Integration is the Bridge Between Vision and Reality Our Psychedelic Visions rarely survive first contact with reality. Sometimes, in our journeys, we have grand visions and ideas, amazing plans for the future. However, more often than not, they melt away when the light hits them. Sometimes we expect the seas to part for us like we're Moses. Or that, like Kevin Costner, they will come if we build it. Rarely is this the case. The world doesn't owe it to us to make our sacred mission easy. Some...
8 days ago • 3 min read
When In Doubt, See if There's Something You Can Relax - Red Things on Tuesday This is one of the best pieces of advice I've gotten from a psychedelic guide, "When in doubt, relax." When I'm upset, something is tight. When I'm in conflict with someone, or myself, something is tight. When I'm ruminating, perseverating, or looping uncreatively, something is tight. There is a tension in my body that I can literally use as a barometer to determine if my thoughts are helpful. If it's tight,...
15 days ago • 3 min read
Happy Birthday Dad, So Long Bobby. My dad turns 83 today. Happy Birthday, Dad! One of my fondest childhood memories was road-tripping in the back seat, listening to my dad's oldies. He had a box of (K-Tel?) cassettes he ordered from a tv commercial, and would cycle through them on the way to go skiing, or to the shore. I grew up listening to 'Tell Laura I Love Her', 'Blue Moon', and 'Leader of the Pack.' We love music. I'm grateful he instilled that in me. Thanks, Dad. I feel grateful that my...
22 days ago • 4 min read
If you think you can fly, take off from the ground. Superman takes off from the ground This is just psychedelic safety 101. This was one of our ground rules when we were teenagers. Simple, to the point. Effective. But, as a psychedelic culture, we learned this the hard way. Jay Yarnall jumped out of a window on STP in 1966. He thought he could fly. A friend of mine knew him and told me, "That was the guy the stories were about. He thought he could fly." Jay ended up paralyzed. Even still, he...
29 days ago • 4 min read
I Wish You a Happy Hibernation 2017, Year of the Rooster (I think) It's bear time here in New England. It's hibernation time. Hibernation makes sense to me. Staying in bed all winter, getting cozy, reading together, maybe a little sledding, these are a few of my favorite things. Or, as the snow-bound Shirley Nash famously advised, "Eat bread and desserts and get all fat and sassy." Winter is a great time for slowness and stillness. I don't know anything about snakes and horses. I like the...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
The Essence of Practice is a Kind Mind I was listening to a talk about The Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life by Shantideva, tuaght by Khenpo Sherab Sangpo. One thing he said really stood out. He said, "The essence of dharma practice is a kind mind" He boiled it down to its essence in one short sentence. It's not that complicated. The mind makes it complicated. The mind that would rather be right than kind. What does this have to do with Psychedelics? Everything. I talk to people all the...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
God, Grant me the Confidence of Beautiful Chorus I love Beautiful Chorus. Their music is excellent. I've listened to them in various states of consciousness, and they don't miss. I'm listening to them right now. They're also funny. Their presence on Instagram makes me chuckle. And, they are confident. They know they're great. They know their music heals the soul. They don't shrink from it. The other day, they posted this video. It says: Hi, We're Beautiful chorus. We've gotten you through...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Good Pain vs. Bad Pain, and Knowing the Difference I just completed a 111 hour fast. I was planning on doing 120, a full five days, but I ended it a little early. On day three and four I thought to myself, I could do this forever. But I woke up on the fifth... And I just felt terrible. Not like the little discomforts I felt over the weekend, a little wobbly, a little hungry or weak. I felt real bad. So I ended the fast with grace. As someone who has a habit of fighting through difficulties...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Get some of that devotional catharsis Don’t sleep on devotional catharsis. Personally, It’s my favorite kind. So much of the healing world, the psychedelic world is focused on releasing trauma. That’s all fine and good, but that’s not all there is. Sometimes in a yoga class, the breathing is just right, and the movement is just right, and trevor hall sings just the right line, and I’m overwhelmed by the beauty of creation, and then infinite love that’s surrounding and moving through me. The...
2 months ago • 3 min read