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Topic: RE: virus: Drugs, art and the aliens who lit our way to civilisation (Read 819 times) |
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Blunderov
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RE: virus: Drugs, art and the aliens who lit our way to civilisation
« on: 2005-10-14 10:13:14 » |
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[Blunderov] The effects of ayahuasca sound quite similar to the effects of
peyote as described by Carlos Castenada back in the day. Some of Hancocks
conclusions seem to me to be a bit over-enthusiastic but there may be a germ
of truth there. Certainly the apparent variability of reality must have been
of abiding interest to our remote ancestors. (This via disinfo.com.)
Best Regards and happy weekends to all.
Drugs, art and the aliens who lit our way to civilisation
ANNA SMYTH
GRAHAM HANCOCK is breathless. He's telling me about his first hallucinogenic
trip in the Amazon jungle, and he just can't get the words out fast enough.
The former journalist and now bestselling science writer spent five weeks
living with indigenous Indian shamans in Peru, where he ingested a sacred
plant drug known as ayahuasca.
We pick up the story just after the shaman began the ritual ceremony by
singing the icaros, ancient chants which draw the spirits around the circle.
Hancock then took a sip of the drug, which he describes as a "vile-tasting
liquid, so strong and bitter-sweet and salty, so dark and concentrated as to
be repellent". His muscles involuntarily relax, he closes his eyes and then
the visions begin.
"I had a very scary beginning to that trip," he says. "I saw incredible
transformations of different animals and beings glowing with light that
appeared directly in front of my field of vision. It was a typical scene
which many describe as an alien abduction. They were very anthropic, and
definitely wanted to communicate with me. It was rather like going to a
strange new country, where I had to start learning the rules of
communication."
Getting deeper into the experience, Hancock took another dose of the drug,
but his body couldn't take it. The nausea came on strong and soon he was out
in the dark, puking. Before long he was drenched in sweat with only dry
heaves left. He sank to the ground and called an end to the trip because he
was so afraid. He opened his eyes, and the visions left him. You could
conclude from this account - detailed in Hancock's latest book, Supernatural
- that Hancock is just another traveller keen to acquaint himself with the
customs of new cultures. But there is a little more to this trip than meets
the eye.
A reporter by trade, Hancock was born in Edinburgh before moving to India in
his childhood. He returned to attend school and university in Durham, from
where he graduated in 1973 with a degree in sociology. He went on to pursue
a career in journalism, writing for The Times, The Sunday Times, The
Independent and The Guardian.
But in the 1980s he gave up newspaper reporting to pursue his own passion -
the lost civilisation of man. In the past 20 years, he's written several
books including the best-selling Sign and Seal on the Ark of the Covenant -
as well as filming documentaries about his research.
"Three years ago I decided to go back to the subject which fascinated me at
university," he says. "I was interested in human origins, in what makes us
different from the apes. I found that it wasn't the use of tools, as many
people believe, but abstract thought and the ability to manipulate symbols."
The answer was art. Cave paintings and writings which depicted thoughts and
visions, none of which have ever been achieved by other species. In fact,
even our human ancestors had no artistic capability. Or not until 40,000
years ago, at least.
"Previously, we were very uncreative and boring. We used the same tools
continually without modifying them. Then, suddenly, a light switched on in
our brain. Fossils from 40,000 years ago show that we began to explore
spirituality, looked for signs of life after death and innovated specialised
tools. And we began to paint. In France, Italy and South Africa and all over
the world, they've discovered incredibly accomplished paintings, but no
explanation for this burst of development."
This has been termed the "greatest riddle in archaeology", and many
academics have devoted their career to its study. The reason behind the
sudden transformation, the majority have concluded, is hallucinogenic
plants. Magic mushrooms would be a relevant example, but all over the world,
man stumbled across drugs which opened the possibility for spiritual,
creative thought.
Professor David Lewis-Williams, of South Africa's Witwatersrand University,
believes that is the end of the story. These visions - and therefore the art
they produced - were universal because all of mankind has the same
neurology. Our brains are wired in the same way, so when we take these
drugs, our bodies have the same response. Indeed, at the University of New
Mexico, researchers have found that volunteers given hallucinogenic drugs
drew the same kinds of paintings as those found in the ancient caves. This,
coupled with a wealth of other evidence, supports Lewis-Williams' theory
that drugs are the answer.
For most people that explanation would suffice, but not for Hancock. He
could not accept that the beginnings of human spirituality came down to
brain chemistry. For him, there had to be more to it, and he decided to
investigate, hence the first-hand research trip.
What he has found - and what forms the basis of his new hefty tome - is a
theory that to many will sound absurd. He believes that when shamans and
drug users experience these hallucinations, they are actually tapping into a
parallel universe. The visions - be they of fairies, elves or aliens - are
real, they exist all the time, and they want to communicate with us.
"Think of it as though the brain is like a TV receiver. In order to cope
with everyday life, we have to tune into "Channel Normal" for the majority
of the time. But if we retune our brains with these drugs, or alter our
state of consciousness through rhythmic dancing and drums, we can see images
of the parallel dimensions."
Hancock does not prescribe for a second to the idea that when people
experience "alien abductions", they are seeing foreign creatures that may
whisk them to another planet. What he does believe is that the spirits dwell
in this other dimension, and if we let them, they will continue the teaching
that they gave to our ancestors.
"I believe these hallucinogenic experiences are the basis for all modern-day
religions. If you think about it, why would we ever have cause to imagine a
spirit world? Our uncreative ancestors didn't, but then they found these
drugs and saw for themselves the spirit world, and realised there was more
to life. I think religion resulted from the need to explain these
supernatural encounters."
A sceptic would maintain that, outwith the experience of those on drugs or
in a trance, there is no evidence to support Hancock's theory. And many
could take offence to his assertion that when Mohammed, Jesus Christ and St
Paul thought they were experiencing God, they were, in fact, just accessing
the parallel world. Part of the problem with accepting this higher plane
comes in locating its origin. If these spirits are the "ancient teachers of
mankind", as he says, where did they come from? In this instance, as with
every other, Hancock points to science. Prepare for the most astonishing
claim yet. "The secret could be in our DNA," he says. "When Francis Crick,
the discoverer of DNA, died, it was revealed that his first vision of the
helix module occurred while he was on LSD. Although he was an atheist, he
then published a book which subscribed to the theory of intelligent design,
that our universe was not simply the result of a series of chemical
accidents.
"In brief, what he said was that after the Big Bang, life did not evolve
first on Earth. At the far side of the universe, another civilisation
developed, a highly advanced civilisation who surpassed the stage we have
currently reached. He asserted that in some way their world became
threatened - global warming, or some such catastrophic event - and so they
devised a way to pass on their existence. They genetically-modified their
DNA and sent it out from their planet on bacteria, with the hope that it
would collide with another planet. It did, and that's why we're here." What
Hancock goes onto explain is that the DNA was encoded with messages from
that other civilisation.
They programmed the molecules so that when we reached a certain level of
intelligence, we would be able to access their information, and they could
therefore "teach" us about ourselves, and how to progress.
Of course, this talk of aliens sending off bacteria sounds like the
ramblings of a deranged guest on a Jerry Springer show. But the astonishing
thing is that Hancock is intelligent and articulate, and his writing is as
expert as you would expect from an esteemed international correspondent.
Precisely because he is so credible, his idea will no doubt entice those
looking for more conspiracy theories, and you need only look as far as Dan
Brown to see the commercial success available.
But to give him credit, Hancock at no point claims these discoveries for
himself, he always points to archaeologists and scientists who have been
fascinated by similar concepts. Indeed, all that he asks for is that people
more qualified than himself, investigate the questions he raises.
"I know [this] sounds preposterous and pointless to anyone committed to
objective science. The more closely I pursued these questions, however, the
more convinced I became that they point towards matters of extraordinary
substance, and that science has done us an immense disfavour by its policy
of ridiculing and discouraging all rational inquiry in this area."
• Supernatural by Graham Hancock £20 published by Century. Graham Hancock
will be appearing at Borders, Glasgow on 18 October at 6pm. Tickets
available on 0141 222 7700.
---
To unsubscribe from the Virus list go to <http://www.lucifer.com/cgi-bin/virus-l>
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MoEnzyme
Acolyte
Gender:
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Reputation: 4.69
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infidel lab animal
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RE: virus: Drugs, art and the aliens who lit our way to civilisation
« Reply #1 on: 2005-10-15 12:35:57 » |
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We used to have a regular contribuor here some years back, KMO, who was
really into ayahuasca and had travelled to the Amazon a few times to try
it. Here is his website: http://www.c-realm.com/
> [Original Message]
> From: Blunderov <squooker@mweb.co.za>
> To: <virus@lucifer.com>
> Date: 10/14/2005 9:14:15 AM
> Subject: RE: virus: Drugs, art and the aliens who lit our way to
civilisation
>
> [Blunderov] The effects of ayahuasca sound quite similar to the effects of
> peyote as described by Carlos Castenada back in the day. Some of Hancocks
> conclusions seem to me to be a bit over-enthusiastic but there may be a
germ
> of truth there. Certainly the apparent variability of reality must have
been
> of abiding interest to our remote ancestors. (This via disinfo.com.)
> Best Regards and happy weekends to all.
>
> Drugs, art and the aliens who lit our way to civilisation
>
> ANNA SMYTH
> GRAHAM HANCOCK is breathless. He's telling me about his first
hallucinogenic
> trip in the Amazon jungle, and he just can't get the words out fast
enough.
> The former journalist and now bestselling science writer spent five weeks
> living with indigenous Indian shamans in Peru, where he ingested a sacred
> plant drug known as ayahuasca.
> We pick up the story just after the shaman began the ritual ceremony by
> singing the icaros, ancient chants which draw the spirits around the
circle.
> Hancock then took a sip of the drug, which he describes as a "vile-tasting
> liquid, so strong and bitter-sweet and salty, so dark and concentrated as
to
> be repellent". His muscles involuntarily relax, he closes his eyes and
then
> the visions begin.
>
>
> "I had a very scary beginning to that trip," he says. "I saw incredible
> transformations of different animals and beings glowing with light that
> appeared directly in front of my field of vision. It was a typical scene
> which many describe as an alien abduction. They were very anthropic, and
> definitely wanted to communicate with me. It was rather like going to a
> strange new country, where I had to start learning the rules of
> communication."
> Getting deeper into the experience, Hancock took another dose of the drug,
> but his body couldn't take it. The nausea came on strong and soon he was
out
> in the dark, puking. Before long he was drenched in sweat with only dry
> heaves left. He sank to the ground and called an end to the trip because
he
> was so afraid. He opened his eyes, and the visions left him. You could
> conclude from this account - detailed in Hancock's latest book,
Supernatural
> - that Hancock is just another traveller keen to acquaint himself with the
> customs of new cultures. But there is a little more to this trip than
meets
> the eye.
> A reporter by trade, Hancock was born in Edinburgh before moving to India
in
> his childhood. He returned to attend school and university in Durham, from
> where he graduated in 1973 with a degree in sociology. He went on to
pursue
> a career in journalism, writing for The Times, The Sunday Times, The
> Independent and The Guardian.
> But in the 1980s he gave up newspaper reporting to pursue his own passion
-
> the lost civilisation of man. In the past 20 years, he's written several
> books including the best-selling Sign and Seal on the Ark of the Covenant
-
> as well as filming documentaries about his research.
> "Three years ago I decided to go back to the subject which fascinated me
at
> university," he says. "I was interested in human origins, in what makes us
> different from the apes. I found that it wasn't the use of tools, as many
> people believe, but abstract thought and the ability to manipulate
symbols."
> The answer was art. Cave paintings and writings which depicted thoughts
and
> visions, none of which have ever been achieved by other species. In fact,
> even our human ancestors had no artistic capability. Or not until 40,000
> years ago, at least.
> "Previously, we were very uncreative and boring. We used the same tools
> continually without modifying them. Then, suddenly, a light switched on in
> our brain. Fossils from 40,000 years ago show that we began to explore
> spirituality, looked for signs of life after death and innovated
specialised
> tools. And we began to paint. In France, Italy and South Africa and all
over
> the world, they've discovered incredibly accomplished paintings, but no
> explanation for this burst of development."
> This has been termed the "greatest riddle in archaeology", and many
> academics have devoted their career to its study. The reason behind the
> sudden transformation, the majority have concluded, is hallucinogenic
> plants. Magic mushrooms would be a relevant example, but all over the
world,
> man stumbled across drugs which opened the possibility for spiritual,
> creative thought.
> Professor David Lewis-Williams, of South Africa's Witwatersrand
University,
> believes that is the end of the story. These visions - and therefore the
art
> they produced - were universal because all of mankind has the same
> neurology. Our brains are wired in the same way, so when we take these
> drugs, our bodies have the same response. Indeed, at the University of New
> Mexico, researchers have found that volunteers given hallucinogenic drugs
> drew the same kinds of paintings as those found in the ancient caves.
This,
> coupled with a wealth of other evidence, supports Lewis-Williams' theory
> that drugs are the answer.
> For most people that explanation would suffice, but not for Hancock. He
> could not accept that the beginnings of human spirituality came down to
> brain chemistry. For him, there had to be more to it, and he decided to
> investigate, hence the first-hand research trip.
> What he has found - and what forms the basis of his new hefty tome - is a
> theory that to many will sound absurd. He believes that when shamans and
> drug users experience these hallucinations, they are actually tapping
into a
> parallel universe. The visions - be they of fairies, elves or aliens - are
> real, they exist all the time, and they want to communicate with us.
> "Think of it as though the brain is like a TV receiver. In order to cope
> with everyday life, we have to tune into "Channel Normal" for the majority
> of the time. But if we retune our brains with these drugs, or alter our
> state of consciousness through rhythmic dancing and drums, we can see
images
> of the parallel dimensions."
> Hancock does not prescribe for a second to the idea that when people
> experience "alien abductions", they are seeing foreign creatures that may
> whisk them to another planet. What he does believe is that the spirits
dwell
> in this other dimension, and if we let them, they will continue the
teaching
> that they gave to our ancestors.
> "I believe these hallucinogenic experiences are the basis for all
modern-day
> religions. If you think about it, why would we ever have cause to imagine
a
> spirit world? Our uncreative ancestors didn't, but then they found these
> drugs and saw for themselves the spirit world, and realised there was more
> to life. I think religion resulted from the need to explain these
> supernatural encounters."
> A sceptic would maintain that, outwith the experience of those on drugs or
> in a trance, there is no evidence to support Hancock's theory. And many
> could take offence to his assertion that when Mohammed, Jesus Christ and
St
> Paul thought they were experiencing God, they were, in fact, just
accessing
> the parallel world. Part of the problem with accepting this higher plane
> comes in locating its origin. If these spirits are the "ancient teachers
of
> mankind", as he says, where did they come from? In this instance, as with
> every other, Hancock points to science. Prepare for the most astonishing
> claim yet. "The secret could be in our DNA," he says. "When Francis Crick,
> the discoverer of DNA, died, it was revealed that his first vision of the
> helix module occurred while he was on LSD. Although he was an atheist, he
> then published a book which subscribed to the theory of intelligent
design,
> that our universe was not simply the result of a series of chemical
> accidents.
> "In brief, what he said was that after the Big Bang, life did not evolve
> first on Earth. At the far side of the universe, another civilisation
> developed, a highly advanced civilisation who surpassed the stage we have
> currently reached. He asserted that in some way their world became
> threatened - global warming, or some such catastrophic event - and so they
> devised a way to pass on their existence. They genetically-modified their
> DNA and sent it out from their planet on bacteria, with the hope that it
> would collide with another planet. It did, and that's why we're here."
What
> Hancock goes onto explain is that the DNA was encoded with messages from
> that other civilisation.
> They programmed the molecules so that when we reached a certain level of
> intelligence, we would be able to access their information, and they could
> therefore "teach" us about ourselves, and how to progress.
> Of course, this talk of aliens sending off bacteria sounds like the
> ramblings of a deranged guest on a Jerry Springer show. But the
astonishing
> thing is that Hancock is intelligent and articulate, and his writing is as
> expert as you would expect from an esteemed international correspondent.
> Precisely because he is so credible, his idea will no doubt entice those
> looking for more conspiracy theories, and you need only look as far as Dan
> Brown to see the commercial success available.
> But to give him credit, Hancock at no point claims these discoveries for
> himself, he always points to archaeologists and scientists who have been
> fascinated by similar concepts. Indeed, all that he asks for is that
people
> more qualified than himself, investigate the questions he raises.
> "I know [this] sounds preposterous and pointless to anyone committed to
> objective science. The more closely I pursued these questions, however,
the
> more convinced I became that they point towards matters of extraordinary
> substance, and that science has done us an immense disfavour by its policy
> of ridiculing and discouraging all rational inquiry in this area."
> • Supernatural by Graham Hancock £20 published by Century. Graham Hancock
> will be appearing at Borders, Glasgow on 18 October at 6pm. Tickets
> available on 0141 222 7700.
>
>
>
> ---
> To unsubscribe from the Virus list go to
<http://www.lucifer.com/cgi-bin/virus-l>
---
To unsubscribe from the Virus list go to <http://www.lucifer.com/cgi-bin/virus-l>
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I will fight your gods for food,
Mo Enzyme
(consolidation of handles: Jake Sapiens; memelab; logicnazi; Loki; Every1Hz; and Shadow)
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