"Banish the word 'struggle' from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration. We are the ones we have been waiting for." — Hopi elders
Sponsored by
Psychedelics Spore
<< back to group The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies - MAPS Official Group
March 19, 2010 - 7:30pm - March 21, 2010 - 6:00pm
45 West Studio
45 West Hastings
Vancouver, n/a
Canada
Cost: $20
Website: Tribal Harmonix
- Login or register to post comments
- Print this page
F U T U R E of PSYCHEDELICS
Evolver Spore Network Conference & Visionary Art Show & Vernal Equinox Ceremony
Vancouver, BC
Join Evolver Vancouver in welcoming in the spring and renewal of the inner being on the vernal equinox weekend of March 19 for the Future of Psychedelics Conference. Carrying the torch from Entheogenesis Conference in 2005 held in Vancouver with it's theme of "From Darkness Back to Light" we will be looking at the history of sacramental plants and modern entheogens along with the war on consciousness that has been waged against them and the people who use them.
Friday night will be an overview of history of entheogens joined by guests from Evolver Network NYC.
Saturday will begin with a Vernal Equinox Ceremony timed with the moment of the equinox inspired by the Eleusian Mysteries centered around Persephone and Demeter. Saturday will focus on cannabis, mushrooms, and party substances.
Sunday will examine cacti, iboga, and ayahausca.
Discussions will follow presentations.
Special guests joining us in person and live over the internet include:
Daniel Pinchbeck http://www.realitysandwich.com/blog/daniel_pinchbeck
Author of Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism and 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl.
Jonathan Philiips (http://www.evolver.net)
Coordinator of the Evolver Spores Network
Moughenda Mikala (http://www.ibogahouse.org)
Tenth generation Bwiti Shaman from the Nganga of the Missoko Bwiti sect of southern Gabon. Currently facilitating iboga ceremony at the Iboga House in Costa Rica.
Dennis McKenna http://www.heffter.org/pages/djm.html
Co-founder, Director of Ethnopharmacology. Brother of Terrence McKenna.
Chris Bennet http://www.forbiddenfruitpublishing.com/chris/index.html
Writer and video producer on the sacred uses of Cannabis. Entheogen museum curator and owner of Urban Shaman Entheobotanicals. Producer of the Entheogenesis Conference in 2005 archived at:
http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-3398.html
Jeet Kei Leung (BC Compassion Club) http://www.thecompassionclub.org/
Paul Kroeger (Vancouver Mycology Society) http://www.vanmyco.com/
Sandra Karpetas (Director of Iboga Therapy House BC) http://ibogatherapyhouse.net
More guests TBA
Joining our special guest speakers being assembled will be a special showing of visionary art featuring art by
Luke Brown (http://www.spectraleyes.com)
and
Simon Haiduk (http://simonhaiduk.com/ )
and art auction for the Iboga Therapy House BC.
Musical guests will include didgereedo player Shine Edgar
Location: 45 West Studio http://45west.ca/
45 W. Hastings Street, between Carrall & Abbott Streets (map)
Alley Entrance Only. 18+ event
Cost: $10 Friday 8-10pm doors 7:30pm
$20 Sat/ $20 Sun. or $35 for both days
Doors 12:30pm
Saturday opening ceremony marking Vernal Equinox commencing 1pm-6pm followed by music by Shine Edgar till 7pm.
Sunday doors 12:30pm
First session 1pm-6pm
No one will be turned away for lack of funds. All money collected goes to covering the space rental, equipment rental, printing costs and future Evolver Spores. Our goal is to make this the most affordable entheogen conference ever held.
Evolver Spores are a network of optimistic solution-based co-creators spreading across the globe which hold monthly "spore" events to support the growth of new paradigms that support life on Earth. Are you an Evolver? If so you'll meet many others at these events and on our online social network.
Describing the focus of the March spores
For millennia, cultures around the world expanded minds and visions with “teacher plants” – what we commonly know today as psychedelics. The widespread popularity of LSD during the 1960s awakened the Western psyche to these powerful substances, ushering in a period of wild experimentation that revolutionized art and music, inspired social movements, and opened new vistas of possibility for psychotherapy. But a swift backlash from the establishment made psychedelics illegal, repressing and marginalizing them as “dangerous drugs.”
Today, there is new potential for psychedelics to be reintroduced into mainstream culture, not as drastic catalysts of social upheaval but as tools that can help people overcome serious problems. Psychedelic research with human subjects is underway again after a 35-year blockade, thanks to the efforts of non-profit organizations like MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) and the Beckley Foundation. Prominent newspapers and magazines are giving these substances another look, acknowledging their potential for therapeutic and spiritual breakthroughs if used with care. At the same time, the worldwide resurgence of interest in indigenous shamanism indicates a deeper maturity and respect emerging toward these ancient sacraments. In this Spore, we will explore and discuss the exciting new frontiers for psychedelics in our modern culture, as both scientifically verified medicines and intentional tools for personal development.
Please stay tuned for further announcements.
Comments
Volunteering
— Mar 15, 2010
Hi Sobey,
Let me know if needing some volunteering assistance this week.
~ * ~
Scott
Posters and flyers
— Mar 08, 2010
We have a small run of posters and flyers coming out soon. If you know a good place to put a poster where it will be seen and not be taken down let me know.
posters etc
— Mar 17, 2010
we could certainly post posters / flyers (if any are printed) at banyen books, 4th & dunbar... if someone can bring them by...
i can be reached at curlykale@banyen.com
kolin
Anyone coming over from Victoria?
— Mar 16, 2010
Hi,
I'm a newbie here...
Just wondering if there are any folks coming over from the Island... I'm going to try to make it over for Sat & Sun.
Sobey, if you need any extra hands on either day let me know, I'll see what I can do. I love to help out.
Jana
Schedule for the Conference
— Mar 17, 2010
Friday doors 7:30pm
8pm-10pm Opening Plenary with Daniel Pinchbeck via skype.
Presentation by Sobey recapitulating entheogenic history to prepare us for looking at the future followed by open discussion.
Saturday doors 12:30pm
Eleusian ceremony marking the Vernal Equinox 1pm
with optional sacraments available from Shakti Lounge & Experience Alternatives. Dance by Ginger Blue Bellydancers.
1:30pm Chris Bennet, author of such books as Sex, Drugs, Violence and the Bible: The Pagan Origins of the Judaic and Christian Traditions and proprietor of the Urban Shaman Entheobotanicals does a drop on cannabis religious history and more.
2:30pm Break
2:45pm Jeet Kei Leung, David Malmo Levine give an update on medicinal marijuana & cannabis activism and look to the future.
3:30pm break
3:45pm Paul Kroeger of the Vancouver Mycology Society speaks on the psychoactive mushrooms from Mexico to the Pacific Northwest.
4:45pm break
5pm A look at recreational drug use with Nathan Messer of Dancesafe followed by discussion.
6pm Shine Edgar shares a didjeridu sonic voyage inside the Telesterion or Hall of Initiation surrounded by the art works of Luke Brown and Simon Haiduk.
7pm close
Sunday doors 12:30pm
1pm Paul Kroeger speaks on psychoactive varieties of cacti & their culture.
2:00pm break
2:15pm Moughenda Mikala, a 10th generation Bwiti shaman from Africa will speak about Iboga and its uses for healing.
3pm Sandra Karpetas of Iboga Therapy House on the global Ibogaine movement underway.
3:15pm break
3:30pm Dennis Mckenna speaks on DMT and Ayahausca.
4:45pm Wrap up discussion
Jonathan Talat Phillips of Evolver/Reality Sandwich
— Mar 19, 2010
Jonathan Talat Phillips of Evolver Network and Reality Sandwich will be joining us on Sunday.
Jonathan Talat Phillips grew up in the Colorado Rockies. He has worked for The September 11th Fund, served as a columnist for Music for America and spearheaded the activist media group, Greene Dragon, where he appeared in international media such as CNN, MSNBC, ABC, Time, and on the cover of New York Magazine. After experiencing a number of mystical encounters, he turned his focus towards expanding consciousness. He is one of the founders of Evolver LLC, serving as senior editor of the leading web-magazine for transformational culture, Reality Sandwich, and as director for Evolver.net, a social network for "conscious collaboration." He coordinates the Evolver Regionals program, which now has over thirty chapters hosting monthly events. He gives “Electric Jesus” presentations, revealing how early Christians utilized energy for healing and spiritual evolution, and is the creator and director of “The Ayahuasca Monologues: Tales of the Spirit Vine.” Jonathan is a Reiki Master, an initiate of the International Sufi Order, and founder of the NY Gnostics.
Big thanks
— Mar 22, 2010
Big thanks to all who helped with making this conference happen especially Jordan Tal, Rev.Anne, Omid, Joanne our presenters, the artists, dancers, door people and Shakti Lounge and Experience Alternatives. That was a truly great weekend and I only wish we had more time in some ways to go even further but I was happy with what we did get through. I can foresee more entheogenic conferences in the future based on this event. One notion I had was even doing Monday night post-weekend reflections of entheogenic experiences that happened on a weekend like the Monday night talks by Stephen Gaskin in the 70's in San Francisco. Those talks may in part have led to the creation of the Farm in Tennessee, one of the bioneering eco-villages in North America.
Sadly one friend of mine did lose her backpack at the very end so it's hypothesized someone came in and stole it, which given the area, doesn't surprise. I did like the space but for that reason might hesitate to do it there again or make better efforts to secure the door. We haven't had to worry about that so much at any of the other Spores. Lessons learned.
On the plus side, the skype- in experiment worked overall tho some glitches were apparent like the face freezing and disappearing or the call getting dropped. But I'd say we were fortunate that it did work out alright. I think the key is to always have a mix of live guests and only some skype guests.
Any other feedback is more than welcome.
one more big thank you
— Mar 22, 2010
goes to Andy who helped a lot on the technical side of things. He's supported Evolver Vancouver since the beginning last year. Always great to work with you Andy!
a suggestion
— Mar 24, 2010
Sobey, i would like to suggest that we, as evolvers, could benefit if we got together sometimes to discuss our experiences and realizations about our personal transformations and especially ideas for where to go from here. Personally, i think about this all the time and would like to share with others who do the same.
Not that i don't appreciate hearing presenters who know what they're talking about, but i would also like more interaction that could potentially lead to practical actions, both individually and in groups on the ground here. What do you think?
Good feedback
— Mar 24, 2010
What do people think of Cyurius' suggestion? We could have Evolver potlucks or picnics with less structure or presenters and more just group discussion perhaps. This could help get more people involved in putting together Spore events, especially areas that interest people the most.
downtime
— Mar 25, 2010
I agree with Cyurius. In the context of the spore, as a regular conference attendee, I'd say the common consensus is that the best stuff happens in the metaphorical (or actual) hallways. It just occurs that way in bigger events, but in smaller stuff you need to actively plan for it. Allotting time in the middle of the spore where nothing is scheduled and having a side area where people can duck out to confer goes a long way towards fostering that.
That said, side events, discussions, potlucks and all are great too.
Explore Groups
Volunteers Needed
This will be our biggest spore yet. Looking for help in laying out poster, promotion, and set up/tear down and technical audio visual help.
Suggestions also welcome for presenters based locally or reachable via skype.