folias

Point is, "sex" is considered this "product", and where is relationship in that product? and then it ceases to become about relationship and more about "physical" pleasuring... when really, the most pleasure is found in relationship and "love" during the act anyway, which is the meaning. And this is what makes the man hard and the woman lubricated. I do think "love" is overstated in the sex act. I believe in "true lust", which is a feeling, not a physical feeling of horniness, but a realisation of transcendant possibility in the relationship! Love is something you are happy enough with just by itself, but also, then love makes you want to persue "loving" as well. too often, what goes on is a kind of "rape", related to the ego and the mind, rather than the truth of the body and what it is feeling. I just got back from Georgia recently and also eastern europe. Over there, I find it quite common to receive extraordinary eye contact, energetic flirting and a great deal of conversational openess, which is life changing in itself. There is often something very pure (not in a virginal way), but in a "oh my god, I want to fuck her!" way, which I often find absent in western girls - who I do feel have SOLD themselves out to this "fucking" and "being fucked", which is not about relationship or love, but superficial pleasure and egoic validation. In the "east", that is not much the culture, it is more about romance and love and relationship as the meaning. I would be a much more unhappy person if I had not met the Russian women I had, who gave me hope and showed me what love was. Too often in the west, you just get a more detached, aloof and silly immature "game", which is really them being really reductionistic about sex. Russian women will be much more direct. (and they are also incredibly "hot" as well) For introverted guys who like to read books and have a deep and metaphysical nature go east, where that kind of nature is the standard, whereas in the west, the standard is more shallow, materialistic and likes to watch "Jersey Shore". Sure, there are plenty of eastern girls who are like this too, but there are many virtues to be found in these cultures, who have an orthodox christian church, not a "fucked" Roman Catholic one. I'm not saying to guys here to go get a Russian bride, but before you write off all women because most of them you interact with are from the west - go to Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Kazahktahn and interact with some girls there before you prematurely decide that the fault is in you and perhaps lies in your culture. In many of these countries, it is almost as if the onus is on the female to charm the man, whereas, what we are used to, is men charming the women for "sex". It is not that they don't have "sex" in these countries, but it is normally innately understood that sex is about "relationship", something quite sacred, not something done purely for hedonistic purposes which is where the west has fucked itself up I feel and really lost the essence and meaning of the act. Julian.

All this is normal stuff to a lot of people I know. Most people I know call it energy. Which is admittedly a crap word, but works better than "chi" or "prana".

>i thought "shivers down the spine" was something virtually everyone experiences during touching moments etc look around you. callous zombies prevail.

Well, friends of mine have reported spiritual experiences and have been medicated because of it and become drooling zombies! "IT" is the very life force that people in the west generally don't experience all that often. "Normality" to "us" is a general absense of life force or "chi", a life absent of kilowatts or gigahertz. So when we experience it, we think it is something special, but that is in fact the normal state of the bodies circuitry being activated. It's the same "electricity" that keeps the heart pumping - basic stuff really. Julian.

It is Chi or Prana, the experience of which is pretty common for a lot of people. But don't tell your psychiatrist or he may well medicate you :/ It is primary energy. You can also feel it in relationship to other people in the space between. Love is a kind of energy too, but it is has texture, "taste" and an intricacy to it.

this all sounds interesting... thing is, if DMT is circulating all around and the schoolies are getting into it en masse as the new reports say, which is likely very much overstated, some of them are going to be profoundly effected by the experience and it may well alter their perspective of the world... however, many or maybe even most, are just not going to "get it". It has always been this way... actually. A young girl told me recently DMT allowed her to release her fear of death... that's powerful stuff right there. But for many, it is just going to be another recreational high. I don't think anyone says that "sacred" literature should not be available to everyone, that only the elect should read it, but many have a different attitude when it comes to plants interestingly!

Acuminata phyllodes are the bomb. It is very gentle and perfect for Ayahuasca healing. You will not get completely blasted as with other plants, but for use with caapi... it is amazing. But go gentle... start slowly, I know some people who have really blasted themselves by going too hard with Acuminata by underestimating its potency, which, if it is at 1.5% means that 10 grams may well be pretty darned potent! I can't see how beurocratic "laws" arising out of inane legislation occuring for political reasons are at at all relevant here. This is a natural and native plant with powerful healing properties. If you are directed to take it, don't let the "law" stop you! If you are really concerned about the law, go to your local cop shop with some phyllodes and rue, and run it past them and see if you can't get fined or even better locked up! Make sure to film the adventure and put it on youtube. we'd all love to see you go ! :-) they would probably just laugh at you and tell you to stop wasting their time.

what are you talking about? Australia is the only country that actually has ethno forums! (maybe there is one in Germany?) How many other relevant forums are there in the world...no more than a dozen I can think of. LIKE I SAID, there are people whose full job there is to do this work. And that is not just one person. And that is in some states! Julian.

Hey, I'm not a narc, I'm a triple agent! Actually, there was a rumour going around a couple of years ago that I was a narc and a lot of supposedly intelligent people believed it, especially the narcs ;-) Point is, if they are doing their job right, the narc is going to blend in and look the part. Their job is to fit in and look the part and for you to not spot them.

Facilitator is the word I use... people who call themselves shamans are generally on a trip. Alan Shoemaker said he only knows of one or two people in the whole of South America, he would even call "shaman". The word and label is largely a western cultural myth. In South America, you have vegetalistas and curanderos, they are more like pharmacists of the jungle than heroic, super spiritual beings that people would like to think they are. But of course, they play up to people's projections of what they think they should be. In places like the UK, people have so many cultural illusions and egotism, that it really breeds a culture of charlatanism. Some of the Aussie facilitators here, come off as "pure gold" compared to them and so are often sought after in places like the UK. Julian.

>julian i would like to hear u explain ur statement that members with over 1000 posts are narcs. Look, if its your job to be a narc, you are going to be a "pro" about it and look the part. *waves at SAB's neighbourhood narcs* There are quite a people out there, employed by the government of Australia, whose full time job it is to monitor forums like this. And don't think I'm going to tell you how I know this! But they are just honest, hardworking people, like you or me, trying to make a crust. We shouldn't hate them or even be paranoid about them... what reason would we have to be paranoid at all? Julian.

Ballzac, Sorry, but all this guy was asking was for some info, for someone to PM him regarding ceremonies in Australia, not for anyone to publically incriminate themselves. And then he gets attacked and accused of being a narc, and now you are suggesting it is inappropriate I question the kind of attitude you guys have? As stated, I do not believe Ayahuasca can be considered "illegal" in this country, until there are court cases which definitively decide what is in fact, a legal grey area in this country. And I do not feel it is helpful for you or anyone else to decide that prematurely. The whole idea that a plant medicine as Ayahuasca could be "illegal" is completely silly to me and so, sorry, no I'm not going to take that concept seriously. Julian.

I agree, that the best way to experience Ayahuasca, is to brew it up yourself. However, most people are not going to be able to get that together too easily. Charlatans abound because people have such high expectations of their "shaman". Peru is overstated as being authentic. I've been there a couple of times and its a tricky paradigm to say the least. Bridgeman is not a narc. The narcs have over 1000 posts to their name He is a genuine guy wanting information which is fair enough, I don't think its fair or nice, to get all narky with him here. I can't see the point in bringing forth reactionary cynicism in response to unreasonable levels of control exerted by "laws" which are supposed to be for our own good. Well, I know what is in my own good and the good of others :-) It is just beaurocratic machinery with no element of reasonable human judgement that says otherwise... whether its actually enforced, lets see. And then we can fight it. Why give it all so much power and just assume the textbook? I think it is really important to stand up for what you believe in. I've always been on that track. I think, to keep contemplating the lunacy of these "laws" is to become a lunatic. that is no essential protection from them. It is only becoming fearful and like "them", which defeats the purpose of existing in the first place I would have thought! Julian.

Problem with Aziz, it seem is that his ego got out of control, and he started advertising in local papers. http://www.azizshamanism.com/ and he comes off as a total nutter, even to most Ayahuasca drinkers I would say! This happened with the people in Spain too, with them handing out leaflets for their sessions. Essentially, we have already had an Aziz like case in Australia, and the guy got off like I said. People said that he got busted because he was starting to give interviews with large publications with an international audience. People are more "militant" here and often work together. I really doubt the authorities are so keen to raise our ire. Aziz was an fringe outsider, who had his own karma it seems. But unfortunately, ignorance won and his court case set a precedence in the UK, which is probably a good thing, as likely only the brave and authentic will persist in doing ayahuasca circles there. It was really getting out of hand for a long time there...

Well, it has already been determined in Peru and Brazil, that human usage of Ayahuasca is legitimate. Those who use it, regard it as a medicine for the mind, body and soul. THAT is legitimate. Julian.

c'mon guys, lay off the fearful propoganda and get real here. This is just a guy asking an honest question. Is "Ayahuasca" illegal in Australia?... we don't really knoow, it is a legal grey area. Torsten may well come and say 1 litre will put you in jail for 40 years because that is 10 kilograms of DMT, but that is not quite incorrect until someone goes down for 40 years. Truth is, people are just trying to do their job, and I doubt the taxpayers are keen on jailing "Ayahausca wankers" anyway. Yes, there are people doing ceremonies in Australia. All of them are rather militant and believe strongly that the plants are powerful healing and transformational agents, not drugs of abuse. Therefore their usage is inherently legitimate and although beaurocratic governments around the world may have contrabanded certain compounds, the validity or meaning of these laws is rendered illegitamine in the face of hundreds of people's positive, life changing experiences. There has been one court case in Australia where a man was charged with possession of ayahuasca, and eventually the judge apologised to him and no conviction was recorded. This represents something of a common sense approach we can often (not always) expect from Australian courts and law enforcement. Julian.

I have a few hundred, but you will need to pick through it, because many of the seeds are eaten by little bugs. AND I am overseas and will be back in mid nov if you are still interested!

do some tests or send some to someone who can! :-)

Floribunda grows in New Zealand, and I hear people over there are extracting from it over there. NZ is very tight when it comes to "drugs"... people often can't get anything and so they often resort to "P", dodgy speed, which many people do... schoolteachers and the like. Julian.

This happens with any plant matter you import into Australia... at any time. I know a lot of people who have brought in various plant matters that quarantine have heat or gamma irradiated. Customs will generally just send you a letter saying the item is a prohibited item, unless you have tried to import other plants they deem to be "illegal". Or you just wont receive your package at all. Apart from Torsten, I haven't heard of anyone else really getting into trouble for importing plant materials into Australia. Julian.

Telepathogen, I've recently been feeling quite... critical and cynical of the so-called "spiritual" set. (not that I never have not actually!) I feel the real work and healing lies in developing mature interpersonal codes. I do not believe our present inter personal codes are at all mature. Many of the "spiritualists" do not accept their own sickness. but many do! consider Rak when he drank with the Shipibo women! http://www.realitysandwich.com/aya_healing "I can finally feel that I'm sick, and being healed, and this knowledge fills me with joy." Someone like myself, takes it as a given the sickness is present! And yet society runs/feeds on denial and our society is so clearly sick. Would you like statistics with that? It is no wonder that westerners become "spiritual materialists" "seekers" etc. Having said that, the primary message people get from smoking DMT, is an understanding that they are part and ARE a unified being, which can be called god. It is a beautiful experience to have, and should be humbling and grounding. The problem with Ayahuasca say, is that the ego can often be inflated and people can easily become enamoured with power - but human beings will be human beings. Julian.

Neal Goldsmith has a new book "Psychedelic Healing" and I think he is a really significant fresh voice in the scene. Kathleen Harrison wowed people at Basel with her talk on Salvia. Rick Strassman is a champ. Luis Eduardo Luna told me he wants to come to Australia and talk and speak out on certain issues six years ago!, and he is a great guy, with so much to share. I reckon he is THE man in the world to talk about Ayahuasca. I would also add Sandra Karpetas, as she is not only the person behind the Iboga Therapy House, but is the main co-ordinator of the psychedelic emergency areas at Burning Man and Boom festivals. So those would be my top picks. (not in any order) -- Ott has been in Oz before... and talked at Exodus festival. Christian Rätsch has been here before, in 2002. Trout has been here a couple of times at the exodus festival and can really spin some words! Graham Hancock is a great talker and really nice guy.

don't be a scaredey cat!

Becoming God and talking AS God. dissolves human created boundaries to THAT. Talking TO God presupposes a separation from THAT. A lot of theological arguments of many hundreds of years in the west stressed a division between man and god, human and divine. But, I think much of our task is to collapse those divisions. This can take you to "grandiose" places, but extremely humble places too... Here is a joke too: What is the difference between Larry Ellison and God? Answer: God doesn't think he is Larry Ellison! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Ellison Julian.

The doco was dillantantish crapoulosity. It happens all the time with first timers. I have been within someone taking Ayahuasca for their first three times, and nothing happened for them, and then on the fourth, it finally worked. Some people need to take it a dozen times or more before it really starts working. At any rate, it is working, but not at the level of the conscious mind. Julian.