
DMT, the NeXT and the Soul of the Human/Machine - imfreemind
http://stone.com/dmt/DMT-NeXT_1.html
======
api
I can't wait for the social media IPO coke binge hangover to wear off and the
Valley to rediscover its roots as a hotbed of real innovation, real
intellectual daring, and the courage to dream big and then do it.

Bigger and better things than, you know, Facebook games and click through ads.

~~~
lukifer
"The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click
ads. That sucks." \- Jeff Hammerbacher

~~~
antimagic
I prefer to think of this as the on-ramp. Learn your craft by selling
eyeballs, or some other relatively trivial technology, make FU money, and then
go and do something real. The archetype of this is of course Elon Musk.

I know that what drives me is the hope that one day I will have amassed enough
money that I can stop going to work for somebody else, and instead choose to
work on what interests me.

~~~
llamataboot
But how much money is that? I mean the median income in the US is less than
$30k. Live on what most people in the US live on, and with the outrageous
hourly rates of most consultants you can do for-pay work about 10 hours a week
and have the rest of the time to yourself to work on what you want?

Why does it take millions of dollars to be able to do good work?

~~~
andrewljohnson
It takes millions of dollars to make space ships.

~~~
rthomas6
Elon Musk fully funded SpaceX with his own money?

~~~
pdog
He's put hundreds of millions of dollars of his own capital into his ventures,
yes.

------
kpennell
This spirit definitely still lives on in the Bay Area and tech world in
general, but I think it's slowly being squashed by the sheer number of people
who are going into tech for money (and only money).

Changing the world, connecting the "we", expanding consciousness are secondary
to "crushing it". The things the author talked about in that article are seen
are hippie, raver, or burner...

Why try to make this happen in the bay anymore when you're going to have to
fight simply to get a room that you pay $1200 for? Better to flee to cheaper
areas where you can have more time to hack and work on hippie projects. Or
Oakland? I don't know.

On a sidenote, these guys seem to be fighting the good fight for this cause:
[http://freespace.io/events/](http://freespace.io/events/)

------
cypherpunks01
Anyone curious about the very strong psychedelic-PC connection should read
John Markoff's book:

"What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal
Computer Industry"
[http://www.amazon.com/dp/0143036769](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0143036769)

------
tankbot
Love this article. It makes me think of my friends who are all techies, but
somehow we're all hippies, only in our late twenties/early thirties.

The culture Andrew envisions is still alive and kicking. It's never on the
front page, but it's always there, guided as ever by psychedelics and love of
creating.

~~~
hosh
Next up: the Hippie Makers.

------
Lapsa
> If you are an indie following your heart, your passion and your dreams, then
> a world of individual sovereignty, collaboration and interdependence becomes
> possible.

> or will we use the technology to set ourselves free?

> a universe of possibilities when we each come from a place of We instead of
> I.

I've always thought of psychedelics use as a trade of Seeing for loss of self
identification. Unless you can alternate between those states freely - it's
pointless and you are shackled either way.

If everyone tells to "think outside the box", ironically - that's what box
becomes to. A virtual reality - distorted picture of real thing and source of
Terence`s 'Alien love'.

~~~
hosh
You know, I used to think that way.

This isn't something you "alternate". There's a way of being where you can be
in unity consciousness at the same time you are experiencing duality and the
material world.

The other thing is that, _any_ picture or image or story you form is _always_
going to be the distortion of Reality. Reality is inherently non-dual, so
defies description (even what I just said). It means, to be free of whatever
box you find yourself in, you are constantly mindful of the present moment.

Sure, just saying this will give distorted teachings. Mystics from ages past
have always tried to speak of this, and it has always distorted into things
like "religion" for the masses. This is fine though. This is part of the human
experience.

~~~
Lapsa
> always going to be the distortion of Reality "Food you cook from scratch
> doesn't need a nutrition label."

> This isn't something you "alternate". There's a way of being where you can
> be in unity consciousness at the same time you are experiencing duality and
> the material world.

I made a song about this:
[https://soundcloud.com/lapsa/vk](https://soundcloud.com/lapsa/vk) (quote by
Castaneda)

It's "finding yourself in" step what's important.

~~~
hosh
Groovy.

------
ErikAugust
"US publishing houses did not buy in, sales faltered. And this is where Steve
wandered from his path - he began courting the Fortune 500 and the dark
agencies - NSA and CIA - because these people could afford his expensive
machines."

Thought this was interesting...

------
dbpokorny
For anyone who is interested in LSD and/or DMT, I highly recommend heading
over to reddit.com/r/lsd or reddit.com/r/dmt.

Long and short of it is, yes, these drugs can change your life, yes, these
drugs can fuck up your life, and no, the results are not predictable.

Anyone considering taking mind-altering drugs, I urge you, please give nine
minutes of your time, and spend each of those nine minutes listening to the
first nine minutes of this video, Ayya Khema "Why Meditate ~ 4 Kinds of
Happiness"

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zAQU8MEHnM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zAQU8MEHnM)

Thank you, that is all \--DBP

P.S. If you're really pressed for time, just listen to the one minute between
5:00 and 6:00.

------
Abundnce10
"... here's a technique you can employ in a minute: inhale deeply through your
nose with power, exhale, repeat until you can't stand it. Hold your breath.
When you feel the rush, stop, let go, and let it unfold. You'll experience the
onset of the DMT experience. With practice, you'll learn to go through the
portal, without drugs except the ones produced right in your very own body."

~~~
Zelphyr
Aren't you just hyperventilating when you do this? How is hyperventilating
yourself a portal to new consciousness?

That sounds unintentionally negative. I'm genuinely curious.

~~~
hosh
He simplified things.

There are some technical details like: allowing the diaphragm to expand fully,
the ribs to expand, and the collar bones to expand. Other details such as:
doing this while relaxed (relaxed enough to let go of volitional control over
the breathing while still being aware of the movement), not forcing the
breath, where you can't hear the breath.

Hyperventilation, as in, nervous or panic reaction usually coincides with
shallow breathing, where the diaphragm and ribs don't move much, if at all.
You don't circulate much oxygen. The technique the author is talking about
significantly increasing the amount of oxygen circulating in your body.

Finally, the most important point. This isn't something you can dissect from
the outside. You try it and experience it.

------
cnp
I loved that little essay.

If anyone is interested, there's a 27-video playlist of the author speaking
about his experiences with DMT for the Spirit Molecule documentary.

His commentary is my favorite out of all the participants. Very heart-felt and
fascinating:

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM_PJoDA2lo&list=PLC3FC3395C9...](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM_PJoDA2lo&list=PLC3FC3395C9495B69)

------
deepvibrations
Wow, loved this, brilliant read, gives me hope for the future!

~~~
rohall
I loved reading it, but it actually made me concerned. Maybe it's just where I
stand, but it seems that culture has slipped far from where it was.

~~~
hosh
Generally, the people I talked to who have taken entheogens feels that about
the world in general. But the same attitude is there for accomplished yogis
and meditators too.

------
dwaltrip
Very interesting article. As a side note, does anyone have links to solid
research on the long term effects (physiological and psychological) of these
psychedelics? It amazes me how little conclusive information there is,
although I know gov stifling certainly hasn't helped.

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wwwarhawk
Anyone have a 1-page version of this?

~~~
mlwarren
Here is the PDF version ([http://stone.com/dmt/DMT-NeXT-and-the-
HumanMachine.pdf](http://stone.com/dmt/DMT-NeXT-and-the-HumanMachine.pdf)).

