Showing posts with label Drugs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Drugs. Show all posts
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Many long time Cannabis tokers around the world have known that mixing Tobacco with Cannabis is a bad idea hence only smoke the herb in its purest available form. This habit of mixing Tobacco with Cannabis is more of a European thing and has become popular around the world thanks to the inclusion of Charas or Hashish in the smoking scene. Although Charas and Hash both can be smoked in their pure form, many prefer mixing it with some tobacco to make the joint burn smoothly or give the experience of fullness of smoke when smoked in a pipe(chillum). This habit of mixing tobacco makes us crave something to smoke even more. For many years I was mixing tobacco with cannabis and rolling my spliffs, justifying it for all the BS reasons possible. But the truth is that Tobacco is so addictive, however is legal, so there is less of a social stigma associated with it and since its easily available and priced nominally as compared to weed prices worldwide, most people mix it up, thinking its gonna make their stash last longer, however end up smoking way too much than one needs, if one was smoking it pure.


Its been a few months now since I quit Tobacco for good and life has been so different in all ways possible. From the time I wake up ... I noticed there was no craving to smoke like its been for so many years. Even switching to cleaner tobacco like American Spirit, Pueblo or Manitou ... may seem like a healthier option, however the nicotine cravings don't go away until you just stop mixing the two. So now, its just the pure herb in a glass pipe which helped me easily transition from being a heavy roller to an occasional toker allowing me to focus on more important things in life like staying healthy following a good diet and lifestyle.

I started cycling and within no time the focus quickly shifted from chasing hits and doobies to sweating it out and feeling more power in your being accomplishing more life enhancing goals. Any kind of physical activity which makes one sweat and exercise their complete body is the need of the hour. The feeling you get after a physical workout is beyond any other substance induced high. One can still toke Cannabis occasionally to relax and chill after a long day, taking power from a habit that has been draining us for many years. Cannabis doesn't have any harmful effect on the lungs and has been scientifically proven to actually increase lung expansion and breathing capacity while easing physical pain and calming things down at all levels of our being.



We tend to follow collective habitual patterns as we usually smoke socially in closed circles and groups and the habit is self perpetuating as long as we are hanging out in the same circles. Life is all about changes and once we make those shifts with our habits, we will start to notice how we've been foolishly wasting away a lot of precious herb, time and our health along the way. I've been intending to put this out there just as a reminder to any of you who are looking to make serious changes in your life by choosing differently. All we really have in this plane of existence is our physical being and we have the power and responsibility to improve the quality of our lives by simply choosing better options.

You don't really have to wait for your body to start showing you signs of discomfort and disease before you can make the switch to smoking pure herb. Just stop mixing the two and use a small glass pipe or any other pipe that's easy to clean and toke away just like old times when we held the smoke in for a bit, for a proper hit ! :D

References : Mixing Cannabis and Tobacco

Image Courtesy : Sensiseeds


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There are no accidents, no random chances in this reality we co-create and experience at an individual and at a collective level. Everything happening in our lives is pushing us forward on our evolutionary path and each one of us is on this journey, whether we like to accept this now or later is one's choice hence our journey from the darkness of ignorance to a place of knowing, a place of truth and never ending light. We are being nudged forward to recreate ourselves each day and there are forces at play beyond the comprehension of our rational thinking mind who are always guiding us along. Whether you call it your higher self, your Intuition, Spirit Guides, Angels, God etc ... it is essentially another aspect of yourself, it is you. Through many psychedelic journeys we come face to face with the inherent connection between all things, which are nothing in their truest essence ... the universe is energy at different frequencies of vibration and we are all living the illusion of swimming in this sea of consciousness however we are this sea, just for the sake of analogy ... trying to put certain ineffable revelations in words, humbly.

From my own personal journey within the raving culture, I have seen and experienced many different kinds of situations which have somehow shifted my awareness from perceiving this world from the limited framework of my mind to something outside of my self which is essentially omnipresent, its everywhere. Enlightening revelations may well be a consequential side effect of taking Psychedelics and becoming one with the music in a trance dance frenzy ... expressing our truest feelings, uninhibited. On almost all of my experiences on LSD I felt completely in tune with the intelligence of the body, which spoke to me in an unspoken language, showing me signs ... what i should be paying attention to ... what is really important in the here and now ... my attention was always drawn towards the breath. Almost involuntarily, one goes into a state of deep trance and we start to receive information if you may, or downloads from somewhere ... everything begins to make more cohesive sense when the patterns start to emerge as dots begin to connect. The Universe is always working with us and not against us ... if we only learn to trust our intuition more we will realize how everything happening is a consequence of what we have held in our vibrational state. We are capable of achieving great things once we start to flow with the natural frequencies of creation which speak only one language which is the language of love, its the highest form of vibrational energy we can fathom and it is what everything is made of.


The Psychedelic parties and the raving culture are definitely powerful avenues to bring about this Psychedelic Catharsis in our lives, however these are only gateways or portals to something even more grander if we learn to traverse these paths well, with love and awareness ... Once Psychedelics open up your mind then you can never go back to the older version of yourself and this is what scares most people who are afraid of change and are still desperately holding onto overrun patterns chasing illusions in the material world. There are many in the Psychedelic community who are looking for a quick fix and escape from the mundane through the Psychedelic Experience ... and it works, for a while ... Until one starts to become more sensitive to energies and can see underlying patterns behind what goes on ... its almost like when we are bombarded with too much overwhelming information one finds it hard to make complete sense of ... being surrounded by a many different energies, lacking the feeling of clarity ... feels like more wild, untamed, unconscious energy pumped by amphetamines for most part, since a lot of folks these days just want the physical sensations of a Serotonin Blast which equates to the feelings of love ... with side effects of course and often short lived.





The Psytrance culture has given a lot of Psychonauts across the Planet a lot to work with, provided the work is done like it should. Taking Psychedelics responsibly requires one to be well informed and guided by someone experienced, usually a Tripsitter. Our energetic state before doing these Psychedelics is also key to what our experience would shape up like. For most part, on our Tryptamine journeys we encounter what we are holding in our present state of conscious awareness and what matches our vibration. The Universe is always working with us, showing us what we need to see and we are the ones who create each experience by the power of our thoughts. The external world, our dreams, our desires are all illusions, however serve a purpose of showing us where our vibrational energy is taking us, giving us the opportunity to learn and hence create more consciously. We find most peace and satisfaction in our lives when we are on our path, following the signs the Universe is showing us while being guided by our intuition and not our limited egos. My personal journey so far has been profoundly revelatory and compels me to share some of these realizations with you for this is my purpose, my mission, to be able to articulate to best of my ability the random strangeness we call life, which is in fact not random at all and there are no coincidences either. Its always humbling to realize the trickster nature of the Universe which swiftly rearranges itself just when we think we had it all figured out. We can chase the next party, the next psychedelic experience, the next hot partner ... finally realizing what we are searching for has always been here with us. This many may not fully comprehend for its where they are on their journey right now. I know this for I have been there myself.

The Psychedelic Awakening opens up new pathways and breaks down some of the self created barriers in our mind about who we think we are ... but we tend to forget easily and get seduced by the Maya of the material world. This too has a purpose to serve for it has taken you to the point of awakening. This Psychedelic Catharsis, this Ego Meltdown or Ego Death is what brings about a powerful transformation in our lives and we start becoming sequentially, more aware of the path forward .... being guided by intuition. We have many gifts waiting to be discovered and they come to us in Solitude. I am forever grateful to the Psychedelic Trance scene for showing me the way and also making me realize that the scene by itself is not necessarily the way and Psychedelics are to be used wisely and not abused for the sake of feeding our limited pride and egos. I am grateful to all the people who have been part of my journey so far and have brought about many important lessons for me to grow and be a better human.

* Anicca *

::: In Lak'ech Ala K'in :::

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Addiction is a very individual disease. Each person who suffers from addiction experiences it in a way that is unique to them. However, when it comes to treatment, we often fail to recognize how different each individual can be.

We’re facing a nationwide opioid epidemic, and the truth is we still have a lot to learn about treating addiction. There is no single magic ‘cure’ that’s going to work for everyone, and for many people recovery is often a matter of trial and error.


Treatment and the Epidemic


As more and more people are taken by addiction, we are experiencing a growing necessity for different types of treatment programs. The ‘cookie cutter’ program approach isn’t guaranteed to work for everyone.

When a doctor prescribes a medication to treat an illness, they monitor the effectiveness and make changes based on how well the treatment is working. That kind of problem solving needs to be used when treating addiction.

Its important that addicts be able to course-correct their treatment and find access to new pathways towards sobriety. Fortunately, rehabilitation professionals are becoming increasingly familiar with alternative methods of treatment.

One of these lesser-known options utilizes a drug called Ibogaine—a natural psychoactive therapy that has proven to be an effective addiction treatment.


Ibogaine – A Brief History


Ibogaine is a natural alternative to some of the more traditional addiction treatment options. It’s derived from an African plant that has psychedelic properties called Tabernanthe iboga.

The native peoples of West Africa have used this iboga root, in the form of a tea, to induce spiritual awareness. It has been the core of their spiritual ceremonies for centuries.

However, in the 1960s, Ibogaine, extracted from the iboga root, was found to interrupt addiction.

While experimenting with different substances Howard Lotsof, who at the time was a heroin addict, discovered that ingesting Ibogaine eliminated his withdrawal symptoms and his body’s dependency on heroin.

After this realization, he began treating many of his friends who were also heroin addicts with the same results—they were able to overcome the horrible symptoms of withdrawal and almost immediately break free of opioid dependence.

To Lotsof, this was a massive discovery, and he spent the rest of his life studying Ibogaine and its effects on the addicted brain.

In order to understand exactly how Ibogaine works we need to take a look at the brain and exactly how addiction affects it.


How does Addiction Change the Brain?


Chemical dependency occurs when someone’s brain becomes so accustomed to the neural chemicals, provided by drugs and alcohol, that the natural production of those chemicals becomes much less effective. This means that if they stop supplying their brain with that addictive substance, the body starts to fight back—causing physical withdrawal.

Often, the withdrawal experience is so unpleasant that many addicts will continue to use just to avoid the discomfort. When a person no longer has the ability to feel normal without taking some sort of drug, they have a serious problem with no simple solution.

Getting through physical withdrawal can be brutal. Although many clinics offer what they consider to be “better” ways to get through withdrawals, the detox solution is often just sitting in a room while the brain adjusts back to normal levels—often taking days or even weeks.

How Ibogaine Works


As an alternative to enduring this extended period of painful detox, many addicts turn to Ibogaine. Ibogaine targets the area of the brain associated with addiction. By “resetting” the brain, Ibogaine is able to renew the neurons and pathways back to their pre-addicted state.

For the addict, this means that Ibogaine eliminates 80% or more of all withdrawal symptoms almost immediately after the dose is taken.

This means that Ibogaine can often offer addicts not only a fresh take on addiction treatment, but also a holistic method of detoxing quickly without the pain of withdrawals.

According to Mental Health Daily, “The most notable potential benefit is that a single dose of Ibogaine could lead to long-term suppression of opiate/opioid cravings such that former opioid/opiate users are able to maintain abstinence for an indefinite duration.”

But if Ibogaine is so effective at treating addiction, why isn’t it available in the USA?

Ibogaine in the USA


Unfortunately, doctors in the U.S. have been unable to study the medication to its full potential. Since the 1960s, almost every psychedelic, including Ibogaine, has been outlawed even for scientific study.

However, with MDMA and other psychedelics starting to gain footing in the United States medical system, Ibogaine may not be far behind. Even though Ibogaine has shown to be fatal in some who use it, modern science has significantly reduced this negative outcome, making Ibogaine much safer than it was just a few years ago.

The future of Ibogaine and other psychedelics is promising.

Freedom from Addiction


Ibogaine can help the brain return to its naturally balanced state much faster than waiting for the body to recover on its own. But it is not a cure and it will not force an addict to stay clean.

Freedom from addiction to drugs and alcohol is a lifelong process that requires a different approach for each person. Ibogaine, combined with a rehab or aftercare program, can often be one of the most promising treatment options, especially for those who have tried other treatment programs with little or no success.


Ibogaine can help the brain return to its naturally balanced state much faster than waiting for the body to recover on its own. But it is not a cure and it will not force an addict to stay clean.

Freedom from addiction to drugs and alcohol is a lifelong process that requires a different approach for each person. Ibogaine, combined with a rehab or aftercare program, can often be one of the most promising treatment options, especially for those who have tried other treatment programs with little or no success.

With new discoveries being made in alternatives like Ibogaine, there’s more hope for long-term sobriety than ever before. Every addict deserves a chance to live a sober and successful life. There are many treatment options available and Ibogaine is just one of them. Each addict must educate themselves and find the right treatment for them.



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    Art by Robert Beatty

    The progress being made in psychedelic science & research is out of this world because it is a world apart from everything that I knew about the subject growing up.

    "LSD & psychedelics will fry your brain and you will end up in a psychotic state for the rest of your life if you are stupid enough to take them. They are evil and will destroy your life."

    Yes I lived a sheltered life. But that was the limit of my education on the subject. 'Stay as far away as possible if you want to live a healthy life'. And I did.

    It was only in recent years I started seeing different information pop up about them. And the truth about psychedelics would appear to be very different and pointing to an almost magical impact on the brain. Forget mind blowing expansive experiences just for a moment. Forget mystical experiences also.


    I am talking about the practical benefits of psychedelics, from giving up cigarettes to curing depression anxiety & PTSD and much more. In recent months MDMA has received the backing of the FDA who designated it as a 'breakthrough therapy' for PTSD. If the growing scientific community at the centre of this are to succeed it could have a radical impact on mental health treatment. It could as Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris says "change the world".

    In my short video I talk to Amanda Feilding who is known as the 'hidden hand' guiding the research worldwide and neuroscientist, Dr. Robin Carhart Harris. I ask about where the fears originated from and what the results of the research is telling us.

    Author : Frank McCaughey / https://www.youtube.com/user/frankmccaughey




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    Goa has seen it all. Freed from Portuguese rule in 1961, a village of bare minimums is what remained. A virgin paradise with lush green palm trees, open fields, serene beaches, quaint structures and a magical sunset. Little did it know that its next invaders were going to be of quite a different nature. The world’s flower children were on their way from all over the world, onto a common path through the Middle East now known as the ‘hippie trail’. Sad to know that is not at all possible in this present day. “See you in Goa for Christmas’, were the words said to all compatriots on the road. As we have it, they finally reached. The locals were primal and basic, almost shocked to see bare-naked bodies of different color jiving on the beach.

    They brought an atmosphere to the young and independent village of Goa. Sensing the newcomers’ demand for food and refreshment, chai shops and restaurants with fish curry and rice started to flourish. The ever-popular Flea market started simply as a place of trade and exchange amongst these baby boomers, a very different scenario from the commercial center it has become today. Yes, we must ‘adapt’ with the times. In fact, the present day beach shack culture that is a trademark, all the live band jams prominent through pubs, bars and restaurants and many other signature elements of modern day Goa can be credited to our hippy friends. They were the first ones to put Goa on the map for any kind of tourism. It’s quite sad that the authorities only glorify and attack the few negative aspects of this culture. Goa created a new shrine for the perfect collection of young hedonistic, differently thinking individuals at the perfect place and at the perfect time.

    The most unique ritual however, developed by this tribe, were the full moon parties.

    Since Goa was not always powered all over with electricity. Especially in the areas of Anjuna and beyond. Even now the ever-faithful orange streetlight shines dimly, leading the way. These colorful marauders would wait for the moon to be at its brightest, and then come out to play. Starting with acoustic jams leading into pure electric Rock N Roll, as our flowery friends did manage to bring in Fender sound systems, an electric bass and an electric guitar. Long time Psychedelic Trance master Goa Gil was a prominent figure in these jams, and is from the first generation of hippies to enter Indian soil. Goa flourished with what seemed to be a perfect amalgamation of counterculture and spirituality. ‘Goa is a state of mind’ it is popularly said. Many of these individuals were exposed to mystical experiences, within and around themselves. Instances of synchronicity, connection, oneness and freedom. With time their music of preference began to change.

    Due to the developments made by Roland from Japan in the 80s, many analog synthesizers drum machines and digital audio workstations came into existence. This lead to a boom in electronic music all over the world and people, who didn’t even know music, could become musicians. This electronic music took different shapes in different parts of the world. From their visits back home, these Goa freaks brought back with them Techno from Germany, Acid House from England and various other electronic musical styles. With the use of cassettes and DAT mixers, it became possible to join these pieces of music together, to create a long term, hypnotic and transcendental effect. This switch took place somewhere in the late 80s. By this time, the tribe had become bigger and word had spread around the world, for Goa being a center for hedonism, spirituality and dance rituals.


    Journeying into the 90s, Goa Trance was born. At the time very similar sounding to Acid house, due to the use of similar synths, but more indigenous to the experience the Goa party had to offer. Musicians in the scene had become more enthusiastic about converting there own experiences into sonic stories and slowly an arsenal of Goa trance DJ’s and producers started to birth. DJ Laurent and Goa Gil are said to be the pioneering minds behind what became the new sound of the psychedelic movement. Along with other musical brains such as Green Nuns Of the Revolution, Psykaos, Shiva Joerg and the Infinity Project, the sanity of young psychedelic travellers were in good hands. Parties were arranged differently, back then. As opposed to the fixed venues we have today, Goa was open free land.

    Parties were set up anywhere and everywhere. Bamboo Forest, Anjuna Temple, Arambol Lake, the hill on South Anjuna, Chapora fort and I could keep going on. 9 Bar is one such venue that has existed through the course of this modern movement. A signature sunset spot, it is close to many psychonaut hearts. Speakers were set up, and the ‘techno shamans’ would weave audio webs of consciousness for thirteen to twenty four hours. The freaks did the decorations themselves, involving UV paint, banners with psychedelic patterns, aliens, Hindu deities and fractal designs. Parties have been said to go on for days. In my conversations with many who have experienced those times claim that even though the music was not as intense as it is today, the experience was a lot more twisted. I was told that people would stare at the morning sun and celebrate their survival.


    Ozora Promo Party ~ One Day in Goa : Shiva Valley, Anjuna

    I do believe a ceremony such as this is about breaking layers. We come in the night with our burdens of our everyday rat races. We begin our journey and since it is the destination we begin to lose ourselves. In a space of common rhythm and pure ecstasy. Slowly these layers start to shed and it becomes a little uncomfortable, because you are slowly being exposed into your true self. This does get a little uncomforting, but you just have to let go. Somehow it is happening through an extremely powerful hypnotic groove. The sweat is gushing away the impurities and the muscles are working overtime, the ultimate detoxification. All around you are specimens going through similar processes and this most definitely creates a common understanding. As the morning sun rises there are expressions of empathy, appreciation and smiles of gratitude being hurled around, and you are still dancing. Somehow I do understand the old school annoyance with what the scene is like today, but it is all on an upward path. I’ve heard there was a time when no alcohol was involved, no onlookers standing around the dance floor. Due to some occasional trouble, even today, people come to experience magic more than pick up girls and ‘look cool’. That does prove for this scene to be one of meaning.


    As the dawn of the 2000s approached, Goa Trance had started travelling the world. Due to the heat of the Goan summer and the intense monsoons that followed, they were trying times for partying to take place. In order to replicate the Goa experience internationally, these freaks took to stomping on festival grounds in Europe and other areas in the world. More producers started to rise and bring their own style. This was also made possible with development in music technology and Goa Trance slowly became Psytrance. CDJ’s were now available and could take the weather conditions mother Goa had to offer. This is of course in no comparison to all the live MIDI controllers and analog set ups we are seeing today. Full On music started to pump out of Israel and England, Dark Psychedelic was surging out of Europe and Russia, the distinct twilight style of South Africa. Now of course we get everything from everywhere and not to forget many more sub-styles at our convenience. This music is exceptionally intricate as it deals with minds that are most vulnerable.

    They are entrusting their psyche to these frequencies, which is why the one controlling them must really understand what he/she is doing. Psychedelic Trance music has another beautiful property. It is designed according to the time of day, surroundings and to induce a certain flow of emotions. There are fun daytime psychedelic sounds by the likes of Dickster, Tristan, Laughing Buddha and Earthling. There is the groovy night sounds that come from Ajja, Dust, SouthWild, Psymetrixx and Gaspard. We have powerful dark psychedelic music, coming from masters such as Dark Elf, Kindzadza and Darkshire. The folks from Parvati Records, Disco Valley Records, are developing beastly forests sounds. Forest Psychedelic is said to have been born under the age old trees of Chapora.


    I can see the relation between the sound and the surroundings that inspired it. There are various other styles such as Psygressive and Suomi Saundi that are slowly gaining in popularity. The list of labels grooming and spreading talent, is endless. The style of Psytrance is becoming more profound and musical as time progresses. Technological wonders have lead to producers converting the experiences in their minds into proper waveforms of brilliance. There is an infusion of rhythms from various cultures, melodic ideas from different geographical locations and a thumping bassline of unison and oneness. We now have psychedelic producers implying musical modes and complex mathematics in order to produce crisp, mind-boggling sound. The beats per minute ranges from 138 – 170 onwards. The various styles can no longer be classified through speed because now there is dark music at 138 and Full on Music at 148. It now mostly depends on the dynamic and mood with which that space of silence is filled by the producer. Many artists are even sampling live instruments into their act, let alone artists such as Highlight Tribe and Peaking Goddess Collective, who replicate electronic sound with organic instruments.

    The local scene in the motherland is also booming, with the burst of versatility and maturity in Indian musicians. We now have acts like Starlab, Kerosene Club/ Flipknot/ Fiber Stomp, Janux, and Farebi Jalebi taking international stages regularly. Artists such as Groove Addict (Nano Records) are affiliated with top record labels all around the world. Producers such as Daash, Hydropanic, Chakraview and Aghori Tantrik are some of the talented homegrown musicians that are influencing many younger minds. There is also a local army of labels such as Vantara Vichitra and Digital Om that are doing wonderful things to put India on the world map. The availability of Indian DJ’s with eclectic music tastes is not a problem anymore. Triptone, Nitin, Karan ‘Third Eye’, Karran Khanna are some of these prominent names. Goa is still the world center for the Psychedelic Trance culture with ever-mystical spots such as Shiva Valley, Monkey Valley, Pipers Plateau and Hill Top that are curating top of the line Trance –n- Dance experiences.

    Even though the culture has had to adapt to a more industrial framework as compared to the free flowing days of the sixties to nineties, it is still a new wave world culture. People are still uniting over different ideologies, mystical experiences and a sense of belonging. This music is often shunned and disregarded as a ‘sensible’ genre of music. I do strongly believe it is only for those who wish to understand it. Not in any tone of judgment, but simply to agree to disagree. Quoting Bob Dylan, one must not criticize what they cannot understand. It is also one of the youngest styles of music to exist, and is undergoing a period of rapid growth. It is only exciting to know what evolution in the human mind and available technology will bring in the coming years. Psytrance is a perfect mixture of modular analog physics, rhythm, groove, melody and cutting edge production. There is also a plus point, which is exclusivity. The crowd comes for the experience the music has to give. It is not simply a soundtrack to another ‘epic’ evening with the ‘bros’. It is not simply a theme song to use an excuse to interact with the opposite sex. It takes a lot more than that to really groove. Psychedelic Trance truly provides that, and to top it all, it is an anthem of a movement that is still going strong. Trusted in the hands of musical connoisseurs and new wave concepts that hold the solutions to all the problems our world has today.


    Author : Vir Rattan Chowdhry (Philostrate/SpaceCadet)

    Vir is a young and upcoming Psychedelic Trance Music Producer from India, studying sound engineering in Canada at the moment.

    Check out his soundcloud profile : https://soundcloud.com/philocadet
    & Facebook Page : www.facebook.com/philocadet26


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