In A Perfect World

with Meriana Dinkova How can the modern psychonaut best navigate innerspace? Experiential journalist Rak Razam meets Western psychotherapist and relationship counsellor Meriana Dinkova, who also organizes retreats in Peru combining Medicine Work and neo-shamanistic psychotherapeutic tools. Meriana discusses her experience as a women in the machismo-world of male shamans and how to use advanced psychological techniques to navigate the shamanic landscape and hacking the unconscious. Her spiritual toolkit embraces somatic techniques, mudras, NLP, breathing, visualisation, command words, hypnotic techniques and much more to maximise our potential within altered space. But how do we recognise and protect ourselves from the entities native to these realms? Can we choose our own cultural archetypes as allies and godforms in the shamanic space (Spiderman and Yoda vs. jaguars and snakes?). And can we integrate these deep experiences after the journey and find support within the psychedelic and shamanic communi

Snowed out in the aboveground world, experiential journalist Rak Razam and Benton Rooks, writer for Reality Sandwich, graphic novelist of the newly released 'Kali Yuga' and mythic worldbridger, descend to an underground carpark in Boston where they discuss the parameters of 'entheodelic' storytelling that represents entheogenic and psychedelic culture. What are the origins in indigenous stories, science fiction and Hollywood films? IS there an entheodelic movement of storytellers that parallels the visionary art explosion? Are these innerspace narratives fuelled by the plant spirit consciousnesses themselves? Can we explore and share the inner frontier through what Rooks calls 'narrative medicine'? Are we experiencing a 'divine invasion' of memetic form as the spirit world grounds itself through our media, and the contours of a new global mythology take shape in our stories? Can the military-industrial-entertainment complex co-opt the emerging shamanic paradigm? And what about Skrillex and machine- consciousn

Come on a guided tour of evolutionary hyperspace with experiential journalist Rak Razam and paleontologist-poet-philosopher, visionary artist, electroacoustic musician, futurist, cultural critic, intellectual avant guard thinker and "Big Ideas" bodhisattva Michael Garfield. If the medium is the message, as Marshall McLuhan said, how do we communicate the BIG IDEAS that matter, that can help us survive in the changing paradigm we find ourselves in? Garfield offers a long and provocative burst of synaptic ideation that explores ideas like: mind viruses, transparency-surveillance culture, the technocratic priestcraft, Buckminster Fuller, Teilhard de Chardin, machine super intelligences, the Church of Goople and AI's, Big Mama vs. Big Brother, TechnoUtopia, psychedelics, ego dissolution, fembots, synergistic bacterial lifeforms and the cosmic biosphere, romancing the Skynet, BitCoin and Cyptocurrencies, Vernor Vinge and ensemble/wearable computing, having sex on GoogleGlass, cyborg anthropology, mesh networks and

Experiential journalist Rak Razam interviews Hamilton Souther, one of the more prominent Western ayahuasca shamans and the founder of the Blue Morpho lodge outside Iquitos. Souther is also pioneering 'Cannabis Shamanism' using the songs and structure of his ayahuasca lineage with cannabis as the active sacrament. Cannabis has been revered as sacred by Hindus, Rastafarians and others, and with Souther's '420 Shamanism' movement there is the opportunity to resacralize the West's dominant recreational drug into something more, at the same time as marijuana legalisation sweeps America. If recreation and medical use of marijuana is becoming accepted, can spiritual use as well? Is this the start of a cannabis-shamanism revival, as the modality of shamanism itself crosses the tipping point into the mainstream? Souther shares his initiation story on the shamanic path, the difficulties of training as a Westerner and the secret bias towards many Westerners from local practitioners. How do we separate the indigenous wis

An intimate dinner party-neuroscience conversation with experiential journalist Rak Razam, Dr. Juan Acosta, the 'mad scientist on the frontiers of consciousness' that starred in the film Aya: Awakenings, and Cheryl. Dr Juan has mapped EEG data from subjects legally ingesting Salvia Divinorum, 5-MeO-DMT, experiencing kundalini activation and monks meditating. Neuroscience can now map our brain states, but it takes a real neuroshaman to tell what occurs experientially within the journey itself… And why does nature make these substances that fit our brain systems, anyway? Can the EEG data sets recorded from one subject be rolled out onto the mindfield of another subject via neurofeedback? Can we electronically stimulate and repeat these transcendental experiences? How does language change the brain? When both psychedelics and meditation shut off the Default Mode Network what happens to the brain? Is the brain structure is like an ecosystem that mirrors the planetary ecology, which is itself a nested consciousn

Damon Orion interviews Rak Razam, experiential journalist and the writer-producer of the critically acclaimed shamanic documentary, Aya: Awakenings. They discuss the nature of the indigenous shamanic realm that is coming back into the Western understanding, the role of jaguars in the archetypal landscape, and the difference between the two world paradigms and how they define altered states. The role of western media makers in mapping the invisible landscape is defined, as is the healing benefits of entheogens and re-connecting to spirit, and the deep mystical profundity of the 5-Me0 immersion. The film, which Orion called "A multi-sensory, multi-dimensional mindblower, leaving the viewer stunned, invogorated, and filled with reverent awe for the Great Mystery," is available now on Video On Demand. Damon Orion is a journalist, editor, and ghostwriter in Santa Cruz, California. His work has appeared in publications like Spirituality & Health, Revolver, High Times, Common Ground, Austin Monthly, Massage Magazine

As the Western resurgence in entheogenic shamanism grows, teething issues abound. Joshua Wickerham is one of the founders of the Enthnobotanical Stewardship Council, a new NGO dedicated to facilitating the safe and sustainable cultural use of ayahuasca, iboga and other plant sacraments. Here Wickerham chats with experiential journalist Rak Razam on the need for a fair trade system for cultivating entheogens like ayahuasca, applying NGO standards to an emerging spiritual paradigm, navigating the huge political issues between curanderos, operators and the law, and the minefield of cultural and ethical considerations. How can the conservation of bio-diversity be balanced against the rapid growth of the shamanic community worldwide? What differences do sacred medicines make to running a Western NGO? Can shamanism be regulated into the Western experience without being commodified? The groundbreaking shamanic documentary Aya: Awakenings is now available for viewing and download on Vimeo on Demand and you can

Experiential journalist Rak Razam interviews a legal psilocybin shamanic facilitator from the Netherlands, Olli, where the mushroom sclerotia ('Philosopher Stones') are a legal thing to possess and ingest. Olli has been working with mushrooms for over 20 years, and here we discuss potentiating them with a MAO-inhibitor, just like ayahausca does in its brew, and the benefits of 'psilohuacsa'. We examine the issues around both ayahuasca and its resource management and the advantages of locally-sourced entheogens in native settings, and the role of the magic mushroom as a global sacrament for healing and enlightenment. The role of neo-shamans like Olli in the West using entheogenic sacraments is explored, and the history of mushroom use in Europe. Moreover, Olli discusses the heart-opening, ego-dissolving experience of high dose psilocybin to bring us back into unity consciousness and the need for such remembrances in today's world. For more info see http://www.psilohuasca.com This work is licensed under a Crea

with Ashera Hart Experiential journalist Rak Razam explores the world of sound and vibration with sound therapist Ashera Hart. What is vibration and frequency and how can that be used to heal or harm? Learn about the Schumann Resonance of the planet (7.83 hertz) embodied in the ionosphere, Solfeggio frequencies, the Fibonacci sequence, and our own internal frequencies of consciousness that connect us to the earth and each other. Explore shamanistic alteration of consciousness through vibration, the effect of electromagnetic frequencies (EMF), military use of sound as a weapon and hear some beautiful healing frequencies in this extended interview/ guided sonic meditation. For more information watch Ashera here: www.youtube.com/asherahart This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Art: Adam Taylor Experiential journalist Rak Razam talks with DJ and "post-rave intentional dance community advocate and facilitator" Sobey Wing about conscious festival culture and the evolution of the tribal mind. Many societies have rites of passage for initiation and marking milestones in personal and tribal evolution, and today's conscious festival culture provides a space where that initiation can happen. But how can we learn from and embrace indigenous cultures without appropriating from them? Can we use the sacred songs of the land to reconnect us in our dance and "reindigenize" the West? How can we balance hedonism with radical community, capitalist modes of festivals with sustainability and spirituality? How can we use the Temporary Autonomous Zone (TAZ) of festivals as incubators for new modes of tribal evolution that can be integrated into the larger mainstream culture? A provoking discussion on the past, present and future of the global tribe as a planetary civilization in the making…

Art: Beau Deeley Experiential journalist Rak Razam talks with journalist and filmmaker Charles Shaw (the Exile Nation) about the consciousness revolution and the value of the psychedelic and shamanic experience in today's culture–on the point of global collapse. The history of the counterculture has been interwoven with not just that of the mainstream, but of black ops like MK-Ultra detouring and shaping the cultural history. From claims of Gordon Wasson's involvement with the elites and CIA to the use of LSD as a soma for the anti-war movement, are things that different with today's 'conscious festival culture'? Has the revolutionary act of altered states been commodified and controlled, and are we in a state of collective denial about the context and proper use of transcendence? Are neo-shamans and the New Age movement experiencing spiritual growth in a planetary battery farm? Can we explore the shadow within ourselves and the planetary shadow to collectively strategize ways forward–in the fac

photo: Jeremy Narby/ Rak Razam overlay art: Andy Debernardi In a landmark meeting experiential journalist Rak Razam interviews The Cosmic Serpent author and anthropologist Jeremy Narby, in the gardens of Greenwich University at the UK's premier psychedelic and consciousness event, Breaking Convention, July, 2013. In which these two ayahuasca commentators discuss the commodification of ayahuasca and the impact of the spiritual tourism boom in South America, the drive of the U.N.'s INCB to criminalize the growing entheogenic revival around the world, the nature of culture clash and the power of 'isms' to dichotomize worldviews and keep us separate. Narby relates his Marxist-anthropology origins and efforts to tackle the World Bank's damaging effect on tribal peoples; his first ayahuasca experiences and shape-changing into a jaguar; the UV spectrum and seeing 'spirits'; the double-helix DNA shape and the ubiquity of snakes in shamanic iconography; molecular biology, plant sentience and the Gaian worldview that

Indigenous Australian culture is at least 60,000-100,000 years old. Hidden in the unbroken tradition are the shared roots of the Vedas, in which the Acacia (Khadira) was the Vajra, the weapon of Indra. The emergence of these plant teachers, and the passing on of indigenous knowledge could be seen to constitute a new reverse colonization of the modern world–the Dreamtime Invasion. "At the heart of indigenous philosophy is the Dreamtime. It is not the past, or the future, it is the eternal creation out of pattern in the Now.  The 'dot' patterns, the spirit worlds of the tryptamine space are always present, creating the external world. The ability to understand and modify 'reality' was at the core of the training of... indigenous elders with intact knowledge about these sacraments."  -  [Nen] Join DMT-Nexus forum moderator NEN and experiential journalist Rak Razam in this revelatory interview exploring the entheogenic realms of DMT and ayahuasca & their connection to the Dreamtime Consciousness and the Global

Eleven years ago Dimitri Mugianis was a heroin addict who tried Iboga, the sacred medicine of the Gabon tribe and Bwiti religion in Africa. Not only did it help cure his addiction (alongside his own efforts), but it set him on a path as a Western medicine man following the call of spirit. Nicknamed the "Harlem Shaman," Mugianis began administering iboga to addicts throughout New York City, as recounted in the 2009 documentary film 'I'm Dangerous With Love'. Arrested by federal authorities in 2011, Mugianis saw the hand of a greater force in his arrest, deepening his work as a N'ganga (Bwiti) healer and commitment to the path. Eventually sentenced to only 45 days of house arrest by a judge sympathethic to his religious path and spiritual work, he speaks here with experiential journalist Rak Razam about addiction, iboga, the rise in medicine workers worldwide, the law–and the need for love, above all. For more information see: Iboga Life and Dimitri Mugianis.com This work is licensed under a Creative Commons

Tea tidings with the Teafaerie at MAPS Psychedelic Science 2013 conference. Who IS the Teafaerie, and how does she manifest the psychedelic dream? The Teafaerie has been an avid entheogenic explorer her entire adult life and she has served as ground control for well over 100 trips. A real-life superheroine, we discuss the burgeoning meme of superhumanity, the Ultraculture, and the roots of this post-human possibility in the conscious festival scene and psychedelic culture worldwide. Teafaerie writes for Erowid on all aspects of psychedelics and virtuality, and her Western take on the shamanic realms from a data-information space is a valuable signpost in the cultural cosmovisions. Discover the secrets of 420, and the Teafaerie's secret origin in the Rainbow Tribe, Philip K Dick is channeled, and the seed dream of the Jedi Temple, a training academy in the shamanic arts is explored in this gonzo interview with experiential journalist Rak Razam. Victory for all! This work is licensed under a Creative Commons

Artwork by Sylph Aeon. In which experiential journalist Rak Razam is interviewed by Dr Sebastian Job, Honorary Associate, Department of Anthropology at the University of Sydney about the interdimensional entities that we encounter on entheogens like ayahuasca and DMT. Are these projections of our own subconscious, or of some Collective Unconscious, or are they natives to a deeper realm that we intersect via entheogens? What is an entity and how does our language encapsulate our understanding of entity contact? How much have Terence McKenna's metaphors calcified a fluid translinguistic experience into a cultural shorthand? How can we quantify entity experiences and move beyond logic and left-brain rationalism to feel into the intuitive and extra-sensory levels where these translinguistic encounters happen? Are we facing a divine invasion, or are we the colonizers of hyperspace? All know that the drop merges into the ocean, but few know that the ocean merges into the drop. - Kabir Proudly supporting the

In which experiential journalist Rak Razam dialogues with Professor Diana Slattery of the McKenna Chair of Xenolinguistics at the Institute for the Encouragement of Outrageous Ideas. Slattery is one of the world's foremost experts on the art of alien languages or xenolinguistics, and in this fascinating interview Razam and Slattery speak the unspeakable about the linguistic phenomena of the psychedelic experience. What if on some level we are made of sound? What if in the beginning was the Word? Is language itself a cosmic app downloaded and upgraded by higher consciousness? How can we translate and anchor multidimensional experiences into our baseline understanding, and can doing so transform our DNA and reality? Slattery's thesis, expounded in her forthcoming book: Xenolinguistics: Psychedelics & Language at the Edge of the Unspeakable, involves interior dialogues with the Other, whether framed as the voice of the Logos, an alien download, or communion with ancestors and spirits.  Sentient visual languages

Photo credit: Tim Girvin, art: Gerhard Hillman Experiential journalist Rak Razam chats with the world's premier mycologist,Paul Stamets, at the Uplift festival, Dec 22, 2012, about the whole systems theory of nature that the mycelium networks of the mushrooms point towards. Stamets describes his pioneering work with fungi and how that has affected his own worldview, from his own shamanic-style initiation as a teenager, to his work with bio-remediation and introducing fungi as bio-tools for corporate and government scientific use, and the cultural clashes that has engendered. Can Western culture drop it's mycophobic reaction towards mushrooms and embrace the healing benefits of these substances? Can we integrate the psychedelic benefits as well as the physical ones? Is the mushroom "earth's natural internet" as Stamens describes, and what does that mean to our scientific worldview, and a network-based future? Click here for more information on Paul Stamets and his Ted Talk. Proudly supporting the Psyched

Experiential journalist Rak Razam hosts a panel at Eclipse festival 2012 on November 16, 2012 with sacred feminine facilitator Beata Alfoldi, Undergrowth director and visionary-filmmaker Tim Parish, Jungian therapist Jeremiah Abrams, shamanic practitioner Darpan and rites of passage commentator Sobey Wing. So Dec 21st, 2012 came and went, and life goes on. What are our tribal strategies to use this time of transition as a planetary initiation? What contingency plans do we need to entertain, how will we cope if the mainstream world continues its path towards austerity, surveillance, dictatorship and environmental ruin? Can we as individuals, as well as a community, retain our integrity of vision for a world worth living in? Can we take strategic advantage of the turbulent times to chart a new course for a sustainable future in 2013–and beyond? What's our Plan B), 2013??? With thanks to Beau Deeley for modulating the raw festival audio into something slightly more listenable ;) Proudly supporting the Psych

photo: La Chorrera, 1971, courtesy Dennis McKenna Join experiential journalist Rak Razam in a frank and revealing interview with Dennis McKenna, on the cusp of his new book publication, The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss. Dennis discusses his early life with Terence and the unbreakable bond between his brother and he; living through the first wave of the psychedelic 1960s; the Experiment at La Chorerra (recounted in full, mind-blowing detail) and the fallout that still lingers to this day. The 2012 meme, Timewave Zero, ayahuasca and the Global Shamanic Resurgence are all examined at length, as is the passing of Terence and the impact on his family, and the entheogenic tribe. Dennis also discusses the perils and pitfalls of writing not just a memoir, but a critique of sorts on Terence, his ideas and legacy, and why he wanted to get this book out before Dec 21st, 2012. With additional commentary by Australian shamanic practitioner, Darpan. To read Dennis' book click here: The Brotherhood of the Screamin