drugo

I've got a lot out of this thread. I agree with Xodarap, At the end of Charles Darwin's life, the old geizza said that constantly mapping [explaining] the empirical world caused the world to appear uglier. You could imagine a face turning from angel into monster, complements a la triptamine, as like Darwin's process of disenchantment captured in three seconds. I like to see science as a section, a sub category, of what we might call magic, or collapse both into a broader neologism. It is a the reduction of inquiry into the material universe checking out process and some speculative meaning. But, as there is a lot more going on than matter, there are other 'sciences', like intentive healing, sorcery, prophesy, hanging out with non-material creatures and energies. Western and Eastern mysticism is overflowing with magical disciplines that are like PhD and career in a life's journey. Also, the indigenous worlds are replete with a cornucopia of oral disciplines for moulding light-field pheonix-souls into eternity. I like your perspectives Reflections. I tend to see truth as ethical, a kind of resonating force which connects people. It tends to be pretty flexible in my relations to it. So therefore, I agree with Thunder and shout start connecting with people. Craft ethical and moral devices for engaging with other people. Other people tend to offer a kind of circuit for energetic growth. You just gotta connect with the right people, the right truth. And for those having heaps of distance from females I suggest getting your groove on and tapping into this shit. In my experience, chicks tend to be a bit more evolved emotionally and psychologically among other things, not always, but the direct feminine is definitely worth resonating with i reckon. Hey Dude,your blurb on Punk culture mad me think of Vic Turner, the anthropologist. Below is a paragraph I wrote a while back. I'm feelin ya. ... the Turnerian idea and architecture of 'communitas', which can be generally defined in opposition to structure. It refers to liminality, marginality, inferiority and equality. Society for Turner evolves through a dialectic process between communitas, that is, the undifferentiated community of equal individuals, and structure, of differentiated and often hierarchical systems of social organisation. Turner states that 'maximisation of communitas provokes maximisation of structure, which in turn produces revolutionary strivings for renewed communitas', creating a cyclical process of social evolution'. Furthermore, he suggests that communitas inevitably 'decline and fall into structure and law' after which a new form of communitas may emerge again." thanks for the thread Micromegs, your words belong on the back of my toilet door next to the poem Desiderata. Great stuff man, thx. Al, If you love "science", i'd suggest to play around the edges of the discipline, exploring things such as Husserl and Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological approach to metaphysics, also, quantum physics, and geomancy. But i also reckon that the mystico-phenomenological science of Toa is pretty heavyweight. With luck and love. Lao Tzu - The Tao Te Ching

I like trying to bring your idea of movement into what you call action. That is, being conscious, at times, of my injection of love into time. "work in rest and rest in work" ~ like a cultivation of passion? Once again, I like trying to nail this one on a few different levels, including egoic-awareness/conscious-self. Perhaps, for humanity, the self has had a pretty dominating and destructive history in its relationship with other (as in, self-other; and the two combined as all or infinity). But I don't think we should throw the baby out with the bath water. I feel that self-other tends to work well synerginistically as a kind of evolving circuit. Such as, I like hanging out with friends and weaving our differences and similarities into novel futures through appreciation and celebration. In my view, the self has got a bit out of hand but it's still family ~ if you know what I mean

Historically there are heaps of accounts of mystics spending a decade or two 'wandering' places, like the desert, and becoming 'enlightened', 'initiated', and integrated into life in progressive ways. I like the idea of going walk-about in the desert. There is something really magical about its simpleness - dirt and sky, well stars also ;) It seems, at times, almost like an awesome canvas for the soul to paint itself into novel forms. Enya says, a pligrimage is a long walk to find yourself, and I say, if you're lucky you might lose yourself also. Having said all that, I prefer trying to bring transcendental mindfulness into the cultural model i'm in. That is, hanging out in Aus (mainly), and integrating realities of natural/spiritual/other ecologies into my collective social experience. It is hard, there are so many distractions, demonic impules, and depressing energies lurking the shadows of our culture. I think we need to heal the collective, we are pack animals, and we are the pack. Resonating socially (and ~spiritually~) with profound humans has been probably the best meditation that has helped me on my journey so far. I'm not sure if deserting it 'all' would be that great for me, personally. I find daily meditation to be empowering. If you feel that being alone is for you, I honour the devotion, but just ask that you eventually bring back your insight to the tribe. love

Action is produced only as an effect of ignorance? ~Do you mean to say, no ignorance = no action? or maybe, no ignorance = no self? but rather, self as other/all channeling itself, as action?? May i ask , how do you juggle freedom in action? I imagine that you traverse around particular, specific, or abstracted 'sections' of all? Or perhaps you are experiencing everything always? I like the idea that the self seems to be set walking on a matrix of tightropes, with a painted face, funky colourful attire, and juggling various toys, or interests, whilst attempting ever so delicately to find balance in various laws, or ecologies; systems such as biological, psychological, emotional, social (or ethical) and ~spiritual~. Such feelings parallel with the *idea* of Honzo, the Navajo Indian spirit-God-ultimo-balancer~acrobat~. peace

Interesting reflections Apoth. It seems that for global powers to 'set a dollar value on the environment' a pretty drastic cultural reorientation towards nature and reality is in need. At the moment nature appears to be lived by many as an alien utility, or at least, there seems to be a demarcation between person and earth that is hurting both parties. I agree with you. Bring on the regulation. The market is not really de-regulated anyway. Humans are fundamentally regulated by such things as culture, language and biology. Neoliberalism and free market capitalism seem to be simply the expression of 'freewill' governed by not so rigid historical legacies - that is, regulated ways of being with us from the past. "Alright liberal democratic citizens, you are free to vote and buy what you will, but first let me inject you with some peculiar ways of looking at the world which will orient your choices". I lean towards Smith's original idea that the invisible hand of the market is great as long as an agreed value system binds the collective together. Surely the system of nature in all her intelligence and beauty is a system worth agreeing with and incorporating into the monkey mind-set? Having said all that, I feel that the alienated paradigm just alluded to is crumbling, it is just making a mess on its way out. And why hang-out in Rome when Czech is just up the road. http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/uploads/monthly_12_2009/post-5102-126101046506_thumb.jpg

I wouldn't search through any media organisation to try and make sense of this phenomenon. Also it is a phenomenon, not phenomena. Multiple spirals were recorded over parts of China and Norway. I find that the documents below offer interesting angles at attempting to ground the phenomenon. It is good to realise that something completely novel happened (is happening) and we are trying to make sense of it in a particular paradigm, one bent on materiality, duality and fragmentation; or political and egoic difference. Fear deludes and deflects change as a mechanism of insecurity. That is, something that is established becomes less secure by nuances in consciousness and fear and propaganda emerge as false coping systems. False consciousness has been incorporated by political authorities to maintain power all the way back to antiquity and right up to the present day. It is not a materialistic rocket light show. Consider the emergence of phonetic language in our species, or when human consciousness plugged into melody and rhythm, or the birth of religion, or the internet. Just as the earth, including plants and animals, are in processes of evolution, human consciousness and reality is evolving. The iconographies and images in the artlices are worth checking out if the jargon is too much. Check both articles as the 2007 one offers rich adjuncts. peace. www.sacredresonance.com.au/articlessr/PerattAntiquityZ.pdf 2003 Anthony L. Peratt, Characteristics for the Occurrence of a High-Current, Z-Pinch Aurora as Recorded in Antiquity Abstract—The discovery that objects from the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age carry patterns associated with high-current Z-pinches provides a possible insight into the origin and meaning of these ancient symbols produced by man. This paper directly compares the graphical and radiation data from high-current Z-pinches to these patterns. The paper focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on pet- roglyphs. It is found that a great many archaic petroglyphs can be classified according to plasma stability and instability data. As the same morphological types are found worldwide, the comparisons suggest the occurrence of an intense aurora, as might be produced if the solar wind had increased between one and two orders of magnitude, millennia ago. XVIII. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION A discovery that the basic petroglyph morphologies are the same as those recorded in extremely high-energy-density dis- charges has opened up a means to unravel the origin of these apparently crude, misdrawn, and jumbled figures found in un- counted numbers around the Earth. Drawn in heteromac style (Fig. 12), these ancient patterns could mimic and replicate high-energy phenomena that would be recorded on a nonerasable plasma display screen. Many petroglyphs, apparently recorded several millennia ago, have a plasma discharge or instability counterpart, some on a one-to-one or overlay basis. More striking is that the images recorded on rock are the only images found in extreme energy density experiments; no other morphology types or patterns are observed [46], [67]. The instability is that associated with an intense current-car- rying column of plasma which undergoes both sausage and helix deformations. Such a current would be produced if the solar flux from the Sun were to increase one or two magnitudes or if an- other source of plasma were to enter the solar system. This paper has followed the evolution of a Z-pinch from the initiation of instabilities in a column conducting mild currents (Fig. 16) to the helical and sausage instabilities as the current in- creases (Figs. 6 and 7) to extremely intense current instabilities (Fig. 36). While the morphing of the instability is a continuous PERATT: CHARACTERISTICS FOR THE OCCURRENCE OF A HIGH-CURRENT, Z-PINCH AURORA 1211 Fig. 47. Northern Arizona. (Bottom) Overlay of the Australia and Arizona figures. The gray-white “embossed” figure is the Northern Arizona petroglyph while the Australian pictograph is the “flat” black overlay. The Windjana “ellipse” is fitted to the outer concentric of the Northern Arizona petroglyph. process to peak current, we have found it convenient to delin- eate the instability profile into 84 categories (not all are shown in this paper). The sausage and helical MHD (magnetic-fluid) instabilities occur in the inner cylinder of plasma, pinched by its own az- imuthal (surrounding) magnetic fields produced by the intense current it carries. The evolution of this instability is well known in a linear regime that includes the pinching of the column into a stack of spheroid plasmas, usually nine in number, that contain azimuthal current toroids, the original pinch magnetic fields. The electrons with the plasma toroids are relativistic, producing beams of synchrotron radiation observable in the visible. (Hot plasmas emit radiation across the visible and radio spectrum. However, the emission often does not always have a thermal origin). Collisional processes also produce visible light within the column whose luminosity varies with the current intensity and sporadic current pulses. The luminosity and the observer’s po- sition in relation to the column determine how much of the in- stability is seen. In familiar terms the linear instability consists of stacks of spheroids, stacks of toroids (Fig. 10), stacks of double radiation bright spots within the toroids, eye-masks, pronounced nose fea- tures accompanying the eyes (Fig. 18), and complex X-shaped (separatrix) patterns (the patterns are not shown in this paper). With increasing current, the instabilities enter the nonlinear and chaotic regime. The effect is a rapid inward motion of the pinch regions so as to form a stack of toroids. These are con- nected by a central bar running vertically through them. The ex- treme pressures cause the toroids to flatten and produce a single rod ladder configuration of disks. The next phase of the evolu- tion is the warping and flattening of the disks, which ultimately start to roll-up at the edges producing cup-like, then mushroom instability shapes. The uppermost or anode cups converge and fold to produce a bulb at the very top of the column surrounded by cups in various stages of folding. Generally, there is a mixture of toroid types throughout the column: tubular, flat, disk, cone, distorted, and cup shapes. Sometimes a single tubular or flat or distorted toroid is left at the center while the bottom-most or cathode consists of a cup that has turned down toward its terminus that may be sheet plasma. The single rod, in all cases, is present at the center of the stack, from top to bottom. The anode end of the stack is the most interesting, producing various cup shapes and allowing lightning-like discharges to its terminus, although discharges are also observed from the cathode end and sometimes between the toroids or outwards from the toroids for appreciable distances. These are the sig- natures of high-voltage discharges as are trifurcated bolts found at the ends of any conductor (Fig. 41). Plasma flowing in along converging magnetic fields produces a well-defined Y shape (Fig. 38). Inflowing plasma, as in an in- tense aurora (Fig. 4), is marked by a head of circular rings and radial rays (Figs. 4 and 43) and one or two spiral discharge chan- nels along the length of the aurora. Beneath the head, the plasma column shows a number of patterns consisting of horizontal and helical filaments, diamond or separatrix patterns, for example, square vortex patterns as-well-as the previously shown insta- bility shapes. When a shock wave produced by sporadic current pulses im- pacts the plasma morphologies mentioned above, these mor- phologies are altered in striking ways by hydrodynamic insta- bilities (Fig. 11). Arms become wings and cups become altered by the same instability patterns. These instabilities eventually grow into three-fold pattern such as shown in Fig. 43. Experimentally, plasmas scale at least 14 orders of magnitude [9] and hypothesized to scale at least 27 orders of magnitude [34] (that is, the instabilities and the growth rates associated with microampere currents are the same, when scaled, to those found in several multimegaampere currents measured in-situ in the solar system). In association with petroglyphs, this indicates that the relative time scales for the MHD instabilities carved in rock follow a known experimental sequence to the extent that time motion sequence of petroglyphs patterns can be generated and put along side the time motion recordings of plasma instabilities. Absolute times cannot, however, be ascertained in this way. When scaled to an intense aurora whose dimensions may ex- ceed 50 000 km for the outer cusp region, a relative time se- quence can be unfolded. For example, the nuances captured in the bottom right images of Fig. 28 can be explained. The inward rise on axis along with the upward folding of the outer edges of the carved lines and transition to edge curling, a phenomena recorded in intense electrical discharge radiographs, could not have been known to prehistoric man unless he witnessed the same event in the sky. Scaling to the plasma dimensions sug- gests that each of the patterns shown in Fig. 28 could have oc- curred repeatedly over months or a decade. The known plasma and shockwave instability types, when scaled from experimental to space plasma dimensions, suggests an intense auroral event lasting at least a few centuries. The newer concentrics, especially those with inner patterns (not shown) and the unwinding spirals provide information about the final cessation of intense incoming plasma flux. On the other (Top Left) Windjana pictograph, Australia. (Top Right) Petroglyph, 1212 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON PLASMA SCIENCE, VOL. 31, NO. 6, DECEMBER 2003 Fig. 48. (Top Left) “Site-34-rings,” the mean average radius of a circle as determined by image-object weighting from the 4 O’Clock Rapids petroglyph on the Columbia River. These 4 O’Clock Rapids (Loring Site 34) rings have been overlaid on the other three images. (Top Right) J. Day Bar pictograph. (Bottom Left) Northern Arizona petroglyph. (Bottom Right) Stonehenge reconstruction image (white dots). hand, the ancient concentrics and spirals, the remains of some having been cut and carved 8 cm deep in granite, suggests that intense auroral events were a common occurrence for at least a few centuries if not millennia. The patterns are representative of a long-term period of typically quiescent aurora. The methodology used in analyzing petroglyphs and their comparison to extremely high energy density plasmas was based on creating a digital database of several tens of thousands of pet- roglyphs from around the world. Where possible the following information was included in the database: information about the nature of the physical properties, type of rock used, facing direc- tion, most probable field-of-view, longitude, latitude, altitude, and other petroglyphs in association. Again where possible, the location and facing of the petroglyphs were plotted on 3-D to- pographic maps in a search for a preferred field-of-view and thus the height and location of the aurora. This analysis is on- going but initial results suggest three epochs where in a flurry of activity petroglyphs were recorded worldwide. The number of millennia or centuries involved remains unknown. The discovery of buried horizontal petroglyphs in New Mexico and Australia [51], above which the carbon from campfires was found, suggests that the epochs occurred within a time period of 10 000 BC–2000 BC. This corresponds well with recent plasma extraction dating methods by Rowe and Steelman for pictographs having the same patterns as the petroglyphs in this paper [68]. Two important classes of petroglyphs, spirals and concen- tric horseshoes, are not discussed in this paper. These map the Birkeland currents as depicted in Fig. 4 and provide quantita- tive information on the electrical parameters. These, including solar wind-magnetosphere interactions, are being studied with TRISTAN [8], [24], [69] and will be presented elsewhere. ......................... www.alqpottery.com/pdfs/Peratt,et,al,TPS2007-Z-pinchAuroraB.pdf 2007 Anthony L. Peratt, Fellow, IEEE, John McGovern, Alfred H. Qöyawayma, Life Member, IEEE, Marinus Anthony Van der Sluijs, and Mathias G. Peratt, Member, IEEE Characteristics for the Occurrence of a High-Current Z-Pinch Aurora as Recorded in Antiquity Part II: Directionality and Source Abstract—The discovery that objects from the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age carry patterns associated with high-current Z-pinches provides a possible insight into the origin and mean- ing of these ancient symbols produced by humans. Part I deals with the comparison of graphical and radiation data from high- current Z-pinches to petroglyphs, geoglyphs, and megaliths. Part I focused primarily, but not exclusively, on petroglyphs of some 84 different morphologies: pictures found in laboratory ex- periments and carved on rock. These corresponded to mankind’s visual observations of ancient aurora as might be produced if the solar wind had increased (T. Gold) at times between one and two orders of magnitude, millennia ago. Part II focuses on the source of light and its temporal change from a current-increasing Z-pinch or dense-plasma-focus aurora. Orientation and field-of-view data are given as surveyed and contributed from 139 countries, from sites and fields containing several millions of these objects. This in- formation allows a reconstruction of the auroral form presumably associated with extreme geomagnetic storms and shows, based on existent geophysical evidence, plasma flow inward at Earth’s south polar axis.

There is no END There is no BEGINNING The END is the BEGINNING α = Ω http://www.hronoya.org/

"suffering" is based on the Latin word paschō, which translates crudely as 'to live'. Passion, pathos, sympathy, empathy and pathology are all words which are direct derivatives of paschō. How do you view the suffering which is in your own personal struggles? " My view is that 'common-people' in the West tend to have a myopic view on life, a kind of one-sided stance hypnotized by the idea of "happiness". "Happiness" as some sort of absolute ideal which every other faculty is subordinate to, including paschō. Maybe it's better to embrace both "happiness" and paschō equally as simply fundamental. But maybe suffering is simply a type of unnecessary hindrance we should all aspire to avoid?

I wonder what he means by 'solar strip' ~ my entheogenic imagination has its feelings.

I was recently told some incredible stuff from a fortune teller based in Brisbane. The old soul mapped out my past and present and, which is my question for this thread, aspects of my future. She described with shocking accuracy intricacies concerning my family relations, fears, dreams and much more. She told me I was destined to do something very specific, which seems to be the direction I'm heading. But she outlined some really specific grand ideas and I'm having trouble dealing with, integrating, or put simply, completely believing them. I've had friends channel ideas from tryptamine beings that reflect a similar path for me. I feel like I should believe it but something is stopping me from completely doing so. I'm not so interested in people swinging their logic swords at this question. I'm after responses from people who have encountered profound personal knowledge and destiny claims from an independent source. Have you heard convincing ideas describing your life, including future? If so, do you think the cosmic drama set in stone? and/or, maybe the stone is malleable? love.

The prophesy makes complete sense to me given my current trajectory It has just made me a tad confused about the nature of time, destiny and free-will. I know I have the choice not to be her claim. For example, I could bullet myself tonight or enroll in finance at uni for 2010. But the power of this fortune teller's analysis of me and the subsequent prophesy has thrown my mind into all sorts of considerations on what I am, and what I am to do, or doing. Perhaps we have rough scripted paths, like frequencies magnetised to particular ways of being and if we deviate from these ways of being maybe we get sick, dis-ease, imbalanced - emotionally, physically and spiritually. Or perhaps not. Another idea i have is perhaps she resonated deeply with me and whilst traversing layers of my being appreciated my past and present including strengths, weaknesses and hopes then relfected my aspirations for the future in 'concrete' terms to help me in manifesting my dreams. In other words, she check what I want, then says "You are to be this and only this!, now go and be it". Maybe she is completey unaware that she is inspiring possibilities that are inside me and thinks she is channeling the telos of my soul carved into the stone of eternity. Or perhaps not. Thanks for sharing neo and fancy.

A friend recently shared his opinion on astrology. He states "it's like a sausage, the more things that get put into it, the more I don't want to eat it".

I don't understand you man. What question? sig?

Nah, I just move here

A lot of people work hard with various spiritual techniques to begin having the experiences you're having. Try not to ignore them or dis-value them as 'random' hallucinations -- tricks of the mind --- which a lot of people do. There are many meditational techniques and disciplines for cultivating your 'third-eye buzz'. Kundalini is quite a popular one. A good Reiki practitioner will help you make sense of, and experience, the 'buzz'. But you must realise that these bizarre experiences you are having are very preliminary and basic when it comes to spiritual experience. At the moment you are splashing your toes around the edges of a giant ocean. If you want to jump in and try and swim, I'd suggest, take it slow. Limit entheogen intake, work with meditational techniques, your family and friend relationships (as reflections of yourself), eat better, and take much larger doses of entheogens -- alone --, including pot, when you choose to. That is to assume that you might be considering diving in. Some people suggest that there are reasons why certain people have special dispositions and inclinations towards other states of consciousness.

My lift fell through. Does anyone have room in their car for my girlfriend, her sister and me? We'll chuck in petrol money, conversation, love and smiles. We are in Clifton Hill Melbs, and can meet anywhere in city.

Broader arguments concerning the NT intervention usually stem from a postmodern paradox in cultural diversity. In 1945, with a sense of modernity's progress in question, UNESCO [united Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation] kicked off with a three part agenda for the 'third' world. (1) promote literacy (2) western agricultural methods (3) birth control. Designed to eliminate famine, the doctrine resulted in the spread of a single economic and demographic model, leading to a considerable reduction in cultural diversity across the world. The west had a seemingly altruistic (this is open for interpretation) agenda to reduce material dis-ease, extend life spans and education (some argue, a quasi-universal set of values and beliefs). In other words, we will help you live longer, but in the process a shit load of cultural diversity, things like, different morals and values, along with language, mythology, community, kinship, and indigenous knowledge, including shamanic knowledge, is to be tossed into the furnace under the name of materialistic progress. Live longer but not necessarily "better" - or at least, in my opinion, certain material aspects of life, and through literacy other western ideals, became enforced as sacred. We will tell you what is wrong with you (using our set of values and beliefs) and then we will introduce ways to fix what we think is wrong with you. 2nd and 3rd phase of the UNESCO doctrine acknowledged the devastating cultural destruction that was happening. A reflex action from the west resulted in continuing the initial three part policy whilst introducing the 2001 Universal Deceleration on Cultural Diversity; which is for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage, and protection and promotion of cultural expression. Now here is the paradox surfacing in Australia: UNESCO in nature, the Close The Gap program --an initiative to reduce Aboriginal Australian death rates to the same level as non-Aboriginals-- is realising that many of the current indigenous cultural systems are intimately involved in maintaining The Gap. It is good to consider that 'current indigenous cultural systems' (whatever the fuck that includes), have been shaped through colonial policies and programs, resulting in a very messy, sad, and difficult situation to work through for both the lives of indigenous peoples and those policy makers intervening. The intimacy between The Gap and many 'outback' cultural ways of life is not a simply matter. I would suggest not being quick to assume 'backwardsness' for indigenous and non-indigenous folks in this situation. Keep in mind that we generally looking at things through a gaze of certain aspects of the culture we live and breathe in, as much as we might think that we can take a position from nowhere. UNESCO and the like, claim to support cultural diversity and a universal declaration of human rights. This is a paradox. How can there be one set of universal rules and a bunch of different [at times, conflicting] local rules? The broader questions of cultural diversity coming together and negotiating difference is really complicated, especially in the turbulent 21st century, and therefore it is generally discussed superficially. There is no right way to support Aboriginal culture. Precisely because this thing called "Aboriginal Culture" is a construct of the western imagination. BUT everyone can support people, including "Aboriginal Australians", in so many different ways. Put simply, we need to open our ears and hearts whilst applying our minds to the smaller concerns 'on the ground'. Such as indigenous impoverishment in our local communities, if that is where your heart is – which I think is an admirable and important place for it to be. Rather than a set of words on an essay, a blog, a newspaper, or PhD, I think the answer lies in a constant process of negotiating difference, which should, and usually can only, be done locally. Maybe this process of constantly negotiating difference is fundamental to life in general and all the mundane and magnificent decisions we make.

Thanks for the stories. A friend of mine had some great experiences concerning his personal life and the surfacing of past heavy psychological traumas with the help of acid and nitrous. He had a kind of visual, embodied cleansing experience. A vortex of coloured patterns opened up within the dark room and traced through his complete being flushing out heaps of negative tension, specific negative tension. The experience was triggered towards the end of an acid trip by a hit of nitrous. When it finished, with the acid substantially wearing off, he took another hit of nitrous and replicated the experience maintaining the same intensity as the first time. The cleansing helped him with some serious personal demons and give him confidence to feel solid in his experience of wellbeing.

I like it. Submit it to parliament. But first lay some acid jazz layers behind it and get your base player to sing the anthem.

I mechanically grabbed a copy of my uni's free student run newspaper today and was surprised with the front page article. Mushroom clouds campus culture Rania M Spooner Leticia Quintana LA TROBE University students and past students representatives have been using campus grown psilocybin "magic" mushrooms to fund overseas trips and conferences, Rabelais [student newsaper] was told. "I funded most of my trip overseas from selling magic mushrooms grown on campus", claimed a La Trobe Bundoora student in August. The students said he picks the mushrooms seasonally in broad daylight between April and June. "I sold the first batch for 5 dollars a cap but they went faster then I could produce them, so the next ones I sold as three for $25", he said. "I feel a bit guilty because the reason mushrooms have that stuff in them is so that they aren't eaten. It's like giving someone poison". Anonymous sources confirmed a previous La Trobe Students Representative Council (SRC) environment officer also profited off the campus grown mushrooms. An official source told Rabelais an environment officer from a previous year funded student attendance to a environmental conference with the proceeds from sales of magic mushrooms. The claim was confirmed by another SRC insider. The insider said the practice happened more than once. "I have also heard rumours about the environment collective raffling of mushrooms to raise money", the source said. The environment officer implemented in the practice was contacted by Rabelais but has not replied to repeated requests for comment. "Magic mushrooms grow everywhere; even in local parks. But I don't advocate the sale of use of illicit substances for any purpose - let alone fund raising - even if people think it is for a good cause", said Casey, the current environmental officer. The science student said he dried and grounded the mushrooms "in a Magic Bullet", then packed the substance into caps purchased from health food supermarkets using chopsticks. "The problem is you have to be really careful when you're picking, because if you eat the wrong ones you will get liver damage so bad you will need a transplant", he said. The science student said that the mushrooms were all over the La Trobe Bundoora campus. "The University imported tam bark form the Dandenongs Ranges where the mushrooms grow, so the tam bark has the spores". Apart from the obvious bullshit I doubt many of you won't miss, and probably laugh over, I spotted no more than 50 subs all season on campus. And the student body at my uni are generally not into eating Maria Sabrina's little gems. There is no way anyone funded an international flight, especially consider the fact that anyone, if they want to, can pick subs all over Melbourne in season. It's interesting considering the ways in which this article reflects certain tropes and understandings, concerning psychedelics, which our broader culture lives. To judge the article crudely, "magic" mushrooms are represented, or used, as part of a repertoire of Australian humour. They are profane, diseased pathogens, indicating an example of what is not Australian, or what is not normal and therefore funny to associate with university student politics.

Thanks for all the quality responses especially xodarap and coin - your thoughts touch on a profound question I have been 'suffering' over for some time now. I'm still not sure how I feel about the experience of suffering. I not sure if i think it is necessarily an obstacle of ego, or an unnecessary hindrance, so to speak. ego finite being: I agree completely that our egostic finite existence is a type of illusion, but maybe I feel that being egoised in this realm has its reason and value for being. I think that through traversing the mountains of morality and ethics, values, and the suffering involved in being a human that lives in a finite world, in the process, we develop better understandings of ourselves. Gnotis te auton (know thyself) as the Socratic dictum or Delphi saying goes. I think that, possibly, this illusion of ego, body, senses, social relations etc offers a rich context to grow spiritually and that suffering should be embraced as a fundamental part of this process, not something we should try to rid with, say, single point concentration or other powerful techniques. Maybe we need a to balance the soul and the ego in order to learn what it means to be an egoised being in this particular type of existence. I'm not sure of this idea though, I have been 'struggling' to make sense of it for some time now. I guess i just value other people, family, rich ego experiences of love, connection, nature too much to think that its all simply an 'insain habit of mind'. But maybe our disagreement if more a product of language than philosophy and spirituality. Maybe your 'unpleasantness' is my idea of 'suffering' xodarap. The suffering in my life has become more of an energy to harness and manifest dreams than wallowing in some sort of self-indulged depression. peace

Thanks for laying the phenomenology out so simply coin. Following your logic, I feel that I seem to be resisting heaps of shit at the moment. I feel like I am constantly pushing and pulling amongst myself my past, my family, friends and community. Kinda like how Camus put it, I feel like I'm pushing a giant stone up a hill and upon reaching the top I watch it role to bottom of the hill and begin pushing again [enriched by each struggle, thought I'm not sure if Camus' inter-war period pessimism would follow the enrichment part]. Follow the lyrics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBHKuQe4j44

Put simply, there are huge misconceptions surrounding entheogens due to firm socio-political legacies of the past which are struggling to maintain particular value systems. Maybe we could substitute socio-political for religious-spiritual -- keeping in mind that the humanistic western paradigm and its popular culture worship consumer fetishism silhouetted by deranged prophets and a misleading quest through profits. Peoples hearts and minds are tangled up in a series of lies and, like a tumble weed, are aimlessly bouncing around a vast lifeless environment desperately trying to bring some meaning into life. Popular culture is a dust storm suffocating peoples hearts and drying out their souls. There is a lot invested in this dry landscape, this is why it is soooooo dry, and this is precisely why we are not allowed to grow so many plants in the barren garden beds of our culture. But there is hope. Each moment of your life, in your own heart, you can open up waterways, storms, rives and sunlight to enrich our communities into becoming fertile cultural landscapes - you know, like a desert turned rainforest

The poem below is from a friend of mine reflecting on her first and, currently, only experience with any entheogen besides a little bit of pot and little bit of alcohol. She's eighteen. What do think the jelly fish represent? Grass turned into sea, which turned into air, which turned into light. And I playfully danced between the lines of the awake and the subconscious. Here was the place that I loved to be. The misty walls allowed me to jump anywhere and nowhere. In this half state of life and slumber, my movements were pure and precise, my visuals deep and ethereal. And when I lifted my shaky lids, stretched out my legs into the sand and consumed the aesthetic delight that accompanied me to consciousness, I remembered where I was and the delectable creature that lay beside me. Here on the beach of Ettalong, we lay. Soaking the last remnants of summer from the tips of our toes to the crowns of our heads. The water was the brightest blue. It roared and it laughed, beckoning us to swim with the creatures of the sea. And so we did. Bounding towards the water in leaps and jumps, this beach was unlike any other. The tall mountains would watch and the sunlight would pirouette amongst us, never too proud to take my hand and lead me in a most thrilling waltz. Under the water we would take on personas. Watching the coral and the small ocean life bounce around us as we pretended we belonged. We tipped our hats to Lady Seaweed and bid hello to the school of fish that swam by us. The tide would threateningly pull at our waists and we were forced to reprimand that beast. The beast that had the ominous power to take away one from the other. Somewhere in the daze of laughter and sunshine, somewhere in the dehydration and the swimming, the warm and wonderful light that had held me had started to slip away. I was confused. Above me was the bright light, between my limbs the rippling waters, yet why was I suddenly unsettled? The color blue was violent. Beating against me in sharp, merciless jabs. I was startled. I swam with vengeance to the shore but all around me was blue. Little bites of sapphire balloons that if bullied could unleash a fierce tidal wave of pain. The bluebottle jellyfish filled the beach. No longer was my place of sanctuary safe. I looked around me, the mountains were filled with green trees, the sand was bright yellowy white and tarnished with these gems of danger. Choosing my steps with care, I returned to the spot that we had carefully made home, and curled into my towel and took few sips of water. Water. The clear colored angel that I had underestimated. Replenishing my body with the nurture of Mother Nature, I looked back to my surroundings and once again saw boundless life. I rested my head on the sand pillow beneath my towel, and danced the remainder of that sweet scented afternoon in my subconscious. Dipping in and out of reality I stayed. This was the place I most loved to be.

multivocality