Ethnobotany: Plants in Human Affairs January Intensive
January 6-17, 2004
Ohana Keauhou Beach Resort, Hawaii

This 4-credit, 12-day intensive course explores humanity's ago-old symbiotic relationship to plants. Team-taught by ethnobotanist Kathleen Harrison and ethnopharmacologist Dennis McKenna, this course covers the role of plants in the evolution of civilizations, wars, migrations, religion, spirituality, art, medicine, and science. Guest lectures by local experts and frequent field trips bring the subject alive in one of the most beautiful and biodiverse environments on the planet. This course is sponsored jointly by the Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota and the Kohala Center in Kameula, Hawaii. For information and details of costs, credit, accommodations, etc., visit http://www.csh.umn.edu/WhatsNew/index.html or contact Nancy Feinthel at 612 626-5166.

Ayahuasca Healing Retreat
January 11-20, 2004
Manaus, Brazil

There will be (4) four ceremonies with ayahuasca and (2) two with salvia divinorum (ska pastora), lectures by top people in the field of visionary and healing plant teachers, as well as workshops in the shamanic use of neuro-technology devices, Lucid Dreaming, group sharing, transpersonal exercises and local excursions.

Staff:

• Robert Venosa, visionary artist
• Martinna Hoffmann, visionary artist
• Zoe Seven, consciousness researcher and author
• Silvia Polivoy, psychologist

Find more information as well as an application form at our web site: www.ayahuasca-healing.net or contact Silvia at silviap@house.com.ar

Peyote Research and a New World View
Thursday, February 5th

A presentation to Poetry Science Talks
New York City
John H. Halpern, M.D.

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

How did people use "hallucinogens" before they were seen as drugs? Do these ancient substances provide answers for a post-modern age? What can native use of peyote offer to alcoholics and the dying? It is probably impossible to conduct dispassionate research on psychedelics, so how does the research influence the researcher and how can the researcher influence the research? What are the Heisenbergian methodological implications of getting involved?

For February, we are pleased to have researcher, psychiatrist and scholar, John Halpern, as our session producer. John is a top performing Harvard psychiatry professor who early on decided to devote his medical career to a reconsideration of the clinical uses of psychedelic chemicals and plants. Over the past ten years, John has begun to change the medical community's perceptions about psychedelics research and practice and, in conducting his research, has been profoundly changed himself.

PRESENTATION: "Peyote Research and a New World View"

"This is a different sort of lecture for me. I will still report general scientific findings from a multi-year study with Native Americans who have histories of exclusive use of mescaline-containing peyote (versus comparisons who had either a history of alcoholism or no drug/alcohol abuse history). Yet, this lecture will also touch on how working on projects involving psychedelics can shape the investigator and reveal a 'new world view.' With a foot in two very different doors of perception, the demands of this work sometimes pull in opposite directions as if I am supposed to be some cultural wishbone. While the inherent rewards of conducting and completing novel, I hope important research are obvious, the less scientific/personal side can reveal a special value and healing from walking through the heart of peyote. Time will be reserved for questions about my work and any hallucinogen-related interests of the audience."

PRESENTER: John H. Halpern, M.D.

"John H. Halpern, M.D. is Associate Director of Substance Abuse Research at the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center of McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA and is Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. A current recipient of a National Institute on Drug Abuse Research Career Development Award, Dr. Halpern is engaged in full-time research on the clinical effects of hallucinogens. Recently completed, ongoing, or in development research projects include neuropsychological assessments of members of the Native American Church, similar projects with 'pure' MDMA users and with members of an Ayahuasca-using religion, and assessing the psychotherapeutic value of MDMA for the terminally ill. Dr. Halpern is Board-Certified in General Psychiatry and maintains a small private practice. He also works as a forensic expert witness and as an industry consultant on the development of medications for the treatment of drug abuse/addiction. Recreational fun includes Ashtanga yoga, travel, and camping off to hot springs in the wild."

LOGISTICS:

We hope you will join us next Thursday, February 5th, for the next in our continuing series of out-of-box discussions and good fellowship at the very accommodating East Village home of Wandsqueen (AKA, Karen Wendy Gilbert):

- As usual, we will meet for a light dinner between 7:00 and 8:15PM and then begin the presentation and discussion, running to 10:30 or so.
- A $10 contribution will be collected to help defray expenses.
- We rotate leadership each month, so at the end of the evening, we solicit a "producer" for our next meeting.
- FOR LOGISTICAL REASONS, WE ASK THAT YOU RSVP TO THIS EMAIL EVEN IF YOU ALREADY HAVE THE EXACT ADDRESS AND DIRECTIONS.

POETRY SCIENCE TALKS BACKGROUND:

Here is the original "mission statement" (loosely defined) for our PST discussion group/salon:

- Ideas, analyses and solutions regarding the...
- Development, implementation, diffusion, use and positive and negative impacts of...
- New ideas, new technologies and new ways of interacting as a culture.

We have evolved since we crafted that statement (as you'll see in the topic list below), but generally our intent is still quite similar. Here is a list of PST/CHT meeting topics (CHT stands for Carriage House Talks, an earlier venue/name):

• Monist Philosophy (Neal Goldsmith, [05/06/04])
• Integral Psychology (Scott Gremmel, [04/08/04])
• Post-Modern Physics 201 (Karen "Wandsqueen" Gilbert [03/04/04])
• Peyote Research and a New World View (John Halpern, [02/05/04])
• Finnegans Wake: A Turn of the Collideorscape (Chip Benjamin, 01/08/04)
• Post-Modern Physics 101 (Richard Alan Miller, 12/11/03)
• Why Do Living Things Get Old and Die? (Josh Mittledorf, 11/06/03)
• Rage (Michael Eigen, 10/02/03)
• A Shaman, a Peruvian and a Bunch of New Yorkers: Adventures of an Urban Warrior in the Amazon (Jackie Bobrowsky, 09/11/03)
• Lost Cabaret OR Katandogastrophic (Gerd Stern, 07/10/03)
• Democracy, Liberty, Freedom (Ed Rosenfeld, 06/05/03)
• Stories: Being, Knowing, Doing (Liz Rymland, 05/1/03)
• ReView (Ed Rosenfeld, 04/3/03)
• Integral Medicine (Scott Gremmel, 03/13/03)
• Healing (Neal Goldsmith, 02/06/03)
• Fugue States (Lizbeth Rymland, 01/09/03)
• Slowness: An Economy of Differential Rates of Being (Karen Wandsqueen Gilbert, 11/05/02)
• Who Is I?: Toward a New Mythology (Carleton Schade, 10/10/02)
• Season Opener, 2002-03: What We Are About (09/12/02)
• Blogs, Personal Journalism and the Free Internet (Dan Sieradski, 07/11/02)
• The Stupid Network (David Isenberg, 06/06/02)
• Innovation in an Online Corporation (IBM's WorldJam) (Mike Wing, 05/02/02)
• Collage: Digital/Analog (Gerd Stern, 04/11/02)
• Tomorrow: Sustainable Technology for Spaceship Earth (Carleton Schade, 03/07/02)
• The Core Group (Art Kleiner, 02/07/02)
• bin Laden, Kaczynski and the Borgification of Humanity (Neal M. Goldsmith, 12/06/01?)
• MK-ULTRA (Ed Rosenfeld, 11/06/01)
• Technology Futures (Dave Sarlin, 10/11/01)
• The Omnicompetent Communicator (Thatcher Drew, 09/06/01)
• Democracy and Technology (Bernd Hendricks, 07/05/01)
• Acceleration in Novelty (Ed Rosenfeld, Scott Campbell, (06/07/01)
• The Carriage House Talks
• First Meeting (04/05/01)

We look forward to seeing you at the Poetry Science Talks, the (USUALLY) first Thursday of every month!

Best regards,

-- Neal and Ed

Neal M. Goldsmith, Ph.D.
438 12th Street, PH-A
Brooklyn, NY 11215-5190
+1-718-369-9100/1502 (tel/fax)
+1-347-743-1110 (cell)
neal@inch.com

Ed Rosenfeld 360 Central Park West, 7F
New York, NY 10025-6572
+1-212-222-1123 (tel/fax)
ed@eintelligence.com

P.S. We place email addresses by default into the To: field of these notices to encourage new connections - for you to message, meet and interact with new individual colleagues - but please don't send global emails to this list. Please do feel free to update your email preference anytime or to send us email addresses of friends or colleagues who would like to be added to our distribution list.

The Ayahuasca Visionary Art School
February 8-21, 2004
Florianpolis, Brazil

An intensive course on Visionary Art by Alex Grey and Luis Eduardo Luna. Through our own ayahuasca journeys every other night, we arrive at imagery that we will develop in one or two 11 x 14 inch detailed paintings during the 2 week seminar. Lectures on visionary art, excursions, tai chi, Portuguese lesson (if requested). For a maximum of eleven persons. See http://www.wasiwaska.org, or contact Luis Eduardo Luna, luna@wasiwaska.org.

TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2004, A Twenty First Century Conference
February 13-15, 2004 (Presidents' Day Weekend)

Transpersonal Psychology 2004 will bring transpersonal psychology up-to-date for psychologists, therapists, educators, health professionals, researchers, scholars, writers, students and others interested in the transpersonal field. Stan Grof is giving the opening talk. Charlie Tart and Jeanne Achterberg the other 2 plenaries. Sat. night is a premiere of a documentary on Stan Krippner with him there and a panel discussing his work. June May Ruse will speak about MAPS' treatment manual for conducting MDMA/PTSD research.

Continuing Education credits will be available for psychologists, MFTs, LCSWs, and RNs for individual sessions and the entire conference. The meeting will be held in Palo Alto, California, sponsored by the William James Center of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, the Association for Transpersonal Psychology, and Internet Guided Learning (an APA approved provider). Be up to date with this psychology that speaks to these critical times for individuals and the planet.

The conference is scheduled for President's Day weekend to allow workshops before and after the main conference, and to enable easier travel schedules. Ample lodging is available in the immediate Palo Alto area. Further conference details and registration information will be posted on the ITP website and the Association website.

Triumph Over Fear Victory Party and Award Ceremony
Tuesday, February 24, 2004.

Reception begins at 5:00 p.m., Award Ceremony at 6:00 p.m.
Oakland Box Theater, 1928 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, California, (two blocks from BART)

Angel Wings patient OutReach, Inc. in collaboration with Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, Oakland City Council Member Nancy Nadel and Assemblyman Mark Leno invite you to our Triumph Over Fear Victory Party and Award Ceremony in honor of all those who made our stunning victory in Raich v. Ashcroft possible. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer will attend the event.

$50.00 General Public,
$35.00 Patients with an OCBC Card or a San Francisco County Patient ID Card

Make checks or money orders payable to:
Angel Wings Patient OutReach, Inc., P.O. Box 18767, Oakland, California 94619-8767.
Angel Wings Patient OutReach, Inc. is a 501(c)(3). All donations are TAX DEDUCTIBLE to the full extent of the law.

R.S.V.P. to 510-764-1499 or send an e-mail to: angelwings@raich-v-ashcroft.com. Please visit our site for updates at http://raich-v-ashcroft.com or Events at: http://www.raich-v-ashcroft.com/page16.html

For the past six years Angel Wings Patient OutReach and Angel McClary Raich have been working very hard to protect the rights of medical cannabis patients, caregivers and providers. We want to honor some of the people who are working by our side. We will be presenting awards to the following people. Most of these people plan to be at the event.

Angel Wings Triumph Over Fear Award

• Attorney General Bill Lockyer

Angel Wings Medal of Valor

• Randy Barnett, Attorney Raich v. Ashcroft
• Robert Raich, Attorney Raich v. Ashcroft
• David Michael, Attorney Raich v. Ashcroft
• John Gilmore, Angel Wings Funder, Activist/Supporter
• Frank Lucido, M.D., Angel's Primary Care Doctor
• Alice Mead, California Medical Association, Filed Amicus Curiae Brief in Raich v. Ashcroft
• Deborah Burger, California Nurses Association, Filed Amicus Curiae Brief in Raich v. Ashcroft
• Kay McVay, California Nurses Association, Filed Amicus Curiae Brief in Raich v. Ashcroft
• Rob Kampia, Marijuana Policy Project, Filed Amicus Curiae Brief in Raich v. Ashcroft, we also worked on several other projects
• Rick Doblin, Ph.D., Filed Amicus Curiae Brief in Raich v. Ashcroft
• Ethan Russo, M.D., Filed Amicus Curiae Brief in Raich v. Ashcroft
• Richard Winnie, Alameda County Counsel, Filed Amicus Curiae Brief in Raich v. Ashcroft
• John Russo, Oakland City Attorney, Filed Amicus Curiae Brief in Raich v. Ashcroft
• Barbara Parker, Chief Deputy Oakland City Attorney, Filed Amicus Curiae Brief in Raich v. Ashcroft

Angel Wings Certificates of Appreciation

• Supervisor Nate Miley, Angel Wings Supporter, and worked with Angel on several other projects
• Nancy Nadel, Oakland City Councilmember, Sponsor and worked with Angel in the City of Oakland regarding medical cannabis issues
• Assemblyman Mark Leno, Medical Cannabis Supporter, and worked with Angel on several other projects
• Supervisor Keith Carson, Angel Wings Supporter, Helped at press conferences for Raich v. Ashcroft in support of Angel
• Bruce Mirken, Marijuana Policy Project, Helped with Raich v. Ashroft Media
• Steph Sherer, Americans for Safe Access, Medical Cannabis Support and worked with Angel on several other projects
• Hilary McQuie, Americans for Safe Access and worked with Angel on several other projects
• Debby Goldsberry, Medical Cannabis Activist, Gave first donation to Raich v. Ashcroft, and worked with Angel on several other projects
• Don Duncan, Medical Cannabis Activist, Gave first donation to Raich v. Ashcroft, and worked with Angel on several other projects

Download the major pleadings from our litigation (Raich v. Ashcroft) at: http://raich-v-ashcroft.com and http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/documents/index.html#drugs

Perspectives on Cannabis
February 24, 2004, 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Liverpool, England.

A conference covering the legal, ethical, medical, public health and social aspects of cannabis today. Organized by HIT, a drug education and harm reduction organization, with the assistance of John Moores University, Centre for Public Health. Speakers include:

• Harry Shapiro
  Smoke and mirrors: A brief history of cannabis
• Professor Les Iversen
  How does cannabis work and how safe is it?
• Professor Howard Parker
  The normalisation of cannabis use in the UK: Managing the risks and benefits
• Professor Cindy Fazey
  Can you hear the grass growing? Cannabis and the repatriation of drug policy
• Dr Philip Robson
  Therapeutic potential of cannabis and its derivatives
• Tiggey May
  Cannabis smokers, cultivators and the police: Has anything changed?
• Professor Mark Bellis
  Public health perspectives on cannabis: Striking the right balance
• Andrew Bennett
  Protecting and promoting the health of cannabis users
• Chief Constable Andy Hayman
  The policing of cannabis post reclassification

Ecuadorian Upper Amazon
March 18 - 24, 2004

A Deep Forest Wilderness and Cultural Sojourn To the Amazanga Community & the Llushin River Wilderness
www.OsaRetreat.org

Plants as Teacher, Traditional Wisdom, & Rainforest Conservation Strategies

This sojourn is a fundraising benefit for Rainforest Conservation. By participating your tuition helps raise funds to purchase priceless, mega-diverse, tropical rainforest directly bordering Sangay National Park. Your tuition also supports people working towards rainforest conservation and cultural heritage renewal and indigenous peoples communities who are making a difference at ground level!

SENTIENT EXPERIENTIALS invites you to an auspicious week-long Rainforest and Cultural Spring Equinox Celebration to the Ecuadorian Amazon!

Meet the Amazanga Community and the Jade Green Lushin River at Sangay National Park, a UNESCO declared World Heritage Biosphere Reserve.

With

• Jonathon S. Miller Weisberger - Ethnobotanist, Guide, Interpreter
• Don Rafael Santi - Amazanga Community Chief, Rainforest and Cultural Master, Architect, Artisan, Herbologist
• Lucia Vargas - Midwife, traditional Herbologist, Cultural Teacher, Community Matriarch
• Flavio Santi - Director of the Huanduk Yachai Foundation, Cultural Advocate, Artisan, Musician, Master of Traditional Mythology
• Eduardo Santi - Artisan and Rainforest Guide, and a whiz in animal tracking and spotting boa constrictors

Experience a wilderness adventure off the beaten path
Meet the Santi Family, an authentic Quichua Indigenous community, dedicated to making positive change towards Cultural Renewal and Rainforest Conservation
Be part of a Rainforest Conservation Legacy expanding a biological mega-diverse Rainforest Refugia
Have a unique adventure hiking into pristine wilderness rainforest
Celebrate the sight of the sacred Lushin River and it's crystal clear, pristine emerald waters
Explore the Sangay National Park
Visit distinguished elders and shamans
Sit on a wooden turtle or anaconda carved bench
Have direct experience learning from the plants themselves
Challenge yourself with a traditional plant diet for wisdom and strength
Learn forest ecology, tropical nature & an indigenous worldview counting on its Origin mythology
Befriend rainforest medicinal plants such as de Gato, Sangre de Drago, Chuchuguasu and many others
Engage in healing ceremonies for replenishment and well being
Climb very tall old trees
Soak in hot springs
Engage in lots of laughter

Space is limited to 12 conscientious travelers in good health that can take long, deep forest hikes and live for several days in a traditional manner (without the modern conveniences and values of the techno-world).

Full details are at: http://osaretreat.org/events.html

$1,275 USD: Tuition (from Quito back to Quito)
$800: Deposit to reserve your space as soon as possible
Balance due Feb. 18, 2004

Check payable to: Sentient Experientials
Mail to: Sentient Experientials, c/o Dahlia Miller
P.O. Box 1004, El Cerrito, CA 94530, USA

Consciousness and the Spirits of Nature
March 28 - April 4, 2004
Presented by Heart of the Initiate
Bahia, Brazil

We welcome you to a series of two one-week workshops, in an extraordinarily beautiful setting along the coast of Bahia, located approximately 700 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. During each week we will be hosting three ayahuasca healing sessions along with lectures on this plant medicine, it's history, and healing properties on the body. We have found that "the medicine" and the heart opening process work together synergistically, allowing us to very quickly move past our self imposed limitations. We will spend the week exploring and opening the subtle doorway through the heart energy and into the inner trans-dimentional worlds long forgotten by mankind. This is the path back to remembering your true divinity and awakening of the true self. As we work through our old, limiting patterns, we begin to heal and reclaim our lost power.

Guest Facilitators and Staff:

• Ralph Miller - Respected facilitator Ralph Miller utilizes the gifts of our Earth Mother to awaken the Truth and Proof of our real selves. His gentle, quieting stillness creates a soothing and safe environment necessary to reach the depth of our inner being. It is here that you are awakened to the true you; opening your eyes and mind to the many hidden dimensions that surround us.
• Zoe7 Seven - Zoe Seven is an international lecturer, author, and cartographer of altered states of consciousness. His main area of research is 'techno-shamanism' - the fusion of shamanic psychoactive plants and compounds together with brainwave technology devices. He is the author of INTO THE VOID and has has written for several entheogen and neuro-technology related magazines.
• Silvia Polivoy - With a Master's degree in clinical psychology, Silvia Polivoy has worked extensively in the Peruvian and the Brazilian Amazon with ayahuasca and San Pedro, where she's initiated and trained in shamanism and the ritual use of ayahuasca by a Shipibo shaman.

We have chosen a beautiful and comfortable beach front property on the coast of Bahia just south of the fishing village of Itacar. We will have exclusive and private use for our stay and includes 10 bungalows, a restaurant, which we'll have full use of, and swimming pool. Creating it's own little village, the buildings are individually designed and constructed of local raw materials and carefully inserted into the rainforest. Some of the buildings are almost 3 meters high offering stunning views of the sea and surrounding jungle, giving the sensation of being in treehouses. A shallow and gentle Atlantic Ocean, which in its low tide reveals up to 200 meters of nearly deserted white sand beach and natural pools, meanders by, providing us a place to relax and play.

For booking and additional information please visit our website at www.heartoftheinitiate.com .

Peter Jennings Reporting: Ecstasy Rising
1 Hour Special, April 1, ABC 10pm est/pst, 9pm cst/mst.
This will be a fascinating documentary with lots of interviews, including Rick Doblin, Sasha Shulgin and many others.

ABC World News Tonight
April 1, ABC 6:30pm est
Presents a short segment on the MAPS MDMA/PTSD study with film from Charleston, SC.

Toward A Science Of Consciousness 2004
April 7-11, 2004
Tucson Convention Center
Tucson, Arizona

You may find more details and register for the conference at: http://consciousness.arizona.edu/tucson2004/. E-mail inquiries should be directed to: center@email.arizona.edu.

The sixth "Toward a Science of Consciousness" conference will be held at the Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona, on April 7-11, 2004. This conference will mark the tenth anniversary of the landmark Tucson consciousness conference in 1994.

Registration fees are $230 (regular) and $130 (students). The full program for the conference is now available on the conference website. The program includes plenary and concurrent oral sessions, poster sessions, and pre-conference workshops (April 6-7). Additional events will include a reception (Wednesday April 7), a conference banquet at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (Friday April 9), a poetry slam (Saturday April 10), and an end-of-conference party (Sunday April 11).

PL4: HOW DO HALLUCINOGENS AFFECT CONSCIOUSNESS?
Thursday April 8, 2-4:10pm

Alexander Shulgin, Hallucinogens and Consciousness
Franz Vollenweider, Brain Mechanisms of Hallucinogens
Thomas Ray, The Chemical Architecture of the Human Mind: Probing Receptor Space with Psychedelics

C14: ART AND CONSCIOUSNESS
Thursday April 8, 4:30-6:35pm
[Hanna, Ascott, Little, Seeley, Lobell]

C19: HALLUCINOGENS AND CONSCIOUSNESS
Saturday April 10, 4:30-6:35pm
[Carter, Winkelman, Levin, Jansen, Mercante]

The International Conference on Science and Consciousness
April 23-28, 2004.
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

Presenters include Candace Pert, Huston Smith, Judith Orloff, Peter Russell, Donna Eden, Carlos Warter, Danah Zohar, Raymond Moody, Stephen Wolinsky, Don Campbell and more than 40 other researchers and trailblazers.

From early morning yoga to special evening events with drumming and dancing, recharge your spirit, open your mind and learn about the miracle of life!

For more information or to sign-up, visit http://www.bizspirit.com/science/index.html or contact:

The Message Company
4 Camino Azul, Santa Fe, NM 87508
phone (505) 474-0998 or (505) 474-7604
fax (505) 471-2584
email: message@bizspirit.com

Altered States and the Spiritual Awakening
May 14-16, 2004
San Francisco, CA

Altered States and Spiritual Awakening aims to create a uniquely interactive meeting of the minds. We are gathering together pioneers in the field of consciousness - luminaries who have shown how to deepen the completeness of the human spirit and connections between souls - and encouraging them to share their discoveries with those who wish to learn.

One of the primary goals of this conference is to bring together experts in multiple forms of altered states. We seek to cover three main spheres of knowledge: transpersonal and para-psychology, entheogens, and consciousness exploration through external (technological) means. While all of the fields share certain commonalties, they all provide distinct insights into how we can enrich the human psyche and deepen understanding of our existence.

The time is ripe to have a meeting like the one we're organizing. Many youth today are actively searching to fill gaps of meaning and connection in their lives. All too often, young people turn to the underground culture's mind-altering substances to quickly numb themselves and deaden the sensations of spiritual longing. The value of spiritual awakening via altered states that was discovered by older generations has faded out of view. This conference is an attempt to bridge the gap between multiple generations of the same community and help create a dialogue in which gurus may share their wisdom with students.

In order to succeed at introducing a new generation of people to this type of wisdom, we are conducting this gathering differently than an average conference. First of all, we are deliberately setting the entrance fee at a point that will make it much more accessible to young people. False Profit, the group hosting the event, is predicated on emphasizing human value over financial value, and will turn no profit from the enterprise.

Moreover, this conference will take a different approach to communication than most others. We will go beyond a formal lecture-and-listen model and encourage a more personal learning process. Our loft space is conducive to establishing the intimate milieu we are aiming for. Overall, we aim to create a comfortable set and setting that will allow people to share openly in the event.

For more information visit www.assacon.com

Prophets Sacred Pilgrimage of Healing and Renewal
May 17-27, 2004
We Walk The Path Of Beauty
The Great American Southwest

SPIRIT JOINS US for a pilgrimage of a lifetime to some of the most beautiful and sacred places on Earth and meetings with authentic Navajo and Hopi medicine people and guides!. Full information

Canyon de Chelly

Guided by Maria, a Quero Apache, and Peter Weiss, expert travel guide and art and cultural historian, along with Robin and Cody Johnson of the Prophets Conferences, the Prophets Pilgrimage into the mysterious sacred places of the magnificent American Southwest is a quest for the renewal of self and planet. From the grandeur of these ancient places of power and from the ceremonies, the stories and teachings of these ancient people, the pilgrims will gain wholeness and a broader awakening to the wonder of life. May is the most beautiful time to explore this area as the wildflowers are in bloom, the air is fresh and stimulating, and it is before the summer rains and the tourists.

Maria calls Spirit to join this Mystic's Journey and tells of the unfolding of this spiritual pilgrimage through the beauty and wonder of the land of her family.

Dagote shi gotah diyi. She ukehe nohwiza'ye bike'e pilch ensella.

Welcome my family of spirit. I am grateful that we follow the Ancestor's tracks joined together as one.

Today we set intent for the power of Creation to join us in this Mystic's Journey. You have responded to a call from Eternity to search out earth tradition and connection. The mysticism of the Quero Apache snake clan is not academe. It is practical magic... a shifting perspective into planetary alignment. In short, your desire for connection, for healing, for depth - your craving to get beyond the changing phenomena and future shift and the universal family into a deeper reality is what you have responded to. This pilgrimage is relevant; it is the air we breathe.

Spirit joins us. All Our Relations are with us, we connect, we interact - All Our Relations are known. Gently the whisper has been heard, and I am honored to guide you on this path.

As we begin our journey - an energetic initiation - we will connect with Animal Spirit Guides and divide into working clans in the Making of Relations rituals. In our clan interactions we find wisdom and learn the etiquette and structure of traditional relationships. We implement a foundation of respect and discovery.

For help in the Deishehi Diyi - Birthing Energy - ritual we will partner in "couples." When we call on energetic shift and it comes to us, our emotional bodies will transmute. To lighten, that is the purpose of our journey - lightening. To shake loose densities, as we journey and become lighter, we become the shining rainbow light of prophecy. As the light shines out of us, others will be touched by it. The joy of evolution descends upon us.

Our hearts fill with joy as we Bike'e diyi - Stalk Power - meeting the Gatekeepers of Time: Bear, Puma, and Snake. We respond to the three questions of initiation, then seek our power tokens of confirmation... affirmations of connection.

We will build Tutuskya - the great Medicine Wheel of Life - and walk the energetic labyrinth of Turtle Island. Connecting to the landscape of our experience we step into our own inner truth. We combine energy with sacred purpose, and our actions align with our intent... we walk the Path of Beauty.

Gotah binah shi naiiees. In the land of my family we "come out." A walk of balanced polarities reenacts the sacred migrations of ancient legend. An edifice of connection to the Changing Mother earth brings various forms of life and love into our consciousness as expressed experience. We are opened to things we previously believed impossible. With respect to manifesting the intangible, we see a deeply unconscious state of coming forth to the surface of our knowing.

In Chaghashe Naakai - Children Returning Home - we celebrate our combined journey... the truth of re-turning to remembrance. We affirm connection and life.

During O'izeege - Fire Ceremony - final transition stokes the flame of passion and creativity. In a moment we are freed of karmic past.

Near the Doorway of the Snake, finally empowered in the truth of our essence, we shall send forth our combined powers to the Four Directions during the Chajala Naaisha - Healing Complete - touching our family, our towns, our country, our world... the universal heart with unconditional love.

Coming to the end of our journey godiyih yalti - Sacred Talk - will reveal that the process we have engaged has been subtle, and personal. We have seen through the deceptions we had fallen prey to. Together we created opportunities to make a deeper look at our life philosophies and become more connected to Spirit... this has been a journey of awakening.

Hozhoni naslee, beauty is everywhere.

Maria
author/quero apache

PS, some things that you might want to consider bringing for our rituals: drums, rattles, pad and pen, corn meal or tobacco. Let us travel with power and ease, let us travel well.

The granddaughter of Ten Bears, the eminent Quero Apache Holy Man, Maria is also the descendent of Nochaydelklinne, Apache Dreamer and Prophet who, over a century ago, brought forth visions of the current changing times of evolution. Maria is a storyteller, healer and ceremonialist of the Quero Apache Tlish Diyan tradition. With a degree in the field of Applied Ecopsychology, she has received awards and merits for her work over the last twenty years.

There is still space available on the Magical Bus for this very special spiritual pilgrimage through the sacred sites and lands of the Great American Southwest. We invite you to join us. Full information is at www.greatmystery.org/southwest.html. We are also being allowed to visit and pray at the Hopi Prophecy Rock that tells the story of our future world lines.

The Third National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics
May 20-22, 2004
Charlottesville, Virginia

Patients Out of Time is pleased to announce that it will serve as a co-host along with the University of Virginia School of Nursing, the Pain Clinic of the University of Virginia's Health System, the Virginia Nurses Association and the University of Virginia School of Law for The Third National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics to be held on May 20-22, 2004, at the Charlottesville Omni Hotel in Charlottesville, VA, USA.

The conference is designed for physicians, nurses, healthcare professionals, legal professionals and patients. The conference theme, "Cannabis Use Throughout the Life Span" focuses on the current research and clinical applications involving cannabis as one of the therapeutic options for health problems that include: behavioral problems, general pediatric applications, use during pregnancy, dependence and addiction risk, pain, traumatic brain injury treatment and movement disorders. The educational sessions facilitated by researchers and clinicians from the United States, Canada, Israel and the United Kingdom provide a platform for discussion that include the pros and cons for considering cannabis as therapeutic option, varied delivery modalities, modern clinical research, use in the hospice setting, and other medical and legal issues related to this therapy.

The conference provides AMA Category 1 credit to physicians, and CEUs to nurses and other healthcare professionals through the Office of Continuing Medical Education of the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Registration information and other conference details will be announced.

For more information, visit http://www.medicalcannabis.com.

AN EVENING WITH DR. SASHA SHULGIN AND ANN SHULGIN

WHEN: Monday, June 21st from 6 - 8 pm
LOCATION: John Jay College of Criminal Justice,
899 10th Avenue, Room 203 between 58th and 59th, New York City
CONTACT: To RSVP or for more information,
please contact Julie Ruckel, 212.613.8053

The Drug Policy Alliance and the John Jay College of Criminal Justice are co-hosting an evening with Dr. Sasha Shulgin, the noted psychedelic chemist and pharmacologist, and his wife Ann Shulgin, the noted psychotherapist.

Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin, Ph.D., is best known for his creation and discovery of new psychoactive chemicals. Sasha earned his doctorate in biochemistry from UC-Berkeley in 1954 before eventually becoming a senior research chemist at Dow Chemical. Best known for his work with synthesizing MDMA or "ecstasy", Sasha was first introduced to the drug in 1967 at San Francisco State University.

Though Sasha was not the first to create MDMA, he did create a new synthesis process and introduced the drug to Bay Area psychologists who incorporated the psychedelic into their therapeutic practice. Word about MDMA's benefits quickly spread beyond the therapeutic community. In addition, Sasha has created and self-tested hundreds of other psychoactive chemicals.

Ann Shulgin, Sasha's partner is a lay therapist who conducted psychedelic therapy before 1985, when MDMA was effectively made illegal when it was reclassified as a Schedule I drug. Ann is a researcher and spokesperson for the beneficial use of psychedelics, including MDMA, in a therapeutic setting.

Sasha and Ann Shulgin are authors of PIKHAL, A Chemical Love Story and TIKHAL, Tryptamines I Have Known and Loved and detailing the synthesis and personal experience with hundreds of psychedelics. The Shulgins travel and speak extensively on the topic of psychedelics.

Sixteenth International Transpersonal Association Conference
June 11-18, 2004

Mythic Imagination and Modern Society:
Search for Re-Enchantment of the World
Riviera Resort in Palm Springs, CA

Program Coordinators: Stanislav and Christina Grof
Conference Coordinator: Bob Duchmann

This conference will focus on the importance of myth in modern society. We will explore how the new understanding of the nature and function of myth revealed by the work of C. G. Jung, Joseph Campbell, James Hillman, Mircea Eliade, and their followers has revolutionized the thinking in many areas of modern life. Like previous ITA events, the format of this meeting will combine lectures, experiential sessions, rituals, music, dance, and visual arts. The conference coincides with the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Joseph Campbell, the greatest mythologist of the twentieth century.

Some Ideas for Themes to be Explored at the Conference;

• Re-Visioning of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Psychotherapy
• Mythic Imagination in Science
• Visionary Anthropology
• Shamanism and the Re-Enchantment of Nature
• Future of the Body
• Archetypal Dynamics, Healing, and Transformation
• The Gaia Theory and Deep Ecology
• Feminism and Return of the Great Mother
• Mythic Elements in Business and Economy
• Archetypal Forces in the World of Politics
• Art and the Imaginal World
• Myth and New Perspectives in Entertainment
• The Imaginal and Its Relation to Spirituality and Religion
• Archetypal Psychology and Astrology
• Ancient and Native Prophecies
• Cosmology and the Creation Stories
• Global Crisis and the Search for A New Myth

Exploring Consciousness Conference
June 24th-26th, 2004
Bath, England

See: www.exploringconsciousness.org.uk

Organised by Bath Spa University College's Sophia Centre, Psychonaut UK and The Academy for Cultural and Educational Studies.

How do we explore consciousness and with what intent?

This theme will be considered from psychonautic, Gaian, cosmological, scientific, psychological, anthropological, philosophical, architectural, sociological, historical, astrological, literary, mythological, political, hedonistic and therapeutic perspectives amongst others.

Presenters: Alexander Shulgin, Rick Doblin, Christian Raetsch, Claudia Mueller-Ebeling, Francoise Barbira-Freedman, Eric Davis, William Bloom, Kelly Morris, Julian Vayne, Max Velmans, Philippa Berry, Andrew Letcher, Susan Greenwood, Susan Blackmore, Anja Saunders, Jude Currivan, Charles Jencks, Chas Clifton, Rob Hand, Piers Gibbon, Stephen Fitzpatrick, Liz Greene, Hattie Wells, Amanda Feilding, David Luke, Serena Roney-Dougal, Nicholas Mann, Bernadette Brady, Ann Shulgin.

Contact: info (at) exploringconsciousness.org.uk

Ayahuasca Healing Retreat
August 6 to 15, 2004
Manaus, Brazil

There will be (4) ceremonies with ayahuasca and (2) with salvia divinorum (Ska Pastora), lectures by top people in the field of visionary and healing plant teachers, as well as workshops in art, in the shamanic use of neuro-technology devices, Lucid dreaming, group sharing, transpersonal exercises and local excursions.

Staff:
Pablo Amaringo, shaman and visionary artist
Zoe Seven, consciousness researcher and author of "Into the Void"
Silvia Polivoy, transpersonal psychologist
For more information, please visit us at:
www.ayahuasca-healing.net or contact silviap@house.com.ar

Entheovision 2
August 21-22, 2004.
Berlin, Germany

Speakers include Ann and Sasha Shulgin, Jon Hanna, Sergius Golowin, Dr. Claudia Muller-Ebeling, Wolfgang Bauer, Dr. Jochen Gartz, Dr. Christian Rtsch, Werner Pieper, Markus Berger, Traumkraft, Bernd Lauer, Ulrich Holbein, David Schlesinger, Sandra Karpetas. The conference will offer simultaneous translation in England and German.

Boom Festival, Portugal.
August 26-30, 2004.

Vibrating into the full moon. 5 days and 4 nights of psyconnecting to culture, art, life, music and cosmic love!

For more information, see www.boomfestival2002.com/boom2004_flash.html
Also read a MAPS Bulletin article on the 2002 Boom Festival here.

Consciousness and the Spirits of Nature
Presented by Heart of the Initiate
Bahia, Brazil
September 1-8 11-18, 2004

We welcome you to a series of one and two week experiential workshops, in an extraordinarily beautiful setting along the coast of Bahia, located approximately 700 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. During each week we will be hosting three ayahuasca healing sessions along with lectures on this plant medicine, it's history, and healing properties on the body. We have found that "the medicine" and the heart opening process work together synergistically, allowing us to very quickly move past our self imposed limitations. We will spend the week exploring and opening the subtle doorway through the heart energy and into the inner trans-dimentional worlds long forgotten by mankind. This is the path back to remembering your true divinity and awakening of the true self. As we work through our old, limiting patterns, we begin to heal and reclaim our lost power.

Guest Facilitators and Staff:

Ralph Miller - Respected facilitator Ralph Miller utilizes the gifts of our Earth Mother to awaken the Truth and Proof of our real selves. His gentle, quieting stillness creates a soothing and safe environment necessary to reach the depth of our inner being. It is here that you are awakened to the true you; opening your eyes and mind to the many hidden dimensions that surround us.

Arno Adelaars - Step into a tradition where sound and music becomes the inner landscape of our own creation. With his own unique style of ayahuasca ritual, Arno Adelaars will guide an interactive experience with drumming, singing, dancing and movement.

We have chosen a beautiful and comfortable beach front property on the coast of Bahia just south of the fishing village of Itacar. We will have exclusive and private use for our stay and includes 10 bungalows, a restaurant, which we'll have full use of, and swimming pool. Creating it's own little village, the buildings are individually designed and constructed of local raw materials and carefully inserted into the rainforest. Some of the buildings are almost 3 meters high offering stunning views of the sea and surrounding jungle, giving the sensation of being in treehouses. A shallow and gentle Atlantic Ocean, which in its low tide reveals up to 200 meters of nearly deserted white sand beach and natural pools, meanders by, providing us a place to relax and play.

For booking and additional information please visit our website at www.heartoftheinitiate.com

2nd Annual Santa Cruz
WAMMfest
A benefit for the Wo/Mens Alliance for Medial Marijuana
Sunday September 5th 2004 form 10am to 5pm
San Lorenzo Park Benchlands
Vendors Live Music Food Games Hemp Products White Elephant Sale
WAMM Craft Gallery Medical Marijuana Information Rent a Booth Space or for more information
See our website www.wamm.org
831.425.0416

WIN THE MEAL OF A LIFETIME
THE D.E.A. CAME UNINVITED---- YOU WILL BE CHAUFFEUR DRIVEN!
Enter to win a champagne brunch for 2 in WAMM's
secret medical marijuana garden
Bunch will be on Sept. 12th.
Entries $50-$100 each.
Purchase tickets at World Market Bazaar 1231 Pacific Ave. or online at www.wamm.org
Winner to be announced at WAMMfest Sept.5th @ San Lorenzo Park
winner will be contacted by phone or email. (Subject to certain restrictions and conditions)

Cannabinoids in Medicine
The 3rd International Association for Cannabis as Medicine (IACM)
Conference on Cannabinoids in Medicine
September 10-11, 2004, Somerville College Oxford, UK.

A call for papers will be published in January 2004 in the IACM Bulletin. International Association for Cannabis as Medicine (IACM)

The Great Rethinking Oxford
10-12 September, 2004
Oxford University Union, Oxford UK

The Great Rethinking Oxford will be taking place at the Oxford Union the weekend of 10-12 September, with a magical mystery tour of the UK ancient sacred sites. Information will be forthcoming. More information

Once again The Great Rethinking returns to the Oxford Union in Oxford, England. The conference takes place the weekend of 10-12 September, followed by a pilgrimage extension to Stonehenge, Glastonbury, and other ancient sites 13-14 September. Early registration tuition incentives are available for the first 50 delegates!

The faculty coming together in Oxford includes Dr. Vandana Shiva, Dr. Helen Caldicott, Dr. Ervin Laszlo, Peter Russell, Dr. William Bloom, Satish Kumar, Lynne McTaggart, Thom Hartmann, Danah Zohar, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Dr. Alberto Villoldo, Christopher Hansard, and Paul Hannam.

Mind States Oaxaca
September 2004

The Mind States conference in 2004 will be held in Oaxaca City, Mexico in September of 2004. "Oaxaca, a sun-drenched city cooled by Mexican mountain breezes, is regarded by many as a spiritual center because of the ancient Zapotec and Mixtec cities that dominate the nearby hills. It is also a multicultural center--people from all over the world come to see the arts and crafts of the 16 different indigenous groups practicing their traditional ways in the region." -- Iris Denton, Whole Life Times (June 1998).

For more information on specific dates and presenters, see http://www.mindstates.org

MAPS Benefit Dinner and Dance
at Alex's Grey's Chapel of Sacred Mirriors

We are thrilled to announce this special event held at Alex Grey's new sacred art space. The evening event will start at 6:30 PM. We're asking for a $100 donation to MAPS per person, which also includes a ticket to the all-night dance (current MAPS members also get a second ticket to the all-night dance). At 7 PM, Alex will give a talk about his art and show people around the Gallery. We'll have dinner and then at 8:30 PM, we'll have short talks by:

Dr. Michael Mithoefer (primary investigator in the MDMA/PTSD study)
Dr. John Halpern (PI on the MDMA/cancer anxiety study we are trying to get approved at McLean)
Dr. Charlie Grob (psilocybin/cancer anxiety study- this is a Heffter Research Institute study)
Valerie Mojeiko (MAPS staffer who is coordinating our ibogaine outcome study)
Brandy Doyle (MAPS staffer who is coordinating our Rites of Passage project about parents who create opportunities for psychedelic experiences for their kids, and vice versa)
and Rick Doblin, MAPS President.

About 9:45 PM, incredible photographer Dean Chamberlain will take a group photo. This ends the evening event.

At 10PM, doors open for the all-night dance, for which we are asking everyone to become a MAPS member at whatever membership level they choose (current MAPS members can come for just $20). The dance is limited to 250 people. The same group of speakers will talk again starting about 10:15. We'll have DJs, one or two bands, and some games, until about 7 AM. We'll have free water, juice bar, bodywork available, and breakfast.

The gallery is at:
540 W. 27th Street 4th Floor
New York, NY 10001

That's the basics! You can purchase tickets/donate through the MAPS website and indicate in the final dialogue box which event you would like your donation to be for, or you can send a check to the MAPS office at 2105 Robinson Ave, Sarasota, FL, 34232 or call at 941 924-6277.

Ayahuasca Healing retreat in Brazil
October 15 to 23 in Bahia, by the ocean
Ceremonies with Ayahuasca and Salvia Divinorum
Lectures, transpersonal exercises, and excursions.

Staff:
Christine Page, MD, physician and author of "Spiritual Alchemy"
Sue Minns, past life therapist and author of "Be your own Doctor"
Gary Reich, psychic and lecturer
Silvia Polivoy, transpersonal psychologist
For more information, please visit us at:
www.ayahuasca-healing.net or contact silviap@house.com.ar.

The Good News
October 15-17
The Sedona Hilton Resort
More information

The first 50 registrants will receive a full weekend pass for $225. The tuition will increase to $295 and $355 thereafter.

Come together with Larry Dossey, M.D., Barbara Marx Hubbard, Gregg Braden, Mary Manin Morrissey, Peter Russell, Hank Wesselman, Ph.D., Jill Kuykendall, Robert A. F. Thurman, Ph.D., Caroline Casey, Lama Surya Das, Mikela Tarlow, Ph.D., Philip Tarlow, Carlos Barrios, and many other members of your spiritual family for this journey into vision, commitment and healing.

Barbara Marx Hubbard, Gregg Braden and Hank Wesselman will also come together to help us express our life purpose for the good of the self and the world during The Day of Cocreation taking place as a conference extension on Monday, October 18. Find out more here.

There are no overlapping presentations. Only plenary sessions and experiential workshops are available so that you fully enjoy The Great Rethinking Sedona and The Great Rethinking Oxford experiences.

East Village book bash for Under the Influnece: The Disinformation Guide to Drugs by Dan Forbes
October 21st from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Uncle Ming's, at 225 Avenue B (at 13th St.) in NYC

Forget the modest number of immodest go-go dancers, the syncopation from renowned Slipper Room vinyl spinner, DJ Ness, the no-doubt dissolute air rubbing shoulders (let's say) with strangers similarly possessed of a certain moral casualness. Come, rather, seeking proof of the cruelties, absurdities, malfeasance & propaganda promulgated by your government to prop up an ever shakier War on Some Drugs.

DisInfo and editor Preston Peet have corralled the top writers on drugs (verily) for a volume chockablock with the sort of truth-to-power rarely found between soft covers:

Libertarian big-foot Jacob Sullum, of the usually eponymous Reason magazine and author of Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use (Tarcher/Putnam); New York Press columnist, author and irasciblist Paul Krassner; Daniel Pinchbeck, author of Breaking Open the Head: A Psychedelic Journey into the Heart of Contemporary Shamanism (Broadway Books); bona fide contemporary shaman, Rick Doblin, who's actually buffaloed the feds into approving his investigations of post-trauma, therapeutic Ecstasy; and ex-Village Voice columnist, Cynthia Cotts.

Not to mention Ethan Nadelmann, avatar of the Drug Policy Alliance and many state drug-reform ballot initiatives; China Syndrome screenwriter, Mike Gray, whose seminal drug policy books include Drug Crazy (Random House); Lonny Shavelson, author of Hooked: Five Addicts Challenge our Misguided Drug Rehab System (The New Press); rock star and ex-High Timeser Steven Wishnia, author of Cannabis Companion (Running Press); our beloved editor, High Timeser Preston Peet, who also edits DrugWar.com; and Daniel Forbes, a feckless freelancer who engendered four congressional hearings and testified at two after revealing that the Clinton White House steered $22 million to the TV networks for government-approved anti-drug TV scripts and has perpetrated numerous stone-down-a-well scoops ever since.

5th National Harm Reduction Conference:
Working Under Fire: Drug Users' Health and Justice 2004
November 11-14, 2004
Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel
New Orleans

Including a special session on ibogaine on November 13, from 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM, in the Iberville Room, moderated by Patrick Kroupa. MAPS staffer Valerie Mojeiko will participate.

Go to http://www.harmreduction.org/conf2004/index.html for more information.

Visionary Art Workshop
November 12-19
Boulder, Colorado

For detailed information please visit:
http://www.martinahoffmann.com/workshops.html

Contact:
roberto@venosa.com
art@martinahoffmann.com
Tele: (303) 440-8905
http://www.venosa.com/ http://www.martinahoffmann.com

Campus Freethought Alliance Presents Highlights from the 2004 UC Berkeley Symposium on Psychedelics: Their Value and Social Responsibility Tuesday November 30, 2004 7pm-10pm UNL City Union Auditorium Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., "Psychedelics, Psychoactive and Addictive Drugs and States of Consciousness." Metzner, who studied psychology and psychopharmacology at Harvard University with Timothy Leary and Ram Dass, discusses his models of consciousness based on 30 years of research. A 20 minute presentation on DVD Adele Getty, "Why Psychedelics Wont Go Away." Getty, a cultural anthropologist and former wife of British social anthropologist Frances Huxley, argues that psychedelics represent a revitalization movement of spiritual importance during times of crisis. A 20 minute presentation on DVD Maura T. Lucas, Ph.D., "On Not Passing the Acid Test: Shamanic Perspectives on Bad Trips." Lucas, a neuropsychologist, argues Europeans have become disconnected from our shamanic roots and need to find ways of reestablishing this connection. This will require taking some bad tripsthat is, confronting our shadow and the shadow of Western culture, namely individualism, dominance, and control. A 20 minute presentation on DVD There will be a question and answer session following each DVD presentation moderated by the UC Berkeley symposium organizer, Mark A. Schroll, Ph.D.