Fractal Enlightenment

We are settling into our new home and discovering the wonders of living close to nature. Something which would be lacking in a city, where urban dwellers aiming to lead a greener lifestyle end up paying much more for a product and are often left with quality that’s not up to the mark.

Maybe there is a chance to escape part of this system with the help of the divine cactus, Aloe Vera. You would have heard of Aloe Vera, often used in shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, medicines, toothpaste and much more.

Recently we tried using the juice of the plant to apply on the skin as a moisturizer. Bhavika being a little skeptical wanted to do a little research before using it, thanks to her we stumbled upon the umpteen reasons to use this divine cactus.

The juice acts like a natural moisturizer on the body, when applied on the hair it stops irritation of the scalp, reduces hair fall, and makes the hair soft and shiny. It also has a cooling effect on the body, this were few benefits we discovered after using Aloe Vera.

We now plan on testing if Aloe works as a sun screen as well, Bhavika has really sensitive skin so she is the guinea pig for now. 🙂 You can get a good quantity of Aloe juice from a big fat leaf, we took a couple of pictures of the steps involved in extracting Aloe juice.

Firstly you need to get an Aloe plant, and yes they can grow in pots as well so its easy to have one anywhere. When you cut out a leaf, you notice a yellow latex or sap oozing out of it, this is not suppose to be used as its an irritant.

So you basically hang the leaf or keep it in a tilted position until the oozing stops. Once thats done you can slice off the thorny sides of the leaves.

Then slice off the flat side of the leaf with a knife, you will see good amount of juice beginning to drip out when you do that. You can then scoop out the inside gel with either a spoon or slice out as much as you can with a knife.

The first time we extracted aloe juice we directly put the gel in a muslin cloth and squeezed it, we collected a good amount of gel and juice. By blending the gel and then using a muslin cloth you get a lot more juice with very little gel remaining.

We managed to get a little more than 400 ml of the divine cactus juice from 5 medium sized aloe leaves. If you don’t want to extract you can simply cut off a leaf, drain out the yellow sap and apply it directly on your skin.

Aloe has been used for over 500 years

Aloe Vera is known as Ghrit Kumari in Sanskrit and has been used in Ancient Indian Ayurveda. Its use as a healing agent goes back thousands of years, for the Egyptians its the ‘plant of immortality’ and supposedly placed as a burial gift in tombs of the pharaohs. Strange that a plant with so many qualities has not made its way into all our homes a long time ago.

According to Ayurvedic medicine, Aloe Vera has several health benefits –

• Antibiotic Properties that can be used to treat various skin ailments, sun burns, healing of cuts, wounds and scratches.
• Analgesic Properties that inhibit pain, thus Aloe Vera gel is used in dental treatments and the treatment of mouth ulcers, sores, blisters etc. Its also used to treat piles, hemorrhoids, indigestion, constipation
• Growth Stimulating Properties that stimulate the growth and formation of new cells. So it helps in curing burns as aloe penetrates the skin and removes the dead cells caused by infection, and forms new cells.
• Halts the growth of cancer tumors
• Heals the intestines and lubricates the digestive tract.
• Stabilizes blood sugar and reduces triglycerides in diabetics.
• Alkalizes the body, helping to balance overly acidic dietary habits.
• Nourishes the body with minerals, vitamins, enzymes and glyconutrients.

You can read more about the benefits of Aloe Vera and its uses in Ayurveda here

Poi means ball in Māori, its basically a ball attached to a plaited chord. Perhaps you would have seen a poi performance in Goa, fire and LED pois are pretty common. The earliest Poi performances have been dated back to 1905 by the Māori tribes of New Zealand.

Poi performances were done for various reasons including war dances known as the Haka, a very active performance, that included fierce shouts as well as welcoming dance performed with swaying and rhythms. Take a look at a fire performance done by a poi professional below.

But what are the benefits of this form of juggling? When you first begin to spin the balls you would realize that its pretty difficult to get your left and right hand coordination even without trying to intersect the ball routes. This helps develop your coordination after you get that you realize that it can be quite strenuous on your hands.

The pois also help you develop flexibility, strength and most importantly dexterity of the wrist. The poi is an exercise of movements central to the use of hand weapons, but today its more of an art, a dance along with music as well as an exercise.

Simple pois are reasonably priced while the fire pois and LED pois are more expensive. A warning especially to the males who want to try juggling, when you are learning don’t spin too fast because the Pois tend to hit you where it hurts the most.

Lets take a look at this Poi tutorial –

Image source
Poi circles
Poi artist

I wouldn’t want to keep you waiting for long before you decide to take off. Here are the remaining six places where you can go on a mind-altering holiday. If you haven’t seen the first five places, then go through Psychedelic Vacations on Earth to Inner Space.

Temezcal or a Sweat Lodge in Mexico

You don’t always need substances to feel elevated, a purification ceremony can help you achieve higher levels of consciousness. A ritual happens in Mexico that originated with pre-hispanic indigenous people in Mesoamerica.

Temezcal or sweat lodges are small round stone or mud structures which look more like old fashioned beehives, and are used to cleanse your mind, body and spirit.

In fact the word Temezcal is taken from the language of the Aztecs and its oriented according to the cosmic directions, its very interesting how this entire ritual works, will speak more in detail later on the blog.

Participants lie on the floor gazing into a central fire while a shaman creates a steam with medicinal herbs and guides you through the one-to-three-hour ritual, where temperatures range from 90 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. You can expect total euphoria at the end of it.

Bhang in India

During the festival of colours, Holi, in March nearly the whole of India in stoned on bhang, which is synonymous with holi. This drink is made from leaves of cannabis mixed with almonds, spices, cold milk and sugar. Technically, cultivation and consumption of marijuana is illegal in many parts of the country, but during holi cops turn a blind eye.

Bhang is widely available at roadside carts, small shops and restaurants. There is only a mild social stigma attached to consuming bhang as compared to smoking marijuana, which is outright. Many people consume bhang (a marijuana drinh) while others get drunk.

Although some places like Jaisalmer in Rajasthan you can get Bhang any time of the year. It does a couple of things apart from making you laugh, its an aphrodisiac, as well as helps you sleep like a baby after the come down, although you get a mighty heavy head.

Peyote in Mexico

An old song by The Eagles ‘Bitter Creek’ goes, “Oh, peyote, She tried to show me, You know there ain’t no cause to weep, At bitter creek.” Peyote has a long history of religious and medicinal use by indigenous Americans during pre-Columbian times; possibly as early as 300 BC.

Within half an hour of ingesting peyote, you begin to feel the effects. Initially you might feel muscle tension, nausea or queasiness, but within an hour it disappears and then the real trip begins to manifest itself, as there is a shift in consciousness. There is a feeling of inner peace, heightened awareness, rapid thought flow and oneness with life.

As time passes the trip intensifies and it enhances visually, colours become more intense, halos and auras can form above things, objects begin to seem closer, big or small. Your experience can last from 6 to 12 hours depending on the amount you consumed. Peyote cactus grows like weed in the deserts and mountains surrounding Real de Catorce, a town in central Mexico, where it’s totally legal!

Ayahuasca in Brazil

From Mexico we move further down to the jungles of Amazon where the Shamans have been using Ayahuasca for centuries as a window into the soul. Ayahuasca is a psychedelic combination of plants and chemicals which varies in potency, depending on the maker. {The brew is a traditional South American preparation most commonly combining the Banisteriopsis caapi vine (harmaline/harmine as MAOI) and Psychotria viridis leaves (DMT)} The shamanistic ceremony is quite intense, there is chanting, songs in tribal languages and of course drinking the tea. It induces vomiting in many users, considered to be the curative part of the process. Music shapes the visions as it gets more complex. Ayahuasca is known to heal several ailments including depression, or anxiety disorders and even cancer. Its known to be a powerful mind-changing entheogen, because it evokes profound state of altered consciousness, its like a divine manifestation.

Cobra wine in Vietnam

From the highly spiritual experience, lets come down to a few mellow options as compared to the rest. Rice wine poured in over the body of a snake and left to ferment for some weeks to make snake wine, found in most of the decent bars in Vietnam. Now a serpent to get you high!

There is a snake wine festival that takes place in Le Mat, a village close to Hanoi in northern Vietnam, where a glass of potent rice wine is served with a still beating heart of a cobra. If not wine there you can also opt for fermented snake blood or snake liqueur.

Absinthe in Paris

We move across the globe to Europe now. Have you heard of Absinthe? The hallucinogenic drink found in Paris, that led to bizarre behavior among artists like Baudelaire, Van Gogh, and Oscar Wilde. It has 45%-74% alcohol and is made from herbs and leaves of wormwood. Absinthe became a part of bohemian Paris in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many artists thought it gave them visions.

With suspicions that the drink is too potent, it was banned in Paris for nearly a century, until 2000 when the ban was lifted. There is nothing wrong with Absinthe, as portrayed in the 19th century, its merely an up tempo drink that make things around you look brighter.

The best way to enjoy this alcoholic drink is to dilute it with ice water. You also get Absinthe mixed with fancy cocktails. What more you can enjoy this drink during the three-day absinthe booze-fest every October in Pontarlier in eastern France.

All the above mentioned mind-altering hallucinogens are not meant to abuse, but used wisely and respect its sanctity and healing properties!
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11 mind-altering vacations

Sometimes a vacation filled with sun, sea and sand is not enough, you need mind-altering experiences to make it worthwhile. A vacation to enter a new dimension, tread the unknown path and explore the immense power of the human mind and the cosmos. This would be no ordinary holiday, but one to free your mind and expand it.

There are destinations around the world that take you on a journey of the mind, legally of course, and it can be in the form of a ritual, cultural immersion or simply getting high.

I stumbled upon this list of places where the use of substances is legal or decriminalised, as its generally termed, or part of their culture. For all the people who want to open new doors to their perception, let me guide you on a mind-altering trip across the globe. (The laws can change, so please check before you set out on that much-awaited trip, and be aware and alert).

Kava drink in Fiji

Kava is a plant that is consumed by many island communities in Oceania, that includes New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Marshall and Solomon islands. In Fiji its an age-old tradition to drink kava, for social and medicinal purpose.

The root is ground into a powder, mixed with cold water and then strained through a cloth or sometimes even a sock to make a pinkish-gray drink.

Locals sing folk songs as the drink is prepared, then its poured in a large bowl. Everyone sits in a circle as the cup is passed around, you have to clap and down it in one go.

After a couple of rounds you can feel the effect of the potent drink, your mouth and throat turns numb and slowly your body tends to feel relaxed. With Kava you can have lucid dreams, and it is also known to cure insomnia, relieve stress and anxiety. The ceremony can last up to 5 to 6 hours, where drinking 2 to 3 bowls in half an hour is not unusual.

Even the late Pope John Paul II had it on his visit to Fiji, so go ahead have a cup of the Pacific elixir. Its always best to experience it with a local community instead of a hotel, which won’t be that potent. Recently Alcohol bars were banned on the islands as it led to fights, violence and other crimes and in place Kava bars were set up, bringing in a more peaceful island and community.

Pot in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is known for its open culture towards marijuana and its notorious coffee shops, where the some of the finest greens are available. It would be the only European country where marijuana is legal in limited quantities. Club that with some great music and you are on your trip to space.

Ironically, tobacco smoking was banned in 2008, a good move, especially since smoking the herb seems to fight cancer, rather than cause it.

Magic mushrooms in the British Virgin Islands

Located in the Caribbean, British Virgin Islands is one of the places where the magic mushrooms grow naturally, and it is legal to possess and consume these psilocybin mushrooms, however, their sale is illegal. Does that means you need to either barter or plain old share them?

If you have heard of shrooms but don’t know what they do, then here you go. These mushrooms grow in the wild and as many psychedelics how good your trip is depends on many factors, your state of mind, atmosphere, people, music and how much you have consumed. It generally leads to enhanced visual perception, hallucination, colors seem more brighter and clearer, euphoric and sense of time is distorted almost sums up the experience.

Tortola is the main island where shrooms can be consumed freely. Bomba’s Surf Shack on the beach in Cappoon’s Bay where mushroom tea is served instead of straight shrooms. That’s also where the Full Moon psychedelic music parties take place, so you can look deep in and get far out on the sandy beaches of Tortola.

Coca Leaves in Bolivia

Bolivia, the third largest producer of the coca plant, they follow the centuries old traditions of using the coca leaf for religious, medicinal and cultural purpose. Coca leaves are legal and not the processed cocaine or crack cocaine.

So virtually every culture has its indigenous and preferred mind-altering substances, which are used for social events, religious ceremonies, etc. Still, they are tagged as illegal in many places even with a rich cultural background with plants.

Coca leaf is held in the side of the cheek, that gives a mild high, a sense of well-being and a buzz which can last all afternoon. It also helps to relieve altitude sickness, stave off hunger and cold. There are several coca carts found on the street in the capital city of La Paz, where you can buy leaves in bulk.

The Moroccan Hash

The Moroccan hash or locally known as ‘kif’ is of excellent quality, delicious, very inexpensive and concentrated. Although its illegal, there are plenty of people smoking, and if you find a local to smoke with, then you can also be assured of a decent spliff. Since it is Morocco’s biggest foreign currency earner after tourism, it has been decriminalized.

The best part is you don’t have to go looking for hash, there are plenty of young men offering hashish to you on the streets. Towns like Chefchaouen, close to Tangier, are a haven for stoned backpackers. So it’s a mellow town with a good atmosphere and one of the safest places in Morocco for visitors. The different variety of hash aka kif available here is astounding! Besides the medieval landscape of Morocco is appealing, an interesting add on to the potent kif.

These are five places you can visit for a mind altering journey, there are more intense trips coming up in the continuation of this article!

Image source

Kava leaves

Coca plant