Sugar may be the single most widely consumed food byproduct in human history. The modern day usage of sugar could easily place it on the hierarchy of socially accepted drugs. Sugar addictions are the most pervasive and damaging due to its subtle effects as well as cultural programming. The common consensus is to do sweets in “moderation” and yet the average American consumes his/her body weight in sugar per year. We know that an excessive amount of sugar in the body can lead to osteoporotic conditions, immune system break down, neurological disfunction, and blood sugar imbalances. Hypoglycemia is a condition that occurs when the pancreas responds to an excess of sugar in the blood stream by releasing a large amount of insulin leaving the individual with a fatigue from low blood sugar. This is generally a precursor to diabetes type 2 where the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin to compensate for a concentration of sugar in the blood thus wearing out the pancreas.

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Psilocybin(psilocybe cubensis)

The most common colloquial terms used for identifying psilocybin are magic mushrooms, psychedelic mushrooms, or shrooms. The usage of psychedelic mushrooms are well known through out human history, both theoretically and verifiable through archeological evidence. Depictions of mushrooms believed to be psilocybin show up in many rock paintings dating between the paleolithic and neolithic era. The Stoned Ape Theory was constructed by Terrence McKenna to hypothetically explain the evolutionary progression of primates into upright humanoids based on the dietary use of visionary plants, specifically psilocybe cubensis. This is a fairly well accepted concept in the field of ethnomycology and one I resonated with in contrast to the more religiously upheld doctrines of human evolutionary studies.

The study of medicinal mushrooms(reishi, chaga, cordyceps, shiiatake, etc.) brought forth by the leading herbal systems and publicly acknowledged by mycologist Paul...

The Pharmaceutical Industry

Practice two things in your dealings with disease: either help or do not harm the patient"

Thomas Inman

In 400 BC the originator of natural medicine Hippocrates summed up the pathway of healing and medicine by stating “let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. This meant that our first and foremost source of medicine or panacea was within our natural food and also to say that our medicine (herbal medicine) should be consumed as food in regularity within our diet. Since the advent of the industrial revolution and technological age we have completely lost touch with these original tenets of health and have adopted a short cut model of “health care” which deals in synthetic drugs, radioactive chemical therapies, invasive surgical procedures, animal testing(vivisection), unproven injectable toxin based therapies (vaccines), etc as the modern model of medicine. In other words, we have left behind our natural roots of medicine...

Tobacco(Nicotiana):

In terms of misnomers in the plant world, perhaps no other plant has been more misunderstood than tobacco. The use of tobacco has been a traditional staple in Native American tribes, some say, dating back as far as 1,000 B.C. The focus of it’s use and cultivation was some-what varied such as a readily accepted form of trade, but more often used in ceremonial circles such as to seal an agreement or covenant as well as to offer prayers in a ritualistic setting. Tobacco was thought to be a sacred gift by the creator, and that the exhaled smoke helps to deliver ones thoughts and prayers to the heavens. On October 15, 1492 Christopher Columbus documented that dried leaves(tobacco) were carried by a man in a canoe near the island of Ferdinandina because they were esteemed for their healthfulness. It was also observed by two of Columbus’s crew that people in what we know as Cuba were carrying a burning torch that contained tobacco, the purpose of this...

From Panacea to Poison

The theobroma cacao plant is the sole embodiment of the classic story of Faust, or the Faustian bargain where a dissatisfied alchemist exchanges his innocence for fame and fortune now only to surrender his soul for eternity. The cacao bean in it’s origin was used as a form of inspiration and creativity by way of transmitting it’s insights into those who consumed it.  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who wrote the story of Faust is known to have been a chocolate enthusiast. In 1792 it is noted that Goethe was touring in Switzerland where the Swiss were in a less than satisfactory level of developing chocolates, therefore Geothe took no chances and carried his own chocolate with him along with a chocolate pot for his journey. It is my sneaking suspicion that Goethe, like many other literary geniuses consumed copious amounts of cacao or chocolate as it’s stimulating effects help induce creativity. The correlations between the iconic story of...

Ayahuascsa(banisteriopsis caapi)

The treasured brew of the Amazon has been cherished and ritualized in visionary ceremonies for thousands of years with the sole purpose of deep physical and emotional healing as well as spiritual insight. The practice of ayahuascsa has gained world wide recognition and is protected in the Amazon by legal religious right. This act has been passed on through countless generations as a rights of passage, a symbol of environmental preservation, and acknowledged as a bridge between mother earth and mankind.  This brew is often called “la purga” due to its liver and gall bladder detoxification effects on the body. Similar to a raw food cleanse it initiates what is known as a short term healing crisis in order to expel physical toxins so deep seeded emotions can surface. Some alternative psychiatrists who work with patients from a holistic view appreciate entheogenic medicine such as ayahuascsa as it helps to reveal ones inner-conflicts...

Altered States of Consciousness

“A culture is what it eats, and a person’s personality is often largely a reflection of their diet.”

Terrence McKenna

As the subject of altered states of consciousness appears in conventional terms there is a strong tendency to oppose its validation or at the very least to raise defensive banners. This is often a misconstrued concept in civilization simply due to the fact that most lifestyle behaviors alter our consciousness in one form or another. Everything we put into our body stimulates a consciousness alteration due to blood sugar stimulation, metabolization, hormone secretions, and nuero-chemical enzyme reactions. A piece of fried chicken has a significantly different effect on ones conscious outlook than a green vegetable juice for example. Watching the nightly news opposed to watching our children play will dramatically alter ones sense of well being and perspective of reality. It is my opinion that society at large would...

Cacao shamanism

The sacred art of cacao shamanism has been performed for thousands of years as a tool for deeper understanding of ourselves and the environment around us. As the reader is well aware of by now cacao is known as food of the gods. Some have been recently describing it as the food for the collective conscious shift. This medicinal plant has reentered our consciousness at the most pivotal time in our modern history. There is, and has been a tremendous shifting over of personal and cultural values worldwide- cacao medicine and those who administer it are helping to facilitate this shift. Indigenous people tell us that when the delicate balance between nature and humans is compromised, cacao shows up to soften peoples hearts and restore harmony.

“The cacao tree is here on earth to heal the etheric heart of man and this mission is as important as plankton fixing oxygen from the sea.”

Deva, living spirit of the cacao plant

There are cacao ceremonies held in...

The Pain Teacher Philosophy

There is a particularly important principles that I first became aware of through one of my mentors Paul Chek, who is a world class holistic health leader and kinesiology specialist. He discusses a four quadrant teaching model he adopted from the philosopher Ken Wilber called the four doctors being doctor diet, doctor happiness, doctor movement, and doctor quiet. Underneath all of these essential aspects of holistic wellness resides the principle of the pain teacher which basically explains that every form of pain or discomfort we experience in our lives holds a teaching as to what is going wrong for us or is simply a misalignment in one, two, three, or all four aspects of our life experience from this model. He further explains in this teaching that when we repeatedly medicate, sedate, or numb ourselves in whatever manner of ways we begin to cut off the fundamental feedback loop that our body, mind, intuition, and soul is attempting to communicate with...

“Man's character is his fate.”

 Heraclitus, Fragments

When attempting to understand the concrete principles of a self directed, self sovereign, and self led life we discover that we must begin to study human psychology and much of it’s intricacies. Attempting to understand the complexities of the human mind and psychological motivations that are both conscious and unconscious we quickly find that very little of it is rational or logical in nature. What we discover is that human emotion is at the drivers seat of virtually all of the psychological twists and turns people go through and largely is how we make the majority of our life decisions. People often like to assume that the choices and decisions they make are primarily, if not entirely, rationally selected and logically acted upon, yet what we find is that people make decisions based on emotion and as quickly as possible rationalize their decision to appease their emotions. There is nothing...