https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpbHEUGeCoE
What Was Up at the Tulum 2018 CryptoPsychedelic Summit?
It was introduced as “one of the strangest conferences ever, on the edge of the abyss,” held in Tulum Mexico on February 3, 2018.The CryptoPsychedelic Summit met the challenge.The crowd was an odd mix, definitely international (registrants were from 15 countries), clumps of mostly men but a good showing of women too. Psychedelic flags were flying but a lot of others too – well-heeled and otherwise of all ages.The artwork that surrounded the seating included live painting, more psychedelic than crypto. There was a touch of eccentricity, like the gentleman in the full manor house regalia, on the beach in the taco line, polished designer leather shoes, shirted, blazered and pocket scarfed.The conference billed the event as bringing together leaders in blockchain and psychedelic science to discuss new possibilities in research, innovation, and community building.Buckminster Fuller’s arresting words were on the stage: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.”The fundamental premise of bringing together cryptocurrency and psychedelic seemed to be this. Two powerful modalities working to create change and empower personal autonomy. Decentralize your mind, decentralize your wallet. Or something like that.Decentranet and Psymposia were the official sponsors, though the enthusiastic team behind the gathering included Sophia Hughes, Mike Margolies, Daniel Shankin, Matt McKibbin and Brian Normand. The official website lists a dozen varied Participating Sponsors from both the crypto and psychedelic sides (including MAPs, ComputeforCancer, Pineapple Fund) and a bunch of Media Sponsors too (Evolve+Ascend, Psychedelic Times). You can even shop for cool gear.The panels started out with topics like maximizing the benefits from psychedelics and creation of a modern day Eleusis and mostly turned to crypto after lunch. The afternoon talk sometimes got crypto-esoteric. How many people in the crowd really spent time thinking about the crypto trilemma? A few specific crypto projects were mentioned (such as Presearch, the decentralized search engine and GuardianCircle.com, a decentralized 9-1-1) but the conversation was mostly high level, big picture.The last panel tried to tie it all in a bow. By then, the rain had stopped and the crowd was growing noisy in the back , exchanging cards, laughing, chatting away. It was getting harder to focus.Still, unifying ideas were offered. The crypto rich could help fund worthy psychedelic projects. The culture of connectedness that psychedelics can give us could be used in the crypto space so it’s not all about the lambo. Crypto can be a “radical experiment in community building.”By the end, some were still puzzled as to what exactly was the topic at hand but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves in the warm evening air (and most agreed the logo was stellar).We talked with friends new and old about, well, community, psychedelics and crypto. A strange success indeed.Story by Deleta Namey for MindPod Newtork
In Search of The Lost Chord by Danny Goldberg
Fifty years ago the United States was about to embark on an adventure which came to be known as The Summer of Love.1967 was the year of the release of the Beatles’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and of debut albums from the Doors, the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, among many others.In addition to the thriving music scene, 1967 was also the year of the Summer of Love; the year that millions of now-illegal LSD tabs flooded America; Muhammad Ali was convicted of avoiding the draft; Martin Luther King Jr. publicly opposed the war in Vietnam; Stokely Carmichael championed Black Power; Israel won the Six-Day War, and Che Guevara was murdered.It was the year that hundreds of thousands of protesters vainly attempted to levitate the Pentagon.It was the year the word “hippie” peaked and died, and the Yippies were born.Friend of MindPod Network, Danny Goldberg, has a new book coming out that explores what made 1967 such a pivotal year, one that resonates with millions of people around the globe.Danny's book, "In Search of The Lost Chord: 1967 and the Hippie Idea" is a subjective history of 1967, the year he graduated from high school. It is, he writes in the introduction, “an attempt at trying to remember the culture that mesmerized me, to visit the places and conversations I was not cool enough to have been a part of.”It is also a refreshing and new analysis of the era; by looking at not only the political causes, but also the spiritual, musical, and psychedelic movements, Goldberg provides a unique perspective on how and why the legacy of 1967 lives on today.Danny provided MindPod Network with an excerpt of the book (out June 6th) which you can find below.THE SUMMER OF LOVE(from Chapter 6, “Flower Power”)The Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic was founded in June 1967 by Dr. David E. Smith, who immediately became a go-to source for journalists covering the Summer of Love.Smith staffed the clinic with volunteers who contributed samples of penicillin and tranquilizers from local hospitals where they also interned.Aware of police scrutiny, Smith put up a sign on the door that read,"No dealing! No holding drugs. No using drugs. No alcohol. No pets. Any of these can close the clinic. We love you."The clinic served more than two hundred and fifty people a day. Among the most common ailments treated at the clinic were bad trips, drug overdoses, and venereal diseases. (As of the writing of this book in 2017, the clinic is still operating.)There were ongoing tensions between hippies and local police, who periodically enforced the drug laws and were under constant pressure from local businesses to help minimize disruptions in traffic.Censorship of the arts was still a major issue in 1967.Lenny Bruce had died of an overdose the previous year, driven to despair by relentless and unconscionable obscenity prosecutions of his stand-up performances.Statements of support for The Beard (a Michael McClure play that had been shut down by the cops) came in from Norman Mailer, Robert Creeley, and Allen Ginsberg, among others.Parallel to the Haight world, the antiwar movement was surging, but combining the cultures remained elusive.On April 15, the same day that Martin Luther King Jr. led the march to the United Nations in New York, there was a march in San Francisco to Kezar Stadium.At the outset, there were 50,000 people there, but the pacifist organizers focused the program on the earnest but unhip peaceniks.Country Joe and the Fish played from the back of a truck as the march went on, yet once inside the stadium they were only given enough time for two songs.Ginsberg complained that they had foolishly ignored the hippies and the crowd dispersed early.Nonetheless, the Vietnam War was inescapable even at the Oracle.Early in 1967, they published “A Curse on the Men in Washington, Pentagon,” a Gary Snyder poem which addressed those at the Department of Defense with the lines:“To trample your throat in your dreams / This magic I work, this loving I give / that my children may flourish / And yours won’t thrive.”The decision to publish was controversial within the Oracle, and involved a vote by the entire staff.By a margin of one vote, the paper moved forward with running the poem, a decision that resulted in a photographer, whose father worked at the Pentagon, leaving the magazine.The August issue had the line “Psychedelics, Flowers, and War” on its cover, and it included two full pages dedicated to a Michael McClure poem.In representing the sensibilities of the community that had put Haight-Ashbury on the cultural map, the Oracle focused much of its energy on visions of a more positive alternate society.Many of the Oracle writers and artists refused to sign their work, because they felt that their writing came from a higher consciousness.One frequent theme in the paper was getting back to nature.A writer who identified himself by the initials S.B. extolled “those who seek being rather than status and who decide to return to the land often to attain an ethical relationship with nature.”Other articles focused on organic gardening and astrology. There was even a piece on Aquarian tarot cards, and another headlined, “Dialogue between Astronomer and Philosopher.”Letters to the editor poured in from newly formed communities around the country.*Pre-order In Search of the Lost Chord on Amazon here> http://amzn.to/2q4ReWS*Excerpted from In Search of the Lost Chord: 1967 and the Hippie Idea, copyright 2017 by Danny Goldberg, used with permission of Akashic Books (akashicbooks.com).
The Top 3 Species Of Magic Mushrooms And Their History
“Magic mushrooms” is a term used to generally describe mushrooms with psychoactive properties.
However, the cultural concept of “magic mushrooms” clashes with the general term.
Culturally speaking, most people are referring to a specific genre of psychoactive mushrooms called “psilocybin mushrooms” when they say “magic mushrooms”.
However, “magic mushrooms” encompass other psychoactive mushrooms as well - for example amanita muscaria or claviceps purpurea, which are not part of the psilocybe mushrooms family.
Get THE book about Growing Your Own Magic Mushrooms
Magic mushrooms are sacred medicine (also called “psychedelics”) used traditionally in Central America in religious and spiritual rituals.
They contain psychoactive compounds which induce visions, psychedelic experiences and enhance extrasensory senses. Magic mushrooms are one of the safest and most popular psychedelics of our current times.
The modern Western world has come into closer contact with them around the 1950’s, thanks to an article published in Life Magazine in 1959.
There are more and more scientific studies proving that consuming these magic mushrooms have clear benefits, both in healing psychological disorders as well as enhancing spiritual and meaningful experiences.
Before consuming these psychoactive mushrooms, it is better to know the different types of magic mushrooms, how they are consumed and in what specific contexts.Here are the most popular 3 types of magic mushrooms...
Magic Mushrooms #1 - Psilocybin Mushrooms
Psilocybin mushrooms are the most popular type of magic mushrooms.
They are part of the Strophariaceae family and the Psilocybe genus.There are more than 180 species of psilocybin mushrooms, each one with a different intensity and “flavor” of experience.
The most popular psilocybin mushrooms are “Psilocybe Cubensis” (also called “Golden Teacher” due to the fact that it is a powerful spiritual teacher) as well as “Psilocybe Semilanceata Mushrooms”.
Other less-known species of psilocybin mushrooms include psilocybe cyanescens, psilocybe azurencens, psilocybe bohemica and others.The active psychoactive compounds in psilocybin mushrooms are psilocybin and psilocin.
These biochemical substances are the ones responsible for the psychedelic and mind-altering experiences of psilocybin mushrooms.Depending on the contents of these two compounds, psilocybin mushrooms differ in potency and the psychedelic experience they offer.
Psilocybe azurencens is the most potent one because it contains the highest amount of these two compounds (potency of selected Psilocybe mushrooms).
Another potent one is psilocybe baeocystis, with high amounts of the two psychoactive compounds.However, psilocybe semilanceata is the most popular in Europe because it is the species which grows most frequently on its own in this area, particularly in the forests.
They are also called “Liberty Caps” due to their large cap.All these mushrooms also differ when it comes to the conditions in which they grow and thrive.
Some of them are fit to be grown at home, in a sterile environment, using jars or carton boxes. Other species of psilocybin require much more exquisite conditions to prosper.
Find out how Psilocybin Mushrooms and Truffles are being used to heal trauma >>
Magic Mushrooms #2 - Amanita Muscaria
Amanita muscaria is another type of popular magic mushrooms. It is also known as “Fly Agaric” or “Fly Amanita”.
It belongs to the genus “Amanita”, amongst many other types of mushrooms.If you remember the mushrooms with a red cap and white dots on it, depicted in most fairytales and cartoons, then you know how they look.
They can be found frequently in forests, especially in autumn.Amanita muscaria were used most frequently by Siberian shamans since history started being recorded in those parts.
They also have a long history of being used in the rest of Asia, as well as Northern Europe. Interestingly enough, records state that the urine produced by the persons who ingest amanita muscaria is much more potent (as in having psychedelic properties) than ingesting the mushrooms themselves.
This can be explained due to the fact that the liver recognizes the psychoactive compounds in these mushrooms as being toxic, hence it rushes to evacuate it with the use of the kidneys. The psychoactive compounds in amanita muscaria are called “botenic acid” and “muscimol.”
Dennis McKenna discusses Psilocybin, DMT and their impact on consciousness >>
Magic Mushrooms #3 - Claviceps Purpurea
Claviceps purpurea (also known as “Ergot”) is a specific type of mushrooms which grows on rye. Actually, this type of mushrooms are more like parasites growing off the rye, infesting this grain and feeding off of it.
The main psychedelic biochemical compound is called “ergotamine”, which is also the predecessor of the modern psychedelic LSD.They belong to the family of Hypocreaceae and Claviceps genus.
Traditionally it is considered a poison, although the ancient Romans and Greeks used them as sacred entheogens. Ergot poisoning (also known as “St Anthony's Fire”) causes hallucinations, gangrenous loss of limbs, and death. Outbreaks plagued medieval Europe and were associated with witchcraft and the Inquisition.Another fascinating story about Ergot includes the Eleunisian mysteries(Wikipedia).
The Eleunisian mysteries are thought to actually represent a close guarded ancient secret - they were thought to be sacred ceremonies consuming this type of mushroom in order to facilitate spiritual experiences.
Plato and other famous thinkers of this ancient period were thought to have consumed this sacred psychedelic.It is advised to exercise maximum caution when it comes to cultivating these mushrooms, both in a sterile environment or in their natural environment. There are many species of mushrooms which are not psychoactive.
Some are deadly poisonous while others are edible.It is best to work with a shaman who knows how to properly prepare and cultivate this sacred medicine. It is imperative that you consume them in a safe, nurturing and sacred environment with the utmost respect for the mushrooms and their spirit.These are not “toys” to play with - they are powerful sacred medicine. Treat them accordingly and you will have a beautiful experience.
The Felt Moment of Immediate Experience - Terence Mckenna on Impermanence
McKenna reminds us of the inescapable truth of our circumstance in an effort to encourage that we experience our lives as they actually happen.The idea isn't to brood and fear, but rather to ponder and integrate as you move through your existence.Whatever your method for arriving in the moment, use it and do your very best to make all of your actions spring from that seat of awareness.This excerpt was taken from Ep. 391 of the Psychedelic Salon. This podcast is the go-to for all things McKenna, and a wealth of other consciousness expanding discussions
A Conversation with Terence McKenna & Ram Dass
From the film, "Prague Gnosis" Terence McKenna sits down for some cake and conversation with Ram Dass.Terence Kemp McKenna (November 16, 1946 -- April 3, 2000) was an Irish-American philosopher, psychonaut, researcher, raconteur, speaker and writer on many subjects; such as human consciousness, psychedelic drugs, the evolution of civilizations, the origin and the end of the universe, cybernetics, alchemy, and extraterrestrial beings.Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert on April 6, 1931) is an American contemporary spiritual teacher and the author of the seminal 1971 book Be Here Now. He is known for his personal and professional associations with Timothy Leary at Harvard University in the early 1960s, for his travels to India and his relationship with the Hindu guru Neem Karoli Baba, and for founding the charitable organizations Seva Foundation, Hanuman Foundation and Love Serve Remember.Recommended
Psychedelics & Spiritual Practice
Sometimes with psychedelics, powerful experiences can come too quickly and you can get overwhelmed. If this happens, go back to your most grounded practice and to a place of nourishment and refuge. Take your time. Otherwise you will close down when you touch experiences that are too fearsome or difficult. With practice 
you can learn to surrender and go through whatever difficulty arises, and it will release you to a larger, freer consciousness.So, yes, LSD, mushrooms, Ecstasy, or ayahuasca can bring healing and can grant us access to visionary and mystical realms, realms of tremendous, transcendent understanding. They can bring a perception of unity, the reality of our connection with everything. Any methods that open the heart in this way and show us that we are not separate, that touch the realms of universal loving, kindness, and compassion, can be valuable. But you need to be careful. For some people the judicious use of these substances can open the mind and reveal how consciousness creates the world, that physical reality is created out of consciousness and not the opposite. For other people these drugs are a danger, particularly if one has a history of substance abuse or a family history of drug or alcohol addiction.Hallucinogens are powerful medicine, enormously compelling for some people as an initial opening. At later stages you may be called to use them again wisely, but always with the constraints of virtue and care. They can be easily abused if one is not careful. And remember, there are a hundred other ways to open to these realms without hallucinogens: intensive prayer, movement and breath practices, shamanic drumming, initiation rituals, ecstatic and purifying dancing, vision quests, and intensive meditation retreats. Stanislav and Christina Grof and I offer annual retreats that feature the practice of Holotropic Breath-work, a powerful breathing practice done in groups that opens the inner realms, much like psychedelics. We combine this work with Buddhist meditation. Participants interested in these forms of inner exploration seem to appreciate this combination of practices.Sacred medicine is a part of spiritual paths on every continent. In spiritual communities, we need an honest exploration of this delicate and sometimes taboo topic. Let us approach the use of these drugs consciously. In my view, whatever leads to opening the heart and mind and letting go is beneficial.This excerpt is taken from the book, “Bringing Home the Dharma: Awakening Right Where You Are“
Maharaji & LSD
In 1967 when I first came to India, I brought with me a supply of LSD, hoping to find someone who might understand more about these substances than we did in the West.When I had met Maharajji (Neem Karoli Baba), after some days the thought had crossed my mind that he would be a perfect person to ask. The next day after having that thought, I was called to him and he asked me immediately, “Do you have a question?”Of course, being before him was such a powerful experience that I had completely forgotten the question I had had in my mind the night before. So I looked stupid and said, “No, Maharajji, I have no question.”He appeared irritated and said, “Where is the medicine?”I was confused but Bhagavan Dass suggested, ” Maybe he means the LSD.” I asked and Maharajji nodded. The bottle of LSD was in the car and I was sent to fetch it.When I returned I emptied the vial of pills into my hand. In addition to the LSD there were a number of other pills for this and that–diarrhea, fever, a sleeping pill, and so forth. He asked about each of these.He asked if they gave powers. I didn’t understand at the time and thought that by “powers” perhaps he meant physical strength. I said, “No.” Later, of course, I came to understand that the word he had used, “siddhis,” means psychic powers. Then he held out his hand for the LSD. I put one pill on his palm. Each of these pills was about three hundred micrograms of very pure LSD–a solid dose for an adult. He beckoned for more, so I put a second pill in his hand–six hundred micrograms. Again he beckoned and I added yet another, making the total dosage nine hundred micrograms–certainly not a dose for beginners. Then he threw all the pills into his mouth. My reaction was one of shock mixed with fascination of a social scientist eager to see what would happen.He allowed me to stay for an hour– and nothing happened. Nothing whatsoever.He just laughed at me.The whole thing had happened very fast and unexpectedly. When I returned to the United States in 1968 I told many people about this acid feat. But there had remained in me a gnawing doubt that perhaps he had been putting me on and had thrown the pills over his shoulder or palmed them, because I hadn’t actually seen them go into his mouth.Three years later, when I was back in India, he asked me one day, “Did you give me medicine when you were in India last time?”“Yes.”“Did I take it?” he asked. ( Ah, there was my doubt made manifest!)“I think you did.”“What happened?“Nothing.”“Oh! Jao!” and he sent me off for the evening.The next morning I was called over to the porch in front of his room, where he sat in the mornings on a tucket. He asked, “Have you got any more of that medicine?”It just so happened that I was carrying a small supply of LSD for “just in case,” and this was obviously it. “Yes.”“Get it,” he said.So I did. In the bottle were five pills of three hundredmicrograms each. One of the pills was broken. I placed them on my palm and held them out to him. He took the four unbroken pills. Then, one by one, very obviously and very deliberately, he placed each one in his mouth and swallowed it– another unspoken thought of mine now answered.As soon as he had swallowed the last one, he asked, “Can I take water?”“Yes.”“Hot or cold?”“It doesn’t matter.”He started yelling for water and drank a cup when it was brought.Then he asked,” How long will it take to act?”“Anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour.”He called for an older man, a long -time devotee who had a watch, and Maharajji held the man’s wrist, often pulling it up to him to peer at the watch.Then he asked,” Will it make me crazy?”That seemed so bizarre to me that I could only go along with what seemed to be a gag.So I said, “Probably.”And then we waited. After some time he pulled the blanket over his face, and when he came out after a moment his eyes were rolling and his mouth was ajar and he looked totally mad. I got upset. What was happening? Had I misjudged his powers? After all, he was an old man (though how old I had no idea), and I had let him take twelve hundred micrograms. Maybe last time he had thrown them away and then he read my mind and was trying to prove to me he could do it, not realizing how strong the “medicine” really was. Guilt and anxiety poured through me. But when I looked at him again he was perfectly normal and looking at the watch.At the end of an hour it was obvious nothing had happened. His reactions had been a total put-on. And then he asked, “Have you got anything stronger?” I didn’t. Then he said, “These medicines were used in Kulu Valley long ago. But yogis have lost that knowledge. They were used with fasting. Nobody knows now. To take them with no effect, your mind must be firmly fixed on God. Others would be afraid to take. Many saints would not take this.” And he left it at that.When I asked him if I should take LSD again, he said, “It should not be taken in a hot climate. If you are in a place that is cool and peaceful, and you are alone and your mind is turned toward God, then you may take the yogi medicine.”– Ram DassThis excerpt is taken from the book, "Miracle of Love"