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Other Worlds Documentary

By Gregon

I’ve just added a new documentary to the TDG videos section (which will also be in the front page video box for a few days as well), which is definitely worth a look. The doco, titled Other Worlds, is one I’ve heard a lot about, and so was very keen to see. Directed by Jan Kounen as a companion piece of sorts to his 2004 ‘cowboy-shaman film’ Blueberry (also titled Renegade), the film has real impact because it not only shows the journey into shamanism, but uses plenty of CGI to try and show what the visionary shamanic experience is like (as opposed to many documentaries which simply show the experiencer puking).

Another excellent aspect of Other Worlds is that many experts , researchers, and commentators are interviewed. Included in the documentary are DMT researcher Rick Strassman, psychedelics researcher Charles Grob, and numerous others including Stan Grof, Jeremy Narby, Alex Grey and Pablo Amaringo. For anyone interested in these topics, this is a must watch (although be advised, there are some disturbing scenes for the faint-hearted, such as the killing of a pig, as well as plenty of puking).

Greg
Editor
Greg is the owner-editor of The Daily Grail, as well as the author of a number of books including Stop Worrying, There Probably is an Afterlife.
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18 Comments

  1. I really, really want to
    I really, really want to watch it, but I have trouble with people throwing up. I’m squeamish with medical shows too. The last time I threw up (food poisoning a year ago), I swore I never wanted to be that sick again (spending two days in hospital on a drip probably had a bit to do with it too). I don’t think I’d be able to deal with an ayahuasca ceremony, trying to ignore the puking of other people participating either. So if I ever get the chance, it’ll be magic mushrooms (not in the Netherlands though).

    However, I still plan to try ayahuasca one day. So I wonder, would my overwhelming desire to not puke prevent me from experiencing the ayahuasca to its full potential?

    Update: I’m halfway through the doco. Two things have struck me so far.

    Firstly, the pig sacrifice is unique to the Chipibo, specifically the ritual for the woman (coming-of-age? I didn’t catch what it was), and isn’t something you see in ayahuasca ceremonies elsewhere in South and Central America. I must be honest: I’m annoyed at the way they killed the pig. If an animal is to be killed, then it should die quickly and suffer as little pain as possible. Maiming it with an arrow before eventually hitting it over the head several times until it dies is just wrong. I don’t think the inhabitants of the spirit world would be happy about us killing pigs in such a way (for doesn’t it go against what ayahuasca teaches: harmony with nature?). But like I said, the pig sacrifice ritual is unique to the Chipibo (and that specific ceremony?) as far as I know, and isn’t normally associated with ayahuasca consumption elsewhere.

    Secondly, Michel Boccara (29mins in) completely cracks me up — he definitely needs to go easy on the coffee! 😉

    Excellent doco, thanks for posting it Greg.

    1. Dee Empty
      [quote=Rick MG]So if I ever get the chance, it’ll be magic mushrooms (not in the Netherlands though). [/quote]

      They can make you puke pretty good too y’know…
      😉

      I think I see a candidate for some Direct Mystical Transmission…you know, some Divine Moments of Truth.

      Kind regards,
      Greg
      ——————————————-
      You monkeys only think you’re running things

      1. I feel ill
        [quote=Greg]

        [Mushrooms] can make you puke pretty good too y’know…
        ;)[/quote]

        Damn, so there’s no avoiding throwing up? And right on que, just as I type that, the cat starts coughing up a furball at my feet. I’ll take that as a sign that I can’t avoid puking. The worst part is I have to clean up the mess. That’s one positive of throwing up in the Peruvian jungle, no one minds the mess.

        [quote=Greg]

        I think I see a candidate for some Direct Mystical Transmission…you know, some Divine Moments of Truth.[/quote]

        I’m not sure I follow you. I may need to visit you in Brisbane and speak with you in person to gain a Direct Meaningful Translation. 😉

        Rick

        1. puking mushrooms…….
          there is away to prepare fungus as to not twist your guts into a ball and make you exspell the contents rapidly.

          “Life can be whatever you want it to be, as long as you do what your told.”
          LRF.

  2. Shaman says
    Hello Greg,

    I just finished watching the video, and i wonder did you see it at all, the pig killing and puking is hardly worth the mention, some virtualisation in the vid but the main part 3 min or so is right at the end. That said i think its a good docu, one that could certainly be shown on public broadcasting..be it later in the evening.

    Another thing why do you give us this small embedded video and not a direct link , where if one wished could go full screen. Therefore i add here the direct link.
    Other Worlds

    A matter of choice;
    Intimidation, corruption and lies, or serenity, sharing and sincerity.

    1. Answers…
      [quote=Rho]I just finished watching the video, and i wonder did you see it at all, the pig killing and puking is hardly worth the mention[/quote]

      Because I did not enjoy watching the pig killing, and I know there are people a lot more squeamish than me. TDG is made up of more than just you and me…

      [quote]Another thing why do you give us this small embedded video and not a direct link , where if one wished could go full screen.[/quote]

      Because the whole point of TDG videos is so that people can view them while browsing TDG (convenience). If people want to watch it at Google video then it’s always just a simple matter of pressing the ‘Google Video’ button at the bottom right of the video and selecting that option. Perhaps that’s too difficult a process for some?

      Kind regards,
      Greg
      ——————————————-
      You monkeys only think you’re running things

      1. Uncover hidden realities past and present
        Hello Greg,

        “Because the whole point of TDG videos is so that people can view them while browsing TDG (convenience). ”

        Something odd about this statement, watching video whilst browsing TDG, i guess thats listening then, and in this case you need to speak french and local indio lingo aswell. Guess not Greg, and another point the subtitles are hardly discernable on that small format. Btw i didnt know that klicking a google button would send me to the video at hand, do you suppose we all should know ?

        I’m a bit surprised you mention local browsing because all your links are defined out, if you wish to keep the site on in the background, you could decide to do so.

        As for killing a pig, a million get butchered everyday to feed humans, getting squeamish over one getting some blows to the side of the head to kill it is silly. This is why thugs like the bush gang get away with murder, people stick their fingers in their ears and press their eyes shut for inconvenient reality. And you dear Greg act as if you have to accomodate all that, it seems to me you’ve taken that commercial-be bland-economics lecture a step to far. I dont believe you cater for the big media market that translates everything towards the lowest common denominator. So please if people complain about the killing of a pig, considering the subject matter, they obviously place form way beyond substance.Which makes me wonder what they look for at TDG.

        Best of luck,

        Rho

        A matter of choice;
        Intimidation, corruption and lies, or serenity, sharing and sincerity.

        1. Bit harsh, Rho
          Rho,

          Have you watched the video in full-screen? It’s not very good quality; it’s so heavily pixelated I had trouble reading the subtitles. It definitely suits a smaller viewing format.

          You also have no idea how many abusive emails Greg receives — his inbox would explode if he didn’t issue a warning about the documentary’s content. A diverse range of people read TDG, and Greg respects that, hence the warning. If you can’t find it in yourself to respect differing viewpoints, and compromise, then perhaps TDG isn’t the place for you.

          Rick

          1. Respect the general
            On my blog I reach a diverse audience, and I always treat it in this respect. The simplest horror story will have a warning on it.
            It is called courtesy.

            As for the bulk of this thread, it’s just sick 🙂

            …

            I’m fanatical about moderation

            Anthony North

          2. General? He’s the Emperor
            As for the bulk of this thread, it’s just sick 🙂

            Regurgitating the same old jokes. 😉

        2. Preferences
          Rho – I do not like to watch animals being killed, and I’m grateful to Greg (or others) for warnings that this is to be shown.

          I am aware that animals are killed daily so that they can be eaten. This is something abhorrent to me and I could not, personally, kill an animal unless it was a mercy killing – and even that would upset me. I don’t consider watching one being killed to be entertainment, even in the course of education.

          Obviously these are not your views, but how about having the courtesy to respect the view of others?

          Kathrinn

          1. Be bland or be gone, the new TDG credo ?
            Hello,
            I wonder have you seen the vid Kathrinn, the killing was part of a ceremony. What i abhorr is people looking the other way, worse demand not to be confronted with the atrocities that are committed in their name.

            Rick i watched the vid in normal googlemode(4times size as TDG)as for quality it obviously depends on your bandwidth.

            “A diverse range of people read TDG, and Greg respects that, hence the warning. If you can’t find it in yourself to respect differing viewpoints, and compromise, then perhaps TDG isn’t the place for you.”

            What viewpoints Rick, the one that demands to have none ? This get’s rather abstract but how can one argue with someone who refuses a viewpoint. So compromise, be bland or be gone is that it Rick ? And all because i said a warning that a pig is killed was silly, a woman strikes a small pig 4 times to the side of the head with a stone, theres no blood, the scene is maybe 10 seconds and is part of what Indio life is about. Neither did i see any puking but i did see people having buckets on their lap, just in case. There are lots of darkness scene’s should we be warned for that, the shamen talking of ghostworlds (angry fundis) ? Tell me Rick when does the warning stop.

            I respect other viewpoints when they are funded, otherwise what is there to respect. For instance i respect the veganist viewpoint, but where one to attend this ceremony at hand would he/she refuse the ayahusca because of the ceremonial killing of a pig ? I doubt it. And that is compromise.

            A matter of choice;
            Intimidation, corruption and lies, or serenity, sharing and sincerity.

          2. Rho
            No, Rho, I haven’t seen the video as it is my choice not to do so.

            I don’t really care what you abhor; I do care about your disregard for the feelings of others which evidently differ from your own, and your intolerance towards them. It is not for you to choose what I watch, or don’t watch, or to decide how I should feel about any matter.

            I would also point out that no atrocities were committed in my name – the pig-killing had nothing to do with me. Worse atrocities are committed in the world daily, but I have not sanctioned them either.

            Kathrinn

          3. the unseen
            Hello Kathrinn,

            Feelings of others , what feelings you state again and again you don’t want those. You’re not talking about a feeling but an attitude. “I don’t want to see what i don’t want to know”. And where did i state you or anyone should watch that video.

            “the pig-killing had nothing to do with me” , so ? Were you to watch the vid, it would have, is that what you are saying here ? Looks like it, and it explains why people get wound up about it. It explains why people only accept sanatised pics from Iraq. No shredded and starving people, deformed babies born thanks to DU spread all over the country, sure you don’t want to see that, you might feel forced to do something about it.

            “Worse atrocities are committed in the world daily, but I have not sanctioned them either.

            How do you know, seen any of it, maybe you have heard about them or is this just an abstract statement. You say you didn’t sanctify them, come again, those who remain silent, agree.

            A matter of choice;
            Intimidation, corruption and lies, or serenity, sharing and sincerity.

          4. the unknown………..
            you seem to have a very narrow perspective on things. Also an unusual understanding of human emotion. Kathrinn is just stating the obvious, choice.

            And if no action is “agreement”, then the world is in a bit of trouble me thinks.

            “Life can be whatever you want it to be, as long as you do what your told.”
            LRF.

          5. What’s this
            Floppy,

            Whats this with narrow perspective, when i try to get Kathrinn or others to open up and face those ‘ghastly ‘ realities and not stick their head in the sand. Talk about narrow perspective. As for my peculiar understanding of human emotion, what about it ? I see where a lot of people go wrong, they mix themselves up by applying/drawing into themselves everything that is said or read. And then they decide they cant take it no more, close up and get angry with anyone or anything that tries to break that loop,and call everything feeling, leaving little room to reason.

            As for Kathrinn stating the obvious, yes. She enters this comment section to tell us she’s glad Greg warns her about a pig being killed because she can’t stand animals being killed, so she didnt see the vid and dont want anyone to tell her she should..yes fine. She didnt mention humans, but then scores of them are being killed everyday on american tv in a realistic make believe fashion, desanatising man enough to imagine real ones to be just part of the show.

            “And if no action is “agreement”, then the world is in a bit of trouble me thinks” well that’s obvious and btw it’s a well known saying over here. “Those that remain silent, agree”

            Floppy do me a favor and keep your unfunded qualifications to yourself.

            Rho
            A matter of choice;
            Intimidation, corruption and lies, or serenity, sharing and sincerity.

          6. it’s a matter of opinion……
            maybe I should put a warning on my post first, so you need not read so far as to effect yourself in a negative way.

            As for unfounded qualifications, I just call it as I see it. Matters not how you take it.

            “Life can be whatever you want it to be, as long as you do what your told.”
            LRF.

          7. Unfunded Qualifications
            [quote=Rho]Floppy do me a favor and keep your unfunded qualifications to yourself.[/quote]

            I think you need to pull your head in Rho. You seem to want to take people to task because (a) they offer common courtesies, and (b) they don’t wish to watch an animal being killed. Your arguments against the above are specious, and demonstrate some sort of desire to enforce your ideals upon others. A trait I find offensive.

            Kind regards,
            Greg
            ——————————————-
            You monkeys only think you’re running things

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