Sacred Economics: Chapter 16, Transition to Gift Economy (Pt.17)

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The following is the seventeenth installment from Sacred Economics: Money, Gift, and Society in the Age of Transition, available from EVOLVER EDITIONS/North Atlantic Books. You can read the Introduction here, and visit the Sacred Economics homepage here.

Under
capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite.
–John Kenneth Galbraith

 

The new
exchange systems we are exploring blur the boundary between the monetary and
nonmonetary realms and therefore the standard definition of the "economy."
Really, what is the economy? Underneath the ephemera of money — slips of paper,
bits in computers — what changes when the economy grows or shrinks? How would we
measure it in the absence of a common unit of account? Ultimately, what
economics attempts to measure, underneath money, is the totality of all that
human beings make and do for each other.

That we should even attempt to measure this at
all is quite odd. I have already leveled judicious criticism at the fat target
of economics' equation of money with the good. However, alternative measures of
economic progress, such as the genuine progress indicator or national happiness
index, suffer similar problems on a subtler level. Certainly they are
improvements over GDP, for they no longer count such things as prisons and
armaments as positive contributors to the good, and they add to economic
wellness such things as leisure time. Nonetheless, they still assume that we
can and should quantify the good, and that in order to do so, we must convert
everything into a standard unit of measure.

Money and measure are indeed closely
intertwined. Money originated, in fact, as measure: standardized quantities of
commodities and then metals. The age of money has coincided with the program of
reductionism and objectivity, which sought through science to attain mastery
over the world. What can be measured can be mastered, as we imply when we claim
to have taken the measure of a man. The immeasurable was excluded from
science — "consign it to the flames," Hume said — and from economics as well. Thus
it has come to pass that standard of living has diverged from quality of life.
The former is a quantifiable standard; the latter is not.

Of all the things that human beings make and do
for each other, it is the unquantifiable ones that contribute most to human
happiness. You might, for instance, quantify leisure time and assign it a
dollar value to calculate a society's well-being, but how is that leisure time
spent? It could be spent mired in an addiction, in mindless entertainment, in
intimacy with another person, or in telling stories to children. And even if we
somehow accounted for these distinctions, could we quantify how present someone
is when they are telling those stories? Can we quantify how anxious someone is
when at work? If public policy is guided by the maximization of a quantity — be
it GDP or some other measure — the most important things will surely be left out.

Quantifiable needs are also finite — another
reason to question a money system predicated on the infinite growth of finite
demand for finite resources. Qualitative needs are different: they are neither
quantifiable nor finite. It is in this realm that the ideology of Ascent finds
its true spiritual motivation. Growth, on one level, might end-the growth of
the monetized realm, the growth of our appropriation of nature — but another kind
of development will continue: the growth of the human spirit, with its infinite
need for beauty, love, connection, and knowledge. A zero-growth future is not a
stagnant future, no more than a human life stagnates when a teenager grows her
last inch at age sixteen.

Money, which facilitates the meeting of our
quantifiable needs, will have a place in human life for many centuries to come.
It will occupy a diminished role, however, as I described in the chapter on
degrowth. Instead of obsessively fulfilling and overfulfilling our finite needs
to the present degree of obscene hypertrophy, we will turn our energy to the
unmet qualitative needs that so impoverish us today.

To meet our unquantifiable needs, we need
nonmonetary circulation. When the qualitative is matched with the quantitative,
the infinite to the finite, then the former is debased. The exchange of beauty
for money, intimacy for money, attention for money — all smell of prostitution.
The distaste of the artist for the world of commerce is not just an egotism
that says he is above it all. When money tries to buy beauty, love, knowledge,
connection, and so forth, either the buyer receives a counterfeit, or the
seller, having sold the infinitely precious for a finite sum, is exploited. It
is really quite simple; as the Beatles put it, "Money can't buy you love."

That is why we need other ways for our gifts to
circulate. The matter is complicated, though, by the fact that the quantifiable
is often a vehicle for the unquantifiable. I am not advocating two separate
realms, the monetary and the gift, but rather a mixed system in which money
takes on more of the properties of gift and mediatory structures of gifting
arise to take over the role of money.

Whether or not money is involved, the
fundamental issues of economy — what people make and do for each other-are these:
(1) how to connect the provider of a gift with the person who needs that gift;
(2) how to acknowledge and honor those who give generously of their gifts; and
(3) how to coordinate the gifts of many people across space and time in order
to create things transcending the needs or gifts of any individual. Though it
may not be obvious, these goals correspond roughly to the three cardinal
functions of money: medium of exchange, unit of account, and store of value.

Many quasi-monetary and nonmonetary ways to
achieve these three goals are emerging today. In the open-source software
world, for example, P2P technologies allow a community of programmers to
envision projects, coordinate talents, and recognize the contributions of its
members, all without using money. In a way, the esteem of peers, based on the
quality and quantity of previous contributions, is a form of "currency" that
allows some members to exercise greater influence over group decisions than
others. It is not quantified though; nor is it quantifiable without losing
something of its essence. We can reduce esteem and prestige to a number, but
let us recognize that this is in fact a reduction. Just as when analog
recordings are rendered into digital formats, something of the warmth,
humanity, and infinity of the original is lost.

Many online systems do indeed convert
reputation and contribution to a number. The user rating systems of websites
like Amazon and eBay are one such quasi-currency. Not only can users rate and
review products, they can also rate each others' ratings, creating a
self-policing system. What is essentially a gift economy (no one receives any
direct reward for writing reviews) is evolving structures that parallel the
mediatory functions of money.

Timothy Wilken, a medical doctor, philosopher,
and gift-economy activist, has taken this idea a step further in his GIFTegrity
system, currently in beta. It asks each member to provide a profile listing
what he or she wishes to give and to receive. The recipient of a gift rates the
transaction, and these ratings determine the order in which potential
recipients of one's gifts will be listed. If you have given a lot, your name
will be near the top when someone is searching for a recipient of the gift he
wants to offer. If you then receive a gift, your rating will drop a bit to
reflect that your giving and receiving have moved closer into balance. These
ratings points act very much like money.

In a traditional community, no such rating
system would be necessary, as the giving and the needs of each member would be
common knowledge. Systems like GIFTegrity seem to offer the possibility of
bringing gift relationships into a broader realm. But rather than obviating the
need for money, they are recreating it, albeit as something much closer to its
original essence as a token of gratitude. The ratings in GIFTegrity and similar
systems are money. You receive points for giving; you expend them in
receiving. Such systems bear a fundamental limitation of money as well, in that
the qualitative resists quantification on a linear scale. Of course, they are
superior to today's usury-based money; but this kind of technocratic
alternative, however brilliant, doesn't speak to what has been lost in our
quantification of the world. We want to recover the infinite. Ratings and
points don't meet our deep need for the personal ties, gratitude, and multidimensional
stories that circulate in gift culture.

Am I contradicting myself, saying that money
originated as a token of gratitude and that money originated as measure? Money
was inhabited, as it were, by two spirits from the very beginning. It was both
an extension of gift economics (which was once nearly all there was) into the
realm of mass society and an incursion of measuring, counting, keeping, and
controlling into the original openness of gift mentality. Yet in speaking of
money as a token of gratitude I am also using the word "originate" in a
nonnormal sense, referring to an origin not in time but in, for lack of a
better phrase, the mind of God. I am referring to money's teleological origin,
the purpose for which it came into being in this world.

The measure function of money has a counterpart
in gift economics, for even though gifts do not come with a specific
expectation of return, nonetheless they ordinarily happen within view of the
community. The anonymous giving that we elevate today to the highest category
of generosity had a minor role in gift cultures past and present. Communities
were generally aware of the needs, gifts, and degree of generosity of their
members. Money substitutes for this awareness: in theory, at least, it confers
the benefits of social recognition onto the people who contribute. In practice,
the scope of recognized contribution has been limited to contribution to the
"ascent" of humanity, the growing of the human realm. But even with a degrowth
currency, the deeper problem remains that money by nature can operate only in
the realm of the quantifiable. We face the question of how to facilitate the
flow of the nonquantifiable across the vast social distances of mass society.
In hundreds of thousands of years of human existence, this is a new problem.

Perhaps we can begin reconstructing gift
economy from the ground up. Today, money has taken over even on small scales,
where informal consensus and the social witnessing of generosity could
facilitate the three above-mentioned functions of connecting, honoring, and
coordinating gifts. As more and more people recognize the social impoverishment
of the conversion of relationship into money, and as the money system itself
unravels, people are finding ways to reclaim these functions. One of my
favorites is the Gift Circle, developed by Alpha Lo and now replicating itself
around the country. In this weekly gathering, participants state one or more
things they would like to give and one or more things they would like to
receive. Often, it seems, a magical synchronicity of wants and needs unfolds.
"You need a potato masher? We have three." Or, "You need a ride to the airport
on Friday? My husband is flying out then, too." Witnessing the generosity of
others, over time participants feel more and more comfortable asking of and
giving to others in the circle. Help is always a phone call away. If, during
the week, someone helps another fix her car, then she can tell of this gift in
the next circle so that the gift may be witnessed. A sense of community grows
along with the knowledge that if you give, you will be known as a giver, and
people will desire to give to you in turn.

Another way to accomplish something similar is
to use a website to offer gifts, make requests, and record what has been given.
When this is done on a large scale, the means of fulfilling these functions
looks more and more like money. Without personal familiarity with what is being
given and received, some means of standardization becomes necessary. On a small
scale, though, merely witnessing the flow of gifts, whether directly or via the
medium of stories, suffices. Without that witnessing, gifts are less potent in
creating community. This is the flaw in such systems as Freecycling and
Craigslist (although the fact that people use these at all testifies to our
innate generosity). Newer systems such as Giftflow, Neighborgoods, Shareable,
GIFTegrity, and many others recognize and remedy this flaw.

Notice that all I have described so far
accelerates the degrowth of the economy. When we give each other rides to the
airport instead of hiring a taxi, when we share power tools instead of buying
new ones, or when we give away our spare potato masher, we reduce consumer
demand and cut into economic growth. The shrinkage of the monetary realm
hastens the demise of the old regime and the transition into steady-state
economics. It also makes that transition much less frightening. When we are
ensconced in gift communities that honor and reciprocate generosity, then we
depend less on money and associate it less with survival.

Could the Gift Circle concept scale up beyond
the community level in which people know each other first- or secondhand? In
the very long term, we might be able to envision a moneyless gift society based
on the model of "circles of circles." It would seem that money is necessary in
the global coordination of labor, but if we look at this global coordination
more closely, the actual number of people that any given person interacts with
is not that great. When more than a few hundred people must cooperate to
produce something, the entire community of production naturally resolves into
subcommunities and sub-subcommunities, down to the level at which gift
economics works. People within each circle could give to each other, and each
circle as an integrated entity could give to other circles in its larger
circle, and then each of those to other circles of circles. This vision
involves a fundamental reorganization of society: bottom-up, peer-to-peer,
autopoietic, self-organizing.

In the metahuman body we call society, money is
like a signaling molecule that directs resources to where they are needed. It
mediates economic relationships among our collective body's far-flung parts. It
is one of many symbolic systems that defines and coordinates our "organs":
governments, institutions, and organizations of all types. Unfortunately, money
conveys only certain kinds of information (mostly about quantifiable gifts,
needs, and desires). To achieve health, we therefore need other ways of
"organ"-izing and coordinating human activity.

There is today an explosion of innovation in
creating decentralized, nonhierarchical modes of collaboration and ownership.
These are a kind of substructure for a circles-of-circles gift economy of the
future. At the more conservative end of the spectrum are employee-owned
companies with traditional management structures, of which there are several
hundred of medium to large size in the United States. More radical are
enterprises that use democratic or collaborative methods to manage the company:
various collectives and co-ops. Perhaps the most notable of these is the
Mondragon Cooperative in Spain, comprising over 250 companies and some 90,000
employee/owners, making it one of Spain's largest companies. Founded during the
reign of the Fascist dictator Franco, it somehow managed to explicitly espouse
and embody the principle of the "sovereignty of labor" and other values of
participatory democracy. I leave it to the reader to learn more about this
fascinating enterprise, a pioneer in participatory management and cooperative
ownership.

In creating new modes of organization that can
accommodate the unquantifiable, we are just entering an age of experimentation.
Many of these experiments have failed and will fail, for example the Communist
block's forced collectivization with central management by bureaucrats.
Doubtless many new forms of collaboration will arise as we digest the lessons
of past and current attempts.1

The monetary proposals I have laid forth in this
book will encourage nontraditional structures of ownership and management. Just
as they will eliminate the profiting from passive ownership of money, land, and
the commons generally, so will they discourage profiting from passive ownership
in corporations, which today are a vehicle of the control of said assets.

The advent of collaborative gift structures
will fundamentally alter the experience of employment. Today, the interests of
workers and owners are fundamentally at odds. It is in the owners' interest for
the workers to do maximum work for as little pay as possible. It is in each
individual worker's interest to do as little work as possible for maximum pay.
Good management can mitigate this fundamental opposition by tying pay to
"performance" and by appealing to professional pride, loyalty, or team spirit,
but the underlying contradiction remains. Employees commonly receive rewards
for their success in office politics rather than authentic contributions, while
recognizing "team spirit" as the internal PR that it often is. "If we are
really all in it together," they wonder, "how is it that I can be fired at any
time but the owners cannot? Any lasting value I create is theirs." In this
world, any employee who truly identifies with his employer is a dupe. This
becomes obvious whenever a company downsizes or streamlines. "I've given you
twenty years of loyal service; how can you let me go?" As one insurance
executive explained to an employee, "If you want loyalty, get a dog." Of
course, most employers aren't so hard-hearted, but market discipline hardens a
soft heart.

Well, market discipline is going to change. As
money aligns with social and ecological good, and as new structures arise that
reward contribution to the commonwealth, the relationships around work will
lose their spirit of mutual exploitation. The raison d'être of business organizations will shift. Quantifiable
contributions to the good of society and the planet will receive monetary
reward, and unquantifiable contributions will accrue rewards of status,
gratitude, and goodwill mediated through the new social and symbolic structures
emerging today.

Such innovations are the wave of the future. In
all realms, the model of wealth from owning will give way to that of wealth by
giving. The desire to own, to control, is the desire of the self of separation,
the self that seeks to manipulate others to its own advantage, to extract
wealth from nature and people and all that is other. The connected self grows
rich by giving, by playing its role to the fullest in the nourishment of that
which extends beyond itself. As we step into the connected self, organizational
structures are emerging that are in tune with it. They align the self-interest
of the individual with that of the organization and the interest of the
organization with that of society and the planet. Unlike classic collectivist
models, they allow the exuberant expression of the extraordinary gifts of the
individual, yet turn those gifts toward the benefit of all.

The open collaborative structures of an
extended gift economy transcend the old opposition between the individual and
the group. When I say that extraordinary individual gifts will turn toward the
benefit of all, some readers might protest, "But shouldn't individual
excellence be rewarded?" Conservative friends in particular are immediately
suspicious of my ideas, supposing that they entail the subsumption of the
individual. They think that in a system that discourages accumulation and turns
excellence toward the benefit of all, there would be no incentive or reward for
greatness. Meanwhile, the traditional Left accepts the same basic premises,
differing only in the conviction that the subsumption of the individual is good
and necessary. In this view, a virtuous person labors in noble self-sacrifice
for the common good, spurning any reciprocation or reward.

Both of these views come from the paradigm of
separation that holds that "more for you is less for me." More for the group is
less for the individual. But in gift culture, that is simply untrue. A great
giver of precious gifts can ascend to the highest pinnacle of honor and enjoy
all that is within the power of human beings to bestow. Such is the nature and
the power of gratitude. Unfortunately, the intuitions of gift culture are alien
to us now, for though they live deeply in our hearts, they are absent from the
economic and ideological structures of our society. The next part of this book
describes how to restore the intuitions and practices of gift culture, starting
on the personal level.

The bankruptcy of the economics of the separate
self is now plain to see. In the capitalist world in which individual
accumulation has been permitted, we have experienced not the exuberant
expression of our gifts, but their suppression, their enslavement, and their
perversion toward the purpose of taking and controlling, for these activities
are what the present money system compels and rewards. Worse, these ostensible
rewards have been a delusion: money, its purchases, and its accumulation substituting
for connection, love, beauty, play, meaning, and purpose. The noncapitalist
world fared us no better. Whether it comes from communist ideology or religious
teaching, self-abnegation is life-denying; invariably, the life denied
expresses itself in shadow forms that wreak the same consequences, or worse, as
the outright aggrandizement of the separate self.

The Age of Separation,
however, is winding to a close, and we are beginning to relearn how to live the
truth of our connectedness. All that I have laid out so far in this book
assumes (and fosters) a shift in our consciousness, without which nothing of
sacred economics would be practicable. I am not calling for such a shift
though — I am observing it, bearing witness to it, and, I like to think, contributing
to it. It is happening as you read these words, and it will happen all the
swifter as the multiple crises borne of Separation converge upon us. The world
is changing, and ourselves with it. We not only must create the economic
structures of the connected self living in cocreative partnership with earth;
we can also, right now, learn how to think and live in them.

 

1. One noteworthy model is
Better Means (www.bettermeans.com), which describes its work as the "open
enterprise model." Strategic decisions, work items, compensation, and equity
are all determined through self-correcting rating and voting processes. Those
who contribute the most value-as determined by themselves, by those who work
with them on projects, and by those who voted the project into existence in the
first place-receive credits that can be redeemed for money. Credits also give
the contributor temporary equity in the company, lasting for a time equal to
the time elapsed between when the credits were earned and when they were
redeemed. Ownership therefore accords to those who contribute and gradually
fades away when one stops contributing. The Better Means open enterprise model
is in use today by businesses and nonprofits. Still undergoing refinement, it
incorporates some key concepts from the open source and P2P movements, such as
"lazy consensus," "agile project management," "peer evaluation," "reputation
feedback," and many more.

 

Image by alvanman, courtesy of Creative Commons license.

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This guide tells you everything about 4 AcO DMT & 5 MeO DMT, that belong to the tryptamine class, and are similar but slightly different to DMT.

How Much Does LSD Cost? When shopping around for that magical psychedelic substance, there can be many uncertainties when new to buying LSD. You may be wondering how much does LSD cost? In this article, we will discuss what to expect when purchasing LSD on the black market, what forms LSD is sold in, and the standard breakdown of buying LSD in quantity.   Navy Use of LSD on the Dark Web The dark web is increasingly popular for purchasing illegal substances. The US Navy has now noticed this trend with their staff. Read to learn more.   Having Sex on LSD: What You Need to Know Can you have sex on LSD? Read our guide to learn everything about sex on acid, from lowered inhibitions to LSD users quotes on sex while tripping.   A Drug That Switches off an LSD Trip A pharmaceutical company is developing an “off-switch” drug for an LSD trip, in the case that a bad trip can happen. Some would say there is no such thing.   Queen of Hearts: An Interview with Liz Elliot on Tim Leary and LSD The history of psychedelia, particularly the British experience, has been almost totally written by men. Of the women involved, especially those who were in the thick of it, little has been written either by or about them. A notable exception is Liz Elliot.   LSD Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety LSD, Lysergic acid diethylamide, or just acid is one of the most important psychedelics ever discovered. What did history teach us?   Microdosing LSD & Common Dosage Explained Microdosing, though imperceivable, is showing to have many health benefits–here is everything you want to know about microdosing LSD.   LSD Resources Curious to learn more about LSD? This guide includes comprehensive LSD resources containing books, studies and more.   LSD as a Spiritual Aid There is common consent that the evolution of mankind is paralleled by the increase and expansion of consciousness. From the described process of how consciousness originates and develops, it becomes evident that its growth depends on its faculty of perception. Therefore every means of improving this faculty should be used.   Legendary LSD Blotter Art: A Hidden Craftsmanship Have you ever heard of LSD blotter art? Explore the trippy world of LSD art and some of the top artists of LSD blotter art.   LSD and Exercise: Does it Work? LSD and exercise? Learn why high-performing athletes are taking hits of LSD to improve their overall potential.   Jan Bastiaans Treated Holocaust Survivors with LSD Dutch psychiatrist, Jan Bastiaans administered LSD-assisted therapy to survivors of the Holocaust. A true war hero and pioneer of psychedelic-therapy.   LSD and Spiritual Awakening I give thanks for LSD, which provided the opening that led me to India in 1971 and brought me to Neem Karoli Baba, known as Maharajji. Maharajji is described by the Indians as a “knower of hearts.”   How LSD is Made: Everything You Need to Know Ever wonder how to make LSD? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how LSD is made.   How to Store LSD: Best Practices Learn the best way to store LSD, including the proper temperature and conditions to maximize how long LSD lasts when stored.   Bicycle Day: The Discovery of LSD Every year on April 19th, psychonauts join forces to celebrate Bicycle Day. Learn about the famous day when Albert Hoffman first discovered the effects of LSD.   Cary Grant: A Hollywood Legend On LSD Cary Grant was a famous actor during the 1930’s-60’s But did you know Grant experimented with LSD? Read our guide to learn more.   Albert Hofmann: LSD — My Problem Child Learn about Albert Hofmann and his discovery of LSD, along with the story of Bicycle Day and why it marks a historic milestone.   Babies are High: What Does LSD Do To Your Brain What do LSD and babies have in common? Researchers at the Imperial College in London discover that an adult’s brain on LSD looks like a baby’s brain.   1P LSD: Effects, Benefits, Safety Explained 1P LSD is an analogue of LSD and homologue of ALD-25. Here is everything you want to know about 1P LSD and how it compares to LSD.   Francis Crick, DNA & LSD Type ‘Francis Crick LSD’ into Google, and the result will be 30,000 links. Many sites claim that Crick (one of the two men responsible for discovering the structure of DNA), was either under the influence of LSD at the time of his revelation or used the drug to help with his thought processes during his research. Is this true?   What Happens If You Overdose on LSD? A recent article presented three individuals who overdosed on LSD. Though the experience was unpleasant, the outcomes were remarkably positive.

The Ayahuasca Experience
Ayahuasca is both a medicine and a visionary aid. You can employ ayahuasca for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual repair, and you can engage with the power of ayahuasca for deeper insight and realization. If you consider attainment of knowledge in the broadest perspective, you can say that at all times, ayahuasca heals.

 

Trippy Talk: Meet Ayahuasca with Sitaramaya Sita and PlantTeachers
Sitaramaya Sita is a spiritual herbalist, pusangera, and plant wisdom practitioner formally trained in the Shipibo ayahuasca tradition.

 

The Therapeutic Value of Ayahuasca
My best description of the impact of ayahuasca is that it’s a rocket boost to psychospiritual growth and unfolding, my professional specialty during my thirty-five years of private practice.

 

Microdosing Ayahuasca: Common Dosage Explained
What is ayahuasca made of and what is considered a microdose? Explore insights with an experienced Peruvian brewmaster and learn more about this practice.

 

Ayahuasca Makes Neuron Babies in Your Brain
Researchers from Beckley/Sant Pau Research Program have shared the latest findings in their study on the effects of ayahuasca on neurogenesis.

 

The Fatimiya Sufi Order and Ayahuasca
In this interview, the founder of the Fatimiya Sufi Order,  N. Wahid Azal, discusses the history and uses of plant medicines in Islamic and pre-Islamic mystery schools.

 

Consideration Ayahuasca for Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Research indicates that ayahuasca mimics mechanisms of currently accepted treatments for PTSD. In order to understand the implications of ayahuasca treatment, we need to understand how PTSD develops.

 

Brainwaves on Ayahuasca: A Waking Dream State
In a study researchers shared discoveries showing ingredients found in Ayahuasca impact the brainwaves causing a “waking dream” state.

 

Cannabis and Ayahuasca: Mixing Entheogenic Plants
Cannabis and Ayahuasca: most people believe they shouldn’t be mixed. Read this personal experience peppered with thoughts from a pro cannabis Peruvian Shaman.

 

Ayahuasca Retreat 101: Everything You Need to Know to Brave the Brew
Ayahuasca has been known to be a powerful medicinal substance for millennia. However, until recently, it was only found in the jungle. Word of its deeply healing and cleansing properties has begun to spread across the world as many modern, Western individuals are seeking spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being. More ayahuasca retreat centers are emerging in the Amazon and worldwide to meet the demand.

 

Ayahuasca Helps with Grief
A new study published in psychopharmacology found that ayahuasca helped those suffering from the loss of a loved one up to a year after treatment.

 

Ayahuasca Benefits: Clinical Improvements for Six Months
Ayahuasca benefits can last six months according to studies. Read here to learn about the clinical improvements from drinking the brew.

 

Ayahuasca Culture: Indigenous, Western, And The Future
Ayahuasca has been use for generations in the Amazon. With the rise of retreats and the brew leaving the rainforest how is ayahuasca culture changing?

 

Ayahuasca Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
The Amazonian brew, Ayahuasca has a long history and wide use. Read our guide to learn all about the tea from its beginnings up to modern-day interest.

 

Ayahuasca and the Godhead: An Interview with Wahid Azal of the Fatimiya Sufi Order
Wahid Azal, a Sufi mystic of The Fatimiya Sufi Order and an Islamic scholar, talks about entheogens, Sufism, mythology, and metaphysics.

 

Ayahuasca and the Feminine: Women’s Roles, Healing, Retreats, and More
Ayahuasca is lovingly called “grandmother” or “mother” by many. Just how feminine is the brew? Read to learn all about women and ayahuasca.

What Is the Standard of Care for Ketamine Treatments?
Ketamine therapy is on the rise in light of its powerful results for treatment-resistant depression. But, what is the current standard of care for ketamine? Read to find out.

What Is Dissociation and How Does Ketamine Create It?
Dissociation can take on multiple forms. So, what is dissociation like and how does ketamine create it? Read to find out.

Having Sex on Ketamine: Getting Physical on a Dissociative
Curious about what it could feel like to have sex on a dissociate? Find out all the answers in our guide to sex on ketamine.

Special K: The Party Drug
Special K refers to Ketamine when used recreationally. Learn the trends as well as safety information around this substance.

Kitty Flipping: When Ketamine and Molly Meet
What is it, what does it feel like, and how long does it last? Read to explore the mechanics of kitty flipping.

Ketamine vs. Esketamine: 3 Important Differences Explained
Ketamine and esketamine are used to treat depression. But what’s the difference between them? Read to learn which one is right for you: ketamine vs. esketamine.

Guide to Ketamine Treatments: Understanding the New Approach
Ketamine is becoming more popular as more people are seeing its benefits. Is ketamine a fit? Read our guide for all you need to know about ketamine treatments.

Ketamine Treatment for Eating Disorders
Ketamine is becoming a promising treatment for various mental health conditions. Read to learn how individuals can use ketamine treatment for eating disorders.

Ketamine Resources, Studies, and Trusted Information
Curious to learn more about ketamine? This guide includes comprehensive ketamine resources containing books, studies and more.

Ketamine Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to ketamine has everything you need to know about this “dissociative anesthetic” and how it is being studied for depression treatment.

Ketamine for Depression: A Mental Health Breakthrough
While antidepressants work for some, many others find no relief. Read to learn about the therapeutic uses of ketamine for depression.

Ketamine for Addiction: Treatments Offering Hope
New treatments are offering hope to individuals suffering from addiction diseases. Read to learn how ketamine for addiction is providing breakthrough results.

Microdosing Ketamine & Common Dosages Explained
Microdosing, though imperceivable, is showing to have many health benefits–here is everything you want to know about microdosing ketamine.

How to Ease a Ketamine Comedown
Knowing what to expect when you come down from ketamine can help integrate the experience to gain as much value as possible.

How to Store Ketamine: Best Practices
Learn the best ways how to store ketamine, including the proper temperature and conditions to maximize how long ketamine lasts when stored.

How To Buy Ketamine: Is There Legal Ketamine Online?
Learn exactly where it’s legal to buy ketamine, and if it’s possible to purchase legal ketamine on the internet.

How Long Does Ketamine Stay in Your System?
How long does ketamine stay in your system? Are there lasting effects on your body? Read to discover the answers!

How Ketamine is Made: Everything You Need to Know
Ever wonder how to make Ketamine? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how Ketamine is made.

Colorado on Ketamine: First Responders Waiver Programs
Fallout continues after Elijah McClain. Despite opposing recommendations from some city council, Colorado State Health panel recommends the continued use of ketamine by medics for those demonstrating “excited delirium” or “extreme agitation”.

Types of Ketamine: Learn the Differences & Uses for Each
Learn about the different types of ketamine and what they are used for—and what type might be right for you. Read now to find out!

Kitty Flipping: When Ketamine and Molly Meet
What is it, what does it feel like, and how long does it last? Read to explore the mechanics of kitty flipping.

MDMA & Ecstasy Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to MDMA has everything you want to know about Ecstasy from how it was developed in 1912 to why it’s being studied today.

How To Get the Most out of Taking MDMA as a Couple
Taking MDMA as a couple can lead to exciting experiences. Read here to learn how to get the most of of this love drug in your relationship.

Common MDMA Dosage & Microdosing Explained
Microdosing, though imperceivable, is showing to have many health benefits–here is everything you want to know about microdosing MDMA.

Having Sex on MDMA: What You Need to Know
MDMA is known as the love drug… Read our guide to learn all about sex on MDMA and why it is beginning to makes its way into couple’s therapy.

How MDMA is Made: Common Procedures Explained
Ever wonder how to make MDMA? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how MDMA is made.

Hippie Flipping: When Shrooms and Molly Meet
What is it, what does it feel like, and how long does it last? Explore the mechanics of hippie flipping and how to safely experiment.

How Cocaine is Made: Common Procedures Explained
Ever wonder how to make cocaine? Read our guide to learn everything you need to know about the procedures of how cocaine is made.

A Christmas Sweater with Santa and Cocaine
This week, Walmart came under fire for a “Let it Snow” Christmas sweater depicting Santa with lines of cocaine. Columbia is not merry about it.

Ultimate Cocaine Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
This guide covers what you need to know about Cocaine, including common effects and uses, legality, safety precautions and top trends today.

NEWS: An FDA-Approved Cocaine Nasal Spray
The FDA approved a cocaine nasal spray called Numbrino, which has raised suspicions that the pharmaceutical company, Lannett Company Inc., paid off the FDA..

The Ultimate Guide to Cannabis Bioavailability
What is bioavailability and how can it affect the overall efficacy of a psychedelic substance? Read to learn more.

Cannabis Research Explains Sociability Behaviors
New research by Dr. Giovanni Marsicano shows social behavioral changes occur as a result of less energy available to the neurons. Read here to learn more.

The Cannabis Shaman
If recreational and medical use of marijuana is becoming accepted, can the spiritual use as well? Experiential journalist Rak Razam interviews Hamilton Souther, founder of the 420 Cannabis Shamanism movement…

Cannabis Guide: Effects, Common Uses, Safety
Our ultimate guide to Cannabis has everything you want to know about this popular substances that has psychedelic properties.

Cannabis and Ayahuasca: Mixing Entheogenic Plants
Cannabis and Ayahuasca: most people believe they shouldn’t be mixed. Read this personal experience peppered with thoughts from a procannabis Peruvian Shaman.

CBD-Rich Cannabis Versus Single-Molecule CBD
A ground-breaking study has documented the superior therapeutic properties of whole plant Cannabis extract as compared to synthetic cannabidiol (CBD), challenging the medical-industrial complex’s notion that “crude” botanical preparations are less effective than single-molecule compounds.

Cannabis Has Always Been a Medicine
Modern science has already confirmed the efficacy of cannabis for most uses described in the ancient medical texts, but prohibitionists still claim that medical cannabis is “just a ruse.”

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