Shrooms - 4/6 - Third Monk

Oct 24, 2013Jun 17, 2016

TTK Hip Hop Paintings, Surreal Art Gallery

After success as a sneaker artist, TTK shifted his focus to evolving the collections of his surreal canvas-based paintings. As a collector of vinyl records, his love for hip hop music has led him to pen “Crates to Canvas” a monthly column that discusses the relationship and inspiration various album art has had on his own paintings.

Weed, Grub, and Toons

A Moment of Peace, Mike Tyson

Jet Lady

Bruce Lee

One Up, Shrooms

Cocaine Business Controls America

It Was a Good Day, Ice Cube

The Cat and the Cat

The Greatest

Tiger Lady

Marvin Gaye

A Tribe Called Quest

Chef Raekwon, Wu Tang

Clown

Transformer

Cobra Commander Burger

Bush

Oct 17, 2013Jun 17, 2016

ETAM Cru Psychedelic Wall Murals, Street Art Gallery

ETAM Cru is street art duo consisting of two Polish artists, Betz & Sainer. They use street art to deliver psychedelic messages to the world. Psychonauts will smile when viewing the familiar psychedelic themes on ETAM Cru’s wall murals while squares will at least raise their eyebrows.

Halle

The Journey

Polar Bear

Bon Apetit

Bastard

Moonshine

MOnkey Business

Mind Trip

Gorilla

Eskimo

Gamer

Stucked

Brekfest

Mohican

Got Talent

Connection

10 Bang

Oct 1, 2013Jun 17, 2016

Psilocybin Mushrooms Help Erase Conditioned Fear in Lab Mice (Study)

Low doses of psychedelic psilocybin mushrooms have been found to aid in removing a condition fear response in lab mice. The Lieber Institute for Brain Development conducted the study to find out how psilocybin affected fear and anxiety.

Psilocybin and Fear in Mice – Methodology Day 1

Mice were injected with varying doses (0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mg/kg) of psilocybin, 1.0 mg/kg of ketanserin (a drug that acts oppositely on the receptor which binds psilocybin), or a saline control.

– Twenty-four hours later, the animals were placed in a testing chamber and conditioned to fear a 15-second audio cue.

– The mice heard the cue, and after 30 seconds, received very brief electric shocks delivered through the chamber floor. Each mouse underwent ten trials, each separated by 210 seconds.

– After ten trials, all of the animal subjects froze in fear after the start of the 15-second audio.

Psilocybin and Fear in Mice – Methodology Day 2

The next day, the mice were placed in the chamber again and underwent the same process. Except this time, the shock was left out. The goal here was to effectively retrain the mice to not fear the audio cue and disassociate it with the shock.

– The researchers found that after only three trials, mice treated with low doses of psilocybin (0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg) no longer froze after hearing the audio cue.

– But mice injected with higher doses of psilocybin or ketanserin didn’t stop freezing until the tenth trial.

– Mice that were injected with a saline control still froze in fear after ten trials.

Power of Love in Shrooms Tied to Brain Chemistry

$psilocybin-mushrooms-fear-lab-mice-shroom-fractals$

The head of the research team, Dr. Briony Catlow thinks the fear removing effect of psilocybin might have something to do with the mushroom’s ability to modify and control neural circuitry.

“Memory, learning, and the ability to relearn that a once threatening stimuli is no longer a danger absolutely depends on the ability of the brain to alter its connections,” Catlow told Real Clear Science.

“We believe that neuroplasticity plays a critical role in psilocybin accelerating fear extinction.”

“It is highly possible that in the future we will continue these studies since many interesting questions have come up from these experiments. The hope is that we can extend the findings to humans in clinical trials,” Catlow told RCScience.

> Low Doses of Psilocybin Help Extinguish Conditioned Fear | Real Clear Science

Sep 9, 2013Jun 17, 2016

The Psychedelic Core of Technology – Jason Silva (Video)

Recent advances in technology have been influenced by the mind expanding movement of the psychedelic ’60s generation.

The creature that ate the mushrooms and then started doing art on the caves is the same species that hallucinated starships into existence.

– Jason Silva, Shots of Awe

Sep 4, 2013Jan 25, 2018

Hip Hop is Back with a Psychedelic Message! – The Underachievers (KJ Song Rec)

Hip hop is back! A group from Flatbush, New York called The Underachievers is breathing new life into hip hop. The Underachievers are a dynamic duo created by Issa Dash and AK. Through psychedelics they were able to become one and rap with a message.

“My friend Jacob that I knew from my block, he just brought Dash to my house one day to smoke some pot, and we talked about psychedelics, and that was it.” – AK.

If you’re tired of egoistic hip hop, then The Underachievers got you covered. Their psychedelic infused spiritual content is unique to the hip hop scene.

The Underachievers Music Videos

The Proclamation

They do a great job capturing the visuals you have during a shroom trip.

“So if you come to our neighborhood, everyone’s on psychedelics. Kids that shoot guns and do goon shit, they’re on psychedelics, happy, into spirituality… Kids aren’t krilled out on psychedelics everyday. But kids like that psychedelic escape like twice a year. It’s fun. Summertime. Once you get people over the hump of like, ‘Yo, it’s not going to be as crazy as you think it is,’ [they love it].” – Issa Dash.

They’re not out there telling you to take psychedelics, but to get more in tune with yourself. Psychedelics help you dig deeper. Gold Soul Theory is a great song with an even better message.

Gold Soul Theory

“But the whole ‘Gold Soul Theory’ thing is basically detaching yourself from what society told you is the norm or what superficial things we normally might want to be into, and realizing that all you really need is inside of you. Not even just in your brain, but like from love to intelligence to all the natural shit that’s there outside for you that you don’t have to pay for. Not even just inside of you, but nature and all the other things. You don’t really need to be attached to superficial… The ‘Gold Soul Theory’ is basically saying we’ve searched all around for enlightenment and everything else and realized that you really don’t have to look far. Everything you need was already embedded inside of you. It’s just a matter of going inside yourself and finding that.” – Issa Dash

Its not only The Underachievers that are bringing hip hop back – a few groups from Flatbush are also helping; Flatbush Zombies , Joey Bada$$/Pro Era, and others are also sharing a similar message. The Hiero influences are evident throughout their music. And with Hiero being one of their influences, it’s no wonder they’re on that good hip hop.

Like Water

“Everyone was listening to ‘90s rap, so I guess I felt obliged to listen it. I got into a little Hieroglyphics, a little Pharcyde, a little Souls of Mischief, and it’s funny that they say that’s who we remind them of, because the only rap era I stepped into was that one.” – Issa Dash

The Madhi

“Enlighten our generation. That’s all we really want to do. Try and get our generation to start thinking differently, and start the shift ourselves with our generation, who already seem like they know what’s going on. I meet people ages 10 to 40, and they’re not really attached to religion or attached to anything, and I realize that our generation is already in tune to what we have to tell them. Our job is already done. I don’t really have to convince people that there’s a third eye. The general consensus is that there’s some spiritual world now, there is spirituality, people just don’t know where to start.” Issa Dash

Head over to complex for the full interview.

Sep 3, 2013Jun 17, 2016

John Lennon Quotes – Thoughts From A Psychedelic Mind

Watercolor by Stefan Kuhn

John Lennon quotes get to the heart of the matter like an arrow from Apollo’s bow; precise and piercing, provoking the inner depths of our minds into expansion.

Time

Do what you love and you will love your life.

Summing Up Life

Focus on what’s positive in your life.

Love

Let your love flow freely.

Lost in Translation

Do not use God to divide the masses. United God smiles upon us all.

Happiness

Happiness is a choice. Choose to be happy and your life will align with that choice.

Honesty

Be true to yourself.

Peace

Get in touch with your inner most desires and move towards them.

God and Pain

When you speak to and seek out God, focus on what you’re searching for; you’ll find all the answers are inside waiting for you.

What a World…

Live, laugh and love openly.

The End

Aug 29, 2013Jun 17, 2016

A Scientific Look at Psychedelic Medicine (Video)

There’s a class of natural organic medicine that can take the world on a consciousness changing trip, but their potential is restricted by mindless laws.

Is it possible that, because of the war on drugs, we have demonized a treatment for otherwise untreatable diseases?

A way to increase personal well-being, permanently treat depression, break the cycle of addiction, and ease the transition from life into death?

The solution to all of these problems (for many people) might be a nice, hallucinogenic trip. –SciShow

Sources of Studies Cited in Psychedelic Medicine Video

1.Pilot Study of Psilocybin Treatment for Anxiety in Patients With Advanced-Stage Cancer

2.Response of Cluster Headache to Treatment of Psilocybin and LSD

3.Magic Mushroom Shows Promise in Treating Addictions and Cancer Anxiety

4.Psychedelics, Hopeful Medicine for OCD

5.How Psychedelic Drugs Can Help Patients Face Death

John Hopkins, Psilocybin Session Room

Aug 20, 2013Jun 17, 2016

James Jean, Psychedelic Art Gallery

James Jean is a Taiwanese American visual artist, known for both his commercial work and fine art gallery work.

He is known in the American comics industry as a cover artist for various books published by DC Comics, as well as for his work for The New York Times, ESPN and Atlantic Records. In 2008, Jean retired from illustration and commercial projects in order to focus on painting.

Moving, Disturbing, Inspiring

– Darren Aronofsky, Director of Requiem for a Dream on James Jean’s art

“And, as with his Fables work, the paintings and illustrations are often suffused with a dreamy romanticism and lyricism worthy of Maxfield Parrish, even as Mr. Jean subverts those and other isms.”

-Dana Jennings, New York Times

James Jean: The Artist

James Jean talks about where he finds his inspiration, and lets us take a peek into his sketchbooks.

James Jean On Art and Design

James Jean tells us about his design and artistic philosophy.

James Jean and David Choe – LA Secret Studio

Coming from contrasting backgrounds in which Choe was an art school drop out and James Jean a diligent art school graduate, they plied away relentlessly in an Los Angeles warehouse.

A warehouse was chosen so that each artist would not be constrained by space and would also be able to work without any distractions. The show subsequently earned the nickname LA Secret Studio due to this.

This short documentary speaks with both Choe and Jean about their pasts and current way of approaching art.

Aug 19, 2013Jan 25, 2018

Magic Mushrooms Stimulate Growth of New Brain Cells (Study)

Psilocybin Drawing by Sara K. Glazier

New studies from The University of South Florida indicate that psilocybin found in “shrooms”, triggers new brain cell growth, and erases frightening memories from mice.

The studies showed that mice treated with low doses of psilocybin had significant growth of new brain cells, because the mushroom binds to a brain receptor that stimulates new brain cell growth, and short term memory formation.

This interesting discovery has given more plausibility to the Stoned Ape Theory, Terence Mckenna’s suggestion that human evolution was initiated by the mind expanding benefits of psychedelic experiences.

Researchers are eager to look into the idea of using magic mushrooms to cure mental problems like PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and chronic depression but the legal status of shrooms restricts freedom in experiments.

Mice trained to fear electric shock when hearing a noise associated with the shock, stopped reacting in fear to the noise when given a small dose of psilocybin, much more quickly, in contrast to mice given no psilocybin.

The science behind psilocybin treating depression is, depressed individuals typically have over active medial prefrontal cortex regions of the brain, and psilocybin eases this, and makes the brain function normally here.

Despite its harmlessness, amazing medical potential, and ability to produce phenomenal spiritual/mystical experiences, the governments across the world have nearly all banned Psilocybin Mushrooms. Dangerous pharmaceutical pills can’t compete with the toxic cell purging benefits of cannabis and the positive mental state that shrooming promotes.

Evidence of Psilocybin “Magic Mushrooms” Growing New Brain Cells

Juan R. Sanchez-Ramos, Professor of Neurology at USF presents the effects of psilocybin mushrooms on neurogenesis (birth of new neuron cells).

> Psilocybin Mushrooms Promote Growth of New Brain Cells, Can Even Cure PTSD And Depression | Banoosh

Jul 24, 2013Jun 17, 2016

4 Great Ways To Eat Magic Mushrooms (Guide)

Magic Mushrooms are awesome! Once you get acquainted with the experience the next step is finding your preferred method of ingestion. Before going into the specifics I will highlight a couple of things that take my trips to the next level.

Shroom Trip Preparation

Cannabis

Unless you are not a cannabis smoker this is a definite must. Pre-roll all your joints and blunts because once you blast off you may find that rolling one is a bit of a challenge. Smoking compliments the trip, calms the stomach for the easily queasy and sets up the stage for some introspective moments when you hit your peak.

Fasting

Whether you get nauseous from eating shrooms or not, fasting will make the experience more enjoyable. Your stomach will be calmer and your trip will be stronger. I usually fast anywhere from 12 to 24 hours before tripping. To make the fast easier on yourself, don’t eat too late the night before and sleep in the next day, the majority of your fast will occur while you sleep. Drink plenty of water and if you do get hungry, eat some fruit.

Recording Devices/Pen and Pad/Art Supplies

If you’re an artist get your gear together and prepare to have fun when you feel the creativity flowing. If you’re a writer, record your voice or write down your thoughts. Basically, anything that you want to take back with you to sobreville will be easily transcribed by having the necessary tools. A trip can be visually intense, mentally stimulating, or philosophically ground breaking for your psyche. Knowing that you’ve got this all covered will keep your state of being flowing smoothly so that you can enjoy each moment without thinking: “what if?” or “if only!”

Great Ways To Eat Magic Mushrooms

Shroom Tea

1 cup of tea for every dried out gram of mushrooms. Heat the water to a rolling boil. Add the shrooms and wait until the mushrooms have sunk all the way to the bottom; this may take up to an hour. Do not boil the shrooms for more than an hour, the potency will be severely reduced. Pour the liquid and the shrooms in the wide mouth mason jar. Put the lid on and shake it up, this helps the mushrooms sink faster, making your tea ready faster. Stirring the tea also makes the tea ready sooner. Breaking up the dry mushrooms into a fine powder makes the bits of stems and caps sink faster. Drink the tea along with all of the shrooms that have floated to the bottom. It will bring you up fast into a trip, but it may not be as intense overall.

Shroom Smoothie/Juice

This method is great for anyone who is looking to mask the taste. Crush your magic mushrooms up while in the bag. Make your favorite smoothie, add the shrooms then pulse the blender a couple of times so that it mixes well. For an easier route, simply get your favorite kind of juice; orange juice, any naked juice, etc. Drink a little then add the crushed up shrooms and shake the bottle up. Drink and enjoy. The body absorbs liquids quicker which may result in a quicker come up.

Lemon/Lime Juice Shroom Shots

Smash up your shrooms into a powder inside of the cup or in the bag. Pour in 2 to 4 ounces of fresh lemon or lime juice. Let the concoction sit for 30 minutes to an hour, you can stir occasionally if you please. The citric acid breaks down the psilocybin into psilocin. Your body does this when it digests the shrooms naturally. Drink the shot along with the left over shroom contents. In my experience, this method brings on your peak much faster and intensifies your trip.

Straight Super Mario – Eat The Shrooms Whole

Take your 1ups the old fashioned way. Make sure to chew them very well so that your stomach has an easier time breaking down the magic from the mushrooms. Feel free to chase the taste with whatever drink you prefer.

These are only a few methods that I personally use. Do you have anything to add to these methods, do you have new methods or are you a shroom expert? Let us know in the comments below. The Third Monk staff would love to know your favorite ways to 1up.

Jun 24, 2013Jun 17, 2016

Psychedelics Provide Wisdom for Personal Growth

The following selected excerpts are from Tripping as a Tool for Self-Realization, originally published on The Psychedelic Frontier.
Psychedelics have a variety of uses, dependent on the user’s attitude. If you use them as intoxicants, you will become intoxicated. If you want to see pretty shapes and colors and “trip out” to music, then they will act as sensory enhancers. If you want a new mode of consciousness that leads you to experience life in a novel way, they will satisfy that urge.

These psychedelics can go much deeper than recreation. Those who never choose to explore psychedelics more seriously than as intoxicants or sense-enhancers will miss out on their greatest potential. Why stop at pretty sounds and colors when these medicines can catalyze deep epiphanies and lasting change?

Psychedelics Breaks Down Mental Conditioning to Reveal the Self

Psychedelics can show you your true self, dragging your insecurities and internal conflicts into the light for examination. Or mediate a conversation, even a partnership, with the subconscious. They unseat your deepest assumptions and lead you to question the most rigid of habits and biases.

Psychedelics are molecular battering rams, crumbling the castle called Ego and raising from the rubble a profound feeling of pure love and unity. Your real self is revealed, defenses down, moat drained, drawbridge lowered. A trip may be the first time you have a free reign in your own mental kingdom. A molecule may be the truest mirror you ever held up to yourself.

Going Beyond Recreational Use of Psychedelics

Myron Stolaroff, a researcher and advocate of psychedelic psychotherapy, describes how recreational use tends to taper off naturally:

The use of psychedelics is self-regulating in most cases. Their true purpose is to enhance growth and interior development. Used only for pleasure, or abused, the Inner Self is thwarted, which leads to unpleasant experiences and depression. Though everyone who pursues the use of psychedelics for personal growth must be prepared for the “dark night of the soul” experiences, those who seek only entertainment will lose interest in these substances.

“Tripping with intent” is not an alternative method so much as a complementary one. People use psychedelics for all sorts of reasons—to improve sex, deepen their connection with nature and other people, explore their internal emotional landscape, and so on. A focus on self-improvement, with proper preparation, method, and post-trip integration, will help bring more meaning to all of these activities.

For the whole article “Tripping as a Tool for Self-Realization”, please visit The Psychedelic Frontier.

Jun 19, 2013Jun 17, 2016

Terence McKenna – Shrooms Are Organic Space Probes Sent to Earth by Aliens

In this awesome lecture, Terence Mckenna adds some psychedelic flavor to Panspermia, the theory that life in the universe is distributed by meteors and asteroids. Mckenna believed that mushroom spores were able to survive space travel to become the catalyst of human evolution.

Shrooms Are the Most Unique Lifeform on Earth

First argument – entirely a physical argument. Psilocybin is O-phosphoryl-4-hydroxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine. What this means is that there is a phosphorous group substituted at the 4 position of the molecule. Now here’s the headline folks: This is the ONLY 4-phosphorylated indole on this planet! On this planet.

Now, if you were searching for extraterrestrial thumbprints on the biology of Earth, you would look for molecules that are unique – that don’t have near relatives spread through other lifeforms. In psilocybin we have a perfect example of this. It is the only 4-phosphorylated indole known to occur in nature! Nature doesn’t work like that folks, nature builds, always, on what has previously been accomplished. So this is a red flag saying at the molecular level this thing looks like an alien artifact – at the molecular level.

Shrooms Used as Probes to Detect Life

A single mushroom in the sporelization phase can shed up to 3 million spores a minute for up to six weeks. ONE mushroom could do this. I maintain, that a strategy for extraterrestrial contact carried on by a super technology would take the following form:

Build a probe.

Give the probe the ability to replicate itself.

Start these probes out from your home planet.

The probes replicate so the volume of the probes stays constant as the volume of space increases.

If you’re carrying out an exhaustive search of the galaxy for life, it’s very hard to imagine a civilization that could visit and monitor every star over long periods of time. A much more efficient strategy would be the “phone home” strategy. You send, essentially a calling card which says if you get this message, call the enclosed toll free number and immediately report your location, we will come at that point. That’s what I think is going on.