maclicious

plus I was also thinking if you get the person you are donating for to donate the money they get back from their tax return to another charity then the whole process just continues. I'm sure the government would get pissed at people doing this because essentially we are forcing them to join in on our generosity. Imagine this - people thinking how much they'll give at Christmas instead of how much they'll get, sounds good to me.... peace out.

I've been thinking about the lie that Christmas has become and how much commercialism is represented by its annual occurance. What if we as people of earth decide to not buy Christmas presents for anyone this Christmas (2005). Instead, donate a set amount of money for each person you would normally buy a gift for to an organisation of their choice (World Vision, Oxfam, Salvo's etc etc). The donations would be made out in the recipients name so that not only would you be giving them a gift of love/sharing etc (by donating money to an organisation that they care about). You will also be giving them a tax deduction for that donation at the end of the financial year. I think that if everyone did this in every country that the majority of poverty & disease in this world would start to decrease year by year. The only problem is it would essentially kill the Christmas sales that alot of businesses depend on for their yearly profits. It can never be a win / win situation life rarely is but I think it's time that the less fortunate had a fair go, don't you? with love and light and all that jazz. maclicious

that's them. thanks for the pics there aren't too many pics of them around on the net, not in comparison to death caps. if anyone's keen on going for a field trip round newcastle / central coast PM me.

what are peoples opinions on the best grafting stock for loph's? I've heard of many different types of trich's and some other species that you can use but what do you guys think?

sorry about the confusion on that question smogs that one was for jack.

thanks for the correction, I had heard of them referred to as death caps by a friend of mine years ago while picking and was wary ever since. I saw a picture which looked identical to them afterwards (probably innacurate photo) & thought he knew what he was talking about. Oh well it's better to clear that up now rather than later. thanks again.

Very true torsten, that made more sense than my rantings. True compassion does seem to be rare these days, and it has alot to do with the love that we are capable of sharing or giving. It seems alot of society is self-serving in their compassion but don't allow their love to roam free like they should. Love/compassion is a gift from god that should be shared with other beings whether they be humans, animals or plants. It should never be held up as a counter of how much has been given / received etc, as alot of people do. I think I'm starting to rant again. boy I wish people would just love one another. peace out.

what season does it flower in?

it's pretty well screwed up these days. It's either misconstrued as someone thinking that they are better than someone else or thinking they know how they feel - sympathy. Or god forbid if it would be seen as empathy then you would really have to prove yourself and your past experiences. Compassion seems to cause more trouble than good, well in this day anyway.

some good points from all, but I want to add some too. I have mushy dreams round the beginning of the spring/summer season and towards the end of the season (maybe when the woodchips are fruiting). They are always extremely vivid and always have an air of tension or fear about them. This I think comes from the risk of prosecution that exists when picking in private fields. The one thing I am always conscious of in the dream is where the farmer is. And often I see him on his tractor or in his house but we never meet face to face. This combined with the fear of picking poisonous mushrooms makes for a very interesting yet scary mushy dream. What is the weirdest part is that I never seem to find any mushy's that I'm looking for and the ones I do find are poisonous or unedible. They normally leave me with a strong desire to go picking that lasts till I eventually go (days/weeks/months). Another thing is I have an extremely strong ego that has never let go without a fight and I have found through experience that fear is a dangerous thing while in such vulnerable mental states. I guess what I'm trying to say is finding wild mushrooms is never guaranteed and the risks involved can be enormous and these bring fears no matter how small or large that manifest themselves into thoughts and or dreams. That is why I have them I think, as for everyone else I don't know, you found good shrooms so you're on a good path, stay there, i'll meet you soon. As for cannabis stopping dreams, I know exactly what you're talking about. I think it happens when your body relies on a toxin/drug etc for a extended amount of time, but it affects everyone differently. I have extremely vivid dreams when I stop smoking cannabis for extended periods that involve things like friends & family dying and other stressful situations. But if I stopped smoking tobacco then I would have nightmares like I did when I was a kid. When I was trying to stop smoking cigarettes once I had to teach myself to control my dreams while I was asleep. I was having such powerful nightmares that i would wake up crying, shivering, sweating (literally drenched), fighting etc that every morning I woke up feeling dead or at least wanting to be. I got sick of it and changed my dreams, by realising how I escaped them in the first place. When I would have a bad dream I would sometimes realise it and somehow shut my eyes tighter when I was asleep this would change the location of the dreams like an escape hatch and I would wake up. It worked good but I still had the bad feeling that the dream had left me on waking (ever tried to go back to sleep to finish a dream after you have woken up, it's almost impossible). I figured out that if I could realise that I was getting stressed/scared in a dream and I could feel myself about to hit the escape hatch I would calmly assure myself (while asleep) that everything was ok and it is only a dream inside a head that i control. The trick with this part is it is extremely hard to tell yourself while your asleep that you are asleep without waking up. Your sub-conscious and your conscious have to work together to achieve this and because dreams are so realistic and are sometimes so believable it is hard to distinguish that you are actually having a bad dream. I think if you want to try this and control your dreams wait until the next time you have a bad dream and remember the feeling that you have when you wake up and if you can the feeling just before you woke up. Now use these feelings to familarise yourself with what your fear feels like, and what it creates in your mind. (this is the only way to recognise it while you are asleep). Despise it in every way and dedicate your time before sleep to remembering what it felt like. Hopefully when you're asleep and having a bad dream you will recognise it and not hit the escape hatch or run or be scared. Just turn and face your fears knowing that you are in complete control and have fun with your dreams. Trust me if any of this has made just a bit of sense and you suffer from bad dreams there is no reason not to try it. There is no need to be a slave to your dreams you can control them in any way you feel fit, trust me it's more fun that way. wow what a post, a good topic for me to chat about, I hope it helps someone out there. By the way I'm no psycology student or anything I just hate bad dreams that make you feel like shit and tried to change them, and succeded. thanks to those who read all this. maclicious

i was just up near coffs harbour recently (round christmas time) and there was a wealth of p. cubensis fruits in the fields. i noticed a few p. cyanescens but not as many as the p. cubensis. there sure was a heap of death caps around so you inexperienced pickers please be careful. just thought you all might like to know.

i've found the more water the better. I water mine every morning and night if I can as they are in a high humidity spot (man made) which gets full sun until midday. I found that if I put them in a high light/heat situation that they didn't show any signs of growth and would harden up and get very fibrous. In the new spot where I've had the cuttings I can get roots formed in 2 weeks and substantial growth in under a month. they are truly the easiest plant I have yet to clone and grow. hope this helps. a question though, do all sceletium plants flower? I have had mine for over 2 years and to this stage not one flower. any info would great thanks

the best that I know of were the double dipped strawberry's my gnome had in 98' at the big day out. They had big prints on them all over the sheet not just on individual blotters, so on one you would get parts of 3 strawberry's. They also had a brown backing on them which was weird. He ended up losing it from the heat and lack of water that day but said it was the most intense visual experience he had ever had. I believe him I've never seen him so scared, and out of it all at one time.

thanks for the info torsten, any more info when known would be greatly appreciated.

I've been trying since Christmas to log in but cannot. There are some private messages that I can't read because I can't log in. If anyone on this forum sent me a private message through EBA can you resend it to me here? Thanks & all the best for the year. maclicious