"... On Feb 17, 12:39 am, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: ..."
> Peyote is or was used by Indians of the Southwest and I believe there > was some controversy over the legality of it's use but that is > resolved and it's use is once again legal. Peyote is legal on the reservation of tribes which have a history of using the drug in their religious ceremonies. Back in the sixties and seventies, many a hippie tried to join the various tribes for this specific reason but were rejected enmasse. Indians don't particularly like white folks -- can't say I blame them much -- especially when they try to horn in on Indian culture. Out here -- Arizona, New Mexico -- the prominent peyote users are the Navajo. One of my favorite movies is Altered States, a fiction where a scientist discovers a drug used by tribes in South America that causes everyone to have exactly the same hallucination -- a group freak out if you will -- and when he takes a sample home, synthesizes it, then takes it in an isolation chamber under the watchful eye of a couple of colleagues. The drug causes him to regress (or progress) to a state of pure energy which only love saves him from. Nothing in the movie suggests whether he wanted to be saved or not. My own experiences with mind altering drugs have been nothing but positive. The only drug that ever caused me to hallucinate was an overdose of belladonna. LSD and amanita (magic mushroom) only made my mental clarity and rationale sharper and and more available to me. The first time I took mushroom I beat a master in chess even though in my normal state I am a less than moderate player. Even marijuana -- once I learned how to discipline myself so I was able to study while high -- increased my retention and understanding of material. > I know my personal > experience in the 60s with opiates and hallucinogens was quite the > trip and still till today I don't understand the restrictions > concerning their use. Perhaps the world would be a much happier > place, but I guess there are those who would rather propagate anxiety > and frustration for the sake of war. You got that right. The powers that be do not want people getting smarter and gaining more awareness and insight. They might lose their power, position and wealth. Over here in the states, marijuana in particular, has exemplified the extent to which government will go to keep the people barefoot and ignorant. Goverments have learned their lessons well from religions. A little stretch there but not > totally without merit, otherwise there wouldn't be so much > governmental control. Everything is a controlled substance except the > dreadful alcohol which generates gobs of revenue. Can't make money on > people growing herb in their own yard you know. The old guarde won't > have people finding peaceful ways to coexist. I think change really > started during the Beat generation followed by the Beatniks, Hippies > and such which essentially represented a non materialistic drop out > version of a society riddled with war stories. Once again you've nailed it down. I agree that the sea change we are in the midst of today had its start in the sixties as the hippies rebelled against the narrow-minded, button-down minds of the fifties, even though most of them were addled with sufficient alcohol and tranquilizers to allow them to keep right on denying reality. > It's another subject > for discussion for sure and I would venture to guess everyone has > their stories. Yup, I could certainly tell a few. /e --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
