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[MUSIC PLAYING]
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>> The mind, it's our link to
consciousness, our thoughts,
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and as a byproduct, the
expression of our soul--
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that free and unfettered aspect
of being human that no one else
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has jurisdiction over.
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But as easily as the mind
expresses the depths within,
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it remains easily lured into
a false reality where thoughts
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become the object of
attention, and the source
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becomes forgotten.
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It is here where some scientists
and philosophers believe
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we have lost the true
reality and, in turn,
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become products of our
environment and culture.
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And it wasn't until
scientific study partnered
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with ancient rituals
that they discovered
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that there might be a way to
reconnect the soul and the mind
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more quickly and intimately.
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But are these just
escapist tools?
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Or could they actually be a
cure for the common human issue
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on this planet--
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the sleeping mind?
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>> I don't know which half is
trying to get into the other
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half.
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But somehow or other, I
seem to be going like that.
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>> Certainly you notice that
there aren't these separations,
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that we are not on a separate
island shouting across
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to somebody else and trying
to hear what they're saying
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and misunderstanding them.
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Well, I mean that
there are the colors
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and the beauties-- the
designs, the beautiful way
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things appear.
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[STATIC]
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>> When it comes
to drugs, please--
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for yourselves,
for your families,
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for your future
and your country--
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just say no.
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[APPLAUSE]
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>> But what are these substances
that have such a negative
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social view, and how did
they come into the limelight?
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One specific drug that
captured the hearts and minds
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of scientists and
young adults started
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a particular investigation of
the inner workings of the mind.
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As World War II was ending,
Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman
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was investigating
a migraine medicine
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and pulled an old vial
off his shelf of LSD 25.
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His accidental dosage opened
his eyes to a new experience
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that he wanted to
share with the world,
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as he believed that
this substance elicited
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a form of psychic
loosening or opening.
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Czech psychiatrist
Stanislav Grof
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believed that the psychic
opening allowed experiences
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to resurface that go all
the way back to birth
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and even pre-birth trauma.
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So he was willingly among the
first to experiment with LSD
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to investigate what
it does to the mind.
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>> Then I met Robert
Hoffman quite a few times.
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He loved nature.
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He was taking small dosages
of LSD in his garden
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until his death.
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And he said, I see
the hand of God there.
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And if anybody thinks
that the atoms can do it
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all by themselves,
they just don't know
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what they are talking about.
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I was trained in Czechoslovakia
when we had a Marxist regime.
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So I got the purest mentalistic
doctrine you can imagine.
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And it was clear for me during
graduation that, you know,
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the consciousness is the product
of the neurophysiological
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processes in the brain.
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And when the body
goes, the brain goes,
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and there goes
the consciousness.
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And it was as simple as that.
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Now, I see it very differently.
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I realize we have absolutely
no proof that consciousness
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is generated in the brain.
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Very few people realize
this, including scientists.
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So those are tremendous
contributions
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that psychedelics can bring.
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>> But the psychedelic
experience wasn't something new
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when LSD hit the scene.
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Since the late
1800s, experiments
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were already being conducted
on the psychedelic plants
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containing mescaline
and psilocybin.
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Mescaline comes from the
peyote and Wachuma cactus
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and is used in many
Native American rituals.
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The Huichol mothers
of Jalisco, Mexico
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would introduce peyote
through breast milk
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and by chewing off bits and
feeding them to their children.
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Even the Spanish chronicler Fray
Bernardino de Sahagun reports
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that among the Chichimeca
and Toltec peyote
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was being used at
least 2,000 years
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before the European
explorers arrived.
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Archaeological
artifacts were found
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in a cave near the lower
Pecos River region in Texas
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dating back to 3700 BC.
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In South America, in
prehistory, the Chavin
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were using the Wachuma cactus in
their own religious ceremonies.
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Wachuma has many different
psychoactive compounds
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than peyote.
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So the experience is said
to be slightly different.
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But the sacramental use
of each were both used
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to connect with the Divine.
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These cacti species are
native to the Americas.
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Psilocybin is from
a class of mushrooms
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and used by indigenous from
nearly every continent.
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In Central and North America,
we see mushroom imagery
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in many indigenous artifacts,
such as the mushroom stones
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found in Highland
Guatemala, which
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were used to grind
mushrooms before their use.
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Some images refer to the
Amanita muscaria mushroom,
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which isn't a
classical psychedelic--
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as it works on different
neurotransmitter pathways--
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but still is a psychoactive.
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The Olmec, Toltec,
and Aztec imagery
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shows that the Americas once
had a rich history of mushroom
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appreciation before the European
settlers and missionaries
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resisted their use.
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Imagery in Siberia
among the Chukotka
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appears in rock carvings.
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In Hindu imagery-- such
as Lakshmi holding what
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appears to be mushrooms--
some have debated these images
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as misidentified
everyday objects.
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But believers of the deep
psychedelic and shamanic roots
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of almost every ancient
culture and religion
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say that you'll even find
references in the Bible.
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The King James Version
of Exodus 16:14
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gives a description
of manna that
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seems very similar to
mushrooms in shape and location
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and even the time of
day that they appear.
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Even a modern look
at the witch hunts
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and trials shows a
deep appreciation
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for psychedelic and
psychoactive plants
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that account for their tales
of flying on broomsticks
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and shapeshifting into animals.
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There are too many to deny that
psychedelic mushroom and cactus
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use were integral to
many cultures worldwide.
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Whatever the conquistadors of
the New World were so afraid of
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seems to still be present
as we fast forward
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to the end of the 1960s.
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The revival of psychedelic
appreciation among young adults
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began affecting the
national narrative,
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and anti-drug
propaganda was beginning
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to lose its effectiveness.
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How would the world deal
with this new problem--
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people attempting to
dissolve the reality
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constructs of culture?
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What would this mean
for the rest of society?
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>> Psychedelics are the antidote
to propaganda in some ways.
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They help you develop a mindset
that sees through all that.
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That's the real reason they're
considered dangerous, you know.
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As Terence said, psychedelics
make you have funny ideas.
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But funny ideas are
dangerous ideas, you know.
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So that's the
reason psychedelics
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are prohibited,
because they encourage
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you to think for yourself.
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>> You know, so the nation
states act as though it's kind
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of normal to have wars.
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You know, go drop bombs on
people, send in the troops--
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it's kind of a
normal thing to do.
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It's not a normal
thing to do at all.
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It's a completely abnormal,
aberrant, psychopathic thing
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to do.
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We shouldn't be going out
there and killing other people
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for some sort of
weird national goal.
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It's a terrible, terrible
mistake that we're making.
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And now, the toys of war have
become so big and so huge
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that they actually pose a
threat to the whole future of--
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to the whole future of humanity.
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>> The power of psychedelic
plants for perceiving higher
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patterns and seeing through
rhetoric led to a desperate
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reaction by superpowers,
shutting down the collective
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memory of traditional indigenous
practices and cutting off
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the public from legal use.
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Quickly, independent
chemists were
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making slightly
altered compounds which
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were technically not illegal.
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To combat this
backdoor approach,
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the Analogue Act was
passed, and the DEA
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was granted emergency
scheduling power in which they
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could declare any
substance illegal
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and may take up to
a year to decide
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what schedule to class it as.
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Psychedelic plants and
synthesized versions
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were put into Schedule I.
This category proclaims
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the substance is
highly addictive
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and has no medicinal value.
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Was there any evidence for this
claim, or was it a fear move?
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>> The classic psychedelics have
been used for millennia really,
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if you think of
mushrooms and peyote--
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no evidence of toxicity.
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If you took heroic
doses, I suppose you'd
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see increased blood pressure.
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But in the normal
doses in the studies,
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you really don't
see that happening.
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>> There is no
craving to take them.
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As a matter of fact,
they're anti-addictive,
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you know, in the
sense that you often
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have to kind of screw your
courage up to take them.
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>> The addictive qualities of
psychedelics are non-existent.
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In fact, many of the
psychedelic plants
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are used to quit highly
addictive drugs like opiates.
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Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder
Bill Wilson reportedly
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used LSD to quit
drinking in the 1950s
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at the Veterans Administration
Hospital in Los Angeles.
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>> Classic psychedelics-- like
psilocybin, LSD, mescaline--
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they're not addictive.
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Because they don't
activate-- actually,
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the reward pathways in the
brain involve dopamine.
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>> Psychedelic plants mimic
the neurotransmitter serotonin,
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and tolerance builds quickly
at these receptor sites.
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Even those plants that
don't build tolerance still
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eliminate themselves
quickly and leave
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behind virtually no toxicity.
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They're also being shown to
treat addiction rather than add
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to them.
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There are so many
benefits coming
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to light from these
substances that groups
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such as MAPS, Heffter,
Beckley, and many others
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are organizing a science-based
campaign to reverse
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the prohibition.
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Because the evidence is clear--
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they are not addictive, and
they have remarkable medicinal
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and therapeutic value.
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So the question remains--
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why are highly addictive and
toxic substances in Schedule II
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with widespread medicinal use,
while these age-old plants--
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with a safe and
ceremonial history
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going back many thousands
of years and no evidence
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to prove physiological harm--
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are in Schedule I lockdown?
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Is it a war on drugs
or a war on the mind?
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Why haven't the
institutions that
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make these suggestions
turned back
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to the original use of
psychedelics, a return
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to Mother Earth for answers?
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>> The position that
modern societies have taken
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on psychedelics-- we've
demonized these substances.
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We've made them illegal.
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We've subjected
people to harsh prison
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sentences if they are found and
in possession of psychedelics.
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This is a terrible
error that is being
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00:11:28,340 --> 00:11:29,900
made in modern Western society.
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We are losing contact
with our fundamental roots
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by doing that.
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>> Indigenous people
have been their stewards.
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They've preserved the plants.
251
00:11:41,810 --> 00:11:44,850
They've preserved the
practices in a certain way.
252
00:11:44,850 --> 00:11:47,830
But now all of a sudden
psychedelics are going global,
253
00:11:47,830 --> 00:11:48,630
you know.
254
00:11:48,630 --> 00:11:52,910
And you get a phenomenon
where ayahuasca is like taking
255
00:11:52,910 --> 00:11:54,640
over the world, you know.
256
00:11:54,640 --> 00:12:01,160
And a few years ago, mushrooms
did something very similar.
257
00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:04,610
>> With all psychedelic plants,
the traditional shamanic use
258
00:12:04,610 --> 00:12:08,461
of them nearly always includes
a community and ritual setting.
259
00:12:08,461 --> 00:12:10,620
[SINGING]
260
00:12:10,620 --> 00:12:17,430
>> Shamanism is essentially
a living tradition of alchemy
261
00:12:17,430 --> 00:12:24,760
that is not seeking the stone
but has found the stone.
262
00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:28,977
>> A ritual simply means an
arrangement of the certain
263
00:12:28,977 --> 00:12:31,740
setting for certain intentions.
264
00:12:31,740 --> 00:12:33,390
This would also be
true, for example,
265
00:12:33,390 --> 00:12:37,590
of a Native American
church peyote ceremony.
266
00:12:37,590 --> 00:12:39,512
They have the same
kind of thing.
267
00:12:39,512 --> 00:12:40,470
It's a group of people.
268
00:12:40,470 --> 00:12:41,250
They know each other.
269
00:12:41,250 --> 00:12:41,870
Some of them are friends.
270
00:12:41,870 --> 00:12:42,800
Some of them are neighbors.
271
00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:44,130
Some of them may be invited.
272
00:12:44,130 --> 00:12:45,720
And they share the intentions.
273
00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,780
And then they have
the traditional songs
274
00:12:48,780 --> 00:12:49,740
and invocations.
275
00:12:49,740 --> 00:12:52,470
They invoke the spirits.
276
00:12:52,470 --> 00:12:56,270
And that's completely different
than the scientific study.
277
00:12:56,270 --> 00:12:58,676
There's no psychological
discussion.
278
00:12:58,676 --> 00:13:00,050
It's not a modern
Western system.
279
00:13:00,050 --> 00:13:03,840
280
00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:06,360
>> The shamanic cultures
were very clear about this.
281
00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:09,090
They viewed the
psychedelics as instruments
282
00:13:09,090 --> 00:13:11,230
that opened up the brain--
283
00:13:11,230 --> 00:13:15,780
the mind-- to telepathy, to
clairvoyance, to precognition,
284
00:13:15,780 --> 00:13:17,070
pre-sentience.
285
00:13:17,070 --> 00:13:20,060
And that ultimately it
may be necessary to view
286
00:13:20,060 --> 00:13:23,370
the perceptions that occur
under psychedelics as our brain
287
00:13:23,370 --> 00:13:25,685
basically tuning into
a different channel
288
00:13:25,685 --> 00:13:27,810
and receiving information
that we really don't know
289
00:13:27,810 --> 00:13:29,670
how to define at this point.
290
00:13:29,670 --> 00:13:32,540
291
00:13:32,540 --> 00:13:35,920
>> For roughly 20 years, across
the world the prohibition held
292
00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:37,960
firm--
293
00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:42,790
no public use, no
medicinal use, not even
294
00:13:42,790 --> 00:13:45,550
research to back up the claims
that placed these plants
295
00:13:45,550 --> 00:13:48,860
in the strictest category.
296
00:13:48,860 --> 00:13:51,890
The sleeping mind of the
people seemingly fell deeper
297
00:13:51,890 --> 00:13:53,770
into consensus trance.
298
00:13:53,770 --> 00:13:56,300
It was as if the innate
pattern recognition
299
00:13:56,300 --> 00:13:59,360
and problem-solving faculties
of human consciousness
300
00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:01,670
were missing a
critical ally, one
301
00:14:01,670 --> 00:14:04,910
that had been with us since the
dawn of modern intelligence.
302
00:14:04,910 --> 00:14:08,600
It seemed that the propaganda
campaign had worked.
303
00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:13,580
Then in 1990, Rick Strassmann a
medical researcher specialized
304
00:14:13,580 --> 00:14:16,640
in psychiatry, applied
for a federal grant
305
00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,060
to give dimethyltryptamine
to volunteers to simply see
306
00:14:20,060 --> 00:14:21,920
what the effects might be.
307
00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,650
>> Well, so there was
a group in Germany--
308
00:14:24,650 --> 00:14:27,230
which got started
around the same time
309
00:14:27,230 --> 00:14:29,100
or sooner than I did--
310
00:14:29,100 --> 00:14:30,960
studying mescaline.
311
00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:34,490
But my DMT study was
the first in the US
312
00:14:34,490 --> 00:14:40,400
and the first that used, you
know, DMT in quite a while.
313
00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:42,200
It was pretty frustrating.
314
00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:44,630
I never really
expected to succeed.
315
00:14:44,630 --> 00:14:48,650
And you know, I don't
think many people did.
316
00:14:48,650 --> 00:14:51,800
>> Public opinion of any
mind-altering substance tends
317
00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:54,350
to evoke the belief that the
experience is simply what
318
00:14:54,350 --> 00:14:57,920
happens when the brain
fails to function properly,
319
00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:01,340
as if the default state most of
us spend time in is the proper
320
00:15:01,340 --> 00:15:03,950
state to operate from.
321
00:15:03,950 --> 00:15:07,880
However, even if this were true,
when someone's brain becomes
322
00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:11,550
dysfunctional and then hours
later returns to normal,
323
00:15:11,550 --> 00:15:14,420
how would that individual
explain the experience?
324
00:15:14,420 --> 00:15:18,790
>> Well, I think the most
striking part of the research--
325
00:15:18,790 --> 00:15:22,070
and what I really
wasn't expecting--
326
00:15:22,070 --> 00:15:26,780
was the sense of reality
that people returned with.
327
00:15:26,780 --> 00:15:29,900
They felt the experiences
were more real than real.
328
00:15:29,900 --> 00:15:32,330
The importance of the
feeling of more real
329
00:15:32,330 --> 00:15:34,790
than real is we make
our decisions based
330
00:15:34,790 --> 00:15:37,400
on what we believe is real.
331
00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:39,740
You know, the outside world
we're assuming is real.
332
00:15:39,740 --> 00:15:41,660
Our inner world is real.
333
00:15:41,660 --> 00:15:45,710
And we make decisions
based on reality--
334
00:15:45,710 --> 00:15:46,970
inner and outer.
335
00:15:46,970 --> 00:15:50,420
So if there's a state that
feels more real than real,
336
00:15:50,420 --> 00:15:58,220
then do we make decisions
based on the information there?
337
00:15:58,220 --> 00:16:01,250
>> What really is the
bedrock of reality?
338
00:16:01,250 --> 00:16:03,110
Is the consensus
world we typically
339
00:16:03,110 --> 00:16:06,830
operate from the more real one?
340
00:16:06,830 --> 00:16:09,230
Is this where we'll find
the universal truths
341
00:16:09,230 --> 00:16:12,660
we seek to make
life decisions from?
342
00:16:12,660 --> 00:16:14,540
Is it the psychedelic
realm that some
343
00:16:14,540 --> 00:16:18,500
believe is more real than real?
344
00:16:18,500 --> 00:16:21,350
Perhaps it's neither, and
they're both merely reference
345
00:16:21,350 --> 00:16:24,450
points, implying and pointing
to the underlying universal
346
00:16:24,450 --> 00:16:28,760
truths, encouraging us to engage
with our own truth-seeking
347
00:16:28,760 --> 00:16:32,990
impulse, our innate
memory, and inner sense
348
00:16:32,990 --> 00:16:35,870
of our integral place within
the fabric of reality,
349
00:16:35,870 --> 00:16:38,990
that we are all aspects of a
singular phenomenon appearing
350
00:16:38,990 --> 00:16:40,760
as independent things.
351
00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:42,770
Even Taoists and
Buddhists believe
352
00:16:42,770 --> 00:16:45,500
that the outer visible
manifestations of life
353
00:16:45,500 --> 00:16:48,200
are the illusion of
temporary garments cloaking
354
00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,800
universal and unchanging
principles that inform,
355
00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,920
instruct, guide, and
breathe life into all
356
00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:56,840
that we experience around us.
357
00:16:56,840 --> 00:16:59,480
So why do we experience
the illusion at all?
358
00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:02,120
What mechanisms cause
us to collectively share
359
00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:05,089
such a misleading perception
of life and living?
360
00:17:05,089 --> 00:17:06,710
Perhaps we should
take a deeper look
361
00:17:06,710 --> 00:17:09,589
at the physiological effects
of the chemical compounds
362
00:17:09,589 --> 00:17:12,770
in these plants that the
government feared so much.
363
00:17:12,770 --> 00:17:15,380
>> Classical psychedelics
activate a type of brain
364
00:17:15,380 --> 00:17:19,194
serotonin receptor called
the 5-HT2A receptor.
365
00:17:19,194 --> 00:17:20,569
And what that
means in real terms
366
00:17:20,569 --> 00:17:22,352
is the cells become
more sensitive.
367
00:17:22,352 --> 00:17:23,810
So what you're
doing is really sort
368
00:17:23,810 --> 00:17:26,569
of ramping up the ability
of these cortical cells
369
00:17:26,569 --> 00:17:30,170
to process information
quickly and more effectively.
370
00:17:30,170 --> 00:17:32,670
There is an area in the
brain stem called the locus
371
00:17:32,670 --> 00:17:34,800
coeruleus, the LC.
372
00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:37,100
It sends projections
up to the cortex
373
00:17:37,100 --> 00:17:39,410
that release norepinephrine.
374
00:17:39,410 --> 00:17:41,600
And the locus coeruleus
has been referred to
375
00:17:41,600 --> 00:17:43,770
as a novelty detector.
376
00:17:43,770 --> 00:17:47,090
So normally if you look at
firing in the locus coeruleus,
377
00:17:47,090 --> 00:17:48,100
it fires in bursts.
378
00:17:48,100 --> 00:17:51,080
So it won't do anything, and
then you'll see-- dzzz, dzzz--
379
00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:52,620
bursts of firing.
380
00:17:52,620 --> 00:17:56,910
So what happens is psychedelics
increase those bursts.
381
00:17:56,910 --> 00:17:59,000
So we can imagine if
those bursts correspond
382
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,770
to the locus coeruleus
detecting some novelty,
383
00:18:01,770 --> 00:18:03,290
then maybe it
looks more novelty.
384
00:18:03,290 --> 00:18:05,623
And I've used the analogy
when people take a psychedelic
385
00:18:05,623 --> 00:18:07,599
and they look at,
say, a flower it's
386
00:18:07,599 --> 00:18:09,390
as if they're seeing
it for the first time.
387
00:18:09,390 --> 00:18:11,690
So it increases the
sense of novelty.
388
00:18:11,690 --> 00:18:15,140
>> What would be the biological
purpose of these plants causing
389
00:18:15,140 --> 00:18:18,530
humans to see the world
as if it's new again?
390
00:18:18,530 --> 00:18:21,290
It is a well-known phenomena
to be looking for something
391
00:18:21,290 --> 00:18:24,080
like your keys while they're
in your hand or right
392
00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:26,900
in front of you, but
you don't see them.
393
00:18:26,900 --> 00:18:28,400
Your eyes have
even spotted them,
394
00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:31,070
but you don't acknowledge
that you've seen them yet.
395
00:18:31,070 --> 00:18:33,710
Our perception works
in pattern recognition,
396
00:18:33,710 --> 00:18:36,080
and this allows the world
to become predictable
397
00:18:36,080 --> 00:18:38,660
so we can find a rhythm
to operate within.
398
00:18:38,660 --> 00:18:40,910
These plants and their
effect on the detection
399
00:18:40,910 --> 00:18:43,310
of new information
from old patterns
400
00:18:43,310 --> 00:18:45,650
may be the direct
cause of neurogenesis
401
00:18:45,650 --> 00:18:48,620
and neuroplasticity.
402
00:18:48,620 --> 00:18:51,740
It has been shown that these
serotonergic plants initiate
403
00:18:51,740 --> 00:18:53,960
the growth of new
brain cells, as well
404
00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:57,230
as new neural connections
and patterns to emerge.
405
00:18:57,230 --> 00:18:59,690
Let's think of this less
as a causation and more
406
00:18:59,690 --> 00:19:01,550
of a correlation.
407
00:19:01,550 --> 00:19:04,070
Neurogenesis and
neuroplasticity could
408
00:19:04,070 --> 00:19:06,080
be occurring when
authentic childlike
409
00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:07,760
learning is happening.
410
00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:09,740
The neural growth
seems to happen
411
00:19:09,740 --> 00:19:13,010
most in the hippocampus, which
regulates emotions and is
412
00:19:13,010 --> 00:19:15,670
involved in memory.
413
00:19:15,670 --> 00:19:18,340
A Psymposia.com article
says new studies
414
00:19:18,340 --> 00:19:22,090
are showing that neurogenesis
and the hippocampus activated
415
00:19:22,090 --> 00:19:25,270
by psychedelics might be
a part of the acquisition
416
00:19:25,270 --> 00:19:28,091
of new behaviors and
new pattern recognition.
417
00:19:28,091 --> 00:19:30,800
418
00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:33,410
With proper set,
setting, and skill
419
00:19:33,410 --> 00:19:35,270
these changes in
the brain may likely
420
00:19:35,270 --> 00:19:38,240
be why psychedelics have
been so effective in treating
421
00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:42,230
post-traumatic stress disorder,
anxiety, and depression
422
00:19:42,230 --> 00:19:46,010
where other treatments
have failed.
423
00:19:46,010 --> 00:19:49,070
Imagine for a moment that
you were just born again
424
00:19:49,070 --> 00:19:51,500
or that all your memory
has been put on hold,
425
00:19:51,500 --> 00:19:53,450
and you're seeing the
world free and clear
426
00:19:53,450 --> 00:19:54,980
of cultural conditioning.
427
00:19:54,980 --> 00:19:58,100
Imagine all the explanations
for what this world is
428
00:19:58,100 --> 00:20:01,700
and why it is the way it
appears have been erased.
429
00:20:01,700 --> 00:20:04,580
Imagine you take a look at the
people in your neighborhood,
430
00:20:04,580 --> 00:20:07,070
the animals in
homes and in nature,
431
00:20:07,070 --> 00:20:10,190
the health of the oceans,
forests, and communities.
432
00:20:10,190 --> 00:20:12,610
What questions would
you begin formulating?
433
00:20:12,610 --> 00:20:15,260
And what role do you
play in all of this?
434
00:20:15,260 --> 00:20:16,880
These are the
questions one starts
435
00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:20,330
asking when introduced to
the world of psychedelica.
436
00:20:20,330 --> 00:20:23,780
The mind begins asking broader,
deeper, and more timeless
437
00:20:23,780 --> 00:20:25,010
questions.
438
00:20:25,010 --> 00:20:27,110
And perhaps this is what
makes them so difficult
439
00:20:27,110 --> 00:20:29,020
to properly name.
440
00:20:29,020 --> 00:20:32,330
They allow new patterns to be
recognized and new behaviors
441
00:20:32,330 --> 00:20:35,330
to be adopted, where most of
what the Western world calls
442
00:20:35,330 --> 00:20:39,080
medicine tends to disengage or
mask the symptoms while leaving
443
00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,100
the root cause untouched.
444
00:20:41,100 --> 00:20:44,810
>> And we even have another
term, which is entheogens,
445
00:20:44,810 --> 00:20:48,170
for usually for the weaker,
the amphetamine-related
446
00:20:48,170 --> 00:20:52,580
and so on, or something
that awakens the God within.
447
00:20:52,580 --> 00:20:56,850
I myself prefer to call them
like sacred psychedelics
448
00:20:56,850 --> 00:20:59,090
or sacred medicines.
449
00:20:59,090 --> 00:21:00,790
Because that's what they are.
450
00:21:00,790 --> 00:21:05,000
That's how the native
cultures saw them,
451
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,380
and I think it's accurate.
452
00:21:08,380 --> 00:21:11,560
>> It seems that these ancestral
tribes understood the many
453
00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:13,570
healing qualities
of these plants.
454
00:21:13,570 --> 00:21:15,490
The most profound
effects seem to be
455
00:21:15,490 --> 00:21:19,150
the self-reflection people go
through under their influence,
456
00:21:19,150 --> 00:21:21,190
the ability for these
plants to confront you
457
00:21:21,190 --> 00:21:24,380
with your regrets and worries.
458
00:21:24,380 --> 00:21:28,070
Psychedelics help deconstruct
old behavior patterns
459
00:21:28,070 --> 00:21:29,960
and build newer
and healthier ones
460
00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,840
as seen from the creation
of new neural pathways
461
00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:35,380
and the birth of
new nerve cells,
462
00:21:35,380 --> 00:21:38,030
a quality long thought
to be impossible shortly
463
00:21:38,030 --> 00:21:39,500
after childbirth.
464
00:21:39,500 --> 00:21:42,290
>> Very, very often, what the
psychedelic experience will
465
00:21:42,290 --> 00:21:46,250
show you is the mistakes
and errors that you've made
466
00:21:46,250 --> 00:21:50,632
in your life, where you have
chosen the dark side rather
467
00:21:50,632 --> 00:21:51,590
than the side of light.
468
00:21:51,590 --> 00:21:53,570
Where you have chosen
evil-- it may be very small,
469
00:21:53,570 --> 00:21:54,986
may be very large--
where you have
470
00:21:54,986 --> 00:21:56,510
chosen evil rather than good.
471
00:21:56,510 --> 00:22:00,110
>> Psychedelics can give
you insights into how to be
472
00:22:00,110 --> 00:22:01,640
a better person.
473
00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:03,890
It won't make you
a better person.
474
00:22:03,890 --> 00:22:08,660
And if you're a bad person,
you may still be a bad person.
475
00:22:08,660 --> 00:22:11,000
>> Some of the most skeptical
and evidence-dependent
476
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:15,080
researchers speak very lucidly
about a very tangible spectrum
477
00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:18,230
of benefits they have personally
experienced from using these
478
00:22:18,230 --> 00:22:21,380
substances responsibly.
479
00:22:21,380 --> 00:22:24,140
>> One of the fundamental
effects of psychedelics is
480
00:22:24,140 --> 00:22:27,770
to integrate material that
is normally not accessible
481
00:22:27,770 --> 00:22:29,030
to consciousness.
482
00:22:29,030 --> 00:22:31,670
And the fundamental way in
which psychedelics make this
483
00:22:31,670 --> 00:22:35,360
information available is by a
destabilizing of what's called
484
00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:37,400
the default-mode network--
485
00:22:37,400 --> 00:22:40,160
this part of the brain that
integrates our sense of self,
486
00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:43,340
our autobiographical
memories, and our reflection
487
00:22:43,340 --> 00:22:44,390
upon our lives.
488
00:22:44,390 --> 00:22:46,760
So basically, what's
happening under psychedelics
489
00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:48,890
is a liberation of the
parts of the brain--
490
00:22:48,890 --> 00:22:52,270
that 80% or 90% of the brain
that they say we don't use.
491
00:22:52,270 --> 00:22:55,100
I mean, we use it, but we're
just not able to access it.
492
00:22:55,100 --> 00:22:58,160
Psychedelics give us
access to that unconscious.
493
00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:02,150
>> The language facility in the
brain is destabilized as well.
494
00:23:02,150 --> 00:23:05,270
So the combination of our
self-identity and our language
495
00:23:05,270 --> 00:23:08,360
being put off-balance by
simply ingesting a plant
496
00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:12,090
gives rise to the ineffability
of the experience.
497
00:23:12,090 --> 00:23:16,100
Just as we see with any mystical
or spiritual experience,
498
00:23:16,100 --> 00:23:18,800
words are not enough to
communicate the magnitude
499
00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:20,590
of the experience.
500
00:23:20,590 --> 00:23:23,150
>> But the possibility has
to be considered that what
501
00:23:23,150 --> 00:23:25,940
the psychedelics are doing is
retuning the receiver wavelike
502
00:23:25,940 --> 00:23:29,000
of the brain and actually
allowing us to gain access
503
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,540
to the radical
alternative realities--
504
00:23:32,540 --> 00:23:34,160
parallel dimensions.
505
00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:37,340
>> We have the same
situation in the television.
506
00:23:37,340 --> 00:23:40,290
We would laugh if somebody
would study that set
507
00:23:40,290 --> 00:23:45,590
and go down to molecular
level of the transistors
508
00:23:45,590 --> 00:23:48,930
and the wires and would
believe that this gives you
509
00:23:48,930 --> 00:23:53,510
an explanation why you get
a Mickey Mouse cartoon,
510
00:23:53,510 --> 00:23:56,630
you know, at 7 o'clock
in the evening.
511
00:23:56,630 --> 00:23:59,900
>> If Stan and many researchers
are correct in positing that
512
00:23:59,900 --> 00:24:03,530
consciousness is not generated
by the brain but tuned
513
00:24:03,530 --> 00:24:07,250
into, what then are these
psychedelic plants trying
514
00:24:07,250 --> 00:24:08,270
to show us?
515
00:24:08,270 --> 00:24:09,936
>> Across the range
of the psychedelics,
516
00:24:09,936 --> 00:24:12,590
you can definitely say
that there is a broad range
517
00:24:12,590 --> 00:24:14,210
of imagery that is common.
518
00:24:14,210 --> 00:24:17,720
Not everybody will have all
those images all the time.
519
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:20,450
Not everybody will agree on
every single aspect of it.
520
00:24:20,450 --> 00:24:24,560
But it starts off with
what I refer to as entoptic
521
00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,260
phenomena-- because they're
considered as originating
522
00:24:27,260 --> 00:24:30,230
in the ocular system--
523
00:24:30,230 --> 00:24:34,190
where you start seeing
zigzag lines, and cross
524
00:24:34,190 --> 00:24:36,620
hatches, and
geometrical patterns.
525
00:24:36,620 --> 00:24:40,970
Sometimes fantastically
complex and elaborated mandalas
526
00:24:40,970 --> 00:24:43,790
appear in the geometry.
527
00:24:43,790 --> 00:24:47,000
Then there tends to be
the sense of passing
528
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:51,200
through a vortex of some
kind into a seamlessly
529
00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:53,330
convincing parallel universe.
530
00:24:53,330 --> 00:24:55,490
>> Is this the same phenomena
that humans have been
531
00:24:55,490 --> 00:24:58,880
experiencing since the time
our ancestors were painting
532
00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:03,470
their visions in caves
some 40,000 years ago?
533
00:25:03,470 --> 00:25:07,100
Were those entoptic
images engrams and portals
534
00:25:07,100 --> 00:25:11,040
depicting a dimension that we
are still tapping into today?
535
00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:13,220
What is this
vision, and could it
536
00:25:13,220 --> 00:25:16,190
be some kind of collective
consciousness of the human soul
537
00:25:16,190 --> 00:25:17,162
experience?
538
00:25:17,162 --> 00:25:18,620
>> It's important
to keep in mind--
539
00:25:18,620 --> 00:25:22,020
I'm not saying that
this is the perception
540
00:25:22,020 --> 00:25:25,310
of alien transdimensional thing.
541
00:25:25,310 --> 00:25:28,280
It might just be a
psychological construct.
542
00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:33,590
It might be the result of
brain activity in certain areas
543
00:25:33,590 --> 00:25:35,760
in relationship to each other.
544
00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:38,690
In which case, they would
still be as interesting
545
00:25:38,690 --> 00:25:40,240
as if they were anything else.
546
00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:45,050
>> If five or six artists, you
know, were to walk around--
547
00:25:45,050 --> 00:25:49,340
I don't know, New York
or Boulder, Colorado--
548
00:25:49,340 --> 00:25:52,070
and make some paintings,
you could clearly
549
00:25:52,070 --> 00:25:53,257
see that the paintings--
550
00:25:53,257 --> 00:25:55,340
each of the paintings might
be slightly different.
551
00:25:55,340 --> 00:25:58,400
But you could see that they
were of the same place.
552
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,970
>> The botanist, author, and
psychedelic psychonaut Terence
553
00:26:01,970 --> 00:26:04,950
McKenna relates the plant
intelligence to that of Mother
554
00:26:04,950 --> 00:26:06,260
Earth.
555
00:26:06,260 --> 00:26:08,780
The ancient Greeks
called it Gaia.
556
00:26:08,780 --> 00:26:11,720
>> The whole thing is an
enzyme-driven process.
557
00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:14,390
We are like an organ of Gaia.
558
00:26:14,390 --> 00:26:21,020
We are the organ which
binds and releases energy.
559
00:26:21,020 --> 00:26:22,470
I mean, a liver
cell doesn't need
560
00:26:22,470 --> 00:26:26,930
to understand why it binds and
releases enzymes of the liver.
561
00:26:26,930 --> 00:26:31,190
We bind and release energy
for reasons perhaps never
562
00:26:31,190 --> 00:26:35,030
to be clear to us,
but which place us
563
00:26:35,030 --> 00:26:39,530
firmly within the context
of the Gaian mind.
564
00:26:39,530 --> 00:26:45,020
Suddenly, we come with
an epigenetic capability.
565
00:26:45,020 --> 00:26:51,330
We write books, tell stories,
dance, sing, carve, paint.
566
00:26:51,330 --> 00:26:53,420
These are not genetic processes.
567
00:26:53,420 --> 00:26:55,520
These are epigenetic processes.
568
00:26:55,520 --> 00:27:00,710
And they bind information
and express the Gaian mind.
569
00:27:00,710 --> 00:27:02,630
>> The Gaian mind--
570
00:27:02,630 --> 00:27:06,020
to many this idea doesn't
fit within the context
571
00:27:06,020 --> 00:27:08,670
we've been given
by Western culture.
572
00:27:08,670 --> 00:27:11,660
How could the rocks
be considered alive?
573
00:27:11,660 --> 00:27:16,010
How could the bones in our
body be considered the same?
574
00:27:16,010 --> 00:27:17,980
What does alive really mean?
575
00:27:17,980 --> 00:27:20,870
>> The Gaian mind
is a real mind.
576
00:27:20,870 --> 00:27:23,520
Its messages are real messages.
577
00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:27,360
And our task-- through
discipline, psychedelics,
578
00:27:27,360 --> 00:27:31,240
attention to detail,
whatever we have going--
579
00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:34,440
is to try and
extract this message
580
00:27:34,440 --> 00:27:37,440
and eliminate ourselves
from the message
581
00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:42,729
so that we then can see
the face of the other.
582
00:27:42,729 --> 00:27:45,270
>> The other in this case would
be the identity of that which
583
00:27:45,270 --> 00:27:47,400
is sending the message.
584
00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:49,770
Because we scarcely
understand who and what
585
00:27:49,770 --> 00:27:53,100
we are, why we're even
alive, and what we're
586
00:27:53,100 --> 00:27:56,820
meant to do with our time here,
asking what the Gaian mind
587
00:27:56,820 --> 00:27:59,670
truly is might be premature.
588
00:27:59,670 --> 00:28:00,960
Could it be possible--
589
00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,000
just like a human organism--
590
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,810
that plants communicate not only
among themselves and to humans,
591
00:28:06,810 --> 00:28:08,940
but among all other species?
592
00:28:08,940 --> 00:28:11,730
Is this the collective
consciousness of the planet?
593
00:28:11,730 --> 00:28:14,310
And is it possible the
war on the mind is not
594
00:28:14,310 --> 00:28:18,430
limited to human minds but to
the mind of the entire planet--
595
00:28:18,430 --> 00:28:21,510
the plants, animals,
humans, and more?
596
00:28:21,510 --> 00:28:25,350
>> Their message, or
their interaction with us,
597
00:28:25,350 --> 00:28:28,630
might be very different than
their interaction with a fungus
598
00:28:28,630 --> 00:28:29,490
or a bacterium.
599
00:28:29,490 --> 00:28:33,060
But they are in conversations
with those things as well,
600
00:28:33,060 --> 00:28:33,860
you know.
601
00:28:33,860 --> 00:28:35,980
So the message varies.
602
00:28:35,980 --> 00:28:38,730
In other words,
these are multi--
603
00:28:38,730 --> 00:28:40,575
sort of multi-purpose molecules.
604
00:28:40,575 --> 00:28:44,340
>> Terence and Dennis McKenna
are possibly the most notable
605
00:28:44,340 --> 00:28:48,540
pair of scientists and theorists
on why these plants are here
606
00:28:48,540 --> 00:28:50,610
and what their greater
purpose might be.
607
00:28:50,610 --> 00:28:54,600
Both have firm beliefs backed
by a lifetime of investigation
608
00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:56,190
that these plants
are here to serve
609
00:28:56,190 --> 00:28:59,820
the planet by those willing to
listen to their place in it.
610
00:28:59,820 --> 00:29:03,210
>> I like to call them
ambassadors from Gaia.
611
00:29:03,210 --> 00:29:08,430
You know, they happen to make
these messenger molecules that
612
00:29:08,430 --> 00:29:14,100
are useful for communicating
with the complex brains
613
00:29:14,100 --> 00:29:21,540
of these problematic apes
that evolution has spawned.
614
00:29:21,540 --> 00:29:23,790
That would be us, you know?
615
00:29:23,790 --> 00:29:29,602
And we're the most dangerous
thing to show up on the planet
616
00:29:29,602 --> 00:29:30,930
in--
617
00:29:30,930 --> 00:29:32,580
who knows, depends
on when you want
618
00:29:32,580 --> 00:29:36,360
to start counting-- but at least
the last 100 million years.
619
00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:38,640
You know, because we
have the potential
620
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:43,960
to completely upset the apple
cart by the technologies
621
00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:45,780
that we can manipulate.
622
00:29:45,780 --> 00:29:49,530
>> I mean, when you look what we
have done to the Pacific Ocean,
623
00:29:49,530 --> 00:29:52,500
you know, what we are
doing to the atmosphere,
624
00:29:52,500 --> 00:29:55,260
what we have done to water--
625
00:29:55,260 --> 00:30:01,500
you know, things like the
Mexican Gulf or the reactor,
626
00:30:01,500 --> 00:30:05,730
you know, from Chernobyl
to the Japanese one--
627
00:30:05,730 --> 00:30:07,420
we cannot do this
for a very long time.
628
00:30:07,420 --> 00:30:09,270
We might not make
it as a species.
629
00:30:09,270 --> 00:30:11,910
>> One of the other things we
know about the world today is
630
00:30:11,910 --> 00:30:15,540
that we are living in the midst
of a major ecological crisis.
631
00:30:15,540 --> 00:30:18,060
Some people talk about
the fifth major extinction
632
00:30:18,060 --> 00:30:21,120
here on the planet being
promoted by human activity.
633
00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:23,460
We don't have a
compassionate relationship
634
00:30:23,460 --> 00:30:26,600
with our environment
as a global society.
635
00:30:26,600 --> 00:30:30,480
>> If the ecological threat
that we face is truly upon us,
636
00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:34,800
could the psychedelic plants be
intervening on behalf of Gaia?
637
00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:39,420
>> So the Earth, I think, senses
that we're-- it's in danger
638
00:30:39,420 --> 00:30:45,450
and is trying to get a message
to us that we have to wake up.
639
00:30:45,450 --> 00:30:49,210
>> Are psychedelic plants here
to introduce us to ourselves,
640
00:30:49,210 --> 00:30:52,080
to the shadow of our psyche
and the ills that come from
641
00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:53,700
the sleeping mind?
642
00:30:53,700 --> 00:30:55,320
What if the greatest
threat we face
643
00:30:55,320 --> 00:31:00,120
is not out there in the world
of symptoms, but in here--
644
00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:03,030
in the dark corners of
individual psychology
645
00:31:03,030 --> 00:31:05,880
and its rippling
effect into the masses?
646
00:31:05,880 --> 00:31:08,370
Since the dawn of time,
psychedelic plants
647
00:31:08,370 --> 00:31:09,390
have been there.
648
00:31:09,390 --> 00:31:12,560
They've seen the horrors of the
past and have always produced
649
00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:15,990
the medicine most needed
by these dangerous minds,
650
00:31:15,990 --> 00:31:18,930
a class of compounds that--
when all is said and done--
651
00:31:18,930 --> 00:31:22,200
offer us an honest
look at ourselves.
652
00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:26,040
And from this new perspective,
humility, compassion,
653
00:31:26,040 --> 00:31:28,980
and community bonding
naturally emerge.
654
00:31:28,980 --> 00:31:31,050
Perhaps they confront
us and give us
655
00:31:31,050 --> 00:31:34,660
the only medicine that may help
us out of these dark times--
656
00:31:34,660 --> 00:31:35,460
love.
657
00:31:35,460 --> 00:31:38,170
658
00:31:38,170 --> 00:31:41,100
And how far back can we
trace the human psychedelic
659
00:31:41,100 --> 00:31:44,190
relationship?
660
00:31:44,190 --> 00:31:52,200
>> There is really an enormous
wealth of evidence to suggest--
661
00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:53,970
I would go beyond
saying to suggest--
662
00:31:53,970 --> 00:32:00,240
to prove that our ancestors,
deep into prehistory,
663
00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:03,120
were using the
kind of substances
664
00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:05,340
that we call psychedelics today.
665
00:32:05,340 --> 00:32:08,970
And these would be the
natural psychedelics
666
00:32:08,970 --> 00:32:11,650
that are available from plants.
667
00:32:11,650 --> 00:32:15,790
These plants have played
a fundamental role
668
00:32:15,790 --> 00:32:18,810
in the human story.
669
00:32:18,810 --> 00:32:22,350
>> But how have these plants
shaped our human story?
670
00:32:22,350 --> 00:32:25,590
What evidence can be found
that suggests at one time
671
00:32:25,590 --> 00:32:29,190
psychedelics were an accepted
practice on the understanding
672
00:32:29,190 --> 00:32:30,600
of the universe?
673
00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:35,670
Mysteriously, in 1976, a
Soviet archaeologist uncovered
674
00:32:35,670 --> 00:32:40,440
a 4,000-year-old temple complex
in present day Turkmenistan.
675
00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:44,820
This complex has many rooms with
stone vats coated with residue
676
00:32:44,820 --> 00:32:48,450
of cannabis, as well as
poppy used to make opium,
677
00:32:48,450 --> 00:32:51,330
and ephedra used to
make amphetamines.
678
00:32:51,330 --> 00:32:54,270
This must mean it was a
facility to mass produce
679
00:32:54,270 --> 00:32:56,670
a hallucinogenic cocktail.
680
00:32:56,670 --> 00:32:59,670
Historians have suggested
that this region was home
681
00:32:59,670 --> 00:33:04,140
to goat farmers that comingled
with a nomadic horseback tribe
682
00:33:04,140 --> 00:33:07,470
and for the most part
stayed quiet of conflict.
683
00:33:07,470 --> 00:33:09,150
Could this discovery
hold the key
684
00:33:09,150 --> 00:33:12,960
to the ancient mystery of the
fabled beverage of the gods?
685
00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:15,330
Has the evidence and
long-lost ingredients
686
00:33:15,330 --> 00:33:19,500
of what the oldest Indian
text, the Rigveda, called soma
687
00:33:19,500 --> 00:33:23,340
and the Persians called
haoma finally come to light?
688
00:33:23,340 --> 00:33:26,770
Is this evidence of an
ancient psychedelic society?
689
00:33:26,770 --> 00:33:30,030
And if so, where did
they disappear to?
690
00:33:30,030 --> 00:33:33,120
Why has memory of this
culture been erased?
691
00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:35,670
And could this be an
ancient representation
692
00:33:35,670 --> 00:33:38,130
of humans going
beyond the veil to see
693
00:33:38,130 --> 00:33:40,410
the collective consciousness?
694
00:33:40,410 --> 00:33:43,050
Up next, we will explore
the shamanic route
695
00:33:43,050 --> 00:33:46,530
of humankind's relationship with
psychedelic plants and altered
696
00:33:46,530 --> 00:33:49,280
states of consciousness.
697
00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:58,443
57300
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