i love it when people dress up, if only because it gives me something to point and laugh at

I don't think either san pedro or mushrooms is "stronger", because it all depends on the dose. I've had san pedro three times, and none of them were as intense as my stronger mushroom trips of around 4 grams. But mescaline and mushrooms are very different "types" of trips, because the former is a phenylthelamine, while the later is a tryptamine.

Someone told this to me when I first came on ravewave.

I thought it was a joke. I have since learnt otherwise.

is the ass free too?

^^ i like your sig

*sheds a tear for the noble animals*

ahahaha look what drugs do to people

"The spiritual aspect of rave culture"

by Nicholas Saunders

The Jesuit founder, Ignatius de Loyola, had a mystical experience brought on by wound fever. It is now commonly accepted that wounds and physical hardship can cause similar effects to psychedelic drugs. Whether the body actually produces psychedelic substances or the effect is due to the release of neurotransmitters in the brain is arguable, but either theory would imply that enlightenment can be chemically induced under certain conditions. LSD is probably used by far more people today than in the sixties, although in smaller doses, mainly because of its low price, while the ravers' drug of choice is the more expensive Ecstasy. Psychedelic drugs alter the user¹s state of consciousness, often providing dramatic insights which may be profound but are hard to describe in words or to assimilate into normal life. Ecstasy, by contrast, allows the user to remain in their normal, but enhanced, state of consciousness, and this enables experiences and insights to be remembered later when they can be soberly considered and assessed.

The fundamental effect of Ecstasy is to remove fear. Although we may not be normally conscious of it, fear is the main controlling influence on our behaviour. Fear makes us censor our words and even thoughts, protecting us from being hurt or making fools of ourselves. Fear makes us hold back emotions, and even manifests in our physical behaviour so that we can avoid revealing our vulnerability ­ a useful protector in a harsh world. But fearful behaviour becomes a habit that cannot be dropped at will, inhibiting our enjoyment and preventing us from having meaningful experiences such as expressing nonsexual love. Ecstasy is called the love drug in the sense that 'love is letting go of fear'.

This freedom to give and accept without barriers provides a sense of empathy with others around, and allows for indulgence in hedonistic activities such as dancing, listening to music and sensuous skin contact. But the same freedom can lead to very different effects in different circumstances depending on the Œset and setting¹ ­ the background and intentions of the person taking the drug, and the situation where it is taken. Used in psychotherapy, Ecstasy may help release suppressed emotional traumas, while for someone trying to meditate, Ecstasy may allow them to let go of their internal dialogue. Likewise, the after effects vary, some finding the experience enriches their lives while others find the normal state depressing by comparison.

What fascinates me is that the rave culture, seen as purely hedonistic by the establishment, is frequently regarded as a spiritual event by those involved. Raves are likened to trancelike tribal rituals where ravers celebrate their unity and shared uplifted state, giving and receiving freely from one another.

Dr Russell Newcombe, a Liverpool-based sociologist and researcher specialising in drugs and rave culture, has written a number of papers including Raving and Dance Drugs and The Use of Ecstasy and Dance Drugs. He says that raving is now one of the main reasons for living for a huge group of socially diverse people.

'Raving can be viewed as a transcendental mind altering experience providing psychic relief to alienated people in a secular repressive and materialistic society. Ecstasy and other drugs are the keys that unlock the doors to these desired states of consciousness... a deeply desired escape from the constraints of the self and normal behaviour. To stretch the religious metaphor, DJs are the high priests of the rave ceremony, responding to the mood of the crowd, with their mixing desks symbolising the altar, (the only direction in which the ravers consistently face). Dancing at raves may be construed as the method by which ravers 'worship' the God of altered consciousness. Indeed, the central role of dancing at raves is underlined by the absence of other common social behaviours such as conversing and sexual contact besides the total absence of aggression or disordered behaviour.'

Terence McKenna, author of True Hallucinations, views the rave as an explosive re-emergence of the repressed human drive to free consciousness from its unnatural ego-centred state. He sees the natural state as having been regulated out of existence except in a diluted form in churches, sports stadia and discotheques.

The modern manifestation of this state is the rave, which involves entering an altered state of collective consciousness through the ingestion of drugs, physical activity and sensory bombardment by technological artifacts such as hypnotic, emotional, loud music, light shows and smoke machines.

An American book, The Pursuit of Ecstasy by sociologists Dr Jerry Beck and Dr Marsha Rosenbaum reports that New Agers describe Ecstasy as a sacrament which allows the user to tap into 'Morphic Resonance', a term coined by the English biologist Dr Rupert Sheldrake to describe collective consciousness.

Among 137 ravers surveyed by myself concerning the effects of Ecstasy on their lives in general, a significant number reported 'increased spiritual awareness' ­ some adding that they felt closer to nature, calmer and more appreciative of life itself.

Last year I took a 70 year-old Zen monk to a rave party. He was curious enough to overcome his dislike of the music until his face lit up with a revelation. 'This is meditation!', he shouted above the noise. Later he explained that the walking meditation he taught involved being fully aware 'in the moment' without any internal dialogue separating actions from intentions, and that the same definition applied to the dancers all around him. His branch of Buddhism had been brought from Japan where there was emphasis on the need to develop and balance the complementary qualities of contraction and expansion, akin to extrovert and introvert states of mind. His school of Zen had concentrated on contraction with the idea that Westerners were too outgoing, but he now realised that those Westerners who were drawn to his school were introverts, and their need was for free expression in the way he had witnessed at the rave.

The spiritual aspect of the dance culture is acknowledged by a few avant garde organisers. Last Saturday I was invited to a private party which started with a group meditation. It was organised by a group of friends who had come together over the years and credit much of their spiritual development to Ecstasy, although many of them say that they have now learned to get into that state without the need to use drugs.


©Nicholas Saunders 1995

published in The Guardian on 22/7/95

Dose: One seed initially, followed by nine seeds later that night.

Summary: Surprisingly powerful. Difficult moments due to inadeqaute preparation and improper setting. Powerful mind-fuck; feelings of insight. Immersive visuals at peak.

I must admit I grossly underestimated the power of these seeds. I hadn't done much research on them prior, and I just made the assumption that they were some kind of cheap, legal LSD substitue.

Was I ever wrong.

Around 10pm, I ate one seed to sample the taste, and to see if I noticed any small effects. I had completely forgoten I had even taken the seed, when at around midnight, while riding the metro, I noticed some subtle effects: increased awareness and interest in my surroundings, heightened visual and auditory sensations, and slight time dilation. Very mild and pleasant.

I was heading that night with my roommate to a loft party, consisting of mostly jungle and some live bands. I still noticed some subtle effects while at the party, and was really enjoying myself. At around 2am, I chewed the remaining 9 seeds, holding them in my mouth for as long as possible.

About an hour to 90 minutes later, the first strong trip sensations began. I felt a great sense of anticipation, and slight nauseau. The mental component of the trip was very strong: thoughts fluttered through my head at a rapid pace, with several novel ideas, and feelings of insight. There were very few visual effects at this point, and not much of an emotional component either. It was a cold, hard, analytical trip.

As the intensity of the trip progressed, I found myself become uncomfortable and anxious surrounded by people, overwhlemed by the increasingly strong sensation. I went to sit by the door to the party, and ended up meeting a guy from Turkey. I almost forgot I was tripping at this point.

By about 5:30, the trip was becoming too strong for me to handle in that setting. My roommate wanted to leave soon, but I was in no position to do so. I ended up sitting by myself, in a half asleep daze, trying to clear my mind. At this point the Turkish guy I had befriended noticed that I didn't look to well, and thinking that I must be really drunk, motioned his friend (who lived in the loft) to let me crash at his place.

The moment I entered the bedroom, the tone of the trip changed dramatically for the positive. Meeting people from Turkey (I had travelled there previously) brought back images of beautiful, mosaic-covered interiours of mosques. I lay down on the bed, and suddenly the visuals began in earnest: swirling, vibrant colours surrounded me. I felt as if I was in the company of a powerful, comforting spiritual presence.

I drifted in and out of sleep, as the visuals contintued. My brain fluttered back in time to every passage I had read in the previous days (about Taoism, self-concept, etc). It seemed as though arriving at either the right or wrong passage could dramastically change the course of my trip.

I woke up at the peak, with a feeling of exceptional mental clarity. I was surrounded by images of clouds. Amidst these clouds was a clear image of a royal elephant (a very Indian-like image) covered in glistening human eyes. In contrast to the confusion of the trip before, my mind was completely focused on the image before me. So this is what enlightenment feels like, I thought to myself.

When I finally got out of bed a few hours later, my trip was pretty much over. I had a bout of nauseau, and rushed to the toilet, but did not vomit.

All in all, a difficult but rich and rewarding trip. I have learnt the hard way not to use high doses of psychedelics in a party setting. I look forward to exploring the further use of these seeds.

i'm completely dumbfounded how people use the names mesc and PCP interchangably. PCP is a dissociative anasthetic (in the same class as ketamine and DXM, so maybe a PCP-hole makes sense)

mescaline is a hallucinogenic chemical which can be extracted from peyote or san pedro. its dosage, chemical composition, and effects have NOTHING to do with pcp!

am i missing something? can someone explain this to me?

exactly.

i find this especially true after psychedelic trips. with mdma, its more a general feeling of being psysically cracked out, not to mention the emotional drain.

being at school does serve as a sort of check and balance to my drug use. knowing that i have to use my mind for school, i'm more aware of what, when, and how much i take of any substance

if it came down to school or drugs, i would (grudgingly) pick school. but so far i can't complain about either how i'm doing at school or my drug use

it sounds like you went past the k-hole, to the point where you blacked out. ketamine is an anasthetic, so at high doses you go unconscious. thats the dose they give people to knock them out at hospitals for operations, and most of the time the person getting the K doesn't remember anything.

Personally, i don't give two shits about Janet Jackson and her boob, I just find it fuckin hilarious how many middle-aged, red-knecked, bible-belt dwelling Americans must have choked on their prezels when, not only any breast, but a BLACK woman's breast suddenly bared itself in the middle of their holy super bowl

true, i posted that before i read the thread

this thread is the best anti-drug i've seen

ooops double post

"aren't all generalizations false?"

if this statement was true, it would prove itself false, because it is in itself a generalization

probably someone who has studied logic can phrase what i have just said in a much better way

If you go to school and take drugs, how do you find that taking drugs is affecting your ability to get good grades?

Personally, I find that after using drugs I become more disinterested in doing school work, even though I can perform just as well when I actually get on it. I've been doing pretty well so far, pulling off a 3.75 gpa at a pretty tough university, but its a constant balancing act between doing schoolwork and doing drugs.

i took this picture last night during the snowfall..it was such a peaceful moment
.
.

haha that last picture is awesome

this thread is supposed to be about the well-being of a child. can't you people realise that there are more important things than your own egos?

this is most def the illest jungle lineup i have seen in awhile

Alex seems sincere in his posts, and if so, Releigh is lucky to have him as a father. I think it was an excellent idea to call child services. Whatever the extent of Nat's ability to raise a kid, Alex has every right to know what is happening, and to be assured that his child is in safe hands. If that is not happening, then child services will have to play a role.

good selection of locals, i'm down with this party! ..and i'm supah glad that i won't have to choose between this and the asphalt jungle, cuz it woulda been a hard choice

it would be helpful to change the date on the events calender

big up psy company and clown for putting this together. i'm defintely gonna show up

*sings Fiddler on the Roof stylez*

Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match! Find me a find, catch me a catch! Matchmaker, matchmaker look through your book, and find me the purrrfect match...

yes caro, i stand corrected

if this works, the results can go in the "six degrees of defilement" thread!

oh, mushy mush, you make me insides all mushy!

heh nice idea :)

I think parents should be allowed to hit their kids. I also beleive that when the kids become adults, they should be legally entitled to beat their parents for the next 18 years, just to make it even!

^^ bahaha..EXACTLY!!

i look sad here heh
.
.

Emo is cool! We are all sooo emo! Aren't I emo? Yes, you are soo emo! Emo, emo, emo!

*hopes this contribtutes to the demise of emo*

Sirens reveberate against the concrete. Metal strikes against metal, sparks light up the starless night. Asphalt surfaces absorb no warmth.

Yet, beneath the harsh surface, pockets of warmth endure. A father clutches his offspring in the heat of his embrace. All appears safe in the darkness.
.
.
.

.
.
.
The moment tastes of peace. Such moments rarely endure. A silent call pierces the air. Something stirs within the child, a signal has been received. His eyes light up in anticipation. And the quest of another junglist has begun...
.
.


dedicated with much love, to seb, valerie, and alexi

In my opinion, an empty wall is just as pointless as a terrible tag. And the only reason the government spends $$ to clean that stuff up is because many people still associate graffiti with ghettos and crime. As soon as the public begins to perceive graffiti as a legitimate art form (a process which is already occuring), then society will accept its unused, empty spaces being used as a canvas for expression and dialogue.

thanks for the replies!

I would love to have a conversation with a drug, but I can't. Cuz drugs do not talk. There is no drug that can make anyone smarter, or more creative, or more loving then they themselves are capable of.

I say this because drugs work by manipulating the release of pre-existing chemical transmitters within the brain. The obvious example would be MDMA, causing the release of serontonin. The drug doesn't give you serontonin (it would be great if it did), it simply activates what is already there. I beleive that can be said for drugs in general - they cannot create anything that doesn't already exist, however, they can aid in making use of one's mind to its fullest potential.

In many cases, drugs may have a wonderous influence on an individual simply by making them aware of their inherent potential, instilling in them a sense of faith in their own ability. And having a positive self-image is one of the key factors of success.

I'll try to illustrate this with a personal example. Most of my life, i've been convinced that I had absolutely no creative ability. I always considered myself smart, but in a stereotypical "left brain" fashion (ie good at math + physics, and the like). So, naturally, I never devoted any time or effort to expressing myself creatively, because I beleived that to do so would be fruitless.

I never imagined or intended that using psychedelics would contribute in any way to my (lack of) creativity. Somehow, despite the best inhibiting attempts of my conscious mind, some wonderous ideas surfaced within me during psychedelic voyages. These experiences didn't make me creative overnight. What they did, however, was convince me that I had been underestimating my creative potential for most of my life. Now that I beleive that I do have the ability to be creative, I've been devoting much more of my effort to developing that ability.

I'm not yet an excellent writer, photographer, or anything else. But I will be. And its only because of drug-induced experiences that I've even bothered to try.

you might be better off asking what famous artists DIDNT use drugs hehe...

Judy Garland (amphetamines)
Stephen King (cocaine)
Sigmund Freud (cocaine - wrote an essay on how great it was)
Robert Louis Stevenson (wrote Jekyll&Hyde in 6 days on coke)
Sting (mdma)
Eminem (mdma)
Tim Allen (cocaine)
The Beatles (weed & lsd)
Charles Dickens (opium)
Jerry Garcia (lsd, heroin)
Jimi Hendrix (lsd, heroin)
Aldous Huxley (mescaline)
Jim Morrison (cocaine, lsd)
Pablo Picasso (opium)
Edgar Allen Poe (opium)
Rolling Stones (mj, lsd)
Van Gogh (absinthe)

etc
etc
etc