Thursday, September 11, 2008

A case of misadventure

Teacher stabbed himself to death while high on magic mushrooms.

- telegraph.co.uk (link here)

The legacy of Terence McKenna.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Salvia divinorum

Until a decade ago, the use of salvia was largely limited to those seeking revelation under the tutelage of Mazatec shamans in its native Oaxaca, Mexico.

- NY Times (link here)

And now it is being ruined by juvenile delinquents seeking cheap thrills.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Plant Alkaloids

http://waynesword.palomar.edu/ww0703.htm

Very wide-ranging and interesting article on plant alkaloids.

Shaman's Drum

http://shamansdrum.org/index.html

A Journal of Experiential Shamanism and Spiritual Healing

Huichols, Yaquis, and Castaneda

"Of course, Castaneda's book was not about Huichols (as it turned out, it was not about Yaquis, either, but that is another story)."

"Nearly two decades after psychologist Richard de Mille debunked Castaneda's books in two carefully researched and reasoned studies (1976, 1980/1990), as fiction, and not a new kind of ethnography...."

- page 508, Conclusion: Peyote Pilgrims and Don Juan Seekers: Huichol Indians in a Multicultural World by Peter T. Furst and Stacy B. Schaeffer in People of the Peyote: Huichol Indian History, Religion, & Survival (1996) edited by Stacy B. Schaeffer and Peter T. Furst

A huge concession on the part of professional anthropologists that UCLA granted a Ph.D. in anthropology to Castaneda based on works of fiction and not anthropology.

Some modern anthropologists are embarrassed by the egregious breach of ethics by Castaneda and UCLA.