Creativity and ASC

Blog 10

2009-11-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

This week’s reading and class discussions really got me thinking outside the box; in particular, I really thought about Darren Brown’s field of NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming). Therefore, I went to work and looked him up on Wikipedia. I found that NLP is comprised of tricks to misdirecting the audiences to get a response, which Darren wishes them to provide by the use of subliminal cues. I understood that aspect since this was something we had seen and discussed in class on Monday. However, I wanted to investigate these notions in art, books, and media and how it serves our society. I wanted to figure some of the underlying meaning or messages. This also gave me an idea for my next paper.

I further investigated NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) in order to understand Hughes. I fell upon a PDF file by JP Mictchell the first author of a publication titled Directed remembering:Subliminal cues alter nonconscious memory strategies. The title could explain what he experimented with and how it relates to the class discussion.

I have attached his speculations below:

“We speculated that recognition performance in a standard item-based forgetting paradigm may be moderated by subliminal cues that trigger the automatic activation of different mnemonic strategies. We report the results of two experiments that supported this prediction. In each experiment, the basic item-based forgetting effect was replicated, but via the subliminal presentation of ‘‘remember’’ and ‘‘forget’’ cues. In addition, cue-dependent differences in memory performance were traced to the operation of a covert rehearsal mechanism during encoding. We consider the implications of these findings for the nonconscious operation of memory processes in everyday life.”

http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~scanlab/papers/2002_unintentionalMemory_Memory.pdf

I really thought about this concept and how it connected with Hughes. I assume that Hughes was giving us subliminal cues as well throughout the book by using art and the artist, poet and the poetary and so on.
But somehow he has achieved his point about the whole notion of power being tied to everything whether it is used as a “nocebo or placebo.” He ties Disease and creativity as placebo effect to various artists and art forms. He states that the artists are abnormal not only in their personalities but also the way they are seen by society.(177) He discusses famous artist like Frida Kahlo and how her congenital spina bifida made her physically and mentally suffer and she used art as placebo to get a relief from her suffering. In a way, she took power over her physical disability and used it as a means to put her name forth in the society; yet, she left subliminal cues in her art to covey her difficult and tragic life, and her relationship with Diego Rivera, her husband. I have also attached a complete biography of Frida Kahlo to futher explain my point.

http://www.fridakahlofans.com/biocomplete.html

Furthermore, I think huges uses the nacebo effect in chapter 10 Sex and Creativity. His speculation and research findings point out that “men and women use sexuality as a means to power rather than sensual pleasure’ meaning that they use any give art form to portray aggressiveness or hostility towards one another rather than for the purpose that is intended in nature.
This made me wonder that in our society men and women use negativity to control each other in some sense. I think that Hughes in some way is pointing out that males or females both use creativity to figure out each other. We think we know one another but we really don’t and oodles of energy is put forth in taking control negatively rather than positively

For example, males use subliminal messaging in various art forms to show that females somehow are powerful. Hughes points out that Muse is a “matriarchal moon goddess… dominant… by male values of reason and logic.” (144) It made me think that men really do feel that women are dominant in some way and that could be the reason why our society use the women a mere object to degrade them in some sense whether it is through porn or adversting. If we take a closer look at the various poems, paintings, music and movies, we find that it might be true to some degree. In a similar sense, most women too believe that men are all about one thing and we all know what that is then couldn’t it be said that they too play the eroticism card to figure out the male “beast”like Picasso had made it appear in his Minotaur and Dead Mare in Front of a Cave (1936).

http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/1158-1583

All of our energy and attention is devoted to figuring each other out that we really forget our purpose as humans sometimes. We too like our male or female icons distress and feel we need to empower over each other consciously or subconsciously by using the “nacebo or placebo” effects by using subliminal cues. Sometimes we forget that we are not mere objects but beings and we all possess both negative and positive aspects. I found a great blog on women rights and people had to say about sex and power and I think this helped me figure out Hughes in chapter 10.

http://womensrights.change.org/blog/view/sex_is_power_-_or_is_it

I really liked this book because it really made me think outside the box. It also made me connect with myself on a deeper level and gave me an idea for my next paper.

Blog 10<

2009-11-04T11:59:00.000-08:00

The last blog what a journey it has been. From the ancient cultures utilizing shamans to creativity itself. Chapter ten I think was the most interesting. Especially on how it explained the thought process between two genders. Its amazing how womens libido themselves are much larger than mens so they are able to control their sex drive more than males. I also was interested on how hughes described sexuality and how when it comes to it theres always a dominant and submissive partner.

It was also interesting how someone pointed out earlier in the blogs before mine of "how sexuality can be used to so concretely represent the creative process and even how it is a part of it." It ckind of sparked my interest in Hughes.

Blog 10

2009-11-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

Last night, I was watching an episode of Bones and the case that they were working on reminded me of the Hughes readings that we had to do this week. A little girl was dying of Mesothelioma and was confined to a hospital bed most of the time due to her dilapidated state, so she took up painting (very Matisse like indeed). This was enough of a connection to start a blog conversation about, in that the sickness that claimed her ability to go about her daily life gave her the opportunity to discover a hidden talent that she had (oh, did I mention that the art she created looked a lot like Matisse too? Coincidence, I think not…), but it went even further. The flowers she drew resembled the look and shape of the cancer cells in her bones that were destroying her life. While I understand that this is just a television show, it got me to thinking about the idea that we are subconsciously aware of our beings and dimensions on a level that our normal reality does not understand. I found this to be an interesting connection to what we have been learning and got to understand better that the our minds are more in sync with our bodies than we are consciously aware of.
Other than that when I read these few chapters in Hughes, I could not help but relate them to someone in my life who, for as long as I have known her, has been afflicted with mental illness. My mother is a manic depressive who also suffers from paranoid delusions. And what it talks about in Hughes about the connection between sickness and creativity, on certain levels, makes sense to me. My memories of my mother from childhood are a mixed bag of emotions and events that were as much of an emotional rollercoaster as her condition was to her. In the blink of an eye she could go from telling the most fantastical tales of adventure and pirates and fairies and thieves and sword-fighting with dragons to utter panic and depression. She could come up with the most intricuit details of made-up lands and people and their lives… all these things contributed greatly to my overactive imagination and total disillusionment with reality that has been a part of my life since then… but I digress. I wanted to tell this story because I see how this is plausible. Living constantly in an altered state as she did created a whole other world and understanding of life for her kids, but also ended up in her not being the most reliable or safest of parents to be left in the charge of. In the book it talks about the creative effects that Depression can have on people, and while I have seen it in numerous people, that when they are sad or down they feel the floodgates of creativity open up and some of their best works show through during this period… the point I want to say is that it is not always that glamorous. In my experience, it was always her manic times (and the bouts of paranoia) that moved her to the most creative actions. Her depression was always destructive and unproductive… usually amounting to nothing more than her staying in her room, sleeping for hours on end and eating an abundance of ice cream and watching fletch lives over and over. I digress again.
What I want to say here is that, while this book is interesting, I find it to be a bit biased towards the positive aspects of mental/physical/emotional illness. I read this and almost felt as if I was being left out and in the need of some ailment in order to improve my creativity and intrigue and that is not necessarily how it is. I see where he is coming from, and I understand that he is trying to show the different ways in which creativity presents itself, but it is by no means across the board that these illnesses or conditions can help you attain a creative status. I think that natural underlying ability still has to play a vital role in the process.

Hannah

blog ten

2009-11-04T11:29:00.000-08:00

Where is the Surgeon General's warning for searching for creativity? (To answer my own question, obviously nowhere; the package is always different so where would Dr. Gupta put it?)

Essentially (what I'm attempting--and probably failing--to do is comically illustrate that), it is amazing how closely related illness and creativity really are. I was pleased to see that Hughes included the great Frida Kahlo in his assessment of mental and physical handicap and their effects on her profound and mysterious creations. It is noteworthy that Hughes includes mental incarceration or fragmentation (in depression, schizophrenia, epilepsy, and others) as well as physical limitation (paralysis, blindness, deafness, etc.) in his discussion of creativity. I'm sure many of us have heard of blind people who seem to naturally increase their senses of smell or hearing; we're used to the idea of losing something but gaining something else. But to look at it from the standpoint of analyzing or understanding an artist, the effects of a limitation or limitations on creativity are fascinating. Although it is unfortunate that these artists are afflicted by illness of some kind and must suffer, it appears that there is uniform consent that (at one time in their lives) they appreciated their lot and embraced it (as evidence by its manifestation in their created works). The part that is scary (and related to my bad joke at the beginning of my blog) is that Hughes suggests that the spirit of creativity may, itself, be a madness that, when turned inward, manifests itself in the form of illness (be it physical or mental).

Chapter ten was an enjoyable chapter for me, as I saw many interersting insights into how the sexes think, create, approach situations, etc. I think gender roles are always a fascinating topic and the idea that sex is the act that leads to the ultimate form of creation--procreation--is absolutely spot on. It also explains (possibly) why women have been oppressed for many years and why the realms of education and religion were exclusively for men. They were trying to catch up :) It is also very interesting to consider, however, that women we associate with sex or sexuality, were often times puppets of men but simultaneously controlled those men in other ways. Hughes points out this give and take idea of sexuality when he talks about aggressive possession on page 141. Basically, he cites various sources, all of whom suggest that sex is so powerful and provocative because it is a bit dangerous in the sense that someone has to sort of "win" over the other; there is a dominant partner and a submissive partner. I think it's an interesting comparison that Hughes makes when he points out the similarities between sexual relationships and creatives (and their creations). This is especially apparent in his metaphor about childbirth and the birth of a new (man-made, as opposed to man-and-woman-made) creation. Other times throughout this book I had a similar idea pop into my head, so I think Hughes relays this concept extremely well when he points out how sexuality can be used to so concretely represent the creative process and even how it is a part of it.

The last reading kind of made me wonder what if I had some of these disorders, how would I feel, what would I be doing with my life? I did some research on Schizophrenia that I will get into during our discussion. So I will save that for later. A lot of the disorders have multiple symptoms which make them hard to diagnose. So you could be treated for something that you may not have. It made me wonder if and why some of the best writers and painters had some of these problems? Maybe this is why they were great. I wonder due to the chemical imbalances they are able to use more of their brain and thus unlock a part of the brain that is more creative than the norm. I think that it is a shame that a person may need to suffer from problems to be great. I also wonder if the great writers and painters had been treated for their disorders how different their works would have been. Maybe they wouldn’t even seek treatment for disorders in fear it might hurt their creativity. After the reading I wonder if I had any of the disorders described in the reading how different my thought process would be or will I be more creative. I wonder.

Blog 10

2009-11-04T08:30:00.001-08:00

These two chapters in the Hughes book move away from all of our recent readings about drugs and into altered states hidden within ourselves--disease, sex, pain, etc. To be honest, I find these topics much more interesting, and much more downplayed in society (as far as inducing altered states, that is).

"Sometimes I wonder how all those who do not write, compose, or paint can manage to escape the madness, the melancholia, the panic fear, which is inherent in the human situation."--Graham Greene

Chapter 9 talks about depression being a result of repressed agression. Depression causes a feeling of emptyness inside you. You feel as though there is nothing in this world and the only thing inside you is your frozen heart. You lay in bed all day, trying to force yourself to get out and live your life--but too often, you are only going through the motions. Unless you are skilled at hiding it, people will perceive you as feeling sad or down, but you yourself cannot feel these emotions.

Have you ever been so depressed that you feel nothing? Have you ever been so out of your normal self that you begin to see things differently without any sort of chemicals in your body? Perhaps you see things in slow motion. Or maybe you see spots. Or maybe your mind is aware of your body, but your body has lost connection with your brain. Have you ever stopped thinking, just for a moment, and done something terrible? Maybe you were sitting on a sofa and your brain shut down for a few seconds. You remember everything afterwards, but in slow motion. Your brain turns back on, a few seconds later, to your body standing up, and a now empty glass of red wine on the floor. And not your glass of red wine, either.

A painter needs to paint, a writer needs to write, etc. This creative expression is almost an escape from the real world, and is an altered state itself. Not one that is induced by any sort of chemical, but one that is induced by a disease itself. I have often read about, or seen in people, a mental illness being stuck inside them. But, even if it is temporary, the touch of a paintbrush to a canvas, or a pen to a sheet of paper, seems to transfer that suffering out of their body. And you know what, there is nothing else like it. No chemical induced, hynosis induced, anything induced creativity can compare to that of a depression (or other such disease) induced creativity. I suppose altered states, at least those portrayed in these chapters, have a sort of domino affect amongst themselves. There are many things that cause the altered states like depression, schizophrenia, etc. And these diseases, in turn, are just a few of the things that induce the altered state called creativity.

I sit alone in the bathroom, crying softly
tears streaming down my face,
a phone held loosely in my hand.
It's a bright, Sunday morning,
only 10am.

Did I violate trust?
A trust that, so far, has meant the world to me.

I think back over the past week:
a week of projects and papers;
a week of arguements and neglect;
but also a week of love,
unknown to me.

But now its a bright Sunday morning
and I'm trapped in my bathroom
reading the words of kindness, passion
and love
on the phone of a stranger
I thought I knew.

blog 10

2009-11-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

There is so much information in these readings it is hard to focus on anything.
I loved what Socrates said..." madness came from God because it is connected with the art of prophecy."
The little part about Evelyn Greenie was interesting to me too. I have an ear infection and this week I have had to put ear drops in my ear & then lay sideways to keep them in. During this time, I cannont hear. But I can....I can hear or feel the vibrations of sound & I can also sense what is goin on around me. I can clealy see that my other senses have kicked in overtime to compensate for my lack of hearing.
I found the information on creativity & disease to be most interesting. Life tends to have a mind of its own...Mine seems to relate to much of this chapter. Its actually really strange to read a book like this and relate diease and mental illness to creativity in such a way that they become scientific components of one another. So much of this chapter was like this for me, and even the next chapter about gender. Natural, biological factors within our make up that may have been seen as flaws or "hang-ups" to some are actually almost viewed as an asset in this book. I mean the down sides are defintely mentioned but its interesting to read nonetheless. the section on alcoholism was especially fascinating to me. The fact that it was under chapter of Disease says a lot. Many dont consider alcoholism a disease. "...physiological, psychological, social and genetic factors." ...interesting
It is incredible to me also, the number and caliber of people who have been effected by disease and how it has maybe impacted their creativity. My favorite writers & artists, Matisse, Capote, Steinbeck, Pollock, Kafka, Rothko....to name a few. I have always been greatly inspired by their work. There are many others too who were not mentioned in this book.
Something else thats interesting that's not mentioned in the book is about manic depression and epilepsy/mirgraines. The book mentions that Lithium was used to treat Manic depression, it still is, but now the same meds used to treat epilesy and migraines are used to treat manic depression or bi-polar too . anit-seizures or anit-convulsants work on the brain in the same way that Lithium works as a mood stabilizer. Interesting...they kinda "correct" the same areas of the brain.
Although I am happy that this is the last blog, (mostly b/c Im off to a warm sunny beach)
...a part of me will miss it....
farewell blogging buddies.... :-)) peace

blog 10

2009-11-03T23:09:00.001-08:00

I found the readings in Hughes to be very interesting this week, especially chapter 9 which dealt with creativity and disease. “In antiquity, loss of sight was connected with prophecy and poetry: music and song exist independently of sight.” Hughes use the musicians Stevie Wonder and the late Ray Charles as examples to prove his point and I would definitely agree with him. In the case of these two artists the loss of sight led to their other senses becoming more acute. I don’t think that every person who is blind is automatically a good musician, but with someone who is already musically inclined there increased sense of sound may help them to produce better sounding music. Music may also help a blind person to be creative since they can’t really paint a visual picture. Ray and Stevie are able to express themselves musically through their pianos and be creative using sound as a painter may with his brush on a canvas.

I was surprised that Hughes brought the topic of migraines up when discussing creativity. My girlfriend suffers from severe migraines and when I talked to her about what Hughes said she did agree to a certain extent about experiencing some of the mild hallucinations. I asked her if she felt creative or inspired after having a migraine and she laughed in my face. I know from watching her deal with migraines that they are in no way pleasurable. Her main concern is to find a dark quite place to lie down and wait out the pain. She does experience hallucinations in the form of stars or flashes and the geometric forms in her peripheral vision and sometimes extreme tunnel vision. I guess if she was an artist she could use the hallucinations to inspire herself to paint something, but to her there is nothing good that comes from the experience.

Blog 10...artiste maudit

2009-11-03T16:16:00.000-08:00

This blog has been tough to write as these last two chapters have hit home a little. I'm glad that these things are not graded on organization.

To begin, I shall take the lighter subject that struck my interest: "...(Picasso's erotic paintings) have a playful quality which adulterate the sensuality one looks for in such work...his scenes are more amusing, delightful, and titillating than exciting." (Henry Miller, Hughes 143) For some reason I find the concept of "amusing" and "delightful" in association with scenes loaded with rape imagery to be nothing short of disgusting. I don't believe that Picasso's use of minotaur has anything to do with the duality of the artist and has more to do with his narcissistic, misogynistic tendencies. Anyone who has had more than an elementary level study on the history of modern art would understand that Picasso saw himself as nothing short of superior to women. (I also feel as though his status as "original" should be revoked in light of the work of his contemporaries, but that's another argument for another day.)

Now on the topic of the Irish drinking because it is masculine. I feel as though the only Irish Hughes knows sit in pubs having contests to see who can drink the most shots of Jameson. I would say that as an Irish-American who drinks, masculinity has nothing to do with it when it comes to art. I do not drink because it is cool, I do not drink because it is manly. Many people have hobbies, the hard thing for many artists is that we have accepted our hobbies as our careers. It is not fun having people criticize what essentially is our soul and having a little liquid therapy is not such a bad thing when given the alternatives. I also want to add that unless you are throwing down paint like Jackson Pollock, you cannot paint while drunk! Buzzed maybe, but in comparing my sober art to my drunk art I realized early on that a sound mind is needed to paint things that work. Perhaps a little absinthe loosened the internal restraints to make the idea possible in the planning phase, (and a little more after to celebrate or cope with an opening) but the actual technique came from stability.

Sober art:

Drunk art:

I've noticed a similar trend with my favorite artist Modigliani. In studying his earlier works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with his later piece (done a few months before his death) on display currently at the National Gallery, you can see what a mix of more alcohol, drugs, and worsening tuberculosis had on his style. There is nothing romantic about it. He leaves so much of the canvas untouched by paint, it appears more like a growing sense of "what's the use" than any desired style change. It is sloppy to say the least.

I'm sick of insanity and art being so closely associated. Van Gogh only sold one painting in his life. Perhaps he was concentrated to a fault, but when Van Gogh painted he cannot be called insane. Anyone who has studied Van Gogh would realize that he was unable to paint when he had his episodes. Anyone who had read his letters would realize that Van Gogh knew he had problems and was doing his best to fix them. I feel as though to obsess so much over disease detracts from the art. Crazy people cannot paint with the focus and intention that only a true artist can and when it appears focused, it is focused to such a fault that it loses any aesthetic value. It is true that many of the surrealists studied insane art, most importantly it was a window into the symbolism of the mind.

Eyes of painted canvas stare back at me,
Into the gloom of sorrow and regret.
I want to be alone now to pay my debt
To Venus or Eros or none of the above.
The eyes keep watching me write,
As the world becomes dark and not light.
Will you forgive me now,
Or have I exhausted all hope?
The epitaph is all that's left to be wrote.
Now for me the clock ticks away.
You are nowhere near;
Just a canvas painted in tears.

I was about to write what I thought about the connection between creativity and sexuality/love when I decided that it was best to pull up a painting I had done in April following a tough time for me in that area. (I should also probably mention that I was sober and was using my art to cope with a really bad case of depression.)

Blog 10

Proclamation for the Suppression of Coffee-Houses

Source: Ellis, Aytoun. The Penny University: A History of the Coffee-Houses. (London: Seeker & Warburg, 1956) 92.

BY THE KING: A PROCLAMATION FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF COFFEE HOUSES

CHARLES R.

Whereas it is most apparent that the multitude of Coffee-houses of late years set up and kept within this Kingdom, the Dominion of Wales, and Town of Berwick upon Tweed, and the great resort of Idle and disaffected persons to them, have produced very evil and dangerous effects: as well for that many Tradesmen and others, do therein misspend much of their time, which might and probably would otherwise be imployed in and about their Lawful Callings and Affairs; but also, for that in such Houses...divers False, Halitious and Scandalous Reports are devised and spread abroad, to the Defamation of His Majestie's Government, and to the disturbance of the Peace and Quiet of the Realm; His Majesty hath thought it fit and necessary, That the said Coffee-Houses be (for the future) Put down and Suppressed, and doth...Strictly Charge and Command all manner of persons, That they or any of them do not presume from and after the Tenth Day of January next ensuing, to keep any Publick Coffee-house, or to Utter or sell by retail, in his, her or their house or houses (to be spent or consumed within the same) any Coffee, Chocolet, Sherbett or Tea, as they will answer the contrary at their utmost perils...(All licenses formerly granted to be revoked).

Given at our court at Whitehall, this Nine-and-twentieth day of December 1675, in the Seven and twentieth year of Our Reign.

GOD SAVE THE KING

I have to disagree with the book's association between Picasso and opium. Picasso was one of the few artists who abstained from drugs or used them only in moderation. He lived into ripe old age and remained productive his entire life for a reason. He got his "fun" out of his system early in his life. His style changes have more in correlation with women than they do with drugs. I did not quite believe it at first, but as much as he was the narcissistic, chauvinistic "Picasshole," women did seem to have an effect on his art.

"...assisted by absinthe (a toxic liqueur distilled from wormwood)..." I incorporate this into my blog only to show how much ignorance prevails when things are illegal. At the publishing of this book, the Green Fairy was still imprisoned and the chemists and distillers had yet to prove their case to Uncle Sam. Then I recollect a Monday night of "Death in the Afternoon"... (Hemingway's concoction of absinthe and champagne) and can still remember everything in detail.

I find it amazing how destructive synthesized drugs have been to people. One of the best bits of art, writing, and music inspired by heroin would have to be Sixx AM's Heroin Diaries Soundtrack. The whole thing is basically one big anti-drug add coming from Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue who famously "died" one night after a heroin overdose. A paramedic saved him and the Crue classic "Kickstart my Heart" was born.

Now on a side note, why is there a Transcendental Meditation group below the section on LSD? Granted the era was the same and some of the people were the same, but if I remember correctly the Beatles were trying to get away from drugs at that point in time.

Ergot is an interesting example of how mold can change the world. On an annual basis throughout much of the middle ages and even later, there was a time in Europe called "mad season." Basically everyone in the villages would eat bread and start tripping thanks to Ergot. It has led to theories that the witch trials and werewolves have their basis in a bunch of hallucinating townspeople. Needless to say I feel that such ideas probably were not influenced that much by the Ergot. The burning times had more to do with social dynamics and werewolves can in some ways be traced back to the shamanism we've been talking about for the past few weeks.

I wish Hughes would have told the story of Hitler and amphetamines. There is very strong evidence from his doctor's papers that he was very much into early designer drugs. One story talks about how the leader of Czechoslovakia was hysterical and Hitler had his doctor "fix" him. In some ways it is funny today that everyone from the Japanese Imperial Army to the German Wehrmacht to the later CIA was experimenting with various cocktails today. I say it is funny because now there is a "war" on drugs.

Blog Nine

2009-10-28T05:29:00.000-07:00

Blog Nine

I enjoyed reading chapters 11 and 12 in the Hughes book because I was able to make connections several times. I took a Brit Lit class last semester and we spent an extensive amount of time on poets such as Keats, Blake, Shelley, and Coleridge. During the class it was briefly mentioned that Coleridge had used Opium, but his drug use was not considered much further. It was not actively considered when analyzing Coleridge’s pieces of literature, and this was unfortunate. I think it is very interesting how Hughes mentions works of literature Coleridge created on Opium (Kubla Khan), and creation of works before his addition (Rime of the Ancient Mariner). My connection here is that I have read both of those works in the past, and I think it would be neat to go back and compare them knowing what was taking place in Coleridge’s personal life during the construction of the poems. Understanding the biographical nature of the creator certainly helps us to better understand the creation (exemplified by Picasso in the beginning of chapter eleven). Furthermore, I think it is challenging and fun to look at a piece of visual art work and make connections to creativity (be it drug use, considering what the author was going through at the time, etc..) and now I understand how important this “creative analyzing” is when looking all pieces of creativity (texts included). I would have loved to have known more about Coleridge’s addiction to opium, Blake’s ability to meditate, Poe’s addictions, Walt Disney’s use of cocaine, jazz musicians use of cannabis etc, when considering all of their different mediums of creativity. In a way it illuminates the works, and forces us to analyze them in a new way.

I appreciated how Hughes separated the kinds of creativity to induced creativity and natural creativity. Furthermore there are several citations supporting both sides. Consider Poe’s use of Opium. Poe writes of premature burials, underground passages, hypersensitive perceptual reactions, and all of these images are directly associated with the opium experience. And isn’t this what makes his stories stand apart from the rest… his creativity being so different from other authors of the time? Therefore even though his stories are being constructed through the eye of the opium addict we still highly revere his works, for their creativity. However Hughes does present the other, darker side of using such drugs to induce creativity. The French poet Jean Cocteau wrote, “With opium euphoria leads the way to death.” Malnutrition, respiratory complications, and low blood pressure are some of the associations with the addiction (163). And as with most drugs to get the same feelings of euphoria the amount of drug use steadily increases as it destroys the body. Certainly marijuana can induce creativity, regardless of personal beliefs regarding drug use, but there are consequences. There are consequences to using heroin, cocaine, mushrooms, acid, and other designer drugs, and I suppose it is up to the creator to decide if a “chemical wedding” (as Hughes cleverly calls it) is how they want to stimulate creativity.

Blog 9: Hughes, Ch. 11 & 12

2009-10-27T22:33:00.001-07:00

I like the Hughes book foremost because it sufficiently explains things like “creativity” in a neurological sense. I find the neurological creative process in the brain to be particularly fascinating. It’s a tough thing to understand because we understand it as it relates to us subjectively. At times Hughes’s explanations can be a bit difficult to follow, but the general concept comes through.

I wonder if this neuro-scientific analysis of creativity can explain why some people are (or seem to be) more creative than others. The ability to be creative is different for everyone, but does our individual brain chemistry determine our capacity for creativity? It would be comforting to think that creativity is an ability that can be learned and evolved through the disciplined mind.

I’d like to look further into the idea of meditation as an altered state of consciousness and a gateway to the creative process. It’s what John Keats explains (on pg.150) as “negative capability,” or unfocused attention in which a person intentionally withdraws from normal consciousness into a state of alertness and relaxation. In my experience, it’s sort of like the early stages of sleep where you are still receptive to your environment, but you can feel your mind drifting off. The act of meditating holds great religious and spiritual significance to those who practice it, specifically in Eastern religions. Certain types of meditation, such as Transcendental Meditation, became popular in the West after The Beatles traveled to India in the late 60’s to study under the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. This technique involves chanting a mantra while sitting with closed eyes and it is one of the most commonly practiced. The chant, or sound vibration which Hughes points out, is traditionally considered to be the first sound vibration of creation. In Hindu meditation, “OM” is the mantra syllable that is chanted in prayer. The idea is that with disciplined practice over a long period of time, one will be able to reach spiritual enlightenment. Perhaps this enlightenment can also lead the way to creative consciousness.

Chapters 11 & 12 maintain the concept that creativity itself lies within the translation of the vision or experience into unaltered reality or what we consider to be “normal” reality. Whether or not one’s experience is achieved through the use of drugs or other means such as meditation, it shapes the ideas that we are able to express and communicate with the world.

blog 8<

2009-10-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

This week’s reading and the books end was a good one. It was odd how the devils weed plant was playing a trick on Castaneda and it enlightened him on how women treated men somehow. To me today even now I try to see how a plant with hallucinogen effects can enlighten you and make you aware of certain things. I guess it has to do on how I see my uncle today and how he behaves after being on drugs a good portion of his life. He acts odd his behavior is off I mean hes a good person but he made some bad choices in his life and because of the "mindkillers' he took he now suffers for it.

I dont know about everyone else but I guess the best way to put it is unless i experience it Im always going to judge something by its looks and my experience with others including plants that can essentially as modern medicine would put it..."rot your mind".

Blog 8

2009-10-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

I really connected with this week’s reading and the book ending on a good note. For one, I thought it was really interesting how the “devils weed” was playing trick on Castaneda and I was surprised how Don Juan connected it with women in their ways of behaving or treating men. A further read in to the chapter got me critically thinking about Don Juan’s statement about paths that our heart wants us to follow and paths that we do not follow. He stated, (which I really liked and connected with) “A path without a heart is never enjoyable. You have to work hard even to take it. On the other hand, a path with heart is easy; it does not make you work at liking it (pg 128).” Juan’s statement literally made my ears stand straight, when I read this. I think we as human subconsciously do things to please other people and never really listen to our heart and what is it that “it’s” telling us. We deliberately chose a hard task to please someone else, but if the task is not executed, we blame our destiny or other influences. But the truth is that we never really listen to our heart in the first place. I think we somehow don’t really want to listen to our hearts in the first place.
Along with that I really linked with his statement that “To choose a path you must be free from fear and ambition (Pg 129).” I didn’t get the ambition connection at first but then when Castaneda also questioned him about the ambition aspect and Don Juan explaining to him that the desire to learn is not ambition and we as human want to know things for the sake of power and that is not ambition. Then it actually really made sense. It made sense in further explaining his first statement about the path with heart being easy. It’s easy because there is no power involved with it and no “flattery” and we as humans like to get attracted to flattery. Just like Castaneda been flattered by the “devil’s weed” and then tricked by it.
Furthermore the smoke which Castaneda get terrified by is the noblest power and has the purest heart because it doesn’t make anyone its prisoner nor does it hold any bias (129). This in someway portrays that something we might get terrified from is the real deal or the road to success. It is tied to our hearts, may be if we listen to our hearts (once in a blue moon) we might find the road to success or happiness. It like Castaneda being terrified from the smoke but not the “devil’s weed” and unlike the smoke the devil’s weed is feminine and attracts him and boggles his mind but he keep getting attracted towards it. Yet what he is terrified from (smoke) is what he really needs to put his attention towards. And for us is it listening to our hearts (which is clear, logical, and easy) and not what gives us more flattery or power and makes us go the other way.
When Castaneda followed his heart he was able to fly and in some aspects it connected with the Sufi teaching story about the bird. That sometimes you don’t need ambition, you need to follow your heart. Yet we suffer from what Don Juan calls “a loss of soul” in chapter 11.
Although, I didn’t understand his “severe conditions of seriousness” to overcome the loss of the soul, the book ended on an excellent message and the teaching were very helpful in connecting me with my subconscious and looking at things in a different way.

Blog #8

2009-10-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

I’ll admit it; I’m glad to be done with Castaneda’s book. Although it is written in narrative form and a little bit easier to read than The Field, I don’t feel as if it applies to life as much as The Field does. Actually, I should clarify that I don’t feel it applies to my life as much as does The Field. The possibilities for medicine that were presented in The Field personally excite me much more than the subject matter in The Teachings. Having never used hallucinogenic plants (and also never planning to use them) I had trouble finding a personal connection with The Teachings. However, I also realize that someone could find an interest in the book without using hallucinogens; it simply did not happen for me. Yet, personal opinions aside, I did find a passage in this week’s reading that relates to what we’ve been talking about in class.

In chapter 10 Don Juan speaks about the crows’ ability to see when a being is about to die. “‘Things that are alive,’ he said, ‘move inside, and a crow can easily see when something is dead, or about to die, because the movement has stopped or is slowing down to a stop. A crow can also tell when something is moving too fast, and by the same token a crow can tell when something is moving just right’” (139). This quote makes a lot of sense in relation to the discussions we’ve been having about beings of light. In The Field McTaggart explains that science is beginning to see that everything, at its most base level, is composed of light. If this is actually the case then it follows that if a person is about to die his light will be different than that of a healthy person. In other words his light would be “slowing down to a stop.” I recall that McTaggart also mentions that people who are healthy have a more balanced order than those who are sick. That would explain why, according to Don Juan, the crows are able to tell when certain beings are off and why others are “moving just right.”

Additionally, although slightly more morbid, is what Don Juan says the crows see in rotting flesh. According to him “what a crow sees then is millions of things moving inside the flesh with a light of their own” (140). Perhaps this is gross, but I think he’s talking about the microorganisms which cause a dead body to decay. Although small, they would each have their own light, so it would only make sense that they are the “millions of things” the crows see when looking at a dead body.

As stated, I didn’t really like the book; however, I was able to see the connections it had with our other readings and class discussions. I’m not sorry to say goodbye to The Teachings but I do recognize some of the interesting subjects it has brought about. Who would have guessed I’d ever end up talking about decaying flesh and microorganisms in a class titled “Altered States and Creativity”? For that I have The Teachings to thank.

Blog 8

2009-10-21T11:35:00.000-07:00

After all is said and done, I find myself wanting more... wanting to know more about the teachings, although some of them creeped me out a bit. I found it very hard to put this book down once I started it because don Juan's teachings interested me to the extent where I couldn't wait to read on to see what happends next. That last few chapters got to be really interesting when Castaneda tried the "smoke" a few more times. I'm skeptical about the whole crow ordeal.. I mean I understand that the smoke helped with the hallucinations but to that extent? And that fact that don Juan was trying to bring him back for three days sort of blew my mind as well. If I was in that kind of scenario.. I would have freaked out or thought that the person had slipped into a small coma of some sort.

Another part that made me skeptical was when don Juan left to search for Castaneda's soul and left him there to 'fight' against anyone who comes near him. I mean.. did he really see someone portraying themselves as don Juan? I was relieved that nothing bad had happened to him at the end of the book, although it was hard to tell with all of the weird situations arising. Reading this book made me want to somewhat, and I mean somewhat, want to be a part of this experience. A lot of the stuff that Castaneda went through really, really creeped me out.. but wow, what an adventure he was on. As other's have posted in their blogs, I too think that Castaneda really wanted to accomplish and feel what don Juan had felt when he went through the teachings before, although he didn't, he felt something that don Juan also hadn't either. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends.. very interesting, to say the least.

2009-10-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

The whole thing to me was how Costaneda wanted so badly to feel and experiment the way don Juan did and he could not. Don Juan experienced a different kind than Costaneda. He could not not step into the same world as Don Juan is how I took it. Costaneda did experience hallucinations and different feelings but I do not think that he believed as much as Don Juan so therefore could not be as fullfilling to him.

blog eight

2009-10-21T11:26:00.000-07:00

The finale of the Castaneda book reflected the author's suggestion from the beginning that he never entirely became one with the hallucinogenic devices (the humito, the Datura, etc.) and that he took leave of them. I thought it was interesting, however, that don Juan continued to believe that Castaneda had not abandoned them; that he was only taking a sabbatical. It is clear, however, through the author's latest experiments with the hallucinogens, that he was uncomfortable with their effects. He notes this in the last line of the first section of his book when he admits that he allowed the first enemy of man to get the better of him (fear). Additionally, Castaneda messed up his experience with the devil's weed when he rubbed it on his forehead, and therefore may have had every right to fear the plant (after all, don Juan had advised him that the plant was fickle and she had been known to lead to a man's death). It seems as though Castaneda never reached the kind of understanding don Juan had hoped he would. He never grasped the bodilessness of transforming into the crow and he never quite understood the concept of "flight." It may be appropriate then that our author abandoned his apprenticeship with don Juan. Don Juan insisted from the beginning that the allies led to knowledge and power (especially in the case of the devil's weed) and that Mescalito would teach a man how to live. Since Castaneda approached the whole experiment from a more scientific point of view, however, I don't think he was ever actually a candidate for the kind of journey don Juan envisioned. I believe he may have simply been at the right place at the very time don Juan was looking for someone to whom he could pass his traditions. Castaneda was never intended to become a great brujo. In essence, I think Castaneda did more for enlightening an audience on the traditions and rituals of the brujos and their "magic" than he did for showing us how these experiences can change a man.

Blog 8

Blog 7<

2009-10-14T12:14:00.000-07:00

The use of plants for medicinal purposes as well as enlightenment has been around for easily for countless millenia all over the world. Shamanism is a natural science discovered by mankind long ago. In the documentary of "Other worlds" westerners have been known to travel to other parts of the world like south america to have thier own enlightenment experience with the native flora known as ayuhasca.

As we continue along with our lessons it has been interesting to see how everything is connected somehow from the documentary to the field itself by mctaggart. They may have occured at different places with different people at different times. Yet they all somehow tie together I look forward to seeing more of this with castanedas book.

Blog 7

2009-10-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

After watching the documentary Other Worlds on Monday, I realized the common Shamanist rituals discussed in our book. It was similar in many ways but few things stood out the most, which were the hallucinogenic plants (“devil’s weed” in The Teachings and “Ayahuasca plant” in the Other Worlds), the animals seen in these visions (“lizards” in The Teachings and “snakes and alligators or crocs” in the Other Worlds).
Furthermore, I realized that Don Juan as well as Questembetsa talks about the negative aspects, the “near death experience” a person could have if these rituals are not performed accordingly or systematically. They also shared that the animals are representing a deeper meaning then what people take them as. In addition, People who master these rituals have unimaginable powers in controlling animals, finding out information about the past, present or future as well as to the extent to even heal others people.
I thought about these things in detail and felt what I have been discussing in class as well as my blog, (referencing to power) watching the documentary, and the reading the book further along, made my input about what people do for power? even more obvious…
Furthermore, rather than us trying think whether these notions are real or not, I think we as humans can gain insight from the Shamans as to how we all are different and unique and we don’t all have to be the same or have the same goals. However, we can all have clarity in life as well as disciplining our way of life.
We can also learn what things make our personality weak and what makes them strong. In addition, Don Juan talks about the possessiveness of the Datura plant. This made me think about people, objects, foods and drugs. How we as humans get addicted all these things very easily. May be all these things hold the Datura plant nature and possessiveness????
May be further reading the book, and researching this question might answer my question.
I cannot wait to read the next few chapters to see what happens…

Blog #7

2009-10-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

In describing shamans, one of the men in Other Worlds said, “time and space doesn’t exist around them, only the present.” I didn’t think much of this quote at the time, since it was just one point in a list of shaman qualities, but upon further reflection I see it as very important to our class. It emphasizes the idea of man as a continuum, rather than one restricted by time, and it connects to class discussions, The Field, and Castaneda.

I remember the day some of our class discussion was spent on the topic of time. In defining it we used such words as “measurement” and “limitation.” We discussed the possibility that man, as a being, exists beyond time and that time is simply our structure for measuring change. That is why I earlier described man as a continuum; because the whole of idea of a beginning and an end don’t apply to man if we take away the structure of time. The man in the movie seemed to agree with this idea when he said that shamans only experience the present. As more spiritually-aware beings, shamans aren’t restricted by the manmade construct of time and they are able to see past it and exist only in the present.

This idea extends even further into our reading of The Field. Near the end of the book McTaggart explains the abilities some people have to see places as they were in a past state. I recall that at one point someone visualized large tanks at a certain area. During the time of that vision the tanks were not currently there, but they had been in the past. Perhaps this is a stretch, but I would say the person in McTaggart’s example is practicing a shamanistic technique. In order to “see” something from the past—something which he would normally have no way of knowing about—he must drop the structures of time. Without them he is able to understand that which, under the constructs of time, we would say he should not be able to see. So in this way I see a possible connection between the insights of Other Worlds and the material we read in The Field.

The last connection I made was with Castaneda’s book. While having his first smoke with don Juan’s pipe Castaneda explains how don Juan kept singing to him during this experience. He says that “Don Juan’s words were a distant echo. They recalled the forgotten memories of childhood” (109). During this experience Castaneda seems to have transcended time. By being in the present and beyond time’s structures he is able to recall forgotten memories. Similar to this, another person in Other Worlds describes how he realized “I had never stopped being a child.” In this respect it’s seen how “adult” and “child” are simply words to describe change, but at his deepest part each man is a being independent of time.

As we’ve gotten further along in our class it’s been interesting to see how everything ties together. Other Worlds, the class discussion, The Field, and Castaneda all took place on separate occasions, yet they all tied together with one little quote. I'm excited to see what else starts to come together as we continue the class.

Blog 7

2009-10-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

Watching the movie Other Worlds in class on Monday helped give me a better picture in my head to go with what I’m reading about in The Teachings of Don Juan. I noticed that the Indians took all day to make their hallucinogenic potion in the movie and it was not easily done. It is similar with some of the drugs ingested by Castaneda and don Juan in the fact that they have to go through a process before they ingest the drug. I’m starting to think that the gathering and preparation of the drugs are just as important as the experience they get from using them. This reminds me of the steps taken before communion in many Christian religions. I was at a Catholic wedding over the weekend and before communion was given there were many different steps taken by the priest before the congregation actually took communion.
The devil’s weed took years before it was prepared in the correct way and involved Castaneda growing and taking care of his own plant. (I thought it was hilarious how Castaneda waited until night fall to dance around his plant because he was embarrassed to be seen by other people.)
I didn’t mind the sacrifice of the pig in Other Worlds, because as Danny said in his blog it was done rather quickly, but I was very turned off by the treatment of the lizards by don Juan and Castaneda and couldn’t get the image of them suffering out of my head.
Anyway, back to the topic of preparation time for the drugs. The only drug that they have ingested so far with out altering is the Mescalito, which they pick right from the cactus. Although, even picking the Mescalito became a process as don Juan led Castaneda on a journey for days into the desert to pick from the proper area. Their seems to be a whole ritual in picking the Mescalito since they pass many patches of it on their journey before don Juan decides to harvest some.
The preparation of ingredients for smoking in the pipe was also something that took a long time. I think it took them a year to gather all the ingredients and then the cycle would start all over again. I really like the questions that come from Castaneda’s point of view in the book because many times I find myself wondering the same thing, even if we never get a straight answer from don Juan. Especially when Castaneda kept asking whether the mixture for the pipe would lose its potency after a year and if that’s why they had to gather a new batch every year. I agree with Jill in her blog when she said Castaneda may have set himself up for a bad trip before he smoked. Castaneda went into the whole process so scared it didn’t surprise me at all that his experience was unpleasant. I do believe that after time and more experiences with the smoke that Castaneda will be able to handle its power and the smoke will truly be his ally.In conclusion, the gathering and preparation done by don Juan and Castaneda seem to be as important as the actual taking of the drug.

blog seven

2009-10-14T11:28:00.000-07:00

In these chapters, we follow Castaneda through his new experiences: seeing and flying. I think it's interesting--though extremely "human"--that he still confuses what he experiences with what he thinks or "knows." It seems that while he is under the influence of the plant, he sees certain things or experiences things (like flying) and believes them to be absolute reality, but once he returns to "ordinary consciousness," he doubts what happened. For example, in chapter 6, Castaneda questions don Juan as to whether or not he flew while he was under the influence of the devil's weed (this was the instance in which he had rubbed the paste on his body and the odor invaded his nostrils), and don Juan sort of belittles him by telling him that he (Castaneda) is the one who said he flew; so he did. This happens again in chapter 7 when Castaneda experiences humito. He feels he's had an out-of-body experience and questions don Juan as to whether or not he'd had a body (in the sense that one feels they have one "normally") and don Juan asks him to figure that out for himself. It seems that don Juan sees things in a less concrete manner than Castaneda. The latter understands experience tangibly or otherworldly. Don Juan sees all things as existing at once and thinks Castaneda is being simple or difficult when he questions him on this. I think don Juan sums it up (albeit confusingly) at the end of chapter 8 when he explains Castaneda's conundrum to him. Don Juan suggests that Castaneda is looking at things all wrong: the latter believes that there are two (or possibly multiple) worlds, while don Juan knows that there is only one. He says there is no difference between the world in which Castaneda understands himself to be (the "real world") and the world he experiences under the influence of the various hallucinogens (Castaneda's second "world"). It is all, apparently, in the knowledge with which one approaches the world as to how one sees it. "It," however, is singular.

In reference to the film we watched on Monday, I noted some similar ideas in the Castaneda book. For example, even though Castaneda is keeping track of his experiences by dates in a journal and references to light and dark (in the sense of sunrise and sunset; beginnings and endings of days), his experiences with the hallucinogens do not follow a linear chronological pattern (in the film, it was stated that time and space don't exist to the shamans). Another example was when Castaneda was relating his final experience with Mescalito, in which the old men, and Castaneda himself, were singing. This reminded me that someone in the film had pointed out the importance of rhythm (or constant noise, like chanting, if I'm not mistaken) during a trance. The songs seemed to influence Castaneda's feelings while taking Mescalito (114-118).

blog 7

2009-10-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

First off, I was not in class Monday (I was really sick...bleh!) so I don't have a response to the movie.

I really can't get into this book. Granted, it's easier to read than the other two books we've read in this class, but I still find myself reading and re-reading every page because I just can't get into it. I guess the whole concept of shamanism doesn't...sit well with me. I would like to go along with the reading, but the "teachings" seem almost dark. The cruelty to the lizards made me cringe. Danny pointed out in his blog that other animal sacrifices were generally humane. The other part doesn't sit well with me is the term "devil's weed." The very name makes me imagine something...well, sadistic and demonic. Don Juan and his teachings on the whole just don't sit well with me.

I looked up the peyote seeds. As Dusty mentioned, they are not illegal, and the first hit I got was sites selling the seeds. I went to Shamanic-Extracts.com where they are $8 for 10 seeds. There is also a wonderful picture. The description of the seeds and the trips they can induce are the same as in the book. "Sometimes you can travel through time and space, or communicate with your own spirit." This part of the website's description fit extremely well with the chapters we just read. Speaking of which, Castaneda's "flying" experience was a little out there for me, and his questions to don Juan would have been exactly what I would have asked. However, don Juan's answers are what I expected: riddles and enigmatic explanations.

http://www.shamanic-extracts.com/xcart/shamanic-products/peyote-seeds.html

Lucky Number 7

2009-10-14T11:15:00.002-07:00

It seems to me that all the chapters seem to be pretty consistant in telling us the rituals of these different drugs and what vision's Castaneda has with them. I also noticed how Don Juan is always pressing Castaneda about the drugs, (plants, whatever you want to call it) accepting him. The Mescalito and Devil's Weed are ones that accept you or reject you. What happens if the drugs rejected him? Could Don Juan not carry out his teachings anymore? I think you're original, conscious mindset has something to do with your altered state of consciousness. I think the original goal of his teachings, is to have you at inner peace. If you have negative thoughts in your mind before you enter an altered state of consciousness I believe you're going to have whats called a "bad trip". You're negative thoughts will carry over to you're altered state and cause something like Mescalito to not "accept" you. So if you are at inner peace with yourself, you're going to have a succesful altered state, and therefor be accepted because thats what I think the main goal of Don Juan's teachings are.

I did notice this in the movie. It seemed as if everyone was at peace. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure if some type of ritual was disgraced the Shamans would be very upset and seek punishment towards that person. But I just noticed how they can sit out in nature, and just sing and respect their natural surroundings and show their gratitude towards that. How many of us would do that today? Our life is so stress filled that we probably don't even think about respecting our natural habitat and the mysteries and gifts it gives to us. Our culture tends to look for proof and we are kind of obssessed with man made things that we tend to overlook the power that nature can really hold. The movie said these people have survived for years... and how did they do it? Being at inner peace, and being one with the Earth.

I also like danny's insight of how Indians saw lizards as dream messangers. The indians dont think of it to be torture, they just simply think they are something of a spiritual content. Maybe we just don't understand Don Juan's ways and consider it to be barbaric because that's how we were raised. It makes me wonder who figured out that lizards would be dream messanger's. But it also points out that hallucinating and dreams are perhaps connected? Don Juan must of known about these lizards, but why did he use them for a drug type ritual.

blog 7

2009-10-14T11:15:00.001-07:00

What I appreciated most about Other Worlds was that I was able to place a more cohesive image with the text. The “peyote experience” has often been depicted in film as an almost demonic travel into the bowels of hell with no signs of redemption. It can be argued that our civilization has almost deemed exposure to peyote as more of a test of endurance, rather than a spiritual journey into our deepest consciousness. There was a beautiful quote in the film: “spiritual and healing representations are not to be taken for the sake of a fun weekend.” I feel that this is an extremely important observation. Perhaps, this is where we have conceived a slanted view of the plant’s purpose. If we look at peyote in the form of a spiritual plant, recreational usage may indeed prove only disastrous.

I was curious to find out what the legal status of peyote was in America, and was mildly surprised at what I found: “Congress—backed by the Drug Enforcement Agency and other federal law-enforcement officials—rebuked the high court by reaffirming the right to use peyote in religious ways, and by preventing states from cracking down on the transport of peyote.” (The Economist 3 April 1999) I had a preconceived notion that the plant was banned in the U.S., but was surprised to find that within the confines of religious sacrament, the drug was legal. This, of course, has many restrictions as to what groups are able to justly state that the plant is essential to their practice. And yes, groups have sprung claiming to be the church of peyote.

The other part of the film/book/blogs that grabbed my attention was the symbolism of the lizard. The lizard is seen as a guide summoned by the shaman to provide deeper guidance. Jill noted in her blog that lizards represent a “death and resurrection.” I can relate this to the video we watched when we witness the sick girl going her soul’s resurrection. It also seems noteworthy to add that in the spiritual sense, our bodies naturally vomit after taking peyote, and perhaps, this can be viewed as our initial cleansing before the spirits can guide us.

http://peyote.com/peyote/index.html

Oct 14

2009-10-14T11:10:00.001-07:00

Blog: Oct 14th

Monday in class we watched a film by Kounen, titled Other Worlds. I am not a huge fan of subtitled films, but in this one I could audibly distinguish French and Spanish; among others. The documentary-like flick incorporated some fantastic and unusual graphics. Very “trippy”, one could say. The images helped to portray the idea of spiritual rituals. For example, the ritual to womanhood was even complete with an animal sacrifice – how lovely. Mainly the men tripped. This was seemingly their entry into manhood.
This film raised a good question pertaining to the concoction ingested in order to have such an experience. How was the psychedelic mixture created? The film suggests, and I agree, that what we know as DMT comes from way back in the day. As the film suggested, it was most likely created during the times of the tribe’s ancestors. It also suggested that such a concoction was most likely fabricated during trial and error. So what is this DMT? Dimethyltryptamine is this drug ingested during these rituals. DMT is a very complex and intricate drug. Therefore, the odds would be incredible that an individual could succeed in mixture, during the first shot.
There was also a drink, which I am assuming might have had some DMT or DMT-like substance in it. Whatever the case, the liquid causes an individual to trip. I found it interesting the effects the drink had on male and females. After consuming the drink, an hour would pass, and woman would begin chanting. However, a little after an hour the men would begin to chant. These individuals belonged to a tribe call the shaman, or at least they practiced shamanism. They say a man is like a “religious animal”. Ultimately, an altered perspective is offered. They feel that they are able to tune in information that others can’t. They believe in the altered reality.
As for the reading, this Datura root is serious business. I like in Chapter Five when it’s noted that don Juan says the second portion of the root is the real beginning of the learning process. Then he compares the first portion to child’s play. The second step is one to be mastered and can take up to twenty times until one can move onto the third step. These are some serious growing stipulations.
As far as the second portion, it seems that this is when the psychedelic effects are taken on by the plant. In a brief conversation the two men discuss the effects this portion creates for a man; they are visual. Also, every man sees something different; each to his own. This is the portion of the growing process which creates the visual “tripping” individuals were accustomed to.
I think it’s interesting that the devil’s weed is personified as a “her”. Also don Juan stays away from furthering the process of the plant and notes that she’s almost killed him several times. When I think of the devil I think of a masculine figure. Therefore, when I think of the devil’s weed, I am thinking masculine. However, I am incorrect. Devil’s weed is apparently a lady.
The part about paths reminds me of the fork in the road analogy. “Anything is one of a million paths,” (82). According to the story, devil’s weed is merely one of those paths. In life, man should ask and live by one question: does this path have a heart? Since anything is/can be a path one must identify the good path vs. the bad. If the path with heart is selected one can live a happy, fulfilling life. If the bad path is chosen then just the opposite occurs. This is similar to the idea of choosing the right path at the fork in the road. There is a 50/50 chance of either path chosen being good or bad. If the right path is chosen, it leads to good; if the wrong path is taken, it leads to bad.
I like the idea of “does this path have a heart?” Presently I am working my way through a very important time in my life. I am progressing through college and then shall be set out in the real world to find my rightful path- I hope. During this time, I will have many paths to choose from. Granted, up until this point I have chosen many different paths both good and bad. I feel that “does this path have heart?” is a question one should ask when they reach a/the big path. In my case, I am using a career as an example. Which path will I choose? Hopefully I decide to follow the right and good path. Will it have heart? It better, I hope to have a long and fulfilling career. Will I choose a good path? Oh man, I can only hope and choose wisely. It’s easy to see that such a question raises so many more.

Blog 7

2009-10-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

I have found chapters 5-8 to be really interesting. The journey, if you will, that Castaneda is on is pretty crazy but yet offers a lot of meaning behind his situations. Since he (Castaneda) is so eager to learning through don Jaun's teachings, his journey is taking much more time and weaving in and out through many different paths because his patiences has grown to be slim over a couple days. Although he is willing to learn, by him pushing things to go faster, it's throwing him a curve ball, sorta. The whole lizards things gave me goosebumpbs. One, I'm not to fond of the little creatures and the fact of rubbing them against his temples made me cringe. Two, the whole sewing of one's mouth and the other's eye was definitely weird. I would have liked to learn more about the reasoning behind making them the way they are. Anyway, I'm not sure how much of the teachings I believe. I guess I'm being very skeptical but it just sounds absolutely crazy to me that by rubbing a lizard on your temples, could answer a question that you ask it. I sort of felt bad for the lizards, because they were being used as 'experiments' on a daily basis. In a way.. it sort of reminded me of the movie Field of Dreams and how they say "If you build it, they will come." In a way, I guess it's kind of a like that.. if you believe in the teachings enough, you will experience things that not too many people have before. But if you don't believe in the teachings, you won't receive anything out of it.

The whole out of body experience was a little too out there for me, as well. I understand that drugs make people hallucinate and what not but the whole flying thing just didn't intrigue me at all. I also wasn't sure as to why Castaneda had to be completely naked in order to complete this task of the Devil's weed. Would it have made a difference if he had clothes on but still spread the paste on the skin that was open? To me, I saw the whole flying thing as an effect the smoke had given to him, he was in an altered state of consciousness and was experiencing more hallucinations. I sort of felt like Castaneda in a way while reading these chapters because I wanted to know more from don Juan and I would get really mad when he wouldn't elaborate more on his thoughts or on what he knew. I also felt this way when we watched the movie last class. I wanted a better understanding as to what was going on and wanted to know more about their demonstrations. Like Becky had said, I feel as if some of this stuff (not all) can be BS. Back to the whole mind thing.. one can be absolutely fine once second and then make themselves believe that they have a fever the next and drum roll please.. they have a self induced fever. If someone believes something will happen enough, it just might happen. So the whole healing process of the shamans, I don't really fall into believing their certain rituals can heal certain things.

Blog 7

2009-10-14T10:06:00.000-07:00

The movie we watched the other day really seemed to illustrate what we have been reading about. From the brightly colored graphics, it is much easier for me to envision what Castaneda saw when he was "tripping". There was a lot of singing/chanting in the movie that was not touched upon in don Juan. This difference reminded me of something don Juan repeated several times to Castaneda--basically, to each his own. While don Juan was referring to the different effects that the devils weed has on individuals, it also relates to different cultures using different ways to reach altered states.

Like many have already said, I found the torture of the lizards horrible. It might have been done for sorcery purposes but don Juan seems very in tune with nature. If he respects nature so much, I cannot figure out why he feels justified in torturing these lizards. However, the sewn mouth and eyelids reminded me of the "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" saying. I wonder if this has something to do with it.

This entire book is a journey for Castaneda. But within this larger journey are many smaller ones. This section starts off with don Juan teaching Castaneda about the second part of the devil's weed root. This, he says, is the beginning of learning even though Castaneda has already been on this journey for many months. The second part of the root is used for seeing and enables the user to fly. It seems like don Juan believes the actual process of flying occurs. This is not true--the user feels the sensations of flying, at most. This made me wonder if the whole idea of shamanism--at least in the drug-induced sense--is just a load of BS. Maybe shamans see things on these trips that they somehow bend and form in order to apply them to everyday life. Maybe some do this intentionally and others don't.

2009-10-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

Where to start with the movie? I found it to be very interesting. I wondered why did all of the “journeys” take place during night? One thing that I could think of is maybe that is the most spiritual part of the day. Possibly they think that it is easier to focus while they are on the journey. I wonder if the people singing in the movie were really guiding the people on their journey or were they just trying to keep them calm. I know that I couldn’t understand the meaning behind the singing.

Don Juan must have a green thumb. He could probably be a botanist without any formal training. The reason I think this is because he really knows how to take care of his plants and knows all of the effects. It seems as if Castaneda would need some one to teach him all the ins and out of the plant. I think that Castaneda has transformed from some who just wants to learn about the drugs to someone who needs to learn about them. Because in order to learn about he needs to don Juan to tell him the dangers of the drugs. I found it hard to grasp the whole thing about the lizards. When he is on the journey he needs to decide to fallow the path or not even if it will take him to his death. That was probably the most intriguing part of chapter 5 for me.
Chapter 6 Castaneda must try to inquire the feelings about his root. I tried to keep an open mind about this but I found it very hard. It’s like how some people think that if they talk to their plant they will grow better or yield more fruit. I still find it had to believe. When Castaneda is on a journey, where he finds the dark made him fell sadness, I feel that he might be putting us on with this story because it suddenly ends.
When Castaneda began the smoking process he felt a confusing state. He kept on contradicting his thoughts like some he said was hot but he didn’t feel the heat then he said he felt a pain but he said it seemed to be a cold heat. I’m not sure what to think of this chapter because I found it hard to fallow because of the flip flop of feelings. I really couldn’t figure out the real feelings of the effects of the drugs.
I found that chapter 8 was a weird chapter because it was like an initiation into a club or something we would see in a movie. It was a long process of nights that involved ingesting of peyote. I started to wonder if Castaneda would die of taking to much of the drug. During the chapter it almost seemed as if the buttons interacted with the part of the brain that stores memories. Because he kept on having, what seemed to me to be back flashes to two years prior.

blog 7

2009-10-14T07:58:00.000-07:00

“All paths are the same: they lead nowhere…In my life I could say that I have traversed long, long paths, but I am not anywhere.” (pg 107) I can truly feel this. I can say that I have lived this physically, spiritually and mentally. This is one of the greatest things I’ve heard. If I can keep this in perspective, I am right where I am supposed to be, therefore I am free.
Do we all feel some kind of internal notion that inspires us to reach out and find some other place? I can say that I have & still do. Do we all have a longing to reach an altered state? Where does this come from and why do some follow through while others may not? Castaneda is an ordinary man who has desires to find another consciousness. He goes to great lengths to reach other places.
I think that b/c this book is an account of someone else’s experience & it is easy to just read it & take it all in. I have a lot of respect for all the rituals and experiences accounted for in this story. The one thing I can say about this book & the last few chapters is that it brings on a strong desire in me to eat peyote or other hallucinogens. The stories about the visions and experiences that Castaneda shares with don Juan are very detailed and almost difficult to imagine that one can recall so many specific details.
I enjoy the lessons and conversations between the two of them. “But you will not agree on other things birds do, because you have not seen birds doing them. If your friends knew about men flying with the devil’s weed, then they would agree.” (pg 130) Here it is again…we tend to only believe in what have seen or can see. We, as an individual, group or society make a decision to agree upon something and then it is real.
I think that one of the most profound experiences Castaneda had was when he had smoked the pipe with don Juan. On pg. 137 he said that he could not feel or distinguish any part of his body. He was clearly aware of whatever was taking place in front of his body and that he had no more thoughts, other than one…it was anger. Don Juan sang a song to him that lightened his spirit and moments later, he lost his anger & was filled with affection and happiness. I find this intriguing for two reasons. 1- Castaneda had lost all of himself other than his thoughts and feelings. Maybe we are as human beings only thoughts and feelings. Our physical body is not important to who we are, only what is going on inside of our heads is actually what makes us who we are. 2- an outside energy was able to instantly impact and change his thoughts and feelings.
What’s amusing about Castaneda is that he continues to ask questions that cannot be answered. He does not see that his questions are being answered for him in his experiences or maybe they don’t require an answer. His character is perfect for this story b/c he is personifies one consciousness.

bLoG SeVen

2009-10-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

Blog 7

Going along with my theme of finding other sources that help me understand what a particular animal symbolizes, I did some research on what the lizard symbolizes. I still am not sure what to make of the rituals involving lizards. I totally agree with Danny, I felt bad and uncomfortable reading about the lizard’s “torture”. I think I was most uncomfortable with it because I didn’t see it coming. I guess I surmised this was a personal quest for knowledge, and a personal journey, and I was surprised when the lizards came onto the scene, as influencers. However, don Juan makes it very clear that the lizards have very specific purpose, and give direction in the sorcery. So then I started thinking about the lizard like creatures floating around in the hallucinogenic images of Other Worlds. I picked up on a clear and interesting connection between the book and the movie: the lizards were supposed to give insight, and they were portrayed as messengers, with the ability to answer questions. Like a wisdom creature. I was expecting to read Castaneda’s descriptions of seeing lizards in his visions, but he didn’t relate such an experience.

Since there was a huge emphasis on the lizard, I decided to seek another source to see what it symbolizes. They are reported to be the symbol of searching for the soul’s “self-awareness”, and a symbol of death and resurrection. Furthermore, some cultures believed if someone stepped on a lizard the sky would fall… but another disparity must also be considered. While Roman mythology, many ancient cultures, and even present day cultures revere the lizard as a creature with “godlike wisdom”, early Christianity has associated the lizard with the devil and evil. Snakes (another repetitive creature in the hallucinogenic visions of Other Worlds) are also a symbol of Satan, as the devil shows up in the guise of a reptile, most obviously in the Garden of Eden. The “power” of the lizard undoubtedly lies in one’s beliefs and connotations.

Lastly, on the topic of the lizard, I was deeply disappointed on how chapter 5 ended… and let down on how chapter 6 started!! Don Juan tells Castaneda to find the two specific lizards (that have been released) and if he does, Castaneda will never have to use them again in the practice of sorcery. I was expecting a hunt for the lizards or an indication, at least, if Castaneda ever found them, but his narrative doesn’t touch on them again. Readers are left with wondering if he ever found the two lizards? I suppose if later on the journey Castaneda uses lizards again, we can surmise he never found them?

There was one specific part of the reading that reminded me of The Field. When don Juan wants Castaneda to smoke from the pipe (which the story has been leading up to since the beginning) I was really surprised with Castaneda’s reaction: “I sat on the floor next to him and frantically tried to get sick and pass out—to do anything to put off this unavoidable step (105).” Castaneda alludes to not feeling he was ready to take the smoke, and I wonder if he set himself up for a bad trip. Like The Field talked about the power to influence a good or bad day by our thoughts, I kind of felt like because Castaneda was so apprehensive about smoking from the pipe, maybe that related to his bad (possibly near death, as don Juan relates it) experience.

Blog #7: The Teachings, Ch. 5-8

2009-10-13T16:25:00.001-07:00

Blog #7: The Teachings, Ch. 5-8

In this weeks reading, I was noticing Castaneda’s constant desire for Don Juan to interpret his visionary experiences. I found Castaneda’s experiences with the smoke to be particularly difficult to understand myself. The line between physical reality and his internal reality seems skewed after he smokes from Don Juan’s pipe. I think perhaps it’s our rationale that gets in the way of seeing (and experiencing) things clearly; as Don Juan tells him on page 101 that “The trouble with you is that you understand things in only one way.”

In “Other Worlds” we finally have images to accompany our readings. The way the Shipibo lived mirrored what I visualized while reading The Teachings. There were countless similarities between the uses of psychoactive plants in both groups. One common idea in these Shamanistic people is the perception of reality. We consider reality as our waking consciousness, but in these parts of the world, reality is internal as well as external. When we put our experiences into words, as Castaneda did, the experience has no importance because that reality only has meaning within oneself. On page 110, Castaneda is explaining his experience with the smoke and he says, “All I can tell you is what I felt,” and Don Juan replies, “That is all there is in reality- what you felt.” And Don Juan doesn’t want to hear about Castaneda’s experience because he didn’t believe that his views were clear. The line between the truth (the experience) and the story is always distorted by interpretation.

Blog 7

2009-10-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

Blog 7

I have a real interest in understanding the human minds need and ability to form its reality the way we (or an individual sees fit)... This class has surely given me much fuel for that fire and has gotten the wheels turning. I realize that when a person holds an opinion or belief, that that person is more often than not inclined to skew facts into a direction that either validates their assumptions, disputes the opposition or both. That being said... as a sub-section of my overall fascination with the shear magnitude of human possibility and ability, I really like to look at religious beliefs that people hold and try to understand what it is that makes them feel so fervently about something that they cannot fully grasp or understand. I digress a bit here so let me get back on track. Maybe it is because I hold this opinion of religion as being a tool of humanity to understand and feel at home in the world around them... instead of being a way or path or idea that is superior to all others and the only true "real" way to get to my eternal goals. I see every path that people take to be relevant and just as justified and real as the next. So, coming from that perspective I am starting to see a theme in all of what we are reading to be that 1) there is something greater than ourselves... whether we understand it as god, a teacher, another world, whatever... there is something out there other and greater than what we know and are.
2) there is no right way of getting to that level of happiness with ones self or no special way that all must follow to be enlightened or one with God...
There was a quote in Don Juan (roughly transcribed) that rang true to me. It said that any path is just a path... there is no affront, to ones self and others, in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you to do. I truly believe that. Belief is something to be comfortable with, to be questioned and challenged. To lull ones self into a world void of continuous thought, observation and scrutiny... we are all liable to be taken for great suckers, or in this case... go mad and die.
There is just such a deep rooted connection between the minds of people the world over... while they may all apply their own creative devices to understand and interpret... we are all essentially getting or are privileged to the same root information... the same symbols, architecture, archetypes, ideals, facial expressions, etc. We are all fundamentally connected and it shows in our cultures, if only deep under the surface of our differences. The relationship between altered states of Consciousness and Religion have a long standing albeit smudged up history. It seems, like the film hinted at, that religions were mostly founded on the visionary experiences of its creators. Prophets, Seers, Saints... all had experiences dealing with other-worldly knowledge that they returned with to share with the masses and to lead them on a path of righteousness... notice the use of the word a and not the...eh? eh? What I am trying to get at without boring you all to death is that this world is filled with amazing connections of ideas, ideals, rituals, visions, etc. that, whether we know and accept this or not, it is there. We are starting to see in science and fact what people like shamans and prophets have known for thousands of years. It is time that we stop trying to separate and compartmentalize the different parts of our lives and be comforted in their separation... instead we should be striving to pay attention to and working toward understanding their connections.

On an interestingly personal note... I was talking to my (unnamed relative) last night about the movie we watched and this book that we are reading and he shockingly (to me) felt that I had grown old enough to know some other side of him... another part of his reality. He told me about his experiences living with a Nez Perce Indian in college and the times that he had spent with his Indian friend both at school and with his family in the break months. This friend of (my unnamed relative) did the same as Don Juan did, he carried a small satchel of peyote buttons tied around his neck. He told me about how (without giving much in the way of details about his visions) that the experience he had with his Indian friend and these buttons "changed his entire world view and his life." This experience led him to leave college, move out into the middle of nowhere Minnesota, built a two room cabin on 10 acres of land with no electricity or plumbing. He lived there in nature for nearly two years. He did not remove himself completely from society as an anchorite would have, but ventured into the small, dingy logging town that was my mothers home. The two found something in common in this off beat existence and... add up the chips and here comes another life into this world. Its funny the things that you find out about your life when you least expect it! (this is the slightly edited and abridged version for those who see a lack of flow or consistency to my story).

http://www.curtis-collection.com/curtis/The%20Peyote%20Cult.htm
This is an article I found on the relationship between native and western religions... please reference for class on Wednesday

What have the lizards done?

2009-10-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

Papa Legba smoking a pipe, a sculpture done by the Yoruba of Nigeria.

Up until page 84 I've liked this book...then cruelty to lizards began. Until middle school, I was a farm kid and even later I spent enough time in farm country to have no problem eating pork that only an hour before had been part of a living organism, I however do have a personal problem with sewing a lizard's eyes shut and sewing another lizard's mouth shut. In almost every tradition I have studied such "torture" is involved only in black magic. Most animal sacrifice involves a simple cutting of an animal's neck, a quick process, and then the meat is used to feed those involved. (Many places with animal sacrifice are also poor communities where the meat provides an otherwise absent source of protein. I should note that the animals sacrificed have it a lot better in their lives than the animals we eat from Giant who are often raised in practically a cow factory. Many sacrificial animals are traditionally well fed and live like gods. In ancient Egypt their bull cults literally worshiped their sacrificial bulls as incarnations of various Gods.) There is a curses in Hoodoo in which animals are buried, burned, nailed, or eaten alive.

In several Native American traditions, the torture of your enemies was seen as bringing them bravery if they could tolerate it. Anyone who has watched "The Last of the Mohicans" sees this when one character is burned alive by the Huron. In some ways Don Juan's justification of promising to never to hurt other lizards seems to be a little bit of an empty promise to the two lizards that he does "torture." Most of the time I can excuse things on the basis of different cultures, but this one that makes me kind of sit an scratch my head.

Again the idea of intentions comes up again and again. Many lesser drugs only work to their fullest if a person intends to use them as such. While everyone using LSD may have a trip, it's those who have an important intention who gain anything from it. To many of us, having a glass of wine or rum is just a fun thing to do, however in many Western religions or religions influenced by them, alcohol is a sacrament. When I drink absinthe in a social setting, it's ability to remove a person's inhibitions or act as an aphrodisiac becomes more apparent than if I sit alone with a sketch book and use it to release otherwise restrained thoughts. In Voodoo, the sacrament of rum takes on a special purpose when it is mixed with 21 chili peppers during rituals to the Guede. The person first reaches a trance in which they are possessed by the spirits of the dead, as some people may attempt to pretend a possession, the ability to drink the peppered rum like water proves that a person is consciously absent. (Much like Mescalito giving practitioners their own songs, which prove they are truly in an altered state and not just copying everyone else.) Tobacco as I mentioned last class is also another drug where intention plays a huge part. A shaman may have a completely different experience smoking than Joe Smo from the local grocery store.

Lastly on the topic of lizards, I will add that lizards are often seen in Native American beliefs to represent dream messengers.

Links

2009-10-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

It's nice to see that some of you are beginning to include links in your blogs. This is great except they don't seem to be working. For future reference, use the link button (looks like a link in a chain and sits to the right of the T in the toolbar)to include links. Below are the same links you included in this week's blogs. You can also insert images directly by using the little image icon button (next to spell check) on the toolbar.

http://www.erowid.org/plants/datura/datura_stramonium.shtml

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.peyote.nl/peyote%2520forest.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.peyote.nl/&usg=__EzgtDgEpVppmZjdqVc3o7ZKpSyM=&h=322&w=430&sz=34&hl=en&start=1&sig2=wHaW-rW6svehrvS6RSPRTw&um=1&tbnid=ju9rSKBbD5JLbM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=126&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpeyote%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7RNTN_en%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1&ei=MvHISq-9JZTGlAeu5KWSAw

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/DaturaStramonium-plant-sm.jpg

Respect and fear

2009-10-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

One of the main themes running through your blogs this week were the ideas of respect of fear. Nick and Jill mention fear explicity, and it is considered by Don Juan as a natural ingredient of the training. Is there a connection between fear and what we read in The Field? For example, how might fearful thoughts affect the outcome of a journey into other worlds? Danny touches on this connection when he discusses "psychic effects." Matthew questions whether "other worldly" is more "psychological" than anything. But we need to remember that psychology is, in fact, our scientific (and Western) attempt at defining states of consciousness and states of mind. The two, then, are really one and the same. Jamie asks if "life experience" is considered a credible form of research as opposed to more empirical studies, and it is. Castenada's experiences would come under a research method know as ethnography, where the researcher immerses themself into the community under study and reports on their observations.
Dusty brings up the importance of environment, using the broken down cabins as an example; these are, certainly, a part of that environment. But other environmental issues would include frame of mind and trust in the individual providing the plant. Studies on LSD users have shown that their attitude towards the drug (fear, anticipation, etc.) had significant effects on their experiences, as did their mood (happy, worried, depressed). Environment, then, would include all of these variables. Nick brings up the necessity for "understanding, discipline, and opening your mind" as prerequisites for both martial arts and the entheogen journey, and Jamie, Danny and Sarah all bring up the idea of respect, as does Hannah when she refers to the "reverance and care" taken with the plants. Dee also mentions the positive aspects of the drug-taking and the more serious goals involved for someone other than (what Sarah terms) "leisure drug users." We're beginning to see in all of this the very different cultural perspectives concerning drug use. Josh raises the concern of Castenada eventually "having a drug problem," meaning (I assume) becoming addicted to the drug(s). However, Entheogens (natural plant hallucinogens such as Peyote, Tobacco, Ayahusca, Cannabis, etc.) are not addictive. Synthetic or man-made/manipulated drugs (heroin, cocaine, cigarettes, crack, alcohol, etc.), are addictive. These are important distinctions to keep in mind as we continue to discuss cultural perspectives on the use of drugs to enter ASCs.

blog 6

2009-10-07T12:17:00.001-07:00

When I was a teenager (all those years ago), I became obsessed with the 60s. Every aspect of it intrigued me: the art, literature, music, clothing, and zeitgeist was a truly unique rebellion in the most stylish of ways. I surrounded myself with pseudo-hippies (musicians, poets, etc.), but as we got older, the entrance of drugs was inevitable. Sorry to disappoint anyone with expectations of personal stories, but this is where I fell out my 60s revival tent. I would talk (or at least try to communicate) with people on LSD and it was a nightmare to witness: beautiful skies, god in the blades of grass, and philosophy from the heart mixed in with screaming, crying, fighting, suicidal thoughts, and panic attacks did not seem like the right thing for me to do. The reason I’m mentioning any of this is because the opening chapters I read of this book continually remind me of this. The Teachings of Don Juan was an essential read for anyone interested in a “bohemian-esk” lifestyle in the 60s. I can imagine that everyone who lived in the Haight Ashbury district of California had a copy on their shelves. Musicians themselves went through the experiences described in the book. Jim Morrison is probably the greatest example of this. Morrison witnessed an automobile accident when he was around 4 years old involving Native Americans, and he claimed that spirits entered his body at that time. The film, The Doors, explores Morrison’s spiritual side and his relationship with Shamans. Many other artists adopted this concept of a self-spiritual finding.
I think this book is a wonderful read. The scenes in which Castaneda is first introduced to Peyote paints some of the most vivid scenes of the “drug experience” I’ve ever read. What is interesting to me in Don Juan’s insistence on the proper environment needed for the perfect peyote experience, but the first time Castaneda is in pursuit of “him”, he is sent to a rundown house filled with people. I guess initially when I think of a spiritual journey involving peyote, I picture being in the middle of the desert. But perhaps, film and television have bastardized yet again another thing. I thoroughly enjoy books that invite me into a journey. This book reminds me in a sense of both Robert Pirsig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maitenence and Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Last Vegas. Granted, these books couldn’t be more different and share so many similarities at the same time. But it is the journey that unties them.

Blog 6

2009-10-07T12:17:00.000-07:00

After getting an insight on the Shaman traditions on Monday, and reading chapters 1-4, I began realizing how Shaman expressions manifest in object of our daily use as well as daily life. Even if we are not involved practically in those type of experiment like the shamans , we are still faced with them in everyday life. Meaning that the common person is involved in their manifestation. Socially people are trying to get power to overcome over their opponents and they are always trying to find the person who has those powers to solve their daily life problems, it like Shaman. For example, to make their opponents physically and mentally sick and week, people contact the “witch doctors” and they pay them load of money. Secondly, Shamans are at the height of their careers now days. They are earning load sum of money by manipulating the common people in our society. For example, they state that they can predict the future and they can fix unsolved problems. People like the Shaman, also claim that they can make people obedient to you. Since they have the powers to mentally convince a person. Thought it seems to be a strange paranormal phenomenon, but that is how they claim to have the powers. Lastly, we cannot find real Shamans around us but in actability, they are always all around us with different names palmist, future predictor, hypnotist, etc.
In short, this paranormal phenomena (to gain extra ordinary power) is prevailed everywhere and no one can escape this whether he/she believes it or not.

2009-10-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

The readings are more understood in this book and more interesting keep my attention mre. I definately enjoy reading about someones life experiences also

blog 6

2009-10-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

I agree that the format of this book (the narrative style) is much easier to read.

The first chapters reminded me a lot of Karate Kid. With Mr. Miyagi? Yeah, that's the one. How don Juan instructs Castaneda in something that takes patience and time. Don Juan is also full of riddles and big on figuring out things for one's self. Castaneda is full of what don Juan considers futile questions, not unlike the Karate Kid. That's the connection I made. Or maybe I'm kinda crazy...

I was very interested in the Datura plant. I looked it up and found that it is indeed a very hallucinogenic plant. http://www.erowid.org/plants/datura/datura_stramonium.shtml (That is a link for a picture). There many different types, and its natural origin is unclear because of its high distribution. Although, I did find that the US and Mexico have the highest concentrations.

The Datura also reminded me of Devil's snare in Harry Potter. Just the name, though. It has a completely different purpose and meaning in the book than what Datura really is.

blog 6

2009-10-07T11:59:00.001-07:00

I would have to agree with the other person who wrote in their blog about liking the story format used in The Teachings of Don Juan. I found it to be much easier to read and comprehend, especially when compared to our last reading.
I was glad you required us to read the introduction because many times I skip them in my haste to get school work done. I fond it very informative to learn how Castaneda went about locating don Juan and then how he persuaded Juan to teach him about medicinal plants. Without reading the introduction I’m sure I would have gotten confused reading this book like I was in The Field.
After finishing this week’s reading assignments it seems to me that what was initially a quest by Castaneda to learn about medicinal plants has become more of a spiritual journey into himself. I enjoyed the dialogue shared between Juan and Castaneda or the lack there of at times. Don Juan is making Castaneda earn all the knowledge he is receiving and I think in turn Castaneda is taking more away from this whole experience.
It was interesting to see how the altered perception affected Castaneda during his experimentation with peyote. After first reading Castaneda account of his peyote trip it seemed very out there, but it all makes much more sense when you compare it with how Juan and his friends describe the way Castaneda was acting. I can definitely see how Castaneda’s altered state of consciousness perceived what happened the way it did with the whole yellow liquid actually being him peeing on the dog and the dog peeing on him. It amazes me though how the peyote altered him in such a way that something that would normally repulse him like being urinated on became almost spiritual. I’m a bit confused on how don Juan decided that the Mescalito was playing with Castaneda and that now he is the chosen one.

Blog 6<

2009-10-07T11:57:00.001-07:00

First off Oh...my...god...corn kernels that kill. When I first read that I so happened to be eating freshly cooked corn from a can. This Don Juan character I have heard of the name before and In a previous blog before mine I always assumed it was a casanova like person. I would have never guessed it was a shamanistic withc doctor from mexico. Another notion I would like to talk about is Don Juans reference to his spot ritual with carlos casteneda.

Now what troubles me is the fact that the author saw colors in his vision while laying on a porch. Now I am not a spiritual person so I can be biased on this but I would assume that would be no different than seeing the squiggly line in our peripheral vision or when we look at the blue sky we see what looks like cells dividing. Plus doesnt this seem more psychological than otherworldy as Don Juan would constantly reference. I mean I have a bad spot and a good spot in my dorm room. My twin xl bed is my good spot its so comfortable and my "enemy" would be the hard cold wooden chair in front of my desk that has some magical ability to keep me awake and do work.

2009-10-07T11:50:00.000-07:00

The teachings
In the introduction they talked about Diableros. I for one do not believe a human can turn into an animal for real. I believe that if someone is under the influence of a mind altering drug that they could possibly see things.
chapter one was kind of dragging. The man kept on begging the Indian to tell him about peyote and the indian keeps on telling him no. He keeps telling him to find his spot and be comfortable. I had a hard time staying interested in this chapter until the end when the Indian showed some kind of interest in telling him about the drug.
Beleive it or not when I was in highschool I remeber people experimenting with Peyote. The next chapter when he tries it, its kind of funny when he describes what is going on in his head and what he is seeing. I for one never tried it but I remember people acting very stange on it and speaking and acting not normal to someone that was not on it. Thus chapter was funny to me, kept me interested. The interesting part was reading from his point of view, when he was talking about what he was going through, and then when he awoke the next night and was told by the people he was with what went on. I found it funny about the dog. it did not seem to me like there was that much interaction with the dog until the men described what he did to the dog and what the dog did in return. i though it was interesting when the man asked the Indian if he did not experience it correctly because he was not an indian.

Blog 6

2009-10-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

One of the things that struck me most about these few chapters wasn't the drug use. It was the amount of silence amongst the men. Whether he was sitting alone with don Juan or with a larger group of people, there were always long moments of silence. Earlier in this class, we talked about our need for noise and how even in a 30 second elevator trip, we have this need to make small talk. Why, then, were all these men able to sit comfortably in silence? Maybe they are at greater piece with themselves. Maybe they are closer to nature and the divine. Maybe it is just the culture they were raised in and not the fast-paced one that Americans know. Castaneda's initial impatience with don Juan shows how our society differs from theirs. Castaneda wants to learn about payote. Now. He doesn't want to deal with finding his special spot on the floor. He asks so many questions--he thinks don Juan gets annoyed at this, especially after Castaneda asks if he was really playing with the dog. He does not seem to understand that he wasn't playing with the dog--he was playing with Mescalito. Even as the first three chapters go on, he seems a bit more patient when it comes to learning. He still asks tons of questions though.

We are learning about Native American mythology in a class I'm taking and I have read countless myths and stories passed down through their culture. All of them make some sort of reference to the divine. These people are greatly spiritual and, even if they are metaphorical, their stories and culture show this. Tobacco and other natural products have been used by Native Americans, and other cultures, throughout the ages. Shamans in these cultures use what we now know as drugs to reach altered states--much like people do today. However, it was done on a much more spiritual level. Don Juan insists that Castaneda must plant and take care of the devils weed in order to gain its power. And this is not a simple task--Castaneda had to wait several months just to plant it, and then there was a very specific process he had to go through. It had to be buried in the proper place (known only to him), bury a mixture that don Juan made two paces from the shoot, and more. This is a bit more involved than simply going around the corner to your local dealer.

There is a natural and divine aspect to smoking anything. Whether it is the devils' weed or some other substance, it is a natural product. It does not get mixed with any chemicals or have any additives. This goes back to Native American respect and oneness with nature. This closeness with nature is something that many of us in western cultures don't have. Relating back to the beginning of my post, we live too much of a fast paced life to pay attention to these things. But we see Castaneda change and gain patience in the first few chapters. Maybe all we have to do is be open to nature and ourselves.

Blog 6

2009-10-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

Alex Dreibelbis
Blog 6
Introduction, Chapters 1-4

The teachings of don Juan; what did this mean to me? Well, I was always under the impression that don Juan was a famous, Spanish womanizer, from way back in the day. I remember watching a movie about the stud, starring Johnny Depp, hence the connection I made between the names. However, I decided to first look up the don Juan the text was really enlightening audiences about. According to Wikipedia, author Carlos Castaneda uses a Don Juan Matus as the main character in a series of books on Native shamanism.
Even as a college student I am still surprised when illegal drugs are brought up and discussed in class or something of that nature. For example, the reference to peyote in the beginning of the book is just a little strange. Granted, we are discussing Indians here and peyote is an organic psychedelic used in many of their rituals. I guess I am trying to say that as children we were conditioned that speaking and doing such things were taboo. Therefore, openly reading and discussing the topic still feel a bit naughty.
On the other hand, this shows the open-mindedness of these particular audiences (e.g. the class), who are comfortable enough to soak in it all.
I do like that the book is dated. I always enjoyed reading diaries when I was younger, so I get that sense. It also allows one to see the time gaps in between excerpts. These aren’t day after day experiences; definitely weeks and months.

Blog 6

2009-10-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

I found the first 4 chapters of this book probably to be the most intersting out of all the other books. I think it's a book that anybody is capable of understanding and the experiences are explained very well. The first 4 chapters to me have to do with overcoming fears. I believe this is a very important subject to succeed in life. Us, being mammals (human beings) are going to have fears. We also have a deep desire to want to succeed. I think this book tells us that in order to succeed, you cannot fear failure. Many of us hold back on the things we want because we are afraid of failing and dissapointing ourselves and others. For example in the book, when Castaneda was looking for his spot that gave him strength and power, he was quite hesitant because he was afraid that he kept failing, and just wanted to give up. So just in the first 4 chapters we can learn a lesson about fear, and how we shouldnt "fear fear". Because if we know how to control that fear, we are capable of handling situations limitlessly and peform like we never have before.

I thought don Juan's first test was a good one. It was preparing Castaneda for his "meeting with Mescalito" (which I later researched peyote and it contains the hallucinating substance mescaline which could be the origin of the name Mescalito) I think him finding his spot helped prove his focus on his surroundings and helped him see things differently than the normal eye so Castaneda would not be overwhelmed with different realities. So when it came time for him to hallucinate he would be able to focus his mind more attentively.

It's pretty obvious that Castaneda saw things differently in his state then the other 5 men did. He was in an altered state of conciousness and saw things differently than the other men. Castaneda still had the fear in his mind even after his first time and did not seek to take peyote again. I still don't think he had control over fear at that time which is why don Juan's quote made perfect sense "you are still learning" I think once Castaneda overcomes his fears he encountered with peyote that he will see things differently and more pleasantly when in his altered state of concsiousness.

These types of ancient teachings never fail to amaze me. They remind me of Martial arts once again especially when the first chapter talked about Castaneda's test on finding his spot. It's almost as pointless as punching a wooden board with just your knuckle until it breaks, it seems crazy and impossible. But it's the act of discipline, understanding, and opening your mind that will take you to higher steps of your teachings. I think it's pretty amazing how ancient Indians lived for years on these beliefs and still function today, so they must know what they are talking about, they always seem so wise.

Blog 6

2009-10-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if it's just me or what.. but when we start reading a new book, I find it hard to actually get 'into' it. Once the chapters started getting more in depth with experiences, I actually became really intrigued by the book. I liked how persistant Castaneda was with wanting to learn about peyote. He wasn't going to take no for an answer, and finally don Juan could see that this was something he really wanted to know more about and wanted to pursue through his teachings. I found it interesting that when Castaneda showed up to meet with don Juan, how he (Juan) couldn't give him any mescalitos himself, but by one of his friends. It's crazy how you don't even know someone but yet they can 'throw you out' because they decide that you aren't worthy of what they are about to give you, even though you haven't done a thing wrong to them.

The chapters refer to drugs a lot which fits hand-in-hand with our class, altered states of consciousness. But, don Juan has a different take on the drugs. He talks a lot about the Devil's weed in chapter 3 and how it deals with allies in refer to the drug. It amazes at me at how much protection there is on most of the stuff throughout the first couple chapters. A lot of this stuff is sacred and I get the vibe that they don't like when 'outsiders' come in and try to learn from their teachings. In a way, I feel for Castaneda because you can tell that he is really trying and wants to understand the teachings, but he tends to struggle a lot in the beginning, however, he doesn't lose hope. He keeps pushing through, wanting to know more and more about the teachings of peyote.

I'm very interested to read more chapters and see where they lead me. There is a lot of information given and at times my head was spinning but it's new knowledge to me so that helped push me along. I wanted to read on past chapter 4 but I was tired and fell asleep :) Like Josh said, I almost wonder how the whole drugs thing is going to play out. There is a lot of information about hallucinations and what not.

2009-10-07T10:47:00.001-07:00

Wow one paragraph in and were already talking about drugs. I guess this is why this book is relevant to this class. When I read the first entry it made me wonder why Don Juan didn’t want the author to know about peyote. I guess it must be an Indian thing to be reluctant to let people know about these things. I think that Don wanted the author find another way to learn about the drug other than “just wanting to learn.”

I wonder why there is so much silence between the men in the opening of the chapter. The only thing I could come up with is that maybe it is an Indian custom. Chewing something out of an old coffee jar doesn’t like a smart thing to do. The one hallucination about the dog was really interesting. I think it would be cool to see something just vanish and still see the action of what the dog was doing. It almost seems like an X-ray but one that looks real. I mean something that isn’t just black and white. To me his peyote experience would be very exhausting like he described, but I find it hard to believe that he remembered the truck ride and the man when they arrived a Dons house.

I almost think the author will come out of the teachings with a drug problem. I mean he goes for one drug to another. I really think that don has a drug problem because he really knows a lot about the drugs. Don still seems to be in touch with nature. Because he talk about the devils weed having only a few friends. One of the friends is the paloverde tree.
I find it interesting that Don give the drugs human characteristics. For example the Mescalito is gentile and kind once you get to know it.

blog 6

2009-10-07T09:58:00.000-07:00

Its nice to read literature about some life experiences with the altered states of consciousness. In the Field, we talked so much about facts based on science & research. Its nice to hear some real stories. I wonder what hits people harder, which has a stronger impact...someones life experiences or someones reasearch and study about a topic. I wonder if anyone considers life experience a form of research...?
I like the relationship between don Juan & Castaneda. The teacher & the student...living the class. I find it amusing at times.
Pg. 24 says " Power rests on the kind of knowledge one holds. Whats the sense of knowing things that are useless?" I wonder is considered useful to some & useless to others...is what we consider useful really all that useful? Who told us to think this way....? is it effective?
it also say here that don Juan's believed that the "acquisition of an ally meant exclusively the exploitation of the states of nonordinary reality." There is something positive to be gained out accepting & exploring different realities.
I found it interesting that after Castaneda's experience with Mescalito, he still could not understand what he found & what had happened to him. on pg 50, don Juan tells him that b/c he is not used to that kind of life, that the signs bypass him. He goes on to tell him that he dwells too much upon himself & that his seriousness is attached to what he does, not to what happens outside him. I wonder if these same things keep us from connecting with the Field. This is some of the noise that overtakes our minds.
I find it interesting that while talking to Mescalito each person see's different things. don Juan says that he is not the same for everybody. The experience of an altered state is something within a person, or based on outer things? if it is based on outer things, then why dont more people see it the same way. I mean we all agree on what other things are in our world. When in an altered state though, things arent what they seem and they all different for everybody.
Throughout the book, so far you can see the power of intention which was also mentioned in the Field. From the way the pipe is handled, to the woman who had tried to kill don Juan, to the rituals of finding, planting and picking plants....everything is taken on with great respect & treated as though it were alive. Like all things have an awareness that if you pass positive energy onto them, they will in turn pass good onto you. It kind of lends itself to a constant awareness of others & other beings. It takes one outside of themselves & maybe keeps people from dwelling too much on themselves, like don Juan says Castaneda did too much of....

blog six

2009-10-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

Castaneda writes very honestly about his experiences with don Juan, which I think really supports the notion that this business of experimenting with altered states of consciousness is harder than it seems. The author explains how he initially became interested in don Juan because he was looking at the anthropological aspects of the culture and wanted more information about peyote (and, it seemed, the diableros). Through his endeavors, he formed a relationship with don Juan that led him to experiments and experiences with ASCs. He ate the "peyote buttons" and had that trippy experience with the dog. What I thought was very interesting about that particular experience was that he wasn't completely off the wall: his friends told him later that he had, in fact, chased/played with the dog, they drank water together, there was the presence of a warm yellow something (ew), etc. But what made his personal experience different from that of his observers was that it all meant something completely different to him.

Later, when Castaneda and don Juan get into discussions about knowledge, Castaneda reveals his vulnerability (much like when he was searching for his "spot" earlier in the story). He--through the nature of his quest--continually questions the old man which, in a way, illustrates that he still has a lot to learn, but ultimately his questions lead him closer to knowledge. Castaneda sees this knowledge in the tangible form of volumes of recorded information, while don Juan sees it as something more intangible: a mastery of the self. Evident by their conversation about the four enemies of man, Castaneda is still very far away from don Juan's type of knowledge.

Although we haven't gotten there yet, I understood the introduction to suggest that Castaneda never succeeds in don Juan's brand of knowledge (as he says he willingly resigns from the training). I find this unfortunate because don Juan entrusted him with the practices for gaining knowledge and, I believe, would have passed his pipe and humito on to him. I think it actually undermines the story a little (knowing he doesn't achieve an ultimate peak of understanding through his experiments with ASCs), but I do think that he did "learn" a lot on the way and I look forward to more of what he discovered through don Juan's portal to an altered reality.

Blog 6

2009-10-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

Shape-shifting, pipes, and mushrooms, what great things to read about!

"...an ally can reveal all the secrets of these lesser powers, rendering them rather childish." (9)
Yes, killing a person with a kernel of corn is childish...

It is interesting to me how many similarities there are between different "shamanic" traditions. The very touching of an object (in this case a kernel) has much in common with the Hoodoo that I know. The use of the path on which the person walks comes up again and again in curses. There are a few spells where the person's footprints are used, sometimes even dug up and used.

In reading about Jimsonweed, the mushrooms, and peyote, it seems interesting that many of the most powerful plants are so plain looking. Grand Absinthe looks like roadside brush and was first used in Ancient Egypt. Salvia divinorum looks a lot like garden-variety sage. Hiawasca is strange in that in order to be used there is a long complicated process. Mushrooms are the worst because edible mushrooms and poisonous mushrooms have a very similar appearance and often grow in the same places. I wonder how people without the aid of modern science and testing could have figured these things out, especially since trial and error would be lethal.

"Accident, my eye! I have an enemy nearby." (49)
Remembering the field and the ability of thoughts alone to make things happen, it should be noted that psychic attacks are quite possible. Many believers would look toward a bad day: your hair is a mess, you stubbed your toe, you tripped on the stairs...etc, to be indications that somebody is ending ill-will your way. Throughout the various traditions there are ways to shield yourself from such actions.

As a pipe smoker, the discussion of the pipe appealed to my interests. I began smoking a pipe after I was given a peace pipe for I tattoo a designed for a neighbor of mine. I don't smoke the mixture that don Juan uses, (though that would be interesting) I instead use tobacco which was the most commonly used shamanic plant in America; in some places it was even currency.
As two ironies to history, though everyone these days seem to be anti-smoking, it was tobacco which saved Jamestown financially (as Europe had become hooked on the latest fad of pipe smoking) and the drug of choice in Europe, alcohol, became a plague upon the native peoples of the Americas. I found that pipe smoking is first off a lot different than cigarettes both in flavor and in the actual effects and second it is quite relaxing. The preparation of the pipe to smoke is a ritual in itself. Apart from being a sacrament in many Native American traditions, tobacco is also a sacrament to the Voodoo loas (spirits/angels/etc) Papa Legba (pipes and cigars) and Baron Samedi (cigars).

I think the most valuable thing from don Juan is his desire to treat such things with respect.

Blog Six

2009-10-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

BLoG Six

I picked up on a theme early on in the book that in order to succeed in the apprenticeship don Juan was teaching Carlos Castaneda, Castaneda had to overcome his fears. There are several instances throughout the text in chapters 1-3 of this resounding theme… one such example, “fear is the first natural enemy a man must overcome on his path to knowledge (34).” So I was not surprised when I reached the end of chapter 3 to find fear is the first natural enemy Castaneda must overcome… followed by clarity, power, and old age. This makes me wonder, as we journey along with Castaneda, if we will see him defeat more of the enemies don Juan has clearly defined.

I think it was very important to read the author’s commentaries, forward, and introduction, to the book because there isn’t a lot of reflection throughout the text. It is mainly dialogue, which I think reads quickly, but I sometimes want to hear more of what the author is thinking. For example, when don Juan slices Castaneda’s left hand on page 56, and “placed it over the pot, and squeezed it to force more blood out..” I was wondering what words flew between them! Castaneda said when he recovered from the shock he was really angry with don Juan and it took awhile for him to regain his composure. I think adding dialogue at these critical points, where a reader may want to hear reflection, with words like “I shouted **** at don Juan for grabbing and slicing my hand!” would definitely detract from the methodic presentation of the text. By restraining a lot of reflection he is really staying true to the depiction of the path and journey don Juan is leading him, he has a clear purpose to his text, it is very coherent. I am also impressed with the recording of the dialogue. I understand why it was important for don Juan to allow sound recordings.

I also found it extremely interesting how Castaneda’s first encounter with peyote differed so much from the bystanders account of what happened to him. Some of the accounts were similar—the wrestling with the dog, and the frolicking. But Castaneda didn’t give a firsthand account of running around the house barking, or (shocker) peeing on the dog. I was also surprised he didn’t seem to remember vomiting close to a dozen times. I thought that was a lot of times to be sick and never realize.. though that is a good thing I guess. I am not interested in taking hallucinogens after reading all of that, I am perfectly fine with reading another person’s accounts!! But it is certainly an interesting read.

I also found the whole “corn witchcraft” interesting… after I read it I had to re-read it because I was like “corn?.... as in a kernel?!” I still don’t totally understand how the kernel enters the body, don Juan just says it “immerses itself in the body”. Wasn’t totally sure what that meant. I tried to do research and I did not have much luck. I didn’t dig into it deeply, but my google and ask.com searches were not productive, that was disappointing. But I did find a good area of research that I will present in my group’s presentation tomorrow :)

Lastly, I was totally taked aback on the detail and the strenuous methods of preparing and consuming the hallucinogens. Everything has to be perfect (and I wondered how relevant every precise step actually was, furthermore, I wondered how long the rituals took to perfect… thousands of years? hundreds of years?). I just thought they would go out and get mushrooms from a garden or something similar, but I was wrong. Totally wrong. And I think it will be interesting to learn more as the book continues.

Blog #6: The Teachings, Ch. 1-3

2009-10-06T17:39:00.001-07:00

Don Juan refers to altered states as “states of nonordinary reality.” Everything that Don Juan touches, he is able to communicate with. He talks about cutting the devil’s weed “as if it were myself.” He states the importance of learning to tame ally powers. The word “taming” refers to control over the power of the ally. One who uses it must become strong in order to have power over the substance and be able to learn the different types of power that the separate parts of the weed teach.

I remember watching an interview with Bob Marley where he talks similarly about the Rastafari’s use of marijuana. Marley believes that one must accept herb as a reality and not as something that you crave. He says, “You reach a sense when you’re strong enough, you can take a smoke and you don’t hear the noise of the car passing because you’re thinking. Herb is a thing that will give you time for yourself to meditate.” The idea of strength is something that really struck me, but it made a lot of sense. In the society that we live in, a lot of people do drugs but it’s only seen as a way to rebel. To Don Juan, these substances are a way to build power within yourself, which I think is an incredibly positive thing.

Here is the link to the interview with Bob Marley:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsfYAJ3dQyY

Blog #6

2009-10-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

After Monday’s discussion about the axis mundi the first thing I noticed when I started reading the book was all the cacti on the cover. I wonder if the cacti, with their quality of pointing up into the sky, were purposely put on the cover to symbolize the axis mundi? At any rate, this idea of spirituality was one which followed me through the whole reading. What I was most impressed by was the way don Juan used peyote. Normally when I think of hallucinogen use I think of hippies. I guess I can’t say it with much authority because I wasn’t there, but it seems to me that most hippies tripped simply to be rebellious or just for the fun of it. Don Juan, on the other hand, was much more serious about his use of peyote. To him it was a very serious, spiritual occasion.

This seriousness is evidenced by the way he is annoyed at Castaneda for not letting the peyote “come to them.” It also very obvious how serious don Juan is when he says, “Not everybody likes Mescalito; yet they all seek him with the idea of profiting without doing any work. Naturally their encounter with him is always horrifying” (80). Clearly don Juan would disapprove of leisure drug-users. He does not see tripping as a “fun” event, but sees it as a spiritual one which must be approached through hard work and caution.

Another place that interested me during our reading was the way in which Castaneda’s trips reminded me of dreams. During his first trip he describes the dog drinking water. He says that “the water was a shiny, vicious liquid. I saw it going down the dog’s throat into his body. I saw it flowing evenly though his entire length and then shooting out through each one of his hairs” (27). This seemed to me like something one might see while dreaming. This makes sense, too, since we’ve talked about how both drug-use and sleep bring on ASC. It would only be natural to expect some of these altered states to have similarities.

To wrap up I’ll end by sharing one of the questions I had. Don Juan talks about the knowledge gained through peyote (and Castaneda agrees that he gains knowledge too), but they never specify what this knowledge is. I wondered what specifically they had learned through their experiences. I didn’t look this up because I imagine it will be addressed later in the book, but it’s something to keep in mind as I keep reading.

Blog 6

2009-10-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

The English major in me is rejoicing at the fact that this book is in story form. If for no other reason, I am really enjoying it.
I think that, more than anything, I am enjoying reading about a perspective on mind altered states coming from personal experience. I am always interested in learning about different cultures, beliefs and points-of-view that my own personal experience could never otherwise have known or learned. Not only that... but coming from a culture which, over all, has a very negative view on the use of mind-altering drugs; it is interesting to me to see them being used and revered as something sacred and respected. It is a means to achieving a greater sense of understanding that we as a nation consider no more than a means of ruining lives or landing in jail.
I found it interesting that the story was not necessarily about a deeply motivated young man, in search of greater meaning in the world who finds a master to diligently teach him the ways, so much as it was about some curious unfocused guy who finds a master of mind-altering states and wants to glean as much empirical data off of him about peyote as he can with almost no regard to the spiritual aspects of the journey. He is not diligent or very committed in his studies or trials, but just kind of pops in from time to time and gets exposed to things that he probably would have preferred just hearing about. It made me wonder what it was that Don Juan saw in this guy that made him want to take him on as an apprentice. I almost feel upset that he is not taking this experience as seriously as he should. But then again, maybe I have seen too many Karate Kid type movies and the main character is just not fitting into the stereo-type I had picked out for him.
Reading this story brought back memories of personal experiences with other things and the effects that I had felt from them. It really put into perspective for me where I am in my life and how I have come to feel about these things. At one point, I would have read this and been on the next flight to central Mexico, whereas now, I no longer have that urge to go through the body aches, thirsts and miseries that are associated with the intense visions/experiences that one can have while on drugs. I found myself feeling grateful that while I enjoyed these experiences and that they are a part of who I am and how I see things today… that time of my life has come and past and realized that it is no longer a part of me. I can still understand that longing for other-worldly experiences, but I find myself much more attracted to methods that do not involve physical side effects, like meditation or paying close attention to my body's rhythms.
I found myself wondering what exactly the two drugs that they use really look like so I went online (hopefully I didn’t get myself put on some sort of Gov’t. watchlist for it) and found these:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.peyote.nl/peyote%2520forest.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.peyote.nl/&usg=__EzgtDgEpVppmZjdqVc3o7ZKpSyM=&h=322&w=430&sz=34&hl=en&start=1&sig2=wHaW-rW6svehrvS6RSPRTw&um=1&tbnid=ju9rSKBbD5JLbM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=126&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpeyote%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7RNTN_en%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1&ei=MvHISq-9JZTGlAeu5KWSAw

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/DaturaStramonium-plant-sm.jpg

The buttons that he described looked somehow different in my mind than what they actually look like. I imagined more of a mushroom looking surface instead of a cactus.

What I really enjoyed about the book so far is the reverence and care taken by Don Juan to perfect and perform the rituals. I think this is one of the most interesting and unique aspects of humanity and something that has yet escaped my life. I am coming to believe that what we believe is not important in the grand scheme of things. God is to me the way I can see God just as God is to another the way that they can see God. What it is that we believe to be higher/outside ourselves is not what matters, it is that we truly believe in that higher ideal/being. Maybe my mind is just really focused on this idea or I have a personal agenda to fill, but it really seems to me that this is an underlying theme to consciousness and our studies in this class.

Hannah

Blog 5: Hughes, Ch. 1-4

2009-10-03T14:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the late blog post. I’ve found myself a bit overwhelmed over the past week, with some unexplainable headaches that I can’t seem to get rid of. I’m not even sure where to start with this reading. I really like Hughes, despite all of the information that he has packed into such a small number of chapters. I will elaborate on some of the ideas that got me thinking:

Hughes defines ASCs and creativity in a very simplistic way and it makes me laugh because I remember how difficult it was for our class to define it in the very beginning of the course. I always have to remind myself to just simplify, because it really does make life so much better. Creativity means “to bring an idea out of your inner world, into the external reality.” If you think about it, we live a huge amount of our lives in our unconscious world.

On page 13, Hughes talks about self-creation and the development of one’s own individuality in terms of the “creative life.” This is a question that I have been grappling with for a long time, since I had my own experience in states of depression. I was a very creative person in the past, but it seems that since I have been in college, I have strayed further away from my creative life. My ability to express my inner world seems to have been hindered by the demands of my college life (the intellectual life). I wonder how different I would be had I chosen a different path; had I chosen a photography or film school instead of a four-year university. My experiences have led me to believe in Hughes’ idea that the development of creativity is a way to improve one’s quality of life.

“My home is in my head.” –Bob Marley

Conundrums

2009-10-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

I like the word "conundrums,' and it seems to encapsulate much of what you wrote in your blogs this week. Dusty describes the readings as both "excellent and problematic" and this is true in that they provide a plethora of ideas, and in that they provide a plethora of ideas. But, you're all figuring out your own connections and interests to the ideas in the book, and expanding your own creative ideas even more. Sarah draws some wonderful quotes from the readings and focuses upon some of her own questions (which we are probably all asking). Hannah brings up the issue of using negative labels for people who experience reality in different ways, and also raises the point about "condemning" certain artists for their methods of creativity -- more cultural conditioning? Tim considers the question of whether anyone whose ingested mushrooms (the magical sort, of course) might be considered a shaman, and this is something interesting to ponder. Dusty brought up the circus symbolism, a great example of our unquestioning acceptance of cultural traditions. Many of you considered the contrasts between the last reading and this one, not only in terms of the layout and the graphics, but also in terms of the theoretical underpinnings. As we read more, continue to consider the parallels between the ZPF and the themes that begin to emerge in the other texts.

Blog 5

2009-09-30T12:19:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe this, finally we have moved on to our second book already and it is only the end of September. This one is an easier read for sure. I also think that I am beginning to like Tart…All jokes aside… He has been mentioned a lot lately, whether in our readings or in-class discussions. I guess he could very well fit the definition of creativity. Which make me realize that Hughes spends a huge (get it) sum of time discussing creativity, yet he makes it interesting to read. I really like that he wants the reader to read his book. In addition, he achieves this putting colors and pictures and making it associated with TV or movies or artists we know about unlike McTaggart, who made her book very plain and dry. Thus, it made me read Hughes with a deeper interest.
Which made me think about the first three chapters in a whole and how Hughes was using the things that he mentioned in these chapters while developing this book. One thing in particular stood out to me and that was how the “intensity of the images” and how their purpose is clearly not aesthetic.
Then I thought again about the book how it made me think about my connection with the images that I was seeing and my connections with the world I and how my own consciousness is affected by all these things. It was slowly starting to all fit together. I kept on reading creativity, power and consciousness repeatedly and something big happened. I realize that the media and all the things around us use these three things and trigger our own hormones, thus having an effect on our CNS. I also realize that we can believe in a lot of baloney without making since of it. Good book thus far.

Blog #5

2009-09-30T12:08:00.001-07:00

“Since trance-induced forms of knowledge and experience run sharply counter to Western practice, it is hard to evaluate the genuineness of the shaman’s achievement” (21). This quote captures the question which kept running through my mind as I read this chapter. Is the work done by men who are in a trance or under the influence of hallucinogens legitimate? I pondered this question the most while I was reading about the shamans and Dionysus.
According to the book the purpose of a shaman was to help people make the connection between the physical and spiritual world. He benefited the community by connecting with the spiritual world and bringing back what he saw. In other words, “the shaman’s creativity is valued according to the benefits he or she brings the people: healing, prediction, and knowledge” (21). Yet, with my Western mindset which stigmatizes the use of hallucinogens, I have to wonder how effectual the shamans’ work was. Did they have real spiritual experiences, or was it simply the effects of the drugs? Also, did they have influence when they were not in an altered state, or did all their “healing” come from an altered state?
I suppose these questions bring up my principle question. Is there really something to hallucinogenic experiences or are they just what their name implies; hallucinations? I feel also that with more information about the shamans this question could be answered. It’s not covered in the book, but I would like to know how effective the shamans were in their healing. Did the people they worked with experience better health and lifestyles as a result of the shamans, or did their lives remain basically the same? If there was an improvement in living conditions I would say there might be something to the shamans’ hallucinogenic quests, but unfortunately this is not covered in the book.
Similar questions came to mind as I read about Dionysus. It’s said in the book that “masked dancers performed the cult of Dionysus, embodying the invisible forces that worked through them” (28). This idea that Dionysus’ followers were in touch with the spiritual is an interesting concept, but I question its validity. From what I know about Dionysus’ festivals they were basically just a wild party in which all the people did was drink and have sex. So this again brings up my question about the validity of altered state experiences. Was the alcohol used in these experiences a way to come in contact with “invisible forces” or were they just plain drunk?
After reading the four chapters I guess I came out with more questions than answers. There’s no need to recap all the questions I asked in my blog, but I will end by mentioning one place in the book that I feel matches up with my own experiences. In the section about rock and roll Hughes likens that style of music to the “hypnotic quality of the shaman’s mystic drumming” (26). I have noticed too that with certain rock and roll songs the beat has an engulfing, “zone out” quality. I just thought it was interesting that this was something I had before noticed about rock and then it showed up in the book.

blog five

2009-09-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Before reading these introductory chapters of the Hughes book, I hadn't really considered that there is somewhat of a formula to creativity. I always assumed that creativity was just a "spark" rather than an entire (somewhat unconscious) process. According to the text, creativity relies on both our divergent reasoning (which is more of the "spark" aspect) and our convergent reasoning (which is the fruition of the creative experience of the creator), the latter of which I had overlooked. This idea is more specifically explained in the part of the text where Hughes asserts that the drugs or other inductions used by shamans and other creative people are the means; the usefulness of the experience to the people or the finished piece or work by the artist, these things are the end.

In the second chapter, I noted that Ramon Medina Silva explains that shamans have the ability to "venture without fear onto the narrow bridge across the great chasm separating the ordinary world from the world beyond" (24). Later in the book, Hughes calls them "professional dreamers" (49). In essence, shamans are responsible for communicating with larger forces (Nature, God, etc.) in some other world or consciousness and for then explaining their experience (and its meaning) to their communities. They achieve this through entering altered states of consciousness. I think it's interesting that these states are altered, when, apparently (no offense to shamanistic societies) this could be done by everybody. Thinking about famous artists, musicians, etc., drugs are an accessible portal to an altered state: the realm within which creative experience lies.

By the third chapter, Hughes is informing us about our brains, which are the processing centers of our bodies. I think it was an interesting point that both "sides" of our brains can be used for both mundane and creative processes. I think that someone like Dali would have employed his right brain for the purposes of creating his arts, while someone like Bill Gates would employ his left brain for his more analytical creations. Either way, both were able to use their brains to create new, meaningful work.

Continuing in chapter three, Hughes' point about the Internet and the dissociation of the self got me thinking... For people who are used to functioning as a unified whole most of the time, the Internet allows them to explore other parts of themselves, perhaps revealing something new. After all, according to the text, creativity is about "confront[ing] differene aspects of [our]selves and emerg[ing] with a new unity" (45). This new unity would result in some creation itself or possibly a new understanding.

Finally, the fourth chapter about dreams (something we've discussed in The Field), illustrates, once again, that our dreams unlock our unconscious. Hughes compares the dreamer to the psychotic, and I see his point as impressively valid. Aren't we all a little bit crazy in our dreams? And isn't that one way to know the difference between our dreams and our "ordinary" consciousness (the fact that we view dreams and psychotics as crazy)? Lucid dreaming--if only I could have more of those!--is one way that we can access and empower our creativity. Dreams, like trances, enable us to communicate with things that we do not "normally" bother with or understand in our "ordinary" consciousness. Dreams, out of body experiences, drugs, and the like are all ways in which we can connect to our unconsciousness or access a kind of collective consciousness (remember the Zero Point Field), in order to harness our creativity and produce something with it.

Blog 5

2009-09-30T11:39:00.001-07:00

Blog 5
I think that my perception of these chapters is weakened by the conditions of the environment in which I read the book. I admit fully that I waited until the last minute to read it and being surrounded by a bunch of people checking their facebooks did not help either. That being said… I really felt overwhelmed by the sheer expanse of ideas and aspects of creativity and consciousness covered in these 4 chapters to write a decent blog about it all. One of the main themes that I found to be the most interesting to me and seemed to be threaded throughout the four chapters is that in order to access our inner creativity, (which we all possess) we need to be able to let go of our hold on reality for a bit.
There is a great saying out there that “there is a fine line between Genius and Madness” and I agree with it fully.
It seems to me that, in order for us to create, explore, understand or think outside of the doldrums of everyday existence… to take ourselves off of the auto-pilot function that pretty much gets us through our daily routines, we have to encounter madness in some form or another. It also seems that that interaction with alternate consciousness, in the pursuit of creativity can have a very negative effect on us in this reality. It can also come with some very negative labels which can effect our interpersonal relationships and our sense of belonging and acceptance.
If we are able to access the abyss of creativity on our own, to the extent that is genius, we are labeled as crazy, unstable, unattached, etc.
If we find exterior means of accessing the alternative consciousness we are labeled as druggies or weak and unable to deal with reality.
These are a bit on the harsh side of the spectrum, but realities none-the-less.
I find it a bit ironic that, in order to find oneself in an altered state, in an attempt to connect with or be in tune with the greater world of thought and creativity, one has to almost cut themselves off from the comforts of their surroundings. This can be permanent, temporary, drug induced or figuratively. Insert proper descriptive word for level of separation here.
To finish up, I think it is funny that, while in real life we shun the idea of insanity or drug use or whatever other mind-altering state that people find themselves in, we praise the products that come out of that state of mind.
My fiancé and I have this argument all the time. I am a real lover of the music of the doors, the Beatles (later years), Jimi Hendricks, Bob Dylan, etc. and I recognize that it was their brushes with an alternative world that led them to be as creative and expressive as they were. I applaud their actions for the sake of adding such genius to our cultural understanding. He on the other hand, once he learns that the work was a product of creativity brought about, undoubtedly by drugs or other mind altering methods is immediately turned off from it, simply for its illegal/immoral connotations. This to me is a tragedy, that we desire the products of brilliance, but condemn the methods by which this brilliance is created.

Hannah