Ayahuasca: You don’t have to hike through the Amazon or pay $11,000

by Kurt Robinson on December 14, 2016 in Articles, Psychedelics • 0 Comments

I’ve noticed a few times that when I post articles and videos about ayahuasca in Facebook groups, occasionally I’ll get a rather unexpected and violent reaction, talking about how ayahuasca is an experience for the elite only, that the cost is prohibitive, and when will regular people be able to try this experience which purports to be so life-changing.

When I first saw these comments, I was a little confused, as I’ve taken ayahuasca two times (here in Mexico), and both times it cost somewhere in the realm of $60 USD – more than an LSD trip surely, and perhaps more than a night at the movies, but not exactly in the realm of “maybe if I take out a second mortgage…”

My perspective changed when my buddy Aaron pointed out how the media portrays ayahuasca – with all the poetic visions that go along with it – hiking through the jungle, travelling by canoe along the Amazon to reach a 70 year old shaman holding a palm tree shaker, speaking in an incomprehensible native American tongue, which he later uses to sing incantations, conjuring tigers by the campfire.

Or people read about it in articles like this one from Business Insider casually mentioning the figure of $11,000 without explaining that, well, you don’t have to pay that much.

In an ideal world…

Of course, in an ideal world, everyone would be able to take this mystic medicine with a shaman who has a 1,000 year lineage, after a month of eating a pure vegan diet, abstaining from X, Y and Z, meditating every day, with spiritual guidance on hand… But, if you can’t get the ideal conditions, sometimes it’s best to just fucking do it. And you can do it.

Solutions

I’m told that in the US, you can take a ceremony for around $400. In Europe, about €300 – still rather expensive for some. However, new groups are popping up all the time, and that’s sure to drive the price down.

In some countries, you can order the plants online to make the medicine for yourself or find a supplier who makes the brew ready-to-use.

As I said, both times I’ve taken it so far, it cost about $60 USD – 1100 MXN, and for that I slept on the floor of a shaman’s house on my sleeping bag, listening to musicians play hymns and ícaros. But for someone looking for a more all-inclusive experience, I know of at least one group in Mexico which will provide a 3 day retreat with food, accommodation, psychotherapy, and complementary medicines such as rapé, for around 6000 pesos or $310 USD.

Ayahuasca isn’t yet something that you can obtain with extreme ease in a lot of the world. But it is getting cheaper, and it is getting more accessible. When the media tells you that you have to travel to a Peruvian jungle – don’t believe the hype.

Disclaimer

This article is for entertainment purposes only; don’t take it as medical advice. If you are going to do ayahuasca, do your research, and especially be aware that psychotropic drugs can interfere with the medicine, introducing serious risks.

L-Dixon: Believer to Atheist to Wonderer – Episode 143

by Kurt Robinson on December 12, 2016 in Podcast • 0 Comments

The Story: Hardcore atheist goes on a spiritual quest

Many people in the world grow up with a religion, believing in a certain interpretation of God. When they get a little older and start asking questions, they might notice that those people who are supposed to be the authority on the subject don’t know quite as much as they pretended. This young truthseeker has to face the sad fact that he’s been tricked, that the world is a little different compared to what they told him in Sunday school.

Such a strong disappointment is hard to take, and may be a formative experience. Determined to avoid such feelings, he says “I’ll never be fooled again!” and, going a step further, he says “I’ll never believe in anything again!” He becomes a hardened atheist and skeptic, determined to make sure that everyone knows that magic and miracles are just for children’s stories.

The years pass by, and eventually he sees some strange things happen. He takes psychedelics, and within the course of a few hours, he sees his life from a completely different perspective. He begins to notice coincidences which make him start to question whether he’s been missing something. He’s no longer content to accept just anything, nor to reject everything. Instead, he keeps asking questions, thinking about “what if” and considering ideas “as if true”. He becomes a wonderer.

In this episode, Kurt interviews Leandrew Dixon, a man who has taken this path and enriched his life because of it. Join us both on the next paradigm-shattering episode of… The Paradise Paradox!

The Links:

Never Get Busted on Facebook

Never Get Busted website

L-Dixon on Anarchast with Jeff Berwick

L-Dixon on Soundcloud

L-Dixon on YouTube

The Cash:

If you enjoy our posts, please have a look at The Paradise Paradox’s page on Steemit where you can join, earn money, and upvote our posts to help support the show! You can also find a lot of additional content which is not posted on this site, with Kurt’s posts on Steemit and Aaron’s posts on Steemit.

We really appreciate all of your contributions! Every cent and satoshi we receive lets us know that we’re doing something worthwhile, that you are entertained by our program, and that you’re starting to question what you know more and more. Please be generous. Donate to The Paradise Paradox. Or buy some stuff on Amazon using this link. Or buy some of our great T-shirts here.

The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

Mental Illness Outsiders – The Andrarchy Show Episode 5

by Kurt Robinson on December 9, 2016 in Podcast • 0 Comments

The Story: Mental health, isolation and reason

When you see a homeless mentally ill person doing something unusual on the street, you might do as most people do, and ignore them. Have you ever thought about why they’re on a street corner barking? Maybe they weren’t always like that, but over the years, their desperate attempts to get anything resembling affection – attention, acknowledgement – lead them to stranger and stranger behaviours.

If you’ve ever had an experience with mental illness, you might have noticed that your thoughts can quickly carry you away, getting you to places full of anxiety, dread, hopelessness and even delusion. There are mental tools that we can use to help us gain control of our minds and our lives. Meditation is one of them, and so is logic. Being able to look at our thoughts and analyse them a little more objectively can help ground us.

In this episode, Andrew “Andrarchy” Levine interviews Kurt about mental illness among homeless people, and about the role of reason in stabilising your own mind.

The Eps:

The Andrarchy Show Episode 1

The Andrarchy Show Episode 2

The Andrarchy Show Episode 4

The Links:

Andrarchy’s post of the episode

Why being ostracized hurts more than bullying

The thing we fear more than death

Do we see reality as it is?

Andrarchy on Steemit

Homelessness, being ignored, acting crazy and the power of humanity

Mental illness and what to learn from your mind breaking

The Cash:

The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

Ayahuasca Reloaded: Ayahuasca Identity – Episode 142

by Aaron Battle on December 5, 2016 in Podcast • 0 Comments

The Story: Ayahuasca and who you are

Taking a shamanic medicine such as ayahuasca can be an intense experience. It can also be a painful experience, and a confusing experience. These psychedelics can show us parts of ourselves that we didn’t know existed, and ask questions that we didn’t know needed answering. Ayahuasca can be tough with us, especially when you attempt to evade or deny what She’s trying to show you.

In this episode, Kurt explains the second half of his second ayahuasca journey, explaining the lessons that it taught him about identity, asking himself who he wants to be, how he wants people to see him, and which 6 interlocking stories he wants to tell himself and others to establish his sense of self. What do you want people to write on your epitaph? How can you align your life towards that purpose?

Join us on another psychedelic, self-questioning epic in the next episode of… The Paradise Paradox!

The Eps:

Ayahuasca Reloaded: Alien Ayahuasca Trip

The Links:

DMT: The Spirit Molecule: A Doctor’s Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences
Documentary: Inner and outer worlds
Graham Hancock The War On Consciousness TEDx Talk

The Cash:

The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

Talking to horses, seeing aliens and demons: The Andrarchy Show Episode 4

by Kurt Robinson on November 25, 2016 in Podcast • 0 Comments

The Story: Andrarchy continues an interview with Kurt about mental illness

What would you do if one day you woke up and you realised you could do something which previously you thought was impossible, such as using telepathy, psychokinesis, changing reality or bending time with your thoughts? Would you be able to handle it? Would you think you were going crazy? Would you throw yourself into a world of confusion, unsure of what was real and what wasn’t?

This is the fourth episode of The Andrarchy Show, in which Andrew “Andrarchy” Levine interviews Kurt about a strange mental experience, talking to animals, talking to aliens on peyote, and being afraid of demonic attacks.

The Eps:

Mental Illness & Shamanic Experiences – Episode 1 of The Andrarchy Show

A Psychotic Break or Shamanic Awakening – Episode 2 of The Andrarchy Show

The Links:

Follow Andrew on Steemit

The Cash:

The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

Ayahuasca Reloaded: Alien Ayahuasca Trip – Episode 141

by Aaron Battle on November 21, 2016 in Podcast • 0 Comments

The Story: Kurt Revisits Mother Ayahuasca

In preparation for an ayahuasca trip, it’s best to prepare the body physically through a strict diet, for at least three days beforehand. However, one must also prepare oneself mentally by asking the question: what is the purpose of this journey? Some people will tell you that thinking deeply about your purpose isn’t necessary, because no matter what you come up with, Grandmother Ayahuasca is going to show you what you need to know, not what you want to know – which is true – but in my (Kurt’s) opinion, contemplating your purpose is vital, because you have to remember that the medicine is going to reveal a great truth to you, so you must be ready, if not to accept it, at least to face it, when it appears.

Before this, my second journey with ayahuasca, I tried to strip away some of my mental barriers – thinking that, I don’t really know what these visions are capable of showing me, so I have to ask myself the question: what knowledge would I ask for, if I knew I could receive the answer to any question?

At first I considered asking for some journeys to other realms, meeting strange beings, friendly buddhas on the astral plane, and extraterrestrials from distant star systems or adjacent realities. Yet, after some consideration, I decided to ask something more earthly, and perhaps more practical – to continue the work in healing my heart, to make my soul more complete.

In the end, I’m not entirely sure if I received the answers to either of these questions, or if I received answers that went far beyond my questions. Join us in the next universe-defying, soul-shivering adventure in … The Paradise Paradox!

The Eps:

Ayahuasca Diaries 1
Ayahuasca Diaries 2
Ayahuasca Diaries 3

The Links:

The Cash:

The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

The Road to Anarchapulco: Kenny Palurintano – Episode 140

by Kurt Robinson on November 18, 2016 in Podcast • 0 Comments

The Story: Kenny travels from festival to festival

Kenny Palurintano is an anarchist, a traveller, and an all-round nice guy. For 16 months, he has been on a journey to “help build a new neural network for the Earth, connecting humans, communities, and organizations from all across the planet.” He has visited many festivals and events, cooked for many strangers, and distributed literature to get the cogs moving in people’s brains, to inspire them to think about liberty in new ways. Now Kenny is on a new leg of his journey, in preparation for Anarchapulco 2017, and he’s asking for your help to continue his work.

In this episode, Aaron and Kurt discuss many topics with Kenny, such as his trip around North America, or Turtle Island as it’s known more traditionally, the philanthropism of Manoj Bhargava, Kenny’s experience at rainbow gatherings and other events full of free spirits, the philosophical differences between anarcho-capitalism and other types of anarchism, and whether it’s necessary to bridge the gap between them.

If you like what Kenny is doing, please feel free to reach out to him or help him here: The Road to Anarchapulco!

The Eps:

Using sustainable agriculture to make a cooperative earth: Kenny Palurintano – Episode 96

Anarchist adventurer: Kenny Palurintano – Episode 73

The Links:

The Road to Anarchapulco announcement and crowdfunding

Kenny’s Conscious Kitchen

Kenny’s Conscious Kitchen on Facebook

Billions in Change film about Manoj Bhargava

The Cash:

The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

Code with intent: Rick Hernández – Episode 139

by Kurt Robinson on November 15, 2016 in Podcast • 0 Comments

The Story: Entrepreneurship and coding with style

It’s been said that, within a few decades, humans will be divided into two categories: those who tell computers what to do, and those whom are told what to do by computers. Even today, learning to tell computers what to do can be a valuable skill, in monetary terms, and in terms of personal expression. For the nerds among us who have grown up using computers with enthusiasm and curiosity from a young age, learning to program can come quite naturally, but for the rest of us, it’s not so intuitive.

In this episode, Kurt interviews Rick Hernández about his business teaching people how to program, and giving them the tools they need to learn to talk to machines. We also discuss how Rick got started as an entrepreneur, machine learning, self-development and transforming from an introvert to an extrovert, and travelling around Mexico to get a different perspective on life and entrepreneurship.

Join us in the next exciting installment of The Paradise Paradox!

The Links:

Code with intent

The Cash:

The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

Education: Psychedelics Forever – Episode 138

by Aaron Battle on November 12, 2016 in Podcast • 0 Comments

The Story: Psychedelics Forever

Learning should be considered a super power! Traditional schooling illustrates that the ability to absorb knowledge, duplicate skills and regurgitate information, is a sliding scale. However, what if everyone has equally ability to learn, grow ideas and apply knowledge. We are aware that people learn in different ways and that mainstream topics may not be interesting to all.

Almost the complete first world has accepted a generic, one size fits all schooling system. Children and young adults are forced to forfeit their innocent years for behavioural pruning, locked-in then routinely fed approved programming. The brain training is extensive (13 years and growing) for a long future of receiving instruction. This destructive habit building process of uniform activities, has high jacked a ‘valued education’ of critical thinking and stolen the imagination of generations.

The students are distracted during critical years of mental and physical brain development, while their parents have 100% of their trust in federal government bodies and corporate interests. The socially accepted education system is believed to serve families, while economic constraints hold mum and dad at work, while the children are being baby sat.

Machines have no mind, machines are also rated on output. Our children are taught performance from day one – A, B, we ‘C’ that you are average, ‘D’ and why are you such an F?

Now lets explore some ideas, in short – everyone has a preferred learning style, visual, aural, read/write and kinaesthetic. You don’t need to be a professor to realise that combinations of styles accompanied with targeted studies that align with individual interests will improve learning effectiveness. Expanding the experience by including multiple senses can be very useful in effective learning.

Now for those jumping ahead, I am not setting up an argument pro the introduction of psychedelics to the classroom. However, being able to cross wire the human brain and experience short periods of synesthesia (seeing sounds, hearing colours and tasting language) could potential have some positive application. From the perspective of a sensible adult studying a vast topic (the life experience) and with no prescribed curriculum, perhaps psychedelics have something to offer? New research in the area of micro-dosing psychedelic substances (LSD) have published positive results and illustrated extremely interesting effects on the brain.

In this episode, we discuss a new found benefit to homeschooling and a few personal views on living to expand your mind. Kurt outlines the philosophy of trip life, an option to pursue a career as a psychedelic adventurer – ‘If you’re not coming down from a trip, you are preparing for another’. This came from the concept of avoiding the cage of a small-town mindset and expanding it to universes and possibly dimensions, If you dare.

Prepare yourself to slip and trip into The Paradise Paradox, where there is no such thing as a bad trip!

The Eps:

What drugs do you use to contact aliens?
Peyote Trip Overview: San Luis Potosí
Ayahuasca Diaries 1

The Links:

Brains potential – Effect of LSD on the brain
VARK – Study
The Serious Limitation of Rote Memorisation You Probably Don’t Know About
Dayna Martin – Radical unschooling: Peaceful parenting and natural learning

The Cash:

The Episode:

To download the audio, right click and press “save as”.

Remember to subscribe on iTunes or subscribe on Pocket Casts.

If you enjoyed the episode, don’t keep it a secret! Feel free to share it on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Reddit, or your office bathroom wall.

Discipline: Is harsh discipline necessary or beneficial in raising a child? Mr. J. & Link McElvenny Part 3 – Episode 137

by Kurt Robinson on November 8, 2016 in Podcast • 0 Comments

The Story: What are the appropriate ways to teach a child?

There is a debate which has continued in recent decades on a topic which most feel strongly about one way or another – the disciplining of children, especially physical discipline. Is it moral? Is it necessary? And is it harmful, or beneficial?

One side claims that to strike an innocent child who has harmed no one can never be moral, that violence must only be reserved for those rare occasions where it is necessary to prevent more violence. The other side might claim that being an efficient teacher requires using all tools that are available, and if violence is necessary for a lesson, we shouldn’t withhold what might be the only useful method for communication.

If a child is too young to be capable of reason, then surely he is too young to understand the reason for the blows. However, even if the child does not understand, is it possible that he will learn to control his actions through conditioning? And if so, is it desirable?

In this episode, Mr. J. and Link McElvenny continue a very interesting discussion. Kurt assumes the negative position, arguing against the use of violence and negative reinforcement on children. Mr. J. takes the position that harsh discipline should be used, though with care and sparingly, and Link acts as an impromptu arbitrator.

Join us on the next child-rearing, brain-expanding episode of … The Paradise Paradox!