Author Archive
Video: The War on Drugs is a War on You
This excellent new video from Truthloader, a Youtube channel dedicated to “citizen journalism,” exposes the truth about the War on Some Drug Users: Truthloader recently followed up with Part Two, about the drug war abroad. They also have a separate series about the horrific effects of drug policy in Mexico. Liked this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed to get much more! Or enter your email address for weekly updates: Share this:
Mind-bending fluorescent coral reef photography
Daniel Stoupin takes underwater photography to a new level, revealing a dazzling spectrum of colors in fluorescent coral reefs. I’ve seen alien worlds like these behind closed eyes before, but never in such stunning high-resolution photos. As it turns out, some of the most psychedelic landscapes on earth are underwater and microscopic! Daniel’s blog also does a fabulous job of explaining the nature of fluorescence, the way our brains perceive color, and the importance of lighting and context in both photography and everyday vision. To achieve such astounding colors, he uses special lights that bring out the natural...
Entheogenic Spirituality as a Human Right
The following essay by Martin W. Ball is an edited excerpt from his book, The Entheogenic Evolution: Psychedelics, Consciousness and Awakening the Human Spirit, published by Kyandara Publishing in 2008. It was previously published on Reality Sandwich. For more information, visit martinball.net. The true heart of any religion or spiritual tradition is direct spiritual experience. It is from the immediate experience of the sacred that traditions arise, grow, and take on a life of their own as institutions and systems of belief. Yet without that initial spiritual experience, the inspiration that originally gave rise to the tradition, there is very...
Jason Grapples With a Star An Interstellar Trip Report
Setting: The riverfront in Hartford, CT. Chemical Lens: 25I-NBOMe, a “research chemical” with effects resembling LSD Jason and I settle down on a green patch of grass in Riverfront Plaza. The fireworks are spent and the crowds have gone home. We are alone except for the cleanup crew, who rustle around collecting garbage and putting away equipment. They give us some strange looks as we remain there into the wee hours of the morning, but mostly they leave us alone. Floodlights illuminate the city park. I feel like we are lying in the middle of a football field, complete...
Time lapse of Burning Man 2013 from a mountaintop
There are lots of Burning Man videos on Youtube these days, but this one caught my eye. According to the creator: This video captures Burning Man 2013 from an elevation of 5495 feet above sea level and over 4 linear miles from the center of Black Rock City. Old Razorback, aka Trego Peak, provides a unique vista of this incredible annual event. Climbing to the peak of Old Razorback has become a challenging and rewarding tradition for our team. This is a view that most will never experience in person. It is our passion to share it with...
The Perception Scope How to Promote Visual Imagination and Conjure Open-eye Visuals at Will
People talk about how subtle psychedelic hallucinations can be. As long as your eyes are open, they say, objects may appear different — more vibrant, breathing in and out, or covered with patterns — but they won’t morph into faeries and slithering monsters like they do in the movies. Unless, of course, you take a heroic dose; then anything is fair game. I disagree. I see “things that aren’t really there” on any decent dose, sometimes into the following day. If you haven’t seen more than patterns and wobbling walls, you probably just need some direction and practice. In...
Golem, a cerebral short film about human culture
Golem is a short film by Patrick Mccue & Tobias Wiesner. It’s hard to describe, but the filmmakers say it’s based on ideas of “freedom and curiosity, fear and security, abstraction and fiction, the lack of accessibility in face of unknowing and the need for generating meaning.” Watching it, I couldn’t help but think of how very psychedelic these topics are — not because they’re “far out, man,” but because they are important. These are exactly the kinds of big-picture revelations that cross my mind while in a state of heightened awareness. Thoughts like these–whether inspired by an...
Forbes: Meet Dread Pirate Roberts, the man behind Silk Road
The Semptember issue of Forbes has a very interesting interview with the Dread Pirate Roberts, which is available online for free. The whole thing is worth a read, but here are some highlights. Competition and Publicity Despite the giant DEA crosshairs painted on his back and growing signs that the feds are probing the so-called “dark Web” that Silk Road and other black market sites inhabit, Roberts spoke with FORBES in his first-ever extended public interview for a reason: As with physical drug dealing, a turf war has emerged. Competitors, namely a newly launched site called Atlantis with a real marketing...
Psychedelics Linked to Lower Risk of Mental Illness
It seems that all the best news about psychedelics lately is coming from scientists. You know, those people whose job it is to discover the truth even if it flies in the face of cultural and legal prejudices? Turns out the truth about psychedelics is not so convenient for those who insist on banning them. In a new study, a Norwegian neuroscience team has found that use of psychedelic drugs is not associated with increased risk of mental health problems. In fact, psychedelic users were shown to have a lower risk of mental health issues, including psychosis, anxiety, mood disorders,...
RollSafe.org, the MDMA Harm Reduction Guide
There’s plenty of information out there about using MDMA, but never before has it been so cleanly presented. Check out RollSafe.Org, a handy little guide on how to use MDMA as safely as possible. The guide has lots of good tips on testing MDMA purity, using supplements (such as Tums, magnesium, vitamin C, ALA, and 5-HTP), safe and dangerous drug combinations, and more. Any other good tips for rolling? Let me know in the comments! Liked this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed to get much more! Or enter your email address for weekly updates: Share this:
A Treatise on Psychedelics Part 3/3: The Implications
This guest post by Martijn Schirp continues from Part 1 and Part 2, discussing the Interdisciplinary Conference on Psychedelic Research that he attended. It was originally published on higHExistence.com. What are the larger implications of the mystical experience? One aspect of the mystical experience is what psychology calls “ego death.” If we anchor our worldview on the self and constantly think self-oriented thoughts, we are blinded to our interconnection with everything around us. This privatized perspective is utterly destructive to everything alien to it. Psychedelics can “kill” the ego responsible for this self-oriented perspective, opening us up to a greater, more boundless reality. Some thinkers,...
Atlantis, the new virtual drug marketplace
Update: Atlantis has shut down permanently as of September 20, 2013. There’s a new anonymous online drug marketplace, and it’s making quick strides. Due to a rapid and aggressive marketing campaign, Atlantis getting lots of exposure–not only to potential buyers, but to many established Silk Road vendors who see it as an attractive new outlet for their goods. Perhaps what’s most surprising is how social and public the branding has been. Atlantis, which opened in March, has a Facebook page, Twitter handle, and its own Reddit thread. All Things Vice even published an interview with two of its founders. Want...