How to Prepare for Coronavirus & COVID-19

Coronavirus
Our Health-Workers Are Amazing! A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

Whether it was engineered at a clandestine lab or it naturally emerged from interactions between animals and humans, the coronavirus will be with us for some time. While it might spread more akin to a drip-feed than surge, caution (not panic) is recommended, especially for those who are elderly or health-compromised.

The official name of the 2019 novel coronavirus is Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The associated disease is known as COVID-19. Hundreds of scientists have confirmed that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin. As of this writing, there is no vaccine or cure for the coronavirus.

A Few Facts About COVID-19

There are many conspiracy theories about the coronavirus, most of which are based on irrational thinking, political propaganda, fear, and racism. These theories cover a broad range of ideas, from “Bill Gates is using his man-made disease to reduce world population and to gain profit” to “it was created by Democrats to bring down Donald Trump.” Spreading this type of misinformation during a health crisis can be extremely dangerous, not to mention a waste of time. It might even prevent the weak and infected from seeking the help they need to live.

If you’re lost in the insanity weeds and would like to return to a noble and defensible reality, consider these facts:

COVID-19 is a pneumonia of unknown cause, first reported in Wuhan, China,  on Dec 31, 2019, and is now reported to be in over 100 countries. Dozens of research scientists, labs, and companies have identified the genetic sequence of the coronavirus and are working on a vaccine.

Symptoms include fever, cough, difficulty breathing, muscle pain, and feeling unusually tired with an incubation period between two and 14 days. Some cases include vomiting and diarrhea. The more extreme cases result in severe pneumonia and renal (kidney) failure, which can lead to death.

The virus can live and thrive for up to a full day on your kitchen counter, door handles, and other objects. It (so far) cannot sustain itself in the air for long. This means that unless someone spits, coughs, or sneezes in your direction, you might not be at risk. To some, the verdict is still out on this idea.

The coronavirus is an intense and deadly flu, far more dangerous than viruses from recent history, and nothing like the common cold. While preliminary reports state that COVID-19 results in five to 20 deaths per 1000 (depending on the source), the common cold does not have a mortality rate. Even if the virus ranges from one to five deaths per 1000, it’s a pandemic, which means the disease could spread to millions of people within a relatively short period.

A few weeks ago, China’s CDC reported that 2.3% of confirmed cases died, but this number could be misleading, as not all cases are reported. To date, of people age 80 and over, 14.8% have died. The fatality rate for people in their 50s is 1.3%, 0.4% for folks in their 40s, and 0.2% in people aged 10 to 39. As more data is reported and analyzed throughout the world, we will likely see a shift in these numbers.

Children tend not to die from the disease, but the elderly, and those with medical conditions like heart, lung, or kidney disease, and those who are societally disenfranchised, are far more vulnerable than other segments.

University of Nebraska’s Dr. Kevin Lawler, who’s received a bit of flack for his leaked presentation to hospitals, estimates there will be over 4.8 million total hospitalizations from the coronavirus, 96 million US cases, 480,000 deaths, and a flu season that’s 10X more severe than usual. While it’s important to understand the varying levels of potential risk, only time will tell.

Comparable flu statistics: For this flu season, which began in the fall of 2019, there have been 34 million flu diagnoses, 350,000 hospitalizations, and 20,000 deaths. Given the current trend of COVID-19, we can expect the coronavirus to exceed the flu by a factor of at least 3. Some say, when compared to the flu, COVID-19 could net 10-20X the results.

While holy roller Jim Bakker promotes the unproven idea that the consumption of silver or praying to Jesus will eradicate the coronavirus, keep your eyes glued on the data and scientific facts. There is a wealth of information available on the CDC and WHO websites.

Protecting Your Health

At some point, COVID-19 might become a slight or moderate threat to you and your family. Keep in mind that only you know what is best in terms of precaution and preparedness. As such, some of these ideas could be helpful to you and those you love:

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  • If you’re sick, stay home for the week. If you’re feeling a little “under the weather,” consider staying home for at least one day to see if your symptoms are escalating.
  • Regularly wash your hands with soap for 20+ seconds.
  • Wipe your phone with a disinfectant wipe at least twice per day.
  • Regularly use alcohol-based hand sanitizers. You might consider researching how to make your own with aloe vera.
  • Keep a personal towel (that only you use) to dry your hands, or dry them with a paper towel or air dryer.
  • Do not directly touch or rub your eyes with your hands. Do not rub your lips, wipe your mouth with your hands, pick your teeth, or pick your nose. Keep your fingers away from your face.
  • Limit your time in crowded places. Consider canceling group events and parties.
  • Consider traveling by car or air, instead of by train. It’s best to prioritize your transportation modalities in this order: walk/bike, car, plane, then train.
  • It might be best to avoid carpools during this time.
  • Working from home during time is preferable. Consider replacing some of your regular business meetings with videoconferences.

Additionally:

  • For a time, consider refraining from using holy water and other sacred ritual items at churches, temples, ashrams, mosques, ceremonies, and religious events.
  • If you begin to display symptoms, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or paper towel so that you can protect others from also becoming sick. Consider wearing a mask.
  • If someone is coughing or sneezing, and you’re not clear on what’s happening for them, to be safe, leave the room.
  • Sleep at least 8 hours per night, exercise, eat healthy meals, meditate and pray.
  • Drink lots of fluids.
  • Thoroughly wash vegetables before cooking or consuming.
  • To give your health and immune system a boost, reduce your sugar intake.
  • Frequently wipe down surfaces with disinfectant wipes.
  • Avoid sharing personal items with others.
  • Consider taking immune system boosters like Elderberry, Spirulina, Wheatgrass, Barley grass, and other superfoods to improve your immune system and energy, and give yourself a fighting chance.
  • If you’re on any regular medication, try to source a few extra week’s supplies of prescriptions and antibiotics.
  • For a time, replace handshakes, hugs, and kisses with waving, saluting, bowing, applauding, nodding the head, and winking. In general, avoid close contact with others. The safest bet is to keep a distance of at least 3 feet during this time.
  • In crowded areas, consider temporarily wearing a simple N95 or N99 mask. For the sake of ensuring that hospitals have ample supply, refrain from hoarding masks.
  • Create a separate, protected space for potentially sick household members.
  • Keep apprised of your city’s plan to counteract the challenges surrounding the spread of disease and related emergencies.
  • Don’t obsess over risks and fears; instead, focus on preparedness, preventive care, loving yourself and others, and staying healthy.
  • To counterbalance potential drama and stress, find time to laugh, play, and pray with loved ones.

Prepping Your Home

When large populations become physically ill, there can be changes in local, state, and national operations. While it’s never helpful to panic, it can be advantageous to prepare (with limits). If some of these ideas are interesting to you, be thoughtful, methodical, and careful in your planning. While parts of this list might not be required at this time, if you live alone, a few of these ideas could save your life.

  • Store an additional 1-month supply of food, including lots of vegetables, dried or frozen meats, meat alternatives, canned goods, and pickled eggs. Consider canning and jarring your favorite vegetables so that you never run out of nutrient-rich food.
  • Consider storing 2 weeks’ worth of water, just in case something happens to your plumbing while you’re sick or in case there’s a temporary change in how local utility companies function.
  • In light of a possible power outage, have a collection of candles, flashlights, and batteries on hand.
  • Stock 1-2 months of nonprescription drugs and other healing supplies, including vitamins (especially vitamin C), soothing herbs and lotions, cotton swabs, rubbing/disinfectant alcohol, herbal pain relievers, essential oils, stomach remedies, and cold medicines.
  • Buy an advanced first aid kit.
  • Source your health records from hospitals, doctors, chiropractors, dentists, and other health professionals. If possible, keep them handy and in printable formats.
  • Have a backup plan for your video, streaming, and internet services. For example, you can have a Zoom account with a backup Skype account. Add a mobile hotspot to your phone line to remedy any temporary internet outages.

In all things, seek the best for yourself and your loved ones. Care for your friends and neighbors when you are able. While there are challenges ahead, this is a great time to pray, spend time alone, work on creative projects, start a home business, love-up your family, and curl up with a favorite book. As always, it’s best to refrain from fear and panic, while ever reaching toward peacefulness, forgiveness, and love.

From all the media hype and misinformation, and all the streams of helpful insights pouring into your social media feeds, you might simply choose to use the coronavirus as a provocation to improve one aspect of your life: your diet, your exercise regimen, your relationships, or your meditation and prayer practices. When we focus on happiness and personal improvement, we increase our vibrations and thereby improve our states of mind and health.

As humankind continues to massacre the earth and haunt its many creatures, we will see more challenges and viruses in the years ahead. Stay healthy, positive, and informed. Try to be prepared, while also loving, thriving, and living in the moment.

On a lighter note, you might enjoy this COVID-19 safety video from the Vietnam government, promoted by The World Health Organization.

For the latest and most accurate information, please visit the WHO and CDC websites. Always root for science – it’s our ally!

Wishing you health and happiness, always!

Wim Hof: Scientific Anomaly

Wim Hof
A wildman practicing the method! A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

Most of us struggle when trying to limit our consumption of meat, sugar, and caffeine. We’ll whine when our alarm goes off in the morning. When we stub our toe or prick our finger, we gasp and yelp like a five-year-old. We’ll then complain about our tiny pain for the rest of the day.​ Enter The Ice Man or just “Iceman.” After surviving his wife’s suicide, Wim Hof raised his four children alone. With deep pain and sadness as his motivation, he learned to hold his breath for 10 minutes, swim naked beneath thick ice, and set world records. To date, he is the proud owner of 26.

“I Think Of The Cold As A Noble Force. It’s Just Helping Me. It’s Training Me. It’s Bringing Me Back To The Inner Nature, The Way It Was Meant To Be.”
— Wim Hof

Here’s a sampling of facts about The Iceman:

  • He ran a marathon in a desert with no training or water. When he emerged victoriously, he rehydrated by drinking beer for a few hours with friends
  • He’s a Yoga master
  • An expert in nutrition, he has eaten just one meal a day for 38 years
  • He can control his heart rate and hormonal system through breath and meditation
  • He learned to speak ten languages without the use of any apps

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The Iceman was born as Wim Hof on April 20, 1959, in The Netherlands. With nine siblings, one of whom is a twin, Wim had to fight hard to stand out. He also had to quickly learn to defend himself from teasing and abuse throughout his childhood.​
At age 17, digging deep within himself, Wim became an extreme sportsman. It all began with a spontaneous jump into a freezing cold canal. The Iceman was born.

The Wim Hof Method

When you’ve endured near-freezing water for just shy of an hour, run Arctic marathons in your bare feet, swam like a madman under a lake’s thick ice for what seemed like an eternity, and learned to control your sex drive, you have but one thing left to do: launch a method so others can do the same.

​The Wim Hof Breathing Method was not initially created through academic research or scientific experiments. It wasn’t established by channeling information from aliens or Gods. The science of the Wim Hof Method was born from personal experience.​

Imagine if all health, healing, and endurance modalities could be developed in this fashion: no red tape, no government approval – just cold hard facts born from focused obsession.

“I Do Not Only Endure The Cold; I Love The Cold.”
— Wim Hof

Wim Hof’s website is chock full of information about his processes and experiences, including free instructions on his unique breathing method, known to fans as the WHM (Wim Hof Method).

Here’s a brief description of the WHM:

  • Sit comfortably with your back straight.
  • Take 30 quickened breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through the mouth.
  • After the quickened breaths, take one long, deep breath. Hold it for as long as you can.
  • When you feel the need to breathe inwardly, inhale deeply. Hold this breath for 10 seconds.
  • Repeat this process as many times as you’d like.

From a Kundalini perspective, this will open up your air passages and awaken your power center. You’ll immediately feel better.

In addition to his breathing method, Hof believes that repeated exposure to cold air or cold water will stimulate the immune system and improve your health. You can learn more about this on his website.

Wim Hof Method Benefits

According to Hof’s website, WHM has a long list of benefits, including but not limited to:

  • Stress reduction
  • Faster recovery from physical exertion
  • Better sleep
  • Improved sports performance
  • Reduced inflammation
  • Improved integration of pain
  • Enhanced metabolic activity
  • Increased energy
  • Heightened focus and determination
  • Increased willpower
  • Enhanced creativity
  • More focus and mental clarity
  • Greater cold tolerance
  • Stronger immune system
  • Potential reduction of symptoms from rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, asthma, sarcoidosis, vasculitis, and several autoimmune diseases.

Wim Hof Quotes

Wim Hof is known for his inspirational talks, beliefs, and procedures. Here are a few gems that Hof has shared in recent years:

  • “If you can learn how to use your mind, anything is possible.”
  • “In the Bhagavad Gita, they say, ‘The mind under control is your best friend, the mind wandering about is your worst enemy.’ Make it your best friend, to the point where you can rely on it. Your mind makes you strong from within. It is your wise companion. The sacrifices you make will be rewarded. Life doesn’t change, but your perception does. It’s all about what you focus on. Withdraw from the world’s influence and no longer be controlled by your emotions. If you can grab the wheel of your mind, you can steer the direction of where your life will go.”
  • “Ask yourself, ‘Have I ever experienced the wonders of life?’ Meditate about it. Meditation helps your spirit bloom like a beautiful flower. The experience can be beautiful and great. Poetry is the language of the soul. So listen. Life is like a dewdrop on a grass leaf. When it slips away, it’s gone forever.”
  • “We can do more than what we think. It’s a belief system that I have adopted, and it has become my motto. There is more than meets the eye, and unless you are willing to experience new things, you’ll never realize your full potential.”
  • “Fear does not go away by itself. You have to confront your fear, mold it, then learn to control it in its own irrational reality. Every human being has the power to do just that. To go deep within and confront your inner being is a powerful act. Going deep and developing the will power is the only way.”
  • “Once you know the way to your spiritual destiny, you can change. Once you realize that there are no limits in your mind, once you realize there are no boundaries to what is possible, you can change.”

“I Do Not Fear Death; I Fear Not To Live Fully.”
— Wim Hof

Wim Hof Diet And Philosophy

Hof states that his methods are based on three core principles: breathing, exposure to cold, and commitment. Hof says, “Together, these three pillars provide you with a means to take control over your own body and to battle stress, fatigue, and many other obstacles in life.”

While becoming The Iceman, Hof also established a dietary routine in a form similar to The Fast-5 Diet outlined by Bert Herring. The rules of this diet are simple and akin to intermittent fasting: eat within five consecutive hours, every day. Herring says that integrating intermittent fasting into a daily routine “gets appetites working like they should — reducing intake if you have excess fat and maintaining a healthy weight if you don’t.”

If you’re ready to take your life (and immune system) to the next level, you can enroll in Wim Hof’s latest video course offerings. The new course consists of 10 major themes:

  • Going Deep
  • Stress Control
  • Energy Management
  • Inflammation
  • Endurance
  • Longevity
  • Under Pressure
  • Spirituality
  • Creativity
  • Life Adventure

Wim Hof explains that it is each of us who harnesses the power within. He’s designed these courses so that initiates will advance themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually. Hof hopes that every participant will gain more peace, strength, and control over their energy and happiness.

Aliens The Zoo Hypothesis

Aliens: The Zoo Hypothesis

Are We An Alien Zoo? I think so! A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

If you were an advanced species living on a distant planet, in a far-away, exotic galaxy, would you mount your space-scooter and go out of your way (plus paying for fuel) to visit a planet whose inhabitants exalt greed, war, hate-based ideologies, exclusive religions, and glitchy patriarchy? Probably not. You might, however, subscribe to the newsletter for updates.

In 1973, MIT’s John Ball mused that aliens could easily be observing Earth and its inhabitants just like animals in a zoo. The idea that alien life forms are intentionally avoiding direct communication with human beings on Earth, is the basis of the Zoo Hypothesis. The presumption includes the notion that that Beings from other worlds are waiting to make first contact with us, pending other technological, political, and ethical advancements.

“Our sun is one of 100 billion stars in our galaxy. Our galaxy is one of the billions of galaxies populating the universe. It would be the height of presumption to think that we are the only living things within that enormous immensity.”
— Werner von Braun

 

The glitch in this philosophy is that given all the millions of species supposedly at play within the billions of galaxies, in all the universes, it would be fair say that one rambunctious, brainy toad, residing somewhere within the endless seas of alien villages, might think contrarily, rent a winged-transport, and b-line it to Earth.

Evidence of aliens is everywhere. Our intergalactic friends have long been in cahoots with a variety of Earth governments. They might even be mating with our lowest common denominator at local bowling allies, in a bridge-n-tunnel town near you. It might be that if we showed some sign of intelligence or consciousness, we’d have a lot more intimate gatherings with these tall, scaly, green and gray, lizard creatures.

“If it’s just us, it seems like an awful waste of space.”

— Carl Sagan

Let’s give our fictitious friend, Alex The Alien the benefit of the doubt. We’ll assume that he raised some money on the fundraising site AlienKickstart, and is now able to make the long trek to the formerly blue, and currently decaying planet, known as Earth. He lands in a field and is greeted by a small group of locals who capture, kill, and stuff him, and then put him on display at the local VFW #216.

When Alien-Alex’s wife begins to yearn for his scaly flesh, she flies to Earth, lands in the same location, assumes her husband has been eaten, and begins planting her eggs in the nearby cornfield. In a few months, she’s birthed a posse of over 40 lizards, and she’s ready to kick ass. Their first family outing? A baseball game. While they seem to enjoy the free peanut shells under their seats, the lizard tribe gets bored, calls for a space-taxi, and time-tunnels home.

I’m not sure what scenario would entice a race of infinitely intelligent Beings to regularly engage with humanoids, other than promises of becoming the master race who could eventually enslave us. Beyond that, I believe we’ll be galactically single and lonely for the foreseeable future.

“In our time this search [for extraterrestrial life] will eventually change our laws, our religions, our philosophies, our arts, our recreations, as well as our sciences. Space, the mirror, waits for life to come to look for itself there. ”
— Ray Bradbury

Is Our Evolutionary Process Precious?

Behavioral scientists pride themselves on how much space they give their subjects during times of observation. It might be that advanced lifeforms are of the same mindset: “Let’s watch the Earthlings as they try to figure themselves out. Meanwhile, we’ll take notes and continue to penetrate their gene pool. When they stop punching each other in the face, we’ll consummate the relationship and formalize it with an invasion.”

It might be that aliens created Earth as a scientific experiment. They may have planted us here with the hope that we’ll eventually become a service-oriented race that will help improve other alien ventures and planets.

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Confining us like mice in a cage, our big-eyed, long-fingered, Alien moms and dads are evaluating us, testing our viruses and bacteria, and wondering how our species went from tadpoles to apes to cavemen to hipsters in a few millennia.

When you compare human beings to whales and dolphins, you might assume that our warm-blooded, mammal brothers and sisters are advanced species. With larger brains and peppier speech functions, the 89 living species of Cetaceans are less aggressive, more communal, and more peaceful. If they’re all paying attention, they are probably aware that humans are just small, dumb, inconsequential bullies.

I liken the Zoo Hypothesis to Star Trek’s Prime Directive which states that first-contact with new species (who have yet to develop warp drive) must be of a scientific nature and result in zero political, social, technological, and monetary interference. Starfleet and The Federation of Planets also warn that premature contact can easily result in significant harm.

Are We Just Mice?

Would we be inspired to travel a billion miles to hang out with a massive population of aggressive, mentally deficient mice? Probably not. Would we want to establish a coalition with a deficient species that struggles to see beyond skin color? Nope. This is part of the premise of the Zoo Hypothesis. Not only are we less evolved than our potential sponsors and sperm donors, but we are also of no value to them.

If apes are a teaspoon of DNA away from being human, wouldn’t it make sense that human beings could easily be a cup of hormones away from being advanced aliens (who could easily be more intelligent and conscious)? I think it’s entirely possible that we are either an alien zoo or the aliens that our government has been denying.

“Or maybe, another explanation goes, we are in fact surrounded by ETs and simply don’t know it, perhaps because they decided to make the solar system a natural reserve, a place where other races can go and see what it is like to be in the infancy of civilization (appropriately, this has been nicknamed the “zoo hypothesis”).”
― Massimo Pigliucci

Alien Holocaust

Could it be that somewhere between the formation of the Milky Way and the birth of Earth’s first civilization that a Hitler-like alien devastated the intergalactic community by commandeering and then killing entire planets, all in the name of his warped ideology? Could aliens be so freaked out by this horrific history that they are mind-controlled and technologically prohibited from visiting our planet? It’s certainly a possibility.

With billions of stars, suns, and moons scattered throughout creation, there’s an extremely high probability that intelligent life, outside of our galaxy, already exists, and many of these critters have mastered interstellar travel. Given the potential scale and likelihood of all this, physicist Enrico Fermi’s Paradox seems to validate that Earth should already have been visited by extraterrestrial Beings and their pretty probes thousands of times.
Have the governments of planet Earth been so diligent and thorough that they have been able to conceal the many alien visitations to date? Have the key alien abductees and first-greeters been so well compensated and threatened that their stories are now safe and secure from public view? Are aliens truly omnipresent and regularly integrating with human life forms? I offer “YES!” to all of the above.

While it’s possible that all the aliens throughout all of the galaxies are listening but not transmitting, there is more than ample evidence that the Earth is at least a pitstop for alien life. With thousands of UFO sitings and 13 million pages of the CIA’s redacted investigation now online, there’s a high chance that the truth will soon set us free.

How to Be Authentic and Tough When Negotiating

authentic negotiations

It’s okay to be angry and tough during negotiations. Get what you want. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

I recently negotiated a contract with a frightfully dishonest person and earned the rights to intellectual property that I would not otherwise have been able to acquire. I didn’t earn it through rational exploration and mediation. How did I do it? I gave him hell, which he rightfully deserved.

What tipped the scales wasn’t my intuition or creative style. It wasn’t my research and declaration of facts. It was my unabashed, unfiltered judgment and anger that did the trick. What did I learn? To become whole in a transaction, you might have to blow the doors off.

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This doesn’t mean that using anger to negotiate every deal is effective. In fact, it’s only effective in deals where you have a slippery adversary who has become way too comfortable with taking you for granted. In these cases, the anger becomes the element of surprise and the embodiment of the other person’s missing integrity.

Most of us don’t often know what we can ask for in a negotiation. We are all so needy that we’ll accept just about any outcome, as long as we get a small piece of what we originally wanted.

Our pursuits and demands don’t have to stop at mediocrity.

If you can be honest with yourself and stop placating or seeking to appeal to others, you’ll become aware of just how demanding and critical you really are.

We all love to play the peaceful pussy cat, resting quietly on the couch, but deep down every one of us is a tiger. We lose in negotiations because we’re lazy and we’ve shellacked ourselves with slimy, dirty, oppressive, contrived political correctness. We don’t even know what we deserve anymore.

When working with the brilliant luminary Fred Silverman, the only man to have run all three major TV networks, I witnessed such unabashed critique and unapologetic creativity, that it inspired me to the highest degree. There was never a sheepish request when a contracted promise wasn’t delivered. There was never a sweet, easy request when someone was clearly stepping out of bounds. There was no room for mediocrity or imperfection.

Fred wasn’t being a jerk, he was being honest. He knew everybody has excuses and that excuses are often imagined.

Every one of us knows when we’re being lazy or f*cking-up. We all know when we’re delivering something that’s not up to snuff and when we’re lying to ourselves.

Fred was flawless when he was directing creativity. With one glance, he could see 20 imperfections. He didn’t miss a thing, and that’s because he trained himself to encourage excellence in others and himself. This is virtue and it’s almost non-existent today.

Whether it’s a creative project where you’re worried about hurting your contractor’s feelings, or a contract negotiation where you don’t want to appear ungrateful, it’s our co-dependent patterns that get us into the most trouble. And yes, it’s trouble.

Whenever we undervalue ourselves during negotiations and agree to products, deliverables, compensation, or consideration that are far less valuable than what we offered in exchange, we undo the learning we’ve accumulated over countless lives and we deny centuries of human evolution.

Is it really preferable to be mediocre so you can avoid conflict? Is it more enjoyable to look back on something you created and secretly remember how you didn’t do it justice? Is it better to avoid sticky conversations and live with regret rather than buck-up and dive into an uncomfortable dialogue? The answer to these questions is “No”, yet we do it anyway.

If you’ve got a big heart, you’re probably not very critical or demanding. When things get difficult, you might also find it easy to give-in and let go, rather than fight for the truth of the situation or exchange.

When is the last time you were completely honest with a partner in the co-creation of a dream? When and where have you been raw, straight forward, direct, no bullsh*t? How many of your responses and reactions come from your inner-new-age idiot rather than your intuition or gut?

We’re all guilty of this insanity.

In order to function in our pretty, buttoned-up, politically contrived circles, we put ourselves on shelves. We’ve bottled up our authenticity. We’re half, if not, a quarter of what we intended to be.

Snap out of the dream and come alive again. Just beneath your society-pleasing mask is a technicolor spirit raging with power and light. Let her out, let her live, and watch her thrive.

Much of what happens in the new-age scene is numbed, quelled, passive, and indirect. This is because the new-age movement is broken.

Even when we seek eternal truths from local ashrams, temples, and yoga studios, we find that the eternal truths we’re seeking have been watered down so they might appeal to the masses. The bite, the teeth, and the truth have evaporated.

We’ve forsaken ourselves, more specifically, we’ve given up on our honest natures. Instead of being authentic, we are repressing our healthy, gut, knee-jerk reactions. Being inauthentic has serious physical implications and emotional side-effects.

After all, if we’re being honest and true to every moment, it’s not always white light and roses, is it? If we’re paying attention to all the gurus out there, isn’t it about accepting what is happening, rather than avoiding it? Isn’t it about the light and the dark? Isn’t it all ONE?

Life and living are comprised of white light, charcoal, and fire, all embedded in a stew of emotions, reactions, and projections. Living and creating are messy businesses.

How do we get back on our authentic feet during negotiations? How do we become more congruent with the totality of all of our moving parts? How do we integrate the yes, the no, and everything in-between so that we’re not afraid of any of it? How do we shake off society’s projections and limitations and rise above and beyond it?

Be real with yourself. Honor your perspective and intuition. Be true to your feelings in every confrontation, discussion, negotiation, and creative exploration. If it’s needed, allow yourself to be raw. Demand excellence from yourself and the people around you. Take it all in. Consume the whole as a truth and reflect the truth back to the All.

When you’re ready, pull your response from the depth of your spirit’s knowing. Bring all of you to the surface and to the table. If you’re bitten, bite back with love and with a positive vibrancy.

Invite and merge with every ancestor and guide who roots for you from the spiritual rafters. Shout to them and to the universe:

“I LOVE MYSELF. I WILL BE MYSELF. I AM BEAUTIFUL & WILD! A CREATURE OF LIGHT & DARK. I WILL BE WHO I AM, I AM WHO I AM, RIGHT NOW & ALWAYS!”

In Time-Travel, Can We Be Trapped Within The Infinite, and Stripped of Our Originating Moment

Time Travel

Time Travel is possible. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

If you committed to going back in time to kill Hitler, there are questions to consider: what would you be unwinding and what could truly be undone? Once on the other end of the journey, who would you know yourself to have been, and who would you become?​

By reversing spacetime, you could lose the knowledge and desire to do the killing, and you could lose the reason for your desire. As you unwind your self-identity, do you lose connectivity to the originating point as well as the destination? These questions point to the conundrum known as The Bootstrap Paradox, otherwise known as the Ontological Paradox.

When caught within cause-effect loops that include traversing the space-time continuum, our purpose and identity can be dissolved, with or without a reboot. Our originating self-identity can become self-created and temporary or self-created with new, unlimited potential.

In essence, being caught within a recurring time arc is similar to the moment of birth within a woman’s womb. A living being and new realities are born, and trajectories for three-dimensional potentialities emerge.

These ideas invite others. If our souls collect specific information during time-travel, it means that consciousness includes all spacetime possibilities and every potential realm. If our spirits can recall our original, intellectual fodder throughout these types of journeys, it means that self-identities remain intact when traversing spacetime, and therefore evolve as if the experience of spacetime were linear.

I wonder when moving deeper into time spirals, would we begin to collect clear visions and experiences or would we be thrust into undeterminable clouds of impressions?

While the term metaphysics translates literally to “about physics,” its meaning has evolved into something more spiritual. It might be said that metaphysics is better defined as, “the nature of being, existence, connectivity, and consciousness, throughout all physical and non-physical realms, and in every dimension and direction.”

“By denying scientific principles, one may maintain any paradox.”
— Galileo Galilei

Bootstrap Paradox Examples

Our best teachers of how paradoxes might unfold could be some of the writers and producers in Hollywood.

Here some of their narratives involving the Bootstrap Paradox:

  • When Star Trek’s Scotty described how to make transparent aluminum in Star Trek IV, he was referring to how matter might un-form while also remaining in a relatable structure, thus alluding to a cause-effect loop.
  • When Marty McFly played “Johnny B. Goode” and Marty’s bandmate called Chuck Berry so he could hear it, it could be said that Marty and Chuck Berry became born-again with new trajectories, as if never having had the potential to exist prior, except in this unique moment of creation.
  • During The Time Travelers Wife, the time-traveler memorizes a list of dates from a written note. He then ventures back in time and dictates the list, thereby becoming a co-participant in a never-ending loop that is without a discernible point of origin. In this case, the time-traveler is pulling himself upward “by his bootstraps” as if he is simultaneously both the puppet and puppeteer.
  • Now let’s get to the juiciest example of the Bootstrap Paradox. Doctor Who proposed a riddle. A Beethoven-Loving time traveler departs his current reality to traverse spacetime to meet his musical God.
    • When he lands in Beethoven’s living room, he finds that Beethoven is without inspiration or any chance of producing his famous music. Because of his devotion and love for Ludwig, the time traveler commits to copying every one of the master’s creations. On subsequent visits, the time traveler gives them to Beethoven, who in turn, absorbs these gifts and delivers them to the world.
    • Fast-forward to an unknowing time traveler listening to his favorite Beethoven symphony. In an instant, he decides to travel back in time to meet this profound and wonderful composer. The challenge here is to determine who actually wrote the 5th, 6th and 9th Symphonies? Who is Beethoven in this story? Is Beethoven the person who is birthed the moment he receives the copied music? Is the genuine composer, formerly known as Beethoven, now erased from reality? We’ll never know!

If I went back in time to the moment I was assigned this article and handed myself the required research prior to a word being written, I would be creating a bootstrap paradox involving two versions of myself, each of whom would have non-predetermined, potential trajectories, while also being forever tied to each other and the production of this article.​

“How wonderful that we have met with a paradox.
Now we have some hope of making progress.”
— Niels Bohr

Could Bootstrap Paradoxes Lead To The Hemorrhaging Of Spacetime?

Whenever we imagine something, it can have an impact on our realities. One simple intention or desire can cement unknown and untested trajectories. If our thoughts can impact our lives, it would be easy to imagine that the mechanisms and laws behind spacetime could be tricked, trapped, and trampled. Connecting strands of trajectories and potentialities, whether in this moment or in prior ones, could reshape reality as we know it.

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Events like these wouldn’t only affect our physical realities; they could give birth to pathways and algorithms that are entirely foreign to our bodies, minds, and souls. If one soul was inventive enough to trick her relative spacetime construct, a collection of tinkering souls could have the potential to give birth to new realities, reform consciousness as we know it, and reconstruct the building blocks of creation in all directions and realms. In other words, yes, we can cause the eternal nature of all realities to have simultaneous strokes, which in turn could extinguish all realities or birth unlimited ones.

Bootstrap Paradox Movies And TV Series

Hollywood has done an excellent job at creating believable narratives and characters that bring to life these types of paradoxes. Even though these are not all perfect examples of bootstraps, this list will answer most of your questions and freak you out (in a good way):

  • Interstellar
  • Looper
  • Timecrimes
  • Arrival
  • Primer
  • Time Lapse
  • The Final Countdown
  • 12 Monkeys
  • Terminator
  • Terminator 2

You might recall moments where you felt as though you were within a loop. It may have felt like déjà vu, or it may have felt more palpable and tangible. It’s entirely possible that every life is a bootstrapped loop. When we’re feeling bad about ourselves, what picks us up? When we’re missing important pieces of information, what mechanisms or influences cause them to appear? Before a flower is born, does life-itself reach backward to pull it into existence and give birth to a new here-and-now? It’s fun to ponder!

If we were so inclined, closed-loop time travel, causal loop paradoxes, and controlled repetition of cause-effect loops might also produce trajectories that result in the absolute liberation of consciousness, for all beings, across all realities, throughout all the realms, and for all time. This gives greater meaning to the Sanskrit mantra often shared by Amma, The Hugging Saint: “Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu,” which translates to, “May all the Beings in all the Worlds Be Happy.”

Electric Universe Theory

Electric Universe Theory

Electric Universe Theory. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

Before Einstein created his unique theorems on relativity, deflating Newton’s theories on gravity, Nikola Tesla posited the idea that electricity and energy were responsible for almost all cosmic phenomena. Tesla saw energy and electricity as an “incompressible fluid” of a constant quantity that could neither be destroyed nor created.

“If You Want To Find The Secrets Of The Universe,
Think In Terms Of Energy, Frequency, And Vibration.”
— Nikola Tesla

What Did Einstein Conclude?

Consider what happens when you lift your knees when under a blanket. It warps the blanket. You can see that your knees (a mass) created a bend or cavity. This warp structure (bend, cavity) is gravity.
There’s much more to it, but this gives us a foundation to help us understand the beauty and challenges behind The Electric Universe Theory.

The Electric Universe Theory Backstory: Atoms, Electrons, And Plasma

Most of us wander around our lovely planet never fully understanding how atoms, electrons, matter, and energy function. It’s not because we’re not interested, it’s because it’s complicated, and a bit intimidating. No wonder, the processes that create and support life are nothing short of miracles.

To better understand the Electric Universe Theory, let’s kick things off with a few definitions:

Atoms

An atom is the basic unit of a chemical element. They’re made up of tiny subatomic particles, including protons, neutrons, and electrons. Atoms are surrounded by one or more negative electrons. Electrons are a bit like non-committal partners; they can be easily separated from their host atoms. When electrons are emitted, all sorts of things can happen. For example, the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) is born from these types of currents, forming multi-colored sheets to burst across the sky. These bursts and sheets are forms of plasma filaments.

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Plasma

Plasma is the most common of the four fundamental states of matter. The other big players are solids, liquids, and gases. Plasma is formed when ionized gasses become electrically conductive, meaning that electrical current (electricity) can flow through them. Fire and lightning are forms of plasma.

It’s in this way that stars and galaxies get their power. Currents flow into stars and power them like light bulbs. They can also induce the births of planets. You can see the remnants of these energy infusions in the forms of craters throughout our galaxy.

Plasma Filament

As charged particles move around and throughout plasma, rings of magnetic fields can form around the electric current. This is called a plasma filament. Interconnected and perfectly woven, these filaments stretch across billions and billions of light years, creating the silent equilibrium inherent in the physical universe. When current flows through plasma filaments, it generates colorful tendrils of light.
This is where Nikola Tesla (1856 – 1943) comes in. He invented the plasma ball when experimenting with electric currents in vacuum tubes. As such, many refer to the center ball as a “Tesla Coil.”

Tesla believed that electricity powered the universe, and could power our physical and eternal realities.

Tesla On Einstein

On July 11, 1935, the NY Times quoted Tesla, “The relativity theory…is much older than its present proponents. It was advanced over 200 years ago by my illustrious countryman Boskovic, the great philosopher, who, not withstanding other and multifold obligations, wrote a thousand volumes … on a vast variety of subjects. Boskovic dealt with relativity, including the so-called time-space continuum.”
Tesla went on to say this about Einstein’s theories: “…magnificent mathematical garb which fascinates, dazzles and makes people blind to the underlying errors. The theory is like a beggar clothed in purple whom ignorant people take for a king … its exponents are brilliant men, but they are metaphysicists, not scientists….”

What Is The Electric Universe Theory?

The Electric Universe Theory (EU) generally states that electricity is the engine behind a long list of natural and astrophysical spectacles. It supports the idea that electricity powers the Sun and stars, and that cosmic occurrences are electrical in nature.

The theory also suggests that the universe is a vast, electric organism, chock full of yet-to-be-discovered masses, holes, relationships, and phenomena. EU advocates believe that we are at the beginning of exploring the possibilities around the concept.​

Since the first pamphlet was distributed in 1983, there have been many papers, books, and theses published on The Electric Universe theory.​​

While some of the tenets of the theory appear to be difficult to prove, the idea that there is electricity throughout the Universe and within every animal, plant, and everywhere else we find plasma, is undeniable.​

From subterranean electricity, known as Telluric currents, to Atmospheric electricity (for example, meteors), and from extraterrestrial (or cosmic electricity) to electrostatic phenomena, electric currents are visible and/or audible. All of these things result from the interaction between electrical currents, filaments, atmospheres, and formations of matter.

The EU has been proven, disproven, celebrated, and dismissed throughout the last 125 years, and since Tesla disappeared from planet Earth.

“We live in an electronic world. Our cities are visible from space at night, blazing with electric lights. The electricity courses invisibly in the darkness over great distances along thin power lines. We find electricity indispensable. Nature does the same since all matter is electrical. Astronomy is stuck in the gas-light era, unable to see that stars are simply electric lights strung along invisible cosmic power lines that are detectable by their magnetic fields and radio noise.”
— Wallace Thornhill

Support For The Electric Universe Model

While there are many variations to the Electric Universe model, supporters of the theory tend to believe that the cosmology and phenomena found throughout the universe is driven by electricity, rather than gravity. This idea has many fans and even more enemies.​
Immanuel Velikovsky (1985-1979) influenced and empowered the EU movement with his ideas around how the universe rearranges itself via electrical interactions.​​

The Plasma Universe is a concept and theorem established by Nobel Laureate, Hannes Alfvén, known as the father of plasma physics and plasma cosmology. Alfvén believed that the visible universe is almost 100% plasma and his theory is often considered a companion to EU theory. Alfvén knew the interstellar and intergalactic network of planets, meteors, suns, moons, and stars are all plasma.​​

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The EU community, sometimes referring to themselves as The Thunderbolts Project, has a long list of social media channels and voices, including, Wallace Thornhill and David Talbott at the helm of the EU experience. While he truth around the Electric Universe Theory might never be accepted or proven, it will never be eradicated.​​

Even though there is fair and considerable pushback against the tenets within the EU theory, it might need more time to mature. We also might consider that there might be limits to Einstein’s research and applied technologies.​​

I think it’s important to consider that just because a theory is globally accepted or that current scientific procedures support them, it does not mean they are 100% correct. It might be that there are nuances in every theory that are yet to be proven, for a variety of reasons.

Putting It All Together

At 14 billion years old, the universe is still unfolding and expanding. Assuming that today’s theories are precise and comprehensive is a mistake. The full scope of the universe’s elements and truths has yet to be revealed. At the very least, we must remain open to new, potentially remarkable possibilities.​
The biggest roadblock in the pursuit of life-enhancing technologies and disproving (or proving) the Electric Universe theories might be that today’s scientists are more concerned with algorithms than experiments. It’s important to keep in mind that equations do not create or prove realities; they propose and support imaginary ones.​​

Also relevant, governments and iconic business people have always been nervous around innovation and they’ve stifled it for the darkest of reasons:

  • JP Morgan put an end to Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Tower in fear that its resulting wireless energy technology would interfere with the growth and profits from the companies that Morgan financed, including General Electric
  • J. Edgar Hoover seized Tesla’s work upon the death of the unsung hero, fearing it might inspire a revolution in the country’s energy and economic infrastructures, putting power, profit, and influence in the hands of citizens instead of corporate entities
  • Hundreds of patents were classified by the US Government over the past 50 years, which can easily be attributed to the notion that governments do not want people to be empowered, they want people to be reliant

Regardless of its limitations and imperfections, Tesla’s work and the suppositions surrounding The Electric Universe are compelling and can potentially lead to profound shifts in our thinking and forthcoming technological advances. Given these ideas, we might reframe Einstein’s theories on Special Relativity by saying, “E = mc2 is relatively true, for now.”

Electrogravitics: Antigravity, Tesla, And A Military Cover-Up

Electrogravitics
Tesla was a brilliant innovator. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

Electrogravitics can be traced to Nikola Tesla’s work with high-voltage discharges in the late 1800s. When Thomas Townsend Brown discovered that electrostatic and gravitational fields are closely intertwined, the world changed.

In astronomical terms, gravity dominates nuclear and electromagnetic forces, which, if implemented into relatable, earth-based technologies, would create economic and scientific paradigm shifts. There have been thousands of attempts to produce measurable and scalable “antigravity,” a futuristic tech that theoretically produces unlimited energy for use in propulsion and other categories of technology.

Key government officials have said that the military has used antigravity tech for years. While conspiracy theorists love the subject, some say antigravity talk is cheap and comprised entirely of untested hype.

The innovative suppositions and theories in electrogravitics and electrokinetics, the base concepts for antigravity, point to the potential for tremendous technological advances. Put quite simply, if you test these theories with natural progressions, the probable advances in transportation and military technologies could transform human life as we know it.

“At No Time, When The Astronauts Were In Space Were They Alone: There Was A Constant Surveillance By UFOs.”
— Astronaut Scott Carpenter while in orbit on May 24, 1962
(NASA still has not released the photograph)

What Is Electrogravitics?

Electrogravitics is most commonly associated with the 1918 work by Professor Nipher, which preceded the 1921 experiments and eventual patents by Thomas Townsend Brown (1905-1985), the 1952 Navy’s Special Inquiry into the “Electro-Gravity Device of Townsend Brown” and the 1956 Aviation Studies Ltd. Reports on “Electrogravitics Systems” and “The Gravitics Situation.”​

The young would-be scientist named Thomas Townsend Brown, who also imagined the name “Electrogravitics,” began experimenting with x-ray vacuum tubes in 1921.​​

For his experiments, Brown used the Coolidge tube, one of the first practical tubes used in thermionic emission, the emission of electrons from heated sources. A coiled wire (tungsten filament) was used as the tube cathode (an electrode that emits electric current), which produces incandescence or light.

​Because Brown’s Coolidge tube’s mass appeared to decrease when its electrode was facing up, and it tended to increase when it was facing down, Brown concluded that he had influenced gravity with the electrode, and therefore gravity.

Brown went on to build large capacitors that produced similar fluctuations in the form of thrust. He began to believe that he had uncovered a mysterious force that could interact with gravity, thus enhance its ability to autogenerate energy and propulsion.

Brown published, “How I Control Gravitation” in Science and Invention Magazine, where he reported that the eventuality of his tech would create exponential propulsion for the “ocean liners of the future.” While some have said that the US Government there is little publicly available proof that supports these claims.

What Is The Biefeld-Brown Effect?

A capacitor is a device used to store an electric charge. When an extremely high electrical voltage is applied to a set of a capacitor’s electrodes, it produces an ionic wind that thrusts from the negative terminal to the positive terminal. The momentum of this thrust transfers to the nearby neutral particles. Brown believed that he could enable these particles to produce unlimited energy.

Thomas Townsend Brown and his mentor/teacher Paul Alfred Biefeld named this effect during their research and experiments while at Denison University in Ohio.

The general premise of the Biefeld-Brown Effect is that highly charged capacitors can create thrusts or propulsive air without requiring any moving parts or combustion engines. Imagine what this could mean for the development of aircraft, and other types of transportation systems and machinery.

Referring to his private conversations with a three-star general of the US Air Force, retired Air Force Colonel Donald Ware said, “The new (1997) Lockheed-Martin space shuttle and the B-2 stealth bomber both have electrogravitic systems on board. This explains why our 21 Northrop B-2s cost about a billion dollars each. After conventional take-off, the B-2 can switch to antigravity mode, and fly around the world without refueling.”​

What Is Electrokinetics?

Electrokinetics occurs when an electrically charged surface or device causes liquid, gasses or solids to move from one point to another. Because the results of electrokinetic interactions include movement, a form of propulsion, the data, algorithms, and theories of electrokinetics can predict how and why specific electrogravitics concepts will succeed.​
The innovative suppositions and theories in electrogravitics and electrokinetics could produce tremendous technological advances.​

“All People Everywhere Should Have Free Energy Sources. Electric Power Is Everywhere Present In Unlimited Quantities And Can Drive The World’s Machinery Without The Need For Coal, Oil Or Gas.”
— Nikolas Tesla​

Project Winterhaven And Government Cover-Ups

In 1953, Brown conducted unprecedented experiments for the US government, sharing all of his secrets and data he accumulated since he first began in 1921.​
Fueled by 150K volts, Brown was able to fly a pair of metal discs around a 50-foot obstacle course, tethered to a massive central pole. These 3-ft diameter discs reached speeds of more than 300 miles per hour. This set of experiments became known as “The Pearl Harbor Demonstration.”

Going beyond physics, experiments like Brown’s have shown that more kinetic energy is created than was previously input in electrical energy. While it sounds simple in premise, these experiments violate Newton’s treasured first and third laws of motion and the conservation of energy.

Marrying the confiscated alien spacecraft that either landed or crashed on US soil, the US government embraced Brown’s theories and immediately classified them following The Pearl Harbor Demonstration. Meanwhile, the Australian government had been on a similar track which resulted from landings of similar alien spacecraft on the content of Australia in 1966.

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Soon after Brown’s Pearl Harbor Demonstrations, Brown proposed a Mach 3 disc shape for electrogravitic fighter spacecraft. The related drawings are found in the US patent office and show large-scale versions of his Pearl Harbor tethered test discs. This new direction became known as Project Winterhaven.

In 1956, a British research company, Aviation Studies Int’l Ltd published a classified report on electrogravitics that included the following: “Electrostatic energy sufficient to produce a Mach 3 fighter is possible with megavolt energies and a k of over 10,000.”

What’s To Come In Antigravity Tech

The “Myth Busters” television show came out with a negative review of Brown’s experiments, but they failed to refer to the many conflicting trials that have occurred throughout the years.​
Thomas Townsend Brown taught us that high voltage and gravity hold the keys to unprecedented advances for humankind. Many other scientists profess the same. But this category of scientific exploration did not begin or end with Brown or any other earth inhabitant.​​

The exploration and development of electrogravitics and antigravity technology were originated and propelled into global consciousness by visitors from other worlds.

Many US government sources have given sworn testimony to the fact that the US has long been harboring alien technology for its own use.

Many have claimed that the US is using derivative technologies and advances solely for military pursuits. This means that the citizens of the world are being deprived of futuristic technologies that could save lives and make life on earth simpler, safer, healthier, and more enjoyable.

In the years to come, there will be a variety of public declarations about technological advances that will surprise most inhabitants of our beautiful planet. We will soon learn about the multitude of remarkable secrets that have been hidden from humanity for a century.

When we remove profit and war from the question of whether we should release advanced technologies to the public domain, we begin a journey toward eliminating suffering and advancing peace throughout the world.

Psychedelic Toad Medicine and DMT

Psychedelic Toad Medicine DMT

The Toad and DMT. A Shutterstock License Image.

If you’ve ever wandered the warmest areas of Arizona, Southern California, and northern Mexico, you may have been in the presence of the magical, mystical, psychedelic toad medicine. Loved by shamans and utilized by psychotropic experimenters, this little creature is fast becoming a legend.

The Sonoran Desert spans 120,000 square miles, covers large parts of the southwestern United States, and extends into Mexico. This vibrant area includes over 60 mammal species, 350 types of birds, 20 amphibian classifications, more than 100 families of reptiles, 30+ native fish, over 2000 unique plants, and millions of human beings.​

The Sonoran Desert is also host to the only population of jaguars in the United States and the amphibian that produces psychoactive toad medicine, otherwise known as Bufo alvarius toad. Why do we care about the Bufo alvarius toad? We care because the glands of our North American salientian friend are filled with the happiest, hippiest, trippiest venom, otherwise known as 5-MeO-DMT.

 

“It may be that DMT makes us able to perceive what the physicists call “dark matter” – the 95 percent of the universe’s mass that is known to exist but that at present remains invisible to our senses and instruments.”
― Graham Hancock

 

 

book-live-intuitive-reading-with-paul-wagnerWith street names like Businessman’s Trip, Dimitri, the Smoking Toad, the Psychoactive Toad, and Fantasia, DMT can open the spiritual portal within the human mind and open doors to alien realities and other-worldly realms. While not always a cure-all for sadness and feelings of being detached from life, many people report positive experiences and find it can alleviate depression following the use of the drug.

South American shamans use DMT in ceremonies and rituals to initiate mind expansion and healing. Also known as Dimethyltryptamine or N, N-Dimethyltryptamine, DMT is a hallucinogenic drug.

When consumed, the drug can cause the following remarkable feelings and experiences:

  • Euphoria
  • Humility
  • Fascinating illusions and visions
  • A profound embodiment of an observer
  • It feels like jumping off a cliff or jumping onto a moving love-train
  • Deconstruction of obsessions
  • Unusual auditory experiences
  • The sense of being a disembodied consciousness
  • Heightened emotions
  • Feelings of overwhelming significance
  • Release of attachments
  • Temporary connection to a deeper Self
  • Release of negative aspects of the current self-identity
  • Release of unprocessed emotions
  • Unexplained coincidences
  • Experiences of other realms
  • Meeting mysterious energy-forms and disembodied spirit-Beings

While not widely considered addictive, DMT is not necessarily a pathway to self-awareness, although it can provide mind-altering and mind-expanding experiences. It can also be a distraction from processing emotions around trauma and life’s challenges. While it’s a natural substance that can provoke unusual experiences, not all of them will be positive.

DMT can also cause the following negative reactions:

  • High blood pressure (hypertension)
  • Increased heart rate
  • Obstinance
  • Confusion
  • Agitation
  • Overwhelming fear
  • Feelings of disconnection
  • Dizziness
  • Diarrhea
  • Coordination problems
  • Irritability
  • Loss of memory
  • Inability to sleep
  • Deconstruction of foundational personal self-identities
  • Seizures

DMT is a natural substance found in plants and within the human brain. It can also be extracted from specific plants to create the herbal brew, known as ayahuasca. Ayahuasca uses the root bark of the Banisteriopsis caapi vine, which contains DMT that is then combined with other plants containing an MAOI (monoamine oxidase inhibitor), a compound that inhibits enzymes in the stomach to allow the DMT to produce its psychoactive effects that last up to 15 hours. This is compared to the synthetic smokable form of DMT which elicits a trip between five and 20 minutes. Psychoactive toad medicine and all forms of DMT, currently remain illegal in the United States as schedule I substances.

“When you drink ayahuasca, and you get to see divinity,
you can almost never speak of it because it’s too big for words.”
― Gerard Armond Powell

The 5-MeO-DMT Toad: How Does It Compare To Other Forms Of DMT?

While it also occurs in many plants and animals, including the psychedelic frog, 5-MeO-DMT has not been found in humans. 5-MeO-DMT is distinctive in that, rather than solely birthing stimulating visuals for the consumer, 5-MeO-DMT inspires a unique spiritual experience in the form of a shift in attitude or perspective, possibly akin to the death of the ego or temporary self-identity. This might be why shamans will blow 5-MeO-DMT powder up noses during ritualistic ceremonies to provoke a stunning rebirth following the ego’s death.

5-MeO-DMT might also be useful in healing or decreasing the effects of addiction. Ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT work together in the creation of mystical experiences, oftentimes inspiring a more motivated or aware mindset. In pursuit of these positive experiences, there are drawbacks. Because 5-MeO-DMT tends to produce a brief journey, the user might have an elevated desire to repeat the experience.

This could lead to habitual use or overstimulation of the parts of the brain that 5-MeO-DMT tends to penetrate. In all, 5-MeO-DMT is useful in opening small windows that might lead to a brief encounter with the eternal consciousness.

Rick Strassman And His Book “DMT: The Spirit Molecule”

Strassman is a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, with a focus on psychopharmacology. He has degrees from Stanford University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University. Strassman was among the first people in the United States to experiment with psychedelics. Rick coined the term “spirit molecule,” referring to how DMT can produce fascinating visions, spiritual experiences and the disembodiment of consciousness. He documented his findings in his book, “DMT: The Spirit Molecule.”

The Lazy Lizard School Of Hedonism

A renegade group of visionary drug researchers, led by Alexander (Sasha) Shulgin, Darrell Lemaire and their friends, experimented with a massive collection of home-made psychedelics, long before the US government scheduled the drugs as illegal substances. Imagine being on the cutting-edge of psychedelics and consciousness, working in a huge underground cave in a remote location, all in pursuit of helping humanity liberate itself. Seriously, what could be more exciting and fulfilling?

In his series on Viceland, chemist and journalist Hamilton Morris shares a fascinating story featuring Shulgin, Lemaire, and a feisty protégé Casey Hardison. The Lizard school’s goals? Aggressively experiment with psychedelics in every form, mass-produce them, and distribute them as widely as possible.

While these groundbreaking, psychedelic warriors gave birth to the bridge between the human brain and the mysteries of the universe, they have since moved on to more traditional pursuits, and they did so long before the feds could extinguish their fire. Shulgin died in 2014, and as of this writing, Lemaire is still kicking around at 92 years old. These two powerhouses produced a profound body of work and an almost unimaginable legacy.

Smoking Toad: What Happens After A Psychedelic Trip?

After consuming psychedelics, be prepared for a few days of confusion, as your mind, body, heart, and spirit adjust to your shifts in perspectives and attachments. You might be inclined to sever relationships or make drastic changes. You might feel as though your job is a waste of time or that you’d like to live off berries and prana and live eternally in a tree. You might also experience such a drop in energy that you’ll feel depressed and unable to communicate.

While these things might seem like normal reactions after ingesting psychedelics, some users have reported a complete demolition of their identities, beyond recognition. When our identities are destroyed to this degree, we might never find our way back to a stable persona. In all things psychedelic, be cognizant of set and setting, and ensure proper administration from a trusted practitioner.

“When love is expressed in life and imbued into every great work, the potential for evolution expands exponentially.”
― Jennifer Sodini, “Amenti Oracle Feather Heart Deck and Guide Book

Your Liberation

Psychoactive substances build temporary, elusive bridges. The ultimate pathway to experiencing and embodying the oneness of the universe is through meditation and love-in-action. These two things produce stable connections and foundations that give rise to peaceful and powerful personas.

Be aware that while psychedelics can be exhilarating and spectacular, psychedelic drugs can reduce one’s sensitivity to the eternal reality, rather than expand upon it. When we consume a mind-altering substance, whether it’s a drug or alcoholic beverage, we are taken beneath the mind, not above it. This isn’t morally wrong, but it can delay our liberation and send us off on distracting and less meaningful tangents. If expansion and transcendence are the goals, focus on the love and light within you. The use of drugs can sometimes alienate us, sending us in the opposite direction. They also have the potential to become dangerous to us and those we love.

In all things exploratory, remember that while you are eternal, you require a durable self-identity to maneuver through physical realities here on planet Earth. It might be that all you need is a little espresso and a bar of delicious dark chocolate.

Famous Alchemists

Famous Alchemists

Alchemy is an ancient practice. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

As the Drew Professor of Humanities at Johns Hopkins University, Lawrence Principe is one of today’s alchemy rock stars. He has solved ancient ciphers (secret codes), volatilized gold (turning it to vapor), and merged his fascinations with history and chemistry in ways that have allowed him to replicate and test an exceptional list of ancient formulas. Principe is well versed on the history of famous alchemists, carrying the torch of their past and shining a beacon of light on alchemy’s future.

It’s difficult to say how alchemy started and who are its most prolific contributors, especially given the many alchemical giants throughout history. Some believe it began 12,000 years ago, when light beings from a distant void appeared on earth and educated primitive humans.​

Below is a list of some of the most famous alchemists and a brief depiction of their fascinations and work. While it’s impossible to share the work of every famous alchemist throughout time, this list is a good start.

“When You Want Something, All The Universe Conspires In Helping You To Achieve It.”

― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Famous Alchemists

Greco-Roman Egypt

Maria the Jewess (1st century)

Also known as “Maria the Prophetess”, she was a 1st-century inventor of several chemical and distillation apparatuses, which served as tools for alchemical experimentation and the creation of healing elixirs. Maria believed science should include a sprinkle of magic when she wrote the axiom, “One becomes two, two becomes three, and out of the third comes the one as the fourth.”

A fan of Maria’s, the famous psychologist Carl Jung, referenced her insights when crafting his methodologies that explore the subconscious in pursuit of individuation.

Zosimos of Panopolis (end of 3rd century/beginning of 4th century)

A Greek-Egyptian and Gnostic mystic, Zosimos’s most prized claim to fame was a treatise that he named, “Cheirokmeta” (in Greek, “things made by hand”). He defined alchemy as “the composition of waters, movement, and growth, embodying and disembodying, drawing the spirits from bodies, and bonding the spirits within bodies”.

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Zosimos was a student of Hermetic spirituality and believed that gender exists on each of the physical, mental and spiritual planes of existence. He was also an early believer in the idea that metallic transmutation was metaphoric of a human being’s inner process of purification and redemption. India

Agastya (around 1500 BCE)

Born with the name Kumbhayoni, Agastya spent part of his life as a hermit focused on spiritual asceticism. While he was known to be a profound and brilliant Vedic sage of Hinduism, he was also a husband and father. Agastya was an authority on the Rig Veda, the sciences, and weaponry. He is described in many early Hindu texts as having been somewhat of a God. Some even believe that Agastya had a miraculous birth with no known mother or father.

Agastya was the author of spiritual poems and hymns, a teacher and perfecter of the Sanskrit and Tamil languages, and the author of “Agistimata”, a treatise on gems. He was also an artisan and lapidary (engraver, cutter, and polisher of stones). Many believe Agastya to have moved mountains and is now considered an ascended spiritual master, connected to all three branches of the Hindu tradition: Shaivism, Shaktism, and Vaishnavism.

Kanada (Unclear, 6th – 2nd century BCE)

A renowned sage and philosopher, Kanada was an early developer of physics and a variety of other related scientific theories. He discovered and developed the notion of the atom, along with several atomic theories. He was the creator of Rasavādam (a type of alchemy focused on converting Mercury (Rasam) into other metals, most notably gold). Kanada believed that all living beings are composed of water, fire, earth, air, and æther. Kanada believed that time, space, and mind are inseparable and united as one.

China

Wei Boyang (AD 151 – 221)

Practicing in private, Wei Boyang aspired to attain the eternal state of nothingness. He was known as a Taoist Internal Alchemist, who professed teachings that could prolong life and help initiates’ spirits become immortal. He was a champion and teacher of the Neidan, or internal alchemy, and he authored “Cantong qi”, which translates to “The Kinship of the Three, in Accordance with the Book of Changes.”

This profound series is the earliest writing on alchemy in China, a series of esoteric doctrines that outline a variety of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual practices. Wei Boyang believed in the Three Treasures: Jing (Essence), Qi (Internal Energy or Breath) and Shen (Spirit). He was also the first person to detail the chemical composition of gunpowder.

“Worry Is Preposterous; We Don’t Know Enough To Worry.”
— Wei Boyang

Ge Hong (AD 283 – 343)

A scholar and philosopher, Ge Hong created First Aid in Traditional Chinese Medicine. His lifelong work was aimed at establishing a dialogue to help reconcile Daoism and Confucianism. Later in life, he became obsessed with immortality elixirs, believed that any person could obtain immortality through diligence and commitment. He also believed the ultimate goal was to achieve oneness with oneself.

Islam And Persia

Jabir ibn Hayyan (AD 721 – 815)

In the western world, Jabir ibn Hayyan was known as “Geber”. He was an early founder of chemistry, and a polymath who merged several complex disciplines and bodies of knowledge with the focus of solving specific problems. As a renaissance humanist, Geber was proficient in astronomy, astrology, engineering, geography, philosophy, physics and pharmacology.

Al-Kindi (AD 800 – 870)

Al-Kindi is known as The Father of Arab Philosophy. He was a peripatetic (“nomadic”) philosopher, mathematician, physician, and musician. Al-Kindi synthesized and adapted Greek and Egyptian ideologies in the Muslim world, and wrote hundreds of original works about metaphysics, logic, ethics, psychology, cosmology, medicine, mathematics, zoology, astronomy, jewels, dyes, tides, mirrors, and meteorology. Al-Kindi had one of the broadest spectrums of proficiencies in the history of alchemy, if not the history of the world.

Al-Tughrai (AD 1061 – 1121)

Al-Tughrai was Persian, a prolific writer of poems, an astrologer, and most importantly, the writer of the compendium of Arabic alchemical writings known as “Mafatih al-rahmah wa-masabih al-hikmah”. Al-Tughrai also translated Zosimos of Panopolis’s writings on alchemy from Greek to Arabic. No small feat.

Europe

Rudolf Steiner (2/25/1861 – 3/30/1925)

Rudolf Steiner is of the most profound and unique thinkers and alchemists in modern history. Steiner was a designer, artist, agriculturist, architect, and student of medicine. He was most known for initiating and developing The Waldorf school movement. Steiner influenced Piet Mondrian, Wassily Kandinsky, Joseph Beuys, Olafur Eliasson, and Tony Cragg.

“Just as the body, eye, and ear develop as organs of perception, as senses for bodily processes, so does a man develop in himself soul and spiritual organs of perception through which the soul and spiritual worlds are opened to him.”
― Rudolf Steiner, Theosophy

Roger Bacon (1219 or 1220 – 1292)

Know as Doctor Mirabilis (“Doctor Marvelous”), Bacon was a philosopher, Franciscan Friar, wizard, magician, student of Aristotle, and advocate of his scientific method. He was also a student of Arab scientist Alhazen (Arab astronomer, mathematician, and physicist).

Throughout his life, Bacon studied nature through the lens of empirical data and was fascinated with necromancy, whereby he would summon spirits and communicate with the dead. He wrote, “Opus Majus,” “Opus Minus,” and “Opus Tertium” in medieval Latin, a profound compendium on grammar, mathematics, physics, and philosophy. He is also known for revising the medieval university curriculum.

Legend also has it that Roger Bacon developed a “Brazen Head”, akin to the Great and Powerful Oz. This mechanical wizard’s tool was made of brass or bronze and was allegedly able to answer any question.

Paracelsus (1493 or 1494 – 9/24/1541)

Paracelsus was born Theophrastus von Hohenheim. During his life, he was a military surgeon, writer on medical philosophy (titles include, “Paragranum” and “Opus Paramirum”), a physician, alchemist, chemical analyst, astrologer, renaissance man, pioneer, and the founder of a medical revolution that focused on observation in conjunction with accrued wisdom.

Paracelsus was known as the “Father of Toxicology” and was loved by the Rosicrucians as a diviner-prophet and occultist. Paracelsus subscribed to Hermeticism, believing that health and sickness are born from balances and imbalances between human beings and nature.

John Dee (7/13/1527 – 1608 or 1609)

John Dee was an advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, and a Hermetic Philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, and student of divination. He promoted the idea that magic and science are intertwined, and he sought to understand transcendence and the invisible world of angels and spirits. As a student and lover of Copernicus and Pythagoras, Dee believed that numbers were the basis for our physical realities. He was also a leading authority on navigation and a consultant to England’s early voyagers.

August Nordenskiold (2/6/1754 – 12/10/1792)

Nordenskiold was commissioned by King Gustav III of Sweden to find “The Philosopher’s Stone,” so that he could use it to turn all of Sweden’s metals into gold. His goal was to obliterate the value of gold so that financial tyranny and the power that gold created would no longer exist. A humanist, Nordenskiold was a defender of the anti-slavery movement, and a disciple of the day’s new brand of Christianity, known as Swedenborgianism.

“That there are two Worlds, the Spiritual or Substantial, and the Natural or Material.”
— August Nordenskiold

United States

Diana Di Prima (8/6/1934, age 84 years at the time of this article)

A unique and powerful soul, Di Prima is alive as of this writing and one of the world’s most famous female alchemists. Diana is a life-long feminist, beat poet, anti-authority Brooklynite, and a student of Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. She is a lover of Sanskrit, healer, and worker of magick. Di Prima is keeping alchemy alive through her profound writing and thoughtful activism.

Joseph Matheny writes of his interview with Di Prima: “Conjuring, straddling the magick/dream line, throwing us bits of tasty meta-morsels and sumptuous subconscious feasts from the other side.”

“Remember That Wherever Your Heart Is, There You Will Find Your Treasure.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Famous Alchemist Quotes

  • “One Man’s ‘Magic’ Is Another Man’s Engineering.” — Robert A. Heinlein
  • “There Is An Alchemy In Sorrow. It Can Be Transmuted Into Wisdom, Which, If It Does Not Bring Joy, Can Yet Bring Happiness.” — Pearl S. Buck
  • “Magic Is Not A Practice. It Is A Living, Breathing Web Of Energy That, With Our Permission, Can Encase Our Every Action.” — Dorothy Morrison
  • “The Real Alchemy Is Transforming The Base Self Into Gold Or Into Spiritual Awareness. That’s Really What New Alchemy’s All About.” — Fred Alan Wolf
  • “True Magic Is The Art And Science Of Changing States Of Mind At Will.” — Douglas Monroe
  • “Alchemy Is The Art Of Manipulating Life, And Consciousness In Matter, To Help It Evolve, Or To Solve Problems Of Inner Disharmonies.” — Jean Dubuis

Given the thousands of alchemists throughout time, this is just a sprinkling of what might be considered some of history’s most famous alchemists.

A handful of the most popular names in alchemy were purposely left out of this article. For example, pseudonyms like Eirenaeus Philalethes (most likely George Starkey) and Cleopatra The Alchemist (her real name is disputed and considered unknown) were intentionally excluded because their authorships and accomplishments were either in question or unclear.

Alchemy has had a profound effect on the world and will continue to do so. Sadly, while alchemy had incredible momentum from 3000 BC through to the mid-1800s, it began to nose-dive upon science’s fascination with a newly fangled category known as the “drug industry.” It appears that rather than continue to explore the depths of the human condition, 19th-century alchemists chose a circuitous detour (and financial windfall), returning to the surface with a focus on symptoms.

Thanks to today’s enlightened writers and alchemists, alchemy is making a stunning come-back.