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I was recently tripping LSD with some friends of mine.

Nearing the end of our experiences, feeling nourished and enthused by the majesty of the journey, I mentioned how incredible it is that this experience has been protected and chauffeured through history for us despite the harsh and draconian prohibition. I felt a deeply visceral understanding as to why people like Nick Sand (RIP), Tim Scully, and Casey William Hardison (to name a select few) risked their entire lives and freedom to ensure people were granted the opportunity to experience this molecule.

At that point, my friend says, while giggling, something along the lines of “What even is this experience? I don’t even know what it is that I am experiencing.”

To which I responded “well, it is perhaps the quintessential religious experience at the foundations of Western thought” and went on to explain the history of the Eleusinian Mysteries and its role in the very civilization we are a part of. This was is a history that I learned on behalf of this episode’s guest, Dr. Bruce Damer: scientist, storyteller, luminary.

From his website: “Bruce Frederick Damer, Ph.D. (born 31 January 1962) is a Canadian-American multidisciplinary scientist, designer, and author. Dr. Bruce Damer collaborates with colleagues developing and testing a new model for the origin of life on Earth and in the design of spacecraft architectures to provide a viable path for expansion of human civilization beyond the Earth.”

This man’s resume is extensive and beautiful. From helping to lay the foundations for multi-user digital interfaces in the early 90s, to designing spaceships for NASA, to bringing forth what is “perhaps the first “end-to-end” model proposed for life’s origins.” Not only that but he is also a strong, public supporter of the counter-cultural movement. Once personal friends, with Terence McKenna, Bruce is an incredible storyteller and has come on the show for this special 2-part episode to share the story of the origins of life on planet earth—from start dust through the primordial soup and first homo sapiens all the way to dropping LSD at transformational music festivals.

Part 1 begins with a storytelling performance from Lightning In A Bottle festival outlining the origins of life. The talk, titled Fire In The Sky originally released via Bruce’s podcast The Levity Zone. The story is followed by a Q&A exploring the details of the talk and expanding on several of the elements of planetary and human evolution. We also talk of Bruce’s support of the counter culture, psychedelics, and what he calls “endotripping”. Part 1 ends at the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Part 2 picks up where we left off in part one and Bruce tells us the story of Eleusis and how this all relates to LSD at the foundations of the western civilization. Following that story, we shift gears and begins to discuss Bruce’s other area of work and research: Space technology, life on Mars, and interplanetary travel.

This Episode is jam packed with incredible insight and nuanced with satisfying renditions of human history in accessible poetic laymen language. It was an honor to have Bruce Damer on the show. Enjoy.

episode Breakdown

A complete model for the origins and evolution of life on planet earth
A poetic reference to the world of the progenote, our common biological ancestor
How language and storytelling can immerse you in experience
Virtual reality storytelling environment (Android Jones’ microdose and Duncan Trussell).
Psychedelics, magical spaces, and “endotripping”.
The mystical experiences at the foundations of Western thought.
The corporatization of Christianity and the spread of the Pauline Christians.
Civilizational neoteny and the failures of conventional initiations.
An updated version of Terence McKenna’s Stoned Ape Theory.
The Ground Truth.
An example of how radically human beings have permanently altered the planetary biome.
Will we find life on Mars? Why?
Space technology, biospheres, and the future sustainability of humanity.
Suppressed technology and how to navigate conspiracy theory.

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