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karodrinker
Trad climber
San Jose, CA
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 28, 2013 - 08:44pm PT
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Just heard the book, Food of the Gods, by Terence McKenna
Such a fascinating concept, that psilocybin mushrooms led a key role in the development of human consciousness, essentially bringing us out of ape like behavior and into a garden of eden like existence of partnership love and understanding of nature, only to be snuffed out eventually by a dominating paradigm of alcohol and power, and that perhaps psilocybin could be used as a way to reconnect with a more sustainable way of life.
Discuss....
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High Fructose Corn Spirit
Gym climber
Potemkin Village
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Oct 28, 2013 - 08:50pm PT
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psilocybin mushrooms led a key role in the development of human consciousness
By what mechanism of action?
Terence McKenna,
"Launch your meme boldly and see if it will replicate."
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Splater
climber
Grey Matter
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Oct 28, 2013 - 08:57pm PT
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Didn't timothy Leary say much the same about acid?
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Oct 28, 2013 - 09:25pm PT
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The problem with pharmaceutical revelations is that when the buzz wears off, you can't remmember your revelation until you get buzzed again.
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TGT
Social climber
So Cal
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Oct 28, 2013 - 09:30pm PT
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The problem with his theory is that psylosybin and the preponderance of psychedelic plants used by humans come from the new world.
Only a handful, and of those mostly depressants, originate in Africa where humans did.
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Rock!...oopsie.
Trad climber
the pitch above you
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Oct 28, 2013 - 10:10pm PT
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McKenna's main role in psychedelics lit was to make Leary seem grounded. R. Gordon Wasson was the better scholar if you want to get into the role of drugs in social development and religion, although he's got some pretty wacky ideas too.
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Psilocyborg
climber
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Oct 28, 2013 - 10:19pm PT
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Psilocybin as an alien communication device. Pretty far out there, but sheesh who really knows?
Pretty wild to think about how these tryptamines have devoloped in nature and how we have the receptors in our brains for them to do the INCREDIBLE things they do. Like the two were destined to meet. Again alien communication device....
Might be something to all his madness, but I doubt it. All his timewave zero fractal based on the I ching pretty much showed that he isn't any more knowledgable than any other philosopher.
The role of psychedelics on human evolution is anybodys guess. He is right that shamans played a central role in human society and psychedelics was their tool, so there must have been a huge influence.
Only a handful, and of those mostly depressants, originate in Africa where humans did.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibogaine
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Oct 28, 2013 - 10:24pm PT
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Poisoning is not good route to understanding.
Tried that. Didn't work.
Smart people can sit down and make a better civilization, even advance evolution of the spieces. Dumb people do the opposite.
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TGT
Social climber
So Cal
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Oct 28, 2013 - 10:43pm PT
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Ibogane,
kinda proves the point. There are a bunch ( a dozen or more?) of psychedelics used by indigenous new world populations and only a handful in the old world.
Most of the old world psychedelics (Amantia Muscara for example) are also very dangerous to the user while the new world ones generally seem to have a wider band between tripping you out and killing you.
Look up the Pythia.
Central to every Greek historical and key political event from 1400 BC or so till the Romans come along was a dose of Ethylene gas.
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Psilocyborg
climber
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:22am PT
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We arent even anywhere close to having a complete understanding of the chemical complexities of the modern plants in your backyard, let alone what was around in africa 100,000 years ago.
Linchen is a perfect example as it is fairly uncharted territory.
Not saying you are wrong, there just isnt enough information to really say one way or the other. Feel free to speculate but that is all we can do.
Also are psilocybe mushrooms not found today in africa? That would suprise me.
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tonesfrommars
Trad climber
California
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:25am PT
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the spores migrated through outer space in search of mammalian nervous systems to commune and share in formation with. They parked themselves under dinosaur turds where our ancestors were looking for grubs to eat, and bingo! here we are.
love it.
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Psilocyborg
climber
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:28am PT
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Terrance would suggest eating 5 dried grams in silent darkness.
If you dont communicate with aliens after that you got ripped off!! :)
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chill
climber
between the flat part and the blue wobbly thing
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:34am PT
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Don't need no stinkin' dope. I think Spider summed it up pretty well. We can fix the world if we're smart. If we're dumb it's going to fix us.
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:40am PT
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Smart people can sit down and make a better civilization, ...
Man, would I like to see proof of that.
Cause if you don't think those mo-fo's that run the world powers aren't smart, then you aren't paying attention.
!~~~!
The problem with pharmaceutical revelations is that when the buzz wears off, you can't remmember your revelation until you get buzzed again.
Reminds me of the joke from the old comedy album "A child's garden of grass." The punch-line goes like this:
There's a funny smell in the room.
Anybody remember that one? Ha, so true...
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Oct 29, 2013 - 01:40am PT
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For this hypothesis to work would require
Shrooms to impart an increased survival rate for primates who ingest them coinciding with causing or at least selecting simultaneously multiple genetic mutations that improve brain funtion.
Sounds like another shyster taking advantage of scientific illiteracy.
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BuddhaStalin
climber
Truckee, CA
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Oct 29, 2013 - 06:01am PT
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Not this crap again. Ive had people talk my ear off until i just walk away about this sh#t. All the folks who seem to think this is the way to enlightenment (or whatever the hell they call it) that I have known are not anyone I would take any sort of advice from. People just want some sort of excuse or justification to get high. If you want to get high, then just get high. It is what it is. For the rest of us, it was fun while it lasted, but in the end, reality is just fine. I dont need regular and frequent psychedelics...or any anymore for that matter. Nobody needs regular and frequent psychedelics.
This bullshit has about as much credibility as L Ron and thetins.
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chill
climber
between the flat part and the blue wobbly thing
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Oct 29, 2013 - 10:38am PT
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Cause if you don't think those mo-fo's that run the world powers aren't smart, then you aren't paying attention.
I'm paying attention (more or less) and I think that intelligence isn't necessarily one of the qualities that get you elected, in this country or any other. In fact, it seems to me that all you really need is massive ego, and that doesn't correlate to smart decisions.
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Oct 29, 2013 - 10:38am PT
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You lost me at:
psilocybin mushrooms led a key role in the development of human consciousness, e
Sorry, can't buy into this drivel. Like TGT pointed out... to start with.. the stuff grows on the wrong continent. That should end it.
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brotherbbock
Trad climber
Alta Loma, CA
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Oct 29, 2013 - 10:52am PT
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^^^^^^^+1
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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Oct 29, 2013 - 11:02am PT
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I think that intelligence isn't necessarily one of the qualities that get you elected, ...
And I suppose you believe that elected officials are the ones running the show? Do you really think Obama has the reins? Real power isn't corralled by four-year stints in office.
I'm not trying to thread-drift here, but my point is that more than intelligence is needed to make a global commons. "Hippie" communes were hip a couple of decades ago, and you can bet that a lot of those folks got high. They had a great notion of community, and how to think forward. Some still exist, I'm sure, but most have had trouble due to the 'cost' of living.
How about it, can you think of a culture or group of progressively living folks who have not had the inclination to get high? The Amish perhaps?
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