Martin W. Ball on Reality Sandwich
Why Psychedelics Make Avatar More SophisticatedConspicuously absent from both the theatrical and DVD release versions of Avatar is the scene of the "Dreamhunt." It's inclusion, as originally depicted in the Avatar script and as an incomplete scene as a DVD extra, would have lifted the movie to a whole new, and more complex level.
Energy, Ego, and Entheogens: The Reality of Human Liberation from IllusionRecently, I published an article criticizing Terence McKenna's lectures on DMT. The article generated a great deal of backlash and some serious questions. Now I'd like to follow up on the issue of human liberation from self-generated illusions.
Terence on DMT: An Entheological Analysis of McKenna’s Experiences in the Tryptamine Mirror of the SelfTerence McKenna's musings on DMT, with its machine elves and aliens, continue to influence explorers of altered states of consciousness. Yet, are his wild accounts ground-breaking, reality-shattering explorations? Or are they fantasy projections of his own ego, quite literally gambling with his life?
Entheogenic Spirituality as a Human RightU.S. law sees "freedom of religion" as referring primarily to the freedom to believe and secondarily to the freedom to practice. However, something sorely missing from our legal protections is any recognition of the significance of direct spiritual experience itself, including with sacred plants.
