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That is interesting regarding salvia Ceres, as it had a similar effect on me when I first tried it (in the US where also legal) - a mild intoxication while awake, followed a deep visionary state while asleep. The dream state is an incredible thing, as you say it reveals to us the latent creativity of our minds and perhaps even evidence of the nonlocality or interconnectedness of consciousness. One could argue that much of the content of the dream I described is a manifestation of residual memories from my waking consciousness (I.e. from watching the fifth element), but I remember almost being lucid in the dream and thinking how curious it was that I could interact with these beings as if they were real people with complex emotions. Also I remember gazing out over the rocky outcrops and being able to make out the details in the rock strata, the beauty of the scene filling me with happiness. It feels like their is the possibility of travel to another reality in the dream state, even more so than with psychedelics alone.

Apparently merkel has had an encryption chip in her phone for a while now. I think it's a good thing as it has motivated at least one western leader to stand up and take a real stand against the NSA. Funny that she couldn't give a shit about other German citizens being spied on, only when it was her phone.

yeah generic "T. peruvianus" from Köhres. they do seem like peru's to me, guess I will never know.

Hey guys, I am hoping you can provide a novice cacti grower with some tips on repotting these pachanoi seedlings. Here it is coming into winter, with the temperatures already below 10 degrees at times. But I must repot the seedlings now to give to others when I leave. How will they go when repotted as they go into dormancy? They will be on window sills over the next few weeks getting only a few hours of sun per day. Also do seedlings have any particular preference for soils? cheers all

Yeah those bizarre depictions in the codes seraphinianus are cool. The attraction I think for the voynich manuscript might be it perputed age. Art says a lot about the psyche of the society that made it, and it is fascinating to looking at art produced by people long ago and imagine why they wanted to draw such things. Communication of ideas through time.

so the little guys/gals are doing pretty good. bottom heating and artificial light seems to have stopped them going into hibernation too soon and the seasol has given them a bit of a growth spurt. thanks heaps for the tips! if I could send one of these to each of you I would, but I don't think they would survive both the journey and AQIS. hopefully their new owners here treat them well... god speed little guys! time not important... only life also I am not 100% sure if they really are pachanoi, as I had peruvianus seeds too... I just assumed they were pach's for some reason... is it possible to tell the difference at this early stage of development?

Nice! That is surprising given the recent rise in temperature. The thing that puts me off this species is that you must generally hunt for it urban areas. Will keep my eye out for it though!

such amazing creatures! i once came across one of these at 6am in the morning at washpool np, it was almost the width of the road. the sight of any snake gives me shivers, must be an instinct.

I think we all feel a bit trapped and smothered by the society we live in at times. I certainly do. Perhaps despair is a rational response to modern suburban life and the predicament we as a species are in, but as Ceres said it doesn't help to beat ourselves up about it. I think these freak out moments we have are our psyches way of forcing us to reflect on the path of lives and reevaluate our priorities. It does this because to be alive and conscious in a human body at this time and on this planet in the evolution of the universe is an incredible gift and responsibility. The universe has invested 13.8 billion years of evolutionary time in making each one of us - the life inside us knows this and wants to make the most of every moment in the sun. You can dull this primal urge with things like 9to5 work, tv or smack, but every now and then it bursts through. I guess that might be why this community is attracted to plants and the natural environment - it satisfies an instinct in us to nurture life and be surrounded by beauty.

Really beautiful photos, love the contrasting colours of the Australian outback. Feels a world away from the greyness here. Thanks for sharing!

It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. - Krishnamurti

Given that it contains psilocybin, I'm sure it would be illegal.

Sounds plausible. However, at the end he says: You don't need to be a Bible scholar; you just need your common sense to figure this out. Really you do need to be a bible scholar to figure this out, because otherwise we are just taking this guys word for it. Maybe I am too cynical but 'examining the messenger' seems appropriate here.

^ what film is worth watching, even if for the beautiful tasmanian wilderness

it makes sense that dmt would choose the worlds tallest mountain as its natural habitat :D

here near the Harz mountains in Germany the average rainy days per year is 180, and it is temperate. it makes for beautiful emerald green forests in spring and summer (when the sun is out to reveal the colours), and very snowy winters (up to a meter at your front door some years, I've been told). however the combination of rain, cool weather and continuous cloud cover is hard to get used to -- although the locals, being brought up with it, do not seem to mind so much. however I do notice that on the rare occassion that the sun does come out, everyone jumps at the chance to get outside and not get wet, and there are smiles all round. if you like mud and sleet then this is the place for you!

A smattering of incoherent thoughts. If you, like me, 'believe' in the reality of the spirit world, how do you respond to the claim that spiritual experience is an illusory survival mechanism generated by the body to relieve anxiety about the certainty of death? I can see the appeal of this view to scientific types, as it fits neatly into the strictly evolutionary model of consciousness. Humans seem unique amongst living creatures in the value we place on individual life. Ants don't seem to languish in existential dispair as they slave away tirelessly their whole lives, why do we? Perhaps creatures like ants have more confidence in the direction of their colony as a whole than we do in our civilisations. Spirituality and the ego seem to go hand in hand - you can't have one without th other. What reason is their for a god if one doesn't have an ego to be dissolved by death? Religion and science have severely hindered the sophistication of contempary spirituality. Their appears to be a growing tendency for people to accept that one must either be aethiest or totally accept th notion of benevolent creator god. Yet both of these extremes have much in common - the acceptance of agencies external to ourselves as dictating our existence. As thinking, feeling creatures, surely our universe begins and ends with our own experience?

Separated them on Sunday. The soil, sand and perlite mix was slightly damp, now quite dry so hopefully the roots are okay. Will feed them some deutsch seasol equivalent mid week and report back, thanks for the tips. Hey quixote, they are the first cacti seedlings I have grown - I would love to keep them but I think getting them to a good home so they can grow is more important, hence the gifts. If you are within throwing distance of central Germany you can have one!

Seed was sourced from koehres: http://www.koehres-kaktus.de/shop/index.php/language/en and I just sent the remainder on to other members here. My washing machine costs 20 euro cents for 29 minutes.

Family portrait, everyone has their own home now Light is fading fast here so I am using a CFL to provide extra light, and heating from the bottom. Would a liquid fertilizer be appropriate for them now, or should that wait until they establish? And how moist should I keep the soil in these first few days after transferring? Thanks again for all the tips. and big thanks to Mutant for the TBM, ευχαριστίες

Hmm the background noises are good but the images are even better, right?! Leo Levitov's theory, which is discussed at the end of the McKenna audio, is that it is a manual for the endura, a rite supposedly practised by the cathar faith in the 12th and 13th century. Catharism was a heresy on Christianity, and therefore I guess they were keen to hide their beliefs from the church to prevent its destruction. Catharism seems to have some similarity to Gnosticism in that they believe the god of the Old Testament was satan, and that the world of matter was created by satan to entrap the soul of 'man'. It is an interesting theory, I am not sure though. 12th century seems too old for the style. A lot of weirdness was created in the latter medieval peRiod, claiming to have old origins, such as rosacrucinism. Even if it is it legit it is a fascinating object that has catalysed much contemplation, speculation and even cryptography methods - maybe that was the authors intention in the first place.

I'd love to join you guys big red, but I'm going next month. I've always wanted to learn to climb too... im sure it will be a great trip! i'll report back on where to find the tastiest momos. fenris that sounds like one hell of a family holiday man, nice one! that will be an awesome experience for your kids. i'm reading that annapurna can be very popular in october and november, so im thinking of heading up there in late november or december depending how long I stay. i'll keep an eye out for a hippy family in the mountains I have christian raestch's book shamanism and tantra in the himalayas... in a box somewhere down under. wish I had it with me, that would be perfect reading for this trip. anyone know of other good books on the topic?

Ha ok, guess the goats, like me, are yet to learn to nuances of the different ephedra strains in the more easterly European countries hemp is everywhere in agricultural areas too, apparently it prevents rodents from munching the real crops. Jomson looks like a good base to start from for Annapurna, will have to check it out. Looks like a nice walk out down that valley too. How did u get to chitwan? Thanks for the tips

Yeah true, not so much vegetation in the alpine areas. The terai sounds very interesting. Do the locals use the ephedratomake tea? It is fascinating that so many plants with a human usage come from or grow in this part of the world. How did you get around the place? Bus?