It's been a rather interesting week for myself in the fact that these readings touched on a subject that I am not entirely familiar with. I've heard the speil before...I think all students have at a young age: "Stay away from drugs, they are evil!" As a result, we haven't had the time to learn about them. Hughes explains that drugs are not necessarily a byproduct of evil, but are rather a misunderstood substance.
As for Walsh, I take the stance that these 20 pages entailed a sense of spite within them. Essentially, it was a bit of a rant in that society has defamed Shamanism and the drugs associated with Altered States of Conciousness. Well, the Western world, anyway. It kind of puts things into perspective for the reader in that it's viewed as a political issue. I remember discussing a ways back, in another class, why alcohol is legal and marijuana is not, and it was brought up that those in power prefer alcohol to marijuana, and thusly, make the former legal and the latter not. If only others of this country...no, this hemisphere...have read this book to look at issues from another angle.
As for the Santa Claus article, I was amazed. I can't believe the number of similarities between a fungus and the jolly elf. Particularly interesting were the reindeer, portraying not only the various attributes of such a drug, but also the aspects of the psyche affected. Not only that, but other connections were made with Shamanic practices, such as transformation into a power animal, which struck me as an intriguing coincidence at first, yet as a stunning correlation later.
Perhaps other long-forgotten facts of other aspects of life might be revealed if we only take a closer look...
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