Wise old words

The Bogus Magus plans to study on the Cosmos and Psyche Course, with Stan Grof, and Rick Tarnas.

One of the perks that comes with the course, a talk with Albert Hofmann.   It's actually available on YouTube, so it seemed a great idea to share it.   What an extraordinary man!

In this video he has probably reached the age of 99.

That time of year, again...

Hofmann's Potion

Psycholitic doses

Even the father of LSD, Albert Hofmann seems to have been a fan. In his book, Fadiman notes that Hofmann microdosed himself well into old age and quoted him as saying LSD “would have gone on to be used as Ritalin if it hadn’t been so harshly scheduled.”

from Microdosing — a new, low-key way to use psychedelics

PHILLIP SMITH, ALTERNET

“Micro-dosing turns out to be a totally different world,” he explained. “As someone said, the rocks don’t glow, even a little bit. But what many people are reporting is, at the end of the day, they say, ‘That was a really good day.’ You know, that kind of day when things kind of work. You’re doing a task you normally couldn’t stand for two hours, but you do it for three or four. You eat properly. Maybe you do one more set of reps. Just a good day. That seems to be what we’re discovering.”

James Fadiman

Photo courtesy of Scott Kline

Note: Albert Hofmann lived an active life to the age of 102, and his wife lived to be 94.

Your inside is out, and your outside is in...

Today would have been Albert Hofmann's 107th birthday, and that's not just a simple anniversary date, as he did actually make it to 102!



Aquí una caricatura del Dr. Albert Hofmann por el artista Rafa Gámez

In Gregorian Calendar terms it also measures 6 'years' since RAW left the planet, which means he would have reached 80.



Bob by Chapter37 at Deviant Art

Adam Gorightly also noted the day and linked to his eloquent memo, written at the time, RAW RIP RIFF


By coincidence [ahem] D.E. Harding (the writer of On Having No Head: a contribution to Zen in the West) died just a few hours before Bob, at the age of 97.  For more information on The Headless Way you can go to their website.  They run online groups and forums, and right now a Moodle class is starting to study The Hierarchy of Heaven and Earth (Douglas' first book, and quite a heavy read) - all very reminiscent of us studying Illuminatus! with RAW for 12 weeks at the Maybe Logic Academy. 

Non-self portrait by Ernst Mach

 

The best day of my life—my rebirthday, so to speak—was when I found I had no head. This is not a literary gambit, a witticism designed to arouse interest at any cost. I mean it in all seriousness: I have no head.

What actually happened was something absurdly simple and unspectacular: I stopped thinking. A peculiar quiet, an odd kind of alert limpness or numbness, came over me. Reason and imagination and all mental chatter died down. For once, words really failed me. Past and future dropped away. I forgot who and what I was, my name, manhood, animalhood, all that could be called mine. It was as if I had been born that instant, brand new, mindless, innocent of all memories. There existed only the Now, that present moment and what was clearly given in it. To look was enough.

It took me no time at all to notice that this nothing, this hole where a head should have been was no ordinary vacancy, no mere nothing. On the contrary, it was very much occupied. It was a vast emptiness vastly filled, a nothing that found room for everything—room for grass, trees, shadowy distant hills, and far above them snowpeaks like a row of angular clouds riding the blue sky.

I had lost a head and gained a world.     

- Douglas Harding

And, as Bob emphasised, you have to do the exercises, not just read the books!

Celebration for Bicycle Day

From Synergetic Press


FORTHCOMING ON APRIL 19th, 2013

• Launched on the 70th anniversary of LSD’s discovery

• A history of science, consciousness research and psychedelic studies

"Albert Hofmann and his Discovery of LSD – Only a few discoveries of the 20th century have had such a crucial and meaningful influence on science, society and culture as LSD; this mysterious and extremely potent substance which causes profound changes of consciousness in doses of just a few hundred micrograms. Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann first experienced its remarkable effects during a self-experiment with Lysergic Acid Diethylamide in 1943 at Sandoz Laboratory in Basel. It changed his life deeply, as it also has the lives of millions of people all around the world.  His bicycle ride during this first LSD trip became legendary."

One drop changes everything

How extraordinary to see a film about acid - perhaps the 21st Century will eventually become rational (or at least unhysterical) about the issue.

Ken Kesey and Furthur

To supplement the film - The Substance -you can find an excellent website, with details of the film, showings, and also sections on the current legal situation, applications and other fascinating stuff - About LSD.

Albert Hofmann, quietly researching, long before all the nonsense

a life well lived

Albert Hofmann would have reached his 106th birthday today.

Astonishingly, he actually did celebrate his 102nd birthday, fit and healthy (as you can see here).

Because of his 'problem child' dominating his reputation, we may forget that he had a long career as a research scientist, and, according to this site, 

"His interest in synthesizing LSD involved a search for a stimulant that would help as a medicine for circulatory and respiratory illnesses."

"His work there led to numerous other discoveries including Hydergine, a medicine for improving circulation and cerebral function, and Dihydergot, a circulation and blood pressure stabilizing medicine."

So you could attribute his longevity to the spiritual peace and cheerfulness that he acquired from experimenting on himself - with the Hydergine and Dihydergot.  ;-)

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If you want to do something to mark the day, you might consider writing to Casey 'Freeblood' Hardison, sending him some stamps, or money.   

Free Casey - help end the global "War on some people who use some Drugs"

 Drug Discrimination

Drug Equality Alliance


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Today also marks the fifth anniversary of the death of Robert Anton Wilson (aged 74), and D.E. Harding (aged 97 - the "On Having No Head" author) - who contrived to die within hours of each other, on Albert's birthday.

Robert Anton Wilson week starts, over at Boing-Boing

Mavericks of the Mind (Second Edition)

(Please post and redistribute. :) ~DJB)

Dear Friends,

I am happy to announce the launching of the second edition of my book,
Mavericks of the Mind, which was just recently published by the
Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS).

Just in time for the Holy Daze!

Loaded with new material--a new introduction, additional interviews, as
well as new photos and artwork--the second edition of Mavericks of the
Mind also includes the transcripts from the events that brought together
interviewees from the book to debate philosophical topics in roundtable
discussions. This stimulating collection features in-depth conversations
that Rebecca Novick and I did with accomplished thinkers, such as
Terence McKenna, Laura Huxley, Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, John
Lilly, Carolyn Mary Kleefeld, Rupert Sheldrake, Riane Eisler, and Robert
Anton Wilson.

The interviews explore such fascinating topics as the frontiers of
consciousness exploration, how psychedelics effect creativity, the
relationship between science and spirituality, lucid dreaming, quantum
physics, morphic field theory, interspecies communication, chaos theory,
and time travel.

Copies of the book are available on Amazon for $22.95. To order a copy
today go to: http://alturl.com/idhbw

Wishing you a most joyous holiday season. May 2011 bring you many
unexpected delights.

Warm Greetings,

David Jay Brown

Reviews:

"When it was first published, Mavericks of the Mind was more than a
breath of fresh air -- it was a hurricane of ideas and visions perfectly
tuned to the time. This 21st century expansion pack will ensure that
these maverick spirits--many of whom have now passed on-- will continue
to channel the mindscape beyond the bend." --Erik Davis

"This is a fine collection of original thinkers, an important national
resource. Everyone who wants to stay current with information from the
outer perimeters of consciousness exploration should read it." --Jerry
Garcia of the Grateful Dead

"Depending on how one chooses to view it, this aptly named book is
either a potpourri of strange and wonderful ideas or a collection of
far-fetched suppositions. ...there will certainly be readers interested
in this volume's unique subject matter." --Library Journal

"This is a fine collection of original thinkers, an important national resource. Everyone who wants to stay current with information from the outer perimeters of consciousness exploration should read it."  --Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead

Bike Day

Actually, some people consider the 19th as Bike Day, but what the hey...

AH: “Last Friday, April 16, 1943, I was forced to interrupt my work in the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and proceed home, being affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant intoxicated-like condition, characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring); I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors. After some two hours this condition faded away.”

From Bruce Eisner's Vision Thing: Three days later, on April 19, 1943 at 4:20 PM, Hofmann took the first planned trip. He took what he thought would be the smallest amount that would be noticeable - which was 250 micrograms or about one four thousandth of a gram.

AH: "By now it was already clear to me that LSD had been the cause of the remarkable experience of the previous Friday,for the altered perceptions were of the same type as before, only much more intense. I had to struggle to speak intelligibly. I asked my laboratory assistant, who was informed of the self-experiment, to escort me home. We went by bicycle, no automobile being available because of wartime restrictions on their use. On the way home, my condition began to assume threatening forms. Everything in my field of vision wavered and was distorted as if seen in a curved mirror. I also had the sensation of being unable to move from the spot. Nevertheless, my assistant later told me that we had traveled very rapidly. Finally, we arrived at home safe and sound."









Albert in German



1 of 6




Bonzi on a bike

Alfred Jarry: a Cyclist on the Wild Side

Happy 102nd Birthday, Uncle Albert!

Today I'd prefer to celebrate the living first, so wish Albert Hofmann a very happy 102nd birthday. If anyone could offer a better image for the sensible use of psychedelic substances, then he seems like living proof that (generally) they can prove life-enhancing.

Sadly, he lost his wife, Anita Hofmann-Guanella, on December 20th 2007, at the age of 94 - and they had shared lives for an amazing 75 years...

I don't wish to appear a zealot (nothing I can think of suits everybody), and I also don't feel like discussing the stupid image of jumping out of a window (whoops, I put that image in your head yet again!) As Bill Hicks said, if you think you can fly, why don't you take off from the ground, you don't see pigeons taking the lift (elevator) to the sixth floor, now do you?

That drugs can confuse, mislead, upset or disturb some people seems obvious to me. For some reason (worth studying) many people don't find it obvious that alcohol (for instance) appears in a multitude of anti-social or self-damaging behaviours, and yet appears encouraged (even among fitness fanatics like sports people, who always seem to get rewarded with champagne). That they spray it rather than drink it might seem wise (driving fast cars, precision kicking of a ball, etc) but the image remains of alcohol as a reward! Alcohol as a celebration (Christmas).

At the same time - of all the drugs, alcohol represents the longest and clearest experiment to prove that Prohibition doesn't work. It simply led to badly made, or badly measured, use of moonshine - it brought crime, greed, violence, furtiveness and other nasty stuff into existence - and it poured money into criminal families like the Kennedy family, who went on to ill-fated attempts at power. Whether the assassinations came from religious nonsense (anti-Catholic), or old scores from the crime wars, or something else, I will leave to better researchers than myself.

Prohibition Didn't Work

For me the most interesting (or curious) result of Prohibition failing was that the same tactic was immediately turned on other substances. My private theory remains that a department of the police existed, and no-one wanted to simply throw them out of work (bureaucracy seems self-perpetuating) so they simply turned their focus on a drug less popular with journalists, lawyers, judges, politicians, etc. They looked around and found marijuana getting used by Mexicans and Blacks (and some bohemian artists) and turned the full force of the same tactics onto that. And we still live with that locked-in bit of non-sense (if it didn't work with alcohol, who in their right mind thought it might work on something else?)

During alcohol prohibition, of course, you could legally smoke dope...
A Personal Opinion

I have extended rants on this matter, which I won't bore you with now. A chief of police in the UK recently recommended legalizing all drugs, and I agree. They may still need licensing and controlling, researching and measuring, but at least people would receive clear dosage levels, quality controlled, and (hopefully) also receive a good education on the use and misuse of drugs.

As people only ever talk (vaguely) about Abuse (never Use) they keep the demonizing factor going, yet may happily receive morphine from a nurse when in pain. (Use).

And pain expresses itself through the bodymind, so we can't only talk of physical pain, as psychological/psychic/emotional pain hurts just as bad.

This poor police chief now finds himself howled down by a few individuals, just for trying to act in a rational manner, because a few children died after taking something someone gave them as 'ecstasy'. No-one knows what chemicals they actually took (illegal supply), no-one knows what dose they took (illegal supply), and no-one educated these children about the difference between considered use and abuse - or gave them any pointers - just surrounded the whole subject with paranoia, and made their friends too scared to call emergency services (criminal involvement), or to tell the doctors the truth (even if they knew which chemical the victim had taken, it's strength, purity, etc.)

(Never show any hint of the positive when discussing 'drugs', or as Bob so astutely pointed out -'some drugs' - and please don't discuss them in a rational manner).

And into those journalistic manipulations of distressed parents (for whom I have the greatest sympathy at the loss of a child), very few people mention the much greater damage, death, illness, unhappiness, etc caused by (say) alcohol, to unstable (or ill-informed) individuals and society.

Enough, already. My three glasses of red wine, and one tobacco roll-up may have tired me slightly, so I'll find another time and place for this.

We MLA students also want to mark the first anniversary of a planet without Robert Anton Wilson - but with something positive (our Wiki project, amongst other things), and little sadness. Whatever your belief about afterlives (and mine tends towards 'dead' people continuing in other people's minds and memories - especially if they have left books or buildings, ideas or discoveries), I miss him still.

Bob wrote simply and clearly about 'death', and elsewhere you can find his lucid use of words - in Cheerful Thoughts on Death and Dying. I leave you to explore, because 1:30 a.m. (GMT) means I gotta walk the dog one more time, and go to bed.

Peace to all sentient beings.

Hopalong Horus Rides Again!

We made a start on the Illuminatus! Wiki, and I guess visitors here might find it interesting, even in the bare bones state.

Feel free to contribute either by adding comments, suggestions, questions, advice, etc on the Discussion pages, or creating/editing Article pages to expand on some detail of the book(s).

On Friday 11th Jan we will have completed a year without Bob on the planet, and may hopefully get to celebrate Albert Hofmann's 102nd birthday (!)

Wiki for The Illuminatus! Trilogy

Carrying on with an interactive and collaborative experiment seems the best memorial we can offer to MLA founder, Robert Anton Wilson.

Do the exercises!

Amor et Hilaritas!

OM regrets...

we received an email today, which said:

Robert Anton Wilson passed away at 4:50 am this morning; 1/11/07.
I don't know any more than that, right where I'm sitting now.

Hail Bob!

Any sense of deja vu may arise from the fact that Bob wrote of his Life After Death in Cosmic Trigger 3 - in the first chapter I GOT RUN OVER ON THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY.

It starts:

According to reliable sources, I died on February 22, 1994 - George Washington's birthday. I felt nothing special or shocking at the time, and believed that I still sat at my word processor working on a novel called Bride of Illuminatus.

He covers a time when the Internet expanded a story, causing much confusion among RAW's family and friends. All the fun at Wilsons Wake. If you claimed to have talked to him, people suggested you might have met the CIA clone, or his twin brother, a virtual RAW.

I kinda hope this turns out the same, and I can't quite bring myself to say


"There's no maybe about it this time."

Peace. Amor et Hilaritas. Hail Eris!
With exquisite timing, Robert Anton Wilson chose to leave on Albert Hofmann's 101st birthday, one week before his own 75th.

Oddly enough, another of my favourite author /gurus also died on the 11th, a few hours before Bob. The Headless Zen Master himself - D.E.Harding - died a few hours before Bob, at the age of 98.

PS: For more on Uncle Albert, check out the MAPS site, or my own blog post for his 100th, this time last year.

The Headless Way. (RAW loved the core text when I told him about it, he said it was his favourite book on Zen, before he had even finished reading it! - On Having No Head.)