We all go through fazes, whether it’s a goth faze back when you were 15 listening to My Chemical Romance and flicking your fringe over your pale face so you can barely see, or a mid-life crisis where you need to buy something expensive and youthful like a Porsche convertible that blows back your grey balding hair at 30 mph. But fazes are normally great, indulge in them, let them take over your lifestyle and see what happens. One of these fazes might change your life forever, hopefully for the greater good of course. For me I’ve seemed to reach the hippie faze and I’m so glad it’s crossed my path. I’ve been through a few but this one feels different, I prefer who I am at this stage, I feel a bit more relaxed and my mind feels more open these days. Recently been thinking a lot more in depth and things that I wouldn’t even consider. The main reason is probably down to the use of psychedelics, I’ve done shrooms a few times prior but not fully tripped. I was more interested in acid though, turns out the trip can be intense at times, but the amount my mind broadened was exceptional. The second time was stronger and I managed to control my trip at one point as it got a bit heavy. The day after is almost better because your mind is so open and nothing seems to be too much, it seems easy to accept things and people for who and what they are. It was very enlightening and a mind set i’m trying to hold on to.
Micro-dosing shrooms for me seems like the best way to use them. Everything seems just a bit nicer and a bit more beautiful. Again it opens your mind more and it’s nice to see things in a different light. Having said that, I would like to take quite a bit in one day and see where the trip takes me and what it could teach me.
This whole faze has definitely had an effect on my stance on life and the meaning of it all. It’s also turned my wardrobe upside down. I have to say all these colourful, loose fitting and pretty stylish clothes is something I can get behind. It’s safe to say that if I don’t grow out of this faze, I won’t be unhappy about it.
I believe the next thing to delve into is spirituality. I’m not religious, but I don’t reckon that matters. My mission is to find out what it really means to be spiritual and go on my own little journey to see if it’s something I want in my life. The plan is to visit lots of different places worldwide to find what i’m looking for, right now I have no clue what that is, but i’m excited for the trips ahead! As I write this i’m heading off to Las Palmas. I’m staying up in the mountains near Tejeda, apparently there’s some parts of the mountains that are quite spiritual so I plan to explore the area with an open mind. Here’s to the first step of many.
The music trip
Speaking of LSD and the whole drug/spiritual movement, lets talk about one of the greatest bands of all time, The Beatles. Where do you start? Beatle mania, discovering new sounds, the amount of hit singles and albums is just a few of the things the band are known for. For me the main thing is the psychedelic music they produced I’d say mainly started to take off in their album, Rubber Soul. They did say Rubber Soul and Revolver were like volumes 1 and 2. Revolver has to be one of the most iconic albums ever made in my opinion, despite it not being my favourite one they produced (The Magical Mystery Tour is my no.1). Tomorrow Never Knows is definitely one of its kind. Paul McCartneys’, Got To Get You Into My Life which depicts his love for cannabis is fantastic. George Harrisons’, Taxman, simply having a go at the government for taking all our money away no matter what we do is quite the witty opener. I love how Yellow Submarine was them just mucking around in the studio because George Martin was absent that day. She Said She Said i’m pretty sure was made in minutes by John Lennon as they realised they were one song short by the end and had little time before recording was over. And Eleanor Rigby, a bit of a mystery some might say. Paul taking those two random names and later finding out that someone called, Eleanor Rigby was a real person who had died and been burried at the cemetery near where he got the names from. Still a very strange coincidence to this day.
You can tell that John Lennon was the heavier drug taker due to some of his songs such as; Help, Nowhere Man and A Day In The Life, all reads about his troubles with depression and his use of LSD, whether it truly helped him in the end is unknown to me. But as he claimed, he took the drug over 1000 times, surely that would turn anyone’s brain into scrambled egg. He did however achieve ego death, something that should only be achieved if that is truly what you think will ‘fix’ you. It can turn you into something you’re not, in some cases that can be a good thing. If however you take someone like, Syd Barrett for example, (former lead singer of Pink Floyd) he descended into madness with taking wayyyy too much LSD. He completely fried his brain and led him to leave the band prematurely and become someone who ‘wasn’t really there anymore’ something the other band members had to endure during live performances and studio recordings. The album, A Saucerful Of Secrets, might give you an insight into his mind at that point.
Another great example of LSD influenced music comes from, The Doors, another band in the 60’s that used acid and cannabis to create a sound no one had heard at the time. Their first album simply named, The Doors, was an absolute masterpiece. Songs such as, Break On Through (to the other side) were definitely tells of their journey through these drugs. The use of the organ should really be noted, giving off a sort of tranquil yet mysterious vibe in my opinion. I think John Densmore’s ‘jazzy’ drum style really added to that ‘hypnotic’ influence. Their later stuff was a bit less influenced by drugs (simply by comparing it album for album), it was a bit more on the bluesy side but still cool of course and had lots of meaning. I’m sure they were still on it though!
Solo tripping
A different tripping to what I’ve just rambled on about. As I write this I head back home from a very interesting couple days on the gorgeous island of Gran Canaria. I’ve finally lost my solo trip virginity and was very eye opening. I felt rather calm about being in the unknown all by myself, but that wasn’t really the case. I met some lovely people at the hostel I stayed at and even had a little spontaneous day trip with one of them. I chose to say in the mountains, away from the typical tourist traps and resorts. At one point I did think driving up these tricky mountain roads was a silly idea, especially driving on the other side of the road in a left hand drive car. However, all was dismissed when I reached my destination, I think it was one of the most beautifully peaceful sites I have ever gazed on. The weather was perfect, the smell of animal shit made me feel at home, me being from the countryside and the people I met were so welcoming. After I settled, I walked about 10 minutes down the mountain and just sat on the grass with my thoughts for a short while.
After some much needed peace, I headed back up and exchanged stories with wine and laughter with some of the other guests whilst overlooking the true beauty of Gran Canaria. We sat and ate dinner with more wine of course, simply enjoying getting to know new people. It was such an enlightening experience, a feeling I will sure to be revisiting. Jean-Francoise and I (who I met on the first night) decided to head down the south part of the island the following day and stopped off to see the original caves that people used to live in. We indulged in wine and cheese later on, then to an alfresco lunch and a museum about the first migrants to the island. They built the museum around where they discovered the first homes of the people, it was pretty cool indeed. It felt good to see and learn about what the island truly was for a change , not indulging in all you can eat buffets and tanning by the pool. There’s still nothing wrong with that though.
The journey on the way back to the hostel however, was intense. That;s probably the best way to put it. The weather took a turn for the worst as we left the old capital, rain, wind, fog and it was getting dark. As we headed up the mountain it was pitch black and the conditions hadn’t let up. Visibility was a bit like squinting through your glasses in a steam room. Okay maybe not that bad, but it was challenging. All my 9 years of driving had definitely come into play here, and perhaps my ‘over confidence’ behind the wheel. A few missed turns then a closed road made our lives a bit more stressful, i’m glad I had another person in the car though and he was glad he wasn’t driving, especially when I missed a turn and had to reverse down the hill with all but no idea if was going to hit something or plummet to our deaths. We got the job done though and we were on the right track. We eventually made it back with huge relief, but I missed the first entrance so simply went to the other one. Not realising how steep it was, tiptoed the car down to a full and rather unstable car park. I decided to head back whilst majorly underestimating the steepness especially in the sombre conditions. I got a quarter of the way up and the car wasn’t having it, I managed to floor it and gage the clutch enough to get us to the second part of the hill, this is when I got worried and I’m normally calm and confident in any car. I wasn’t able to gather enough speed and we were on this steep hill going absolutely nowhere. The clutch stank and I was a little worried I can’t lie. Jean looked at me in a bit of a panic and asked if I had burned the clutch out, I looked at him and exclaimed, “I fucking hope not!” The hand-brake wasn’t having any of it either so I just said,”FUCK IT!” I held the poor clutch, built the revs and nearly put the peddle through the floor of the car along with my foot. Going backwards was certainly not an option, so I don’t think I’ve ever been so committed in all my life. The car powered forward and with a little bit of luck, we made it back to the top and I was able to nurse the car to the other car park. Being a rental car, I thought I was screwed, but thankfully the damage was only temporary. Plenty of wine and more cheese was very welcoming when we sat down at dinner and lived to tell the tale. I will be solo travelling again very soon, but hopefully I fear for my life a little less next time.
cordsandbakedeggs 