Luminous

Woops. Soz, didn't flick through to the end...

The thing with the monkey in it. VVV Is time actually speeding up or are we just getting older? VVV

Wicked thread, folks, keep it coming. This is the kind of stuff that, even if only 5% true, has more import than pretty much 100% of what we're fed by corporate media. Have only managed a quick scan thus far but I'll be back...

Hey Korky, I don't have any useful information for differentiating between the two locations but thought I might use my first-hand (intimate?) knowledge to agree that you could definitely benefit from ayahuasca That's exciting, mano, very much looking forward to chatting on the other side of that particular river. I have a friend who once dated a Peruvian who looked amazing in leather pants, if that helps any...

Hearin ya, unfortunately. I neglected the ear safety thing for years, and the most amazing thing is just how much ridiculously loud music it takes before you end up with permanent, noticeable damage. Really floored me when I first realised how stupid I'd been, more so because it coincided with the biggest surge in interest for music and sound I'd had in my life, only to realise that I'd lost that silence which is conducive to the ability to really sink into sound. I use attenuating plugs now and they're fantastic. The only thing that helped me with the impending depression after I realised I'd never 'hear' silence again was biofeedback techniques for reducing my awareness of the noise. Extremely effective in a short time, I'm aware now perhaps only 5% of the time and it doesn't bother me all that much unless I get a "what if" twinge. Thing is, I do feel more on edge in general these days and I'm suspicious of the role high-pitched white-noise, even in the background, has on mood over a long period of time. It can certainly feel like torture, irrespective of what the US administration chooses to acknowledge. One of the things I remember from the early days is that I initially freaked and started looking for cures, no matter how miraculous, until the message that this only leads to disappointment sunk in and I settled on the biofeedback thing. I did decide, however, that I would use the noise as a bit of a yardstick, in a similar fashion to the lucid dreaming suggestion above, for my journeying, and the sole hope for liberation I have retained is that perhaps somewhere, someday, I'll find my way into the company of an entity that can help. I haven't had the opportunity to visit with Aya but with all her healing prowess I kinda have a...fantasy?...hope?...that at some stage I'll wander into the jungle and wander out healed. Why not, really, I guess, at the very least it'll contribute to my own empirical knowledge. Anyone have any anecdotal evidence re the efficacy of ayahuasca in the treatment of tinnitus? Wouldn't that be grand...

Incidentally, I feel intuitively a certain simple elegance in the treatment of neurological conditions like migraine and cluster-headache with mind-manifesting plants. It's amazing how that whole 'let food be your medicine' thing is still so accurate, despite zero marketing budget and no cold-calling from third-world countries over dinner-time. I also feel as though I've started using too many hyphens.

This is the most useful information regarding migraines I've come across. I'm not afflicted personally, but my girlfriend has frequent, often debilitating episodes and has had for many years, and we've been trying various strategies with varying degrees of success for a while. Regular, intense exercise and constant attention to diet have proved most effective for her so far, across the board - her episodes are sparked by stress, hormones and heat, as well as occurring randomly. When she's exercising a lot and eating well she has knocked them back to 1 - 2 a month, but she has slipped off this approach recently due to some personal upheaval and they're back at a rate of 1-3 a week. The intensity varies yet always requires some form of medicating. Through experimentation she has found that, for all but the worst of the migraines, a little bit of pot is extremely effective and gives her at least an equal amount of relief as Mersyndol Night Strength, which is the only other thing she finds effective, having tried sumaptriptan and a host of other pharmaceuticals without success. The massive benefit with the herb is that, as opposed to being in a lessened amount pain yet still essentially immobile, a few seconds after smoking she is able to smile, sigh in relief and go about her evening, to the extent of engaging in talking, eating and other social activity. She generally requires a top-up every 60 - 90 minutes or so, otherwise there's nothing else to it. It is limited in its application, for obvious reasons, and she often works through her migraines meaning a still partial reliance on the tablets, yet it is now an indispensable part of the treatment regime. The limited application is the reason I visited tonight, and I had intended to start a thread enquiring as to people's experience in treating migraine in the hope of gleaning something practical. It was only as I was logging in that I was overcome by the realisation that there would not doubt be at least one thread containing the information I was after and, as always, you guys have, as a community, far surpassed my expectations, jaded and cynical as they sometimes are as I wander through this strange, confusing place. I've been a sometime observer of the forums for a little while now, though never posted, and I no doubt know many of you by sight through a number of inspiring and enlightening EGA's, and I just wanted to say thank-you for your creation, through your collaboration, of an ever-welcoming and erudite community with whom I feel a remarkable and unexpectedly touching kindred. Thanks, Torsten, for explaining the approach with shrooms. My partner is slowly gaining some knowledge of, and confidence with, this approach and although I have made some tentative inroads into assisting her in testing her response to shrooms, having read about some of the research into cluster headaches, I felt rather uncertain as to dose and frequency and had come to something of a standstill. It's promising to hear the efficacy reinforced by others as well, as the prophylactic effect would be an invaluable and very welcome relief. Once again, many, many thanks all, and I hope to be around a great deal more as we continue to wind into whatever it is we're winding into on this planet. I'm kinda hoping it's something with wings, this time...