ERIE Conference San Francisco

Entheo-Visioning Conference Programhttp://erievision.orgROOM A10 – 10:30            Opening 10:30 – 10:45       Introduction 10:45 – 11:45       Dr. Alan Kilpatrick: The Keys to Heaven: The use of San Pedro Cactus in Peruvian Healing RitualsFor over three thousand years, the psychotropic plant San Pedro cactus has been the principal tool of divination used by curanderos or folk healers in Northern Peru to diagnose and to counteract the harmful effects of both natural and supernatural forms of disease. This entheogen, botanically classified as Trichocereus pachanoi,  (whose active ingredient is mescaline) is known locally by its Quechan name, "Huachuma" or "Achuma" and is usually administered as a tea to both healer and patient in the performance of a therapeutic ritual. Using images recorded during a four year field study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Kilpatrick will explore the marketing, preparation, and use of San Pedro cactus focusing on its employment in a particular shamanic ceremony known throughout Central and Latin America as the "limpia" or "cleansing."For the last twenty five years, Dr. Kilpatrick has been conducting research on indigenous medicine and magic. He received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and is the author of The Night has a Naked Soul: Witchcraft and Sorcery among the Western Cherokee (Syracuse University Press).Affiliations: Professor, American Indian Studies, San Diego State UniversityCore Faculty, Depth Psychology, Pacifica Graduate Institute 11:50 – 12:20       Brian Anderson, MSc, MD cand.: Classifying Ayahuasca: The Role of Subjective Experience in Psychiatric Research with Psychedelics.Recently, neuropsychiatric studies with the psychedelic brew ayahuasca have been initiated by a small group of researchers in Brazil. Their research alternatively portrays the modified state of consciousness induced by ayahuasca as psychopathological, psychotherapeutic or spiritual by, respectively, using ayahuasca to model psychosis, to treat depression, and to induce religious visions. Through interviews with the scientists doing this research--complemented by my previous ethnographic study of the ayahuasca religions--I develop a case study of how these researchers’ subjective experiences with ayahuasca, as well as the experiences of religious ayahuasca users, shape the researchers’ classifications and representations of the ayahuasca experience. The inclusion of such subjective experiences in considerations about the nature of the ayahuasca experience lends itself to establishing a complex understanding of the brew’s effects that is often at odds with conventional psychiatric understandings of psychedelic drugs, particularly the categorical delimitations between what is considered psychopathological, psychotherapeutic and spiritual.Brian holds a masters degree in medical sociology and is currently finishing medical school. His clinical interests are psychiatry and palliative care. Over the past half decade he has conducted anthropological research on various ritual and curative uses of ayahuasca.Affiliations : Stanford University, Núcleo de Estudos Interdisciplinares sobre Psicoativos 12:25 – 12:55       Clancy Cavnar, PsyD: The Effects of Participation in Ayahuasca Rituals on Gay’s and Lesbian’s Self-Perception.The practice of drinking the psychoactive drink ayahuasca has been shown in several studies to have positive long-term effects on mental states, and several studies have suggested it has a particularly strong positive effect on perceptions of identity. This research sought to discover if and in what way, these previous findings would be seen in gay people, who are often taught by their culture and religion that their lifestyles, values and sexual orientation are unacceptable. This qualitative study examined the interview responses of 17 gay and lesbian- identified participants who had used ayahuasca in a group in the past three years regarding their self-perceptions. The results indicated that all participants reported positive effects on their lives from ayahuasca rituals, including affirmation of their sexual orientation, and no participants reported negative effects on perception of identity. Findings will be reported and the implications of psychedelic research with gay and lesbian people will be discussed.Clancy Cavnar graduated from John F Kennedy University with a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology in 2011. She also has a master's degree in Counseling from San Francisco State University and a master of Fine Art from the San Francisco Art Institute in painting. She has been strongly influenced by her travels to South America and Asia. 12:55 – 2:05         LUNCH 2:15 – 2:45          Dr. Natalie Metz: Optimizing Entheogenic Experiences: Enhancing the Journey with Herbs, Nutrition & Conscious IntentionEntheogenic experiences can be optimized with intentional attention to parameters such as set and setting, quality and dosage of chosen medicine, working with an experienced guide, and supporting one's well-being with mindfulness practices, proper nutrition, supplements and herbs. Many natural remedies and self-care practices can help to prepare voyagers for and enhance the experience of the journey, the integration process, and the days to follow. Together we will review basic neurochemistry and physiology associated with entheogenic experiences, and the use of adaptogenic herbs and supplements such as ashwaganda, 5-HTP, SAM-E, B vitamins and more. This education is intended to inform and empower voyagers and guides about the health aspects of entheogen use and the role of natural medicine in creating a culture of benefit maximization and harm reduction.Dr. Natalie Metz is a student in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness program at CIIS, and in private practice at San Francisco Natural Medicine where she specializes in women's health, endocrinology, and the use of botanical medicines. Her research is guided by a love of plants and healing arts philosophy, as well as conscious exploration of the therapeutic potential of entheogenic experiences.Affiliations: M.A. Student, CIIS, Philosophy, Cosmology & Consciousness Program, 2011-Present.Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine, Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, 2006Visiting Teacher, Esalen InstituteMember, California Naturopathic Doctors Associationwww.drnataliemetz.com 2:50 – 3:50          Susana Bustos, PhD: Integration of Entheogenic                                           Experiences: Some ReflectionsWhat does integration mean within the context of shamanic oriented entheogenic contexts? How does this process unfold? What pitfalls and blockages may emerge? What basic guidelines can support the conscious practice of integration? Drawing from the wisdom of shamanic traditions, some of the insights from psychedelic psychotherapy, and my clinical experience on the integration of visionary experiences, this presentation aims to cover basic ground on this topic and to share some reflections for further discussion.Susana Bustos, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist from Chile, certified in Holotropic Breathwork and transpersonal psychology, Music & Arts Therapy, and Gestalt. Susana has worked on psychospiritual integration of experiences in non-ordinary states of consciousness for the past 10 years, in private practice as well as at Takiwasi, a center for the treatment of drug addiction in Peru. In addition, Susana conducts independent research on shamanic traditions, and teaches courses on entheogenic shamanism and research at CIIS.Affiliations: Faculty – East-West Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies3:50 – 4:05          BREAK 4:05 – 4:35          Larry Norris, MA: Ayahuasca Visions and InsightsScholars have debated the question of ontology for centuries when referring to the transcendent.  Does it really exist? Or is it a figment of our imagination?  For years, W.T. Stace (1961) has used the term noesis (true or real knowledge) to describe full-blown mystical experiences, yet mainstream science still denies the existence of the numinous.  As a phenomenon however, it is reported with consistency.  Even Carl Jung faced this metaphysical dilemma, which he investigated through the character Philemon and the emergence of the Red Book.  One way of exploring the ontological nature of the transpersonal is by examining a large sample size of these reported experiences in their raw state, before a self-analysis has contaminated the data. In this talk, I will discuss the contents of my research on ayahuasca visions with a focus on “virtual reality typology” (Shanon, 2002).  Supported by a database of 1,000 raw experiences, collected by Luis Eduardo Luna, PhD, and transcribed from Wasiwaska Research Center in Brazil, this study explores an aspect of psyche, which many respondents declare is real.  From dialogues with entities in strange cosmic worlds, to opinions on how multidimensionality works, this database of experience supports what non-western practitioners have known for millennia. Larry Norris is the founder of ERIE (Entheogenic Research, Integration, and Education) and currently a PhD student at the California Institute of Integral Studies in the East-West Psychology program.  He won the Kranzke scholarship for entheogenic studies at CIIS in 2011.  He is interested in entheogenic education and envisions a trans-disciplinary paradigm where students can learn from plant teachers and wise elders as core faculty. 4:40 -5:40            James Fadiman, PhD: A Return to the Center: Liberation                                     From a Medical Model.New ways of learning, knowing, and working with direct experience are emerging from the work of a new generation of non-naïve psychedelic researchers.  It is widely understood that psychedelics used in certain ways at certain dose levels in certain situations are entheogenic. However, almost all the current psychedelic and MDMA research is medical or quasi-medical. It is time to move beyond the sometimes inappropriate double-blind studies methodology to better document and utilize the effects of these substances. We need to establish and verify “best practices” for entheogenic exploration utilizing indigenous wisdom and western practicality as facets of this more inclusive paradigm.We will look at recent methods and findings about entheogenic experiences, rational problem solving, micro-doses and unexpectedly swift healings that do not fit into the current medical paradigm.James Fadiman PhD, author of The Psychedelic Explorer’s Guide: Safe, Therapeutic, and Sacred Journeys, has been involved with psychedelic research since the 60’s. He has taught in several universities, run profit and non-profit companies, written books, made films and consulted to high tech companies. He is currently finishing a novel set in 12^th century France.Affiliations: Sofia University (formerly The Institute for Transpersonal Psychology)5:45 – 6:00pm               Closing Room A ROOM B10:45 – 11:15am  Ryan “Indigo” Warman, MA: Holy Smoke! Sacramental Uses of Cannabis: Past, Present and FutureHistorical research has demonstrated that human beings appear to have had a relationship with the Cannabis plant since for at least the last 5,000 years.  My presentation will focus on several examples of the sacramental use of cannabis through this period.  Many people who believe cannabis is merely a recreational substance or alleged alternative medicine will be surprised to learn that many cultures have treated cannabis with a high degree of reverence and respect as a sacrament.  Such cultures have included sects of Ancient Greece and India, the Dogon tribe of Africa, and the Ancient Israelites, from whom modern Rastafarians, the most familiar sacramental users of cannabis, claim to be descended.  As nearly all tobacco plantation owners grew cannabis during the Colonial period, including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, it became intimately embedded within the African-American Slave Culture, thus paving the way for the blatantly racist propaganda used to outlaw cannabis in the 1930’s.  I will establish a trajectory that shows the background of modern attitudes towards cannabis, and conclude with the socio-political sources of modern cannabis prohibition, followed by a brief overview of current events related to re-legalizing and re-legitimizing cannabis.Ryan "Indigo" Warman has been smoking cannabis for 15 years, and promoting its legalization for more than ten. He holds an M.A. in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness, and is completing his doctoral coursework in East-West Psychology at CIIS. He currently works as a Medical Cannabis Wellness Consultant in San Jose, CA. 11:20 – 11:50       Justin Panneck, PhDc: Entheogens, Archetypes, and                                     Mythology – An Exploration of the Ancient and Modern                               Mythos Through Plant Based Visionary States.Visions and dreams reveal a voluminous array of archetypes, complexes, and themes, which emanate from time immemorial and perforate history through our world’s religions, myths, and folktales. Ayahuasca consumption represents an effective tool for the exploration of these themes, as well as the modern predicaments and psychological pathologies. In particular, ayahuasca can be used to explore the unconscious and ancient levels of the mind to unravel individual, cultural, and global complexes by mapping various themes or archetypes in their evolved modern form. These themes represent visually poetic manifestations of the inner workings of the mind—the relationship among the ancient, pre-modern, and modern layers of the brain, and provide solutions to individual and global issues as well as predictive models for future events. Modern culture and misuses of technological data flow embed genuine and healthy virtues in a cascading influx of over-stimulation, creating confusion and pathology. This presentation explores the use of ayahuasca, and other entheogens, as a tool for reconnecting the ancient and modern mind and creating a new modern mythos. This is the search for the Holy Grail—the eschaton that will guide us to healthy and fulfilling global and social paradigms in these modern times.Justin Panneck is an associate professor of psychology for Colorado Technical University and a doctoral candidate in health psychology at Walden University. He is conducting his research study on the use of ayahuasca as a tool for consciousness exploration and healing paradigms. He lives in Portland, OR 11:55 – 12:25       Megan Woolever, MA: 5 MeO-DMT – The God Molecule5-MeO-DMT is a rare and powerful entheogen that can transport its acolytes into an experience of non-dual/oneness consciousness in approximately 60 minutes or less. The result is often described as “meeting God.” It is currently being facilitated through a ceremonial magick reconstructionist temple to precipitate the awakening of divinity consciousness in initiates. It has also been applied to a psychotherapeutic context with hospice care patients, to assist patients with the death process.In this talk, consciousness researcher and Ph.D. student, Megan Woolever, will share the ritual use of this substance through her initiation into a ceremonial magick temple (Gnostic/Kabbalistic/Hermetic), which ritually uses 5meo DMT as its eucharist. Highlights will include the history of 5-MeO-DMT as a sacred medicine, the ritual context of the temple and its purpose, as well as her personal experiences with the medicine as teacher, healerand guide.Megan Woolever holds an M.A. from the Graduate Theological Union and is a Ph.D. student at California Institute of Integral studies in the East-West Psychology department. She is an initiated ceremonial magician, Kabbalist and Tantrika, and the focus of her dissertation research is on non-ordinary intelligent energies (spirits) encountered in altered states of consciousness and our co-creative alliance with them, specifically through sacred sexuality. 12:30 – 1:00         Dana Blu Cohen, MA: MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy for the Treatment of Post Traumatic Stress DisorderPost Traumatic Stress Disorder is a debilitating chronic illness effecting over five million people in the United States alone with 25-50% of victims not responding to current available treatments.  At the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies we are studying whether MDMA-assisted psychotherapy has the potential to heal the psychological and emotional damage caused by sexual assault, war, violent crime and other traumas. This talk will give a brief history MDMA from when it was first synthesized to our current research including an overview of the design of the clinical trials using MDMA as a therapeutic tool to assist psychotherapy, quotes from actual MDMA assisted psychotherapy sessions as well as the why and how MDMA is such a profound therapeutic tool.Blu is currently completing her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies.  Her clinical specialty is treating trauma and chronic posttraumatic stress disorder, harm reduction and substance abuse, expressive arts and psychospiritual issues.  Blu's dissertation research is on MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. As a research assistant at the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies, her passion lies in the clinical applications and therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicines.1:00 – 2:05          LUNCH 2:15 – 2:45                   Miss Julia Michas, MA: A Grey Area – The Rejection of the                          Psychedelic in Contemporary Art.My presentation will explore the issues of legitimizing psychedelic and spiritual art in academia by focusing on the work of the entheogenic painter Alex Grey. As an individual case study, Grey’s content and its subsequent response shed an intriguing light upon the prohibitive and limiting currents underlying contemporary art criticism. His work embodies a unique amalgamation of post-modern artistic taboos since he is both a psychedelic painter and spiritual artist. Both of these genres have been either diminished or entirely omitted from the prevailing art historical narrative despite their prevalence and influence throughout the twentieth century.While there are a number of factors that culminate in the dismissal of psychedelic and modern spiritual art, one of the primary reasons for their marginalization is that these art forms are personal, experientially based and do not promote an ideal of the artist’s isolation. An admission that one’s inspiration comes from a drug is read as disingenuous because the experience is not considered as truly coming from the self alone. For a similar reason, the pursuit of spirituality in contemporary art is viewed as anti-modern, because it relies on previous traditions and experiences that extend beyond the individual. As a result of these factors, contemporary critics and academics do not wish to hear the story of union but instead isolation, not integration but disparateness, and not other but self.Julia Michas is originally from New York City. She holds a Master's from the University of Amsterdam in Western Esotericism and Mysticism, and one from the University of Glasgow in the History of Early European Art and Connoisseurship.2:50 – 3:20 Daniel Jabbour: The Global Youth Justice Movement to                               end the "War on Drugs"Over the last decade, drug policy reform has seen an explosion of youth and student involvement. The international expansion of psychedelic research has been accompanied by a growing student movement calling for a discussion about drug policy, and a search for alternatives to prohibition. This talk will address some of the latest developments in the student movement calling for an end to the "War on Drugs." Daniel Jabbour is the founder of the Psychedelic Society of San Francisco. Prior to living in San Francisco, he helped organize a similar group in NYC. In college, Daniel founded a SSDP, or Students for Sensible Drug Policy chapter and has been active with SSDP ever since. He was on a Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) committee working to end NYC's marijuana arrest epidemic, and has spoken at several NORML/SAFER rallies in NYC. His previous political work also includes lobbying at the local and national level, and organizing student volunteers for a mayoral race in Hoboken, NJ. When he's not hacking on Drug Policy, he's a Lead Engineer at a San Francisco based startup, and mentors young hackers at Hack the Future. 3:25 – 3:55          Kaleb Smith, MA: Hyper Sensitive States and Indirect                                  Semantic Priming – Inferring the Mechanics of                                                 Psilocybin’s Novel Association Effects.The semantic network model, in its varied forms, serves as a framework by which all we know of the world can be represented as a web of interrelated semantic concepts, each shown as a node. These conceptual nodes are activated into associative strands during the formation of a thought, and this activation leads to the semantic priming of those nodes. Primed nodes are then recognized and accessed more readily in subsequent cognitive tasks. Latent inhibition (LI) is the perceptual filter which screens from conscious awareness the stimuli which previously has been experienced as irrelevant or inconsequential. A decrease, or lowering, of this LI capacity has been linked with schizophrenia and also with exceptionally high creative achievement scores amongst high-functioning individuals. Throughout the presentation, I’d like to discuss the effects of psilocybin using the semantic network and LI paradigms as models. Key to relating the LI model to the activity of psilocybin on the semantic network is the indirect priming research of Spitzer (1996, 1994). By interpreting semantic priming as a function of attention, the length of activational spread within the network can be seen as dependent on, not only the capacity of memory, but also the capacity of one's attention span.Kaleb Smith is a researcher and theorist interested in the non-ordinary ranges of conscious experience. Attaining a Masters degree in Transpersonal psychology, with hopes of coming to rationalize and understand a set of spiritual experiences which defined his development, Kaleb specialized in psychological research and education, with special focus on schizophrenia, shamanism, brainwave entrainment, as well as the perceptual anomalies of hypnagogic and psychedelic states of consciousness. His work at Stanford's Psychophysiology lab was concerned with the study of emotional regulation and introduced him to the strengths and weaknesses of an event-related potential (ERP) based research designs. 3:55-4:05             Break4:05 – 4:35          Adrian Auler, MA: The Value of Ibogaine for the                                          Treatment of Opiate Addiction – Theoretical                                                       Considerations Based on Personal and Reported                                            Experiences.Ibogaine is the sacred medicine of the Bwiti cult of the Fang peoples, living mainly in Gabon and Cameroon, West Equatorial Africa.  It is one of several plant alkaloids found in the root bark of the shrub Tabernathe iboga, which is macerated and taken as eboka in Bwiti rituals.  Ibogaine extracted from the bark can be taken in a capsule.  In 1962 Howard Lotsoff, an American addict, discovered that it abruptly interrupted his heroin addiction; but it was made illegal in the U.S. during the psychedelic scare of the early 1970s which brought psychedelic research in the U.S. to a near halt.  But reports of its efficacy in counteracting opiate addiction sparked a continuing interest in research, promoted in part by Lotsoff. This has gone through at least four major phases, conducted in countries of Central America and the Caribbean.  The underground use of ibogaine in the U.S. has also developed, due to its reputed success in stopping addiction.  Research results and anecdotal reports from treated addicts has resulted in, at present, 12 countries making ibogaine legal or unregulated for addiction treatment purposes.  The objective is to familiarize attendees with the reason ibogaine is a meaningful current topic in the West.I was a heroin addict for 22 years.  I undertook 14 treatment programs to escape my addiction but always relapsed; I was at death’s door in 1997.  At the last minute I got a chance to be a subject in the human clinical trials of ibogaine conducted by Dr. Deborah Mash on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts as part of her effort to get ibogaine included in the American pharmacopoeia.  Hers was the second of four major phases in the history of modern ibogaine research.  Because of that life-saving treatment, I am here today to report on my experience and those of others from the same program. I am currently a PhD student in the East-West Psychology program at CIIS.4:40– 5:10           John Cox, MA, MFTi: Catalyzing and Embodying the Wild                                     Within Through Entheogenic Experiences.This presentation will examine the role entheogens play in facilitating the human need to connect with our “wildness”.  Contacting our wildness supports us to approach life with more flow, inspiration and vitality.  Wildness will be defined as the fluid and unrestrained dimension of existence that we see in natural living systems.  We will explore how entheogens help unbind repression and conditioning by opening the psyche to its innate freedom and self-organizing intelligence.  Connecting with the unstructured and expansive regions of the psyche can have far-reaching positive implications for mental health.  In a growth-driven society built on dominating wild lands and their inhabitants many people have become dissociated from wildness in their lives. The result of this cutoff can lead to the disempowerment of depression, the hyperarousal of anxiety and the misdirected urge to transcend through addiction.  Entheogens can rapidly reconnect individuals to the wild, spontaneous and creative aspects of themselves and serve as effective catalysts for reintegrating qualities such self-empowerment, freedom and wholeness into our everyday experience.  This presentation will include a brief overview of repression, an exploration of how wildness is directly experienced, and information on how particular sacred medicines can help release unconscious defenses and catalyze the wild within.John is a psychotherapist in private practice in San Francisco, CA.  He has crafted a unique approach to psychotherapy that is founded in his passion for integrating shamanic perspectives and depth psychotherapy.   He is dedicated to providing a compassionate, safe, and effective approach to psychotherapy that supports others to arrive more fully in their embodied presence, wholeness, and inner freedom.Affiliations: Institute of Transpersonal Psychology John F. Kennedy University's Holistic Counseling Center Diamond Logos TeachingsMAPS memberJohn's website: www.integralfrontiers.com 5:15 – 5:45          Hank Obermayer, MA: Who Goes with You? The Role of                             Community in Integrating Entheogenic Experience.Some people say that integration is 80% of the work in the growth and transformative process with entheogens. Community plays a major part in this, whether through mirroring and support or as a place to leave from and then be received as someone new.During an entheogenic experience people temporarily leave their normal way of life, returning later somewhat different. Who sends them off? How does that sendoff help them step into the journey? Or does the community go with them? When someone returns from an experience, how do those around them receive them? How is the community received by the one having the entheogenic experience? And in the end, who really changes, the one taking the entheogen or their community?Community can be relevant before, during and after a journey. I'll talk about some of the varied roles community can be or is always part of integration, consciously or not.Hank's background includes experiential practices ranging from entheogenic shamanism and psychotherapy to theatrical role play regarding social change and deep ecology to developing ecovillages and intentional communities. He is also the founder of an ecovillage in Oakland called Mariposa Grove. Hank is currently a Ph.D. student in East-West Psychology.Affiliations: East-West Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies WORKSHOP 111:30-1pm           Jais Booth, MA and Bronton Cheja, PhD: Ritual,                                          Rhythm, RemedyThe spiritual crisis of today calls out for artists/therapists to consciously act as bridges to a new vision of human potential that can awaken, heal, inspire, uplift and aid humanity’s spiritual evolution.  This workshop is designed to approach creativity not through the intellectual appreciation of beauty of form, technique or concept, but to tap into the deeper psychological and spiritual underpinnings of creativity that traditionally have given rise to authentic art through the ages. Our work crosses the liminal threshold to explore deeper spiritual-psychological questions and meanings. We enter the realms where myth, spirit, wisdom and enchantment arise, to express from those deeper, more primal, more encompassing realities.  Through ritual, trance, music, movement and envisioning, participants are guided to move beyond blocks, embrace deeper realms of inspiration, courageously explore the rich and varied terrain of their psyche/soul, and express from their authentic self. As creative therapists we provide a space, an atmosphere, and a receptivity that allows participants to see into themselves more deeply and clearly to enhance or initiate their spiritual-psychological journey.  Our work catalyzes and assists this awakening.  Jais’s unique education started with her spiritual training in 1972 in the school of Actualism where she was ordained in 1989.  She received her Master’s degree in Transformative Art from John F. Kennedy University in 2006, and is currently President of Star Mountain School of Liminal Arts, a 501(c)3 based in Oakland.  A goal of her work is to foster creative expression emerging in all its authenticity from the very core of one’s self.Cheja has engaged in the art of poetry for 40 years, winning First Prize in the first Big Apple Poetry Contest NYC, and First Prize San Francisco Writers Conference 2011.  He and Jais began the Liminal Art Salon in 2010 to showcase artists whose conscious purpose is to cross the liminal threshold and explore creating from the invisible worlds of primary experiences. His interest is in exploring the relationship of entheogenic medicine and creativity.Affiliations: Liminalartsalon.com., Star Mountain School of Liminal Art.2:00 - 2:40 Michaelangelo: Entheogens as a Tuning Fork in the Road                             to NowHere: Void, Imagination and CultureI view culture as a congealed scab on the bleeding mystery; a creative mold that grows on the surface of life in a state of flourishing decay, striving to express a process of doom and bloom. Entheogens have put me in touch with the prime state of the blank slate in which culture's buffet is displayed to reach its perpetual expiration date. Yet many of us are still serving up plate-after-plate, plight-after-plight, without adding the spice of our own uniqueness to the palate. Lost in culture’s mazes of ideas shelved and opinions regurgitated, we’re losing touch with the sensational source that has generated it all. The original richness of our bejeweled nature is replaced by a series of sequined sequels, limited by its boasting achievements where it has the potential to boost towards boundlessness. What I would like to address, as a form of motivational storytelling, is the Imagination and the creative tools by which that endangered species acts as a bridge between the abyssmaleable mystery and our concretized culture. The emphasis lies on how this can potentially divine our unique, (trance)personal narratives so that new life may blossom from the cracks in a seemingly concrete culture, and new recipes may be recited from the precipice.  Using my paintings as illustrations, my word as bond, and my own experiences as the vehicle, I will offer a glimpse into what I’ve discovered using entheogens as a tuning fork in the road to NowHere.Michaelangelo is an astroverted entheogentleman from The Netherlands, whose psychedelicate sensitivity and intuition translates into his visual art, musical compositions & written, spoken and performed words. His paintings are like treasure maps, alive with raw information, conjured like color from the white noise of sensation, and often inhabited by entities hidden in plain sight. He is also the vocalist and (co-)founder of the tribal-orchestral bardic band TheaTerRa and the astral-orchestral rock band Morph Dwarf, and has created album art for both projects.Affiliations: www.snailconvention.comWORKSHOP 2Time TBA            Jungle Love aka Frankie Cepeda: Sound HealingFrankie " Jungle" Cepeda was born and raised on the Beautiful Island of Guam, native of Chamoru decent. At an early age he has been in the presence of many wonderful spiritual healers and teachers. Jungle has travelled to Australia and learned the way of the Yidaki (didgeridoo) and Dreamtime from his wonderful friends and teachers, the indigenous people of Australia, Aborigines.