[Guest]

I can give information,

Or I could be used to enhance you’re imagination.

I once was a new sensation.

But I underwent a transformation,

Though I still hold the same occupation

I’m not part of the current generation.

Can you give an explanation,

to what I am?

[Izzy]

My only complaints with that process is that it doesn't go in depth with the actual chemistry, but meh.

Erowid + Wikipedia = Omniscience.

[Guest]

My only complaints with that process is that it doesn't go in depth with the actual chemistry, but meh.

Erowid + Wikipedia = Omniscience.

Yeah but like you said, the chemistry of any drug and extraction process can be found on Wiki, Erowid or in you're local library

Add http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/

i.e. the Corroboree to that equation and you have Perfect Omniscience

Edited July 20, 2010 by Somnolency

[Izzy]

Haha, yeah. I think I actually read it on Erowid at one point, but I was too sleepy to retain it. Add Shroomery and we're good.

...Your topic kind of went off on a tangent here. Go make me another riddle so I can pwn it. (This should be the BD version of "Mae me a sammich!")

Edited July 20, 2010 by Izzy

[Guest]

Haha, yeah. I think I actually read it on Erowid at one point, but I was too sleepy to retain it. Add Shroomery and we're good.

...Your topic kind of went off on a tangent here. Go make me another riddle so I can pwn it. (This should be the BD version of "Mae me a sammich!")

Mmm did turn into a bit of a drug ramble hahaha,

fine I will, but why don't u make one so I can own it!?

[unreality]

Ah yes, well clearly the most common cough syrup used is Robitussin, though here in Australia there are many, many substitutes, the government hasn't quite caught onto how easy it is to simply robo trip. Very little scheduling or review has been undertaken with regards to it

As a trade off however they unfortunately decided to make salvia divinorum a class 1 drug...

in my experience salvia's not reliable, at least the cheaper grams you buy at head shops. You have to get the real deal. But amazingly it's quite legal here. It's progress I guess, toward a better more free future. California is looking into legalization marijuana (21+) for the immense state tax and medical benefits, which will be a really good jumpstart for the rest of the nation to get off their @sses and get around to it haha

Yeah, Erowid is wonderful

I like erowid because of it's impartialness. The good and the bad all together in one. With research, links, studies, articles, trip reports, etc, et al.

[Izzy]

Mmm did turn into a bit of a drug ramble hahaha,

fine I will, but why don't u make one so I can own it!?

So tempting.. I will. I'll just.. have to think..

[Guest]

The way in which we view a locale is shaped by the influences our experiences impress upon us. We see ourselves mirrored by the landscape and our experiences within it. This link between us and our actions that ultimately dictates the way we view our lives. It is this connection which is the reason we each experience something private despite sharing a landscape with others. The proverb “home is where the heart is” is a quintessence of this notion. Our home is the place for which we have the deepest affection. This is not because our home is necessarily a unique place, but rather because our experiences and achievements within its boundaries have been and continue to be special to us. We have a tendency to leave a metaphorical segment of ourselves with our home, our “heart.” By doing this we draw a direct connection between our own experiences and our “home” landscape. Thereby the unique nature of our home directly represents and forms our individual condition - and who we are dictates our experiences. This is an innate human connection, our environments often leave a ‘part’ of themselves imprinted within our psyche. This imprint is unique, and thus our experience of any place is exclusive to each of us. Each of us as individuals experiences something unique through our actions and the actions of others. This variability between our experiences of an action, or even of a location, can often produce perspectives and opinions that oppose one another. In Alistair Macleod’s short story The Return this idea is explored through the protagonist’s family and their experiences in the landscape. The father of the narrator talks “excitedly” on their journey to his childhood environment Cape Breton. His actions on the train in “squeezing [his sons] hand so hard” it hurts him, reflect his love and reverence for his home town. His reverence for Cape Breton comes from his experiences as a adolescent there. Indeed, he is said to be envious of his sons “dirt” as he reminisces about his youth and acting the same as his son. Contrastingly the narrators mother sees nothing of herself in Cape Breton. Her experiences in Cape Breton are completely dissimilar to the father’s because of her own separate upbringing in Montreal. Because of her past exploits she rejects the reality of Cape Breton and instead envisages being home again, through her imaginative landscape. Her rejection is manifested as an open aversion for Cape Breton. Indeed, the mother goes so far as to inadvertently refer to the children of the town as “little savages.” From this it can be surmised that the disparity between the mother’s and the father’s experiences as children in their individual homes has led to their wholly differing perspectives on Cape Breton. Implicit in which is the notion that our perceptions of a place dictate our own individual conditions. And that because of the differing nature of our each of our characters we experience something unique in the various settings of our lives. Throughout our lives we each inhabit different roles within the myriad of landscapes and milieus we occupy. These roles can only be inhabited by specific individuals, because each of us has a differing set of characteristics, which in turn, caters us for specific roles. In Ray Lawrence’s film, Jindabyne, this notion is conveyed through the disparity between the characters of the male protagonist, Stewart, and his wife Claire, and their actions in the various locales of their life. Stewart’s home and workplace are arenas in which he is comfortable and therefore confident. Memorabilia of his past achievements are displayed in both, such as pictures of him as a successful rally driver. Thereby, his presence is staunchly expressed in both landscapes. At his business, as a mechanic, his authority is reaffirmed by the ease at which he may simply close down shop by putting up a sign saying “Gone Fishing.” At home, his influence is clearly represented by Claire’s subservience, handing him beer and food at his whim. Claire by contrast is seen to experience Stewart’s work with cautiousness; she rarely appears in it’s boundaries. When she does appear within Stewart’s working environment her unease is visually reaffirmed by her dark clothes contrasted to the stark white of the walls. The hidden river is another landscape Stewart is effortlessly able to immerse himself in and Claire is not. Stewart is shown happily holding up the fish he catches, this illustrates Stewart’s role as a conquerer of the landscape; triumphing over the river. Claire is not even allowed to experience the hidden river, Stewart actually states “no, no, no, no, no. No women aloud.” Synonymous with the role Stewart and Claire have within these settings is their separate experiences. Lawrence deftly expresses this notion by performing a role reversal between Stewart and Claire at Susan’s funeral. The unfamiliar landscape, of indigenous cultural and social significance, in which the smoking ceremony is held evokes considerable discomfort in Stewart. This is reflected by Stewart’s submissive demeanor throughout the scene. His obvious chagrin forces him to contemplate his actions with regard to his treatment of Susan’s corpse, and he eventually realizes the inappropriateness of his behaviour. Claire by contrast, while still out of place in the indigenous landscape, experiences the smoking ceremony as a form of closure. She occupies a position of composure which is now juxtaposed to Stewart’s timidity; manifested by his plea’s for her to “come home.” Inherent in Stewart’s self-realization and external change is the notion that, depending on the situations we find ourselves in, how we experience a landscape becomes utterly dependent on our position within that setting. If we are in a role of authority we are likely to be confident and comfortable with ourselves. If we inhabit a mantle of lower status however, the opposite can easily occur. Every landscape is experienced in a separate manner between individuals because we each inhabit separate positions within a location. Our experiences are not necessarily only subject to our physical world. In some cases our experiences stem from our imaginative landscapes, our minds. In these instances our entire perception of a place an be altered by the views and thoughts we envisage. These inspired landscapes cannot be experienced by others in the same manner because they spawn from our own originality. In Alistair Macleod’s short story, The Boat, the father of the narrator is exemplar of this notion. Who he seems to be and how he physically appears is shaped by his life on the ocean, he “tasted of salt” and “smelt of salt.” But it is the idea’s he experiences through reading his books that acts as the infrastructure upon which his inner experiences are built. His exploits in his books allow him to create his own landscape. A place where he doesn’t feel the pains of his physical life, with his “irritated skin” being “burned... over and over.” His books allow the father to escape the drudgery of his life on the ocean where he had “never been intended [to be] a fisherman.” It is no surprise then that his experiences in the physical world differ to that of others, because he is directly influenced by the disparity between the tactile and his own internal landscape, among the ideas of his books. The mother of the narrator cannot experience or understand the father’s life within the books because her perception of his world is one filled with enmity, she see’s no use in books or the imaginative landscape; “whats the use in books.” The mother’s differing outlook on the father’s creative world stems from her own experiences as a child, which in turn the father can never comprehend. Our experiences of the world around us are shaped not only by our tactile observations, but also our cognitive explorations. Our experiences in an environment generate a specific influence on each of us because no one landscape can be understood or explored the same way, no person sees the world from the same viewpoint as another. The individualized experiences we each have are personal because of the way in which we perceive them. Conversely, it is this perceptions of a landscape that governs our individuality, and, thereby, our unique experiences within it. Sometimes, in life, such an anomalous situation can arise that our perceptions of a place are changed forever, and therefore, all other experiences from that point forward are influenced by our new frame of mind. Neil Armstrong once said “my thumb blotted out the planet earth.” Through this experience it can be understood that Armstrong’s perception of earth and landscapes was changed permanently. It can also be surmised that his experience of the moon is entirely different to ours. The moon landing changed Armstrong’s outlook not only on the physical world but it also altered his perception on his own internal landscape. Indeed, he stated “I didn’t feel like a giant, I felt very, very small.” Through his personal experience, in seeing earth in an unprecedented manner, Armstrong now views himself as “small.” This sort of situation is applicable to us all. An experience can be so profound that it can pervade our perspective to a point where we view our own conditions differently. That is to say an experience can not only change our outlook on the world around us, but also the world inside us. In changing this inner sanctum of our minds our experiences will, for all time, be innately influenced by this exceptional occurrence. Synonymous with this idea is that through a landscape an experience can be so personal and profound that it changes who we are in perpetuity. And that no other person on earth is capable of experiencing that landscape in the same way, as its affect on you is unique to who you are and who you perceive yourself to be. A landscape in its self is personal to us because of our unique experiences within it. These experiences are unique to us because they originate from such an exclusive place, the past. We can never revisit and change it, it is permanent. Even if we chose to forget this place it will always exist in our minds and be the crux of who we are. Vincent Van Gogh, a Master Dutch Post-Impressionist Painter, once said “happiness lies... in a painting.” The happiness stems from our realization that the locale in a painting was fleeting, impermanent. But that despite this the artist’s perspective was altered by the scene, as he or she attempted to capture it. The human experience is unique to the beholder because a memory, which defines an experience, is shaped and changed over time to suit who we are and who we become. Therefore, it is our minds drive for individuality that defines why a landscape is experienced differently by different people.