045: Stealing Fire Part 1 by Joe

This is Entheogen. Elevate the Conversation.

Today is November 5, 2017, and we are discussing Stealing Fire, a book by Steven Kotler & Jamie Wheal.

Find the notes and links for this and other episodes at EntheogenShow.com. Support us on Patreon with a small monthly contribution to help keep the show going. Follow us @EntheogenShow on Twitter and like EntheogenShow on FaceBook. Thanks for listening.

Introduction

In more contemporary terms, the Eleusinian Mysteries were an elaborate nine-day ritual designed to strip away standard frames of reference, profoundly alter consciousness, and unlock a heightened level of insight. Specifically, the mysteries combined a number of state-changing techniques—fasting, singing, dancing, drumming, costumes, dramatic storytelling, physical exhaustion, and kykeon (the substance Alcibiades stole for his party)—to induce a cathartic experience of death, rebirth, and “divine inspiration.”

Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann and Harvard-trained classicist Carl Ruck argued that the barley in kykeon might have been tainted with an ergot fungus. This same fungus generates lysergic acid (LSA), a precursor to the LSD that Hofmann famously synthesized in his Sandoz pharmaceutical lab. — Excerpt from Stealing Fire

Part One - The Case for Ecstasis

Chapter 1: What Is This Fire?
Chapter 2: Why It Matters
Chapter 3: Why We Missed It

“The alternative is unconsciousness, the default setting, the rat race, the constant gnawing sense of having had, and lost, some infinite thing.” —David Foster Wallace

  • Entheogen’s take on the book: “We like it.”
  • Debate on how to pronounce the word ecstasis
  • Why does “fire” need to be stolen? Why does access to altered states need to be banned?
  • How the Navy SEALs train for dynamic subordination, another kind of altered state
  • Partying with Eric Schmidt at Burning Man
  • Finding “flow” and why it matters
  • Signature characteristics of ecstasis: selflessness, timelessness, effortlessness, richness (STER)
  • An examining of the word “pale”
  • The “state sanctioned triad” of mind altering substances: caffeine, nicotine, alcohol -- what makes these special? What ends does accepting these particular substances serve?
  • The institutions that create / endorse stigma: the church and the state
  • Are humans already cyborgs? What is truly “unnatural” anyway? If humans are beings of nature, is anything that humans create also natural?
  • How altered states are directly related to evolution of humans as well as certain plants and other animals (like French Bulldogs)
  • The current and historical balance of individualism vs. collectivism, and its impact on the proliferation and acceptance of certain types of altered states

044: Interview with Dr. Rosalind Watts, Clinical Psychologist in the Psychedelic Research Group at Imperial College London by Joe

Rosalind Watts photo.jpg

This is Entheogen. Elevate the Conversation.

Please support Entheogen by making a donation on Patreon. Become a Patron for as little as $1. Pledge just $3 or more, and get early access to new episodes, plus exclusive Patron-only features. Head over to EntheogenShow.com and click on Support.

Find the notes and links for this and other episodes at EntheogenShow.com. Sign up to receive an email when we release a new episode. Follow us @EntheogenShow on Twitter and like EntheogenShow on FaceBook. Thanks for listening.

It’s April 2, 2017, and we are talking with Dr. Rosalind Watts, Clinical Psychologist at Imperial College London, working alongside Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris.

  • Joe’s story of psilocybin on his first “date” with his now-wife, and psilocybin’s role in their engagement

  • The Couples Using Magic Mushrooms as Relationship Therapy

  • Kevin’s regular practice of taking psychedelic medicine with his wife

  • How Ros came to study psychedelic therapy after initially becoming disillusioned with the limits of talk therapy for the treatment of anxiety and depression; her initial skepticism about psychedelics based on their negative legacy

  • The importance of the patient-therapist relationship

  • Some guidelines from one of the father figures of psychedelic therapy, Bill Richards: “We prepare people to welcome whatever they may encounter – no picking and choosing. Sometimes you have to go through the dark night to get to the top of the mountain and the sunrise. If the inner dragon or monster appears, look him in the eye – go straight towards him. If you look the monster in the eye and go towards it, ask it what it wants – there’s always resolution, transformation, and new knowledge. When you run from it, you get into panic and paranoia, like a typical nightmare – and then you say, ‘I’ve had a bad trip.’”

  • Although psychedelics including psilocybin tend to be considered non-addictive, there are examples of people using them habitually

  • Ros mentions some examples of people in the psilocybin study for depression giving up addictions and habitual behavior

  • To help fund this important research, visit the Psychedelic Research Group at Imperial College London

Holiday Gifts for Psychedelicists - Need Your Vote! by Joe

Broccoli cover.jpg

Since starting our Patreon campaign, we've earned close to $100 – and we're just getting started! In the spirit of the holidays, we want to use the funds to spread some cheer in the psychedelic community.

To start it off, we're getting Allyson Grey a subscription to Broccoli, the brand new magazine for women who love cannabis. (Check out our interview with Allyson and Alex Grey at Burning Man for the reference!)

And we're asking our patrons to help us decide: who should be the next Psychedelicist on the list?

Vote for your favorite over at Patreon.com/Entheogen!

Listener Update and Season 3 Trailer by Joe

We're excited to be back after our summer hiatus!

Over the coming months, we'll post our in-depth review of Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work, a National Bestseller by Steven Kotler and Jamie Wheal.

November 2017 listeners

Meanwhile, just as we resume from a six month break, we've broken 13K!

If you enjoy the show, would you mind writing us a review on iTunes? It really helps people "find the others" (in the words of Tim Leary).

Thanks everyone for listening to Entheogen – and please tell your friends!

043: The LSD-assisted Dock Ellis No-Hitter by Joe

This is Entheogen. Elevate the Conversation.

 

Please support Entheogen by making a donation on Patreon. Become a Patron for as little as $1. Pledge just $3 or more, and get early access to new episodes, plus exclusive Patron-only features. Head over to EntheogenShow.com and click on Support.

Find the notes and links for this and other episodes at EntheogenShow.com. Sign up to receive an email when we release a new episode. Follow us @EntheogenShow on Twitter and like EntheogenShow on FaceBook. Thanks for listening.

It’s March 5, 2017, and we are discussing the famous LSD-assisted Dock Ellis No-Hitter.

Links:

Other Notes:

  • “I’m high as a Georgia Pine”

  • Dexamyl - 90% of the league was using

  • Benzedrine - also heavily consumed by pros

    • Lady in San Diego with the gold pouches

  • “They knew I was high but they didn’t know what I was high on.”

  • Dealing with the fear, the fear of losing, the fear of winning