Brian C. Muraresku’s just-released book Immortality Key: The Secret History of a Religion with No Name explores the history of how psychoactive substances shaped the development of Christianity and Western civilization.
Armed with the new science of archeological chemistry that accurately detects and analyzes residues found in ancient pottery and cave paintings, and combining it with a Jesuit education in the Classics and linguistics, Muraresku describes the accidental brewing of beer 13,000 years ago when the last ice age receded. Some lucky person added yeast from their hands to a mixture of wheat and water and let it sit until it fermented. With wheat beer later came ergot mold that spiked the brew that could produce an after-worldly glow without priests or charlatans intervening or getting in the way — a prospect that irritates certain members of the clergy and their followers to this day.
Variations on the spiked or fortified wine meme began in roughly 3000 BCE. The wine included additives from whatever was widely available at the time, the stuff of witches’ brews, like cannabis, psilocybin, henbane, and nightshade, as examples. A more recent and familiar example of a fortified vintage is the famous Vin Mariani that contained coca and was a preferred beverage of Pope Leo XIII, Pope Saint Pius X, and aficionados like Ulysses S. Grant and Thomas Edison. The list is long.
A Joe Rogan Experience interview of Brian Muraresku and Graham Hancock discusses the fantastic journey into the past undertaken by Muraresku in the footsteps of pioneers such as ethnomycologist Gordon Wasson, Carl A. P. Ruck, and chemist Albert Hofmann to bring us a highly detailed and scientific overview of our ancient ancestors who consumed scary drugs initially provided by female shamans. The drug war is revealed as a war waged by a reactionary clergy determined to retain their middle-man status between heaven and earth:
Interesting stuff, well worth the time.
Fascinating and amazing conversation. Incredible how the study of ancient linguistics turned up evidence of ritual hallucinagenics as far back as the origins of written text, corroborated by archeo-chemical analysis. Graham’s theories that it goes back even further to cave paintings and how those themes are seen in prehistoric cave drawings all over the world just blew me away!
Hello everyone. This is CJ. I heard through that wonderful gentleman Mr. Creek that some of you were asking after me and it did my heart good to hear that. God, I remember when I first found this website I had just bailed out of jail in Mount Vernon, NY just 10 minutes from the Bronx by car and on a good day, no traffic, 25 minutes from the lower east side, punk rock homeless heroin capital of NYC and where I spent so much of my life. Its incredible to think that was 2011-2012, and so many have died so needlessly in that time make no mistake, victims of this God forsaken historical abomination called drug prohibition. When you lose your friends in life it’s never easy, but when you lose friends like family level of brotherhood, it takes a piece of your soul away, man and I think I’ve seen so many guys who’ve had every single piece ripped away and they are now just empty vessels…every time they bang a clean shot, no miss, no skin popping, of some decent dope, it artificially fills their soul vessel with life again… for 4 hours or less. Its unbelievable. I know the long time folks here know I should be dead with them. But theres a very real reason why I’m not. My dad. My dad saved my life when I was born because he adopted me from Portland Oregon where a drug addicted 16 year old girl who’d already had my 1 year old brother, gave birth to me. Her and her alcoholic sperm giver had no time for my brother but they kept him, the greatest thing they ever did was give me up and even greater than that was the man and woman who took me in, my mom and dad.
My dad said I saved his life as a baby because it ended his life long addictions to alcohol, cocaine etc etc because shortly after adopting me he stuck to AA and it saved and changed his life. I am no fan of AA and I think that the 12 step program is evil but it does work for some people. It worked for him. But in the mid 2010s I was homeless completely starving freezing dying really. Prostitution, crime, whatever I had to do. I refuse to lie about any of it because all I’ve got is this story of mine and if it can do any good for any one then the truth is worth it, friends. But with literally everyone around me dying left and right and an insanely overzealous precinct time was running out. The 12 step ideology preaches tough love. Very well. I’ve got a catchphrase. Treat someone like they’re dead long enough, don’t be surprised when they end up dead. My dad was backed by an army of AA friends telling him to stay away from me and 0 contact. My mom had security called on me when I showed up at Bloomingdales on Lex around 60th.
It reminds me of Darth Vader watching the Emperor abuse his son and finally the father within the darkness tore through and sent that evil son of a bitch to his death (fuck the sequels). That’s what my dad did. He threw off the 12 step bullshit and stepped in and saved my life for a second time. And ever since that day I’ve not been homeless again. I have used heroin and cocaine and do ON OCCASSION, RESPONSIBLY. they say it’s impossible. I dont know what to say about that. I havent done any since…. let’s see. According to my phone, July 19. And I have no desire to do any today nor will I. Tomorrow? Who knows. Probably not. But there are reasons. I have health issues now. It’s a sstory for another time. With no veins to give blood, in one sitting at NYU they took 20, I COUNTED! 20 VIALS! From a THUMB! And it told them nothing. It’s very scary but… a story for another day. But my health problems arent the only reason. IM SORTA A DAD NOW! NOOOO no no.. my son isnt a human baby and as my dad used to say, thank God I never brought any kids into the crazy world… this son of mine is a four legged kind. Half british bulldog half wild boar. Hes my best friend and we do everything together.
Remember the star wars analogy I made? Well it continues…. after Vader throws away the Emperor he is… dying. But father and son together for the first time walking arm and arm as the world is crumbling around them. Well that was us still except it wasnt force lightning that killed my dad, it was cancer. Skin cancer that metastasized. Ultimately though his body just couldnt take it anymore. I got the call… it was unexpected. We thought hed get out of the hospital. Hed gone in due to extreme water retention. His immuno therapy had worked for a year but then stopped and everything they tried after that just would not work and his liver couldnt handle it. He went in with that water retention on Thanksgiving day 2019. The night before he died when i left the hospital room he said i love you i told him i loved him more. The next morning i got a call that he was unconscious and dying. I made it down there in record time and he was unconscious and convulsing not violently convulsing but just… like his back was kind of lightly jolting off the bed. Some cousins were there. I ran in and cried and screamed and took his hand and begged like never before for him to wake up….please…. and everyone got excited because we could physically see him trying to raise his eyes because the eyebrows were pulling up and they weren’t doing that before or ever again in the hours after. And on his soul I felt his thumb press into the area between thumb and index finger on my hand. I swear it on everything. And a few hours later, he passed away. This great man. My dad.
And now I’m actually crying guys. But it meant alot to me to hear this morning that folks here still remembered me and I thank you so much for entertaining and tolerating all my angry rants over the years. I hope Pete has been well I know he said he was retiring some time ago. I hope everyone is well and healthy and happy AND ENJOYING LIFE RESPONSIBLY PLAYING BY THEIR OWN RULES! If you ever want to catch up on facebook I am there I think its Facebook/unionjack I think. I am on twitter too its @remmyskye . I will stop by again soon but I am a little emotional now friends and my son here, Duke, has awoken and needs breakfast and a walk. I’ll talk to you soon!
CJ
darkcycle here, Curtis Creek on Facebook. It is Mark when you get to know me…thanks for checking in CJ. Give Dukie a pet for me.
Only the real CJ writes this long. I’m sorry to hear about your dad, but you made sure he didn’t die alone. And it wasn’t just his son’s hand he held, but the man’s hand he raised. What do you feed Duke? My dog loves blueberries and hempseed, plus raw liver with ginger and minced carrots sprinkled on it. And do you take any cannabis products with you on your walks with him? A good bowl or a vape pen and you’ll be just as excited over the rabbit or butterfly as he’ll be.
It’s so so good to know you are safe and I hope your health gets better.
Everything happening with and around cannabis in today’s world will alter civilization for tomorrow. Hemp will find its industrial footing once again. The Once Forbidden Fruit in the Ointment. But our ointment isn’t made out of toxins, oil, and opiates.