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The EntheoBotany Conference
The Past, Present and Future
Uses of Psychoactive Agents
On October 18 - 20 of 1996, an international gathering of 1000 scientists, poets,
mystics and psychonauts gathered at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco to attend
the Entheobotany Conference... A multi-disciplinary colloquium on psycho-active plants,
shamanism and ecstatic states...
The proceedings began on a high-note with profound lyrical poetry expressing the
beatitudes, majesty and mystery of life... A tribute and appreciation to nature for
its bountiful gifts of diverse natural psychoactive plants, which have been used
throughout the aeons of time to “Inspire, Delight, Heal and Enlighten” humankind...
From here we moved on to hear Antonio Escohotado speak of the history of inebriation,
the Dionysian impulse, and how our natural impulse toward transcendence, joy, love
and freedom has been consistently attempted to be thwarted by oppressive religious,
political and economic institutions... These opposing forces reached a crescendo
here in America in the LSD-50 induced psycho-spiritual/socio-political revolution
of the late 1960’s... The full impact and ramifications of these momentous times
are still being felt today... We see the growth of the Internet, the decentralization
of power through the dissemination of knowledge, and more young people than ever
experimenting with LSD and other psychoactive agents... Hmmm!?
The recent passing of the “prophet to many,” Timothy Leary, reminded us once again
to deeply examine ourselves, our freedoms, our society and our current socio-economic
and ecological challenges... The need to confront and peacefully and intelligently
transform ourselves and our current materialistic techno-bureaucratic society is
our #1 challenge... Indeed our survival, and our progressive evolution as psycho-
spiritual beings evolving here on Gaia is fully dependent upon it... Indeed the time
and opportunity for an unprecedented global renaissance is at hand, and this conference
on Entheobotany testified to this as it provided profoundly important, professionally
presented information on the conscious use of psychoactive agents to further our
individual and collective awakening into higher consciousness... A consciousness
which is rooted at source in Love, Laughter, Beauty, Truth, Creativity, Compassion
and Mystery...
Throughout the conference, we learned of the ancient indigenous peoples use of sacred
plants such as Peyote, Ayahuasca, Ibogaine and of course the magnificent sacred Psilocybin
“magic” mushroom...
These organic sacred substances, which have been ingested from time immemorial to
induce inner states of higher awareness, are the substrate and foundation of all
Pagan (Earth Based) religions... In listening closely, one becomes aware that all
religions, including the Judeo-Christian religion, are Pagan in origin... There is
a profound difference between having a belief about God(dess)... All That Is... And
experiencing God(dess)... All That Is... The former, which promotes unconsciousness,
constitutes dogmatic orthodox religion... The latter, which promotes consciousness,
constitutes a mystical/spiritual/religious awareness of the sacredness, beauty and
mystery that is Life...
This is the priceless gift that the ritual use of psychoactive plants hold for the
individual who chooses to move beyond the confines of his/her own conditioned mind...
And, thus, effect true healing... Yes, indeed, psychedelic mind expanding agents
have the unique intrinsic ability, when used with awareness, to liberate the mind
of illusion(s), while providing core insights into the nature of reality... A reality
which transcends linear thought processes of everyday reality... Indeed, one comes
to understand that we live in a perceptual reality which is a reflection of our own
attitudes and beliefs... Life is Good!...
Yes, psychoactive plants and the new designer empathogenic drugs such as MDMA (Ecstasy)
have the innate abilities to open one’s feelings and perceptions to the finer things
of life... Better living through chemistry... Moreover, if we are so blessed, we
may come to experience the ineffable beauty of our true self, which is one with God(dess)...
All That Is... In this sublime experience we come to know directly the foundation
for all mystically inspired science, art, religion and philosophy... A PICTURE IS
WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS...
Modern science, through intensive research by pioneering biochemists such as Alexander
Shulgin (the creator of MDMA and other designer drugs), has unlocked the biochemical
substrates and various neuro-transmitters in the brain which are primarily responsible
for the creation of “metaphysical experiences”... i.e.: Psilocybin (4-hydroxy-N.N-dimethyltryptamine)
are the active hallucinogenic agents... These compounds contain the basic indole
structure characteristic of most hallucinogens found in nature, including various
amides of lysergic acid (of which LSD is a semi-synthetic representative), N,N-dimethyltryptamine,
harmine and its analogues and ibogaine. The most notable exception to this basic
structure is mescaline (Peyote) which chemically is 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenylethylamine
and hence is in the same class as amphetamines...
“Brave New World” is here and has been for sometime... The future looks bright as
modern science has unlocked the biochemistry of ecstatic states of consciousness...
Indeed we are at choice to responsibly experiment, as we so please, to consciously
use these psycho-active agents to “Inspire, Delight, Heal and Enlighten” ourselves...
A future trend of immense evolutionary importance in our psycho-spiritual development
concerns itself around the possible creation/availability of oral DMT (dimethyltryptamine)...
DMT is a very powerful, rapidly metabolized, short acting psycho-active agent...
DMT, as noted, is the basic active chemical substrate of most hallucinogenic drugs...
In the immediate future, as the Age of Awareness and Spiritual Freedom progresses,
we will enter into the world of “Haves and Have Nots”... Those who have had a transcendental/mystical
experience, and those who have not... In the “Brave New World” of advanced chemically
pure psycho-active agents, many of us will be asking each other whether we “Have”
or “Have Not” taken our trip today... Why Not?!... All good clean fun and quite democratic
in that many of us will choose no drugs or psycho-active agents at all; since many
of us will be naturally high on Light and Life itself... The essential point being
that each and every individual has the fundamental right to experience reality as
they so choose... No more “Big Brother,” thank you very much...
In Joy,
DaVid, M.D.
Medical Director, The San Francisco Medical Research Foundation
Founder, The Light Party
To learn more about mind expanding plant compounds and uses, I suggest you contact:
entheogen.netfirms.com/books/books.html
www.erowid.org/library/books_online/books_online.shtml
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