The War on Consciousness Debate

There has been a lot of debate recently about the decision by TED to remove the the TEDx talks given by Graham Hancock and Rupert Sheldrake from the TEDx YouTube channel.  The original TED Scientific Board's Statements said "Rupert Sheldrake bases his argument on several major factual errors, which undermine the arguments of talk." and "Grahm Hancock's talk, again, shares a compelling and unorthodox worldview, but one that strays well beyond the realm of reasonable science." 

Both Rupert Sheldrake and Graham Hancock responded to the statement's issued by the TED Scientific Board, and Graham Hancock very publicly took to social media to assert censorship.

In response to the outcry of censorship, TED re-posted the talks on it's blog with the "warning" that the talks are both provocative and have factual problems with their arguments.

View the original statement from TED's Scientific Board, the responses by Graham Hancock and Rupert Sheldrake on TED's blog Open for discussion: Graham Hancock and Rupert Sheldrake from TEDxWhitechapel

The TED's revised statement regarding the talks can be also be found on TED'sGraham Hancock and Rupert Sheldrake, a fresh take blog.

I'm not going to try to argue who was right and who was wrong here, there is a place for that in the discussion forum on the videos. I applaud TED for re-posting the videos for people to see,  it's important that we look at other peoples viewpoints, take them all in, think about them, and form our own opinions. 

Did TED exercise censorship when they removed the talks, do the talks delve into the realm of pseudo-science, is this all just a great big misunderstanding that got blow way out of proportion? Watch the talks and decide for yourself, let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Awake in a Sleeping World

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I look around me and see so many people that are asleep. They are content to live their lives believing what they are told and sleepwalking through life. We all awaken in our own time, and we cannot hold it against those that are still asleep.  I look at my experiences with Ayahuasca, and I realize, it's not a quick fix, there is so much work that needs to be done after returning home. It's kind of like antibiotics, if you stop taking them too soon, the bacteria just comes back stronger. 

For those of us who have had psychedelic experiences, if you have ever tried to explain a journey to someone who has not experienced psychedelics, you find that you are unable to make them understand your experience. It's like trying to explain the color yellow to a blind person. Many of us become frustrated when trying to explain the idea of using something that is illegal as medicine, as so many people have very defined views of psychedelics as being bad because they are illegal. Because these medicines are illegal in our society there is a fine line that many of us walk. 

We must maintain a balance between our journeying and our daily lives, particularly if we work in conservative while-collar jobs. I find that when working around people on a daily basis that are, for the most part, still asleep, that I must temper my experiences and be aware of who I am talking to and how in depth I go about my experiences. When discussing my Ayahuasca journeys, I find that I have slightly more lee way, as there are so many people that are still unaware of what Ayahuasca is as opposed to psilocybin or LSD. 

Often times after a psychedelic experience, people continue to feel the connection that we all have to each other and the world around us, but something we have to realize is that although we have changed, the world around hasn't. There will still be people in the world who are  selfish, arrogant, and angry. We must have compassion for those that continue to live in the world surround by their drama, their pain, their anger, or those who are simply still asleep.

Healing With Ayahuasca

In 2004 National Geographic published the article Peru: To Hell and Back, quite possibly one of the most well known articles ever published about Ayahuasca. I think this article is as important today as it was in 2004. The article shows a unique insight into the spiritual healing that can take place with Ayahuasca. 

The belief and culture of the West impresses upon us that we must cure the physical symptoms, but often times there is an underlying spiritual or emotional issues that also need to be dealt with. Ayahuasca allows us to face those issues head on, but like any other kind of healing, it is not a quick fix. There is still work that needs to be done, recognizing the issues is just the first step

The key is to take the lessons that you learn during the experience and implement them into you daily life. It's easy to say "I want to be patient" or "I want to be less of a control freak", the hard part is being aware of the opportunities that you have in your life to be patient or let go of that control.  

Being aware of what triggers behavior is a key part to healing. When I find myself getting impatient or trying to control a situation that is clearly out of my control, I step back, take a deep breath, and recognize the moment for what it is, an opportunity. It takes time and practice to make a behavior an integral part of yourself.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't have all of the answers yet, but I have seen the positive changes in my life since my return, for me, that is all I need.