What if beer was the cradle of civilization?
![enjoypolo enjoypolo](https://mlgh11zoxxmj.i.optimole.com/cb:HXAa.18f56/w:110/h:110/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://www.thehighersidechats.com/wp-content/uploads/wpforo/avatars/enjoypolo_34347630.jpeg)
[IMG align="left" width=286px] https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/GUEST_9c90b10f-c260-4fe9-ae62-921fd56c09ab?wid=488&hei=488&fmt=pjpeg [/IMG]Brian Muraresku is a writer and author of the book Immortality Key (2020). I'm only half-way through so far, but it so dense in fascinating information, a kind of sherlock holmes with a psychedelic twist.
There is a lot in the book about ergot, a type of black fungi that grows on some cereals, including rye and barley (see attachment). It also contains a potent alkaloid popularized for being the precursor that led Albert Hoffman to synthesize LSD in 1943 at the Sandoz Laboratory in Switzerland:cool:
Thing is, ergot poisoning is a hell of a thing if not carefully handled. Names like St Anthony's Fire or ergotism have been used to describe in the past, symptoms including vivid hallucinations.
Muraresku uses a lot of archeo-botanical analyses to support the case that the Elysian and Dyonisian mysteries of Ancient Greece had a lot to do with this psychedelic brew, most likely wine and beer made with various herbs. And love that he traces it to the Proto-Indo-European culture which cultivated the Soma, probably the oldest psychoactive brew recorded in History.
This is where I also learned about gruit beers and the 1516 Bavarian law known as the Beer Purity Law which was a series of regulations by the authorities stipulatinf which ingredients (and only those) can be used to make beer. And this led to the disappreance of gruit beers over time, which are those beers that don't use hop and are more like remnants of an old pagan traditions which had a deep knowledge of plants (like the ayahuasca). Good news is, they still are around if you know where to look, so will pay more attention to those varieties in the future!
This also gives perspective about today’s War on Drugs being rooted in way back from these times.
this relates to the Kukeon which was another one of these brew that the Greeks drank back then (2nd image below). The pagan continuity theory is discussed as well, which is to say those rituals were later incorporated/dilluted by the roman catholic church as the eucharist.
There's also plenty on Gobekli Tepe, gnosticism and bringing it all back to the John Hopkins Psychedelic research resurfacing.
Anyhow, great book and would love to see him on THC to talk us through this paradigm shifting information.
Resources:
- Gospel of Mary Magdalene, one of the codices discovered along the Nag Hammadi library in Egypt in 1945, a treasure trove of gnostic information
There are tons of fascinating interviews with the author which I would recommend if you don't feel like reading through the book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1YSAJg4b2M:1524
- Link to the Joe Rogan Episode with Brian Muraresku and Graham Hancock (#1543, 9/2020, accessible w/ free account)
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Thanks for such a detailed post really eye opening
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Sounds like a great read. There is an audio book version and looks like a Joe Rogan interview.
Thanks!
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i just checked out this thread and watched a little of that video, but i saw this video from that channel of alex grey and he was talking about wasps at the end. the other day i was talking about how the the art i made of the city was called velant and i found out of a wasp called a velvet ant. just saying thanks for the video, im going to watch more of them, im stuck inside because of a infected tooth. painful sometimes and the medication makes me tired. im drinking kombucha right now, thats fermented.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3INZrYKNMQ
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC6DDvzM6Nc
After Skool did a great sketch on Brian Muraresku's Immortality key, very well worth the 12 mins summary of the book.
Also, Jordan Peterson really had the honour of interviewing not just Brian Muraresku, but also Prof Carl Ruck who plays a big part in this saga, including his journeys with the pioneers such as Hoffman and Watson and such.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c-bWymbT04
![enjoypolo enjoypolo](https://mlgh11zoxxmj.i.optimole.com/cb:HXAa.18f56/w:110/h:110/q:mauto/f:best/ig:avif/https://www.thehighersidechats.com/wp-content/uploads/wpforo/avatars/enjoypolo_34347630.jpeg)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYQh1ZNkC70
Lex Friedman's latest guest is none other than Brian Muraresku! A true gem to listen to, a lot of synchronicities with the Dan Winter episode. Lovin' it!
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