Tag: history
Psychedelic-induced mystical experiences: An interdisciplinary discussion and critique
Contemporary research on serotonergic psychedelic compounds has been rife with references to so-called ‘mystical’ subjective effects. Several psychometric assessments have been used to assess such effects, and clinical studies have found quantitative associations between ‘mystical experiences’ and positive mental health outcomes. The nascent study of psychedelic-induced mystical experiences, however, has only minimally intersected with relevant contemporary scholarship from disciplines within the social sciences and humanities, such as religious studies and anthropology. Viewed from the perspective of these disciplines—which feature rich historical and cultural literatures on mysticism, religion, and related topics—‘mysticism’ as used in psychedelic research is fraught with limitations and intrinsic biases that are seldom acknowledged. Most notably, existing operationalizations of mystical experiences in psychedelic science fail to historicize the concept and therefore fail to acknowledge its perennialist and specifically Christian bias. Here, we trace the historical genesis of the mystical in psychedelic research in order to illuminate such biases, and also offer suggestions toward more nuanced and culturally-sensitive operationalizations of this phenomenon. In addition, we argue for the value of, and outline, complementary ‘non-mystical’ approaches to understanding putative mystical-type phenomena that may help facilitate empirical investigation and create linkages to existing neuro-psychological constructs. It is our hope that the present paper helps build interdisciplinary bridges that motivate fruitful paths toward stronger theoretical and empirical approaches in the study of psychedelic-induced mystical experiences.
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I have not yet read this paper but am posting it anyway because psychedelics are interesting in and of themselves and also in relation to Buddhist history and religious practice worldwide. From what I know about psychedelics, they can be very helpful to some people used the right way at the right time. I honestly do not want to encourage the use of any drugs, including many prescribed drugs and OTC ‘pain-killers’ (some are brain killers, imo), but also believe that there is abundant evidence that psychedelics have affected most religious traditions beneficially, including Buddhism. From a Buddhist point of view I wonder Are We Misunderstanding the Fifth Precept? For the record, I do not use any drugs at all except caffeine and a very occasional micro-dose of homegrown organic tobacco under the tongue for maybe 30 seconds. ABN
Direct evidence of the use of multiple drugs in Bronze Age Menorca (Western Mediterranean) from human hair analysis
Abstract
Human hair dated to Late Prehistory is exceedingly rare in the Western Mediterranean. Archaeological excavations in the Bronze Age burial and cult cave of Es Càrritx, in Menorca (Balearic Islands) provided some human hair strands involved in a singular funerary rite. This finding offered the opportunity to explore the possible use of drug plants by Late Bronze Age people. Here we show the results of the chemical analyses of a sample of such hair using Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS). The alkaloids ephedrine, atropine and scopolamine were detected, and their concentrations estimated. These results confirm the use of different alkaloid-bearing plants by local communities of this Western Mediterranean island by the beginning of the first millennium cal BCE.
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Robert F Kennedy Jr wide-ranging interview
The part on vaccines is very interesting. It starts at ~1:18 min. I spot watched other parts but have watched most of this one without skipping forward. ABN
‘Joe Biden led a kickback scheme’ — ex-stenographer for VP Joe Biden
Biden’s ex-stenographer on Primetime: Joe Biden led a kickback scheme. Biden went to Ukraine in 2014 as VP to push for fracking, knowing that Hunter would get rich off of it. I have all the proof but the FBI won’t do a thing.
It is precisely a stenographer who will notice portentous details like this and understand their significance. ABN
Russia & Belarus draw closer together as West dreams of reestablishing the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Red Guard in China
This is a staged photo but still shows the horrible fanaticism of revolutionary madness. Not all evil is banal. Much of it looks savage and righteous like this. Just what we are seeing now in USA among young (and old) fools who are attracted to the intellectual pseudo-certainty of fanatical goals. ABN
The CIA’s Sinister ‘Transparency Plan’ for JFK Files
The website of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), where all files in the JFK Collection are housed, now features links to official documentation on a new process governing disclosure of records related to the JFK assassination that is not written into law and not approved by Congress.
By publishing these materials on behalf of executive branch agencies still in control of such files, the National Archives is helping the CIA, FBI, National Security Agency (NSA) and others to evade their legal obligations under the JFK Records Act, passed unanimously by Congress in 1992.
Having blown the statutory deadline written into the JFK Records Act four times in six years, the CIA and other federal agencies are now seeking to eliminate the deadline altogether.
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FLASHBACK 1946: Operation Highjump in Antartica
In this issue of the Army-Navy Screen Magazine series (No. 85), viewers are treated to a short documentary on the U.S. Navy’s Antarctic expedition, Operation Highjump, a 1946-1947 mission to Antarctica to establish the Antarctic research base Little America IV, to assess the feasibility of maintaining a permanent base, and further American understanding of the continent that led to global peace treaty that restricts research and travel to Antarctica.
The Antarctic Treaty was signed in Washington on 1 December 1959 by the twelve countries whose scientists had been active in and around Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of 1957-58. It entered into force in 1961 and has since been acceded to by many other nations. The total number of Parties to the Treaty is now 56.
Playing ‘Fool’s Mate’ on the Grand Eurasian Chessboard — Ron Unz
For at least a generation or more, America’s international policies have increasingly been governed by our Ministry of Propaganda, and the bill may finally be starting to come due.
Last Wednesday the Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia was joining China’s Shanghai Cooperative Organization, a decision that came just a few weeks after the announcement that it had reestablished diplomatic relations with arch-enemy Iran following negotiations held in Beijing under Chinese auspices. For three generations, the oil rich kingdom had been America’s most important Arab ally, and the lead sentence of the Journal article emphasized that this dramatic development reflected our waning influence in the Middle East.
That same day, Brazil declared that it was abandoning the use of dollars in its transactions with China, its largest trading partner, following an earlier statement that its president planned to meet with China’s leader in support of that country’s efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, a diplomatic initiative strongly opposed by our own government. Geopolitical dominoes seem to rapidly falling, taking down American influence with them.
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Francois Hollande admits NATO was strengthening Ukraine
Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus forced Francois Hollande to tell the truth.
Pretending to be the former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, the pranksters Vovan and Lexus contacted the ex-President of France Francois Hollande. “Poroshenko” discussed with Hollande how together they managed to remove Yanukovych and how the Minsk Agreements were just a way to pump weapons into Ukraine.
“Everyone thought it was Putin who was playing for time. No, we were playing for time to strengthen Ukraine,” Hollande said.
One more vector proving NATO/US/ neocons planned and executed military preparation for the proxy war against Russia that is now playing out. It is very likely Poland and the Baltics will be sucked into this disaster, eventually to be denuded of their populations as Ukraine has. ABN
Michael Callahan: DARPA’s Ventilator Guy in Wuhan
Michael Callahan, the Department of Defense’s virus intelligence expert in Wuhan, was key to the initial panic and ventilator guidance that killed thousands of Covid patients in spring 2020.
Aside from former Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger, another lesser-known national security figure who was key to the earliest days of the United States’ response to Covid-19 is Michael Callahan, longtime manager for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the United States government’s only confirmed point of contact regarding the earliest days of the Wuhan lockdown in January 2020.
Unlike more public-facing figures such as Anthony Fauci, Callahan isn’t often discussed in major media outlets. But stories of Callahan’s crucial role are available just beneath the surface, from outlets including Rolling Stone and National Geographic. His preferred media contact, Brendan Borrell, wrote a book centered around his exploits in the response to Covid.
Callahan had been one of the US government’s leading biowarfare experts since the early 2000s, when he was dispatched to the former Soviet Union for several years “to form alliances with scientists at some of the most secretive bioweapons laboratories in Russia and the former Soviet states.” This entailed the “reconfiguration of former biological weapons production facilities” in order “to fight disease rather than weaponize it,” primarily for purposes of vaccine production.
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Very good background info on the early days of the plandemic and a big reason why ventilators were promoted so strongly and later vaxxes. Well-worth reading. ABN
SARS-1 — Evidence of an Artificial Origin
As the world debates the origin of SARS-COV-2, most assume the SARS outbreak of 2003 was a natural event. But revisiting the evidence I found parallels, direct linkages and many unresolved questions.
To understand the origin of SARS-CoV-2 it’s illuminating to revisit the history of the first SARS outbreak and the subsequent investigation of its origin. SARS is assumed to be the result of a natural zoonosis by most scientists – including many who are open to an artificial origin of SARS-CoV-2. But the basis for this assumption may be unsound. There are many parallels between the two viruses both at the molecular level, and also in the epidemiology, pandemic management and origins tracing. Many of the same individuals and institutions play key roles in both. It may be that these outbreaks aren’t independent events, but the result of a long-term research program.
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Why narcissism works
Narcissism works because its victims don’t see it.
Victims don’t see it because they are children being raised by narcissistic parent(s) or very commonly adults who were raised by narcissists. There is even a term for the latter: ACoN, Adult Children of Narcissists.
Other kinds of people also fall for narcissists, but having been raised by narcissistic parent(s) is probably the most common.
Narcissists often appear normal to others due to narcissism being a fairly common disorder and also due to the narcissist’s deep-seated need to appear normal to others. They are experts at “impression management.” That’s a big part of what narcissism is.
For many ACoNs, narcissistic traits look perfectly normal because that is what they experienced at home. Narcissistic smiles, glares, malice, selfishness, ostracism, false concern, abuse, and more all seem normal because they were imprinted on the primary instincts of the child to need and trust their parents and siblings.
In truth, entire cultures can be narcissistic, abusive, hierarchical. To break these habits in interpersonal relationships, you have to do FIML practice or something very similar.
first posted FEBRUARY 15, 2018
American Buddhist Net 