Jimi Hendrix, whose searing guitar set millions of minds on fire with new sounds asked provocatively “Are you experienced?” And British psychiatrist Humphrey Osmond sagely quipped “To fathom hell or wax angelic, try a pinch of psychedelic.” To all who have eaten the blotter, swallowed the mushrooms, drunk the ayahuasca, fired up the ganja or chewed on peyote buttons, these quotes resonate within, reminding us of the ever-present mysterium tremendum, the vast and haunting landscape whose siren calls beckon us beyond the thin, fragile margins of individual consciousness.
It is exactly a consideration of the immense, incomparable spirit landscape that will shape Visionary Convergence in Los Angeles, this September 25 – 27, at the appropriately named Big Art Church in Hollywood. The massive and beautifully-appointed sanctuary there will provide graceful refuge indeed for the several hundred fortunate ones who, sensing an historic gathering in the making, will ensure their attendance at this rare and remarkable event. Be there, or hear about this singularly spectacular convergence for decades!
Visionary plants including ayahuasca, psilocybin mushrooms, iboga, peyote, cannabis, San Pedro cactus, and other sacred medicines will enjoy center stage at Visionary Convergence, while visionaries, doctors, researchers, spiritual teachers, healers, therapists, filmmakers, and artists will set a brisk pace for the brilliant currents of mind that will freely flow for three days in a hallowed hall. It’s a go-big-or-go-home proposition, with the full force of dozens of talented presenters unfettered and free in a place without cognitive borders.
Ethnobotanical luminary Kat Harrison will kick off the event with a keynote address on Friday the 25th, followed by a brain trust of notables including author Jeremy Narby, Ken Tupper, Yalila Espinoza, event founder Sita Sitaramaya, and many others from the botanical, health, musical, art, shamanic and medical fields. Music will fill the air, art will gaily populate a gallery, and conversations will flow like great ocean waves in the breaks and gathering times.
The mission of Visionary Convergence 2015 is to cultivate “Entheogenic Awareness.” The conference program is a deep dive into the luminous pool of entheogenic uses and benefits. And the roster of presenters reads like a who’s who of the argonautic frontier. Like an EpiPen to the third eye, Visionary Convergence is guaranteed to stimulate the brilliance for which psychedelics, or entheogens if you prefer, are so well known, loved and revered.
A few of us who are presenting at Visionary Convergence 2015 recall event founder Sita Sitaramaya’s Visionary Convergence in the Amazon circa 2008, a nine-day, take-no-hostages gathering that stands as one of the great psychedelic conferences of our lives. But Visionary Convergence in LA, held smack in the very epicenter of North American psychonaut activity, promises to top even that astonishing rainforest event.
For more information on Visionary Convergence in LA September 25 – 27, go to http://www.plantteachers.com. With ten million people in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan region and interest in psychedelics at an all-time high, the remaining tickets will not collect moss. See you there.
Photo: “Chris Kilham pours ayahuasca” by Tracey Eller
