Sunday Afternoon:
PANEL
OF ELDERS:
Michael
Horowitz,
Laura
Huxley, Cynthia
Palmer ,
Ann
Shulgin,
Sasha
Shulgin, Huston
Smith ,
and Myron
Stolaroff.
This 90+ minute round-table presentation featured an informal
discussion moderated by Erik Davis followed by a question-and-answer
session. With the primary focus on audience interaction, this
was a great chance for conference attendees to query the legends
of psychedelia. This much anticipated panel was further enhanced
by the presence of Rosemary Woodruff Leary and was joined
by Jean Millay for the question and answer session.
[Sound
bites, but not exact quotes]
“45 years ago I came to the conclusion that LSD was
the greatest discovery ever made.” (Stolaroff)
“My first psychedelic experience with Aldous still directs
my life today.” (Huxley)
“At first I gave credit to the compounds. Then I realized
it was me.” (Sasha Shulgin)
“Humor can save you when involved in these pursuits.” (Horowitz)
“There is a coming home. A home base. Psychedelics help you
reconnect with home.” (Ann Shulgin)
“Two important points for psychonauts to remember: 1) Never
lose your sense of humor; and 2) Never take yourself too seriously.
(Sasha Shulgin)
“There is a connectedness, a cellular awareness, an animation
in everything around me, a sense of the divine.” (Palmer)
“My suffering has brought me closer to God.” (Huston Smith
quoting Ram Das)
“Our culture works against our taking the other world seriously.”
(Smith)
“Aldous’ Brave New World was a warning. He thought
it would take 500 years to arrive, but it got here in 50.
His Island is a possibility, a recipie. ‘Attention’
is the first word in the book.” (Huxley)
“Written words are not enough. They must be lived day by
day.” (Huxley)
“The government defines ‘drug use’ as the use of drugs the
approve of, and ‘drug abuse’ as use of drugs of which they
disapprove. (Sasha Shulgin)
“Young people don’t belong to their parents any more.” (Huxley)
“More children are killed by guns than by all other causes
combined.” (Huxley)
“Parents should encourage their children to talk about their
dreams.” (Ann Shulgin)
“We must stay awake and help others to do so. We must encourage
everything that shows the aliveness and connectedness of everthing
that exists.” (Palmer)
“Our first responsibility is to become enlightened.” (Stolaroff)
“Learn how to make your life a work of art.” (Horowitz)
“We have to educate our children as to the difference between
getting dizzy and being in a higher state of consciousness.”
(Millay)
“Flashbacks are real, but they have nothing to do with taking
drugs.” (Sasha Shulgin)
"Psychedelic
Thinking and the Dawn of Homo Cyber" — Lawrence
Hagerty
[From
the Mind States brochure]
As the new millennium dawns, we find ourselves confronted
with ecological havoc on a global scale. Each day it becomes
more apparent that our species can no longer continue over-populating
and over-consuming the limited resources of this planet. To
change humanity's course requires more than a change of heart--it
requires a change in our thinking. In this presentation, Lawrence
Hagerty proposes the adoption of "psychedelic thinking"
as the first step on our journey into a precarious future.
Full
Text of Hagerty’s presentation (read online in HTML format)
Full
Text of Hagerty’s presentation (right click to download
the PDF version)
"Reflections
on Imprisonment and Liberation as Aspects of Consciousness"
— Nicholas Sand
[From
the Mind States brochure]
Nick Sand, one of the original psychedelic guides from
the Millbrook commune, alchemist, yogi, spiritual practitioner,
and drug war victim, will discuss the psychological states
encountered as an underground chemist, a fugitive, and his
five years in prison. The topics dealt with will be how attitude,
intention, and time, reveal the reality of true inner freedom.
[Sound
bites, but not exact quotes]
“Jails are long term torture chambers that force you
to plead out just to get into prison.”
“Yoga was a major help while in prison.”
“By accepting the life of a monk I could handle it.”
“Adversity brings out nobility and mikes life much deeper.”
“Governments are having trouble keeping up with rapid change,
and psychedelics are only a small part of it.”
“By ‘rapid change’ I mean the vast process of consciouss
evolution going on around us today.”
“The suffering lives in the story you tell.”
Editorial Note: Most (if not
all) people present for Nick Sand’s first public appearance
after being released from incarceration were touched beyond
measure. His presentation was surely the high point of Mind
States II. The full text of Nick's presentation will be available
from this page in the near future.
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