coin

happas, i have those false awakening dreams very often.. they are sometimes combined with a sortof sleeping panic attack. usually it goes like this: i become aware that i am asleep. i (dream that i) wake up..get outta bed etc..suddenly things go awry.. sometimes the room will start spinning violently, or a scarier variant..an invisible vortex open in the room and 'hoovers' me toward it..it's like lying on the floor with a rope tied around my ankle and being pulled violently, smashing & crumpling into walls and objects, back and forth...obviously i catch on "i'm still asleep".. then i may once again dream that i wake up ("phew")..this happens several times... i try really hard to move my hands, as this movement and determination can wake me, but sometimes it's no use...i'll scream really loudly and i'm so sure that i must be vocalising (in the real world) but a friend has said i was totally silent.. sometimes, upon truly awakening i find my hands where i moved them while dreaming, but sometimes doesn't correlate..(this was always kinda funny when masturbating in lucid dreams) usually the sheer panic will eventually rouse me.... i'm getting used to recognising it early tho, and staying calm..but it sometimes mingles with disturbing thought forms and emotional elements.. why am i telling all this? ("who are you talking to sir?") [This message has been edited by coin (edited 25 January 2002).]

The Scientist 16[2]:16, Jan. 21, 2002 Phenotype Offers New Perception on Cocaine Researchers say glutamate is more essential to addiction than dopamine By Tom Hollon In cocaine research, dopamine and glutamate make a brilliant star and supporting player, respectively. One takes center stage, the anointed crowd-pleaser; the other, though a leading actor in other productions, is so overshadowed that admiration of its performance is relegated to an acquired taste. A quick PubMed search recently disclosed their perceived importance: 3,628 abstracts on cocaine and dopamine, 178 for cocaine and glutamate. Courtesy of Fran^ßois Conquet Fran^ßois Conquet ---------------------------------- Now, however, perceptions may shift'Äînot that dopamine descends from the firmament, but that glutamate will sparkle as brightly. Recent knockout mouse evidence1 from researchers led by Fran^ßois Conquet, CEO of Addex Pharmaceuticals in Geneva, Switzerland, reveals that glutamate's role in cocaine dependence is even more central than dopamine's. The case for dopamine's centrality remains airtight. Cocaine binds the dopamine transporter, blocking reuptake of dopamine into presynaptic neurons. Blockade increases dopamine concentration in synapses, an event responsible for cocaine's pleasurable effects and suggested as key to developing drug dependence. But although loss of the transporter and dopamine receptors in knockout mice may alter behavior toward cocaine, always the drug remains addictive. When the dopamine transporter is lost, for instance, mice may still become cocaine dependent through cocaine's ability to bind the serotonin transporter. This is not necessarily surprising, observes Peter Kalivas, of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, who is a leading investigator of the glutamate-cocaine relationship. "The ability of an organism to predict rewarding stimuli in the environment is absolutely critical to survival," says Kalivas, "so there probably is some redundancy." Contrast this redundancy to what Conquet finds when metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR5 disappears: Without mGluR5, mice turn up noses and whiskers to cocaine, even though their dopaminergic systems respond to cocaine as usual. "These are the first knockout mice completely unresponsive to this powerfully addictive drug," says Conquet, who engineered the knockout mice when he was at GlaxoSmithKline in Lausanne, Switzerland. From this phenotype emerges a new picture of dopamine and glutamate: Sustaining cocaine-seeking behavior requires both neurotransmitters, while only glutamate is indispensable for cocaine dependence. The Consolation Prize Glutamate, the main excitatory neurotransmitter, is associated with learning and memory. Its receptors divide into ionotropic and metabotropic forms important to this function. "Learning occurs in part from changes in both ionotropic and metabotropic signals," Kalivas explains. "You adjust both in order to change the way cells communicate." Ionotropic receptors are also called ligandgated ion channels.Ligand binding opens the channel so ions can pass through the cell membrane. Generally these are ion channels first, receptors second, controlling very quick changes in membrane current. In comparison, metabotropic glutamate receptors bring slower changes; largely they modulate signals from other neurotransmitters, acting through second messenger systems. They belong to the seven-transmembrane, G-protein linked superfamily of receptors. Conquet studies metabotropic receptors mGluR1 and mGluR5, which act through the phospholipase C signaling pathway. Conquet's discovery of mGluR5's role in cocaine addiction originates in his second-place finish in a race to make mGluR5 knockout mice. Conquet was at the time head of Glaxo's experimental pathology unit, where his job was to make knockout mice deficient in various neuronal receptors. He lost to John Roder, of the Hospital for Sick Children, in Toronto. By showing that mGluR5 mutant mice perform poorly in the Morris water maze test and in fear-related learning, Roder implicated mGluR5 in spatial learning and memory.2 Roder's experiments suggest that mGluR5 is involved in long-term potentiation (LTP) within the hippocampus. Scooped, Conquet had to ask himself if Roder's description of the phenotype was complete. A possibility Roder might have missed, Conquet decided, was how the mice would react to cocaine. The possibility of a connection between mGluR5 and cocaine appealed to Conquet's sense of drug dependence as a form of learned behavior. He knew that cocaine increases glutamate concentration in the nucleus accumbens, a brain region associated with cocaine dependence and stimulation of locomotor activity, and the location for the natural reward circuitry for food, water, mating and maternal behavior. Kalivas and his associates have demonstrated that mGluR5 receptors are down regulated following chronic cocaine administration.3 Conquet turned for help to his colleague Christian Chiamulera, who works on sychiatric drugs in a Glaxo laboratory in Verona, Italy. Willing to take a flyer on a wild idea, but wanting to avoid weeks of work with nothing to show for it, Chiamulera suggested a quick-and-dirty observation of cocaine as a psychostimulant: Inject cocaine into the bellies of the knockouts, then look for hyperactivity. When Conquet watched the first injections, mmediately he worried something was wrong. Instead of frenzied exploration if their surroundings, the mGluR5 knockouts lolled about as if nothing had happened. They verified in fact that the mice had received walloping doses. To their excitement, wild type mice on cocaine behaved as expected'Äîno sleepwalkers or indolent beachcombers here. These creatures were ready to jitterbug 'til dawn at Mardi Gras. Conquet and Chiamulera were ready to join them. Chiamulera would now follow up with more elaborate experiments. For a test that approximates cocaine addiction in humans, Conquet brought in Mark Epping-Jordan, another Glaxo scientist, to do cocaine self-administration experiments. Chiamulera confirmed his initial results. Wild type mice responded to cocaine in a dose-dependent manner: The higher the dose, the more hyperactive they became. Knockouts remained unperturbed regardless of dose. Abolishing mGluR5 abolishes cocaine-induced hyperactivity. Epping-Jordan began the self-administration experiments by first training knockout and wild type mice to press a lever in order to get food. Both groups learned lever pressing equally well. Then he substituted intravenous cocaine for food and watched what happened. Wild type mice responded enthusiastically to the new menu, and would press for cocaine a dozen or more times an hour. MGluR5 mutants ignored cocaine at every dose; within a few sessions they would learn levers no longer produced food and stop pressing. It was possible that the connection between cocaine dependence and mGluR5 was indirect, that loss of mGluR5 during development altered molecules even closer to control of dependence. Conquet's group examined the issue by asking if 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine (MPEP), a selective mGluR5 antagonist, reduced cocaine self-administration in normal mice. It did'ÄîIn dose-dependent fashion, MPEP decreased demand for cocaine by up to 50%. The link, then, is direct and essential. "Somehow, glutamate transmission at mGluR5 is critical for the animal to recognize the rewarding effects of cocaine," says Kalivas. "The surprising thing is that it must be a secondary effect, because cocaine does not act directly on glutamate transmission. There is no binding by cocaine directly to any protein that has to do with glutamate transmission." Leaving Natural Reward Along Loss of mGluR5 apparently leaves the dopaminergic system intact. Using microdialysis to measure dopamine in freely moving mice, the researchers found dopamine concentrations in the nucleus accumbens were the same for mutant and normal mice, with or without cocaine. Levels of D1 and D2-class dopamine receptors and dopamine transporters were also normal.Most striking is that reward systems strongly influenced by dopamine'Äînourishment, mating, and nursing'Äîwere also unaffected by loss of mGluR5. Conquet emphasizes that no other knockout has behaved this way: "This is the first time a mammal has been found insensitive to cocaine while its other reward-based systems remain normal." He continues, "Dopamine receptor knockouts fail to curb cocaine dependence because mGluR5 is still working. They just affect general dopaminergic activity," and with considerable "collateral damage". Experiments with dopamine receptor agonists also indicate that dopamine does not lie at the center of cocaine dependence: "People have shown that you can never induce dependence from scratch with dopamine agonists. But you can maintain the process with these compounds once dependence is ongoing, probably after mGluR5 has turned the system on." Kalivas now distinguishes dopamine and glutamate by their short and long term effects. "The acute rewarding properties that keep people coming back to the drug are mediated by dopamine," he says. "The 'Once an addict, always an addict' kinds of folklore that really make an addict are probably long-term changes in glutamate transmission." In retrospect, this isn't surprising: "All of neuroscience has been pointing to glutamate transmission as the critical player in the brain's ability to adapt to the environment." Cocaine addiction is one such adaptation. From Scientist to Entrepreneur Conquet founded Addex only a few weeks ago, departing Glaxo for better opportunities to continue his work. Following Glaxo's merger with SmithKline, drugs against cocaine addiction seemed better markets for smaller companies. Glaxo's larger size demands larger markets if the pharma giant is to sustain itself. For a small firm like Addex, a new mGluR5 antagonist could be quite profitable. Why develop a new drug when MPEP exists? Because MPEP dissolves very poorly and barely crosses the blood-brain barrier, Conquet explains.Conquet does not know if mGluR5 plays a role with ethanol and nicotine addiction. Self-administration experiments have not been done. Partly he hasn't had time, since he's busy starting Addex. Partly the mice haven't had time, since other drugs of abuse, especially alcohol, require longer training periods. Whether mGluR5 influences other so-called addictions, is a question left for the distant future. If Addex does find a good mGluR5 antagonist, therapeutic possibilities may extend well beyond helping snorters and crackheads stay clean. Glutamate may be implicated in numerous psychiatric disorders, according to Kalivas. mGluR5 inhibitors have been suggested as possible treatments for Alzheimer Disease, Parkinsonian akinesia, muscle rigidity, stroke, anxiety, and inflammatory pain. But as always, Kalivas reminds, once a good drug candidate is in hand, only running the clinical experiments will tell for sure. Tom Hollon ([email protected]) is a freelance writer in Rockville, Md. References 1. C. Chiamulera et al., "Reinforcing and locomotor stimulant effects of cocaine are absent in mGluR5 null mutant mice," Nature Neuroscience, 4:873-4, September 2001. 2. Z. Jia et al, "Gene targeting reveals a role for the glutamate receptors mGluR5 and GluR2 in learning and memory," Physiology and Behavior, 73:793-802, August 2001. 3. C.J. Swanson et al., "Repeated cocaine administration attenuates group I metabotropic glutamate receptor-mediated glutamate release and behavioral activation: a potential role for Homer," Journal of Neuroscience, 21:9043-52, Nov. 15, 2001. -------------------------------- The Scientist 16[2]:16, Jan. 21, 2002 © Copyright 2002, The Scientist, Inc. All rights reserved.

MONKEY COCAINE STUDY LINKS STATUS, ADDICTION Social Standing Is Key In Determining Who's Susceptible To Drug Use, Study Concludes. WASHINGTON -- Social standing - being dominant or subordinate - plays a vital role in susceptibility to drug use, scientists said Tuesday in a study of monkeys that may shed light on human addiction. Researchers at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., found that macaque monkeys deemed to be subordinate in small groups were much more likely to give themselves doses of cocaine in a laboratory setting than dominant monkeys. Brain chemistry linked to social rank explains the phenomenon, the scientists said in a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. Where an individual monkey stands on the simian totem pole is reflected in the brain chemical dopamine, which is closely linked with cocaine and other types of substance abuse, they found. URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02.n111.a02.html Pubdate: Wed, 23 Jan 2002 Source: Orange County Register (CA) Copyright: 2002 The Orange County Register Contact: [email protected] Website: http://www.ocregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321 Author: Will Dunham, Reuters ------- also, see Social Rank Theory

thanks darklight. (working late?)

oops, wait - there's more..let me put up the whole article... --- Monkey cocaine study links status, addiction Social standing is key in determining who's susceptible to drug use, study concludes. January 23, 2002 By WILL DUNHAM Reuters WASHINGTON -- Social standing - being dominant or subordinate - plays a vital role in susceptibility to drug use, scientists said Tuesday in a study of monkeys that may shed light on human addiction. Researchers at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., found that macaque monkeys deemed to be subordinate in small groups were much more likely to give themselves doses of cocaine in a laboratory setting than dominant monkeys. Brain chemistry linked to social rank explains the phenomenon, the scientists said in a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. Where an individual monkey stands on the simian totem pole is reflected in the brain chemical dopamine, which is closely linked with cocaine and other types of substance abuse, they found. The dominant monkeys experienced an increase in a type of dopamine receptor known to be involved in brain pathways for reward processing, and were less vulnerable to cocaine abuse than their wallflower laboratory companions. Michael Nader, who led the study, said the research showed that environmental changes can have a profound impact on brain chemistry relating to sensitivity to a given addictive drug - a finding that could have parallels in people. Cocaine acts on the brain by raising levels of dopamine in synapses - gaps between nerve cells - with elevated dopamine levels corresponding to the "high" experienced by the user. Dopamine, categorized as a neurotransmitter, is released in normal nerve-impulse transmissions in the brain. Nader and his colleagues studied 20 male monkeys. The researchers looked at their hormonal activity and behavior, then used a sophisticated imaging technique to measure activity in the brain. A change in living arrangements was then imposed. The monkeys were moved into groups of four. In the ensuing social interaction over three months, dominant monkeys emerged in the five groups, and a hierarchy was established. The researchers then introduced cocaine to the monkeys, allowing them to self-administer doses. The top monkeys were far less likely to do so than the others. Brain scans revealed that the dominant monkeys - those that were the most aggressive and least submissive toward others - experienced major changes relating to dop amine starting after the group-housing arrangement was imposed. Because the changes were not seen when the monkeys lived by themselves, the scientists said the changes in brain chemistry resulted from the process of becoming dominant. "The environmental consequences of those social hierarchies resulted in these changes," Nader said in an interview. "And the changes were in the dominant animals and not in the subordinate animals. So the positive spin on that is that environmental enrichment can produce rapid changes in the brain that, in this particular case, protected the individual from drug abuse. And that is the applicability (to people)." Nader said the findings involving these monkeys should not be interpreted to mean that, in people, those at the top of the social ladder are the least susceptible to substance abuse. "I don't think it's the social subordination vs. the CEO that's the main point. It's that environmental enrichment ... can produce rapid and robust changes in the brain." ----- what's your take on the social rank theory (for depression)? [This message has been edited by coin (edited 24 January 2002).]

Theosofische Vereniging in Nederland, Tolstraat-154, 1074 VM Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Phone: 31-20-676 5672 Fax: 31-20-675 7657

http://www.alchemind.org/dll/sb1103index.htm "California bills to place MDMA (Ecstasy) in Schedule I and to impose 90-day mandatory minimum for using or being under the influence of MDMA." http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/ca-ecstasy/

allow me to ramble for a sec to maybe give you some ideas.. remember that when doing saline irrigation correctly, the solution used is much closer to the osmality of your bodily fluids than sea water...if the salt concentration (should taste like your tears) and temperature are correct, you will only sense a stream of movement...if either are off, it will sting.. you may find that removing any blockages in the nasal area, the warm temperature, or just the movement/pressure of the solution may promote dissolution and/or drainage of the upper sinuses. heat is good..is torsten's suggestion of a steam bath not appropriate? i would try that (also with a hot water bottle on the back of the neck, and perhaps after eating a spicy meal) followed by facial massage with warm sesame oil (to soften and soothe the congested internal structure and loosen obstruction), then neti.. ayurvedic medicine uses medicated nasal drops (nasya)..for sinus problems, sesame oil infused with calamus and ginger is common.. oleation (oiling) the nostrils is common following jala neti (once again, sesame oil is almost always preferred)..you simply dip your little finger in oil and wriggle it around up there (quite high), massaging the passages (be very careful of sharp fingernails)..i believe this would help soothe the harsh astringency of the seawater you're exposed to..it is also said to nourish the eyes and brain. perhaps you are getting water sitting/trapped in the sinuses? also it goes without saying to avoid irritation by smoking/snorting/pollution, etc. do you have any problems with your ears? or digestion? http://www.wholehealthmd.com/hc/sinusitis/...594,511,00.html [This message has been edited by coin (edited 22 January 2002).]

yes the TS bookstore is ok, but seriously watch out for the barely audible 'alpha' tapes they play in there! i didn't notice it until the 3rd-4th time i was in there..walking out with that dizzying feeling of info-overload having selected, browsed and skimmed and appraised, etc overwhelmed to the point of confusion..this makes not for healthy consumerism.

ok, i'm gonna type up the passage by andrew weil, just because i'm bored... (pls excuse any typos, i havent checked it over..im not that bored) you kindof have to read the book to understand how he defines 'straight' and 'stoned' thinking....here goes “The Natural Mind” Andrew Weil, 1972 pp 177-178 Positive Paranoia Paranoia – a common experience in the drug subculture and elsewhere – is not simple fear. Rather it is the tendency to see external events and things forming patterns that appear to be inimical. It is important to distinguish between the two components of paranoia – the seeing of patterns and the negative interpretation of them – something few people bother to do. What most of us (including most psychiatrists) call paranoia is really negative paranoia – one side of a mental state that is in itself neutral. When we understand this principle (that is, when we get out of the straight perception), we open ourselves to the possibility of understanding and experiencing positive paranoia. The pattern-forming tendency (I am tempted to call it an ability) is an intrinsic function of the unconscious mind. (*footnote) When we allow it to impose itself on our perceptions, we see relationships between things that are not apparent to other people (at least, not to other people using their minds in straight ways). Clinical psychologists can easily document this ability on their Rorschach (inkblot) tests, where it is scored as the “W-tendency,” W standing for “whole”. A person with a strong W-tendency will attempt to fit all of the fragmented parts of an inkblot into one integrated whole. In the early cards of the standard ten-card series, it is not hard to account for all the markings (one blot looks very much like a butterfly, for instance), but the later cards are as fragmented as Jackson Pollock paintings. A person with a strong W-tendecy has a lot of trouble accounting for all the pieces of these blots, and his difficulty will be apparent to a trained psychologist. The W-tendency correlates well with a tendency to paranoia. * When we are open to the unconscious, patterns may come through to us visually, either in the mind’s eye or as illusions projected onto incoming visual signals. Many of these patterns assume archetypal forms that have been used as sacred and secular motifs by widely separated civilizations. In trances or hallucinogen-induced states, psychiatric patients sometimes describe radially symmetrical patterns identical with ancient Hindu mandalas, even though they have never seen mandalas with their conscious minds. I have often seen similar patterns on surfaces after taking mescaline and LSD. A full-blown episode of negative paranoia can be very frightening for everyone concerned. When a person is acutely paranoid, he can fit every piece of sense data into his pattern. Thus everything that happens, anything that anyone does to help is interpreted as further evidence of a “conspiracy against me.” Allopathically conditioned psychiatrists can only think of this reaction as a symptom to be counteracted, as with sedation. But anyone who reads firsthand accounts of mystic experiences or flashes of enlightenment must be struck by the underlying identity with negative paranoia. Mystics of all centuries have experienced the entire phenomenal world as a radially symmetrical pattern, its center coinciding with the center of focused consciousness. But they have interpreted the experience positively, if not with ineffable joy. Mystical experience is the mirror image of negative paranoia. And the two are the complementary expressions of a single experience, that of the center of a pattern. Psychologists in the Haight-Ashbury Research Project of Mount Zion Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry (an NIMH-funded project) have recently turned up cases of what the call “benign paranoia”: young members of the San Francisco drug subculture who have strong W-tendencies on Rorsasch tests but who seem to feel that “the universe is a conspiracy organized for my benefit.” The researchers were impressed that these persons seemed to function well in their communities even though they looked unhealthy by the standard criteria of psychological testing. The ability to see patterns, far from being a psychological weakness to be treated, is a vital capacity of the unconscious mind that must be developed and allowed to interact with our conscious perceptions. When nonordinary experience is not allowed into ordinary awareness it breaks through in destructive, negative ways such as episodes of negative paranoia. The goal should not be to make negative paranoia go away but to turn it into a source of psychological strength and joy. The first step toward that goal is to substitute the stoned conception of paranoia for the straight one – to look at the positive potential of a seemingly negative phenomenon. -- [This message has been edited by coin (edited 23 January 2002).]

yes, jala neti (saline nasal irrigation) is very simple and effective - for clearing nasal congestion, or to use after working in polluted/dusty environment, removing particles that may be toxic or cause allergic reaction. it is also said to give a sortof "mental lift" (activating sushumna nadi, i think)..some people experience clear breathing for the first time in years after neti and the relief can be amazing. regular use of neti is thought to lessen one's susceptibility to colds. here's an oz link with more info http://www.hinet.net.au/~swami/index.html don't be put off by the photo..

mmm ipomoea aquatica & ipomoea raptans ..are the edible water convolvulus

little off topic..i was wondering about the constituents of argyreia roots...used in ayurvedic medicine as an aphrodisiac, amongst other things thanks..coin

"The Sacred Mushroom & The Cross" by John M Allegro Grabbed this second hand yesterday, so if anyone wants it - message me only if you're genuinely interested & I'll mail it.

looks like you'll soon be seeing her on some aaron spelling tripe..she's taken up residency in the US

hullo, hmm..ive got the anxiety/panic attacks, adrenaline under control.. have been using tyrosine & very small amounts of kava... it is only when i reach this balance that i realise how low my serotonin levels are... ive been taking st john's wort for about 5 days now... each tablet contains- 2g dried herb standardised to Hypericin 666mcg Hyperforin 6.7mg (plus tyrosine 250mg, glutamine & magnesium) x 3 tablets daily how long does sjw usually take to notice some effect? been having some 'giggling fits' at night time when joking around, which i havent had for months.. has anyone experienced pretty strong fatigue from SJW? i'm getting my usual 8 hours sleep, but later in the day i'm pretty tired and end up sleeping another 5-6 hours.. :- is this partly due to elevated serotonin levels? sorta feels like im making up for a heap of 40 hr anxious & sleepless stints was feeling kinda stable, though a bit dejected...now pretty confused again.. any ideas? thanks, adam. [This message has been edited by coin (edited 12 October 2001).]

supposedly seeds will sprout from a depth of up to 3cm but around 0.5cm is best..

quotes from my files>> Several different species of mushroom can be used in the velada. All are psilocybin-bearing, and indeed Maria Sabina is documented as having been satisfied with the use of laboratory-synthesized psilocybin in one of her rituals. Mushrooms were typically taken in pairs, or threes, or perhaps fives -- a few pairs for a sick person or another participant; as many as thirty pairs for the officiating priestess herself. The entire fruitbody is consumed, as it was pulled up from the ground, "dirt and all" -- as Maria Sabina said, "if a piece is thrown away from carelessness, the children [ed. note: "children", along with "saint children" and "little things", are commonly used nicknames for the mushrooms] ask when they are working: "Where are my feet? Why didn't you eat me all up?" And they order: "Look for the rest of my body and take me." The words of the children should be obeyed." -- Sacred mushrooms are placed on a banana leaf before personal preparations are made to ready oneself for the acceptance of the mushroom. Then the leader hands out the mushrooms in pairs, representing male and female pairs. These are eaten at one's own pace. The chemicals produce giddiness, hilarity, colored hallucinations, muscular relaxation, and serious moments of inquiry. -- Wasson participated in a ska Maria ritual on July 12, 1961, the first non-Mazatec ever to do so. The fresh leaves of the plant were counted out in pairs and nibbled by the participants. Wasson was unable to chew them because of the extremely bitter taste, so 34 pairs were squeezed and the juice diluted with water and drunk. This procedure is often used for toothless people, with the leaves sometimes being ground on a metate, or grinding board. The effects of the plant--"dancing colors in elaborate, three dimensional designs"--were similar to the initial effects of mushrooms, but were "less sweeping, and lasted a shorter time." (Wasson 1962). A more detailed description of a ska Maria ritual was given by Valds in 1983. Valds was given a "beginner's dose" of an infusion made from 20 pairs, while the other two participants each received 50 pairs. In keeping with Mazatec tradition, two people abstained to watch over the others. The curandero, or shaman, blessed the preparations with an oration addressed to "The Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, the Virgin Mary, and other Saints." The session lasted about an hour and was characterized by visions of kaleidoscopic shapes, colors, landscapes, and columns of smoke. In a later, less formal, ritual, Valds ingested an infusion of 50 pairs and experienced stronger visions, which were more "realistic" and lasted more than 2.5 hours. --- The Mixe (Mijes) who always consume their mushrooms in pairs, referred to them as nwintson ahtom nashwin mush (our masters, the mushrooms of the world). When eaten thus (in pairs), the Mixe refer to this practice as casada. The Mixe have even named one species tu.m-t.um (Tu muh) for when the sacred mushrooms are picked each year on June 1st. Tu muh implies "that which sprouts by itself" i.e., without seed (also described by Maria Sabina in Wasson, 1980 as "that which springs forth"). --- The shaman chants for hours, with frequent clapping or percussive slaps on the thighs in rhythm with the chant. The first non-Indian psychic investigator to witness the Mazatec ceremony received six pairs of mushrooms in the ceremony and ate them. He experienced the sensation of his soul being removed from his body and floating into space. He saw "geometric patterns, angular, in richest colors, gold and onyx and ebony, extending beyond the reach of sight, in vistas measureless to man. The architectural visions seemed to be oriented, seemed to belong to the architecture described by the visionaries of the Bible." In the faint moonlight, "the bouquet on the table assumed the dimensions and shape of an imperial conveyance, a triumphant car, drawn by creatures known only to mythology. --- The curandero unrolled banana-leaf bundles of hand-sized Salvia divinorum leaves, slightly wilted, and sorted them into pairs. Both mushrooms and leaves are measured in pairs, he told me, representing masculine and feminine. He doled out forty pairs to me, rolled them into a long wad, rather like a salad rolled into a cigar. He explained that after he said the invoking prayers and we stated aloud our intentions, I was to eat the leaves. I was told not to hesitate at their bitterness, not to stop until I had eaten them all, and above all, not to laugh throughout the entire session. Laughter, he counseled, would steal away the power of the medicine. (from "Sisters of the Extreme: Women Writing on the Drug Experience") [This message has been edited by coin (edited 27 September 2001).]

hey sb.. sure..it actually covers "the law, the internet, sex, drugs, your rights" it has advice on starting out renting & buying a car, mobile phone contracts, returning to study etc..it's really not all that bad..but looks like the drugs section (about 3 pages) was inserted at the last minute or with little thought.. it's produced by Consumer and Business Affairs Victoria..you can order it from their website - www.consumer.vic.gov.au if it's a hassle, i can forward mine to you .. still wondering if i should just forget about it..i only take issue with a few paragraphs.. later

probably more apt in the locked thread, or just not at all...but oh well to paraphrase someone who mightve been TMK "psychedelic sophistication isn't about taking everything there is, in combination with everything else there is, at high doses, at rock concerts ... it's about finding out what works for you and putting the pedal to the metal" another irrelevant point- hmm anyone else get this booklet which has been sent to all victorian year 12 students (VCE)? It's called "Stuff" (don't ask me)..it's full of "all the stuff you need to know"...like for instance that small amounts of LSD can remain in the brain permanently, sometimes resulting in flashbacks.. Ecstasy is a combination of drugs like coke, h, lsd, and speed, etc..expensive & addictive. well i guess that's some stuff i should be aware of...i dont know if i should trash it or check out who the hell produced it & why .. is this not worse than the laughable howard drug booklet? so sorry, coin [This message has been edited by coin (edited 25 September 2001).]

i find that despair comes when im stress deficient..

doesn't tryptophan occur as part of a protein complex, but in different proportions to other aminos depending on food? (ie, isn't free) or, another way - couldn't you eat high protein foods that have a high tryptophan profile but also balance it with carbs? is this why milk is said to be good to for beckoning sleep - because of the high carbs (lactose, and stir in some honey)? (why the insistence on warm milk tho? ..what are the effects of heat on these aminos? could i bake tryptophan cookies?) or eating a banana alone..high levels of sucrose & fructose insulin (release for carbs) is supposed to lower blood levels of all aminos except tryptophan.. tyro & phen & tryp all occuring, but the former 2 contributing to energised mood (->dopamine, noradrenalin, adrenalin)...eating with carbohydrates will cause insulin to allow better uptake of the tryptophan, calming the mind.. if the carbs be complex with high fibre you'll get a nice steady flow..fibre slows down absorption, insulin is released more slowly, serotonin created gradually.. be they simple & no fibre you get the spike and dip, sleepiness.. tryptophan being the least available dietary amino, probably because from an evolutionary perspective, it's better to be aggressive / self-defensive against predators, than to become the Bodhisattva of compassion with a cheesy grin. also.. have you any comment on the phenomenon of (chronic release of) stress hormones causing the conversion of l-tryptophan (by pyrrolase) into liver toxic chemicals? coin [This message has been edited by coin (edited 06 September 2001).]

torsten, i was talking about food rather than supplements.. eating high tryptophan foods, for example...tryptophan, it was my understanding, will not cross the BBB if it has to compete with a high level of other aminos such as phenylalanine... mood foods..my point was that it is not sufficient to find foods that are high in tryptophan if they are also high in these competing aminos... what proportions are necessary to ensure high tryptophan uptake? also in a previous post you mentioned that tyrosine should be taken with plenty of food (avoiding up&downs-dips)..if, for instance, i took it with a big bowl of pasta (ie, carbs), how much influence does the insulin effect have upon uptake of the tyrosine supp? [This message has been edited by coin (edited 05 September 2001).]

you might be able to tell from a database such as this - Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases however, you need to keep in mind the bioavailability of food components..ie, with regard to amino acids, (such as mentioned, phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, etc) they compete for transport to the brain... i would like for some knowledgable person to fill me in on useful ratios (ie phen vs tryp) for effective uptake of desired aminos..and other absorption factors. adam. [This message has been edited by coin (edited 04 September 2001).]

from a website: gotu kola also known in sanskrit as mandukaparni (or indian pennywort) adam. [This message has been edited by coin (edited 03 September 2001).]