The Dream Machine

"The Dreamachine was conceived by artist painter and writer Brion Gysin, along with his friend Ian Sommerville, in the early sixties. It is the first object in history designed to be viewed with closed eyes.

The Dreamachine simply consists in a cylinder with holes cut into his sides and placed on a turntable. A lightbulb is suspended on the center of the spinning cylinder, and the rotation lets the light to pass through the holes at a constant frequency, situated between 8 and 13 pulses per second. This frequency range corresponds to the 'alpha waves', electrical oscillations naturally present in human brain when the eyes are closed and no stimuli are processed, e.g., when there's a relaxed and effortless alertness, and while meditating."(importantrecords.com)

Created in the 1960's they were used by William S. Burroughs and thousands of other psychedelic pioneers to induce visionary states without chemicals.

Dream Machine Plans

Buy One Premade

Manic Monkey Mind

I believe the most obvious individual and societal problem in America today is the fact that most people cannot control their minds.  While it is impossible to STOP thinking most modern people live within a never-ending chain of vaguely connected thoughts that are hardly under any form of control.  Sometimes it is referred to as "monkey-mind" by those individuals who have succeeded in achieving gaps within the mind.  If you stop for a second and just watch your mind, without judging, you will see that it goes on and on, at random, often with little input or directions from yourself.

This endless inner chatter is why many of us feel trapped within ourselves and why the pursuit of happiness becomes a fruitless effort for most of us.

The mind is first and foremost, a problem solving mechanism.  It solves deductive problems such as math problems, mechanical problems, or the most obvious, how to communicate through language with other humans.  When the mind goes on "broken record" and its functioning cannot be stopped willfully without the use of drugs or technological distractions we are trapped in an endless loop of trying to solve our problems while also creating more and more for ourself.

The paradox is, that mind is not helpful in fixing the problem of the mind.  We must go outside or around the mind to short-circuit its overactivity.  No amount of reading, study, TV, or conversing will solve the problems of the mind.  We must stop feeding the hungry monkey-mind.  Only through activities that make the disfunction of the mind evident can we begin to see gaps within our train of thoughts.  This problem is not old and has been discussed by many great thinkers such as Plato, the 6th century BC Greek, in his allegory of the Cave.

There are many techniques gathered over the centuries to combat the mind.

Psychedelic drugs help one experience mindlessness temporarily and aid in reprogramming the mind to further accept existence without its constant use  They have been in use longer than agriculture or city-building...website for info on all drugs Erowid

Yoga helps one to allow the mind to subside through the use of bodily postures..Yoga

Zen meditation helps one to merge with the experience in front of one's eyes and helps to convince one that constant thinking is unnecessary for a full life Zen Intro.....Zen Habits

Art allows one to empty out the mind through abstract communication.  Music, painting, dance, singing, sculpting, writing all help to clear away excess thought.

The funny thing is once you gain some gaps between thoughts you begin to see the world without a filter, as it is, for the first time.  This is a great realization.  Also, since the mind is used only when you need it, it gains energy and becomes more powerful when you do put it to task.  Stop the chattering Monkey Mind today.

Interview with Albert Hoffman, inventor of LSD

Albert Hoffman Interview

Insightful questions with the man behind the molecule.  Goes into the problems that occurred in the 60's and the recent resurgence of research on hallucinogens.

Awesome Interview Program on YouTube

I found this the other day on YouTube, this psychologist, Jeffrey Mishlove, interviews some of the best minds from this half of the century and asks them some really deep questions.  People such as, Terence McKenna, John C. Lilly, Ram Dass, and Nick Herbert.  Awesome...check it out.

Thinking Allowed

A Great Book by Ram Dass

This book is a great read and can be finished in less than 2 hours.  Makes one happy to be alive.

Be Here Now