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Yoschie99
nomad



Registered: 11/24/99
Posts: 3,149
Loc: center of earth
Last seen: 2 months, 17 days
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DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser
#8050620 - 02/21/08 06:42 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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With the rise of the new internet savvy generation comes some unforeseen changes to a broad spectrum of society. From the ability to book travel to far corners of the world from your home computer, to managing your stocks, to locating old friends, and even to obtaining information on the extraction and/or synthesizing of exotic substances such as DMT and Mescaline… the free trade of information on the web can be used to almost any means.
In the early years of the psychadelic movement.. the 1960s-1970s, word was spread through printed media, television coverage, underground printings and word of mouth.. a lot through the college circuit, whether official lectures or impromptu guru-ing. Substances like LSD began to flow from coast to coast with ease.. the experience caught on with the disenfranchised youth of the day and was embraced as a means of escape. Purchased legally in early years, the LSD scene was more people turning people on through parties and concerts and gatherings than distributing it for profit. Other hallucinogens also gained minor acceptance during this time.. mescaline and psilocybin mushrooms probably being the rest of the top 3. DMT was a little taken and rarely talked about substance during this time.
After the prohibition of LSD and other substances, only the most popular maintained a steady flow.. LSD. The network established by the people like Kesey, Owsley, the Dead, Leary, etc, lived on and the blackmarket was created. The lesser taken, lesser spoken of substances went far underground and basically dormant.
With the establishment of an underground, clandestine network of chemists and distributors, it was necessary to maintain the utmost secrecy and security. There was no easy way to do this other than just using instinct and personal judgement. However, at some point, the famed “thumb print” was brought to being. This much discussed subject in the modern circle of LSD enthusiasts involved taking a new member of “the family” and placing the pad of their thumb on or in pure LSD crystal.. the initiate then licked it off. The ensuing psychadelic ordeal acted as a personal trial.. judged only by themselves and whatever they would encounter in the depths of their own mind. To those administering the print, it allowed them to see how balanced and mentally prepared a prospective person of trust was, before allowing them any deeper in the circle.
It’s my belief that with the nationwide crackdown on club drugs in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, the thumb print became a thing of the past. The distribution of crystal became more organized.. the network went far underground for a couple of years and restructured. There are less weekenders than their used to be… many of which came and went with each passing tour.. whether it be with The Dead, Phish, String Cheese.. each tour used to support it’s own sub-scene. Within this scene, people would basically be able to walk onto shakedown and within a couple of shows possibly buy a gram of crystal.
After the crackdown began, Phish and the dead disappeared.. the touring music scene that had largely fueled the distribution of LSD and other substances nationwide was at a basic standstill compared to the consistency of the past 30 years. There were several smaller tours throughout the year.. a few good festivals.. but, even this bit of irregularity led to a large slowdown in the output of LSD from the point of creation to the point of consumption. It was no longer safe to show up to a tour spot or festival and try to work off a gram to strangers.. more than ever, a reliable and trustworthy street team was needed.. and a more subtle method of initiation and cleansing was needed than the thumb-print.
It seems to me that the recent rise of DMT came about during the dormancy of LSD from 2002-2004 and has continued to gain popularity even with the apparent return of acid. A lot of this comes down to increased curiousity due to lessened obviousness of psychedelics. Save for the huge internet buzz over salvia, hallucinogens are widely ignored by any form of media. There is also less obvious immersion into psychadelic culture.. there is less of a chance for random encounters at concerts and on the street.. people have become a little more protective of their gift. This combination has led to a lot of encounters in passing with substances like LSD, mushrooms, MDMA, Ketamine, DMT, mescaline, and various research chemicals. In a search for answers about what they may have just seen or heard or experienced, a large percentage of todays younger generations are going to turn straight to the internet.
Once online looking for answers about drugs, it’s inevitable that at some point you are really going to realize that you knew a whole lot less than you thought you did. Urban legends are the first mental habits to get rid of.. then sorting out what is “good” new knowledge vs. what is negative propaganda. New substances are going to be brought to your attention due to their relationship to some other substance you went in search of… and pretty soon curiousity goes from what you’ve personally experienced in some manner, to what you would like to experience..
This quest for something new will often lead people back to the scene that started it all. The festival and touring music scene. It’s not quite as in your face as it used to be, but there is definitely still a healthy relationship between psychedelics and musical gatherings.
One thing that has changed in recent pass, as well, has been the introduction of DMT as a fairly common “street drug” at tour stops and festivals. It is not uncommon to be in the crowd outside at a festival or in the seats indoors and smell that smell.. easily recognizable as DMT after having burned it yourself. I don’t see the appeal of vaporizing DMT at a concert and being shot out of that cannon into complete psychadelic immersion. It’s strange to me to see DMT used in this way. However, I do see it’s benefit to the (sub)cultural system as a whole.
DMT by nature is a cleanser. It polishes your sight.. puts everything in extreme focus… tunes your senses. Once you get that lung full that you just know is going to rocket you into hyperspace, there is a mixture of great panic and a great desire to just relax with the experience. Clarity like this is so unnatural as to feel that you have left this life to be able to experience it. The initial reaction one has will have a great effect on the rest of the trip.
If one panics.. gives into the, “Oh My God >>>> happened!” reaction. Thoughts of personal death, irreversible trauma, mental loss will undoubtedly make it hard to settle into what the experience is truly about.
It will instantly humble you. As prepared as you thought you were, DMT is almost certainly not what you expected. If you can get past the initial panic and give into the deep reassurance that comes with a positive DMT experience, you will find yourself immersed in a world all your own. Common references are to godlike beings, elflike people, tall columns or altars, brightening of objects, and incredible geometric patterning over all surroundings. It is also not uncommon to hear of a guiding voice during a person’s experience.
For little over five minutes time, a person can experience what seems like eternity. When coming out of a fulfilling DMT experience, you will definitely be left with questions… you will definitely be searching for a way to place this new information in a realm of knowledge you can understand. However, you will also probably come out with some answers… some insights that have been directly handed to you.
Much like the thumb-print of past would work on an invite only basis, cleaning out impure elements from the smallest circle w/in the scene… a rocket-ship ride through psychadelic heaven or hell… DMT acts on a widespread basis. Home taught basic chemistry allows most anyone to figure out one of various ways of extracting the active chemicals from easily obtained sources. The availability of the raw materials online has certainly led to more regional distribution of DMT than LSD, even. This continual cycle of such a powerful psychadelic has surely helped keep the modern scene free of a lot of riff-raff.
When you put a psychadelic tool such as DMT into rather wide circulation in a subculture that exists in large part due to trust of others, and a desire to better the world around us, it acts as a cleanser of this micro-society. The weekenders that come in just wanting to get blasted may get the humbling they need to either come back with a little more respect, or realize that the scene they are at they are not really a part of. Even the people that hang around for a while.. maybe make it through a season or two.. they generally phase out in pretty short time.
The only other scene that I can think of that supports and sees the use of DMT on any regular basis is the international psy-trance scene. Made up in large part of psychedelically open, intelligent, and tech-savvy attendees, it’s not surprising that DMT would turn up. I have been to a couple of these parties and smelled that familiar smell, too… and would have to believe that DMT’s impact on the psy-trance scene is the same as to that of the festival/jam scene.
I really believe that information and help comes to us as it’s needed… society as a whole could use a little awakening right now, and I think DMT is helping that cause. I would love to see a second coming of the psychadelic movement, and hope that with the continued flow of substances like DMT, LSD and psychadelic mushrooms that people from all walks will just open their eyes a little bit… really start to think about where we stand as a race of people and how much we could accomplish with a little less selfishness and greed… use the informational tools at hand, whether the internet, the library or certain mind-altering substances. It's not like we have a lot of time left until something is going to give.
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so, yeah.. just something i started, forgot about, and just finished. I guess i started it after getting back from NYE..
yos-
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OneMoreRobot3021



Registered: 06/06/03
Posts: 61,024
Loc: the sky
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Re: DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser [Re: Yoschie99]
#8050733 - 02/21/08 07:49 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Thanks for posting! 
Quote:
If one panics.. gives into the, “Oh My God >>>> happened!” reaction. Thoughts of personal death, irreversible trauma, mental loss will undoubtedly make it hard to settle into what the experience is truly about.
Yeah, I'm figuring that out.
-------------------- Acid doesn't give you truths; it builds machines that push the envelope of perception. Whatever revelations came to me then have dissolved like skywriting. All I really know is that those few years saddled me with a faith in the redemptive potential of the imagination which, however flat, stale and unprofitable the world seems to me now, I cannot for the life of me shake. -Erik Davis
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sky
Heir of Isildur



Registered: 11/27/07
Posts: 304
Last seen: 6 years, 8 months
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Thank you for that
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ReoSpeedwagon153


Registered: 02/04/06
Posts: 2,098
Loc: Chetumal, Mexico
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Re: DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser [Re: Yoschie99]
#8051045 - 02/21/08 09:19 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Incredible post man.
Im still up on acid after a long night thinking about these very things.
This is modern alchemy, plain and simple. Only we have actually found what the alchemists were searching for...
-------------------- “I thought naming myself ‘ReoSpeedwagon153’ on a forum was a funny idea in 2006.”
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Craighead
Cheerfullygrinning




Registered: 10/01/06
Posts: 60
Last seen: 14 years, 6 months
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Very good read, indeed!
Thank you for that.
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Sophistic Radiance
Free sVs!



Registered: 07/11/06
Posts: 43,135
Loc: Center of the Universe
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Re: DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser [Re: Craighead]
#8051679 - 02/21/08 12:32 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Being that I'm sitting on my first fresh batch of homemade DMT, I've been thinking about this stuff too. I'm still in awe at how fast and simple a project it was considering the power of the reward; anybody who wants to take this journey has only to spend a few hours in their backyard. I still haven't taken that high-dose journey to hyperspace, though it is possible I will finally load the DMT pipe heavily later today as I have nothing to do. My low- and medium-dose experiences have been quite fantastic.
-------------------- Enlil said: You really are the worst kind of person.
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SaintDunsmere
Novice


Registered: 10/08/06
Posts: 394
Loc: Oregon
Last seen: 15 years, 6 months
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Please keep us informed... I have yet to breakthrough also
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coAsTal
Friend


Registered: 04/04/06
Posts: 2,970
Loc: 8a
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Re: DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser [Re: SaintDunsmere]
#8052241 - 02/21/08 02:58 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Man, what a great post-- this deserves a lot of views--
-------------------- I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart's affections and the truth of Imagination-- John Keats Spore Trading List
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arpnuke
Always changing



Registered: 09/11/06
Posts: 230
Last seen: 12 years, 6 months
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Re: DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser [Re: coAsTal]
#8053389 - 02/21/08 07:21 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Excellent read. I've never been to any festivals where the psychedelic scene lives. Of the friends I dose with, only a few of those I think have their hearts in the right place. I've read about thumb printing and the acid subculture today and find it incredibly interesting. It's such a great trust checker because there is no fighting that kind of dose.
It would be a lot easier to be a psychedelic user in todays society if there were many people that had an idea what kind of stuff each of us has been through. It feels like I'm just beginning to learn how to stop being an animal and join the human race. The sad thing is how many of our fellow men and women are still ruled by fear and their animal instincts instead of love and compassion. One time I took LSA and walked around in the middle of campus. I felt such a feeling of being alone in all of those people, like I had woken up from a long sleep, but no one was there to greet me.
Some day I hope to be there to greet someone else as they return from a psychedelic experience with that twinkle in their eye. I too was one of those internet kids you talked about and I'm a different person from the time I first heard about erowid. There certainly is hope for the world and I'm with you about getting to helping other people. I don't know how to promote mind expansion effectively because when I was all about it spreading "it" I feel like I was operating under some messianic delusions that have since been squashed.
More than anything, I feel that it's a change in thinking that our culture needs. The only people we can change, guaranteed, is ourselves. I no longer tell all the stoners I meet that they might like tripping because it did no good. It's a strange question, but I hope each one of you thinks about it. How can we change the world for the better? The answer will likely be very personal, but would anyone like to try answering that in regard to increasing the popularity of psychedelics?
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Yoschie99
nomad



Registered: 11/24/99
Posts: 3,149
Loc: center of earth
Last seen: 2 months, 17 days
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Re: DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser [Re: arpnuke]
#8053912 - 02/21/08 09:04 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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I'm glad you all enjoyed it... reading back over it, I could have taken a bit more time to be a bit clearer.
Quote:
arpnuke said: The sad thing is how many of our fellow men and women are still ruled by fear and their animal instincts instead of love and compassion.
I pretty much agree with you.. How so many people let the fear of failure, judgement, gov't, or any other thing effect their actions in life and fog up their view of other possibilities.
However, I think if more people went back to feeling out situations... going on instinct, really, they would be better off. Basic instincts necessary for long term survival of any species protect both the species itself and it's surroundings... without environmental support, no species survives.
The problem is that too many people think they're going off instinct, when they're going off a predisposition. It's easy to confuse learned behaviour with natural tendency when people are still passing on behaviours and ideas that are not condusive to a more peaceful, long term existence.
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CaptainKirk


Registered: 07/15/05
Posts: 2,478
Loc: gone
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Re: DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser [Re: Yoschie99]
#8053976 - 02/21/08 09:14 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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good write up Yos your posts are always good
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Feanor


Registered: 05/07/06
Posts: 1,546
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Re: DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser [Re: Yoschie99]
#8054577 - 02/21/08 11:06 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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That was very interesting, Yoschie! 
For sure, it's worthy of publication. I enjoyed the detail you placed in the writing, and the evolutionary summary you gave of the psychedelic scene was excellent.
Now... If only Phish got back together...
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May Terence McKenna Live Long The DMT Chronicles
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Kanker
Hides in tall grass



Registered: 07/16/07
Posts: 738
Loc: On a Long dead-heart.
Last seen: 12 years, 8 months
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Re: DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser [Re: Feanor]
#8055134 - 02/22/08 03:19 AM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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violla i too enjoyed the historical trip.
-------------------- I'm ahead, I'm advanced I am the first mammal to make plans, yeah I crawled the earth, but now I'm higher 2010, watch it go to fire. It's evolution baby. -Pearl Jam
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Yoschie99
nomad



Registered: 11/24/99
Posts: 3,149
Loc: center of earth
Last seen: 2 months, 17 days
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Re: DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser [Re: Feanor]
#8056177 - 02/22/08 12:09 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Feanor said:
Now... If only Phish got back together...
who needs phish?
right now is one of the most exciting times for the live music scene since phish, imo... great small tours and festivals popping up all the time.
coincides nicely with a pretty good few seasons of Love, too. 
yos-
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Fraggin
Multi-Faceted



Registered: 01/05/05
Posts: 8,707
Last seen: 8 years, 3 days
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Re: DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser [Re: Yoschie99]
#8057085 - 02/22/08 03:44 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Great writing style Yos. You definitley got the natural poetic rythm in your word flow.
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Feanor


Registered: 05/07/06
Posts: 1,546
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Re: DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser [Re: Yoschie99]
#8057661 - 02/22/08 06:05 PM (15 years, 11 months ago) |
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Quote:
Yoschie99 said:
Quote:
Feanor said:
Now... If only Phish got back together...
who needs phish?
Me! 
--------------------
May Terence McKenna Live Long The DMT Chronicles
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stickfigure
Cheesin'

Registered: 06/28/08
Posts: 719
Last seen: 11 years, 14 days
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Re: DMT: (sub)Cultural Cleanser [Re: Yoschie99]
#13345475 - 10/16/10 07:03 PM (13 years, 3 months ago) |
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2 years old but just HAD to bump Incredible Read Awesome
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