My drug-induced haze

[Willie Lumplump]

In deference to the uplifting and insightful opinions of my critics, I have changed the title of this entry from "My Zen experience" to "My drug-induced haze."

About 25 years ago I was sitting with a couple of friends at an outdoor bar in a small African village. I had had maybe one glass of beer, no more. Suddenly, the most extraordinary feeling came over me. (Here I must interrupt myself to say that it was unclear who or what was having the experience. Telling the story in the first person sort of misses the point because "I" no longer existed, at least not in a familiar form. "I" just dissolved away leaving a consciousness that is extremely hard to describe. However, I'll go ahead and tell the story in the first person with the understanding that the "I" is just a grammatical convenience.)

I felt two emotions mixed together--infinite amusement and infinite compassion. Here were these people around me, going about their small lives seemingly totally unaware of the grandness of who (or should I say what?) they were. Their lack of awareness was hilarious, and I began laughing. The more I laughed, the funnier the joke seemed and the more I wanted to laugh. But my laughter contained no feeling of condescension or ridicule. In fact, just the opposite was true. I felt infinite compassion for all of them, and "all of them" quickly became the whole world, the people around me being representatives of all humanity. During this whole time, I was still seated at the table, or some tiny part of me was. But the greater part of me was located in no particular place at all. I seemed to fill up the universe, or maybe it would be truer to say that I was the universe, and when I laughed, the universe was laughing at itself. This wonderful experience continued for perhaps ten or 15 minutes, slowly fading away toward the end. At the end of that time I returned to normal consciousness with full memory of what had happened.

What we call "consciousness" is, like every other part of our being, a product of millions of years of natural selection. Our ancestors maximized their chances of survival by experiencing about the same kind of consciousness that we experience today (in fact, that's how they became our ancestors). But the way of consciousness that we know in our daily lives is only one among many possible ways. There must be many other ways that have nothing to do with adaptation. Rarely, the brain circuits that generate and maintain our sense of an integrated identity fail, and suddenly we find ourselves looking through a new window on the world. And what we see through that window has its own validity, its own truths, that enable us to expand our understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe.

[alanora]

Thank you for sharing your moment of bliss where only love and amusement existed. I find myself there on occasion, with no warning. I hold everything and enjoy it to the max....has happened at chinese restaurants before even ordering, while walking down a street in poughkeepsie ny(age 19). I desire to live in that spot, which I would not have known about otherwise, however grasping at it is counterproductive in my experience. I suggest the altered state is closer to reality/truth. Sounds like perhaps there is a soul in there after all........phew.

[mykil]

Willie; it sounds like they dosed your asssss!!! Really good LSD is hard to come by, may you return and bring back a sample? Probably not LSD, doesn’t mix well with the beer! Maybe at least find out what plant it was they put in your beer? LOL! Enlightenment comes in all forms; even a little dose for Willie to lighten his asss up was probably what they had on the agenda! Anyone ever slip you a Marijuana cookie their YET Willie me boy? LMAO AGAIN!!!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
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[Dark Shadows]

It's called Mescalito, an ally to help you gain insight on how to live your life. Unfortunately, you can only be guided by Him with the help of a plant that is becoming rare. Peyote buttons could possibly have been boiled to make a tea that was mixed with your beer.

https://us.f6.yahoofs.com/blog/45dafcd7z733c2f11/4/__hr_/2bfa.jpg?mgQoLcHBMSvFHUw5 Look Familiar?


About 25 years ago I was sitting with a couple of friends at an outdoor bar in a small African village. I had had maybe one glass of beer, no more. Suddenly, the most extraordinary feeling came over me. (Here I must interrupt myself to say that it was unclear who or what was having the experience. Telling the story in the first person sort of misses the point because "I" no longer existed, at least not in a familiar form. "I" just dissolved away leaving a consciousness that is extremely hard to describe. However, I'll go ahead and tell the story in the first person with the understanding that the "I" is just a grammatical convenience.)

I felt two emotions mixed together--infinite amusement and infinite compassion. Here were these people around me, going about their small lives seemingly totally unaware of the grandness of who (or should I say what?) they were. Their lack of awareness was hilarious, and I began laughing. The more I laughed, the funnier the joke seemed and the more I wanted to laugh. But my laughter contained no feeling of condescension or ridicule. In fact, just the opposite was true. I felt infinite compassion for all of them, and "all of them" quickly became the whole world, the people around me being representatives of all humanity. During this whole time, I was still seated at the table, or some tiny part of me was. But the greater part of me was located in no particular place at all. I seemed to fill up the universe, or maybe it would be truer to say that I was the universe, and when I laughed, the universe was laughing at itself. This wonderful experience continued for perhaps ten or 15 minutes, slowly fading away toward the end. At the end of that time I returned to normal consciousness with full memory of what had happened.

What we call "consciousness" is, like every other part of our being, a product of millions of years of natural selection. Our ancestors maximized their chances of survival by experiencing about the same kind of consciousness that we experience today (in fact, that's how they became our ancestors). But the way of consciousness that we know in our daily lives is only one among many possible ways. There must be many other ways that have nothing to do with adaptation. Rarely, the brain circuits that generate and maintain our sense of an integrated identity fail, and suddenly we find ourselves looking through a new window on the world. And what we see through that window has its own validity, its own truths, that enable us to expand our understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe.

[hales]

but he was in africa not mexico :meditate:


It's called Mescalito, an ally to help you gain insight on how to live your life. Unfortunately, you can only be guided by Him with the help of a plant that is becoming rare. Peyote buttons could possibly have been boiled to make a tea that was mixed with your beer.

https://us.f6.yahoofs.com/blog/45dafcd7z733c2f11/4/__hr_/2bfa.jpg?mgQoLcHBMSvFHUw5 Look Familiar?

[MsTerry]

Mykil, you always find a way to cut through the BS, LMAO
since this is coming from the Bugman, it most likely is not his experience, but something that he copied and pasted from a book. LOL


Willie; it sounds like they dosed your asssss!!! Really good LSD is hard to come by, may you return and bring back a sample? Probably not LSD, doesn’t mix well with the beer! Maybe at least find out what plant it was they put in your beer? LOL! Enlightenment comes in all forms; even a little dose for Willie to lighten his asss up was probably what they had on the agenda! Anyone ever slip you a Marijuana cookie their YET Willie me boy? LMAO AGAIN!!!<o:p></o:p>
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[mykil]

Oh no Mr. Willie lived there for a few years in his younger dayz for work! Speaking of which where in the hell has Mr. Willie gone? Must be visiting relatives! Or he went to visit his ex wife and they are going to rekindle their relationship and tie the knot once again!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>


Mykil, you always find a way to cut through the BS, LMAO
since this is coming from the Bugman, it most likely is not his experience, but something that he copied and pasted from a book. LOL

[Dark Shadows]

How do you think they get it to the Netherlands? I've even seen it at a nightclub in Iceland!


but he was in africa not mexico :meditate:

[Zeno Swijtink]

How do you think they get it to the Netherlands? I've even seen it at a nightclub in Iceland!

Now I get confused: Africa ----> the Netherlands???

Do I miss something, are you on Mescalito, or should we amend C.P. Snow's lecture about the Two Cultures, to say Three Cultures: 1) Alpha, 2) Beta, 3) American??

Maybe you should play around with Google Earth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_earth).

[Willie Lumplump]

It's called Mescalito, an ally to help you gain insight on how to live your life. Unfortunately, you can only be guided by Him with the help of a plant that is becoming rare. Peyote buttons could possibly have been boiled to make a tea that was mixed with your beer. Look Familiar?Well, I've made the mistake too many times of taking a joke seriously, but I'll bite anyway. If any Congolese villagers ever had peyote buttons, they never volunteered to share them with me. As you probably know, with a couple of minor exceptions the whole family to which the cacti belong is New World in distribution. It's safe to say that no peyote cactus has ever set foot in Central Africa, and it's just as safe to say that if it had, I would have found it.

[Willie Lumplump]

Mykil, you always find a way to cut through the BS, LMAOsince this is coming from the Bugman, it most likely is not his experience, but something that he copied and pasted from a book. LOLAs a matter of fact, my life has been more full of adventures and misadventures than most people could ever imagine. Most happened in Africa, and what didn't happen in Africa happened in Berkeley. Remind me to write a book.

[mykil]

~LMAO~! OK there Mr. Willie Ill bite! What did happen in Bezerkeley




As a matter of fact, my life has been more full of adventures and misadventures than most people could ever imagine. Most happened in Africa, and what didn't happen in Africa happened in Berkeley. Remind me to write a book.

[Willie Lumplump]

~LMAO~! OK there Mr. Willie Ill bite! What did happen in BezerkeleyA whole new world came into existence and then passed away. During it's brief time, it seemed that all was possible, and most of what seemed possible actually came into being. Is that specific enough?

[mykil]

ROTF
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I think you might need to elaborate a tad bit more their Mr. Willie! Just my opinion but I bet there are a few more that would like to hear this. Did you attend Berkeley? Did you actually have a belief system in place at this time and it wore it down over the years. Were you selling anything worth mentioning? Making anything? Where you seeing things that were really not there? LMAO!!! Oh wow what great fun!



A whole new world came into existence and then passed away. During it's brief time, it seemed that all was possible, and most of what seemed possible actually came into being. Is that specific enough?

[Dark Shadows]

You're not accounting for smuggling. And you just said "friends", you didn't say Congolese villagers. How do you think they got it to Iceland? Not really quite warm enough for cacti is it? I have seen it for sale in the Leidseplein and on someone's table at Thorvaldssen. It shows up in the most unlikely places. But now this is off-topic isn't it?


Well, I've made the mistake too many times of taking a joke seriously, but I'll bite anyway. If any Congolese villagers ever had peyote buttons, they never volunteered to share them with me. As you probably know, with a couple of minor exceptions the whole family to which the cacti belong is New World in distribution. It's safe to say that no peyote cactus has ever set foot in Central Africa, and it's just as safe to say that if it had, I would have found it.

[Dark Shadows]

At risk of being off-topic again...effects vary. But yeah they do last quite awhile, and he would have felt awfully sick before actually finding any clarity. But, just like acid, you can have flash-backs that can last ten to fifteen. If he was given a steady flow of tea-laced beer over a period of time, he may not even notice when he was actually started being affected because it can come on gradually. It's really not something to play with, I've never seen a Yoeme woman partake, too smart I guess.


Don't peyote effects last 10 hours or more? Willie's experience was 10 to 15 minutes before returning to everyday consciousness.

[MsTerry]

but Zeno it is not Holland he is talking about , but the Nether Lands!


Now I get confused: Africa ----> the Netherlands???

[MsTerry]

Mykil, don't make the man cry.
the fact that he called his story a Zen Experience should give you a hint that he has no clue of either Zen or an experience (trip). LOL
the venerable Zeno might call him ein Hochstapler


ROTF
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I think you might need to elaborate a tad bit more their Mr. Willie! Just my opinion but I bet there are a few more that would like to hear this. Did you attend Berkeley? Did you actually have a belief system in place at this time and it wore it down over the years. Were you selling anything worth mentioning? Making anything? Where you seeing things that were really not there? LMAO!!! Oh wow what great fun!

[mykil]

OK then; another righteous path is forming before my eyes that have come through in a clear clairvoyance vision. Willie I think you might have been possessed! The spirits of the elders were just checking you out a little and wanted to see what was inside this new comer from the far west, that had no beliefs at this time in his life and were trying to put you on an enlightenment path by trying to show you they were all around you. But the white man just couldn’t see past his own nose so in they went!! HA! Sorry there Willie boy I couldn’t helps me self!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
OK then; another thought that has come through in a clear clairvoyance vision was: Willie I think you might have been possessed! The spirits of the elders were just checking you out a little and wanted to see what was inside this new comer from the far west, that had no beliefs at this time in his life and were trying to put you on an enlightenment path by trying to show you they were all around you. But the white man just couldn’t see past his own nose so in they went!! HA! Sorry there Willie boy I couldn’t helps me self! Ms Terry along with Ms Christine and I might be able to perform some sort of exorcism if you wish dear ole boy, just to see what the hell come out I am sure!
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I am out of here for a few, see you all next week…


quote=MsTerry;45891]Mykil, don't make the man cry.
the fact that he called his story a Zen Experience should give you a hint that he has no clue of either Zen or an experience. LOL
the venerable Zeno might call him ein Hochstapler[/quote]

[Sara S]

I just yesterday went to Ukiah to the Grace Hudson Museum for an exhibition of Huichol Indian (central Mexico) work, all of which is inspired by peyote, which is a major part of their lives. Wish I had seen such colors when I took it, back in the day....


Well, I've made the mistake too many times of taking a joke seriously, but I'll bite anyway. If any Congolese villagers ever had peyote buttons, they never volunteered to share them with me. As you probably know, with a couple of minor exceptions the whole family to which the cacti belong is New World in distribution. It's safe to say that no peyote cactus has ever set foot in Central Africa, and it's just as safe to say that if it had, I would have found it.

[psaltz]

Actually, it's been my experience that the trip can last anywhere from 2-3 hours to 2-3 days, depending on how much you eat, how strong the Medicine is, when you ate last, and how receptive you are. My first time I ingested 2 buttons less than an hour after a heavy, greasy whiteman breakfast; I was very nauseated and puked up a lot of the breakfast, then tripped about 4 hours. My best time, I had been on a spring equinox fast for 3 days when a bunch of buttons showed up at the land I lived on; people made it into a strong tea (a lot of buttons in about a gallon of water) which steeped and steeped at the back of the woodstove for days. I drank about a quart of it the first day and maybe a pint each day for the next 3 days (more water was added daily), and was pretty zonked for about a week. Actually, I don't know if I ever came down from that one! ;=) I'm very nearsighted and at the time had no vision correction; after the second day I had clear 20/20 vision for a while . . . In between these two times, there were several more times, with varying degrees of quantity, quality and emptiness of stomach and mind . . . I've tripped for as little as 2 hours, and as long as a week.



At risk of being off-topic again...effects vary. But yeah they do last quite awhile, and he would have felt awfully sick before actually finding any clarity. But, just like acid, you can have flash-backs that can last ten to fifteen. If he was given a steady flow of tea-laced beer over a period of time, he may not even notice when he was actually started being affected because it can come on gradually. It's really not something to play with, I've never seen a Yoeme woman partake, too smart I guess.

Clancy wrote: Don't peyote effects last 10 hours or more? Willie's experience was 10 to 15 minutes before returning to everyday consciousness.[/QUOTE]

[Willie Lumplump]

Mykil, don't make the man cry.
the fact that he called his story a Zen Experience should give you a hint that he has no clue of either Zen or an experience (trip). LOL
the venerable Zeno might call him ein HochstaplerThanks much for you constructive comments, which I have incorporated into the new title for this thread.

[decterlove]

Well Willie,

I'm with you on this one. I think you described it as clearly as such an experience can be described and I take you at your word that it was not the effect of some hallucinogenic. I've personally had transcendent experiences under the influence of drugs (did peyote in Las Vegas, New Mexico and did see a very clear Mescalero like figure towards the end of the day at the top of a staircase...) and without them.

Once when I was sitting reading a spiritual book on a near empty beach in Venice, Ca. I was struck by a sense of Love so vast and deep that I had to restrain myself from standing up and walking over to some people about 50 yards away, and telling them that I loved them. No drugs, and obviously my rational mind ruled, and decided that it just wasn't a desirable thing to do. But I felt that overwhelming sense of connection between All Beings at that moment, and it was a remarkably unique experience.

Let's face it...we are all Connected in the most profound ways on the most materialistic level, just in the way our bodies are formed from various molecules (carbon of course being the most basic one...) that form the basis for all conscious and semi-conscious Life. Why should our Minds be completely successful in generating the consistent illusion that we are entirely separate entities from the Universe around us? The Illusion is granted useful in preserving us as separate competing Life Forms (egos in the case of Human Beings) but still it ultimately is an Illusion.

And though, you and I disagree on the mechanisms to explain such an occurrence I completely accept your description of it and appreciate your articulate sharing of it as well. Peace, out.


A whole new world came into existence and then passed away. During it's brief time, it seemed that all was possible, and most of what seemed possible actually came into being. Is that specific enough?

[Frederick M. Dolan]

As to what these experiences mean, that's a long conversation, but I shouldn't think there can be any doubt that they occur (in situations having nothing to do with drugs). Bucke's "Cosmic Consciousness" is still very much worth reading on this subject -- above all for Bucke's success in finding testimonia of the experience in literature as well as from ordinary people.


Well Willie,

I'm with you on this one. I think you described it as clearly as such an experience can be described and I take you at your word that it was not the effect of some hallucinogenic. I've personally had transcendent experiences under the influence of drugs (did peyote in Las Vegas, New Mexico and did see a very clear Mescalero like figure towards the end of the day at the top of a staircase...) and without them.

Once when I was sitting reading a spiritual book on a near empty beach in Venice, Ca. I was struck by a sense of Love so vast and deep that I had to restrain myself from standing up and walking over to some people about 50 yards away, and telling them that I loved them. No drugs, and obviously my rational mind ruled, and decided that it just wasn't a desirable thing to do. But I felt that overwhelming sense of connection between All Beings at that moment, and it was a remarkably unique experience.

Let's face it...we are all Connected in the most profound ways on the most materialistic level, just in the way our bodies are formed from various molecules (carbon of course being the most basic one...) that form the basis for all conscious and semi-conscious Life. Why should our Minds be completely successful in generating the consistent illusion that we are entirely separate entities from the Universe around us? The Illusion is granted useful in preserving us as separate competing Life Forms (egos in the case of Human Beings) but still it ultimately is an Illusion.

And though, you and I disagree on the mechanisms to explain such an occurrence I completely accept your description of it and appreciate your articulate sharing of it as well. Peace, out.

[Willie Lumplump]

Once when I was sitting reading a spiritual book on a near empty beach in Venice, Ca. I was struck by a sense of Love so vast and deep that I had to restrain myself from standing up and walking over to some people about 50 yards away, and telling them that I loved them.I think your experience had its own validity, and I wonder if you might feel echoes of it in your daily life.

[Willie Lumplump]

As to what these experiences mean, that's a long conversationI think maybe they have no deeper meaning. Maybe they mean what they are, and embracing them is the ultimate enlightenment.

[mykil]

Rattling the cage for the soul in motion!!!
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I think maybe an intervention is in order for the Willie! Wasn’t it the first lady Nancy that came up with the “JUST SAY NO” slogan? An epiphany to the max is probably what you where on! That huge brain was in over time and it was all you could do to keep from spilling your beer! You probably saw a cute village girl walk by and really had an out of body experience that was beyond what you could control.
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There really are a lot of reasons for the mind to go on a little safarie at times. Depending on the time of year the time of day and the time in your own mind. Allot of ghostly experiences we can write of form the ground around us. Meaning there are chemicals in the ground, naturally or not so natural, that give off sort of an Drug induced experience. A true ghost hunter will be inclined to check the soil around the areas that one is seeing these creatures to see if it is in the mind or a true sighting.
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Willie I am sure you really will have an out of body experience in your life time. But to say it was a true Zen experience is just plain beyond even your norm. To me this is like you telling me I cannot find water wit ha stick! That there really are no other worldly phenomena that cant be explained without some sort of true ghostly explanations. In my opinion I think you really need to step back and reevaluate you stance on this and look through yourself and maybe say there might have been something in the beer. A little tad bit of a chunk of mold that just happened to drop on by. AS they say a tad bit will do ya! Setting the pace or a twenty-minute ordeal that didn't even get the opportunity to put you on the right path. If it were a true Zen experience as you put it you would have been enlightened beyond this world and into the next, and really would be able to give thought and true conscience energy to the abilities of the spirit world beside you! This has not happened yet, and my only hope is that at some point it will. That you truly will have a experience that will change your views on this world and ones you cannot see.
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So to sum this little bit up, I don’t think you had a true Zen enlightenment. I don’t think you were enlightened as of yet in this lifetime. I don’t think a little brain fart is severe enough to separate your reality and enable you to find a new one. For you reality is what it is and can’t go any further. I enjoyed reading you drug induced haze but that has to be as far as it went or you would be more of a spiritual human being on this earth, and maybe even believe there may be some sort of life after death. Cause this is what a true Zen experience would have done for you. Or at least it would have enabled you to see that everything around us is alive and truly connected to us all!


I think maybe they have no deeper meaning. Maybe they mean what they are, and embracing them is the ultimate enlightenment.

[Frederick M. Dolan]

Bucke thought that these experiences were harbingers of a new stage in the evolution of consciousness and hoped that this stage would one day be normal for everyone, perhaps a bit like Terrence McKenna and his ilk more recently. Presumably many sorts of things might activate this state. Looking at Buddhism alone, think of the great many schools of thought there are regarding the path to enlightenment.



Rattling the cage for the soul in motion!!!

[Willie Lumplump]

You probably saw a cute village girl walk by and really had an out of body experience that was beyond what you could control.My encounters with cute native girls tended to have a distinct in-body flavor, or perhaps I should say a "body-in-body" flavor, and at those times it was not advantageous to go flying off into the astral plane. This corporeal plane had quite enough to offer.


To me this is like you telling me I cannot find water with a stick! If you recall, what I told you was that water wasn't the only thing that you couldn't find with a stick. (Ordinarily I hate to repeat my jokes, but that was such a good one that I simply couldn't resist:Not_a_crook:.)


I don’t think you were enlightened as of yet in this lifetime.It was--alas!--only a taste. And if it had been the most enlightening of Zen experiences, I wouldn't be able even to describe it to you because, according to the Zen masters, what is real can't be described, it can only be pointed at (that is the purpose of Zen koans).

[Willie Lumplump]

Bucke thought that these experiences were harbingers of a new stage in the evolution of consciousness and hoped that this stage would one day be normal for everyone But then how would I get my bills paid?

[mykil]

OK, I have one! I was a young lad; oh I’m still a young lad. Hmmm, well about twenty-five years ago, a few friends and I went fishing at a duck club one owns in Benicia. Four hundred acres of wetland in the south bay with the delta running through it. We were also drinking beer up a storm, fishing, telling great stories about fishing smoking and having a wonderful time. Oh and by the way if you ask, I really do have the best fish story in the whole wide world!
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We were drinking Coors cause this is the cheap brand everyone was drinking at this time in our lives. I reached over and grabbed what I thought was my beer and chugged about a third of what was no longer beer. IT was really to late to back out of this one. No one was at this club all summer long, so an estimate of how long this was sitting there fermenting was about three months on the low end. Talk about a shock! I didn’t lose my cookies like I should of, cause I was a strong young lad. We all laughed it off and soon or latter we all passed out in the bunkhouse.
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About four in the morning I started dreaming in vivid color. Not really a dream, but more of a serious way out paisley colors of swirls just spinning in my head. This was a nightmare from hell. IT seemed to have meaning with a serious beer hangover coming on, I woke in a dead sweat really scared, so scared form what I didn’t even know, that I woke my friends and told them it was time to go fishing again. They started yelling at me to shut up. This was early, around four AM. I persisted and woke them, as they were coming around they sensed that I was scared and woke. They didn’t even ask me why I woke them they just realized they were going to wake and that was that. Good friends are hard to find.
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I will never forget the experience that I had out of that little bottle of really old fermenting in the sun for months on end beer that had to be full of more bacteria you can really get a hold of all wrapped up in ones own mind. In this mind it was more potent that I have ever tripped on anything man made! A Zen experience? I think not. Enlightenment? That goes without saying. Something I will ever do again, or even want to? I think not!
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This was stronger than and hallucinogenic I have even taken, without the side affects. When I woke it was over, I was scared, but no drug induced hangover, the beer had that one covered. I am not sure how long it lasted since I had put away way more than a twelve pack. But when I was dreaming in those vivid colors and trying to wake this lasted about fifteen minutes or so. When I woke I was not only dreaming in color, but was also clinging to my pillow like it was my life force or my lifeline with such a grip I think I ruined the poor little pillow. Wild!!! :Yinyangv:

[Willie Lumplump]

About four in the morning I started dreaming in vivid color. Not really a dream, but more of a serious way out paisley colors of swirls just spinning in my head. This was a nightmare from hell. IT seemed to have meaning with a serious beer hangover coming on, I woke in a dead sweat really scared, so scared form what I didn’t even know, that I woke my friends and told them it was time to go fishing again. They started yelling at me to shut up. This was early, around four AM. I persisted and woke them, as they were coming around they sensed that I was scared and woke. They didn’t even ask me why I woke them they just realized they were going to wake and that was that. Good friends are hard to find. I will never forget the experience that I had out of that little bottle of really old fermenting in the sun for months on end beer that had to be full of more bacteria you can really get a hold of all wrapped up in ones own mind. In this mind it was more potent that I have ever tripped on anything man made! A Zen experience? I think not. Enlightenment? That goes without saying. Something I will ever do again, or even want to? I think not!
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This was stronger than and hallucinogenic I have even taken, without he side affects. When I woke it was over, I was scared, but no drug induced hangover, the beer had that one covered. I am not sure how long it lasted since I had put away way more than a twelve pack. But when I was dreaming in those vivid colors and trying to wake this lasted about fifteen minutes or so. When I woke I was not only dreaming in color, but was also clinging to my pillow like it was my life force or my lifeline with such a grip I think I ruined the poor little pillow. Wild!!! :Yinyangv:Now THAT is one of the most fascinating stories I have ever heard! Usually such effects are caused by the ingestion of alkyloids, but I wouldn't expect bacterial metabolism to produce alkyloids, at least not in sufficient quantities to produce the effects you describe. It's too bad you didn't save a sample of that beer. Anyway, I'll try to Google some sort of answer. Fascinating!

No, wait! I can explain it. It's not bacteria that produce such effects, it's fungi. Ergot is a smut fungus that attacks grain crops, and it's well known as a source of hallucinogens. You must have ingested some of these smut fungi. The organisms responsible for fermentation are, of course, not bacteria but yeasts, a type of fungus. But they are not known to produce hallucinogens.

[mykil]

Hmmm; wait there’s a little more something I forgot to mention err was not going to mention, there was about three or four cigarettes butts In the bottom. Does this make a difference in the formula? Oh god I didn’t want to say that but truth be told~!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>


Now THAT is one of the most fascinating stories I have ever heard! Usually such effects are caused by the ingestion of alkyloids, but I wouldn't expect bacterial metabolism to produce alkyloids, at least not in sufficient quantities to produce the effects you describe. It's too bad you didn't save a sample of that beer. Anyway, I'll try to Google some sort of answer. Fascinating!

No, wait! I can explain it. It's not bacteria that produce such effects, it's fungi. Ergot is a smut fungus that attacks grain crops, and it's well known as a source of hallucinogens. You must have ingested some of these smut fungi. The organisms responsible for fermentation are, of course, not bacteria but yeasts, a type of fungus. But they are not known to produce hallucinogens.

[Willie Lumplump]

Hmmm; wait there’s a little more something I forgot to mention err was not going to mention, there was about three or four cigarettes butts In the bottom. Does this make a difference in the formula? Oh god I didn’t want to say that but truth be told~!<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>The cigarette butts would help explain the presence of fungi. I wouldn't expect a residue of beer alone to be a good substrate for fungal growth, but if some organic substance like tobacco leaves were added to the mix, it would be almost sure to support the growth of some sort of fungi. I believe that the smut fungi that I mentioned ealier, including the LSD-producing ergot fungi, are all parasites of living plants, so I wouldn't expect them to live on beer and dead tobacco. But there are a great many kinds of saprophytic fungi that live on dead matter. I doubt that much is known about their ability to produce hallucinogens; you apparently stumbled across a species that is hallucinogenic.

[Frederick M. Dolan]

Bill-paying will occur at one of the lower stages of consciousness!


But then how would I get my bills paid?

[Lorrie]

I wonder if we could re-create it, bottle it, and give it a fresh minty taste?Big Smile
HA!:biglaugh: HA!:biglaugh: HA!:biglaugh: HA~! :biglaugh:




The cigarette butts would help explain the presence of fungi. I wouldn't expect a residue of beer alone to be a good substrate for fungal growth, but if some organic substance like tobacco leaves were added to the mix, it would be almost sure to support the growth of some sort of fungi. I believe that the smut fungi that I mentioned ealier, including the LSD-producing ergot fungi, are all parasites of living plants, so I wouldn't expect them to live on beer and dead tobacco. But there are a great many kinds of saprophytic fungi that live on dead matter. I doubt that much is known about their ability to produce hallucinogens; you apparently stumbled across a species that is hallucinogenic.

[Lorrie]

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace.

Dr Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished."

So I looked around to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription with the last of the scotch, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now. Please pass this on to those who you think might be in need of inner peace.

[Dynamique]

Willie[Lump]2, You're right, the ergot fungus infects the growing plant and then stays in the grain when the plant is harvested and stored. I had thought it possible that the fungus would grow on harvested grain or grain-derived liquids (ie beer), but apparently it seems to need to set up shop in the living plant. Good memory!

Ingesting the ergot-tainted grain causes "ergotism" aka St. Anthony's Fire, because it contains a chemical precursor of LSD. It's unlikely that this molecule would make it through the brewing process or that the brewer would use tainted grains in the first place. It still could be a wild yeast that blew into the brewski and caused the purple haze...

Wikipedia has an article on ergot and it's amazingly extensive cultural and historical implications at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergot


I believe that the smut fungi that I mentioned ealier, including the LSD-producing ergot fungi, are all parasites of living plants, so I wouldn't expect them to live on beer and dead tobacco.

[Sara S]

Love it, Lorrie! You are funny!!




I am passing this on to you because it definitely works and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace.

Dr Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished."

So I looked around to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription with the last of the scotch, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now. Please pass this on to those who you think might be in need of inner peace.

[Willie Lumplump]

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace.

Dr Phil proclaimed, "The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished."

So I looked around to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a bottle of Kahlua, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription with the last of the scotch, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now. Please pass this on to those who you think might be in need of inner peace.A new philosopher is born. All hail!

[Willie Lumplump]

It still could be a wild yeast that blew into the brewski and caused the purple haze...Probably not a yeast, but the world is full of other fungi with unknown potential as sources of hallucinogens.
Of course mushrooms are fungi too, and some of them produce hallucinogens. I understand that this is a favorite passtime in Belgium, dropping magic mushrooms.