TREES, PEOPLE, AND PLANET: Paul Stamets started Fungi Perfecti® with the goal of building the bridge between people and fungi. Since its inception in 1980, Fungi Perfecti has become synonymous with cutting-edge mycological research and solutions. Its continued mission is to explore, study, preserve, and spread knowledge about the use of fungi for helping people and planet.
What is MYCELIUM? One of the most significant outcomes of research has been discovering the value of mushroom mycelium, the metabolically active and longest living structure of the mushroom (fungal) organism. It contains numerous novel compounds shown to benefit human health. Years of industry-based research, along with both internal and third-party testing, demonstrate that mycelium-based supplements offer significant immunological support.* More
*Joan Halifax collaborated on LSD research projects with her ex-husband Stanislav Grof in the 1970s, in addition to other collaborative efforts with Joseph Campbell and Alan Lomax. She is founder of the Ojai Foundation in California, which she led from 1979 to 1989. As a socially engaged Buddhist, Halifax has done extensive work (palliative care) with the dying through her Project on Being with Dying, which she founded. She is on the board of directors of the Mind and Life Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the relationship of science and Buddhism.
“Consciousness has kind of become the secular substitute for the soul [Ancient Greek psyche as in psychology and psyche-delic],” Pollan tells interviewer Terry Gross.
Pollan also talks about current studies on consciousness and whether other animals, plants, bacteria, algae, and programmed hardware/software combinations known as "artificial intelligence" have or can eventually have consciousness. More + AUDIO
Buddhist author Michael Pollan has a Number 1 best seller
in Consciousness & Thought Philosophy. From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Change Your Mind, a panoptic exploration of consciousness—what it is, who/what has it, and why—and a meditation on the essence of our humanity.
When it comes to the phenomenon that is consciousness, there is one point on which scientists, philosophers, and artists all agree: It feels [not thinks] like something to be us. Yet the fact that we have subjective experience (sentience) of the world remains one of nature’s greatest mysteries.
What would a scientific investigation of our inner life look like, when we have as little distance and perspective on it as fish do of water in the sea?
In A World Appears, Michael Pollan traces the unmapped continent that is consciousness, bringing radically different perspectives—scientific, philosophical, literary, spiritual and psychedelic—to see what each can teach us about this central fact of life.
When neuroscientists began studying consciousness in the early 1990s, they sought to explain how and why three pounds of spongy [tofu like] gray matter could generate a subjective point of view—assuming that the brain is the source of our perceived reality.
Pollan takes readers to the cutting edge of the field, where neuroscientists are entertaining more radical (and less materialist) theories of consciousness.
He introduces us to “plant neurobiologists” searching for the first flicker of consciousness in plants, scientists striving to engineer feelings into AI, and psychologists and novelists seeking to capture the felt experience of this slippery stream of consciousness.
In Pollan’s dazzling exploration of consciousness, he discovers a world far deeper and stranger than this everyday reality.
Eye-opening and mind-expanding, A World Appears takes us into the laboratories of our own brains and minds, hearts and feelings, ultimately showing us how we might make better use of the gift of awareness to more meaningfully connect with the world and what we assume to be our deepest selves. More: A World Appears
See all formats and editions for savings. Book comes out Feb. 24, 2026. Pre-order price guarantee. Named a "most anticipated book of 2026" by The New York Times, TIME, and Oprah Daily.
Guest Michael Pollan, Terry Gross, Tonya Mosley, Adam Staniszewski, NPR.org, Feb. 19, 2026; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
Why we got it wrong: Fly Agaric 101: The Magical Mushroom (Amanita muscaria)
(StoneAgeMan) This is the Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), aka the mushroom from Super Mario Brothers. It’s famous, yet I think the general consensus is that no one should ever eat it, never. That’s probably the safest thing to do, but it has been used for thousands of years by our ancestors.
CONTENTS
0:00 - Intro
1:03 - The legend of Santa Claus and Amanita urine
2:21 - Mushroom hunt
2:52 - Mushroom time-lapses
2:42 - When are changes updated?
3:06 - Amanita and mycorrhizal associations
3:52 - Identification of Amanita muscaria.
5:17 - Amanita chemistry
6:20 - Decarboxylation
7:07 - What the mushroom does
8:11 - Conclusions
Big thanks to all current and future patrons who are helping fund this science and filmmaking outreach via Patreon: bit.ly/2Sfmkph. "Amanita Dreamer" can be found at: amanitadreamer.net. (Big thanks to her help in this series). Remember to follow on Instagram: untamedscience.
Ever wonder, "Is Amanita muscaria psychedelic?" The short answer is yes. Also known as the Fly agaric mushroom, it has psychoactive properties that can alter perception and mood. This intriguing fungus interacts with brain and body to produce unique effects. The answer about it being psychedelic is more nuanced.
What is a safe dosage for first-time users? Are there risks or side effects associated with this mysterious entheogen. Guidance on preparing for an experience that is responsible use that understands the potential legal implications is also covered.
What is it, where does it come from?
Dude, it's totally grove if you prep set 'n setting
Amanita is often recognizable by its vibrant red cap with white spots and is a mushroom species native to temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
This fascinating fungus has a rich history tied to nature and culture because it is known for its psychoactive properties.
It contains two primary active compounds, ibotenic acid and muscimol. These chemicals interact with the brain's neurotransmitters, specifically targeting the GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptors. This interaction can lead to various effects, including changes in perception, mood, and consciousness. Some may experience euphoria, a dream-like state, or heightened sensory experiences. More: magicdoze.com
"The path of the righteous [seeker] is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil [persons]. Blessed is [one] who in the name of charity and goodwill shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for [that person] is truly [a] brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I [Yaldabaoth] will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy My brothers. And you will know My name is the Lord when I lay My vengeance upon thee."
The Amazon rainforest, the lungs of the planet (along with the chlorophyll plankton of the ocean and Siberian forests) are not natural. They were artificially made by humans [with help from advanced species from space or the center of Hollow Earth]. As humans went far afield, they planted "dark earth" (terra preta), a rich recipe of organisms and nutrients -- mycorrhizae and more -- and grew the forest like a giant garden. Such earth can still be taken from place to place to expand the enormous jungle that is shrinking due to human abuses as animal slaughterers burn down tree groves to make pasture for cows to send methane into the atmosphere (because of being fed inappropriate foodstuffs) and then be killed for their flesh, with rendering plants polluting the waterways.
Recipe for "dark earth" finally uncovered in the Amazon's depths
Some activities contributing to dark earth. A: Processing cassava. B: Waste in middens. C: Backyard crop cultivation. D: Sweeping ash and charcoal from a hearth. E: Kuikuro II village with locations of other photos. F: Spreading cassava waste. G: Spreading ash and charcoal around trees. H: Burning in fields and waste disposal areas. I: Burning waste and crop residue (Schmidt et al., Science Advances, 2023).
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(ScienceAlert) For such a lush, verdant paradise, the Amazon rainforest's soil can be surprisingly barren. Yet mysteriously fertile "dark earth" called terra preta can be found in patches across hundreds of sites, the origins of which have sparked debate among scientists.
Now new research (science.org) from the U.S. and Brazil says ancient Amazonians intentionally enriched areas of the forest to nourish crops for centuries, locking up carbon in the process.
"Our results demonstrate the INTENTIONAL CREATION of dark earth," the authors write, "highlighting how Indigenous knowledge can provide strategies for sustainable rainforest management and carbon sequestration."
Researchers had been working with Indigenous communities in the Amazon since the early 2000s, and those observations and data were analyzed alongside newer data from 2018 and 2019.
What lives in the Amazon Rainforest?
A: Locations of Kuikuro villages and archaeological sites. Inset shows the study area (red star) and documented archaeological sites with dark earth (black). B: Modern Kuikuro II village. The white circle shows an historic village. C: Seku archaeological site. Magenta dots mark the sample collection locations in B and C. (Schmidt et al., Science Advances , 2023/ScienceAlert).
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Darker soil around archeological sites in the KuikuroIndigenous Territory intrigued lead author Morgan Schmidt, a geographer and archeologist who was then at the University of Florida.
"When I saw this dark earth and how fertile it was, and started digging into what was known about it, I found it was a mysterious thing – no one really knew where it came from," Schmidt says.
Located in the Upper Xingu River basin in the southeastern Amazon, the Kuikuro Indigenous Territory has modern villages as well as archeological sites that their ancestors likely inhabited.
"Archaeological research has demonstrated cultural continuity from ancient to modern peoples in the Upper Xingu region," the team writes, "offering an opportunity to examine linkages between present and past activities that have modified soils."
In a modern village, Kuikuro II, the team discovered soil that was strikingly similar to that in the archeological sites. Hundreds of people live in Kuikuro II and rely on the fertile soil to grow food like cassava [tapioca, boba].
In both the ancient and modern sites, the soil fertility was higher in the residential centers than in the periphery.
Throughout the residential areas, "middens" are created for waste and food scraps. After decomposing, these waste piles mix with barren soil to form dark, fertile soil that villagers plant crops in [in what is essentially the definition of modern urban and suburban composting].
"We saw activities they did to modify the soil and increase the elements, like spreading ash on the ground, or spreading charcoal around the base of the tree, which were obviously intentional actions," Schmidt says.
Kuikuro people were interviewed and co-authored the research paper, and it was clear that they intentionally produce dark earth through modern village practices.
To dig into the past, soil from plazas and roads surrounding ancient villages was compared to terra preta from middens – in residential areas and surrounding the roads and plazas.
RESULTS: Samples from both modern and ancient residential areas had significantly higher levels of organic carbon and lower acidity than those from peripheral areas.
"The key bridge between the modern and ancient times is the soil," says Samuel Goldberg, a data analyst at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at the time.
"These practices that we can observe and ask people about today, were also happening in the past."
Some elements, like phosphorus, potassium, and calcium, were more than 10 times as concentrated in the residential samples.
"These are all the elements that are in humans, animals, and plants, and they're the ones that reduce the aluminum toxicity in soil, which is a notorious problem in the Amazon," Schmidt explains.
A conceptual model of an ancient village showing locations of middens and enriched soils (Schmidt et al., Science Advances, 2023).
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At one ancient site, Seku, researchers estimated 4,500 tonnes of soil carbon were stored, while the modern Kuikuro II village had 110 tonnes of carbon stored in middens.
"The ancient Amazonians put a lot of carbon in the soil, and a lot of that is still there today. That's exactly what we want for climate change mitigation efforts," Goldberg says.
"Maybe we could adapt some of their indigenous strategies on a larger scale, to lock up carbon in soil, in ways that we now know would stay there for a long time."
The study has been published in Science Advances. Source
(After Skool) Aug. 6, 2024: This video is a collaboration with Fungi Academy, a Fungal Education Center based in Guatemala, Latin America. They produce amazing online and in-person courses. Learn more at fungiacademy.com.
Subscribe to the Fungi Academy YouTube channel for more Free Fungal Education (fungiacademy). Jasper from Fungi Academy explains the science of Psilocybin, why it exists, what it cures, and how it works.
To learn more about the Stoned Ape Hypothesis, check out this other animation on After Skool: Stoned Ape & Fungal Intelligence
MAPS fails to get approval for MDMA (ecstasy, molly); can it get shrooms legalized?
Inside the Biggest (Magical) Mushroom Festival in North America | Telluride Mushroom Festival
(North Spore) Premiered July 24, 2024: Visit: northspore.com. Join Lou from North Spore as he explores the biggest, oldest, and most magical mushroom festival in North America in Telluride, Colorado. From foraging with mycologist Alan Rockefeller in the picturesque San Juan Mountains, to a private lunch with Chef Graham Steinruck, and participating in the wildest and wackiest mushroom parade in the world, this video has something for everyone. Use this link to get 10% off 2024 ticket (events.humanitix.com/telluride).
FORAGING WALK — WILD FOOD OUTING: Saturday, December 23, 10:00 am-1:30 pm ($45.00– $65.00). This wild food foraging and ethnobotanical walk is an outing to explore the edible, medicinal, and other useful qualities of many of the plants found in the urban environment with many introduced plants. Both natives and non-natives (successful invasives) will be explored. This is a leisurely stroll with a chance to taste some of the plants.
Yes, lots of folks will be crammed into malls this weekend, but many would rather be outdoors with like-minded folks.
Wear comfortable footwear and bring water and a bowl for eating.
This class may be credited towards the School of Self-Reliance Ethnobotany Certificate.
Directions sent upon registration.
$65 (Seniors and students $45). RSVP
Enjoy a plant day with guest leader and fiber-arts artisan Amy Stewart and Rob Remedi for another plant-dyeing and ethnobotany class, this time focusing on the plants and colors of the fall season.
The native plants featured are black walnut (brown), cactus-cochineal (pink), sagebrush (yellow), and orange (an over-dye).
Chumash Cecilia Garcia and Dr. Adams, USC
The class will also have an ethnobotany walk.
This class starts with a short easy walk identifying plants and their uses, as well as which ones yield color.
Upon return from our walk, we'll learn the plant dyeing process and how to prepare different fibers (wool, cotton, silk) for dyeing, then make the dye bath and take home a fabric of choice.
This is a fun, informative, and hands-on class, exploring nature's colorful and useful bounty.
$45.00 per person for a 100% cotton bandana and a lengthy wool yarn strand
$50.00 per person for a 100% silk scarf and a lengthy wool yarn strand
No: While the species has medicinal uses, clones are raised for low-CBD high-THC abuse.
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Plants for Your Food Forest
ETHNOBOTANY SERIES, WILD AND USEFUL PLANTS, Session 1: Learn how to study wild plants, how to identify plant families, uses, medicinal value, how to keep records...
This is an introduction to the art of foraging, and medicinal plants. (It is part of the School of Self-Reliance's certificate and certification program).
Native American wisdom (USC)
The session begins with a walkabout, getting to know some of the common local plants. We’ll cover botany basics to have a sense of context of the types of plant groups, as well as their relationships. Instruction on use of plant press and how to make field records for own use.
Take this session by itself or sign up for all four classes. We will sample a wild food salad as part of class. Bring notebook. Price: $65 per class ($45 senior/student)
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TREES, PEOPLE, AND PLANET: Paul Stamets started Fungi Perfecti® with the goal of building the bridge between people and fungi. Since its inception in 1980, Fungi Perfecti has become synonymous with cutting-edge mycological research and solutions. Its continued mission is to explore, study, preserve, and spread knowledge about the use of fungi for helping people and planet.
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