4 Healthy Benefits of Chanting “Om” Confirmed With Scientific Evidence (Study)

Some scientific studies have explored the many mental, physical, and spiritual benefits to chanting Om. According to the Vedas, the sound of Om evolves on its own, so it is seen as the sound of the universe, made up of all that is.

To chant Om is to represent all of consciousness. – Yogananda, Indian Yogi

The Sanskrit word Om is pronounced like “Aum,” and is said to represent the threefold division of time (waking state, dreaming state, and deep sleep). It is considered the sound of creation, representing all that is in creation, and it allows for its practitioners to cultivate energy that flows upward through the chakras and then outward through the crown chakra which represents one’s connection to Source.

According to yogic texts, Hinduism, and Buddhism, Om is also the mantra related to the third eye chakra, as chanting Om can help cleanse and balance your third eye. 

Reasons to Chant and Heal

Helps Reduce Stress

A study published in the International Journal of Yoga found that Om chanting reduced activity in the limbic system, which is the portion of the brain associated with stress, emotions, learning, and motivation. By monitoring brain activity using a functional MRI machine, researchers found that Om chanting relaxed the brain, and thus could reduce stress. Another study found that it could be used to treat depression.

Improves Concentration

Yogic texts discuss the eight limbs or branches of yoga, and the sixth one is Dharana, the Sanskrit word for concentration. In practicing concentration, one can meditate and chant mantras in order to achieve maximum concentration. In this context, this means that the yogi is fully present and thus able to slow down the mind in order to either concentrate on one subject or to completely silence the mind.

Balance Your Emotions

If you’re ever feeling a little down or slightly off, chanting Om can help you connect to the Self and balance your emotions. You may find that, as you chant, your mind starts to clear. This is because you’re concentrating on one thing: the sound or vibration that Om gives off. Om holds the same frequency as that of everything in nature, allowing you to connect further and look inwards.

Strengthens Spinal Cord

When you pronounce the first part of Om, making the “Aaaa” sound, the vibration is generated in the abdomen, which can help support your spinal cord. It is said that the more often an individual chants Om, the more efficient their spinal cord may become.

Scientifically Backed Reasons to Chant Om | Collective Evolution

Psychedelic Trip Sitting (A Helpful Guide)

Psychedelic Trip Sitting (A Helpful Guide) | Third Monk

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Psychedelic Trip sitting just means a sober person being present while one or more people take a psychedelic drug, such as magic mushrooms or LSD.

Let’s take a brief look at some things you should be thinking about if you’re going to be someone’s trip sitter.

The presence of a caring sitter provides safety and comfort, ensuring the trip goes smoothly and allowing those tripping to immerse themselves in their experience more freely and without some of the worries or concerns they might otherwise have.

Gather Knowledge…

For starters, you must be well-informed about the substance in question. Do some research until you are comfortable answering questions about duration, dosage, effects and possible side effects.

Having personal experience with the substance is extremely useful, and although recommended, it isn’t necessary. Read reports of people’s experiences, both positive and negative, to get an idea of what an experience on this substance looks like. A great place to find such trip reports is on Erowid.

Have a Conversation…

Having a conversation prior to the trip is important. Ask what they expect from you as a sitter. One person might want you to be quietly present unless something is needed, whereas someone else might want you to play a more active role in the experience, perhaps by talking or guiding a meditation.

Additionally, ask how they would like you to respond if they feel anxious or panicked.

You can also use this opportunity to set some ground rules, such as establishing that it’s okay for the tripper to express sexual or aggressive feelings, should they arise, but that they cannot act on them.

Another ground rule could be that sexual contact can only take place between people who have a pre-existing relationship. Setting such boundaries helps ensure that the trip goes smoothly and without confusion as to what is and isn’t appropriate.

During the trip, your role is to create a safe and comfortable setting in which they can have their experience. The setting includes things like lighting, music, room temperature and, more generally, location. A good place for a trip is in the comfort of someone’s home, where the sitter can easily regulate the environment. Being outside or at a party are less ideal places for tripping, as the setting is more unpredictable and difficult to control.

Above all, remember that you are there to facilitate someone else’s experience, and not to have your own. Don’t treat their trip as your novelty by asking them how they’re feeling, what they’re seeing or trying to show them things that you think might be “trippy” to see how they’ll react. It’s not that you shouldn’t talk at all, but be mindful that you are enhancing someone else’s experience.

Stay Open-Minded…

Try to keep an open and receptive mindset. If you meditate regularly, those skills will come in handy here. Rather than actively searching for whether you should intervene, try to remain uninvolved unless you’re needed. Make it clear that you are there to help and that they shouldn’t hesitate to ask if they want snacks or water, to talk or have a change of setting, or if they feel anxious or uncomfortable.

If the tripper finds themselves in a state of panic or anxiety, the presence of a caring sitter is itself very comforting. A gentle touch on the arm or shoulder can be reassuring, and a change in setting can also help, but be sure to ask and get their consent prior to either of these.

Unless agreed upon before the trip, it’s best not to probe them about what they’re going through, as having to do mental excavation in the moment may become an added stress. Instead, remind them that they’re safe, that you’re there with them, and that it’s okay for them to let themselves experience whatever they are experiencing.

28 Days Later…

In the days following the experience, make yourself available to discuss it.

Psychedelic experiences can be profound and rich in content, and you can help them understand and integrate this experience by providing a space for them to process it. Talking it through can ensure that important aspects of the trip are not forgotten.

Sitting for someone’s trip is a privilege. Being asked to be someone’s sitter is an expression of their trust and of their willingness to have you be part of a highly personal and intimate experience, so approach it with care and respect. Done right, it can be an insightful experience for both parties. And who knows, they might be willing to return the favor.

Safe and happy travels!

> Trip Sitting | Link Newspaper

Simple Cannabis Butter Recipe For Weed Edibles

Simple Cannabis Butter Recipe For Weed Edibles | Third Monk image 4

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By infusing cannabis with butter, you can easily turn any recipe into a marijuana-infused dish.

The entire process usually take a few hours, though, so be warned. But once you have a batch of cannabutter, you’ll be able to whip up any marijuana-infused food within minutes.

Cannabinoids require heat in order to be activated, which is why you can’t use raw cannabis to make edibles. Use the recipe below and you’ll have fresh, homemade cannabis butter that can be enjoyed as part of any cannabis-infused food, ranging from brownies and cookies to soup and tea.

Cannabutter Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/2 ounce cannabis (ground or raw)
2 cups water
Metal strainer
Medium pan

Directions
1. Add water and butter to pan over medium heat. Make sure there is enough water to create a layer between the butter and the bottom of the pan. Use extra water if necessary.
2. Add cannabis to pan and mix thoroughly.
3. Simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching. If mixture starts to boil, reduce heat.

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(Photo: Debra Solomon/Flickr)

4. Allow pan to cool before straining into bowl or container.
5. Place mixture in fridge overnight. The butter will separate from the water and rise to the top.
6. Once butter has risen to top, remove from fridge. Peel off the chunks with a fork or knife and place in separate container.

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(Photo: Debra Solomon/Flickr)

Congratulations, you’re now ready to make edibles! When it comes to dosing, it’s best to start with small amounts and move up gradually. Any extra cannabutter can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 months.

Quick & Easy Weed Edibles

If you’re not sure what to do with your very first batch of cannabutter, here’s a list of edible recipes that are great for beginners:

1. Cheesy Garlic Bread
2. Medicated Waffles
3. Pot Brownies
4. Cream of Cannabis Soup
5. French Toast
6. Marijuana Tea

How To Make Cannabis-Infused Butter | Leaf Science

Risset Rhythm & Mutations by Jean-Claude Risset (Audio High)

Risset Rhythm & Mutations by Jean-Claude Risset (Audio High) | Third Monk

In this audio high, you will hear a looped sample of the Risset Rhythm. What’s weird is that this loop will sound as though it is constantly speeding up, yet it never actually increases in beat.

We know: that doesn’t make any sense.

How the Risset Rhythm Works

French electronic music experimenter Jean-Claude Risset based this audio high on Shepard Tones, the looped notes that sound as if they are constantly increasing or decreasing in pitch even though they are just repeating. Risset duplicated Shepard Tones in rhythmic form. The result is a drum-based track that sounds as though it gets faster and faster when, in actuality, it is playing the same steady beat.

The following is a detailed explanation only for the most dedicated of audio heads out there. You’ve been warned…….

To get an idea of how Risset Rhythm works we’ll need to review how our brains process sound. Consider the brain as a famously impulsive file clerk who can’t stand to have information just sitting around, clogging up its synapses. As such, when information comes in, the brain quickly places it in what it considers to be the most appropriate “file” to make room for new input. When the brain gets bits of information that don’t fit exactly into a prescribed file, it makes an assumption, throwing this information into a file that it considers “close enough.” Sometimes the brain misplaces information into the wrong file. These wrong assumptions, or “file” placements, are why we mistake visual, audio, or other sensory details: why we think a mirage in the desert is a watering hole, a prick of a needle on a couch is an insect bite, the voice on the other end of the phone line is your current girlfriend not your psycho ex.

The brain can make these same incorrect assumptions with rhythms.

When we hear any repeated pattern of sounds the brain will immediately try to place the pattern into a rhythm file, even if this pattern is random and doesn’t perfectly fit. In this rhythm file the brain will attempt to put the pattern in a logical sequence of beats. Risset Rhythm takes advantage of these incorrect assumptions. It subtly merges a loop of increasing beats and sounds over and over. The brain doesn’t notice these subtle transitions between the beginning and ending of the loop, it assumes that the rhythm is constantly speeding up. As a result, we hear the Risset Rhythm loop as a continuous pattern, one that is constantly getting faster and faster.

Risset Rhythm

For another one of Jean Claude Risset’s trippy audio specials take a listen to Mutations. Old school out of this world sound for all you trippy psychonauts.

Thank you – I mean, you’re welcome!

Mutations by Lillian F. Schwartz, Music by Jean-Claude Risset, 1973

> Audio High | Get High Now

An Introduction to Cannabis Edibles (Guide)

An Introduction to Cannabis Edibles (Guide) | Third Monk image 3

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With all the options available to medical marijuana patients today, many are choosing to explore methods of medicating beyond the traditional pipe or paper.

Edibles Provide a Safer Alternative to Smoking

Ridgemont High - Edibles

Many patients believe that ingesting their cannabis is a healthier alternative to inhaling it because there is no exposure to carbon-rich smoke.

Some patients, such as those on supplemental oxygen, turn to edibles when smoking is no longer an option. For patients with eating and digestive disorders, edibles are not only a great source of nausea-reducing CBD, but also a vital source of nutrients and calories. The same is true for cancer patients suffering from nausea caused by their treatments, and expecting mothers dealing with hyperemesis (morning sickness).

A few patients choose edibles because they are a more discreet way to medicate, while others simply prefer the effects of ingesting cannabis to the effects of smoking.

What Conditions are Edibles Recommended For

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The cooking process, as well as the high levels of THC found in edibles, work together to create the perfect treatment for many disorders.

  • Chronic pain
  • Muscle inflammation and spasms
  • Autoimmune disorders
  • Nervous system disorders
  • Insomnia
  • Nausea

While anyone can enjoy the benefits of edibles, patients suffering from Crohn’s disease, an autoimmune disorder of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that affects as many as 700,000 Americans, find this method of medicating extremely beneficial. Because Crohn’s Disease occurs in the GI tract, edibles distribute useful active and inactive cannabinoids at the root of the problem, instead of having to rely on the bloodstream to carry them from the lungs.

Does Ingesting Cannabis Affect You Differently Than Smoking?

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Yes, without a doubt. However, exactly what effect edibles will have on you depends on several factors: the type and potency of the edibles you are using, your tolerance, your body chemistry, and even how much you’ve had to eat. Because the effects of eating an edible differ greatly from the effects of smoking, many first time users are caught off guard by the stronger potency and long-lasting effects.

Despite CBD’s anxiety relieving properties, many people experience a heightened sense of anxiety and paranoia when they initially ingest an edible.

When you smoke marijuana you only receive a small amount of the cannabinoids in each hit, although it’s felt instantly. Where as, edibles tend to hit you much more slowly. This allows the cannabinoids to be released in waves, as they are processed by the stomach and digested.

Two Different Types of Edibles

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Though there are untold varieties of edibles available on the market today, they can all be split into three basic categories: those geared towards gastrointestinal uptake (digested through stomach), those geared towards oral uptake (through saliva), and a few that fit into a hybrid category that targets both.

The most common edibles are geared towards gastrointestinal absorption. Any edible where the cannabinoids are absorbed through the stomach, like a brownie, cookie, cashew bar, or crepe falls into this category. These edibles tend to take longer to activate within the body (sometimes as long as two hours), but produce a longer-lasting effect (up to eight hours of relief).

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On the flipside, edibles geared towards oral uptake can affect a patient almost immediately, but tend to wear off faster (within two to three hours). Edibles that you hold in your mouth for an extended period of time like suckers, lozenges, or tincture, fall into this category.

Some items, such as drinks and chocolates fall into a hybrid category, because they are designed to be absorbed in both the mouth and the stomach. These edibles are a middle ground between oral and intestinal absorption, offering fast-acting relief (patients usually feel this type of edible within a half hour) that can last for four hours or more.

> What You Should Know About Ingesting Cannabis | Medical Jane

Properly Attune Your Body & Mind Before Using Psychedelic Plant Medicines

Properly Attune Your Body & Mind Before Using Psychedelic Plant Medicines | Third Monk image 1

Before incorporating the knowledge of advanced plant medicines, properly attuning one’s body and mind through diet and exercise is essential.

What goes into the body determines what the body will be composed of physically, mentally, and spiritually. The vessel must be adequately equipped to handle whatever may occur while in the spiritual realms. Body and mind exist in a symbiotic relationship, where the effects on one reflects on the other. Depending on which plant medicine you use, the intensity and length of body preparation varies accordingly.

Click here for our article on Shroom Consumption.

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Ayahuasca

Many traditional diets share common similarities, but each initiate will know what they need to abstain from to gain the greatest knowledge possible from the experience.

Common themes include abstinence from alcohol, sugar, salt, oils, meat and certain spices. Consumption of raw foods is also highly recommended as processing diminishes the nutritional content of the food. It is also common in some locales for initiates of ayahuasca to stop sexual thoughts and activities during the course of the diet and experience. There are reasons for this abstinence that are highlighted in greater detail here. For plant teachers such as Peyote and Psilocybin, a similar diet should be applied.

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Exercises Before Consumption

A short fast before engaging in any plant medicine is recommended, aim for anywhere from 8-24 hours. Attempting to digest a plant teacher with other foods in the stomach can cause the initiate to undergo physical stress.

It is recommended that initiates disengage from the integration of meat and animal products into their bodies for weeks before, during and after the spiritual journey. It is also recommended that initiates let go of whatever it is they may be struggling with in their lives.

Temporary separation from those attachments which we feel we cannot live without will serve to enlighten us. If one struggles with addictive behavior, one should surrender that behavior before encountering the plant medicine if they wish to maximize their knowledge from the plant.

Anything one can do to purify and cleanse both thoughts and action – before and after the experience – will serve to increase penetration and understanding.

Psychedelic Spirituality Podcast – Proper Diet and Exercise for Spiritual Experience

With Kundalini Yoga Teacher Mehtab Benton

> Ways to Spiritually Cleanse Before Using | Time Wheel Net

Increase Introspection with Colored Noise (Audio High)

Increase Introspection with Colored Noise (Audio High) | Third Monk

Colored Noise

A consistent flooding of noise in the ears mutes out thoughts and places us into a deeper, introspective state.

Sift through the colored noise below, find a comfortable place, close your eyes, and listen to the static din for an introspective boost.

Click here for more audio highs.

How Colored Noise Works

Though noise is defined as a random signal, it is often classified into areas: environmental noise, industrial noise, occupational noise, etc. It is also further classified into colors.

Engineers originally developed colored noises to use as guides for electric, acoustic, and audio equipment experiments. Each noise was named after the color it most closely resembled in frequency. Different colors vibrate at a different frequencies, which is how the human eye distinguishes them. Interestingly. in the early 1970s, colored noises were used to test for extrasensory perception.

Dr. Charles Honorton, among other parapsychologists, believed white and pink noise played through headphones could mute out the senses and make a person more amenable to subconscious thought. In Ganzfeld Anomalous Information Transfer experiments, extended exposure to white or pink noise was often successful in inducing in subjects hypnagogic and other altered states of consciousness. At a minimum, a few minutes of white or pink noise placed people into a deep state of meditation.

Brown Noise

Pink Noise

Violet Noise

Blue Noise

White Noise

> Audio High | Get High Now

Munchies – 10 Super Simple Two-Ingredient Recipes For Stoners (Guide)

Munchies - 10 Super Simple Two-Ingredient Recipes For Stoners (Guide) | Third Monk image 1

Cooking doesn’t get much easier! But don’t let the simple two-ingredient recipes fool you, these are some delicious munchies.

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Ingredients:

4 large or extra large eggs
8 1/2 ounces Nutella (weigh this out on a scale)

Directions:

  1. Grease a 6 or 7 inch round springform pan. Then line with parchment paper on sides and on bottom. (One of the cakes I made, I simply sprayed pan, but it still sticks, so it is best to line with parchment paper. By spraying with oil first, the parchment paper stick on better.) Preheat oven to 350F. Beat eggs on highest speed with stand mixer until about triple in volume, about 6 minutes. The egg consistency is the key to making this recipe work, so don’t try to save time on this step. Eggs must be beaten until triple in volume as that is what creates the cake.
  2. Measure out Nutella into a glass bowl. Microwave Nutella for about 20 seconds to make it softer. Add in 1/3 of the egg mixture. Gently stir with a spatula in the same clockwise direction until all of the egg is mixed in, and no streaks remain. Then add another 1/3 of egg mixture and fold again until no egg streaks remain. Pour in remaining third and make sure to scrape the foam that sticks to the mixing bowl into the batter and stir until no streaks remain. Make sure to do this in 3 batches because otherwise the whipped eggs may lose too much of the air that has been whipped into them if you try to do it all at once.
  3. Pour batter into spring foam pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until knife inserted comes out clean. Let cake cool completely before removing from pan and cutting and serving.

Recipe via Kirbie Cravings

the-34-insanely-simple-two-ingredient-recipes-3Ingredients:

10oz. Ghirardelli white chocolate chips
15 regular size Oreos, plus 3 more for topping

Directions:

Line an 8×8 pan with enough parchment or wax paper for a 1 inch overhang on each side.

  1. Place chocolate in a double boiler over low heat and stir continuously, until chocolate is completely melted.  Transfer chocolate to a heat proof bowl and cool for 5 minutes. Add chopped Oreos and stir to combine. Pour mixture into pan. Use a spatula to smooth out top.
  2. Finely chop remaining Oreos and sprinkle on top. Chill for about 10 minutes until chocolate becomes solid.
  3. Lift whole bark out of the pan by holding onto parchment or wax overhang. Split bark into pieces with a fork.

Recipe via Bakers Royale

the-34-insanely-simple-two-ingredient-recipes-5Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds sirloin
Large pieces of fat removed
1/2 cup whiskey
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
Fine Sea Salt and Freshly Cracked Pepper (to taste)

Directions:

  1. In a large airtight plastic bag combine trimmed sirloin, whiskey and balsamic vinegar. Massage into the fibers of the meat. Place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hour(s).
  2. Removesirloin from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the grill.
  3. Remove sirloin from the marinade and place onto a plate. Season the top with fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
  4. Preheat the grill to a high heat. Place steak on the hot grill. If you are using a gas grill, cover the grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side for medium rare. If you do not have a grill, you can follow the same instructions using the broiler of your oven on the second to top rack. Make sure to keep the door cracked and properly ventilate to not set off your smoke detectors.

Recipe via Savory Experiments
the-34-insanely-simple-two-ingredient-recipes-6Ingredients:

1 cup chocolate chips
2 tbsp. coconut oil (can substitute butter or shortening)

Directions:

  1. In a small-medium, microwave safe, bowl combine chocolate chip and coconut oil.
  2. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave in 15 second increments, removing and stirring between each, until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.
  3. Serve (it should become solid when it is put on something cold, if it is taking a bit to harden up, pop the ice cream or popsicle, etc. in the refrigerator for a minute.) or cover and store at room temperature for up to a month (if it solidifies-because the temperature in your home may be too cool-just microwave and stir again until melted, and make sure to let come back to room temperature before using.)

Recipe via Cooking Actress

the-34-insanely-simple-two-ingredient-recipes-13Ingredients:

2 cups granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
  2. Combine the sugar and kosher salt. Pour 1 cup of the sugar/salt mixture on a flat surface such as wooden board or marble.
  3. Unfold each sheet of puff pastry onto the sugar and pour 1/2 cup of the sugar mixture on top, spreading it evenly on the puff pastry. This is not about sprinkling, it’s about an even covering of sugar.
  4. With a rolling pin, roll the dough until it’s 13 by 13-inches square and the sugar is pressed into the puff pastry on top and bottom. Fold the sides of the square towards the center so they go halfway to the middle. Fold them again so the two folds meet exactly at the middle of the dough. Then fold 1 half over the other half as though closing a book. You will have 6 layers.
  5. Slice the dough into 3/8-inch slices and place the slices, cut side up, on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Place the second sheet of pastry on the sugared board, sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar mixture, and continue as above. (There will be quite a bit of sugar left over on the board.) Slice and arrange on baking sheets lined with parchment.
  6. Bake the cookies for 6 minutes until caramelized and brown on the bottom, then turn with a spatula and bake another 3 to 5 minutes, until caramelized on the other side. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

Recipe via Food Network

the-34-insanely-simple-two-ingredient-recipes-16Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup creamy garlic hummus
black pepper + lemon juice to taste

Directions:

  1. Steam, boil, roast or grill your broccoli florets.
  2. Toss the warm florets in the hummus — coating it as you would pasta with pasta sauce.
  3. Serve warm or place in the fridge to chill. This broccoli is delicious served both warm and chilled.

Add lemon juice and black pepper over top to serve.

Customize it! If you are not a garlic fan, you can use any variety of hummus, including lemon, chili, roasted eggplant, olive, parsley and more.

Recipe via Babble

the-34-insanely-simple-two-ingredient-recipes-20Ingredients:

1 Box Vanilla Wafer Cookies (such as Nilla Wafers)
2 Cups mint white chocolate candy melts
Sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

  1. Melt chocolate in microwave (Use about 1 Tablespoon shortening or vegetable oil to thin it out if it is too think for dipping.)
  2. Dip cookies into mint white chocolate. Garnish with sprinkles if desired. Let cool.

Recipe via In Katrina’s Kitchen

the-34-insanely-simple-two-ingredient-recipes-22Ingredients:

1 cup milk (per preference)
1 1/2-2 tablespoons Nutella

Directions:

  1. Heat milk to steaming. You can do this in a microwave or in a pan on top of the stove. When steaming hot, pour into a mug. Stir in Nutella until it dissolves.
  2. Enjoy!

Recipe via Shockingly Delicious

the-34-insanely-simple-two-ingredient-recipes-32Ingredients:

2-parts Ginger Ale
1-part Mustard
(Example: 2/3 cup ginger ale for 1/3 cup mustard)

Directions:

  1. Combine your 2-ingredient marinade
  2. Prepare your ham by making diamond slices in the top (make cuts about 1/2 inch into the ham both length-wise and width-wise.  This will create “diamond” shapes into the ham and allow the marinade to seep into the ham so that they ham can cook and soak up the flavors!
  3. Pour your marinade over the ham (it will be thicker) and let it seep into the cuts and cook to package directions.
  4. Throughout the cooking process, use a baster, suck up the juices that leaked out and baste it over the top again. Use a spoon for this if you don’t have a baster.
  5. Serve and enjoy the sweet/tart and deliciously unique flavors of your Ham.

Recipe via The Thrifty Couple

the-34-insanely-simple-two-ingredient-recipes-33Ingredients:

1 Package of Crescent Rolls
Package of Kraft Singles

Directions:

  1. Unwrap your cheese slices and pop open your can of crescent rolls.
  2. You’ll use a half slice of cheese in each roll.  We folded them into halves, then quarters, and then in half again before putting it on the crescent roll.
  3. Roll up your dough with the cheese inside.
  4. Put the rolls on a baking sheet and brush with melted butter. You can also sprinkle with a little extra parmesan cheese, garlic salt, etc.
  5. When they’re all buttered up and ready to go, put them in the oven and bake as directed for the crescent rolls.

Recipe via Come Together Kids

> Super Simple Recipes | Crazy Food

Using Psychedelics to Imprint the Buddhist Experience by Dr. Timothy Leary (Guide)

Using Psychedelics to Imprint the Buddhist Experience by Dr. Timothy Leary (Guide) | Third Monk image 6

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A Guide to a Successful Psychedelic Experience

This guidebook may also be used to avoid paranoid trips or to regain transcendence if it has been lost. If the experience starts with light, peace, mystic unity, understanding, and continues along this path, then there is no need to remember the manual or have it reread to you. Like a road map, consult it only when lost, or when you wish to change course.

Planning a Session

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What is the goal? There can be four possibilities:

  1. Increased personal power, intellectual understanding, sharpened insight into self and culture, improvement of life situation, accelerated learning, professional growth.
  2. Duty, help of others, providing care, rehabilitation, rebirth for fellow men.
  3. Fun, sensuous enjoyment, aesthetic pleasure, interpersonal closeness, pure experience.
  4. Transcendence, liberation from ego and space-time limits; attainment of mystical union.

The manual’s primary emphasis on the last goal does not preclude other goals – in fact, it guarantees their attainment because illumination requires that the person be able to step out beyond problems of personality, role, and professional status. The initiate can decide beforehand to devote their psychedelic experience to any of the four goals.

In the extroverted transcendent experience, the self is ecstatically fused with external objects (e.g., flowers, other people). In the introverted state, the self is ecstatically fused with internal life processes (lights, energy waves, bodily events, biological forms, etc.).

Either state may be negative rather than positive, depending on the voyager’s set and setting.

For the extroverted mystic experience, one would bring to the session candles, pictures, books, incense, music, or recorded passages to guide the awareness in the desired direction. An introverted experience requires eliminating all stimulation: no light, no sound, no smell, no movement.

Preparation

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Psychedelic chemicals are not drugs in the usual sense of the word. There is no specific somatic or psychological reaction. In initial sessions with unprepared persons, set and setting – particularly the actions of others – are most important.

Long range set refers to personal history, enduring personality, the kind of person you are. Your fears, desires, conflicts, guilts, secret passions, determine how you interpret and manage any psychedelic session.

Flexibility, basic trust, philosophic faith, human openness, courage, interpersonal warmth, creativity, allow for fun and easy learning. Rigidity, desire to control, distrust, cynicism, narrowness, cowardice, coldness, make any new situation threatening.

Immediate set refers to expectations about the session itself. People naturally tend to impose personal and social perspectives on any new situation. For example, some ill-prepared subjects unconsciously impose a medical model on the experience. They look for symptoms, interpret each new sensation in terms of sickness/health, and, if anxiety develops, demand tranquilizers.

Psychedelics offer vast possibilities of accelerated learning and scientific- scholarly research, but for initial sessions, intellectual reactions can become traps. “Turn your mind off” is the best advice for novitiates. After you have learned how to move your consciousness around – into ego loss and back, at will – then intellectual exercises can be incorporated into the psychedelic experience. The objective is to free you from your verbal mind for as long as possible.

Recreational and aesthetic expectations are natural. The psychedelic experience provides ecstatic moments that dwarf any personal or cultural game. Interpersonal intimacy reaches Himalayan heights. Aesthetic delights – musical, artistic, botanical, natural – are raised to the millionth power. But ego-game reactions – “I am having this ecstasy. How lucky I am!” – can prevent the subject from reaching pure ego loss.

Some Practical Recommendations

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The subject should set aside at least three days: a day before the experience, the session day, and a follow-up day. This scheduling guarantees a reduction in external pressure and a more sober commitment. Talking to others who have taken the voyage is excellent preparation, although the hallucinatory quality of all descriptions should be recognized.

Reading books about mystical experience and of others’ experiences is another possibility (Aldous HuxleyAlan Watts, and Terence Mckenna have written powerful accounts). Meditation is probably the best preparation. Those who have spent time in a solitary attempt to manage the mind, to eliminate thought and reach higher stages of concentration, are the best candidates for a psychedelic session. 

The Setting

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First and most important, provide a setting removed from one’s usual interpersonal games, and as free as possible from unforeseen distractions and intrusions. The voyager should make sure that he will not be disturbed; visitors or a phone call will often jar him into hallucinatory activity. Trust in the surroundings and privacy are necessary.

The day after the session should be set aside to let the experience run its natural course and allow time for reflection and meditation. A too-hasty return to game involvements will blur the clarity and reduce the potential for learning. It is very useful for a group to stay together after the session to share and exchange experiences.

Many people are more comfortable in the evening, and consequently their experiences are deeper and richer. The person should choose the time of day that seems right. Later, he may wish to experience the difference between night and day sessions. Similarly, gardens, beaches, forests, and open country have specific influences that one may or may not wish. The essential thing is to feel as comfortable as possible, whether in one’s living room or under the night sky.

Familiar surroundings may help one feel confident in hallucinatory periods. If the session is held indoors, music, lighting, the availablility of food and drink, should be considered beforehand. Most people report no hunger during the height of the experience, then later on prefer simple ancient foods like bread, cheese, wine, and fresh fruit. The senses are wide open, and the taste and smell of a fresh orange are unforgetable.

In group sessions, people usually will not feel like walking or moving very much for long periods, and either beds or mattresses should be provided. One suggestion is to place the heads of the beds together to form a star pattern. Perhaps one may want to place a few beds together and keep one or two some distance apart for anyone who wishes to remain aside for some time. The availability of an extra room is desirable for someone who wishes to be in seclusion.

The Period of Ego Loss

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Liberation is the nervous system devoid of mental-conceptual redundancy. The mind in its conditioned state, limited to words and ego games, is continuously in thought-formation activity. The nervous system in a state of quiescence, alert, awake but not active, is comparable to what Buddhists call the highest state of dhyana (deep meditation).

The duration of this state varies, depending on the individual’s experience, security, trust, preparation, and the surroundings. In those who have a little practical experience of the tranquil state of non-game awareness, this state can last from 30 minutes to several hours.

The subject should hail stomach messages as a sign that consciousness is moving around in the body. Experience the sensation fully, and let consciousness flow on to the next phase. It is usually more natural to let the subject’s attention move from the stomach and concentrate on breathing and heartbeat. If this does not free him from nausea, the guide should move the consciousness to external events – music, walking in the garden, etc. As a last resort, heave.

Note: This was a condensed version of Timothy Leary’s psychedelic guidebook. The full guide has suggestions on involving a guide aka sober cop.

Trick Your Mind into Seeing Alternative Realities with Holophonic Sounds

Trick Your Mind into Seeing Alternative Realities with Holophonic Sounds | Third Monk image 1

Be sure to always listen to Holophonic recordings with headphones.

Notice how the sound doesn’t just jump from ear to ear like traditional stereo recording, but actually circles in front and in the back of the head. 

Also make sure to listen at a casual level, as the intensity of the sound varies.

Holophonic Sound is based on binaural recording, a technique in which stereo microphones are fixed within a prosthetic head – complete with ears and sinus cavities – to mimic the complex auditory system of the human head.

Doing this makes binaural and Holophonic recordings sound more natural and more realistic than normal stereo recordings because we hear the recordings with the same nuances we would hear sounds in real life within our own heads.

When played in stereo, Holophonic sound is so realistic and three-dimensional that it can often arouse other senses – smell, taste, and touch – within most people who listen to it.

Allegedly, Holophonic Sounds can stimulate areas of the ear that normal recordings or real life sounds cannot. For this reason, some people with hearing impairments whose brains cannot process other sounds, can hear Holophonic Sounds.

Holophonic Sound - Alex Grey

Virtual Barber Shop

As usual use headphones and enjoy your virtual hair cut!

The Interrogation Chamber – A Haunting Holophonic Play

Choose a higher video resolution for best sound quality.

This play was recorded with two microphones placed in the ears of a dummy head thus being in binaural 3D sound. By listening to the play with stereo earphones in a quiet room you should get the same sound sensation as if you were actually on the set listening. No additional sound effect were added post recording. It was recorded, with permission, in a dismantled nuclear reactor complex 25 metres underground.

Your hearing can determine the direction of a sound from the differences in arrival time and sound strength between your both ears as well as from the “frequency filter” caused by your ears shape.

Please note that this purely fictional play contains some pretty scary and violent scenes. Do not listen to it if that can be bad for you.

Medielabbet is a student union organised by students of the Media technology program at KTH in Sweden. The members who made this are: Anton Warnhag, David Ringqvist, Erik Sillén, Norbert von Niman & Poya Tavakolian.
Original manuscript by: Anton Warnhag

One Mom’s  Amusing Reaction to Holophonic Sound

Alex Grey

> Holophonic Recordings | Get High Now

Take a Shamanic Journey with Yucatecan Trance Induction Beats (Video)

Take a Shamanic Journey with Yucatecan Trance Induction Beats (Video) | Third Monk image 2

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Music and sound can cause different reactions depending on the person.

We’ve all experienced how that special song can make us feel a certain way. Music can drum up long forgotten memories, or even increase our level of motivation.

To illustrate the point, the soothing voice of Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls) and his East Coast style was enough to stop the tears of this crying baby.

Notorious B.I.G. Calms Down Crying Baby

But just in case you weren’t recently born, considering a different approach may be helpful.

Binaural beats (and their varying frequencies) are one option for brain entrainment. Binaurals are wonderful because they create a constant frequency in your brain causing you to resonate in tune with the preferred beat.

Hacking your brain with Binaural beats can be great, but that isn’t why we are here.

yucatecan trance induction

Yucatecan Trance Induction Beats

In the late 1960s, anthropologist Dr. Felicitas Goodman was hired by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health to help investigate the religious trace states of 486 societies around the world. Her most revelatory findings weren’t in the drug-induced voodoo séances of Haiti or weeks-long meditation ceremonies of India, but in “conservative” Catholic churches throughout the Yucatan of southern Mexico. There, indigenous people had hybridized pagan beliefs with those of Christianity to create a weekly mass service unlike any other.

Part of the mass included Trance Induction Beats, in which a drummer would tap out a pulsing rhythm at 210 beats per minute on a hollow gourd for about a half hour. (A similar tempo was later discovered by scientists in the 1960s to induce the deeply relaxing Theta waves in the brain.) Goodman discovered the pulsing drum rhythm was effective in lulling not a few, but all members of the church congregation into a deep trance, usually within the first ten minutes.

Wondering if the indigenous Yucatecs were just easily coaxed by Trance Induction Beats, Goodman tested the rhythm on a group of western students, many of whom were not prone to entering trances through other methods. Within fifteen minutes of Yucatecan Trance Induction Beats, every one of the students entered a hypnotic, trance-like state that lasted until the experiment was over.

Yucatecan Trance Induction (Theta state frequency)

For thousands of years humans have induced hypnotic trance states, usually as part of a religious or spiritual ceremony. This Theta trance induction track is taken from the indigenous people of the Yucatan peninsula who practice a hybridized version of Catholicism combined with pagan beliefs. As part of their mass ceremony a drummer performs a simple rhythm at 210 beats per minute on a hollow guard for about a half hour. This track is purely instrumental with no vocals so it can be used for self-hypnosis towards any goal, desired outcome or as a relaxation tool to combat stress.

For best results listen with headphones in a relaxed position, allow a few minutes for the trance to take hold.

> Yucatecan Induction | Get High Now

Stoner Drinks – Recipes for Cannabis Infused Beverages (Guide)

Stoner Drinks - Recipes for Cannabis Infused Beverages (Guide) | Third Monk image 5

To celebrate the awesome year that cannabis reform has had in 2013, let’s have some stoner drinks!

Raise a glass with one of these cannabis infused drinks and feel good about the future of Mary Jane.

Almond Joy

Almond-Joy-Stoner Drinks

This gorgeous dessert cocktail can be made with or without booze. A swirl of cannabis-infused coconut cream, chocolate syrup and almond milk can be doctored with Kahlua or Amaretto, but your taste buds and mind will be blown, with or without liquor.

2 grams cannabis shake or bud, finely ground
7 fluid ounces coconut cream
1/4 cup chocolate syrup
1 pint almond milk
1/2 fluid ounce Kahlua or Amaretto (optional)

1. Infuse the coconut cream with cannabis. You’ll need to make what the French call a “bouquet garni,” or an herb bundle, but in this case “bouquet ganja,” would be the proper term.

Grind your herb and wrap it in cheesecloth, tying the bundle closed so you have a “tea bag.” Make sure the string is long enough to tie to the pan’s handle so you can retrieve the “bouquet ganja” later.

2. Cook it slowly with the coconut cream in a small saucepan over a very low flame for at least 2 hours, and up to 4 hours if you have the time. After the infusion is complete, remove the “bouquet ganja” and discard.

3. Combine the coconut cream with the chocolate syrup and almond milk. Shake in a shaker with ice. Strain and garnish with whipped cream, mint, and strawberries, if desired.

Jamaican Me Crazy

Jamaican-me-crazy-Stoner Drinks

Pot-infused rum, Amaretto, and coconut water make this drink a cannasseur classic. No matter how crazy your day was, this sweet, boozy treat will spirit you away to an island where it’s always 4:20.

Cannabis Tincture (Vegetable Glycerin Based) or Hash Oil
2 fluid ounces Dark Rum
1 fluid ounce Amaretto
3 fluid ounces Coconut Water

Mix your desired amount of cannabis (oil or from tincture) with the rum. Then combine the cannabis infused rum, Amaretto, and coconut water in a shaker and strain over ice in a highball glass.

Hash Hot Chocolate

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Made with half-and-half, kief, melted chocolate chips, cinnamon and sugar and topped with gooey marshmallows, this choco-cannabis concoction will take away your blues and soothe your soul. Drinking it is just like getting tucked into bed by your favorite girl, Mary Jane.

3 1/2 cups milk
3 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp cannabis flowers, finely ground
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
1/3 cup boiling water
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tbsp cannabis-infused chocolate, grated (such as Bhang Chocolate or 420 Venice Cookie Co)
1/2 cup half-and-half cream

1. Infuse your milk with the ground cannabis flowers. Start by mixing milk and water in a large stainless steel or glass bowl.

2. Make a double boiler by placing your bowl over a pot that has several inches of water in the bottom. Heat the pot on high, until the water begins to boil. You do not want the milk in the top bowl to boil however, so watch it carefully and turn down the heat if necessary.

3. Sprinkle two heaping tablespoons of finely ground cannabis flowers into the top bowl along with the milk and water mixture. Let cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

4. Strain mixture through the cheesecloth, reserving the cannabis-infused milk.

5. Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn’t scorch.

6. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of cannabis-infused milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla and the grated cannabis-infused chocolate, stirring until it has melted.

7. Divide between 4 mugs. Add the cream to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature. You can refrigerate any leftovers for several days.

Lawnmower

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Named Lawnmower because it’s cutting grass with vodka. This refreshing ganja drink blends pot, carrots, apples, ginger and lemon with cannabis-infused vodka. First invented by a group of vegan growers in Mendocino County, this drink balances health with hedonism.

Cannabis Tincture (Vegetable Glycerin Based) or Hash Oil
10 to 15 Cannabis Leaves
4 large carrots, cut into chunks
2 apples, cored but not peeled and cut into chunks to fit the juicer
2 inch long piece of ginger
1 large lemon, peel removed and reserved
4 fluid ounces Vodka

1. Use a vegetable juicer to process your cannabis leaves, carrots, apples, ginger, and lemon. Fold several leaves into a clump and push it down the feeder tube, followed by a piece of carrot or apple. Alternating your ingredients helps keep the cannabis fiber from clogging the juice.

2. Mix your desired amount of cannabis (oil or from tincture) with the vodka.

3. Fill a shaker with ice. Combine 1 cup juice and 2 fluid ounces of the cannabis infused vodka, shake with the ice, then strain into a shot glass.

4. Make lemon zest by grating the peel of the lemon and top the drink with it.

Bonghitters’ Mota Mojito

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The legendary High Times Bonghitters softball team has a fearsome reputation for blasting their opponents out of the ballpark with their skills and their toking abilities. Their signature libation, the Mota Mojito, adds to their mojo. The combination of pot-infused rum, sugar, lime and mint will swing away, and fly you over the outfield fence.

Cannabis Tincture (Vegetable Glycerin Based) or Hash Oil
2 fluid ounces Rum
4 tablespoons sugar
Juice of 4 key limes
Half liter soda water
8 sprigs of mint
Crushed Ice

1. Mix your desired amount of cannabis (oil or from tincture) with the rum.

2. In a blender, combine the cannabis infused rum, sugar, and lime juice and blend on low for about 30 seconds. Add soda water and stir to combine.

3. Prepare four 13 oz glasses by muddling 2 sprigs of mint in the bottom of each glass, crushing and mashing it thoroughly. Fill each glass half way with crushed ice.

4. Pour the contents of the blender over the ice to fill each glass.

5 Delicious Pot Libations | High Times