Women gather to talk about sex, suffering, psychedelics
http://www.marinij.com/lifestyles/ci_16391365
By Paul Liberatore
10/21/2010
THE THEME OF the fourth annual Women's Visionary Congress, set for
Oct. 22 through 24 at the Noetic Sciences Earthrise Retreat Center
between Petaluma and Novato, is "Sex and Psychedelics: Limbic
Resonance and Deep Thrills."
It's a provocative, intriguing title, to be sure, but it's also one
that may not do complete justice to the seriousness of the
conference, a weekend of presentations by mostly women healers,
scholars, activists, scientists, artists and others from across the
country who study psychoactive substances and psychedelic drugs for
spiritual and healing purposes. Although there will be some men
speakers, the gathering is focused primarily on women in the field,
providing them with a rare forum.
"I had traveled to conferences where these issues were discussed, and
I couldn't help but notice that there were very few women speaking at
them," said conference founder Annie Oak, a journalist, filmmaker and
Silicon Valley businesswoman. "I thought that was rather odd because
I knew a lot of women who were doing this work, and I asked myself,
'Wouldn't it be fun to bring some of these women together whose work
was not getting the respect and attention it deserved? Wouldn't it be
great to have a weekend when they all presented their work?'"
The first conference, held at Wilbur Hot Springs in remote Colusa
County in 2007, was considered a success, attracting some 80 participants.
"It was clear to me that there was a real desire within the community
concerned with these matters to hear more from women," Oak said.
"Everyone had such a good time, it became clear to me that this was
something unique and should be continued."
With two other women, she formed the nonprofit Women's Visionary
Council to help her organize what has become an annual event. In
February, the women also will host their first "psychedelic love
ball" in Berkeley.
One of the conference's scheduled speakers is Alica Danforth, who has
worked on a study using psilocybin (magic mushrooms) to ease the
anxiety of cancer patients and people facing the end of their lives.
There also will be discussions of the ongoing studies using MDMA
(ecstasy) to treat war veterans and others suffering from
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"I think we're looking at a new era, a time when people are looking
at the therapeutic potential of these substances," Oak said. "And I
feel there is a real desire among women in particular to talk about
these substances because it's such a taboo discussion."
Artist Martina Hoffman, whose fantastic paintings were used for
posters and promotional materials for the conference, will lead
Saturday sessions on visonary art along with her artist husband,
Robert Venosa. In keeping with the gathering's theme, another
Saturday afternoon session, "Sex and Psychedelics," features Sasha
Shulgin, who is credited with popularizing ecstasy in the late 1970s
and early 1980s for the treatment of depression and post-traumatic
stress disorder. With his wife, Ann Shulgin, who will join him in the
discussion, he has coauthored a pair of books on psychoactive drugs.
"The other half of the story is that we use sex as a way to reach
states of altered consciousness, to reach for bliss, to blend with
the cosmos, and psychedelics are another way to a similar state,"
said Carolyn Garcia, one of the conference organizers. "The
heightened state of awareness from sexual activity and from
psychedelics run a close parallel in the body. We're trying to smoke
out this discussion by making room for it on our schedule, and by
putting the provocative title on the conference we're hoping to
attract people who really want to study this stuff."
Garcia, ex-wife of the late Grateful Dead icon Jerry Garcia, is also
known as "Mountain Girl," a nickname from her hippie days as one of
Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters, LSD pioneers immortalized in Tom
Wolfe's book "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test." She's titled her
Saturday afternoon talk "Furthur," after the Pranksters' psychedelic bus.
"I just happened to land in Palo Alto when I was a teenager and met
up with the Merry Pranksters, who staged the Acid Tests," she
explained. "LSD was little known then. So we took it upon ourselves
to help people outside the psychotherapy community connect with
deeper states. Now the psychedelic community is trying to help
mainstream psychedelic psychotherapy. It has a Buddhist flavor of
service. The compassion movement is going global now. There are a lot
of people who care deeply about stopping suffering."
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Contact Paul Liberatore via e-mail at [email protected]
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IF YOU GO
What: Women's Visionary Congress
When: Oct. 22 to 24
Where: Institute of Noetic Sciences Earthrise Retreat Center, 101 San
Antonio Road, Petaluma
Tickets: $325 -- includes food, lodging, yoga classes
Information: [email protected], 707-489-8877,
www.visionarycongress.org
.
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