The Acacia Tree

The acacia tree was called the "tree of life" by ancient Egyptians. It's quite possible that this is the same "tree of life" that was in the garden of Eden. The Hebrew word for it was shittah. It's a thorny tree the wood of which was used to make the ark of the covenant which holds the ten commandments. The wild acacia (Mimosa Nilotica), under the name of sunt, is believed by many to be the type of plant which Moses witnessed as the "burning bush" atop Mt. Sinai. This is also the most likely plant to have been used to create the "Crown of thorns" that Jesus wore during his Crucifixion. Acacia contains the powerful hallucinogenic DMT.

Today, many news organizations are writing about a recent article published in the Journal "Time and Mind". In this article, Benny Shanon, professor of cognitive psychology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has concluded that psychedelics extracted from the Acacia tree may have been used by Moses and his followers. He believes that this helps explain the burning bush on top of Mount Sinai. One such article can be found here:

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/960407.html.

Calling upon the four directions

Long ago, I used to attend moon lodges. Here is a little song that we'd chant or sing to begin circle...

Ho
To the East
Land of our dawn and birth
Bringer of the air
Bringer of the eagle of spring

Ho
To the South
Land of our youth and sun
Bringer of the fire
Bringer of the lion of summer

Ho
To the West
Land of the peoples twilight
Bringer of the water
Bringer of the dreaming bear of fall

Ho
To the North
Land of Grandmother midnight
Bringer of the earth
Bringer of the winter buffalo

Ho
Great Sprit
Earth, Air, Fire, and Sea
You are all around us
And you're inside of me.

Alan Watts: Music and Life

I've always been a big fan of Alan Watts. His book titled "The Book; On the Taboo Against Knowing Who you Are" is one of my favorite reality models.

Religious Art & Spring Break

During spring break back in 1992 a friend and I were at a party near Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Someone at the party said we should drive to Daytona. I thought it sounded like a great idea so the three of us left right then and started our 9 hour drive. Once in Daytona, we didn't even think about what hotel we were going to stay at. Instead, we just went to the beach and started partying. That evening, some fellow partiers asked what hotel we were staying at. I said that we had just gotten in town and didn't know where we were going to stay. He then offered us the sleeper sofa in their time-share on the beach. So, two of us slept on the fold-out bed and one of us on the floor. If we had planned the vacation, it'd have not been as cheap nor as fun. The next evening, blotter acid was being passed around. After a rather interesting trip, we began the drive home.

We decided to stop in St. Augustine to eat and possibly rest. We were still feeling a bit trippy. Saint Augustine was a really cool town and for some particular reason many people were in period costumes wondering the streets. We found ourselves in a beautiful garden within the walls of an old Spanish building that is now a college. Then, we wondered into a small old church that I think might have once been some sort of Spanish missionary. On one wall was a beautiful mural. The image was etched into my brain. When I got home, I drew it in my sketchbook but of course I took creative liberties when drawing it... the result is the picture above.

In the picture note the following:

1. Coyote Howling at the Moon
2. Naked Pagans Gathered under the Full Moon
3. Ghandi Sitting bottom left
4. Budha in Front
5. Pan Resting
6. Marijuana Growing in the Crevice
7. Angel throwing down blotter hits depicting golden keys (or musical notes?)
8. Nativity in the Middle with Virgin Mary adoring New Born Child.
9. Nativity Goat with inverted pentagram looming over the baby Jesus.

I'm not sure what I intended by the subjects that I added to the nativity. I can only assume that they depict various other religions. Perhaps it represents the chaotic mismatch of religious beliefs. Maybe the demonic goat is a threat looming over the blissful child... you tell me what you think.

Robert Anton Wilson On The Joy Of Art

Robert Anton Wilson: About Timothy Leary

I met Timothy Leary back in 1992 at the Atlanta Hilton Towers. The first day, he struck me as extremely intelligent. He also had an aura about him where people who would normally hate him couldn't help but like him. In person, he didn't seem psycho as he is often portrayed on TV. On the second day, he was obviously fucked up... still getting high even in his 70's. Given his life challenges, his spirit was never broken. Good for you Tim. Good for you. May he rest in peace.

From the sketchbook... Mac Attack!

From the sketchbook... Fractals of Consciousness

Back in my acid dayz, I was stuck on a reality model based on what I called "Fractals of Consciousness". In this model, everything existed as part of a large super complex fractal pattern. It made a great deal of sense to me back then. Now, the idea seems so abstract that I barely comprehend my own writings on the subject. Looking back, I think what I was trying to articulate was the way the brain works (encoding signals and making connections). I drew the picture above. In some way, this depicts an explorer amongst a small energy sub-set of these fractals of concussions. I know it sounds crazy. But, sometimes, I think that "insanity" isn't necessarily wrong simply for being based on a different reality model. After all, the map (brain) is not necessarily the territory.

Dream - The Stars Said You'd be a Dreamer

My co-workers and I had missed the last train from Paris to Rueil Malmaison so we took a taxi. Upon arrival at our hotel, I saw my mother. She invited me into a back room, just off the lobby. This room resembled my mother's sun room at her own home. In the room was a small glass topped table with 3 chairs. I sat down in the empty chair across from a man and a woman who were in their mid 50's. The man had dark black hair and the woman had reddish brown hair.

My mother said to me, "D___, I'd like you to meet my sister." I was a bit confused and then realized that she meant that they were very close friends.

The lady said to me, "I'll be that you don't remember us." I recognized them as Lauren and Kay, friends of my parents when I was very young. I don't think I'd seen either of them since I was five years old. I said, "you are Lauren and Kay... Kate."

She corrected me, "Kate". Then she said, "Your mother sent me an e-mail the other day with a link to your son's blog. I noticed that the name in your e-mail address was neuronaut. This is why I wanted to meet you. I always knew you would be a dreamer. It was written in the stars when you were born. You see..." She then proceeded to explain the position of various stars and consolations at the time I was born. I don't really buy astrology and didn't really listen to what she was saying.

I interrupted her, "excuse me for not following all of this. I've had a long crazy trip today and am a little bit spacey."

She said, "I understand completely."

I asked, "how are your two children? As I recall you have a girl my age and a boy a little younger."

She corrected, "we have three children. Here is the newest addition to the family." And, she pointed at a small puppy in baby clothes being cuddled by Lauren next to her.


Comments: I am kicking myself for not picking up better on the queues. Almost the entire dream was a discussion about dreaming yet I never realized that I was asleep! If I had only realized that I was in a dream state, this could have become an intense lucid experience where I could have asked Lauren and Kay some serious questions about the dreaming mind!!!!

The Last Taboo

The last taboo is religion... I wanted to share this video that I happened upon.

From the sketchbook... Cosmic Egg

Zeit Und Kunst

http://www.wasistzeit.de/zeitundkunst/a5.htm

Interconnectedness

This morning, in Paris, I was sitting in a hotel lobby reading a book. The book is "Mr. Vertigo" by Paul Auster. In it, he was talking about the Buffalo Bill Show (late 19th century to early 20th century). He also was talking about a coincidental link between the plot of the main story coinciding with the airplane "Spirit of St. Louis" that crossed the Atlantic in a single flight that took 32 hours. Soon after, I found myself in a natural history museum where they had a display with old pictures of the Buffalo Bill Show. Then, later, on the subway, I saw a billboard containing a picture of the airplane "Spirit of St. Louis." What’s the chance of these seemingly random encounters? Don't you just love synchronicities?

Recognize this famous landmark?

I'm traveling again... Do you recognize this famous landmark?

From the sketchbook...

Here is an interesting character... It's not an original layout... I was simply bored and happened to have a penguin button laying in front of me from which I copied...

From the sketchbook...

3 Steps to Interpreting Dreams as Joseph did...

I am currently re-reading "The Earth will Shake" by Robert Anton Wilson. The following excerpt is probably the best and most simple instructions on how to learn to interpret dreams that I have seen...

From Maria Maldonado's Journal:

Mother Ursula told me that anyone could learn to interpret dreams, just as Joseph did in the Bible. She says the whole art is in three steps: first, one must learn to remember one's dreams; second, by meditating on them, one can eventually understand them; and third, with this knowledge mastered, one can begin to interpret the dreams of others.

To remember one's dreams, Mother Ursula says, it is necessary to keep foolscap by one's bed and write down all that one remembers of the night's dreams the very first thing upon waking. She says that if one does this every day, one remembers more every day.

Mind Puzzle Chain Mails

I recently received an interesting forwarded e-mail with various mind games.... Some samples follow below. I think that these successfully demonstrate how our minds can trick us. How many details and alternate views do we gloss over in our daily lives?

Count every " F " in the following text:

FINI SHED FILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS...

HOW MANY ?

THERE ARE 6 -- no joke.

READ IT AGAIN ! The reasoning behind is further down. The brain cannot process "OF".

The following are a few pictures that were included. Each picture contains two words. I'm uncertain of the source of these pictures nor copyright status...

Dream Recall

I have about 6 years of dreams written in a journal dating from 1992 to 1998. During the time that I was recording these, my recall was so keen that I typically remembered 4 dreams per night. When I read these journal entries today, they trigger memories of the dreams that are much more crisp and clear than memories from daytime events during the same time period. During these years, I learned to lucid dream. I'll write more about lucid dreaming in a future post.

In 1998, I began working a job that required me to wake early by alarm clock. The shock of an alarm clock made recall a bit more difficult than if I had awaken naturally. At this time, I also found myself living in a new town where I knew almost nobody. As a result, a mild depression set in. I was also struggling with many personal issues common to early adulthood.

At that time, I felt a need to let my subconscious mind work on its own without my meddling. For this reason, I really laid off of the soul searching for a while. I let myself get lost in life and stopped most dream work. Somehow, I felt that this was the right thing to do. I understand that this is dead opposite of what most mystics and shamans would have recommended. But, it seemed right at the time.

In the meantime, I did record dreams but usually only if they seemed extremely unusual and important. Now, in 2008, I am taking a renewed interest in how my mind works as well as the general relationship between mind and physical world.

My dream recall is no longer all that great. I remember now perhaps 4 dreams a week rather than 4 dreams each night. I've started meditating again upon occasion, but not on a regular schedule. Also, I am about to embark on a winter of working in Europe. Being in a different culture is a fantastic was to put your own version of reality into perspective. As such, I think that this coming year may be very interesting from a neuronautic standpoint.

From the Canvas... Depression

Self Portrait of Inner Self from the late 1990's.