Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Albert Hoffman, the scientist who discovered LSD, dies at age 102


Albert Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who discovered the hallucinogenic drug LSD, has died of a heart attack at his home in Basel at the age of 102.

Painting by Alex Grey - www.alexgrey.com

“I think that in human evolution it has never been as necessary to have this substance LSD,” he said at a symposium in 2006, marking the centennial of his birth. “It is just a tool to turn us into what we are supposed to be.”

Albert Hofmann was a synthetic chemist with Sandoz Laboratories, now Novartis, in Switzerland when in 1943 he stumbled on the hallucinatory effects of LSD. After it became seen by Harvard's Timothy Leary and others in the '60s as a pathway to spiritual enlightenment, and then as a major recreational drug, “Instead of a ‘wonder child,’ LSD suddenly became my ‘problem child,’ ” Hofmann said.

His accidental experience of 'an extremely stimulated imagination' caused by the drug led to a lifetime of experiments and initiated the psychedelic generation.

LSD and the other psychoactive drugs "changed my life, insofar as they provided me with a new concept about what reality is," he said. "Before, I had believed there was only one reality: the reality of everyday life.

"Under LSD, however, I entered into realities which were as real and even more real than the one of everyday." He also "became aware of the wonder of creation, the magnificence of nature and of the plant and animal kingdom. I became very sensitive to what will happen to all this and all of us."

After dozens of acid trips, Hofmann finally gave up psychedelics. "I know LSD; I don't need to take it anymore," he said.

Hofmann is survived by his wife, Anita; two daughters; a son;eight grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

“Through my LSD experience and my new picture of reality, I became aware of the wonder of creation, the magnificence of nature and of the animal and plant kingdom,” Dr. Hofmann told the psychiatrist Stanislav Grof during an interview in 1984. “I became very sensitive to what will happen to all this and all of us.”

Dr. Hofmann became an impassioned advocate for the environment and argued that LSD, could be used to awaken a deeper awareness of mankind’s place in nature and help curb society’s ultimately self-destructive degradation of the natural world.

But he was also disturbed by the cavalier use of LSD as a drug for entertainment, arguing that it should be treated in the way that primitive societies treat psychoactive sacred plants, which are ingested with care and spiritual intent.

After his discovery of LSD’s properties, Dr. Hofmann spent years researching sacred plants. With his friend R. Gordon Wasson, he participated in psychedelic rituals with Mazatec shamans in southern Mexico. He succeeded in synthesizing the active compounds in the Psilocybe mexicana mushroom, which he named psilocybin and psilocin. He also isolated the active compound in morning glory seeds, which the Mazatec also used as an intoxicant, and found that its chemical structure was close to that of LSD.

Some links on the story including video clips;

BBC World News:

LA Times:

NY Times



Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Monday, April 28, 2008

Friday, April 18, 2008

The incredible art of the Shipibo people - Part 1

The incredible art of the Shipibo people - Part 1

Shipibo craftswoman Teresa, showing traditional painting. In this video Teresa starts with a blank piece of cotton and within an hour and a half completes a fascinating example of the traditional art of the Shipibo people of the Upper Amazon in Peru.








For a detailed article on the world of the Shipibo;

http://www.shamanism.co.uk/Articles/shipibo.pdf






Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Ayahuasca Retreat - the view by the River at Mishana


Taking it nice and easy on the deck of Mishana Retreat Centre looking at some boats on Rio Nanay. Mishana is in a national reserve. Video from Eagle’s Wing Ayahuasca Retreat.


Visit our website for info on our Ayahuasca and Yoga Retreats in the Amazon









Monday, April 14, 2008

Ayahuasca Shipibo Shaman - invokes Ayahuasca


Shipibo Shaman Enrique Lopez blesses and invokes Ayahuasca after brewing. Video taken at Eagle's Wing Ayahuasca Retreat March 2008.
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Sunday, April 13, 2008

San Pedro and Coca - Shamanism Retreat, Peru March 2008


San Pedro and Coca - Andean Shamanism Retreat, Peru March 2008.

A video collage of our week in the Andes, which expanded on our work with the shamanic traditions of the Andes. Working with San Pedro Maestro Shaman Juan Navarro, and Coca Leaf Diviner & traditional Healer Doris Rivera Lenz. This is an opportunity to experience the rich and powerful spiritual legacy of the Andean civilization which is only now being properly recognised after 500 years of obscurity.

Visit our website for info on our Peru Shamanism Retreats














Saturday, April 12, 2008

UN wants to ban ancient Andean traditions of chewing coca

UN wants to ban ancient Andean traditions of chewing coca This month the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board recommended a ban on coca chewing and the use of coca in mass-consumption products such as tea in Peru and Bolivia. This is part of an attempt to crack down on cocaine production. Both Andean countries have defended the use of coca which has been used for medicinal and religious purposes for centuries and is part their cultural identity.

The Peruvian and Bolivian governments criticised the UN report for only concentrating on coca cultivation as the basis for cocaine production and that it lacked respect for indigenous cultures. To protest against the UN recommendations, dozens of Peruvian Congress members chewed the coca leaf publicly. Indigenous activists led by the Congress woman Hilaria Supa also gathered in central Lima to raise awareness about the spiritual and cultural uses of the coca leaf.

Click to view aticle on Andean Shamanism and Traditional use of the Coca leaf.

Visit our website for info on our Andean Shamanism Retreats in Peru



Booking internal Flights in Peru - Caution

I'm currently in Peru, and the other day I wanted to book a flight from Pucallpa to Lima. As it was raining (a lot) so avoiding a hike into town, I logged on to the LAN Peru website (www.lan.com), and discovered when I tried using my UK credit card, the price was UK Pounds 88, looking at what it would cost using a US$ credit card the price was $88. So the UK price was DOUBLE....I could also assume that it would be similar for the Euro Zone......so Caveat emptor!

So if you are planning to book internal flights before you arrive in Peru, you would save a heap of money by doing that when you get to Peru.

Good Luck

Howard


Click for information on our Ayahuasca and Yoga Retreats in the Amazon, Peru

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Ayahuasca and Yoga Retreat - March 2008

Ayahuasca Retreat - Amazon Rainforest, Mishana, Peru. March 2008

A video collage of Eagle's Wing Ayahuasca Retreat at our dedicated centre in Mishana.