Final Project: Entheogenic Empathy

 Here's the link for a full-sized version of the video.

Taming our KYHOI proved difficult. This started out as two separate, unrelated projects, one dealing with shamanic tourism and the other dealing with "The Joe Rogan Experience." Initially, I wanted to explore how ancient indigenous traditions become commercialized and fake through Western tourism. While I won't speak for my partner Logan, his initial project seemed to focus more on the spreading of ideas through online communities.

However, once we got together it was challenging to narrow our ideas into a coherent 5-minute video. We've both had transformative experiences with "drugs" in our lives, so we wanted to explore the potential of certain compounds to increase human empathy, as they had so forcefully done for us.

But the psychedelic narrative is long and well-documented. There was no way we could retell that story in a fresh way within a 5-minute time frame. So we compromised on a mash-up of our trailers. This turned out to be how internet communities and ever-progressing technology might help promote the truth about substances that have been riddled with propaganda for at least the last 50 years.

As is true with everyone, I'm sure, we wish we had more time. But after an 8-hour blitz with work only a few hours away, we had to cut it off. I feel good about our message though. I believe the main concepts were clear: humanity's symbiotic relationship with mind-altering plants precedes civilization itself; skewed capitalistic priorities have removed healthy, natural, and mind-opening compounds from the research community; and finally that a return to an ancient framework of understanding these plants might be a step towards fixing our species' social and environmental issues.

Here's a list of sources I referenced throughout the creation of this video:

The Invisible Landscape by Dennis and Terrence McKenna
Food of the Gods by Terrence McKenna
The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley
From Medicine Men to Day Trippers: Shamanic Tourism in Iquitos, Peru by Evgenia Fotiou
DMT: The Spirit Molecule by Rick Strassman
The Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies
Terrence McKenna Lectures: The Alien Within, Culture is Your Operating System, The Last Word, Psychedelics in the Age of Psychedelic Machines
Documentaries: DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Ayahuasca: Vine of the Soul, Entheogen: Awakening the Divine Within, The Sacred Vine

...and many others were researched but just didn't have any material make it into the final cut. Hope you enjoyed!
                                           

Read More

My Not-Script on Not-Mediums

Well I have to admit my "script" for the final video is far from detailed. I'm amassing a lot of research, and while I look forward to filtering through it all and piecing together a coherent product, at this point my interests are still too scattered to pinpoint one central theme or storyline.

In general, my video will chronicling the use of entheogens as a medium of transcendent communication throughout human history, including the present usage and future potential for these compounds.

My lack of focus stems from the fact that pre- and early-historical doping is just as fascinating and pertinent as the possible integration of these ancient drugs into future technologies like advanced artificial intelligence. I'm certain, however, that I want my project to be optimistic in the face of an oppressive government. While my lifetime will most likely end before the government implements fully-funded entheogenic research, I strongly believe that this mystical medium will play a crucial role in the further evolution of our species.

That's what makes this subject so damn alluring and yet imposing in its breadth. Ancient shamanism, the LSD-inspired counterculture movement of 1960's America, and the visions of science fiction all can be interconnected through entheogens. In short, I wish to set out and prove that this ego-shattering medium (or perhaps "not-medium") has played a much more significant role in our species' existence than mainstream education has allowed humanity to realize.

Read More

My KYHOI: Evolving Entheogenic Empathy

I'm going to try my hardest to NOT present my KYHOI as if I'm rehashing the already-failed experiment of the '60s. It'll be hard, considering the idealistic explosion of the time period that was influenced by psychedelics (which from here on out will be more affectionately referred to as entheogens, despite the establishment imposing the mocking red squiggly line every time I type it).

Even though LSD, mescaline, psilocybin and the likes were introduced in a much too rapid, unregulated way to the American public, many of today's social movements were strongly influenced by these "drugs." The various environmental movements are perhaps the best examples, but the evolution of the music, movie, and literary scenes also have roots in Western experimentation with entheogens.

But, as I said, the actions of Timothy Leary, Charles Manson, and a counterculture hellbent on rejecting the capitalistic monopoly helped to all but destroy future generations' chances to study these compounds. As my professor remarked in class, if he were the author of this blog post, his academic career would be over.

Thankfully, there's been progress. Dr. Rick Strassman, as one example, has completed research dealing with dimethyltryptamine (DMT)'s effects on the human body and mind. "Why is this important?" you may be asking. The politically correct answer would have something dealing with entheogenic compounds used as treatments for drug addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder, and cluster headaches.

However, as a non-scientist/teacher, I'm free to express the opinion that entheogens have the potential to create a completely new medium for human communication. It's been clear to me for a long time that verbal interchange is simply inadequate when it comes to exchanging ideas and interconnectedness within an emotion-and-bias-free framework of total empathy. In fact, language creates the unbearable paradox that as one increases his/her mastery of a particular language, the more (mis)interpretations become available to the recipient mind. That is, the wider your lexicon and the deeper your understanding of words' meanings, the more you process and analyze what you're being told. And that's when two people/parties speak THE SAME language.

To me, the key to this elusive "world peace" that seems to be humanity's ultimate goal, lies in creating a shared "thought space" in which the highest, purest, and clearest form of communication is possible. If *complete* empathy is to be achieved, the ego CANNOT BE PRESENT. That's not how human evolution unfolded, unfortunately.

So as for my project, I'd like to trace the history as well as the present and future usages of entheogens. I think this trajectory will provide some intriguing (although not YET scientifically valid) evidence of entheogens' universal potential. To me, the mere rumor that the discovery of the double-helix DNA structure might have been influenced by LSD - and the FACT that the image of eerily similar intertwined double snakes is prevalent throughout indigenous shamanic rituals - is enough to warrant a closer look at these compounds as a serious area of study.

In a world where the fibers of civilization have become so tangled and knotted that they may never be undone, this is one of the few things that still provides me with passion and hope for our species and our planet.

Read More

Serious Blogging

Although my blog is, as of this moment, still pretty weak, I'm working on it. I haven't quite figured out what type of widget I might add or exactly how to add them, but that will come down the road. For now I'm trying to survey the blog-o-sphere to get a feel for different styles of layouts.

In a previous post I mentioned that my vision for the Mediated Culture final project includes both shamanic tourism and the scientific research being conducted on entheogens. Fortunately, the amount of data emerging from this field of study seems to be increasing, so I've been able to find some great sources that call for research on hallucinogenic compounds, as well as justifying its inclusion within the framework of a variety of disciplines. Sites like Brainwaving have article topics ranging from String Theory and Psychedelic Consciousness to the use of cocaine by Sherlock Holmes.

Psychedelic Research does the dirty work for those of us interested in this very particular niche of science by compiling great amounts of the current material that's being published on psychotropics and related topics. Psychedelic Medicine News is along the same line.

Of course, blogs like Neurotypical? and Neurosoup deal with the effects that these entheogenic compounds have on brain chemistry.

I see a lot of potential here for a "meta-discussion" on different mediums. While the tourism aspect represents a clear clashing of cultures, the compounds that constitute indigenous concoctions like Ayahuasca might themselves be forms of subconscious/quantum communication devices.

I'm excited to both continue my research and make this page a lot more presentable.

Read More

Shamanic Assimilation Trailer

 

For the final video, I also hope to incorporate current Western philosophies and research on dimethyltryptamine (DMT), the psychoactive chemical compound in Ayahuasca.

Read More

Shamanic Tourism, Entheogens, and Consciousness: Perhaps Humanity's Most Important Emerging Fields of Study

 The source I’ve spent most of my time delving into is a dissertation written by Evgenia Fotiou entitled From Medicine Men to Day Trippers: Shamanic Tourism in Iquitos, Peru. I’m choosing to summarize that piece here because it’s the most recent research I’ve found on the subject, and nearly everything Fotiou covers pertains directly to our project. Plus, she’s inundated her dissertation with exceptional sources that I would like to research further.

           

Fotiou uses the first 100 pages or so to detail her methodology for field work, the hallucinogenic beverage Ayahuasca (the main draw for western tourists seeking “authentic” shamanic experiences), and the history of shamanism and its complex, fluid relationship with Western culture. Seeing as how I’ll be discussing the Ayahuasca experience in greater detail for my second recapitulation, here I’ll try to relay a condensed explanation of Fotiou’s research on shamanism's effect on the Western imagination.

             

Some of the earlier writings on shamanism, like those of Mircea Eliade, sought to distill the widespread (but culturally disparate) shamanic phenomena down to a generalized, universal model. Since then, this way of thinking has been subdued. It’s become clear to anthropologists, ethno-botanists, and psychologists that shamanism is very much culture-specific. For example, Siberian shamans’ ritualistic practices differ greatly from those of the Amazonian Indians. And it is from this viewpoint that Fotiou conducts her research.

           

Western reaction to shamanism has shifted dramatically as more literature is published on the subject. Unsurprisingly, the first accounts of shamanic practices were ethnocentric, exaggerated, and misinformed. European settlers had no desire to study shamanism within the environmental context, so the propaganda produced made these practices seem fraudulent and pathological.

            

 Counter that with the “New Age” or “Neoshamanic” movements of the present, and it becomes clear that our society has tended to stereotype these indigenous people (and their practices) into two basic groups: the noble and ignoble savage. Judeo-Christian thought placed a demonic interpretation upon the rituals, while the “New Agers” like to paint an idyllic picture of simplicity, spirituality, and closeness to nature.

             

Somewhere in between these two extremes lies a more scientific, medical point of view. This community sees shamanism’s potential in aiding the fields of medicine and psychology.

            

 The last part of what I’ve read so far expounds upon the history and present state of shamanic tourism, specifically in the accommodating town of Iquitos, Peru. This enterprise really took off during the countercultural movements of the ‘50’s and ‘60’s, and remains popular today. In fact, because of the Western “invasion,” the native shamanic practices have mutated completely from their archaic origins. Peruvian shamans have adapted foreign techniques into their rituals to appease tourists with preconceived notions of an “authentic” experience. Things like yogic “chakras” and “energy centers” have become part of the native speech; these concepts are relatively new (and borrowed from Eastern philosophy) to the ancient practice. In fact, many shamans have been (unfortunately) converted to Christianity, and without the presence of Western tourists will actually conduct their ceremonies in front of a crucifix or a portrait of Jesus. Once the Westerners show up, however, all Christian relics are hidden away.

Read More

First "Writers" of South America

Here's the general archaeological consensus:

• Quipus, the oldest dated around 5,000 years ago and found in northern Peru, are believed to be the first form of record-keeping in South America. This system rivals Mesopotamian cuneiform in terms of age.

• This complex system was capable of recording populations, economic imports/exports, harvest sizes, taxes, etc.
• Quipucamayocs were older men in the society employed to decipher and create these records. By learning the language of the colored strings with various knots and lengths, they served as both historians and accountants. 
• When applicable, the strings themselves were color-coded according to the object it represented (yellow strings for gold, red strings for warriors, etc.). Otherwise, subjects and items were grouped by string lengths or distinctive knots. 

Being so far removed from this mode of "writing," I find it hard to even imagine how this type of medium would shape a civilization's worldview. If there's anybody out there willing to put in some deep contemplation on the subject, I'd love to hear your opinions. 

Read More