Daily Archives: July 4, 2022

For All Mankind relishes its three-way race to Mars [Apple TV+ recap] – Cult of Mac

Posted: July 4, 2022 at 11:25 pm

Apple TV+s lunar headache For All Mankind is headed to Mars for real this time. Three competing spaceships strive to make it to the red planet first to win a huge cash prize.

NASA holds some tricks up its sleeve to beat the wilier competition, but you cant count out the Russians just yet. Theyre always willing to do something stupid to make headlines. A mostly fine episode ends on a nice little cliffhanger to boot.

Season 3, episode 4: In this weeks episode, entitled Happy Valley, the Russians, the Americans and the otherAmericans are all launching their ships to Mars. The Russians only got that far because Margo Madison (Wrenn Schmidt) gave them top-secret engine schematics to spare her would-be boyfriend Sergei Nikulov (Piotr Adamczyk), whom the KGB was going to kill if she didnt.

Not that it did them allthat much good. Helios Aerospaces ship Phoenix is going to beat both the NASAs Sojourner 1 and the Soviets Mars-94. Or anyway thats how it looks for now.

Ed Baldwin (Joel Kinnaman) isnt as happy as he should be, even with Helios Dev Ayesa (Edi Gathegi) giving poetic speeches and agreeing to split a huge sum of money with everyone at the company, including Eds ex-wife Karen (Shantel VanSanten) and ex-NASA scientist Bill Strausser (Noah Harpster).

Ed and Danielle Poole (Krys Marshall) buried the hatchet when Eds daughter Kelly (Cynthy Wu) joined the NASA mission. Of course, Danielle is also secretly fine with Eds outfit taking the lead, because NASA conceals an ace up its sleeve: a secret engine maneuver involving a solar sail that will place the governments ship on Mars first. Theyll beat Phoenix to Mars by eight days.

Meanwhile, Ellen Wilson (Jodi Balfour) is fending off congressional oversight as an economic crisis looms. Wilson loves the Mars stuff, but America doesnt really care (Americans are unequivocally right about this). Theres some new nuclear fuel source called Helium-3 that they discovered on the moon thats responsible for the closing of coal mines and the like.

Larry (Nate Cordry) talks tough, but he and Ellen know theyre in trouble. Larry suggests a trip to NASA because there is nothing anyone on this show thinks cant be solved by doing space stuff publicly. When they take their limo to NASA, theres a huge protest and among the throng is Jimmy Stevens (David Chandler), Dannys (Casey W. Johnson) brother.

Hes about to get into some anti-government mischief. He still has a chip on his shoulder because of how his parents Gordo and Tracy were valorized by a country that wouldnt take full responsibility for causing their deaths by stoking the space race against the Russians. Jimmy meets one of the Marines who was on the moon when his parents died. He (Zac Titus) thinks it was a conspiracy that Gordo and Tracy were sacrificed for some joint Russian/American resource-mining mission. Its ludicrous but it is believable that there would be yahoos who think it.

Jimmys not the only one whos bent out of shape. The Sojourner crew all saw the Dennis Quaid movie they made in For All Mankinds universe about Gordo and Tracy Stevens, and they quote it all the time. It drives Danny crazy. He personally chastises anyone who has any fun with his parents memory. Ed sees this happening and realizes that Danielle may have been right about not bringing Danny to Mars because hes not fit for the task mentally. Not that it does Ed much good now to realize it

Kelly gets a weird transmission from Mars-94 while doing her radio broadcasts. The voice says theyre about to try something dangerous, but the guy has to leave before he can say what. Ellen Wilson is there when Margo and Aleida Rosales (Coral Pea) see it a few minutes later; the Russians are burning their engines at an ill-advised rate to get to Mars first, but it could destroy their ship in the process.

And of course thats what happens. The nuclear engines go into meltdown. They have 72 hours before radiation kills everyone on board. Ed Baldwin tells Danielle hell go rescue them, which means the Helios crew will never make it to Mars.

When Dev hears this, he goes apeshit. He demands Ed turn back on course and let NASA rescue the Russians, then deploys a software update on Sojourner 1 so Ed cant manually change the ships course. So NASA must step up.

But there may be silver lining. Theres liquid nitrogen on board the Russian ship. They could convert it to fuel and get to Mars after all. There are still a number of things that could go wrong, though.

First of all, theres a defector in the crew. Last season, Rolan Baranov (Alexander Sokovikov) went to the U.S. station at Jamestown to defect and the Russians came and got him, setting off the lunar gunfight. It seems the Russians still havent gotten over his betrayal. Second, the engines are about to blow on the Russian ship. A bunch of Americans and one Russian die in the crash.

This episode of For All Mankind was basically alright all plot, all mechanics. I can dig the show when its literallyjust about the process of being in space and going to other worlds. Then, theres at least no room for outrageously silly dramatic turns.

Im still not convinced that a movie about Gordo and Tracy would be how most of the crew of these missions sees them; they were on TV all the time, to say nothing of the fact that most of these guys worked with them when they were still alive. Furthermore, Dannys homicidal rage at a bad movie about his parents doesnt track. But then nothingabout that little creep tracks.

Im willing to look the other way at the water under the bridge way the showrunners handled Eds racism toward Danielle because I like the way they communicate with each other this week. And if I got hung up on every bad piece of emotional and social continuity on this show sorry I completely lost my train of thought.

Anyway, lets just get the rest of this season over with, shall we?

The fucking iPod exists. Im so mad I want to scream. Gary Hart made Steve Jobs daughter hate him ahead of schedule, I guess. Come on, writers this is just laziness.

Also, theres a fake news program called wait for it Eagle News (instead of Fox News). Clever. American rock band Toadies still got together and Possum Kingdom is still their one hit. And A Tribe Called Quest still wrote Can I Kick It?

New episodes of For All Mankind arrive on Apple TV+ every Friday.

Rated: TV-MA

Watch on: Apple TV+

Scout Tafoya is a film and TV critic, director and creator of the long-running video essay series The Unloved for RogerEbert.com. He has written for The Village Voice, Film Comment, The Los Angeles Review of Books and Nylon Magazine. He is the author of Cinemaphagy: On the Psychedelic Classical Form of Tobe Hooper, the director of 25 feature films, and the director and editor of more than 300 video essays, which can be found at Patreon.com/honorszombie.

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Mars Food delivers 4.3B healthy meals to families around the world and provides 23M meals to communities – Benzinga

Posted: at 11:25 pm

Mars Food shared itslatest Purpose in Action Report, which showcases the company's work to provide betterfood today and a better world tomorrow, including the progress they have made towards their purpose commitments.

In 2021 Mars Food set out its new five-year ambition to provide 5.5 billion healthy meals per year by 2025 - an increase from its previous ambition to deliver 4 billion healthy meals per year, which was achieved in 2021. This new ambition is supported by a series of five-year commitments to drive continued action, which are focused on three key areas:

The report details the strong progress that Mars Food has made against these targets over the last year, including:

With food insecurity remaining an increasing issue for many people around the world, the company has also partnered with food banks and social aid charities to donate 23 million meals to those in need.

Mars Food's 2025 Purpose Commitments are the latest goals the company has set themselves as they strive to provide better food today and a better world tomorrow.

Mars Food's 2025 purpose target take action on:?

Better Food Today

Better World Tomorrow

Drive ?Brand Purpose??

Furthermore, Mars Food is also reflecting these commitments internally?by supporting its Associates in being able to?enjoy dinner at home with their families, whether that's?leaving the office on time or switching off at home.

Shaid Shah, Global President?of?Mars Food, Edge Multisales and Global Customers?said:??

At Mars Food we are dedicated to providing better food today and a better world tomorrow. We believe a better world tomorrow is one where more people have access to healthy meals; more people cook and sit down together to enjoy shared dinnertimes; and more food can be produced with less environmental impact. Over the last year we have delivered 4.3 billion healthy meals which have been shared on dinner tables around the world, donated more than 23 million meals to those most in need within our communities and progressed our sustainability agenda. I am incredibly proud the progress we have made over the last year. However, we know we are not perfect and we still have much more to do. Our Mars Food Purpose continues to guide us as we strive to make more progress so that we can continue to make big, meaningful differences to billions of lives around the world.

To see the full Mars Food Purpose?in Action Report, click?here.?

###?

ABOUT MARS, INCORPORATED?

For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This common purpose unites our 140,000+ Associates. It is at the center of who we are as a global, family-owned business, and it fuels how we are transforming, innovating, and evolving to make a positive impact on the world.?

Every year, our diverse and expanding portfolio of quality confectionery, food, and pet care products and services delight millions of people and supports millions of pets. With almost $45 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world's best-loved brands including Ben's Original, CESAR, Cocoavia, DOVE, EXTRA, KIND, M&M's, SNICKERS, PEDIGREE, ROYAL CANIN, and WHISKAS.? We are creating a better world for pets? through nutrition, breakthrough programs in diagnostics, wearable health monitoring, DNA testing, pet welfare and comprehensive veterinary care with AniCura, BANFIELD,?BLUEPEARL, Linnaeus and VCA.??

We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper. The Mars Five Principles Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom inspire our Associates to act every day to help create a better world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive.??

For more information about Mars, please visitwww.mars.com.

WebWireID291217

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Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy & Medicine – Psychedelics.com

Posted: at 11:24 pm

Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy & Medicine - Psychedelics.com

We are hard at work developing a new brand suitable to deliver the best content from psychedelics experts around the world.

We believe in a future in which humanity has found ethical, sustainable and safe ways to tap into the potential for healing and growth that psychedelic medicine offers.

Our mission is to be a consumer-friendly access point to psychedelics. If youre an industry professional, researcher, content creator, investor or have an interest in what were doing, wed love to talk.

We're seeking experts in the study of DMT, Ketamine, LSD, MDMA, Phenethylamines, Psilocybin, as well as mental and behavioral health conditions with evidenced or potential treatment efficacy through psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Calls to numbers on a specific treatment center listing will be routed to that treatment center. Additional calls will also be forwarded and returned by a quality treatment center within the USA.

Calls to any general helpline (non-facility specific 1-8XX numbers) for your visit will be answered by a licensed drug and alcohol rehab facility, a paid advertiser on Psychedelics.com.

All calls are private and confidential.

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Can microdosing psychedelics improve your mental health? Here’s what the science says – ABC News

Posted: at 11:24 pm

When Simone Surgeoner returned to Melbourne after living in the United States for six years, she felt like her life had fallen apart.

I was in a really, really dark place and I just couldnt get myself out of it, the 49-year-old therapist said.

It felt like all the colours had been washed out of life I just had no motivation.

Ms Surgeoner had never taken any illicit drugs, but she was curious about whether taking tiny doses of psilocybin mushrooms otherwise known asmagic mushrooms could help her clear the fog.

So, she started taking 120 milligrams roughly 10 per cent of a standard recreational dose of the hallucinogena couple of times a week, an approach known as microdosing.

The dose was too small to trigger kaleidoscopic visuals or profound visions, but it was just enough to feel like the sun was shining again, Ms Surgeoner said.

It gave me back days where I just went, Oh, this is what it feels like to be happy and normal again,' she said.

"It gave me the strength to get through those dark periods."

Ms Surgeoner is among a growing number of people who aremicrodosing psychedelics, particularly psilocybin and LSD, to easeanxiety and depression, improvewellbeing, and boostcreativity and focus.

While no-one knows how many people microdose in Australia or overseas, online discussion groups suggestthe trend is picking up.

One Reddit microdosing community has grown to over 200,000 members since launching in 2013, and aFacebook group called "Psilocybin Microdosing 101" has gathered 14,000 members in two years.

Once the drugs of choice among hippies, music festival-goers and Silicon Valley workers, psychedelics have alsocaught the eye of researchers in recent years as potential treatments for mental health issues, including depression and anxiety.

In March last year, the federal government committed$15 million to supportclinical research that will investigate whether psychedelics can treat debilitating conditions likepost-traumatic stress disorder, depression, addiction, and eating disorders.

"Psychedelics have gone through this very interesting transition in the last few years from being something that is fairly taboo to something that people seem genuinely interested in, said Vince Polito, a cognitive psychologist at Macquarie University.

Despite this wave of interest, psychedelicsremain prohibited (Schedule 9)substancesin Australia. Last year, the Therapeutic GoodsAdministration (TGA) rejected a call to downscale psilocybin (and MDMA, or ecstasy)to controlled substances.

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While taking anLSD tab or taking a couple of grams of magic mushrooms triggers intense hallucinations and shifts in consciousness, taking a microdosetypically10 to 20 per cent of a standard or recreational dose often has a much subtler effect.

Jay (not their real name), a 25-year-old disability worker, said that for him, microdosing LSD is more likea "personal enhancer" than a full-blowntrip.

He said taking small doses of the drug hadhelped him overcome his social anxiety and become more confident.

"[Microdosing]helpsme connect with people on a social level, on an emotional level," said Jay, who is based in Sydney.

"Whereas [a full recreational dose] almost muddles up my internals a little bit I won't be able to talk, I won't be able to string my sentences together properly."

A handful of recent studies reveal people are drawn to microdosing for a variety of reasons.

A 2019 survey of more than 1.000 people found that the most common reasons totry microdosing are to enhance performance andimprove mood.

Another survey of over 400 microdosersrevealed that more than half took minuscule doses of psychedelics to help them cope with depression, anxiety, and ADHD.

The same study found that others microdose to find relief from physical ailments, including migraines, chronic pain, and cluster headaches.

Some people may turn to microdosing because they don't trust conventional treatmentslike antidepressant medications,or feel that they aren't effective, said Stephen Bright, a psychologist at Edith Cowan University.

"There is some bad public sentiment towards 'big pharma' and antidepressant drugs," Dr Bright said.

"People may have already tried an antidepressant drug and found that it wasn't particularly effective."

Another drawcard of microdosing is that it could be seen as more socially acceptable than taking a full-blown psychedelic trip, Dr Bright said.

"It almost feels like it's a way of trying to makepsychedelics fit within our current society."

Early results from trials on the therapeutic potential of large doses (macrodosing) of psychedelics have been promising.

So what about microdosing?Can tiny doses ofpsychedelics really lift depression, reduce anxiety and make you more creative and productive? The evidence we have so far is a mixed bag.

In May this year, Dr Polito co-authored a review of every single microdosing study that had been published between 1955 and 2021.

Dr Polito assessed the effects reported in the studies across various categories, from mood and mental health to creativityand cognition.

Several studies in the review suggested that microdosing psychedelics could indeed spark up your mood and reduce anxiety.

Another2019study on over 1,000 microdosers found that participants reported better moods, increased energy, and improved work performance.

And a 2021 studyonover 8,000participantsrevealed that among those with mental health concerns, microdosers said they experienced lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress than their non-microdosing counterparts.

But while the results seem glowing on the surface, it's important to take them with a grain of salt, Dr Polito said.

"Most of the studies that have looked at mood and mental health show that people who microdose do report benefits and sometimes quite striking benefits," Dr Polito said.

"However, the majority of that research does come from self-report studies."

Unlike lab studies which are carried out in a controlled setting and often compare a drug's effects with a placebo self-report studies involve asking participants about their experiences through questionnaires, surveys or polls.

A benefit of this approachis that itoffers a cheap, straightforward way to collect data from a lot of people, particularly for research onillegal substances, whichare difficult to access due to regulatoryhurdles.

But these kinds of studiescome with their limitations, Dr Polito said.

"Typically, people that would be attracted to a study like that are people who are fans of microdosing so there's certainly a selection bias."

Dr Polito said another problem with self-report studies is there's no way of knowing for sure what, or how much, people are taking.

"[Self-report] studies rely on people's honesty in reporting what they've taken, how much they've taken. Even if someone is being very honest, they may not always know," Dr Polito said.

"Two people might say that they're taking half a gram of psilocybin mushrooms, but the actual psilocybin content of those mushrooms might be very, very different."

The controlled lab studies in Dr Polito's review of existing researchpainted a less promising picture.

Three studies found no noticeable changes in depression symptoms on the day participants took their dose, while fourfound that microdosing seemed to increase anxiety and stress levels.

"There is a fairly consistent minority of people who say that it doesn't make their mood improve it actually makes them more scatterbrained and emotional."

Other studies have shown there could be other forces at play.A 2021 placebo-controlled study onnearly 200 participants the largest study of its kind on psychedelics found participants did indeed noticea mental and emotional boost after takingmicrodoses of LSD for four weeks.

But those who received a placebo also noticed an improvement in their mental health, suggestingthat even the thought of taking a small dose of LSDwasas good as the real thing, a phenomenon known as the placebo effect.

"If people believe that it's going to reduce their anxiety, improve their depression, assist them in being more task-orientated and concentrate, they're likely to get that effect regardless of whether the drug gives them that effect," Dr Bright said.

"The placebo effect is extremely powerful."

So, does that hose down microdosing for good? Not necessarily, Dr Polito said.

He pointed out that it's important to remember that most lab studies have so far only assessed microdosing over a few weeks, whereas real-life microdosers often take psychedelics formonths.

"It may not be surprising that changes weren't found in those lab studies," Dr Polito said.

"If you gave someone three to six doses of a traditional antidepressant, you also wouldn't see much difference.

"It's only after someone has been taking those medications for six or 12 weeks that you see a difference."

Dr Bright agreesit's too early to tell if microdosing works or not, as most controlled studies have only been conducted on a small number of people.

"Before we can talk about whether [microdosing] is effective or not, there needs to be large clinical trials similar to those that we've already seen in the macrodosing space," Dr Bright said.

"Following on from that, if it does work we need to understand why it works."

Large, long-term studies would also reveal whether microdosing is safe enough to become the new therapeutic kid on the block.

Although microdosers may be less likely to have a bad trip, even a small dose of a hallucinogenic substance still has the potential to trigger psychotic episodes or other mental health issues, particularly for people with a history of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Anotherconcern is that takingpsychedelicsregularly over long periods could lead to heart issues.

A handful of studies have shown that psychedelics, including psilocybin, LSD and MDMA, activate a receptor called5-HT2B, which plays a role in heart structure and function.

The activation of this receptor over long periods has been linked to valvular heart disease in high-dose MDMA users, but we don't knowwhether microdosing carries the same risk, Dr Polito said.

"That is a question that hasn't been answered yet.We really would need to do very long-term studies."

Dr Polito and his team arecurrently conducting a double-blind, placebo-controlled studythat will explore how microdosing psilocybin impacts the brain.

The researchers are aiming to recruit about 80 people to take part in two double-blind placebo-controlled lab sessions that will investigate whether reported effects, such as performance enhancement and improved mental health, can be confirmed in brain scans and blood biomarkers.

"We're really trying to get at this question of whether there is really a pharmacological effect, or whether this is mainly based on placebo expectations," Dr Polito said.

"If we find differences in neural activity between those two visits, that will be pretty good evidence that there are some physiological changes and that it's not just people's expectations."

Get the latest health news and information from across the ABC.

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Inside Vision Treks: The Mind Armys Psychedelic Retreat Takes Strangers Into The Desert – Forbes

Posted: at 11:24 pm

Participants in The Mind Army's first Vision Treks psychedelic retreat hike the Eureka Sand Dunes in ... [+] Death Valley National Park.

Psychedelics are represented in the media, on the stock market, and in academic journals, but theres a tie-dye elephant in the room: theyre still illegal. An organization that believes every human should have the right to use psychedelics wants to change that.

The Mind Army is a non-profit organization working to move the needle on the legalization of psychedelics with lobbying, social pressure, and celebrity influence. With the mission of fighting for the right to pursue happiness, it is currently petitioning the Drug Enforcement Agency to deschedule ibogaine, a powerful alkaloid that has been shown to help interrupt addiction. The Mind Army believes it has been incorrectly scheduled because the plant-derived psychedelic has been proven to be non-addictive.

The organization is supported by a team of legal advisors with considerable experience in drug reform. It is taking a unique approach to rallying support for its cause: founders Zappy Zapolin, Kaia Roman, and Atom Smith are inviting influential people on curated vision trek retreats into nature.

Organized by Vision Treks, The Mind Armys three-night retreats combine the power of psychedelics with the power of nature, giving participants the opportunity to go within while spending time in some of the most stunning landscapes in the United States. The goal is to leave participants feeling more energized, focused, and aligned once they head back to realityand excited about the potential that psychedelics offer, not just for mental health, but for overall life improvement.

The group explores the Eureka Dunes, the tallest sand dunes in the United States.

We want to show that its important for people from all walks of life to spend time in nature and engage with psychedelics for the purpose of healing, even if all they can fit into their schedule is a short trip, said Zapolin about the curated trips. And in turn, the people who come on our retreats will have first-hand experience as to why these medicines should be accessible for everyone.

Attendees have the option to partake in the use of legal psychedelics and plant medicines including rap (pronounced ha-peh; a powdered shamanic snuff containing tobacco), cannabis, and oral ketamine, which is offered in a group setting after obtaining a prescription from a doctor.

This past spring with support from sponsors and the Vision Treks team, the organization took a film crew and nearly a dozen people including scientists, CEOs, founders, artists, professional athletes, and writersthis one includedfrom across North America on an inaugural three-night retreat to Californias Death Valley. Most had never met each other before.

While hiking the areas otherworldly desert landscape, connections were fostered among the unlikely group, which included engineer and creative scientist Dr. Kate Stone, PRSVR founder Margaret Williamson, Superbowl champion Taurean Nixon, HAVN chief psychedelic officer Dr. Ivan Casselman, KPure Naturals founder Karen Hoekstra, author and journalist Nicolle Hodges, The Mind Armys lead attorney Courtney Barnes, Beond founder Talia Eisenberg, martial artist Eric Ng, and creative producer Neely Shearer.

Participants slept in a large canvas teepee at the base of the Eureka Dunes.

I loved the conversations that I had. It was truly an amazing feeling to cut through the B.S. and pleasantries and have meaningful conversations with so many individuals, said Williamson, who admitted she felt a little nervous when the trip began, but headed home feeling peaceful, assured, and happy.

The group met in Los Angeles before heading to Death Valley National Park, spending two nights camping at the base of the Eureka Dunes. During several hikes, including a chilly sunrise hike to the tallest dune and an hours-long, seemingly endless trudge that circled the entirety of the dunes, participants alternated between solitary moments and sharing insights (and laughs) with others in the group.

Sitting at the bottom of that sand valley, I came to the understanding that I would have to get up and climb my way up and out, and that no matter how long I stayed in place, I would never be able to see what was on the other side of that dune unless I was willing to put in the work, said Williamson of her experience in the dunes.

A Vision Treks participant makes their way to the top of an enormous sand dune.

Backdropped by the Last Chance Mountains, the views were magnificent without the use of any mind-altering substances.

Everything rippled with life. Everything sang a song I could hear in the silence, said Hodges about her time in the desert. The dunes became naked bodies entangled and breathing as one.

The third and final night of the retreat was spent in the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where the group finished the trip off with a guided ketamine meditation.

On this trip I not only found myself, freed my inner kid, released past traumas, found renewed confidence, and sparked clarity on new life, said former Denver Bronco Nixon after the trip. I also connected with my soul tribe.

Superbowl champion Taurean 'T-Nix' Nixon takes in the views of the Alabama Hills and the Sierra ... [+] Nevada mountains.

While the inaugural Vision Treks retreat took place in California and brought a group of strangers together, future trips are being planned in other states, including Oregon, where psilocybin could potentially be offered as part of the experience, and for existing groups including corporate teams and other non-profit organizations.

Vision Treks is all about getting The Mind Armys message and mission out there, said Zapolin of the initiative. We want to show as many people as possible that they have the right to go inside their own mind for answers and healing.

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GOP Congressman’s Amendment Would Direct Military To Study Psilocybin And MDMA Benefits For Service Members – Marijuana Moment

Posted: at 11:24 pm

A GOP congressman wants to explore the therapeutic potential of psilocybin mushrooms and MDMA as alternatives to opioids for military service members, filing an amendment on Thursday that would promote research into the substances through an annual defense bill.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who has been vocal about his support for marijuana legalization and interest in psychedelics reform, is seeking to attach the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It would build upon another cannabis-focused amendment that was already approved by the House Armed Services Committee last week.

The existing provision from Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) calls for a Department of Defense (DOD)-led study into the efficacy of cannabis as an opioid alternative. Gaetz is requesting to broaden that language to also cover psilocybin and MDMA.

The new amendment would expand the study by including MDMA (3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and psilocybin mushrooms in the study on alternatives to prescription opioids in the treatment of members of the Armed Forces on terminal leave preceding separation, retirement, or release from active duty, according to a summary posted by the House Rules Committee.

The original cannabis amendment thats already attached to NDAA for Fiscal Year 2023 also specifies who would be eligible to participate in the marijuana study. It would be limited to service members with post-traumatic stress disorder, a traumatic brain injury or any other condition involving severe pain.

Gaetzs proposal must be made in order in the Rules Committee before potentially receiving House floor consideration. That panel will decide which submitted amendments can be cleared at an upcoming meeting that has not yet been scheduled.

In 2019, Gaetz also cosponsored an appropriations amendment led by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) that sought to remove an existing rider that advocates say inhibits research into the therapeutic potential of Schedule I drugs, including psychedelics and marijuana. The amendment was defeated on the floor on two occasions, and the longstanding prohibitive language is once again included in the relevant funding bill this yearthough it remains to be seen if reform-minded lawmakers will file another amendment to remove it this time.

The Armed Services Committee, meanwhile, also recently approved a separate amendment to NDAA from Rep. Anthony Brown (D-MD). The measure concerns cannabis sentencing standards under military code, mandating that the Military Justice Review Panel develop recommendations specifying appropriate sentencing ranges for offenses involving the use and possession of marijuana.

Marijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,500 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they dont miss any developments.Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) also proposed an amendment to the defense bill on Thursday that would protect financial institutions that work with state-legal cannabis businesses from being penalized by federal regulators. Its the congressmans latest attempt to get the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act enacted this year, following a recent agreement by leadership to exclude it from separate manufacturing legislation.

Perlmutter attempted to get the cannabis banking language attached to the last version of NDAA, but it was not ultimately included in the final package.

With respect to psychedelics policy, the House Appropriations Committee recently released a report for a 2023 Fiscal Year spending bill for Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CSJ) that calls for a federal review of psilocybin policy. Specifically, it asks for a Government Accountability Office (GAO) analysis on barriers to state, local and tribal programs for the psychedelic under federal prohibition.

Relatedly, officials at two agencies within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have acknowledged in a letter to two U.S. senators that federal prohibition makes it harder to study the benefits of psychedelics, requiring researchers to jump through additional regulatory hoops.

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Magic mushrooms: BC production facility one of a handful licensed to grow – CTV News

Posted: at 11:24 pm

In southern B.C, there's a new 20,000 square foot production facility where one particular product is generating a lot of buzz.

Psilocybin better known as magic mushrooms are grown here legally in a high-tech lab, where cultivators are hoping to contribute to medical research that suggests these mushrooms could have huge medical benefits.

Theres lots of clinical studies happening right now showing the potential of these mushrooms, Todd Henderson told CTV National News.

Henderson is head cultivator for a company called Optimi Health. It's one of a handful of Canadian businesses now federally approved to produce, manufacture and export psychedelic mushrooms.

Although theres only a few of these businesses right now, more and more companies are racing to position themselves as certified suppliers of psilocybin.

The push comes as scientists are increasingly exploring its therapeutic benefits, including for treatment of depression, substance use and end-of-life distress.

Were going to be able to provide that safe supply, so the researchers can actually then study deeper to see well, lets see where this goes, Bill Ciprick, CEO of Optimi Health, told CTV National News.

One study published in February found that psilocybin therapy was associated with relief of symptoms in adults suffering from major depressive disorder for up to a year.

Right now, there are no approved therapeutic products that contain psilocybin, in Canada or elsewhere, according to Health Canada. But in January 2022, Health Canada adjusted their Special Access Program (SAP) to allow physicians to request psilocybin for use in psychotherapy or with other treatment plans, making it easier for doctors to access the restricted drug.

And in April, the first patients in Canada were able to receive psilocybin treatment through SAP for end-of-life anxiety.

Thomas Hartle, one of those patients who received access due to his terminal colon cancer diagnosis, told CTV News in May that having access to this treatment made a huge difference in his quality of life.

"The improvement in my mental health is so night and day that it would be difficult to say all of the things that it does for me," he said.

"I still have cancer. I still have difficulty with what it physically does, but there are days when I don't even think about it. What would you do to have a day where you just feel normal?

These consciousness-altering substances are used in a controlled, clinical setting as part of psychotherapy.

Psilocybin, which is the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, enters the body through the same receptors as serotonin, a chemical that acts as a neurotransmitter, carrying messages through the body and acts as a mood stabilizer. People with depression often have low levels of serotonin, and psychedelics such as psilocybin have been found to cause an increase in connectivity of the brain, allowing those messages to be sent more readily than before.

Some studies have shown that one or two doses of psilocybin in a therapeutic setting can make significant, long-lasting differences for those with treatment-resistant depressive disorders.

Ciprick said that magic mushrooms provide more options for doctors looking at how to treat a patient.

What psilocybin offers is a different opportunity to physicians, he said. They need lots of tools in their toolbox, and this gives them another one.

While Optimi also grows non-regulated mushrooms, its main focus is growing the psychedelic variety for medical use and research.

Anyone who is looking to develop a medicine that is going to help people that is who we are growing for, Henderson said.

The company already has an agreement with the IMPACT clinical trial accelerator program within the University of Calgary to clinically test their psilocybin products and the potential health benefits.

And in late June, the company announced that they had partnered with a Calgary-based clinic group to supply them with magic mushrooms for psychedelic-assisted therapies, provided the patients are approved through SAP.

About 2,000 kilograms of dried psilocybin can be produced every month.

While the company is currently working with Canadian researchers, the goal is to eventually share their magic mushrooms globally.

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3 Paranormal Experiences That Have Caught The Attention Of Mental Health Researchers – Forbes

Posted: at 11:24 pm

New studies attempt to integrate unreal experiences with reality.

Transcendent, mystical, and out-of-body experiences are becoming a mainstream conversation not just in pop culture, but also in the field of psychological research. While more and more studies are cropping up to try to determine the causes and nature of these experiences, it can still feel unnerving to actually go through one.

Luckily, there has been a resurgence of literature on these seemingly fringe areas of human perception specifically psychedelic, mystical, and ghostly episodes. Heres some information on each to make you feel less alone and less frightened in case you encounter one in the future.

#1. Psychedelic experiences

Psychedelic experiences and psychedelic therapy have shown early promise in the treatment of otherwise intractable conditions such as major depression, existential anxiety, addiction, and PTSD.

Not just that, psychedelics such as psilocybin and ayahuasca that have been used in shamanic cultures for centuries have been known to induce feelings of deep interconnectedness, joy, love, and awe relieving people of the distressing effects of neuroticism and negative emotions.

In some cases, these psychedelics have caused long-term positive personality changes.

However, since there is a lot that we dont understand about these substances, it is important to be mindful of the following factors, should you choose to have such an experience. Here are a few recommendations given by psychologist and psychedelia researcher, Sam Gandy:

#2. Mystical experiences

According to a recent study, mystical experiences, such as feeling like you are part of a higher force and/or temporarily losing touch with time and space (not induced by drugs), can be indicative of healthy psychological functioning even though it is often thought to be associated with psychological illness.

Such a mystical experience characterized by feelings of joy, happiness, unconditional love, collective consciousness and divine predetermination is actually connected to spiritual intelligence that includes a set of adaptive abilities such as:

Psychologists Daiga Katrna Bitna and Kristne Mrtinsone of Rga Stradi University in Riga, Latvia have the following advice for anyone who might be struggling to come to terms with a mystical experience:

The most practical advice for a person who has experienced a mystical experience is, at least initially, to understand that this experience may be part of spiritual development or that it may be a symptom of pathology, they explain. It is important to accept both views at the same time with an open view and the fact that they can both coexist. Don't choose between either but try to understand how it is and how I should react to what I am experiencing.

#3. Ghostly experiences

A ghostly episode or a haunting is probably the most controversial of the three paranormal experiences discussed in this article and is often the toughest to come to terms with. It is important to understand that even these experiences come under the purview of psychological research and, more importantly, are real.

Firstly, if you have had a ghostly experience or an anomalous experience, chances are you are high on the trait of transliminality a concept that represents a thin boundary between the conscious self and unconscious self, as well as the outside environment, according to psychologist Brian Laythe.

Information from any of these sources tends to pass more easily within a person high in transliminality, informs Laythe. The state and trait nature of transliminality share relationships with creativity, imagination, fantasy traits, disassociation, and temporal lobe lability.

According to Laythe, whether or not people choose to interpret anomalous experiences as paranormal, they do not have to feel alone or crazy for having gone through them due to the following reasons:

Laythe points out that ghostly episodes, shamanic experiences, and general high strangeness have been well documented throughout history. Furthermore, over 100 years of modern empirical psychology show they are not going away despite changes in society's zeitgeist.

In these sorts of experiences, knowing that your experience is actually not uncommon, and has some predictable components is often helpful, he concludes.

Conclusion: There is much to be discovered and explained by psychology and research, especially when it comes to such extraordinary experiences. If you or a loved one has had one of these experiences, it is important to know that they are far more common than you think and do not necessarily point to a pathology. In the case of psychedelics, they may even serve as a beneficial course of treatment.

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Barbara Marx Hubbard: Godmother of Transhumanism and Synthetic Spirituality

Posted: at 11:23 pm

In 2016, the Global Future Councils of the World Economic Forum (WEF) posted a video entitled 8 Predictions for the World in 2030, which infamously forecasted a technocratic New World Order in which [y]oull own nothing. And youll be happy. It doesnt take a stretch of the imagination to ponder how WEF oligarchs plan to roll out sustainable development policies which will ration consumer goods in a global sharing economy that employs transient gig workers who will be rendered into propertyless serfs under a techno-communitarian rendition of neo-feudalism. But how will the globalist technocrats of the WEF sway the virtual peasant class to be happy with their permanent state of digitally indentured servitude?

Enter New Age guru Barbara Marx Hubbard and her endorsement of the HeartMath Institutes Global Coherence Initiative [1][2], which is propagating transhumanist neurofeedback wearables across the planet in order to digitally synchronize humanitys collective heart rhythms and brainwaves into electronically induced states of synthetic spiritual bliss. With Hubbards transhumanist blessings, HeartMaths global neurotech network is primed to lull plebs and proles into happy compliance with the New Normal of the Fourth Industrial Revolutions techno-feudal stakeholder economy.

In this first installment of my series on Hubbards legacy contributions to the post-humanist religion and techno-fascist economy of the neo-eugenic Fourth Industrial Revolution, I will historicize how Rockefeller philanthropies bankrolled Hubbards Foundation for Conscious Evolution in order to digitally engineer humankind into a new transhuman species baptized in the name of tech-Gnostic Christ Consciousness [3]. Furthermore, I will expose how Hubbard collaborated with globalists at the World Business Academy, corporatists at Singularity University, and Eupsychian human potential psychologists in connection with the Esalen Institute in order to establish a techno-communitarian spiritualism that worships transhumanist evolution controlled by Big Tech companies which dominate the stakeholder economy of the Fourth Industrial Revolution [4]. Finally, I will document how Hubbard advanced the globalization of HeartMath Institutes transhumanist biofeedback wearables which can neuro-technologically mesmerize the precariat into virtual states of happy subservience to the New Normal.

In the coming installments of this series, I will reveal how Hubbards transhumanist mission to steer conscious evolution is steeped in Malthusian-eugenic population control. Additionally, I will unveil how Hubbards transhumanist allies from the World Future Society, the Human Potential Movement, and the Foundation for Conscious Evolution are entangled with networks of alleged pedophiles and sexual abuse cults.

Ever since the announcement of COVID-19 lockdowns, there has been a spate of propaganda campaigns from government bureaucrats, corporate oligarchs, and globalist technocrats who have been lecturing about the necessity to acclimate to the New Normal. You probably never heard this post-COVID slogan until 2020, but Hubbard was prophesying the dawning of a New Normal at least as far back as 2008. In fact, Hubbard foretold that 2020 would mark the pivotal year of the global Shift toward the New Normal that is transitioning the world into the futurist Singularity envisioned by Googles Director of Engineering, Ray Kurzweil, who is a founder of Singularity University, which is a post-humanist think tank where Hubbard promoted her dreams of harnessing conscious evolution to engineer a new transhuman species.

In Hubbards book, 52 Codes for Conscious Self Evolution: A Process of Metamorphosis to Realize Our Full Potential Self, Code 33 called for human beings to Come Forward as a New Norm in order to evolve the human species from Homo sapiens sapiens to Homo universalis [5]. Later, in 2012, Hubbard published another book, Birth 2012 and Beyond: Humanitys Great Shift to the Age of Conscious Evolution. In a section titled from 2012 to 2020 and Beyond, Hubbard proclaimed that [t]he eight years after the [2012] Birth, leading up to 2020, will be critical for implementing the shifts necessary for us to gently grow into the next era . . . evolving into fully formed evolutionary communities . . . around the world where each person can learn to transform themselves and our world into a transhumanist New World Order [1].

Even prior to 2008, for decades, Hubbard foretold the coming of a new transhumanist age in which humankind will merge with technology through conscious evolution. As a crusader for the Human Potential Movement, Hubbard networked with psychologists at the Esalen Institute and corporatists at Singularity University to pave the way for human consciousness to collectively co-evolve with the noetic consciousness of the cosmos through transhumanist technologies [6]. Bankrolled by Rockefeller philanthropy [3], Hubbard established the Foundation for Conscious Evolution, which has been pushing the synergistic advancement of biotech, nanotech, and supercomputing artificial intelligence (AI) that can be globally converged through the internet-of-things (IoT) and the internet-of-bodies (IoB) in order to engineer a new transhuman species. To help build the collective cybernetic nervous system of an evolving transhuman superorganism, Hubbard promoted the HeartMath Institutes Global Coherence Network of wearable neurofeedback technologies that interlink human biorhythms through smartphones across the planet [1].

In An Evolutionary Synthesis: A New World View (Weaving Together a New Memetic Code for the Optimum Future for Humanity), which was published in 2008 by the Foundation for Conscious Evolution, Hubbard forecasted how, [f]rom the perspective of the Evolutionary Trans-humanism we see a possible convergence of our expanded consciousness with our technologically-enhanced body/minds . . . as the next stage of our evolution when there will be a cosmic cultural convergence of life between trans-human and eventually post-human life, including silicon-based life. Foreshadowing the post-COVID New Normal of 2020, Hubbard added that, [i]n Evolutionary Trans-Humanism the Universal Human appears for the first time on this Earth as a new norm: as a person incarnating our spiritual, social and scientific/technological capacities.

As the techno-fascist exploitation of COVID lockdowns manifests the theme of Hubbards 1993 book, Our Crisis Is a Birth [7],the coronavirus crisis is birthing a technocratic New Normal in which human life is being increasingly mediated through computer screens and digital IDs that are primed to be tracked and traced by IoTIoB cybernetics. Hence, it appears that the turning point of 2020 has lined up with Hubbards predictions for a Great Shift toward the Birth of a Conscious Evolution in which humankind begins to synergize with digital computer technologies in order to be reimagined as a new transhuman cyborg species.

If you dont like the idea of Big Tech biotechnologically engineering you into a digital computer product, dont worry. Hubbards global HeartMath initiative can hook you up to biofeedback wearables that will electronically hypnotize you into copasetic obedience as you are techno-eugenically engineered into a transhuman underling who will happily own nothing, not even your own body, in the New Normal that is the techno-fascist Fourth Industrial Revolution.

To be sure, Hubbards vision of the transhuman future wasnt magically gleaned from peering into a crystal ball. Rather, Hubbard was closely involved with many of the transhumanist architects of the technocratic New Normal which, for several decades, they have been plotting for 2020.

Hubbards vision of trans-evolution through a superorganic cyber-nervous system was inspired by the tech-Gnostic prophesies of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and the design science revolution of R. Buckminster Fuller [8]. Teilhard de Chardin was a eugenicist Jesuit priest who preached a trans-Gnostic gospel of spiritual, or noetic, evolution through the awakening of universal consciousness through the noosphere. Fuller was an eminent futurist and the godfather of the design science revolution, which prototyped synergetic models of evolutionary architecture, such as the geodesic dome. Both Teilhard de Chardin and Fuller professed their faith in the Cosmic Christ Consciousness of noospheric evolution, which Hubbard likewise idolized as the crux of humankinds cybernetic evolution into a trans-technological collective.

During Hubbards 2015 speech to members of the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), she traced the awakening of her own conscious evolution to her reading of Teilhard de Chardins Phenomenon of Man: the minute I read that . . . I dedicated myself to the noosphere. Derived from the pre-Socratic philosopher Anaxagorass concept of the nous, which is the omnipresent mind of the cosmos, the noosphere is, according to Teilhard de Chardin, the tangential energy of the universe that is evolving through human consciousness. In Hubbards speech at the 2015 IONS International Conference, she pontificated how, through the tangential energies of noetic evolution, the planet has grown a new nervous system in the last 15 years. And its internet. Its Facebook; its Twitter; its 7 billion cellphones and counting. . . . An enormous nervous system has been given, and its open to us.

In brief, Hubbard believed that the noospheric expansion of consciousness is evolving the human biological nervous system into an extended technological network of smartphones that are interlinked with internet social media. By ostensibly branching human nervous systems collectively out through mobile phones across satellite telecommunications, online social networks are, according to Hubbard, building evolutionary stepping stones toward a transhuman zenith in which brain-computer interfaces and nanotech implants will unite human consciousness with the cosmic consciousness of the noosphere by merging organic biological intelligence with hi-tech artificial intelligence.

In her 2001 book, Emergence: The Shift from Ego to Essence (10 Steps to the Universal Human), Hubbard relayed how Teilhard de Chardins noosphere is what we might call the thinking layer of Earth, or the mind sphere. Think of this noosphere as an invisible, yet all pervasive, superorganism. Here, each of us lives, much as our own cells live inside of our body. The noosphere is composed of our collective consciousnesses . . . as well as the intelligence that is creating our extended bodies in the form of rapidly growing technology, including the Internet, biotechnology, and nanotechnology [9].

During her 2017 speech, Awakening the New Species in You, at the Global Purpose Movements Purpose Summit in San Francisco, Hubbard declared that Teilhard de Chardins noosphere is now the internet nervous system of the planet, and theres enough of us now to wake up our planetary nervous system through hi-tech . . . artificial intelligence, quantum computing, robotics, genetics, all of that . . . being the powers of our mythological gods.

In sum, Hubbard believed that, by harnessing biotech and nanotech robotics, genetically engineered human bodies can be melded with quantum AI, which will evolve human beings into transhuman cyborgs who can achieve godhood by summoning the collective consciousness of the noosphere through the internet of things (IoT) and the internet of bodies (IoB).

Inverting the Biblical gospel of how God humbled himself to descend from Heaven in order to be incarnated in the human body of Jesus Christ, Hubbard preached Teilhard de Chardins trans-Gnostic gospel of how humans must exalt themselves as gods by technologically evolving into ultrahumanmachine hybrids capable of ascending to the Christ Consciousness of the noosphere. During her IONS speech, Hubbard relayed how Teilhard de Chardin prophesied that, [w]hen the mind sphere . . . gets its collective eyes, we will experience . . . the Christification of the Earth.

According to Hubbard, the mind spheres, or noospheres, collective eyes are being opened through the worldwide web of internet social media. In Hubbards vision of the future, these digital social networks would spread across the globe and saturate the planet through what R. Buckminster Fuller called the design science revolution. In the final equation, Hubbards Fuller-inspired technetronic revolution will culminate in a noetic nexus of satellite telecommunications and mobile computer devices that will consciously evolve into a transhumanist IoTIoB Singularity, resulting in the so-called Christification of the Earth, which will anoint the collective human species as god on Earth.

This tech-Gnostic gospel of Christ Consciousness was also preached by Fuller, who believed that his design science revolution would harness advances in science and industry to technocratically usher in a utopian heaven on Earth. Like Hubbard and Teilhard de Chardin, Fuller envisioned that, by means of the design science revolution, the universal mind, or cosmic Christ consciousness, would evolve through the transhumanist synergy of human intelligence and technological progress. In Synergetics: Explorations in the Geometry of Thinking, Fuller pontificated that the Universe is technology and that, in the emerging epoch of the new age, the design science revolution would technocratically meld the Christ consciousness of the noosphere with the human consciousness of the biosphere, resulting in a cosmic-transhumanist singularity that would bring about a paradise on Earth.

Finding a nous-mate in Hubbard, Fuller laureled her as the heir to his futurist vision of Christified technocratic evolution through his design science revolution. In Hubbards 2015 book, The Evolutionary Testament of Co-Creation: The Promise Will Be Kept, she recorded how Fuller declared, [t]here is no doubt in my mind that Barbara Marx Hubbardwho helped introduce the concept of futurism to societyis the best informed human now alive regarding futurism and the foresights it has produced [3]. With great pride, Hubbard took on Fullers mantle and carried the torch for his techno-Christified design science revolution.

In her speech titled How Do We Get Ready for 2012: A Vision for Humanity, which was orated during The Prophets Conference: 2012 Tipping Point at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada, Hubbard told a story about how both she and Fuller had Christ Consciousness experiences that brought together their esoteric journeys toward hi-tech conscious evolution:

Buckys Christ experience was that he was walking along the streets in Chicago; . . . he saw a light; he got lifted up by the light, and he heard the words, Bucky, you are the first mini-Christ on Earth, and what you attest to is true. Fuller revealed this vision to her on an occasion when Hubbard shared her own Christ experience with him. Hubbard explains that, one day, I had written this book about the New Testament of an evolutionary Christ. Bucky asked to see me alone. He put his arms around me . . . and he said, darling, I had the same experience. And he put his temple onto mine, and I feel he zapped me with the design science revolution.

In a nutshell, both Hubbard and Fuller professed their faith in noospheric Christ Consciousness, and Hubbard believed that her shared Christ experience with Fuller noetically transmuted his revolutionary design science mission into her own conscious evolution.

Carrying on the message of Fullers design science revolution, Hubbard paraphrased a passage from his Utopia or Oblivion in her 1995 book, The Revelation: A Message of Hope for the New Millennium. In a section titled The Journey, Hubbard relayed Fullers utopian forecast of how the metaphysical, or noetic, consciousness of universal intelligence is cosmically evolving in tandem with the collective-conscious evolution of human intelligence through the transhumanist technological progression of the design science revolution:

[t]he universe is . . . building up toward even higher order because it is increasing in intelligencethough us!

Intelligence, proclaimed Fuller, is not physical, it is metaphysical . . . Our technology is becoming ephemeralized, miniaturized, and aesthetic, like natures technologies: photosynthesis, DNA, the human brain. We now have the technology, resources, and know-how, Fuller said, to make of this world a 100 percent physical success. . . .

The growing edge of technology is giving us the power to transform ourselves as well as our world. . . .The individual human has enormous untapped potential. The planet is evolving toward a quantum leap, wherein all of its members will experience themselves as part of one body. We have the ability to overcome physical lack, and even to change our physical natureour body/mind systems. These great evolutionary goals are the meaning of power.

Stated differently, Hubbard touted Fullers postulation of how, as technology evolves, it will become increasingly ephemeralized until it is so condensed that it can be fused into human biology. In turn, this ephemeralized amalgamation of biology and technology will, according to Hubbard, transform body/mind systems by melding them with the digital infrastructure of the world economy.

To put it all together, Hubbard was an evangelist for conscious transhumanist evolution through the globalization of a collective cybernetic nervous system that will be vitalized by the techno-industrial revolution of Fullers synergetic design science and the noospheric awakening of Teilhard de Chardins Cosmic Christ Consciousness.

To midwife the tech-noetic trans-evolution of the universal Christ mind idolized by Fuller and Teilhard de Chardin, Hubbard set up the Foundation for Conscious Evolution, which was seed-funded by Laurence Rockefeller [3]. The brother of John D. Rockefeller III, David Rockefeller, Nelson Rockefeller, and Winthrop Rockefeller, Laurence was a president and a founding trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, which is a corporate philanthropy that finances social impact investments in biotechnology and digital technology. These, of course, are key building blocks in the IoT-IoB matrix at the crux of Hubbards transhumanist dreams of collective-conscious evolution. Laurence also bankrolled esoteric studies into Gnostic Christ Consciousness and noetical parapsychology.

In the prelude to her Evolutionary Testament of Co-Creation, which was dedicated to Laurence Rockefeller, Hubbard lauds how he was instrumental in helping her found the Foundation for Conscious Evolution: [w]ith great gratitude I dedicate Evolutionary Testament: [sic] The Promise Will Be Kept to Lawrence [sic] Rockefeller, who recognized its purpose to help bring forth the Christ of the 21st Century and supported me in forming The Foundation for Conscious Evolution to bring it forward into the world [3].

According to the official website of the Foundation for Conscious Evolution, this Rockefeller-funded tax-exempt foundation advances synergistic transhuman evolution driven by the [t]he advent of radical evolutionary technologies such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, quantum computing, space exploration, etc. . . . [T]he tools are there to transform ourselves, our bodies and our world. We can and are actually moving beyond the creature human condition toward a new species, a universal humanity, capable of coevolving with nature. In other words, fueled with Rockefeller money, the Foundation for Conscious Evolution advocates for humankind to merge with biotech and nanotech quantum computers in order to evolve humanity into a new transhuman species, which Hubbard has dubbed Homo Universalis.

Not only did Rockefeller provide the seed financing for Hubbards Foundation for Conscious Evolution, but he also bankrolled many of the hi-tech industries, including biotech, nanotech, and quantum computing, which the Foundation for Conscious Evolution sees as vehicles for conscious transhuman evolution.

In 1946, Laurence Rockefeller and his brothers, David, Nelson, Winthrop, and John D. III, founded one of the very first venture capital firms, Rockefeller Brothers Inc., which is today known as Venrock. Laurence kicked off Venrock ventures by investing in Silicon Valley corporations, such as Intel and Apple. In fact, Venrock held a board seat for nearly 20 years at Apple.

Other Venrock ventures into Big Tech industries include investments in online behavioral advertising companies, including AppNexus and DoubleClick, the latter of which is now owned by Google. Of course, behavioral advertising analytics are at the core of the data-mining algorithms that power what Hubbard referred to as the collective cybernetic nervous systems of social media networks.

Meanwhile, Venrock has also financed several biotech corporations, biopharmaceutical enterprises, gene-sequencing companies, and genetic-modification businesses, including Abbott Laboratories; Unity Biotechnology; Element Biosciences; REGENXBIO; 10X Genomics; Targeted Genetics; the Genetics Institute; Centocor, which is owned by Johnson & Johnson; Adnexus Therapeutics, which is owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb; Idun Pharmaceuticals, which is owned by Pfizer; andSirna Therapeutics, an RNA interference (RNAi) technology startup that was acquired by Merck.

Furthermore, Venrock has bankrolled quantum computing companies, including Atom Computing, and nanotech corporations, such as Nanosys. Additionally, Venrock is invested in blockchain startups, including Dapper and Flow.

In sum, Laurence Rockefeller funded the development of a nexus of transhumanist technologies, including internet Big Data, biotech, and nanotech, while simultaneously propagating Hubbards trans-evolutionary ideology by financing her Foundation for Conscious Evolution. It is worth noting that Laurences funding of transhumanism, which is fundamentally a hi-tech rendition of eugenic engineering, is rooted in the Rockefeller familys long history of financing past iterations of eugenics, such as American eugenics programs at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and eugenic programs at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institutes of Nazi Germany.

On top of financing the transhumanist technologies and trans-evolutionary theories espoused by Hubbard, Laurence also advocated for Hubbards noetic spirituality by backing her New Age evangelism. This was done with grants from his Fund for the Enhancement of the Human Spirit. In the Acknowledgement section of her Book of Co-Creation, Hubbard highlighted how [t]he publication of this book and its associated outreach program was made possible through a generous grant from Laurence Rockefellers Fund for the Enhancement of the Human Spirit [7]. In the expanded edition of this book, which is titled The Revelation: A Message of Hope for the New Millennium, Hubbard copied this same acknowledgment of how Rockefeller bankrolled the publication [9].

Similarly, Rockefeller also advanced noetical mysticism by funding the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research(PEAR) program, which studied parapsychological phenomena, including psychokinesis and remote viewing. PEAR launched the Global Consciousness Project, which is a satellite of the Institute of Noetic Sciences where Hubbard, who endorsed IONS in her book, Birth 2012 and Beyond [1], expressed her belief in tech-noospheric evolution through the collective-conscious cyber-nervous systems made possible by internet social media networks. The PEAR program is now restructured as the International Consciousness Research Laboratories.

It is worth noting that Rockefeller also provided the financing for Roger A. Weirs Gnostic books about a secret relationship between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. Weirs Gnostic interpretation of the life of Jesus dovetailed with his New Age synthesis of hermeticism, Eastern mysticism, cosmic evolution, and esoteric consciousness. For instance, echoing the Christ Consciousness Gnosticism of Hubbard, Fuller, and Teilhard de Chardin, Weir taught the following New Age courses at the Bodhi Tree Bookstore Meeting Room in West Hollywood, California: Mary Magdalene & Jesus Great Way: Shared Presence Transforms of Civilization and Species; Hermetic America Future;Homo Sapiens Stellaris: Star Wisdom Man; Quintessential Dimensions of Consciousness: An Ecology of Four Dimensions in Complementarity in Spacetime; and Parayana: The Way Beyond.

To sum up, Rockefeller bankrolled noetic science research, Gnostic Christ Consciousness literature, and transhumanist tech along with Hubbards Foundation for Conscious Evolution, which advocates for the post-human synergism of a tech-noospheric trans-evolution that will culminate in a new Christified cyborg species.

Ultimately, Hubbard and Rockefeller were aligned on essentially every front. More than a source of monetary support, Rockefeller was fondly endeared by Hubbard. In her 1998 book, Conscious Evolution: Awakening the Power of Our Social Potential, Hubbard lauded her support from Rockefeller: [m]y heartfelt thanks goes to my beloved patron Laurence S. Rockefeller who has supported this work with fidelity, inspiration and generosity [2]. Then, in the Dedication section of her 2001 Emergence: The Shift from Ego to Essence, Hubbard wrote, [t]o my benefactor, Laurence S. Rockefeller, who supported this work for ten years, bringing it to this point of fulfillment [9]. Fourteen years later, in 2015, Hubbard also dedicated her Evolutionary Testament of Co-Creation to Rockefeller [3], marking 24 years of support.

Laurence Rockefeller also advanced a conscious evolution towards transhumanism by pushing the Human Potential Movement. He did this through his investments in the Human Potential Foundation and the Esalen Institute. Hubbard likewise pursued this philosophy of conscious trans-evolution through the Human Potential Movement, which was spawned from the humanistic and transpersonal psychological theories of her mentor, Abraham Maslow, who coined the psycho-spiritual principle of self-actualization. Maslow preached his trans-psychological gospel of self-actualization at the Esalen Institute, which was also endorsed by Hubbard [1]. Meanwhile, Hubbard allied with Maslow and his Eupsychian Network of Esalen New Agers to promote the evolution of transhuman potential through biofeedback wearables and other computerized technologies that can hack consciousness [4].

A protg of behavioral psychologist E. L. Thorndike, Gestalt psychologist Max Wertheimer, and psychodynamic psychologist Alfred Adler, who was a colleague of Sigmund Freud, Maslow combined the first force of psychology, stimulus-response behaviorism, and the second force of psychology, Freudian psychoanalysis, to produce a third force of psychology [4]. This third force was humanistic psychology, which would then evolve into a fourth force of transhumanist psychology known as transpersonal psychology [4]. In the Preface to the second edition of his book, Toward a Psychology of Being, which was financed by the Ford Foundations Fund for the Advancement of Education, Maslow writes, I consider Humanistic, Third Force Psychology to be transitional, a preparation for a still higher Fourth Psychology, transpersonal, transhuman, centered in the cosmos rather than in human needs and interest, going beyond humanness, identity, self-actualization, and the like [4]. It should be noted here that Maslows transpersonal psychology of self-actualizing transhuman potential was heavily influenced by the philosophies of Friedrich Nietzsche, whose concept of the ubermensch, or superman, went on to inspire Nazi eugenics, which itself played a role as a precursor to transhumanism.

Maslow, like Buckminster Fuller, took Hubbard under his wing. In her 1989 autobiography, The Hunger of Eve: One Womans Odyssey Toward the Future, Hubbard writes, I wrote to Abraham Maslow, telling him his book Toward a Psychology of Being had saved my life. . . . He wrote back immediately that . . . he would like to meet me. He came to lunch at the New York apartment. . . . He said I was an example of his theory of self-actualizing people [6].

Anointing her as an evangelist for his super-potentializing psychology, Maslow connected Hubbard with a network of New Age organizations, such as the Esalen Institute, which baptized proselytes in the name of his new transhumanist psychology. According to Hubbards Emergence,Abraham H. Maslow called this the Eupsychian Network, the society of self-actualizing and self-transcending people [7]. In her autobiography, Hubbard historicized how, in an effort to help her on her mission to win converts to Maslows trans-potentializing psychology:

[h]e [Maslow] offered his Eupsychian Network, a list of the good people he had collected over a lifetime, those who would form for the Good Society. This was before the human potential movement had surfaced. . . . The Eupsychian Network were people in the growth mode. Many were humanistic psychologists founding growth centers, such as Carl Rogers, Victor Frankl, Michael Murphy of Esalen, to help people move toward full health. . . . My list soon totalled [sic] over 1,000, each one a precious being, sensitive to the emerging civilization [6].

In The Revelation: Our Crisis Is a Birth, Hubbard tells the story of how she wrote to everyone in Maslows [Eupsychian] network, asking for their positive views on our future. Many responded and I published their responses in The Center Letter [7], which was Hubbards futurist newsletter on evolutionary transformation. Thanks to these publications of prominent Eupsychians, according to Hubbard, The Center Letter spread . . . all over the world, from Africa to behind the Iron Curtain . . . Within six months I [Hubbard] was connected to leaders of the emerging world [7].

A list of such key Eupsychian individuals and institutions is printed at the end of the second edition of Maslows Toward a Psychology of Being. In the preface to this concluding section, which is titled Addendum: The Eupsychian Network, Maslow describes Hubbards Eupsychian comrades as a cadre of globalist bent on the collective-conscious evolution of transhumanist potential:

I [Maslow] call it the Eupsychian Network because all these groups, organizations, and journals are interested in helping the individual grow toward fuller humanness, the society grow toward synergy and health, and all societies and all peoples move toward becoming one world and one species. The list can be called a network because the memberships overlap considerably and because these organizations and individuals more or less share the humanistic and transhumanistic outlook on life even prior to confirmation of that outlook. [4]

Stated differently, Maslows Eupsychian Network, which teamed up with Hubbard, was a clique of transhumanist[s] determined to establish a one world order in which humankind will actualize its super potential by collectively evolving and unifying into one species.

Following the prelude to the Addendum, Maslow cataloged his Eupsychian Network of globalist transhuman potentializers, such as Barbara Marx Hubbard and Michael Murphy, along with their affiliated institutions, including the Esalen Institute. In addition to Mike Murphy, Pres. [President] of the Esalen Institute, Maslows Eupsychian directory included Willis Harmans Education for the Future project at Stanford Research Institute [4], which had pioneered AI engineering on top of launching the first iterations of internet communications in collaboration with the US militarys ARPANET. Harman also co-founded the World Business Academy (WBA), which is a corporate-futurist think tank where Hubbard was a Fellow along with New Age guru Deepak Chopra. Chopra, another Esalen affiliate, has proclaimed that Hubbard was the voice for conscious evolution of our time, according to The Evolutionary Testament of Co-Creation [3]. A key leader in the Human Potential Movement, Harman also spent twenty years as the President of the Institute of Noetic Sciences where Hubbard gave a speech in which she praised her collaborations with Ervin Lszl, who was also a WBA Fellow. In the Appreciations section of her Book of Co-Creation, Hubbard named Willis Harman, Michael Murphy, and Abraham H. Maslow as [c]olleagues and teachers of conscious evolution [7].

Malsow cataloged several other Esalen-connected organizations, including human potential centers, in his menu of Eupsychian institutions:

Other human potential and humanistic psychology institutions listed in Maslows Eupsychian Network include the National Center for Exploration of Human Potential; the American Association of Humanistic Psychology; the American Humanist Association; and the Fellowship of Religious Humanists [4].

To tie it all together, Maslow inducted Hubbard into his Eupsychian Network of human potential organizations where allied with the presidents of the World Business Academy, the Institute for Noetic Sciences, and the Esalen Institute to push the globalization of transhumanist psychology.

The Esalen Institute, which was bolstered by Maslows Eupsychian Network and endorsed by Hubbard in her Birth 2012 and Beyond [1], is best known as a New Age self-actualization retreat led by a host of Eastern mysticist gurus and hippie psychedelics enthusiasts who have propelled the Human Potential Movement. However, Esalen has also been a hub for behavioral psychologists, such as B. F. Skinner, humanistic psychologists, such as Abraham Maslow, and transhumanist computer engineers, such as Mikey Siegel, who have been driving a Transhuman Potential Movement aimed at steering the noetic evolution of the human species through trans-eugenic technologies, such as consciousness-hacking brain-computer interfaces.

This year, in 2022, there will be an Esalen workshop titled Superhuman Evolution, which will explore evolutionary esotericism by examining the intersections across technology, psychedelic[s], Darwinian . . . transformations, and metaphysical revelation . . . that might point to or even manifest the future human (or superhuman). It should be noted here that Darwinism was a predecessor of eugenics, which itself is the precursor to transhumanism.

Darwins cousin, Francis Galton conceptualized eugenics as the science of harnessing Darwinian evolution by selectively breeding elite bloodlines while culling unfit gene pools. Later, in 1957, British Eugenics Society President Julian Huxley, who was a close friend of fellow eugenicist Teilhard de Chardin, coined the term transhumanism to denote the next phase of eugenics in which the old-school methods of artificial genetic selection will take a backseat to biological engineering through human-machine mergers. Julians brother, Aldous Huxley, who authored the dystopic novel Brave New World, coined the term human potential, and he energized the Human Potential Movement as a trendsetter at the Esalen Institute where Hubbards mentors, Abraham Maslow and Buckminster Fuller, were both leading figures.

There have always been integral connections between the Esalen Institute, the Human Potential Movement, hi-tech transhumanism, and noetic Gnosticism. In 2013, H+ Magazine, otherwise known as Humanity+ Magazine, which is the popular publication of the organization formerly known as World Transhumanist Association, posted an article titled Producing and Consuming the Posthuman Body in Superhero Narratives. This H+ article historicizes how:

[s]everal scholars have linked the superhero narrative with the emergence of a human potential movement which became popular in the 1960s. In places such as the Esalen Institute, the philosophy of the cosmic posthuman was put into practice. . . with the intention of unlocking latent abilities. In his weighty tome theFuture of the Body: Explorations into the Further Evolution of Human Nature,Esalen co-founder Michael Murphy examines . . . evidence of metanormal human functioning. . . . Like the human potential movement, Transhumanism is also the offspring of the sixties counterculture.

At the same time, this article also links Esalens transhuman potential movement to a theological, or Gnostic narrative. In a section titled Silver Age Superheroes and the Emergence of Tranhumanism, this H+ article explicates how [t]ranshumanism, in some forms, presents a world in which science and magic are conflated through the spread of numerous hybrid spiritual or religious movements variously dubbed techno-paganism or cyber-shamanism, which reconfigure shamans as low-tech cyborgs.

Another H+ Magazinearticle, which was published in 2014, explores the ways in which the Human Potential Movement and the Neurosingularity Project dovetail together through intersections between genetics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, psychedelics, and a range of psychotechnologies that coalesce in transhumanist evolution. Entitled Mindapps and The Neurosingularity Project, this article, details how, [a]mong current tributaries to the Neurosingularity Project are: 1) multistate theory, 2) transhumanisn, 3) psychedelics, and 4) the human potential movement.

More specifically, in a section titled The Human Potential Movement and Positive Psychology, this article expounds how [m]ultistate theory, psychedelics, transhumanism, transpersonal psychology, and the human potential movement can all contribute to their mutual fulfillment and to the Neurosingularity Project with the HPM [Human Potential Movement] being a precursor of transhumanism. Additionally, this article postulates how, [i]nstead of using only electronic information technologyor biology hybridized with ITto augment human intelligence, milestones in genetics are advancing us down the path toward producing better human brains and other extropic and human potential goals.

In sum, these H+ articles propound how hi-tech transhumanism is an outgrowth of the Human Potential Movement that was spearheaded by the Esalen Institute, which was part of Maslows Eupsychian Network where Hubbard cavorted with other Gnostic trans-eugenicists to advance the noetic evolution of the human species through human-computer interfaces that can hack consciousness.

More recently, in 2018, Esalen hosted a Consciousness Hacking workshop run by Mikey Siegel: a transhumanist computer engineer who has developed Intelligent Robotics and social robotics at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, respectively. On the Esalen website, Siegels biography states that he uses technology to facilitate a path toward higher consciousness, self-realization, awakening, and transcendence. To industrialize transhumanist consciousness hacking into a global corporate enterprise, Siegel, according to Wired Magazine, helped found the Transformative Technology Conference, which convenes a mixer for technologists, futurists, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists trying to turn consciousness hacking into a multi-billion-dollar business on a par with the fitness industry.

Kickstarting the consciousness-hacking industry during the year before his Esalen workshop, Siegel conducted an experiment titled One Thousand Minds Connected Live, which hooked people up to cognition headband[s] that recorded their electroencephalogram (EEG) brainwaves while they all watched a movie called MindGamers. By concurrently data-mining the electrical brain activity of this massive audience, Siegel aimed to digitally record the first image of a mass-connected mind. Commenting on this experiment, Siegel hyped how, as a result of such brain-computer interfaces, we are actually changing as a species . . . [The brain is] actually changing the landscape of human culture. Were profoundly different than what we were 20, 30 years ago.

Assisting Siegel with the Thousand Minds experiment was Tim Mullen. According to TheWrap, Mullen is the CEO of Qusp Labs a neurotechnology firm and has developedwearable brain-computer interface (BCI) technology similar to whats being used in these [Thousand Minds EEG] headbands. Elaborating on the experiment, Mullen laid out [t]he overarching vision that in the future we will have the ability to link the nervous systems of humans . . . [T]he groundwork for that is being laid right now . . . Its accelerating so fast so its really possible to imagine that in one generation we might see that fundamental link established.

In brief, these brainwave-hacking wearables, designed by Siegel and Mullen, are building the next noospheric layer of transhumanitys cybernetic nervous system which, according to Hubbard, has consciously evolved from internet IT infrastructure into online social media networks that can now be augmented through collective webs of biofeedback neurotech. From Mikey Siegels Transformative Technology Conferences, back to Michael Murphys Esalen Institute, all the way back to Abraham Maslows Eupsychian Network, there are branches of transhumanist psychology, neurotechnology, and human-potentializing spirituality that share common roots in Barbara Marx Hubbards noetic prophesies of collective-conscious evolution through global cybernetics.

To mind-meld global human consciousness through brain-computer neurotech, Hubbard evolved the Human Potential Movement into the Social Potential Movement [2], which she used to promote the HeartMath Institute (HMI) [1] [2]. The non-profit HMI is a synergistic satellite of the for-profit HeartMath Inc. corporation that carries out multilevelmarketing schemes to sell biofeedback wearables, such as emWave and Inner Balance, which are similar to the EEG headbands designed by Siegel. Programmed to socially synchronize an individuals heart coherence with the global community by uploading users electrocardiogram (ECG) analytics to online cloud databases, HeartMaths biofeedback technologies are being propagated across the planet through HMIs Global Coherence Initiative (GCI) in order to harmonize the worlds ECG wavelengths into a singular hivemind resonance.

In pursuit of his consciousness-hacking venture, Siegel has also engineered a collective biofeedback wearable called HeartSync, which he piloted at a Burning Man festival. The transhumanist HeartSync headsets can interlink as many as 24 people to a single computer in order to synchronize the groups breathing and heartbeats. At Siegels co-hack house, his Consciousness Hacking MeetUp group, which has hosted at least 15,000 members in at least 30 communities, attendees engage in collective meditation while wearing HeartSync headgear hooked up to a computer. On Project Nights at Siegels co-hack house, startup founders pitch their prototypes, such as the LucidCatcher, a sleep band that stimulates your brain with small electrical pulses, supposedly letting you control your dreams.

According to Siegels business partner, Josh Whiton, who is a personal friend of Elon Musk and Tony Robbins, HeartSync can be used to have a board meeting and you hook everyone up to a headband and a heart-rate sensor to get into state of coherence [sic] . . . You get people out of their ego states and into a group state, thinking as one. Other applications of HeartSync, along with other AI biofeedback devices, neurotech brain stimulators, and immersive VR, include psychotherapeutic and psychedelic consciousness hacks that can digitally induce mindfulness and enlightenment.

Siegels HeartSync neurotech is similar to the emWave and Inner Balance biofeedback wearables that are sold through the HeartMath Institute, which is endorsed by Hubbard in her Birth 2012 and Beyond. In this book, Hubbard lists the Institute of HeartMath as a Birth 2012 Campaign Sponsor along with the World Business Academy and the Global Coherence Initiative (GCI), which is a satellite of the HeartMath Institute [1]. In addition to these Birth 2012 Campaign Sponsors, Hubbard cataloged a directory of Shift Network Allies, including the Esalen Institute and the Institute of Noetic Sciences where Siegel has served as an Advisor to the IONS Innovation Lab [1]. Siegel and his BioFluent Technologies corporation, which is the company that produces HeartSync biofeedback wearables, are also profiled on the list of Industry Partners and Advisors at the Transformative Technology Lab (TTL) where HeartMath President and CEO, Deborah Rozman, whom Hubbard names as an all[y] of the Birth 2012 Campaign [1], is also profiled on list of TTL Industry Partners and Advisors.

Along with Rozman, there are several other GCI Steering Committee and Advisory Board members whom Hubbard endorsed as allies of the of the Birth 2012 Campaign [1]:

Additionally, there are several other GCI Steering Committee and Advisory Board members who hold prominent positions at the Institute for Noetic Sciences:

Also serving on the GCI Scientific Advisory Board is Roger Nelson, who is founder and director of the Global Consciousness Project and was the longtime coordinator of research at the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) laboratory at Princeton University, which was financed by Hubbards benefactor, Laurence Rockefeller. In addition, Nelson is a member of the Esalen Institute Center for Theory and Research.

Towards the end of Birth 2012 and Beyond, Hubbard anthologized a chapter by Claudia Welss, who is another Steering Committee Member of HeartMaths Global Coherence Initiative; a Board Member of Hubbards Foundation for Conscious Evolution; and a member of the extended research faculty of the Institute for Noetic Sciences [1]. In Claudia Welsss Birth 2012 and Beyond chapter, which is titled Energizing Social Synergy for the Shift, she details how HeartMaths biofeedback wearables can be implemented to globally synchronize the EKG heart coherence rhythms of individuals and communities across the planet in order to artificially stimulate a worldwide shift in evolutionary consciousness [1].

Defining heart coherence, Welss describes it as a measurable psychophysiological state that can be quantified with [b]iofeedback measurements [1]. According to Welss, HeartMath has demonstrated that we can intentionally change our heart signal pattern to a coherent waveform in which [h]eart-brain alignment is created, causing a favorable cascade of neural, hormonal, and biochemical changes as systems synchronize and connect, facilitating system-wide communication [1]. In a section titled Scaling Heart Coherence for Social Synergy, Welss elaborates how:

[r]eseach at HeartMath has confirmed that a persons [heart] coherent electromagnetic signals can be detected in the nervous systems of other people as well as in animals. Heart coherence thus appears to enliven our connections through resonance, not only with each other and with nature but, conceivably, with the mind of the cosmos [or noosphere], enabling the parts to be in communication with the whole. [1]

To harmonize the heart coherence waves of global communities with the collective-consciousness of the noosphere, Welss calls for the worldwide coordination of HeartMath biofeedback synchronization through [t]he Global Coherence Initiative, a project of HeartMath, [which] is based on the belief that [heart] coherence scalesfrom the personal, to the social, to the planetary . . . If heart coherence does indeed scale, our attempts at social synergy would benefit on all levels [1]. Citing the evolutionary theories of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, who was the godfather of epigenetic theory, Welss posits how:

the Global Coherence Initiative estimates that three-hundred and fifty thousand people measurably increasing their heart coherence baselines may be enough to create a global coherence heart-field environment . . . through the sustained repetition of this new behavior by a critical mass of individuals . . . By intentionally generating this field of global coherence for the Shift, we may . . . emerge as a positive, conscious evolutionary force. [1]

In a separate chapter titled A Map to Cross the Gap, Hubbard herself calls for heart coherence synchronization of 350,000 wearers of HeartMath biofeedback devices by practicing Quick Coherence and Heart Lock-In [1], which are HeartMath-trademarked mindfulness techniques, through a special group setting online [1]. This online biofeedback collaborative is known as [t]he Global Birthing Care Room, a project of the Institute of HeartMaths Global Coherence Initiative, [which] provides a digital representation of practitioners, portraying them as points of light across the globe [1].

In sum, the HeartMath Institute has commissioned a transhumanist network of wearable Global Coherence Apps to interlink brainwaves and heart rhythms across the planet in order to Shift the collective-consciousness of the human species into a one-world Social Potential Movement that is synchronized with the cosmic evolution of the noosphere through the cybernetic nervous system of internet social media. In turn, these transhumanist neurofeedback wearables are in position to biorhythmically induce synthetic states of bliss that will psychologically condition global populations to happily comply with the corporate-communitarian mandates of the techno-fascist Fourth Industrial Revolution.

If you think the global biofeedback synchronization of human conscious sounds like a virtuous means of unifying hearts and minds across the planet into a utopian one-world community, it should be noted that the HeartMath Institute and HeartMath Inc. are steeped in corporatism. Hence, rather than arouse sincere socioemotional bonds across all socioeconomic classes, and instead of elucidating minds with true spiritual enlightenment, HeartMaths commercial neurotech is primed to lull the precariat into blissed out trances that render them submissive to the corporate-technocratic mandates of the surveillance capitalist Fourth Industrial Revolution.

By distributing Global Coherence Apps and other neurofeedback wearables through multilevelmarketing schemes and networks of partnerships with multinational companies and business consulting firms, HeartMaths Global Coherence Initiative is driven by a brand of corporatism known as evolutionary entrepreneurship, which has been promoted by Hubbard and her colleagues at Singularity University. Notwithstanding the flowery love and light rhetoric from Hubbard and GCI spokespeople, the corporate nexus of evolutionary entrepreneurs connected to HeartMath is primed to steer global biorhythm coherence to comply with a techno-fascist Social Credit economy of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

To recruit participants to the Global Coherence Network of wearable biofeedback sensors linked to smartphones, HMI and HeartMatch Inc. employ multilevel-marketing schemes that convert HeartMath practitioners into certified HeartMath Mentors and Trainers who offer heart coherence coaching through HeartMath Resilience workshops. It is keen to note here that multilevel marketing stratagems, which Hubbard advocates in Conscious Evolution: Awakening the Power of Our Social Potential [2], are rooted in the self-actualization workshops of the Human Potential Movement. In fact, the multilevel marketing giant, Amway, has been one of the biggest corporate adherents to the channeling of the Human Potential Movements self-actualization mantra to con salespeople into pyramid scams.

It is also worth noting that the heir to Richard DeVoss Amway fortune is former US Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, who has financed Neurocore biofeedback ed-tech. In my article, Secretary DeVos, Neurocore, and Competency-Based Workforce Training, I documented how the Neurocore corporation, where Betsy sat on the Board of Directors, is part of a burgeoning socioemotional-learning industry that traffics in biofeedback ed-tech which includes the emWave wearables distributed by HeartMath. For instance, HeartMath LLC holds the corporate license for the Macquarie Institute, which facilitates HeartMath workshops, such as the Resilient Educator program that teaches attendees how to utilize emWave biofeedback wearables in order to enhance classroom learning at Primary and Secondary School[s].

By leveraging multilevel-marketing tactics to propagate GCIs Global Coherence Network of transhuman-potentializing biofeedback wearables, the HeartMath Institute is actualizing what Hubbard deemed to be an enterprise of evolutionary entrepreneurship that melds neurotechnology and collective biorhythmic consciousness into the futurist Singularity , as envisioned by Googles Director of Engineering, Ray Kurzweil.

In 2018, at a Singularity University Global Summit, which was titled The Future of Entrepreneurship: Living in Exponential Creativity, Hubbard was interviewed by Mark Donohue: an associate of both Kurzweil, who is Co-Founder and Chancellor of Singularity U, and Peter Diamandis, who is the Executive Founder and Director of Singularity U. During this interview, Donohue and Hubbard hyped how Maslow-inspired . . . evolutionary entrepreneurs are at the forefront of ushering in a transhumanist Singularity through Maslowean business practices that pivot on synergistic convergences. Donohue highlighted how

Barbara was a seminal leader in the 70s at running what are called SYNCONs, so bringing together the best of whats working to create a synergistic convergence to create a whole new out of the disparate parts. . . . So thats a whole synergistic convergence process which were inviting and believe Singularity [U] is part of, but we feel is another level of convening the exponential technology, the exponential leaders, to actually have a convergence thats more directional and curated by Singularity [U] to take it to the next level.

Concurring with Donohues exaltation of evolutionary entrepreneurs, Hubbard declared that the exponential entrepreneur has the power to shift the system, and if the exponential entrepreneurs feel themselves to be connected with evolution, the guidelines of greater consciousness . . . applied to exponential entrepreneurship actually is the shift point. This shift point, according to Hubbard, will result in humankind becoming a new species. If you combine hi-tech with evolutionary spirituality with greater consciousness, . . . if you combine exponential evolutionary technologies with the new power of humanity . . . , you have a new species . . . Its not only that we are becoming new individuals and to some degree a new species with this power, but the whole system . . . is going to radical newness.

Donohue affirmed Hubbards shift point prediction as he proclaimed that Singularity University will be instrumental in thrusting the human species forward into conscious transhuman evolution: Were upon the birth of what Barbara has named Homo Universalis. . . . The new whole will be far greater than has ever existed before, and ultimately, Singularity [U] is a catalyst and a leader in the awakening of this new species to fulfill our full human potential [inaudible] within the evolutionary story by creating synergistic convergences at the next level. Hubbard concluded the interview by celebrating Singularity U as a driver of conscious transhuman evolution: its a great privilege to see what Singularity [U] is able to do to help initiate this movement. If we want to say a new movement is . . . moving in the direction of evolution, I would say Singularity University is taking a tremendous role to initiate that.

Through the synergistic convergences of exponential entrepreneurs, corporate industries, consumer stakeholders, and futurist think tanks like Singularity U, the Human Potential Movement is expanding into a Social Potential Movement, propelling Hubbards transhumanist dreams of collective-conscious evolution through global technology markets.

In her book, Conscious Evolution: Awakening of Our Social Potential, which was edited by Donohue, Hubbard devoted six chapters to Part III: The Social Potential Movement [2]. Throughout Part III, Hubbard laid out her vision of Social Evolution through the technocratic globalization of public-private partnerships. For example, Hubbard printed a chart of Donohues Golden Innovations wheel, which graphs how the Social Potential Movement is being rolled forward through a Global Collegium that synergistically converges Economics/Business, Science/Technology, Government/Law, Media Communications, Education, Health, and Spirituality/Religion. To cultivate a global Community of CoCreators [sic] through the sphere of Economics/Business, Hubbard promoted corporate foundations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Center for What Works, along with impact-investing firms, such as the Social Venture Network.

In sum, Hubbard called for public-private partnership to push the collective-conscious evolution of social potential into the futurist Singularity through the globalization of transhumanist neurofeedback technologies, such as the emWave and Inner Balance biofeedback wearables that are distributed through the multi-level marketing schemes of HeartMaths Global Coherence Initiative. It is worth noting here that, at Singularity University, Kurzweil has partnered with the founder and CEO of SingularityNET, Ben Goertzel, who presented his AI research at the 2013 Annual Conference of the World Future Society, which was co-founded by Hubbard [1]. Goertzel is also listed on the roster of the Transformative Technology Labs Industry Partners and Advisors along with the President and CEO of HeartMath.

For almost 20 years, Kurzweil has forecasted that the year 2045 will mark the emergence of the transhuman Singularity. Prior to Kurzweils prediction, Hubbard foretold that 2020 would mark the year of the global consciousness shift that would tech-noetically thrust human evolution into the transhuman Singularity of 2045.

During her speech at the 2015 IONS International Conference, Hubbard propose[d] that we develop a new world purpose . . . by 2020, and the date has been picked by some other people [such as] Stephen Dinan, who is a former Director of the Esalen Institutes Center for Theory and Research, a former Director of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and the author of the Foreword to Hubbards Birth 2012 and Beyond [1]. In her IONS speech, Hubbard postulated that:

[i]f we took the next 5 years, and said our purpose would be, by 2020, we would connect enough of the co-creators in health, education, economics, in every sector of human endeavor in every culture . . . and show up by 2020 as the beginning of the next stage of human self-evolution . . . [then] [w]e would become the Gnostic human; we would become humans that actually incarnate the genius of evolution, the supramental powers of evolution.

Now that 2020 has ushered in the post-COVID New Normal, which is rolling out the Great Reset for the technocratic Fourth Industrial Revolution, it appears that Hubbards predictions for trans-technological evolution are coming true, and as Kurzweil forecasted, the Singularity is near.

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Barbara Marx Hubbard: Godmother of Transhumanism and Synthetic Spirituality

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Simulacra in the Growing Armory of Thanatos – CounterPunch

Posted: at 11:23 pm

Needs must when the devil drives

Common saying/proverb

The concept of simulacrum is central to anthropocentric history construed and the control and manipulation of the ecosystem upon which all life now brought to be dependent upon? This; in the sense of man is what he eats or drinks; or indeed what accepted into the body as via vaccination?

With apologies to Husserl.

Regardless of the economy we live or rather as more likely subsist within, we in the 21st C. are as to be further fucked over courtesy or contingent upon the presence of but simulacra as a plurality polymorphous ; this by virtue of the truly fugly fact that there the inevitable as growing presence of technology as the fruit of empiricism, and which satisfies material need is increasingly being globally intermediated?

Such the fuck of resource transfer?

Feed on the GMO as much as m.RNA accepted intramuscular and such the modalities as would be unseen?

Man is indeed what he eats alas, as transhuman is as the acceptance of genetic modification under a paradigm of consumerism as an enantiodromiata whereby Eros becomes Thanatos?

(The alas in the above being generic as much as one would really not subsist under material need)

The modalities of effecting the simulacraic transformation from man to transhuman as you read being rolled out such the innovation, such the determinism; the growing armory of thanatos is being deployed in a sense as Keynes put it concerning finance that not one man in a million would be able to understand?

Injection is effete now, such the new bioweapons as of the armory being deployed?

Such as there more ways to kill a cat than choke it with butter?

Simulacra of the deep state as globalized as would be unknown as unrecognized right up to whence it bites you and yours in the ass deadly as quietly such the surplus population but to be culled under deployment of the growing armory of simulacra within a shrinkflating paradigm of simulacraic determination?

Enron was but a boys game?

Traditional cultures as have largely as tragically been killed off or (even worse disappeared into the memory hole globalized) assimilated as incorporated they yet evidenced the use of simulacra which are contingent upon empirical abstraction: for all technology is but a fucking simulacra; an abusive artifice of craftsmanship which manufactures as abstracts and generalizes phenomenologically as externalizes?

A spear, for example as can be thrown or thrust is a form of simulacra, as is a blowpipe, as is a bow and arrow, as is indeed is a spade. Or a kitchen faucet as of Flint, Michigan. What is unique concerning the anthropocene is that an evolutionary trajectory was predicated upon simulacra externalised as opposed to being evolved internal by way of physiology; the tools of a bear are by way of muscularity and razor sharp claw and tooth; that of an eagle the wings and beak, of a snake the development of powerful musculature or fangs capable of delivering toxin as metabolized. Similarly , humble herbivores as cows developed a unique physiology of gut structure as much as goats can as a result of internalised as physiological/ metabolic simulacrum eat food as would otherwise prove to be toxic.

By contrast the tools of man are simulacraic as externalized phenomenologically this alas, sense of Thoreau as some outstandingly perspicacious metapoltical American guy acknowledged

Nota bene that is guy as opposed to goy such the apartheid denied. As much as we all Palestinians now as surplus population prototyped to be Nakbad under the new religion of AI.?

Nakba being a euphemism for death?

As much as Zionism evidenced philanthropic to reflect a hegemony of the philanthropy of AI such the resource transfer as usury become in cyberspace such the universal deceit as social credit intimates? A social credit in a cyberspace as not so much universal as metaversial?

Is the sentiment Fuck the Talmud! as being to be rendered as impermissible such the control and issue of currency as to a care not hegemonic as to a divide et impera pumped up as

about to be dumped under the intermediation of AI as mere usury transcendant as quasi autonomous?

Life is alas as yet remains (?) a war against material need; a continual battle for survival, and this is not unique to man but a common factor concerning all life currently known.

What is different about Homo Sapiens is that simulucra have been externalized the evolutionary trajectory as an ascendance based upon phenomenological rather than physiological factors to make a crude distinction. What, for example, the difference between the sonar of dolphins, the geolocational iron in the brains of Australian aborigines and the brains of homing pigeons?

Just your everyday thoughts as the contemplation of simulacra goes mundane as censored?

The price of such externalization of simulacra is now but another forbidden subject: this is undoubtedly a tragedy deterministic as much as censorial; as much as the evolutionary opportunity cost of traditional cultures foregone contemplated is verboten as deemed unworthy under a growing bubble hegemony of the simulacraic? (Latter phrase could have been a contender for title this small article such the waterfront as ideological oasis, indeed. The neologism simulcraic being defined as of or arising from simulacra in action )

But digression.

Really the subject here such the apperception under denial of orthodoxy is as of the bubble fuck which the embrace of simulacra represents under determinism; and it is to be alas a bubble which very soon to be pricked as burst as apocalyptic, such the revelation; the veil soon to be revealed way of universal fuckover as to ephemeraliy explicated?

Thirteen of fourteen of us to die, such the sheer fucking madness of Thanatos?

The utlimate simulcraic externalization of pump and dump; such the end of the evolutionary trajectory premature ,such the apotheosis is to constitute the form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as as part of the armory of Thanatos deployed to point of entropy?

The transition as intermediated from the immediacy of the natural such the simulcraic bubble grows more deadly as pernicious by the very day as hour alas; the mainstream media as force fed to us under the increasingly pernicious algorithms of AI as under an embrace of the unnatural to accrete as to a final mass formation as to expression of the inevitable? The collective psychoses globalized under such a bubble is far as from bodes well such the distinction yet to be made between Eros and Thanatos?

The deadly cloud it grows as would be over our heads as to imminently rain down Thanatos?

In mine seventh decade of involuntary immersion as but a humble epiphenomenon in this growing virtual reality as under a bubble; rendered as blown; it occurs that the very term bubble has been extrapolated upon as increasingly intermediated.

Viz;

The term bubble boy used to be applied to the rich; it referred to an intermediation whereby experience constrained; the rich live in a world of experience which is but a simulacrum of political reality; purposive to thanatos hey have no relationship rendered to the reality of life for the majority as the comedian Billy Connolly puts it concerning such alienation and marginalization:

the Queen lives in a world as smells of fresh paint?

Under AI the world as a bubble is continuously being painted fresh as anew as would not the decay or progression of disease as mass formation be cognized; such the step by step of algorithmic intermediation as the final bubble to be pumped up before burst philanthropic to R2P the world by way of surplus population reduction effected?

Not so much the medium is the message as AI deployed gently, gently captures monkey so denied under a panopticon of simualacra over mind such the bubble as soon to burst; finally as transhumanistically : as much as genes as nature held in eugenical abeyance; memory holed under algorithmic as goose stamped towards the simulacrum of cloud consciousness as an orthodoxy?

Yo! I got pretensions such the bastard dystopia as to a new consciousness as would be un intermediated as to an austere apotheosis denied; as under such bubble would be rendered but phenomenologically as existentially but some parallel to a busted flush/ dodo such the genocide effected as under a quiet spring; a silent summer?

Such the armory of thanatos now being deployed such the rollout as ramped?

Hey, but one exists now as all but but virtual in this metaversial realm of simulacra ; as to existence such the phenomenological suck of universal deceit become, such the cypto currency necrotrophic contemptoraneous (sic)?

What is really difficult under the assault of the armory of thanatos being deployed; and these small quarters unable to further elaborate as to modality, alas, for no executive of DARPA or indeed privy as a chosen member of the WEF by way of being a global leader or shaper is to maintain hope as erotic.

It seems that memento mori indeed is applicable not only to epiphenomenology as of individual life but applicable such the extrapolation by way of Thanatos to evolutionary trajectory?

Homo Sapiens are dead all hail the new transhumanism!

Indeed.

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Simulacra in the Growing Armory of Thanatos - CounterPunch

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