True hallucinations and mystical films

Realitysandwich.com is a magazine about far-out culture and evolved consciousness edited by longtime Dazed columnist Daniel Pinchbeck. Under this Blog, he and his colleague Faye Sakellaridis round up their favourite nuggets for the modern shaman.

We polled Reality Sandwich contributors to find out what films they thought most effectively captured the mystical experience. As you might expect, we got a diverse list - and more suggestions than would comfortably fit into a single column. So here is Volume 1 of the RS mystical films list. This first installment includes: The Matrix, Waking Life, Bee Season, The Fountain, Spirited Away, Enter the Void, Wizard of Oz, Being There, Au Hasard Balthazar, and Stalker.

The story of Terence and Dennis McKenna is inextricably associated with the "Experiment at La Chorrera," a search for hallucinogens in the Amazon that evolved into a quest for the ultimate truths of life. The story has only been relayed through the eyes of Terence, in his book True Hallucinations, up until now. Dennis McKenna's newly published memoir, The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss, includes a chapter on La Chorrera. Read the excerpt here, on Reality Sandwich.

Kate Magic is the most experienced raw food promoter in Europe, with two decades of experience with the raw diet, and the author of four raw lifestyle books. Her new superfood cookbook, Raw Magic, includes recipes that are playful, healthy, and above all, delicious. In this interview, Kate talks about her passion for superfoods, the right diet and spiritual practice, and raising a family on raw food.

Our weekly round-up of psi in the news, compiled by contributing editor David Metcalfe, is a comprehensive listing of recent news stories that deal in all areas of the elusive sixth sense. In this round-up, news stories include: Guillermo Del Toro discusses his personal encounters with the unexplained, the science of undaunted places, and Dr. Julie Besichel's recently released e-book Among Mediums: A Scientist's Quest for Answers.

Many have observed visionary elements at play in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. However, Tolkien himself gives "scant evidence of a shaman adventurer," and had admittedly conservative and simple tastes. In this excerpt from The Shamanic Odyssey: Homer, Tolkien, and the Visionary Experience by Robert Tindall and Susana Bustos PhD, Tindall and Bustos explore shamanism and consciousness in Tolkien's work.

Depending on your definition, the term "soulmate" can be rather restrictive. Writer and Emmy-nominated producer Adam Gilad is not a fan of the definition that binds you to one person for life. "It suggests," he says, in this article on Reality Sandwich, "the wish-fulfillment of a pre-destined fixed-deck. Which reduces you to a hapless rube at the card table of love." Adam Gilad is the host of the upcoming Evolver Intensives live interactive video course, "From Sex to Super-Consciousness: The Future of Love."