Soma - Plants and the Divine

[eye_of_the_storm]

///

 

Soma (Sanskrit सोम sóma), or Haoma (Avestan), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a Vedic ritual drink^[1] of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities. In the Avesta, Haoma has the entire Yašt 20 and Yasna 9-11 dedicated to it.

 

It is described as being prepared by extracting juice from the stalks of a certain plant. In both Vedic and Zoroastrian tradition, the name of the drink and the plant are the same, and the three forming a religious or mythological unity.

The Rigveda calls the plant "God for Gods" seemingly giving him precedence above Indra and the other Gods (RV 9.42^[2])

 

There has been much speculation concerning what is most likely to have been the identity of the original plant. There is no solid consensus on the question, although some Western experts outside the Vedic and Avestan religious traditions now seem to favour a species of Ephedra, perhaps Ephedra sinica.^[3][4]

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soma

Edited January 16, 2013 by White Wolf Running On Air

[gendao]

yes his name is Egyptian Meses meaning 'born' as in Ra-meses (Ra is born). As to what he learned there I am not aware of any authentic sources that might tell us. Its possible you could relate the 10 commandments back to the 42 negative confessions ... but that's not very interesting. the burning bush ... there's plenty of sacred trees in Egypt some of which are clearly symbols of the luminous body.

 

 

 

What he def didn't learn is that Kabbalah is from Ka-Ba-Ankh ... this is one of the those false etymologies which float around the ineternet ....

Fascinating...so this is what kind of bush Seshat was burning?!

As well as Moses...

THEN THE LORD SAID TO MOSES, "TAKE THE FOLLOWING FINE SPICES: 500 SHEKELS OF LIQUID MYRRH, HALF AS MUCH OF FRAGRANT CINNAMON, 250 SHEKELS OF KANNABOSM (CANNABIS), 500 SHEKELS OF CASSIA - ALL ACCORDING TO THE SANCTUARY SHEKEL - AND A HIND OF OLIVE OIL. MAKE THESE INTO MAKE THESE INTO A SACRED ANNOITING OIL, A FRAGRANT BLEND, THE WORK OF A PERFUMER. IT WILL BE THE SACRED ANNOITING OIL. - Exodus 30:23

Of which:

And yet...

[三江源]

Changing the chemistry of the brain to open receptors.

 

What bush was burning?

[eye_of_the_storm]

Edited January 16, 2013 by White Wolf Running On Air

[三江源]

It's an interesting topic. It could get seen here, if you actually want to discuss the use of marihuana in the bible, it's pretty fascinating.

 

Being in the right place is part of the tao!

 

I had never thought that the burning bush was actually marijuana. About fly agaric (sp?) I had read some, but not about this.

 

I think you really have to know how to guide the effects, or to work with a shaman, or.. something.

[GrandmasterP]

Then there was the dyslexic devil worshipper.

She sold her soul to Santa.

Doubt if the burning bush was marijuana though, wrong soil plus insufficient water in that part of the wrold for good growing.

Creosote bush possibly, they like deserts.

Edited January 15, 2013 by GrandmasterP

[eye_of_the_storm]

It's an interesting topic. It could get seen here, if you actually want to discuss the use of marihuana in the bible, it's pretty fascinating.

 

Being in the right place is part of the tao!

 

I had never thought that the burning bush was actually marijuana. About fly agaric (sp?) I had read some, but not about this.

 

I think you really have to know how to guide the effects, or to work with a shaman, or.. something.

 

Ah ok... no worries

 

... well I guess the warfare part still applies... and so too the spiritual part... entheogens and so on...

 

Ok

[GrandmasterP]

It's a sound enough idea is that forces of light versus forces of darkness.

Most religions draw on that or similar for their stories.

Has to be something behind it all.

[Sanzon]

(regarding the deleted post on assimilation of other cultures & beliefs into Christianity) Not much is new, stories rehashed, metaphors tetold. Might go burn a bush & read this interesting book on the matter.

 

http://www.evolutionofgod.net/

Edited January 16, 2013 by bardus71

[Sanzon]

...re-told, that is....

[eye_of_the_storm]

2,700-year-old marijuana found in Chinese tomb

 

Published on Thursday November 27, 2008

 

Dean Beeby

 

THE CANADIAN PRESS

 

OTTAWA – Researchers say they have located the world's oldest stash of marijuana, in a tomb in a remote part of China.

 

The cache of cannabis is about 2,700 years old and was clearly ``cultivated for psychoactive purposes," rather than as fibre for clothing or as food, says a research paper in the Journal of Experimental Botany.

 

The 789 grams of dried cannabis was buried alongside a light-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian man, likely a shaman of the Gushi culture, near Turpan in northwestern China.

 

The extremely dry conditions and alkaline soil acted as preservatives, allowing a team of scientists to carefully analyze the stash, which still looked green though it had lost its distinctive odour.

 

"To our knowledge, these investigations provide the oldest documentation of cannabis as a pharmacologically active agent," says the newly published paper, whose lead author was American neurologist Dr. Ethan B. Russo.

 

Remnants of cannabis have been found in ancient Egypt and other sites, and the substance has been referred to by authors such as the Greek historian Herodotus. But the tomb stash is the oldest so far that could be thoroughly tested for its properties.

 

The 18 researchers, most of them based in China, subjected the cannabis to a battery of tests, including carbon dating and genetic analysis. Scientists also tried to germinate 100 of the seeds found in the cache, without success.

 

The marijuana was found to have a relatively high content of THC, the main active ingredient in cannabis, but the sample was too old to determine a precise percentage.

 

Researchers also could not determine whether the cannabis was smoked or ingested, as there were no pipes or other clues in the tomb of the shaman, who was about 45 years old.

 

The large cache was contained in a leather basket and in a wooden bowl, and was likely meant to be used by the shaman in the afterlife.

 

"This materially is unequivocally cannabis, and no material has previously had this degree of analysis possible," Russo said in an interview from Missoula, Mont.

 

"It was common practice in burials to provide materials needed for the afterlife. No hemp or seeds were provided for fabric or food. Rather, cannabis as medicine or for visionary purposes was supplied."

The tomb also contained bridles, archery equipment and a harp, confirming the man's high social standing.

 

Russo is a full-time consultant with GW Pharmaceuticals, which makes Sativex, a cannabis-based medicine approved in Canada for pain linked to multiple sclerosis and cancer.

The company operates a cannabis-testing laboratory at a secret location in southern England to monitor crop quality for producing Sativex, and allowed Russo use of the facility for tests on 11 grams of the tomb cannabis.

 

Researchers needed about 10 months to cut red tape barring the transfer of the cannabis to England from China, Russo said.

 

The inter-disciplinary study was published this week by the British-based botany journal, which uses independent reviewers to ensure the accuracy and objectivity of all submitted papers.

The substance has been found in two of the 500 Gushi tombs excavated so far in northwestern China, indicating that cannabis was either restricted for use by a few individuals or was administered as a medicine to others through shamans, Russo said.

 

"It certainly does indicate that cannabis has been used by man for a variety of purposes for thousands of years."

 

Russo, who had a neurology practice for 20 years, has previously published studies examining the history of cannabis.

 

"I hope we can avoid some of the political liabilities of the issue," he said, referring to his latest paper.

The region of China where the tomb is located, Xinjiang, is considered an original source of many cannabis strains worldwide.

 

http://www.thestar.c...in-chinese-tomb

Edited January 16, 2013 by White Wolf Running On Air

[GrandmasterP]

Lettuce

Eat enough lettuce and you'll not need soma.

Powerful stuff is lettuce.

[Cheshire Cat]

The yogis are famous for their rigid health discipline, with postures and exercise to improve the body conditions.

They know what to avoid in order to keep their spiritual discipline.

 

It is very strange to think that those people (who cares for their health so much) could make use of something that is harmful to the body...

Yet, they smoke... heavily.

[Cheshire Cat]

Lettuce

Eat enough lettuce and you'll not need soma.

Powerful stuff is lettuce.

Nothing is as strong as nutmeg ...

[GrandmasterP]

I'll give that a try then.

Fed up with chewing cloves.

The Shiva wallahs out in India spend a lot of time out of their trees smoking bhang from chillums. Seems to be what they are all about in some places.

There was a small herd of them lived near a tank in Vrindaban all naked as jaybirds, completely out of their trees. Local devotees fed them.

Then again it's pretty warm most of the time is Vrindaban, they'd not last long round here in the snow.

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

Then there was the dyslexic devil worshipper.

She sold her soul to Santa.

Doubt if the burning bush was marijuana though, wrong soil plus insufficient water in that part of the wrold for good growing.

Creosote bush possibly, they like deserts.

 

Cannabis grows everywhere like wild... there are only a handfull of terrains that our Earth cannot bear Cannabis plnts:

 

Stone, Glacier, *pure* desert, and, to my knowledge, ocean. Great Sea Weed, i bet!

 

 

 

Anyways, pot grows in arid lands quite well... it loves water, for sure, but it can do quite well with a copious amount of sunshine in lieu of water. Pot grows like a weed in almost all soils, rich and poor alike.

OF COURSE, if you are looking for QUALITY weed, like medicinal marijuana, then you are looking for the handy man made cultivation techniques that utilize hydroponics and tweaked fertalizers.

 

OTHERWISE, the plant is just supposed to grow in great opulance... everywhere...

 

 

Took a real effort over the last hundred years or so...

to all but totally annahilate the sacred Cannabis plant.

 

 

But i do imagine back in the day of the bibles' authors that Cannabis could be seen wild and plentiful, much like ferns are seen in today's evergreen forests, or blackberry bushes maybe.

 

I've heard that Jesus was annointed with several sacred oils, one of which was hemp... i bet he was risin on the third day cuz of munchies.

[Flolfolil]

dunno how i feel about ephedra being soma. it is essentially speed. but i guess if one feeling is holy they all are

 

awesome mushroom amanita muscaria. Used to forage for them when i lived in humboldt california. Great time Surprised they live in the arizona mountains as well. Its pretty cool there is a mushroom out there with hardly any lookalikes (and the ones that do, look nothing like it if you know what you are looking for) that is incredibly easy to find

[Vanir Thunder Dojo Tan]

Humboldt huh? Funny cuz that's what i got for x-mas was a hoody that has a picture of a stoned skunk on the front and says:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Humboldt Home Grown

Skunk #1

 

 

 

 

I dont usually believe in coincedences, but i think i'll let this one slide... lol

Edited January 16, 2013 by Northern Avid Judo Ant

[DiamonD]

I suggest we harmala ourselves to eternity.

[Flolfolil]

I suggest we harmala ourselves to eternity.

 

i could google this, but i will ask you what it is

[DiamonD]

Used as an incense against evil eye in Persian culture, interestingly has same b.caapi MAOI properties as ayahuasca, some argue that its the original Soma

[Cheshire Cat]

I'll give that a try then.

 

I wouldn't encourage this... it could be a psychedelic experience. I'm not kidding.

[GrandmasterP]

We use a lot of nutmeg on rice puddings.

Never had a rice pudding talk back yet.

Always a first time I suppose.

Back in the dim and distant when it was almost compulsory I tried that LSD.

First time was superb, second time bleddy terrifying.. Never again!

[Cheshire Cat]

We use a lot of nutmeg on rice puddings.

Never had a rice pudding talk back yet.

 

From Wikipedia:

 

 

In low doses, nutmeg produces no noticeable physiological or neurological response, but in large doses, raw nutmeg has psychoactive effects. In its freshly-ground (from whole nutmegs) form, nutmeg contains myristicin, a monoamine oxidase inhibitor and psychoactive substance. Myristicin poisoning can induce convulsions, palpitations, nausea, eventual dehydration, and generalized body pain.^[15] It is also reputed to be a strong deliriant.^[16]

Fatal myristicin poisonings in humans are very rare, but two have been reported: one in an 8-year-old child^[17] and another in a 55-year-old adult, the latter case attributed to a combination withflunitrazepam.^[18]

In case reports raw nutmeg produced anticholinergic-like symptoms, attributed to myristicin and elemicin.^[17][19][20]

In case reports intoxications with nutmeg had effects that varied from person to person, but were often reported to be an excited and confused state with headaches, nausea and dizziness, dry mouth, bloodshot eyes and memory disturbances. Nutmeg was also reported to induce hallucinogenic effects, such as visual distortions and paranoid ideation. In the reports nutmeg intoxication took several hours before maximum effect was reached. Effects and after-effects lasted up to several days.^{[15][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]}

Myristicin poisoning is potentially deadly to some pets and livestock, and may be caused by culinary quantities of nutmeg harmless to humans. For this reason, it is recommended not to feed eggnog to dogs.

[GrandmasterP]

Well you live and learn.

Ta