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InvisibleveggieM

Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
Tune in, turn on ... evolve?
    #5339310 - 02/25/06 09:14 PM (17 years, 11 months ago)

Tune in, turn on . . . evolve?
MICHAEL POSNER
February 25, 2006 - theglobeandmail.com

On the walls of dozens of caves in southern France and northern Spain lie some of the most majestic works of art ever painted. Drawn 25,000 to 40,000 years ago, the paintings have puzzled anthropologists since they were discovered more than four decades ago.

Where did this astonishing display of talent come from? Why did these prehistoric societies decide to paint these scenes in such remote locations? And what inspired them to paint the strange array of bisons, horses and therianthropes (part animal, part man)?

A scientific consensus of sorts has finally emerged on one of those questions: Although there are still dissenters, a majority of anthropologists now champion the theory that the paintings in Europe were the work of shamans, and in part the product of trance states, likely induced by psilocybin (the psychoactive ingredient in some species of mushrooms).

Similarly, South African anthropologist David Lewis-Williams maintains that the remarkable rock art of the San people of southern Africa, also painted at least 25,000 years ago, is the result of shamanic trances created by drumming and ritual ecstatic dancing.

In his new book, Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind, published by Random House, British writer Graham Hancock has taken Prof. Lewis-Williams's research as a point of departure to posit a theory as fascinating as it is provocative: If it's true that cave art derives from altered states of consciousness, then it constitutes a watershed moment in human history, marking the first visible encounter with the supernatural, the first expression of spiritual myth.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the paintings were begun just when, according to anthropologists, human civilization made a great leap forward in terms of social organization, hunting-and-gathering skills and general creativity.

Mr. Hancock (previously author of Fingerprints of the Gods and The Sign and the Seal) notes striking similarities between cave paintings produced by shamanic artists 25,000 years ago and the abundant descriptions of fairies, elves, angels and other fantastic creatures commonly reported in Europe from the medieval ages to the 17th century.

And what is their modern equivalent? Mr. Hancock suggests the myriad accounts of alien abduction. His new book devotes several hundred pages to documenting these parallels, showing a surprising commonality of visions.

Although he does not rule out the possibility of extraterrestrial encounters, Mr. Hancock says the vast majority of these accounts are more logically explained by spontaneous entrance into trance states.

Because few of the alien abductees are users of mind-altering drugs, the most likely explanation, he believes, is that the brains of a small percentage of the population contain slightly higher levels of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) than already occur naturally in humans, as well as in other mammals, frogs, grasses, barks and flowers. Such people, he says, don't need to consume magic mushrooms or any other drug in order to enter trance states: Their hallucinogenic potential is more or less built-in.

Mr. Hancock insists that just because such events and encounters may not have occurred on a physical plane, it doesn't mean they never happened. His book quotes Albert Hoffman, the discoverer of LSD, who wrote that the brain, biochemically altered, tunes to "another wavelength than that corresponding to normal, everyday reality."

As part of his project, Mr. Hancock plunged himself into the netherworld of mind-altering drugs -- he ate psychedelic mushrooms, took the African drug ibogaine, drank ayahuasca tea 13 times and smoked DMT. His own drug experiences included multiple encounters with "spirit beings" that, he insists, have profoundly changed him.

"This life we look at is only a fragment of reality. . . . What the physicists have arrived at with the notion of parallel dimensions, through their methods, is pretty much the same as what shamans are arriving at through their methods," Mr. Hancock says. "Except shamans are ahead of the quantum physicists, because they can actually get into those dimensions."

Going a few steps further than the late John Allegro, a Dead Sea scholar who suggested in the 1970s that early Christianity was essentially a mushroom-and-sex cult, Mr. Hancock maintains that all religions are "rooted and grounded in shamanic experiences."

In Toronto recently to promote his book, Mr. Hancock said organized religion as we know it is "the attempt to account for and explain those experiences. And then the bureaucrats come in, take it over, become the priesthood, impose themselves as the sole intermediaries, and eventually lose the connection to the spiritual life that once was at the heart of the religion. We've seen that again and again.

"I don't even know if God isn't one of those things that happen after the bureaucrats step in. Indeed, many monotheistic religions are very opposed to altered states of consciousness. And so we've lost contact with the origins of religion."

The use of most hallucinogens, of course, is outlawed in most Western nations. In that context, Mr. Hancock -- a former Economist correspondent in East Africa who gave up journalism to begin writing bestselling books about lost civilizations -- says most of us live under a repressive regime.

"If you pause to think about it," he says, "the essence of a human being is consciousness. Without it, we are nothing. So it's a transgression of my sovereignty as an individual that some other individual can rule on what experiences I may or may not have with my consciousness, doing no harm to others."

Long prison terms await those convicted of experimenting with their consciousness. That, Mr. Hancock says, "tells me our society is deeply afraid of this problem and is engaged in a propaganda war to persuade us that these drugs are dangerous."

Various long-term studies show that the only people seriously adversely affected by hallucinogens are schizophrenics. Meanwhile, he says, more common risks are played down. "Look at the mass slaughter on our roads. Look at over-the-counter drugs, which also kill many people. Look at extreme sports. We don't seem to have a problem with any of that."

Even if the current prohibitions were lifted, Mr. Hancock thinks it's unlikely that millions would sign up for a psychedelic journey. "Taking ayahusaca, for example, is a scary experience. Most people would be quite happy to stay locked in their world."

Mr. Hancock himself is not finished exploring the mysteries of human consciousness. Acknowledging the gap between the lessons learned while in a trance state and applying them to life afterward, he says his experiences have made him less intolerant, less judgmental, less prone to anger. "I've really tried to take those insights and integrate them."

He intends to spend part of this summer at a retreat in Brazil, where ayahuasca is legal, drinking the tea every other day for two weeks. "I'm only certain that there's a huge mystery here," he says. "I'm not certain what the answer to the mystery is."


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InvisibleDNKYD
Turtle!

Registered: 09/23/04
Posts: 12,326
Re: Tune in, turn on ... evolve? [Re: veggie]
    #5339551 - 02/25/06 10:30 PM (17 years, 11 months ago)

Awesome article. Thanks, veggie :thumbup:


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InvisibleSuperD
Cacti junky
 User Gallery

Registered: 10/05/03
Posts: 6,648
Loc: The bridgesii bridge
Re: Tune in, turn on ... evolve? [Re: DNKYD]
    #5340139 - 02/26/06 03:25 AM (17 years, 11 months ago)

yeah that was a great read


--------------------
:super:D
Manoa said:
I need to stop spending all my money on plants and take up a cheaper hobby, like heroin. :lol:

Looking for Rauhocereus riosaniensis seeds or live specimen(s), :pm: me if you have any for trade


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OfflineEkstaza
stranger than most
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Registered: 04/10/03
Posts: 4,324
Loc: Around the corner
Last seen: 9 months, 23 days
Re: Tune in, turn on ... evolve? [Re: veggie]
    #5340635 - 02/26/06 11:05 AM (17 years, 10 months ago)

Great read Veggie. This guy encompasses many of the ideas behind my personal philosophies about religion.

Quote:


Going a few steps further than the late John Allegro, a Dead Sea scholar who suggested in the 1970s that early Christianity was essentially a mushroom-and-sex cult, Mr. Hancock maintains that all religions are "rooted and grounded in shamanic experiences."



This sounds funny to me. I'd love to read more about this guy. Wouldn't that be a great argument to hand over to the holy rollers?

Quote:


In Toronto recently to promote his book, Mr. Hancock said organized religion as we know it is "the attempt to account for and explain those experiences. And then the bureaucrats come in, take it over, become the priesthood, impose themselves as the sole intermediaries, and eventually lose the connection to the spiritual life that once was at the heart of the religion. We've seen that again and again.

"I don't even know if God isn't one of those things that happen after the bureaucrats step in. Indeed, many monotheistic religions are very opposed to altered states of consciousness. And so we've lost contact with the origins of religion."



This could be some of the best ideas about the origin of god and religion that I've ever heard. I've always thought that most organized religions are what happens when the fanatics step in. They lose the meaning.

Quote:


"If you pause to think about it," he says, "the essence of a human being is consciousness. Without it, we are nothing. So it's a transgression of my sovereignty as an individual that some other individual can rule on what experiences I may or may not have with my consciousness, doing no harm to others."



This is so true.


Absolutely Awesome Article


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YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH ANY GIVEN DRUG ISN'T THE DEFINITIVE MEASURE OF THE DRUGS EFFECTS.


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OfflineDarcho
PhysicallyDetermined

Registered: 07/26/04
Posts: 426
Last seen: 11 years, 7 months
Re: Tune in, turn on ... evolve? [Re: SuperD]
    #5340666 - 02/26/06 11:17 AM (17 years, 10 months ago)

"If you pause to think about it," he says, "the essence of a human being is consciousness. Without it, we are nothing. So it's a transgression of my sovereignty as an individual that some other individual can rule on what experiences I may or may not have with my consciousness, doing no harm to others."

Solid statements right there. On that note, I would like to throw a tangent article into this thread, one that can be combined with this article to address the ethical issues of psychoactive drug bans/prohibition:

Give Me Cognitive Liberty


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Invisiblebeavis190
(.Y.)'s
Male User Gallery

Registered: 01/25/06
Posts: 432
Loc: lost in my head
Re: Tune in, turn on ... evolve? [Re: Darcho]
    #5341118 - 02/26/06 01:38 PM (17 years, 10 months ago)

they should show the pics of the drawings


--------------------

Confucius Says ...
Man who put cock in Peanut Butter jar is Fucking Nuts.
Man with tool in woman mouth May not necessarily be dentist.
Schoolboy who play with schoolgirl during wrong period, get caught red-handed.
He who fish in other's hole often catch crabs.
Man who go to sleep with itchy butt, wake with smelly fingers...
Man young when he snatches kisses, old when he kisses snatches.


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OfflineTLG
Stranger
Registered: 02/01/06
Posts: 31
Loc: Ireland
Last seen: 17 years, 8 months
Re: Tune in, turn on ... evolve? [Re: beavis190]
    #5344379 - 02/27/06 07:45 AM (17 years, 10 months ago)

Thanks Veggie, excellent article. Terence McKenna would be proud - a respectable, former Economist journo discovers a soul!


Darcho, very informative and helpful article. Thanks for that.


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OfflineLearyfanS
It's the psychedelic movement!
Male User Gallery

Registered: 04/20/01
Posts: 34,086
Loc: High pride!
Last seen: 1 hour, 48 minutes
Re: Tune in, turn on ... evolve? [Re: veggie]
    #5349147 - 02/28/06 12:21 PM (17 years, 10 months ago)

It's "turn on, tune in...".









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Mp3 of the month:  The Apple-Glass Cyndrome - Someday



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