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...

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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...

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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,...

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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...

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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....

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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...

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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...

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