or not I am just writing postcards to God...

In any case, I encourage folks to read my article, which is posted here:

http://www.entheogenreview.com/halperngate.html

It MUST be good, if someone has had it censored, right? :-)

Frankly, censorship rankles me. My response to those who incite and execute such tactics is a renewed and invigorated vigilance in spreading the information. Toward that end, I encourage anyone who agrees that this is an important article to post a description of the story and link to it at their web page. Or repost THIS message to tribes you feel might benefit from reading the story. (Although changing the subject line might hide it from the Tribe censors for a bit longer, I dunno.) Or e-mail it to friends…

I send a big "thank you" to the many people who have e-mailed me, expressing their appreciation that I wrote the article.

-- Jon Hanna

posted in Mind States - 16 replies

Drug Lore

dimensional_didge — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 21:32:56 GMT

Greetings all,

I am currently taking a class on folklore (of all kinds - urban legends, myths, fairy tales, etc., etc., etc.) and throughout the class we are to develop a log of lore of our own, and toward the end of the class we are to develop our collections into a paper. I have decided (for the moment) that I would like to collect and study DRUG LORE. The funny thing, though, about lore, is you don't have to go to scholarly sources for information. You can literally get it anywhere. So, I realized what an incredibly amazing source of lore is potentially available to me at a site like tribe.net, where I can find a group of people who are enthusiasts about a certain topic, and collect data from them.

So, here it is, really a fun topic in general, and on top of that you would really be helping me out in my class, in my studies, and in my knowledge in general of drug culture. Who knows, information you provide me may one day be large enough and interesting enough to publish in a book of drug lore, which would be a nice and welcome addition to a psychedelic library. So, anyways, I think you get the idea. Feel free to determine for yourself whether a story counts as lore. Just make sure that drugs play a somewhat important role in the story, myth, legend, folk tale, etc.

Hope this thread takes off nicely and I'm sure this will make an interesting topic matter for all. Thanks for any help you are able to provide.

Cheers,

Kevin

posted in Mind States - 10 replies

Jonathan Ott

Pure Possibility — Sat, 07 May 2005 04:12:18 GMT

I'm just going through replacing some lost books in my book collection and I relized I was missing my Jonathan Ott books. Jonathan was at Mindstates 2002 as a speaker. I was wondering if Jonathan was going to make it this year and if anyone might have contact information for him. I was also looking to repurchase Pharmacotheon and Ayahuasca Analogues at a cheap and reasonable price. Let me know if you can help me out.

~Mark

posted in Mind States - 7 replies

Exo-Psychology Revisited

Heresiarch — Sat, 12 Aug 2006 04:35:22 GMT

I have updated the star larvae site with an exposition of Dr. Leary's Exo-Psychology that ties it in with neoteny, cetacea, and evolutionary teleology. Czech it out at www.starlarvae.org/Star_Lar...ited.html

This aspect of Dr. Leary's work gets overlooked (as in the new Leary bio by Greenfield) but deserves a re-assessment in the light of developments since Leary's passing.

posted in Mind States - 1 reply

LSD Recovery Center

Jon — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 20:14:24 GMT

The keyword process that Google uses to stick their advertisements into the center of a Tribe's posts can be pretty ironic. I mean, here we have a Tribe that extolls the benefits of psychedelics advertising an "LSD Recovery Center."

Google's AdWords campaign charges the client for every clickthough. So anytime a pro-LSD person clicks through to the treatment clinic, to read such gems like:

<<LSD is not considered an addictive drug because its effects on a person are profoundly disturbing...>>

the clinic pays Google 25¢ or something.

Hell of a backfire in the process, if you ask me.

Folks with extra time on their hands could Google "Republican" and click the Google AdWord link for the "Official GOP Site," I suppose. Hell, a concerted e-mail campaign to do just this might bleed a bit of money from them...

-- Jon

posted in Mind States - 2 replies

Jon in Juxtapoz mag

clearmenser — Mon, 01 May 2006 22:13:56 GMT

Just wanted to alert the crew that Jon makes a little appearance in April's Juxtapoz Art magazine's article on Albert Hoffman's centenial written by Alex Grey. What a smile Jon... ;)
you f'n rock star!

posted in Mind States - 1 reply

Just released! ~Entheogen:Awakening the God within

homo divinus — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 05:30:57 GMT

...Stunning ;) Best viewed with headphones in + vol. up!

http://www.rinf.com/columnists/news/entheogen-awakening-the-divine-within

~gives me chills of the best kind, this does.

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

MindStates VII ?

Bob — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 17:20:38 GMT

Is there any information available yet about Mindstates VII in 2006 ?

Thanks, Bob

posted in Mind States - 2 replies

Sacred Elixirs Talks and Poetry

Gwyllm — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 04:11:12 GMT

Please check out the talks and poetry MP3's of the Sacred Elixirs Conference at
http://www.earthrites.org

We are looking for additional recordings, and Video.

Thanks,

Gwyllm

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

Bolivia MindStates

Murple — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 22:35:24 GMT

I hear that the next MindStates is going to be outside of the US. I'd like to cast a vote for Bolivia - in particular, the city of La Paz. I visited there a few years ago, and I can't really imagine a more perfect location. Some of its relevant features:

* Thriving, millennia-old shamanic culture

* Trichocereus cacti are about as common as dandelions, and there is a cactus botanical garden which is nearly all made up of psychoactive plants

* Many ethnobotanicals such as coca, cacti, yopo, etc may be purchased and used openly/legally

* Incomprehensibly gorgeous natural surroundings

* La Paz has a several block long outdoor Shaman's Market

* Miles and miles of street vendors selling native handicrafts, music, clothing, etc

* La Paz also has various (and excellent) archeological museums loaded with Inca and pre-Inca artifacts relating to ethnobotanicals and/or shamanism, ranging from historical museums to a museum dedicated exclusively to the coca plant

* Tons of great activities ranging from nature hikes to historical sites to great jazz bars and dance clubs

* Amazing food!!!

* So cheap its practically free to go there once you've bought a plane ticket

Take a look at http://www.murple.net/bolivia for photos and more. This would be an awesome place which I think all would enjoy. It would also probably be cheaper than almost any other country with features that would make them good MindStates locations.

The hotel I stayed at has group rates and can handle small conventions, there are other locations in town for large conventions.

-Murple

posted in Mind States - 21 replies

Mind States IV (2003) Conference Sampler

Lorenzo — Mon, 19 Dec 2005 22:39:21 GMT

I've just posted a podcast of some of the 2003 conference talks. There are short ( 4 - 6 minute) cuts from talks by Susan Balckmore, V.S. Ramachandran, Richard Glen Boire, John Gilmore, Ralph Metzner, and Jaron Lanier. You can download this MP3 file at:

http://www.matrixmasters.com/podcasts/index.html#023

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

Sacred Elixirs, a conference on the role of drug plants in the history of religion

Mike — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 18:04:33 GMT

Please note that, despite rumors, this event in San Jose has NOT been cancelled. Check out www.sacredelixirs.com

posted in Mind States - 5 replies

A newly discovered entheogen

Mike — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 17:41:33 GMT

Tribe members who will be attending the Sacred Elixirs conference in San Jose next weekend ( http://www.sacredelixirs.com )may be interested to know that Dr. Shulgin has changed the subject of his talk. His topic is now "A New Elixir" about a newly discovered entheogenic cactus - Pachycereus pringlei. The talk will be accompanied by slides of cave paintings showing the sacramental use of this species.

-m

posted in Mind States - 4 replies

Who made the presentation that dealt with "noise and random selection" and the evolution of language and consciousness

Shaun — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 20:53:31 GMT

Who made the presentation that dealt with "noise and random selection" and the evolution of language and consciousness. He also mentioned the brains ability to understand sequences and he mentioned the theories involving language as being a virus or language being part of a runaway brain process involving temporal sequence.

posted in Mind States - 7 replies

my brain

Sat, 17 Sep 2005 05:20:39 GMT

my brain
won't stay the same
wheeling mind
the kind
information input flow

connections reach
old ones impeached
daily frontal new versions of me

posted in Mind States - 1 reply

Sheldon Deals the Dope

Jon — Sat, 25 Jun 2005 13:30:22 GMT

Sheldon Norberg is presenting a theatrical spin on his book Confessions of a Dope Dealer. It opens Thursday, June 30 at the Climate Theater in San Francisco, and runs through July 30, on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

According to Sheldon, "This is my most ambitious production yet, with a completely revised script, upgraded sound, and lighting!"

Definitely worth checking out. :-)

The Climate Theater is at 285 9th St @Folsom
Showtime is 8 PM - Tickets are $15 Thursday and $20 Fri/Sat.
Five dollar discount will be refunded at the door for students w/ID.
Group discounts available for 8 or more.
All sales are through the web - http://www.adopedealer.com

posted in Mind States - 4 replies

Linda Corazon

Pure Possibility — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 08:32:49 GMT

I was wondering if anyone had contact info for Linda Corazon who spkoe at MindStates? I thought her talk(s) were fabulous and would like to look at her slides, again.

Thanks,
Mark

posted in Mind States - 1 reply

San Miguel de Allende Mindstates

xola26 — Thu, 11 Aug 2005 18:41:24 GMT

I have an idea for a future Mindstates venue: San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. (You know the Robert Rodriguez flick 'Once Upon A Time in Mexico'?)

It's a great little colonial city with lots of hotels, restaurants, a couple of surprisingly hip nightclubs, jazz musicians, as well as hot springs and a cactus garden for Sasha Shulgin. Being in Mexico, it would also keep Jonathon Ott happy, probably.

Being in north-central Mexico, Oaxaca isn't too far and I'm sure peyote explorers would be happy too. What's more it's better connected in terms of infrastructure and probably easier and cheaper to travel to from the United States than Oaxaca, but still retains a laid-back feel.

posted in Mind States - 8 replies

MAPS auction

clearmenser — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 23:25:21 GMT

And you can see the Mind States logo/icon from this year in the images over on the left.

http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,66924,00.html?tw=wn_story_related

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

Audio Recordings Now Available

Jon — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 17:43:05 GMT

The URL below has the audio recordings from Mind States 2005, as well as the 2003 event. Both CDs and MP3s are available. Through July 10th, these are available at prices that are close to those I mentioned earlier on this web site: $60 for the entire collection of CDs, $45 for the whole collection on MP3 (both collections come with "bonus tracks" of short interviews with some of the presenters, which are only available when the complete collection is purchased), or $5 per single disc talk, or $8 per two-disc panel presentation. After July 10th, the prices will go up a bit, so it is cheaper to get these now.

http://www.musqaria.com/mindstates

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

Incarnation

Murple — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 03:12:35 GMT

There was a film called "Incarnation" played during a break at MindStates. I think Saturday or Sunday. It was produced by some Australian film school from what I remember of the credits. Anybody know the name of the person who made it or a website with info and/or the movie?

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

arrrggg....

Gail — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 07:37:42 GMT

Got the cd I'd been eagerly awaiting... and it's the wrong one.

I want/need/ordered the discussion on gaming by the game designer I can't remember - Katherine Somebody? and got *another* copy of Mark Pesce's lecture instead. (Found my receipt - it's Katie Salen that I didn't get).

How do I go about getting the cd I ordered and paid for?

posted in Mind States - 3 replies

visionary art

Sat, 25 Jun 2005 17:46:11 GMT

My friend Jamas wasn't aware of the Mind States conference but I think he is onto something.

- PD

http://www.famousjamas.com/gallery.html

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

recordings?

clearmenser — Thu, 26 May 2005 19:04:54 GMT

Will recordings of the conference be available? Can we make out own recordings? I understand that with the advent of cheap large volume recorders this is a possibility, but I was wonder what Jon's policy was.

posted in Mind States - 14 replies

Name of the video game

BeeBee — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 19:39:29 GMT

Gail's post prompted my memory of Katie's talk at MindStates. She mentioned a great Japanese video game that she enjoyed playing. Does anyone know the name of this game? I wrote down a name, but, when I started searching, came up empty handed. Argh!!
B

posted in Mind States - 8 replies

SF Weekly article

Murple — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 17:50:33 GMT

Oh good grief... lets all thank this stupid schmuck for turning an academic conference into an article about a dope shopping spree. d00d y0 trippin ballzz n shit y0 d00d yo!! ARGH! I suppose expecting a more positive article was unrealistic, but it's still disappointing that people can't write stories about things like this without taking it down to the "Operation Tripping Balls" level. This lovely bit of journalism is from the current SF Weekly:

http://www.sfweekly.com/Issues/2005-06-15/news/dogbites.html

Altered Mindstates
Dog Bites trips out over the Mindstates global psychedelic convention
Overheard by John Mecklin

Published: Wednesday, June 15, 2005

It's Sunday evening -- day three of Mindstates VI: Technology and
Transcendence. I'm exhausted; my wallet is totally tapped, and I'm
curled up like a little, shoeless monkey on a body pillow tucked away
deep inside the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, but all is good because
Operation: Tripping Balls has been, without a doubt, an unqualified
success. Let me explain.

Mindstates is one of America's pre-eminent conferences and conventions
for the global psychedelic community; it consists of three 11-hour days
packed full of lectures, panel discussions, vendors, demonstrations,
autograph sessions, and schmoozing. Its structure and total devotion to
subcultural esoterica is essentially equivalent to that of a baseball
card and memorabilia convention or even a gun show.

Obviously, this gathering is geared toward cybershamans,
technology-worshipping transhumanists, devotees of Burning Man,
herbalists, fans of visionary art, experimental therapists, New Agers,
Caucasian Rastafarians, radical evolutionists, and, of course, your
classic, tie-dyed '60s hippie, who probably had a difficult time
remaining indoors for so damn long when the weather outside was
drop-dead gorgeous. Then again, this current psychedelic scene appears
more concerned with drug-aided digital connectivity than devouring some
'shrooms and mystically merging with the fauna in and around Mount Tam.
Sure, wildly massive techno-tribal events like Burning Man do take place
outside, but the natural landscape seems to take a back seat to the
concentrated nexus of severely digitized trance music, high-tech
gadgetry, and head-swimming laser light shows. In archaic Dead-speak,
these incredibly intrepid mind-fuckers are way more Anthem of the Sun
than American Beauty.

I arrive on Friday evening shortly before the "Mushroom Panel: R. Gordon
Wasson's Psilocybe Discovery -- Reflections and Inspirations." I intend
to catch as many lectures as humanly possible for this piece. My plan,
however, breaks down immediately after entering the main space and
discovering (excuse the pun) a mind-blowing assortment of psychoactive
plants for sale. Now, I expected to encounter hippies hawking herbs,
books, incense, tribal-techno mix CDs, and psychedelic art, as well as
some truly garish skintight T's decorated with hundreds of floating
cyber-Buddhas. But never, in my wildest fantasies, did I expect to be
perusing tables covered in Ziploc baggage containing near-mythological
plants that have been getting our race's shamanic ancestry -- from
Oaxaca to Siberia -- zonked since the dawn of time. In all honesty, this
is a real dream come true. So, immediately following Mike Crowley's
presentation, "The Secret Drugs of Buddhism," I begin a shopping spree
that I will call "Operation: Tripping Balls."

My first buy of the weekend is from a knowledgeable man in a khaki ball
cap; he resembles your typical organic pumpkin-patch attendant, and he
delivers a $25 vial of Salvia divinorum extract.

"Can this shit get me high?" I ask him.

Right away, he knows I'm a rookie. My lingo is too "from the streets"
for his liking. So, he slips a pamphlet into my hand and sternly orders
me to "read it before using this stuff." According to these safety
guidelines, "People report traveling to different places and periods of
time" when using this shit.

I flash this tiny bottle of "Sally-D" to a friend (and veteran
psychedelic-drug experimenter) also attending the conference, and he
informs me that Salvia divinorum can work, but it's notoriously
unreliable and the high doesn't last too long. Later that night, my wife
and I smoke roughly a quarter of the bottle within the confines of our
living room. We both giggle our asses off for approximately 16 minutes.
She then claims an alien presence has entered the room, but I am not
fortunate enough to sense it. Fuck.

I expand my search on Saturday and mill about a table where a couple of
Canadians are dealing in some heavy-duty, top-shelf, organic
psychedelics. I make numerous passes by their goods because, quite
frankly, Operation: Tripping Balls has replaced the panel discussions as
my primary impetus for attending this conference, which is not to imply
that the presentations I did catch (16 in three days) were
underwhelming. Let's just say I am now craving "the trip" over listening
to folks merely talking about "the trip." As I see it, acquiring direct
knowledge is the only way to go when dealing with this scene. Thus, I
purchase two 25-gram bags of the Trichocereus peruvianus cactus (aka
"dry green flesh"); each $40 bag holds the minimum recommended dosage of
this mescaline-containing cactus, which, according to the dude I bought
it from, produces a high somewhat comparable to peyote -- a substance
the late, great Jim Morrison voraciously consumed, causing him to
experience visions of naked Native Americans. So, yeah, this is the big
time.

But, I'm still not satisfied, and upon my return to the conference on
Sunday, I finally approach this little, balding gentleman with a
rust-tinted 'stache who has been standing quietly behind a wall of
freshly severed San Pedro cacti for the past three days. Each one is a
2-by-5-inch green phallus, individually wrapped in newspaper and
accompanied by a set of finely detailed instructions for cultivation,
which means I'm capable of consuming the recommended dose and then
sticking the remainder in a bucket full of gravel to keep it alive and
growing. Of course, the nature of the high that the San Pedro cactus
produces supposedly varies wildly from trippy to speedy. A few heads
around the conference explain that the efficacy of this plant is hotly
debated within the psychedelic community. These facts do not deter me
from giving this man the very last $50 in my wallet for not one but two
cacti.

Unfortunately, I acquire these specimens around 2 in the afternoon,
requiring me to then lug them around the conference for nine more hours.
It's an arduous task demanding a certain level of physical endurance
that I just do not possess after three days of incessantly daydreaming
about shedding this mortal coil and joining my new psychedelic friends
up on some metaphysical plane of pure light. I do try to remain mobile,
but, after a couple more hours, this shit proves to be way, way too
heavy.

So, I head on over to the "chill pad," a small area consisting of body
pillows, tapestry wall-hangings, and a postmodern cyberaltar covered in
fresh flowers and various Eastern-flavored ephemera that glow in the
dark. In front of which a robed woman is wrapped up like a pretzel
chanting to herself. I scan other "chill pad" denizens and follow
protocol by removing my shoes and curling up on one of the myriad body
pillows. I quickly fall asleep with a huge fucking cactus tucked
underneath each arm. Who says the psychedelic age is dead? It's just
getting started, one cactus at a time. (Justin F. Farrar)

posted in Mind States - 5 replies

Photos

Murple — Sun, 12 Jun 2005 18:25:34 GMT

I took a ton of photos on my Mind States trip, as did my travelling companion Katie. I'm holding off on posting my photos from the conference until I can post them together with Katie's, but for starters here are my photos from San Francisco outside of Mind States... including many pictures of the Palace of Fine Arts where Mind States was held, and the Exploratorium which was next door to the conference.

http://www.murple.net/gallery/sanfran-2005

This was an awesome vacation, and thanks to Jon and all the volunteers for making this possible!

posted in Mind States - 2 replies

MS-SF Day 1

clearmenser — Sat, 28 May 2005 17:39:43 GMT

Please come read/comment on my experience at the first day of mind states:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/edenclones/9038.html

thank you,
Clear

p.s. there's some past experiences and poetry in there if that's your flavor.

posted in Mind States - 8 replies

Conference in AZ?

BeeBee — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 02:30:51 GMT

One of the presenters (can't recall who it was), mentioned a meeting that will be in Arizona. Does anyone remember this, the where, the when?
BeeBee from FL.

posted in Mind States - 2 replies

MS-SF Day 2

clearmenser — Sun, 29 May 2005 17:14:33 GMT

From my journal:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/edenclones/9285.html

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

MS-SF Day 2

Was off to a late start, fuck-it, I went to sleep after 2am after I texted in my notes from the days events. I ran/jogged 3 miles, as I do most mornings. Tasty.

I'm going a bit more casual today: jeans, t-shirt, and a corduroy jacket, and plenty of patchouli.

It takes me 1 and a half hours to get sitting down in the convention center's theater. I caught the tail end of the 1st lecture. "He's sponsored by DARPA, I don't like that intention." A fellow participant said to me.
"If you take it out all the way we're all dead, aren't we?" I responded. Blech, it doesn't take anything to just listen, does it?
The speaker was talking about cognitive science and neuro stimulation, long distance though projection, 2 monkeys in 2 different rooms.

Mark Pesce had quite an elaborate presentation with neato abstract video playing, a bit of a Terrence McKenna lecture (again preaching to the choir), and a didgerydoo. He spoke of Bittorrrent, Wiki, the outfoxed plug-in, iCellopedia, trust, and the need for a health regimen of media exercise.
In the Q & A someone remarked that the psychedelic sections of Wikipedia are a bit sparse and we should be doing a better job of getting the info out. I agree.

After the lecture I went to make a call and was accosted by A., a young enthusiastic woman, who mistook me for a fellow poster on entheogen.com.

Piers Bezerny "Scientists are from Mars, Artists are from Venus". Spoke of the aesthetics of Science and scientists as they experiment. It seems so simple of an idea, but so profound (as is much in the symposium) that Scientists are not the cold hearted archetypes of lore. He spoke of the pinning down of our universe by black holes, the instruments of galactic evolution.

Dinner at Pluto's: Huge portions, low prices. Met A. again with her fiancé N. from Connect.

I was invited by a speaker to a post Mind States party out in Marin on Monday. I was nuzzled on the cheek by a delightful middle aged fairy man. She was one of the speakers (the only woman) on the mushroom panel last night. She holds traditional ceremonies down in Mexico. She obviously loves what she does.

I skipped the multimedia lecture/dance. They spoke of a global dance culture, burningman and such. Been there, done that. I don't want to be cocky, and it's not like I yelled out some obscenities. I just let the auditorium when the chunky translating slides of galaxies slid by as a backdrop of the strains of some generic tribal electronic music came on with a couple of dreadlocked dancers.

The visionary artists panel: Donna Torres and her garden of visionary plants. A soft spoken woman relying heavily on her notes, nervous. Jim Woodring (my personal favorite) spouted a lucid treatise on his work "Lazy Robinson". Donna Tracy a texture artist talked of digital waste "Digitritus", fractals, acetic transcendence, and the palette for evolution. Robert Forman, a genuine New Yorker, a yarn worker and psychedelicist. His travels to the Ouichol and Guadeloupe. Vibrata and her evolution from dualism to interdependence.
I wish that Sue was able to MC the panel because they ran out of time and there was no Q & A. I think the whole introductory factual/lecture download could have been skipped in its entirety and we could have had 2 hours of Q&A, YES!

I'm skipping the CellSpace/Alex Grey benefit, no sour grapes from me, no worries.

Over the course of the conference I have been showing people my luminous mandalas. They seem to like them. That's good, maybe I should do my own greeting cards or stationary with them?

On the escalator down to the BART I was behind a party of teen fresh out from a prom, resplendent in gown and suit. They laughed and were filled with cheer. On the way up the staircase there was a woman who said "I wonder who's getting laid tonight?"
"Not me." I said, She laughed, I smiled.

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

Books avalable?

clearmenser — Fri, 27 May 2005 00:35:28 GMT

Hey Jon,
Is there any way we can get a list of the books that will be available? I have friends that cannot attend, but are still interested in the material.
thanks,
Clear

posted in Mind States - 1 reply

Fascinating article: EEGs, LSD, childhood mind states, fears and personality - Wow...

Jewelz — Fri, 27 May 2005 01:17:34 GMT

This article talks about accessing the unconscious via EEG, LSD, hypnosis or meditation to reduce fears (and its accompanying destructive, defense mechanisms). The author lays out two amazing brain function theories very succinctly, using two personality disorders (and how to heal them) as examples. Highly recommended!

The Link:
http://www.eegresearch.com/articles/general_17.htm

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

Single Day Tickets Available

Jon — Mon, 16 May 2005 18:05:26 GMT

Single day tickets are now available for the Mind States conference. These are $95 in advance, or $110 at the door. See http://www.mindstates.org for more information.

posted in Mind States - 4 replies

$300?

InfiniteWebb — Thu, 07 Apr 2005 20:01:35 GMT

So I was looking on the Mindstate website and noticed that the conferance coming up is $300 for 3 days....is anyone else personally offended by this?

More then Burning Man? Come on! I understand the need to cover costs, but this is an outrageous amount! I have many friends speaking here, as well as people I would love to see. But the cost is keeping myself and many others away.

I could see maybe $30 a day & I do understand the cost for flying and hosting all these amazing people, but I am stick shocked at the pricing....is it just me?

Lovenlight,
*christine*

posted in Mind States - 34 replies

I got my ticket, la la wooo!

clearmenser — Tue, 10 May 2005 01:53:59 GMT

Hey,
I got my envelope today, I'm totally psyched. I was prancing around the office. Woo. I live just over the Bay in Berkeley, right next to BART, the rides on my should be fine (one less car and all that). It looks like a great line up, but we'll see ;) tee hee...

nit-picks and split hairs:
could have done without the sticker over the Alex Grey image on the COSM flyer but I'm sure there will be some killer prints available at the conference.
On Sunday is the audience Q&A really only 10:00 to 10:15? Why so short (or is it a typo)? Again I'm sure there will be some jazzed up speakers/attendees that wouldn't mind a talky talk at a diner or two... And there's some late night ones in the ciry.

all love,
Clear

posted in Mind States - 3 replies

Jim Woodring

Jon — Wed, 04 May 2005 18:50:54 GMT

An article about Jim Woodring and his art, posted to StrangeCo toy distributers.

http://www.strangeco.com/Features/woodring.html

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

1) The Legendary R.U. Sirius interviews Ramez Naam

Jon — Wed, 27 Apr 2005 23:18:40 GMT

More Than Human futurist author and Mind States speaker, Ramez Naam, is grilled by Neofiles' R.U. Sirius.

http://www.life-enhancement.com/neofiles/default.asp?ID=61

posted in Mind States - 1 reply

Terence & Active Worlds

Jon — Sun, 10 Apr 2005 21:27:47 GMT

In 1999, Sylvia Thyssen and I did an interview with Terence McKenna in Hawai'i at the AllChemical Arts conference. Like Timothy Leary, Terence embraced various technologies of transcendence; he appeared at the first Mind States conference in 1997 for a Q & A session via a rudimentary web-based CUseeMe connection, transcending space to interact with the conference attendees.

During the 1999 interview in Hawai'i, Terence mentions the virtual worlds that had been popping up on the web. 2005 is the ten year anniversary for such Avatars in cyberspace. An excerpt from the interview is included below, and the whole thing can be seen at http://www.maps.org/news-letter...0n2/10206mck.html

The virtual worlds he refers to can be found at:

http://www.digitalspace.com/worlds/.....encem/index.html

This was an event that Bruce Damer/DigitalSpace held at Terence's house in 1999, shortly before his diagnosis with cancer. Thanks Bruce, for suggesting that this be posted to Tribe. :-)

The excerpt of interest is:

Sylvia: They haven't made art illegal. Which makes me want to shift this conversation a little bit. Tell us one delightful thing for yourself that has resulted from the AllChemical Arts Conference.

Terence: Well, I'm very keen for these Active Worlds, these virtual walk-around pieces of art. [see http://www.activeworlds.com for more information on this technology, and surf the links at http://www.digitalspace.com for more about the virtual AllChemical Arts Conference gallery.] I always said that virtual reality could be a technology for sharing the inside of our heads, and that's what we have not had. If we could show the power of these hallucinatory states as they actually are, the argument would be over. And so in a way it's interesting. It's a challenge to us, to use the animation tools and the scripting tools, to be as good as we say we can be. And so its no more of a hassle with the establishment. It actually lays the obligation back on the artist. And if artists would rise to that challenge, I think incredible art would begin. Transcendent art worthy of the name could be created.

Jon: With my own visions, the only kind of medium that they could be completely conveyed with would be the computer. The only parallel that there is, is computer animation, which sometimes is already so much like these visions, and could be even more so. So it really is an amazing tool.

Terence: That Active World, "Pollen," that we were looking at. There should be an effort out of our community to get together a core group of designers, animators, texture-mapping people, and just build. And build a psychedelic world where that's the charter, "This world is psychedelic. This world is for psychedelic people." And it's probably just a matter of suggesting it in the conference room here today to get it going, at this point.

posted in Mind States - 2 replies

Conferences Abroad?

Arvin — Tue, 12 Apr 2005 15:22:06 GMT

Hello, all.

I was just perusing past Mind States conferences and was curious about one, in particular - the one held in Negril, Jamaica, in 2002. Was it successful? It's a given turnout is sharply reduced as a result of the expense, but was holding the event in Jamaica a worthwhile experience?

I ask because I have some acquaintances who own a resort located on an isolated part of the island (busy, touristy Negril, it ain't), and the place seems ideal for a gathering of like minds. Its relative seclusion - including very nice accomodations and the best food I've had anywhere in the Caribbean - screams for people who can truly appreciate the natural beauty. Needless to say, mushroom & herb magically appear like morning dew, and a damn fine bowl of stars unobscured by artificial light awaits all seekers.

This is my first post here, but before anyone raises a sledgehammer and wooden stake, I swear to All That Is I'm a lot of things, but a spammer I'm not... just a curious afficionado of visionary plants who experienced one of the most sublime nights of my life in Jamaica.

Any and all comments are welcome.

posted in Mind States - 2 replies

In Lak'ech from Mind States Tribe Member #69

karina — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 21:25:32 GMT

Planitary Manitou
Kin 104

...
.... In Lak'ech....
...I am you and you are me...
...I am another you...

"XA TA XAC XA TA AMAC"
(Yucatec Maya)
"ONLY MAY THERE BE PEACE IN YOUR PRESENCE"
*******************************************************

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

PHOTOS ANYONE?

Jon — Mon, 04 Apr 2005 01:46:14 GMT

I posted some photos from Mind States Oaxaca (2004), and a few from Mind States IV (2003). If anyone has their own snaps, slap 'em up. :-)

-- Jon

posted in Mind States - 1 reply

Promotions

Jon — Sun, 27 Mar 2005 02:28:21 GMT

One of the challenges I am having, particularly with the focus of the current conference having moved in a direction--to some degree--away from visionary plants and drugs, is reaching the new, wider audience. Any suggestions on methods to promote Mind States VI are appreciated.

Thanks. -- Jon Hanna

posted in Mind States - 6 replies

Manuel Jiménez passed away

Jon — Wed, 06 Apr 2005 01:43:34 GMT

On the same day that I posted photos to this tribe-page of Don Manuel Jiménez, the first wood carver of Arrazola who we visited during the Mind States Oaxaca conference, I heard that "el brujo" had died on March 3rd.

I am glad that I got the opportunity to meet him.

-- Jon

posted in Mind States - 0 replies

Focus

astroblue — Fri, 01 Apr 2005 20:59:51 GMT

In another thread, Jon mentioned:

"...the focus of the current conference having moved in a direction--to some degree--away from visionary plants and drugs"

I'd be interested in hearing some discussion of the focus for this year's event. Is this change a philosophical one, or just how things are playing out this time?

astro

posted in Mind States - 1 reply

BrainPort, Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita, and Sensory Substitution

Jon — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 20:53:38 GMT

New Tools to Help Patients Reclaim Damaged Senses

November 23, 2004
By SANDRA BLAKESLEE

Cheryl Schiltz vividly recalls the morning she became a wobbler. Seven years ago, recovering from an infection after surgery with the aid of a common antibiotic, she climbed out of bed feeling pretty good.

"Then I literally fell to the floor," she said recently. "The whole world started wobbling. When I turned my head, the room tilted. My vision blurred. Even the air felt heavy."

The antibiotic, Ms. Schiltz learned, had damaged her vestibular system, the part of the brain that provides visual and gravitational stability. She was forced to quit her job and stay home, clinging to the walls to keep from toppling over.

But three years ago, Ms. Schiltz volunteered for an experimental treatment - a fat strip of tape, placed on her tongue, with an array of 144 microelectrodes about the size of a postage stamp. The strip was wired to a kind of carpenter's level, which was mounted on a hard hat that she placed on her head. The level determined her spatial coordinates and sent the information as tiny pulses to her tongue.

The apparatus, called a BrainPort, worked beautifully. By"buzzing" her tongue once a day for 20 minutes, keeping the pulses centered, she regained normal vestibular function and was able to balance.

Ms. Schiltz and other patients like her are the beneficiaries of an astonishing new technology that allows one set of sensory information to substitute for another in the brain.

Using novel electronic aids, vision can be represented on the skin, tongue or through the ears. If the sense of touch is gone from one part of the body, it can be routed to an area where touch sensations are intact. Pilots confused by foggy conditions, in which the horizon disappears, can right their aircraft by monitoring sensations on the tongue or trunk. Surgeons can feel on their tongues the tip of a probe inside a patient's body, enabling precise movements.

Sensory substitution is not new. Touch substitutes for vision when people read Braille. By tapping a cane, a blind person perceives a step, a curb or a puddle of water but is not aware of any sensation in the hand; feeling is experienced at the tip of the cane.

But the technology for swapping sensory information is largely the effort of Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita, a neuroscientist in the University of Wisconsin Medical School's orthopedics and rehabilitation department. More than 30 years ago, Dr. Bach-y-Rita developed the first sensory substitution device, routing visual images, via a head-mounted camera, to electrodes taped to the skin on people's backs. The subjects, he found, could "see" large objects and flickering candles with their backs. The tongue, sensitive and easy to reach, turned out to be an even better place to deliver substitute senses, Dr. Bach-y-Rita said.

Until recently sensory substitution was confined to the laboratory. But electronic miniaturization and more powerful computer algorithms are making the technology less cumbersome. Next month, the first fully portable device will be tested in Dr. Bach-y-Rita's lab.

The BrainPort is nearing commercialization. Two years ago, the University of Wisconsin patented the concept and exclusively licensed it to Wicab Inc., a company formed by Dr. Bach-y-Rita to develop and market BrainPort devices. Robert Beckman, the company president, said units should be available a year from now.

Meanwhile, a handful of clinicians around the world who are using the BrainPort on an experimental basis are effusive about its promise.

"I have never seen any other device do what this one does," said Dr. F. Owen Black, an expert on vestibular disorders at the Legacy Clinical Research and Technology Center in Portland, Ore. "Our patients are begging us to continue using the device."

Dr. Maurice Ptito, a neuroscientist at University of Montreal School of Optometry, is conducting brain imaging experiments to explore how BrainPort works.

Dr. Eliana Sampaio, a neuroscientist at the National Conservatory of Arts and Métiers in Paris, is using the BrainPort to study brain plasticity. Sensory substitution is based on the idea that all sensory information entering the brain consists of patterns carried by nerve fibers.

In vision, images of the world pass through the retina and are converted into impulses that travel up the optic nerve into the brain. In hearing, sounds pass through the ear and are converted into patterns carried by the auditory nerve into the brain. In touch, nerve endings on skin translate touch sensations into patterns carried into the brain.

These patterns travel to special sensory regions where they are interpreted, with the help of memory, into seeing, hearing and touch. Patterns are also seamlessly combined so that one can see, hear and feel things simultaneously.

"We see with the brain, not with the eyes," Dr. Bach-y-Rita said. "You can lose your retina but you do not lose the ability to see as long as your brain is intact."

Most important, the brain does not seem to care if patterns come from the eye, ear or skin. Given the proper context, it will interpret and understand them. "For me, it happened automatically, within a few minutes," said Erik Weihenmayer, who has been blind since he was 13.

Mr. Weihenmayer, a 35-year-old adventurer who climbed to the summit of Mount Everest two years ago, recently tried another version of the BrainPort, a hard hat carrying a small video camera. Visual information from the camera was translated into pulses that reached his tongue.

He found doorways, caught balls rolling toward him and with his small daughter played a game of rock, paper and scissors for the first time in more than 20 years. Mr. Weihenmayer said that, with practice, the substituted sense gets better, "as if the brain were rewiring itself."

Ms. Schiltz, too, whose vestibular system was damaged by gentamicin, an inexpensive generic antibiotic used for Gram-negative infections, said that the first few times she used the BrainPort she felt tiny impulses on her tongue but still could not maintain her balance. But one day, after a full 20-minute session with the BrainPort, Ms. Schiltz opened her eyes and felt that something was different. She tilted her head back. The room did not move. "I went running out the door," she recalled. "I danced in the parking lot. I was completely normal. For a whole hour." Then, she said, the problem returned.

She tried more sessions. Soon her balance was restored for three hours, then half a day. Now working with the BrainPort team at the University of Wisconsin, Ms. Schiltz wears the tongue unit each morning. Her balance problems are gone as long as she keeps to the regimen.

How the device produces a lasting effect is being investigated. The vestibular system instructs the brain about changes in head movement with respect to the pull of gravity. Dr. Bach-y-Rita speculated that in some patients, a tiny amount of vestibular tissue might survive and be reactivated by the BrainPort.

Dr. Black said he had seen the same residual effect in his own pilot study. "It decays in hours to days," he said, "but is very encouraging."

Blind people who have used the device do not report lasting effects. But they are amazed by what they can see. Mr. Weihenmayer said the device at first felt like candy pop rocks on his tongue. But that sensation quickly gave way to perceptions of size, movement and recognition.

Mr. Weihenmayer said that on several occasions he was able to find his wife, who was standing still in an outdoor park, but he admitted that he also once confused her with a tree. Another time, he walked down a sidewalk and almost went off a bridge.

Nevertheless, he is enthusiastic about the future of the device. Mr. Weihenmayer likes to paraglide, and he sees the BrainPort as a way to deliver sonar information to his tongue about how far he is from the ground.

Dr. Ptito is scanning the brains of congenitally blind people who, wearing the BrainPort, have learned to make out the shapes, learned from Braille, of capital letters like T, B or E. The first few times they wore the device, he said, their visual areas remained dark and inactive - not surprising since they had been blind since birth. But after training, he said, their visual areas lighted up when they used the tongue device. The study has been accepted for publication in the journal Brain.

Dr. Ptito says he would like to see if he could teach his subjects how to read drifting letters like those in advertising displays. Not seeing motion is a big problem for the blind, he said.

In another approach, Dr. Peter Meijer, a Dutch scientist working independently, has developed a system for blind people to see with their ears. A small device converts signals from a video camera into sound patterns delivered by stereo headset to the ears. Changes in frequency connote up or down. Changes in pixel brightness are sensed as louder or softer sounds.

Dr. Yuri Danilov, a neuroscientist and engineer who works with Dr. Bach-y-Rita, said the research team had thought of dozens of applications for the BrainPort, which he called a "USB port to the brain."

In one experiment, a leprosy patient who had lost the ability to experience touch with his fingers was outfitted with a glove containing contact sensors. These were coupled to skin on his forehead. Soon he experienced the data coming from the glove on his forehead, as if the feelings originated in his fingertips. He said he cried when he could touch and feel his wife's face.

The federal government has also shown interest in sensory substitution technology. The Navy is exploring the use of a tongue device to help divers find their way in dark waters at night, said Dr. Anil Raj, director of the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition at the University of West Florida in Pensacola.

The sensors detect water surges, informing Navy Seals if they are following the correct course. The Army is thinking about sending infrared signals from night goggles directly to the tongue, Dr. Raj said.

In another application, student pilots have been fitted with body sensors attached to aircraft instruments. When the airplane starts to pitch or change altitude, they can feel the movements on their chests.

Sensory substitution technology may eventually help millions of people overcome their sensory disabilities. But the devices may also have more frivolous uses: in video games, for example.

Dr. Raj said the tongue unit had already been tried out in a game that involved shooting villains. "In two minutes you stop feeling the buzz on your tongue and get a visual representation of the bad guy," he said. "You feel like you have X-ray vision. Unfortunately it makes the game boring."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/23/science/23sens.html?ex=1102218829&ei=1&en=9d8f104c257ef425

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