New York Times article covers Albert Hofmann, author of The Road to Eleusis

Photo: Stefan Pangritz

An interesting, albeit brief, New York Times article appeared last month regarding Albert Hofmann, the famous Swiss scientist and “father” of LSD. The article discusses the legend of Hofmann discovering the drug by falling off his bicycle on the way home from work. It includes some great quotes, such as Hofmann describing his (and mankind’s) first experience with LSD:

“At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant intoxicatedlike condition, characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination.”

A few days later, Hofmann experimented with a different dosage. The results, recorded in the following lyric quote, would later be described as a “bad trip”:

“A demon had invaded me, had taken possession of my body, mind and soul. . . . It was the demon that scornfully triumphed over my will.”

While Hofmann displayed clear enthusiasm for the mystical elements of the drug and its possible creative and therapeutic applications, he found the recreational use of the drug in the U.S. quite disturbing, particularly the drug’s connection with “materialism, alienation from nature through industrialization and increasing urbanization, lack of satisfaction . . . a mechanized, lifeless working world, ennui and purposelessness in a wealthy, saturated society.”

Also addressed in the article is Hofmann’s work with hallucinogenic mushrooms in Mexico, and his fascination with the ritual practiced by the ancient Greeks at Eleusis. Hofmann theorized that the Greeks employed psychedelic ingredients (ergot) in their sacred potion, kykeon, used during the ritual. North Atlantic recently released a title by Hofmann and contemporaries R. Gordon Wasson and Carl A. P. Ruck that looks at this interesting theory in depth. Entitled The Road to Eleusis, the book explores the Greek ritual at Eleusis, and expands to show that natural psychedelic agents have been used in spiritual rituals across history and cultures.

CLICK HERE for more info on The Road to Eleusis

CLICK HERE to read the New York Times article on Hofmann

Charles Stein Reads from The Odyssey, and a Deerhead is Discovered

“We didn’t expect the deerhead.”

Nestled between two scenery shots of Hudson Valley lies this statement from blogger Geof Huth, an attendee at author Charles Stein’s recent event showcasing his new translation of The Odyssey. The November 14, 2008 event, “Reading – Book Signing – Celebration,” took place at the historic Rokeby estate in Barrytown, New York, a fitting site considering the classical nature of the book being featured. At the event Stein read a few excerpts and discussed his viewpoint on Homeric storytelling, as well as the difference between classical and modern-day audiences. Stein’s translation appeals to the latter through its fitting and grounded language. But what would seem a standard author event for most would turn out to be something entirely different for one.

Scrolling down past the pictures of the valley on Huth’s blog entry “Deerhead Orientation: the Tinture of Her Shroud,” the reader is assaulted by a photo of a dismembered deer’s head along with one of its forelegs on a plastic tarp (not for the squeamish). Accompanying the photo is the blogger’s poetic account of finding such a sight:

In a poetry reading, even of a translation of an ancient work, one expects some of the usual invisible features: chairs, eyes downcast as the poet reads, food, wine over all other beverages, an audience different from any you find at any other event. But you don’t expect to find, on the grass at the foot of the stairs from the porch, a deerhead, the skin of the neck folded away to reveal the esophagus, a perfect fragment of a foreleg seeming to grow out of the deer’s soft furry throat.

Random deer head aside, the rest of the entry contains similarly lyrical descriptions of Rokeby, including Huth’s humorous interpretation on classical sculpture, along with an full description of the reading including videos of Stein and explanations on his thought process while working on his translation.

To read Geof Huth’s full blog entry click here.
To see a previous post discussing Stein’s The Odyssey click here.
For more information on The Odyssey by Charles Stein click here.

Thanks goes out to our Editorial Intern Lauren Chan for this post.

An Astrologer for the Naysayers

Like any belief system, astrology has its enemies. Try talking about Libras being indecisive or Cancers being sensitive in a social setting and you’ll probably receive a few sarcastic comments and snickers. Those comments are not unwarranted—after all, it’s natural for humans to resist being pigeonholed into a specific personality type or having the future be set in stone. Nevertheless, it leads one to ask: is it possible for astrology to incorporate free will, and maybe win over some of those naysayers?

For Rob Brezsny, the answer is yes. In a recent interview on SFGate, Brezsny provides a perspective on astrology that is profound—one that incorporates depth psychology and philosophy. Sounding like a scholar of Jung or even Nietzsche, Brezsny talks about becoming interested in astrology as “a language that was not in opposition to rationality and logic but provided an alternative way of thinking about the world.” He sees it as a “way of looking at the world mythically.”

The interview proves to be an interesting read, as Brezsny comments on the doomsday predictions that are all-too-common in today’s New Age circles and even offers a astrological reading for President Elect Obama. Overall, you get a sense that Brezsny is unique among astrologers—he empowers us to create our own paths using imagination and to not fall victim to negative, obsessive thoughts. His unique approach to astrology allows for the use of free will (hence the name of his popular website “Free Will Astrology“), and his wise words might even win over some of the naysayers out there.

For those of you who are interested in learning more about Rob Brezsny’s philosophy, check out Pronoia is the Antidote for Paranoia (new expanded edition available in September 2009). Also, be sure to look for his monthly astrological readings here on the North Atlantic Books blog.

CLICK HERE to read the recent interview in SFGate
CLICK HERE to learn more about Pronoia
CLICK HERE to check out Rob Brezsny’s website

Wonderful Endorsement for A Practical Guide to Acu-points

Nora Caterino recently reviewed A Practical Guide to Acu-points by Chris Jarmey and Ilaira Bouratinos on CirclesOfLight.com:

In 343 pages, A Practical Guide to Acu-points provides information on every single part of the body. It includes realistic colorful anatomical illustrations which clearly show not only the surface where the applicable technique should be applied, but also the underlying tendons, muscles, bones, and body structure to help locate the exact acupoints for best results…

The wealth of resources in A Practical Guide to Acu-Points is incredible. Seldom do you find as many facts presented in an organized, ready to use manual. Perhaps, this is because both Jarmey and Bouratinos have studied many textbooks while earning their credentials in the bodywork methods presented and now teach others. Clearly, they have taken the good points and skipped the less desirable points of the many texts they have used in the past.

CLICK HERE to read the complete review.

CLICK HERE to learn more about A Practical Guide to Acu-points.

CLICK HERE to learn more about CirclesOfLight.com.

Me, Chi, and Bruce Lee: A Personal Odyssey through the Global Phenomenon of Martial Arts

“In the ice-cold echo chamber of the arena I heard him call me a gutless pussy. Or maybe it was pansy. I made it to the bench, but found no comfort there, no words of kindness, no forgiving pat on the shoulder pads from my coach or teammates. For a few minutes I couldn’t look anyone in the eye…At the end of the season, I quit hockey”(6).

…only to pick up Kung-Fu as a middle-aged forty-year-old when, twenty-five years later, such distasteful, diminishing rebukes were apparently still reverberating in Brian Preston’s shaken skull. Yet, Preston acknowledges the fact that he’d never been the aggressive type. Instead, he describes himself as “…more cerebral, haphazard, pacifistic, unfailingly harmless” and, we believe him after he recounts one story after the other of the ruthless bullying of which he remained victim. Whether getting slammed in the hockey rink, chased by young, Scottish thugs (against whom he learned it’s better to yell ‘Fook off” to have them slink off rather than to run away, in which case they’ll follow you!), or being terrorized in middle school for laughing at a classmate’s mispronunciation, in Me, Chi, and Bruce Lee: Adventures in Martial Arts, Preston demonstrates his unyielding commitment to self-defense as the superior response to instigating violence.

And then it all makes sense as to why this wimpy, forty year old would decide to write a book on martial arts and get his rib broken by a sixty year old woman in the process: he commiserated with the cerebral monks for whom Zen was created in the first place; those cerebral monks who, having been bullied and mugged like him, had to learn self-protection and the superior principle his master ingratiated upon him: to “develop a mind that does not need to be protected, that does not view life from that perspective” (32).

Whatever the motivation, Preston’s personal odyssey through the global phenomenon of martial arts provides a comical journey for the fighter and the pensive pacifist alike. His adventures from the Shaolin Temple and Wudang Mountain in China to Canada for a seminar with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to Las Vegas at the Ultimate Fighting Championship either remind the passionate martial arts practitioner what he/she loves about it or explain to the rest of us what this fascination is all about. Or, if nothing else, it serves as a witty travel narrative with musings on Asian landmarks and culture. One finishes the book full of that inner transformation martial arts, we learn, is really about!

CLICK HERE to learn more about Me, Chi, and Bruce Lee.