Orange Sunshine: a retrospective

Those who have dived into the psychedelic sea and returned to wonder about it will understand the video immediately.  Others may shake their heads with consternation.

Since the summer of 1970 when I first encountered "Orange Sunshine" I have been left wondering at the things I encountered.  Mainly I have questioned the nature of what it means to 'be', to exist, to be conscious.  The question naturally arises within the psychedelic experience because, often, and it was in my case, one simply comes to understand that his consciousness is not identified with his body.  This leads to a number of ramifications.

For instance what does one think when he is sitting in a chair looking into the corner of the room at the ceiling and all at once sees himself sitting in the chair?  I did just that!  I saw myself sitting in the chair from the perspective of the ceiling where I had been gazing.

Okay.  Which one was me?  Was I the thing in the chair?  Or was I the thing looking at the thing in the chair?  The answer was obvious to me that I existed apart from the thing in the chair.

Now such things are indeed strange to consider, but given the evidence what would one decide?

Enjoy the video.

April 20th Was A Very Good Day

On last Wednesday, April 20 I went to a 420 BBQ and celebration.  It was my first official 420 event.  So what is a 420 event?  What is this all about?  Here's a little article on the purpose and origin of the 420 celebration. 

But to make a long story short 420 is about using marijuana. I happen to live in one of the handful of states where adults are able to decide for themselves whether or not to use marijuana.  I consider that, since I live in Oregon, I'm a little more free than most of those in the U.S. 

The celebration was hosted by the medical marijuana facility I use.  There was a band for entertainment.  They began their first set with a cover of Jimi Hendrix's version of Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" There was food too. The hamburgers, hot dogs and soda never ran out and neither did the 'dabs' and joints.

Along with the music and food there was a tobacco free smoking tent set up where the host had provided an enclosed area to sample his wares.  I tried some 'dabs' made from Blueberry Kush.  It was delightful.  I discovered later the 'dabs' had been made by the 'live resin' method from a plant that had been harvested the day before and made into 'dabs' that morning. 

I was impressed with the clarity and cerebral qualities of the 'high'. It was not overwhelming or confusing, but quiet, yet lively, happy and insightful.  I especially liked the way it set the mind free to wander wherever it wanted to go.

Because I was a medical patient I was given a gift package.  Inside was a gram of 'dabs'.  There was also two vials of a product called Cannabis-Cure-All.  The label says it can be used as an edible or topical product.  One of the products was formulated for a high THC content and the other for a low THC product with a high CBD level.  Along with that I was given a medicated lollipop and  a bar of 'That Taffy' the mixed berry flavor. 

Well, about this time, if you're a marijuana user you are probably thinking that you would have liked to have been there. It was fun and it was a unique experience for me.  In the past this kind of thing had to be hidden and criminalized. But times have changed.  In various places around the nation citizens are deciding for themselves that they can be trusted to use marijuana and are making that one of the rights in their state.

Thoughts flew in and out of my mind as I walked up the street to the bus stop. I was ensconced in a Blueberry Kush daydream. I almost had to pinch myself to see if this had been real.  I had just sat down with a hundred or so others and done something that all my life had been illegal. But here it was legal and the people were ecstatic. The sense of freedom I felt was exhilarating.

I've heard it said, or maybe I just thought it on the way to the bus stop, that when old Hippies die God let's them decide whether they'd like to spend eternity in Heaven or Oregon. Well I knew I hadn't died yet, but Oregon is pretty nice.  It gave me something to think about on the bus ride home.  Mmm Blueberry Kush.

INVOCATION: original art and music

Below is a video which is a compilation of stuff I made in the month of April and March.  I titled it "Invocation".  The pictures were conceived with the idea of revealing the unseen dimensions, the spiritual dimensions.

A nice addition is the music of Bill Canino who provided the soundtrack.

Life is spiritual by nature due to its association with consciousness.  The quandary the world finds itself in is due to the work of the dark side which has had the ascendency in production of world events.

There is another side, a side of light, where most of us live.  While the powers of darkness which control society are spiritual so is this other side also a spiritual force. But it is a force for the promotion of well being instead of a force for creating social malaise.

Go into your private place and invoke a spirit from the Realm of Light to empower you against the Kingdom of Darkness.  Come on out and make the darkness disappear. Be Kynd.

Cherry Blossoms: poetry and photography

enjoy the video and reading below

Cherry Blossoms

Overnight the wind

plucked half the cherry blossoms from the tree

dropping some on the grass

while piling the rest like snow in pink drifts

on the leeward side of the street.

(C) David H. Roche 2016.