9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
0:09[br]to a critical time in this interface[br]0:11[br]between humans and the natural world and[br]0:13[br]they might rightfully argue that the[br]0:17[br]state of the environment is quite poor[br]0:19[br]and things may look bleak and while I[br]0:22[br]agree mostly with those statements I'm[br]0:24[br]not here to depress you today in fact[br]0:26[br]tell you a little bit of good news and[br]0:28[br]illustrate that we have made some[br]0:30[br]progress and so I'll talk to you today[br]0:32[br]about my vision for a prosperous and[br]0:34[br]sustainable world which involves of[br]0:36[br]course the greater understanding[br]0:38[br]reverence and respect for nature now[br]0:43[br]there are many ways in which we've begun[br]0:46[br]to incorporate ecological and[br]0:48[br]environmentally sustainable practices[br]0:49[br]into our society such as through levels[br]0:53[br]associated with industry for example[br]0:55[br]using natural biodiversity ecosystem[br]0:59[br]services in agriculture such as through[br]1:01[br]pollination services or pest reduction[br]1:04[br]by simply putting habitats out there[br]1:07[br]instead of destroying it by promoting[br]1:09[br]its environments that can sustain native[br]1:12[br]biodiversity we can work with nature[br]1:15[br]rather than against it and this is an[br]1:17[br]example in which we can recreate a sort[br]1:19[br]of harmony or equilibrium with nature[br]1:21[br]after centuries of trying to eradicate[br]1:23[br]and control another means is to turn to[br]1:28[br]nature for inspiration such as from this[br]1:31[br]majestic creature the peregrine falcon[br]1:33[br]the fastest animal on the planet who[br]1:36[br]achieves speeds upwards of 300[br]1:38[br]kilometres an hour as it dives out of[br]1:40[br]the air in order to kick another bird in[br]1:42[br]the back as its prey now any of you[br]1:46[br]who've ever stuck your head out of a car[br]1:48[br]window that's racing down the highway[br]1:50[br]will well know how difficult it is to[br]1:52[br]breathe as that air is rushing past your[br]1:54[br]nose and this would have was course been[br]1:56[br]an evolutionary challenge to a fast[br]1:59[br]traveling bird like the peregrine falcon[br]2:01[br]and so we find there are adaptations to[br]2:03[br]counter these challenges such as this[br]2:06[br]little inverted cone that's in its[br]2:09[br]nostril and so we can also turn to[br]2:11[br]nature in order to inspire ourselves[br]2:13[br]such as when engineers have began[br]2:15[br]building faster and more powerful jet in[br]2:18[br]Asians one of the main limitations was[br]2:20[br]being able to get the air to go into the[br]2:22[br]turbine because of all the turbulence[br]2:23[br]that was created at such high speeds and[br]2:26[br]by inspiring themselves from the[br]2:28[br]peregrine falcon they're able to insert[br]2:30[br]little cones into the turbines and[br]2:32[br]improve the mechanical efficiency of our[br]2:35[br]technologies another way in which we can[br]2:37[br]turn to nature in order to find[br]2:39[br]potential solutions for our problems and[br]2:42[br]so the last way I'm going to mention[br]2:44[br]which will really be the body of my talk[br]2:46[br]today is by referring to nature's[br]2:48[br]inventions directly that is in the form[br]2:51[br]of compounds and chemicals that have[br]2:53[br]evolved in nature's organisms over[br]2:55[br]millions of years and have biologically[br]2:58[br]active effects on animals and so this[br]3:01[br]story I'm going to tell you today is one[br]3:02[br]in which we went down to Peru in 2010[br]3:04[br]with a film crew for the nature of[br]3:07[br]things of CV CBC television in order to[br]3:10[br]make a documentary on a Vancouver doctor[br]3:12[br]named dr. Gabor maté a who you see[br]3:14[br]sitting here in the foreground to your[br]3:15[br]left who is a doctor who treats skid row[br]3:19[br]addict patients of the lower east side[br]3:21[br]of Vancouver who were dealing with[br]3:22[br]crippling addictions so why ayahuasca an[br]3:28[br]addiction would that why would that be[br]3:31[br]even a topic to discuss well we know[br]3:33[br]that in the 1950s a lot of research was[br]3:36[br]initiated in research institutions and[br]3:38[br]academia looking into psychedelic[br]3:40[br]medicine and its potential roles in[br]3:43[br]treating people with psychosis or[br]3:46[br]various psychological illnesses and that[br]3:49[br]these experiments and studies led to[br]3:52[br]great promise for treating people that[br]3:54[br]were afflicted with psychological[br]3:55[br]burdens of course this movement was[br]3:59[br]largely discredited over the course of[br]4:01[br]the 60s as people discovered that the[br]4:03[br]military was using psychedelics in order[br]4:05[br]to conduct mind-control experiments and[br]4:07[br]that of course the hippie acid parties[br]4:10[br]in the Haight Ashbury neighborhoods of[br]4:12[br]San Francisco somewhat deviated the[br]4:15[br]seriousness of the potential for these[br]4:18[br]psychedelics to help people and it's[br]4:20[br]only relatively recently that it's[br]4:22[br]thought to come back in the discussions[br]4:24[br]in the halls and the laboratories of[br]4:26[br]academia in using psychedelics to treat[br]4:29[br]people who have psychological disorder[br]4:32[br]now why why psychedelics and[br]4:34[br]psychological disorders[br]4:35[br]well psychedelics be they be they LSD[br]4:38[br]the psilocybin of magic mushrooms DMT[br]4:41[br]which is the active component in the[br]4:43[br]ayahuasca that I'll be discussing with[br]4:45[br]you today these are all chemicals that[br]4:47[br]mimic serotonin and serotonin is a[br]4:50[br]neurotransmitter that acts in our region[br]4:52[br]the regions of our brains that are[br]4:54[br]associated with mood perception and[br]4:57[br]memory so it's perhaps not surprising[br]5:00[br]then when we over stimulate these[br]5:02[br]receptors with analog mimics of these[br]5:04[br]neurotransmitters we get these[br]5:06[br]mind-altering experiences now[br]5:11[br]specifically what's ayahuasca ayahuasca[br]5:13[br]is an amazonian psychedelic brew that is[br]5:16[br]made up of two different plants the bark[br]5:19[br]from a vine of the banisteriopsis genus[br]5:22[br]and the leaves of the psychotria tree[br]5:25[br]and these two ingredients are harvested[br]5:27[br]and macerated and mixed together and[br]5:29[br]boiled in these cauldrons boiled and[br]5:32[br]reduced and then boiled and reduced and[br]5:35[br]boiled and reduced over 24 hours until[br]5:38[br]at the end you receive this dark thick[br]5:41[br]molasses molasses like sludge and that[br]5:44[br]is what it's used in the ayahuasca[br]5:46[br]ceremonies and this ayahuasca is the[br]5:50[br]most potent psychedelic that is known in[br]5:53[br]fact its effects are so strong that the[br]5:56[br]name itself has some kind of indication[br]5:59[br]towards these effects ayahuasca is a[br]6:01[br]catch you an Amazonian term which[br]6:03[br]literally translates into English as[br]6:05[br]vine of the soul and so these[br]6:08[br]experiences with ayahuasca clearly give[br]6:12[br]individuals some kind of profound[br]6:14[br]insight into their own psyche so in[br]6:20[br]order to document these ceremonies and[br]6:23[br]these effects of the psychedelic[br]6:25[br]ayahuasca we gathered up our film crew[br]6:29[br]and hiked up the mountain of outside of[br]6:31[br]tarapoto Peru one Saturday afternoon[br]6:33[br]through thick Amazonian jungle through[br]6:37[br]stinging fire ant nests and biting[br]6:40[br]bullet ant nests and across raging[br]6:42[br]rivers we hiked from hours[br]6:45[br]before we were met at the top of the[br]6:46[br]mountain by aku and arrows or the shaman[br]6:50[br]at this open-air ceremony hot or Tambo[br]6:54[br]so we were greeted warmly and we had[br]6:58[br]time to prepare for the ceremony which[br]7:01[br]would happen after sundown and[br]7:03[br]preparation involved partly getting[br]7:05[br]changed into our ceremonial white[br]7:07[br]clothing which was essential because[br]7:09[br]these these rites are performed in[br]7:13[br]complete darkness and pitch-black and so[br]7:15[br]it's important for the quand eros of[br]7:17[br]shaman to be able to see you through the[br]7:19[br]luminescence of your clothing because[br]7:21[br]they do come over and administer some[br]7:23[br]rites and songs and healing practices[br]7:25[br]and sometimes they have to prevent some[br]7:28[br]wigged out space cadets from wandering[br]7:30[br]away from their little trip out station[br]7:32[br]which is basically just a little pillow[br]7:36[br]against the wall and a bucket to vomit[br]7:39[br]into so you see part of the preparation[br]7:42[br]of course is psychological getting[br]7:45[br]yourself ready for the experience to[br]7:47[br]come and when it was my turn to go up[br]7:49[br]and get the ayahuasca said a little[br]7:52[br]salutation salut de todos to everyone[br]7:55[br]wishing us all good luck for what was to[br]7:57[br]come and what was to come was definitely[br]8:01[br]the most terrifying and the most[br]8:03[br]exciting event of my life to date so[br]8:07[br]they once everybody had received their[br]8:09[br]ayahuasca they turned out the lights[br]8:11[br]the quand eros began to sing some[br]8:13[br]ceremonial traditional songs and not[br]8:16[br]long thereafter the visual[br]8:17[br]hallucinations began so the first of[br]8:21[br]these visual hallucinations were that my[br]8:24[br]vision began to be separated into layers[br]8:28[br]away from me and then in the closest of[br]8:31[br]these layers I found that they were[br]8:33[br]infested with insects and snakes and[br]8:35[br]bugs all scurrying around very very[br]8:38[br]close in my personal space many people[br]8:42[br]would have found this to be quite[br]8:43[br]disturbing but I'm trained as an[br]8:44[br]entomologist and I therefore focused a[br]8:48[br]little bit more intently on the insects[br]8:50[br]and found that they were mostly carotid[br]8:52[br]and tuna Brianna beetles and so[br]8:54[br]therefore not really much to be[br]8:55[br]concerned about[br]8:56[br]and so I really did quite enjoy this[br]8:59[br]aspect of the the preliminary visuals[br]9:02[br]that were happening and noticed that in[br]9:04[br]some of the further layers that were[br]9:05[br]more distant away from me there were[br]9:07[br]actually orbs of pastel colored lights[br]9:10[br]bobbing around I remember thinking to[br]9:12[br]myself well that's weird because we're[br]9:14[br]sitting here in the dark where does this[br]9:16[br]light come from and little did I know[br]9:19[br]there would be a lot more light yet to[br]9:20[br]come one of the other aspects of course[br]9:24[br]as I hinted with the bucket is that[br]9:25[br]there's vomiting at this point and this[br]9:27[br]is a form of purging in which the body[br]9:29[br]is expelling this nasty bitter liquid in[br]9:32[br]your stomach but it's not just the[br]9:34[br]physical purge it's also a psychological[br]9:36[br]one now it seemed like there was a lot[br]9:39[br]of vomiting going on in retrospect there[br]9:41[br]wasn't because afterwards I looked in[br]9:42[br]the bucket and there were only a few[br]9:44[br]drops of spit and some torn up petition[br]9:46[br]paper that I'd used to wipe my face but[br]9:49[br]at the time it really felt like there[br]9:51[br]were these torrents of vomit coming out[br]9:53[br]and not to disgust you too much for one[br]9:56[br]because it wasn't even vomit it was[br]9:57[br]snakes so there were snakes losing out[br]10:01[br]of my nose and my mouth and this is[br]10:03[br]quite literally what I was experiencing[br]10:05[br]however despite this sort of somewhat[br]10:08[br]fake freaky nature it was very cathartic[br]10:11[br]because these snakes were felt like they[br]10:13[br]were bringing demons up from inside and[br]10:16[br]we're cleansing my soul in the process[br]10:18[br]so in fact I felt quite good after this[br]10:20[br]purge good as you can in the experience[br]10:24[br]and of course it helped me prepare for[br]10:26[br]what was to come next because that was a[br]10:28[br]lot more intense so not long after say[br]10:32[br]45 minutes into this the first couple of[br]10:34[br]layers of insect grits began to[br]10:36[br]dissipate and I moved closer towards[br]10:38[br]these bobbing Pascal colored orbs of[br]10:40[br]light and managed to spend a little bit[br]10:43[br]of time in that weird strange cartoon[br]10:45[br]kind of world until all of a sudden they[br]10:47[br]came rushing at me and I found myself[br]10:50[br]blasted off into the universe on the[br]10:52[br]back of some kind of fractal fireworks[br]10:54[br]roller coaster so I was traveling[br]10:57[br]through the universe at light speed with[br]10:59[br]the visuals becoming much much more[br]11:01[br]intense at this point with colorful[br]11:03[br]mandalas the fractals opening and[br]11:05[br]closing and spiraling around each other[br]11:07[br]like clockwork so quickly I couldn't[br]11:09[br]take it all[br]11:09[br]in and in fact at this point I was also[br]11:12[br]physically being thrown around by the[br]11:14[br]violent turbulence of the wild ride on[br]11:16[br]this comet that I was traveling through[br]11:19[br]the universe on and again I had to say[br]11:21[br]to myself this is so weird because[br]11:23[br]rationally I was able to recognize that[br]11:26[br]there shouldn't be any lights I'm in the[br]11:28[br]dark in a hut in Peru and why am I[br]11:31[br]feeling like my body's being thrown[br]11:33[br]around so this was a really[br]11:35[br]all-encompassing experience at this[br]11:37[br]point and I have to admit at this point[br]11:39[br]it was a little much for me and I[br]11:41[br]started to panic thinking I don't like[br]11:43[br]this anymore I wanted to get off but of[br]11:46[br]course you can't the you are on this[br]11:47[br]ride until the very end and at some[br]11:50[br]point I admitted that to myself and said[br]11:52[br]well we're just going to have to ride it[br]11:54[br]out and so I did and thankfully this[br]11:56[br]really intense part of the trip only[br]11:59[br]lasted for another hour or so and so[br]12:03[br]that was fun but when that subsided we[br]12:08[br]came down into this really thick quiet[br]12:12[br]warm emotionally Laden place it wasn't[br]12:16[br]the room it was like more of a zone and[br]12:18[br]this zone was bordered by a big red[br]12:21[br]velvety curtain that reminded me[br]12:23[br]essentially of this the black lodge in[br]12:25[br]the Twin Peaks television series but in[br]12:29[br]this hallucination there were no[br]12:30[br]backwards talking dwarves however what[br]12:32[br]did come next was truly astonishing to[br]12:35[br]me the curtain pulled back and revealed[br]12:38[br]to me a scene a forgotten scene from my[br]12:41[br]own childhood that was somewhat[br]12:43[br]troubling emotionally and I had[br]12:46[br]forgotten about that scene probably[br]12:48[br]since the very day it happened but as[br]12:50[br]soon as that curtain pulled back and I[br]12:52[br]was witness to it again I recognized it[br]12:55[br]immediately as having been an important[br]12:57[br]event in my life that I somehow had[br]13:00[br]repressed and what was interesting about[br]13:03[br]this is while I was reinsulate ly[br]13:06[br]traumatic scene from my childhood I[br]13:08[br]wasn't revisiting any of the emotional[br]13:11[br]trauma associated with it it was like I[br]13:13[br]was a third party observer in partially[br]13:16[br]and objectively being able to watch my[br]13:19[br]life story and to be[br]13:20[br]to determine why or how it was important[br]13:24[br]to me becoming who I was as an[br]13:26[br]individual it's almost like I wasn't[br]13:27[br]seeing what was happening but I was[br]13:29[br]being told why what I was seeing was[br]13:32[br]important to how I became as an[br]13:34[br]individual later on in my life and so[br]13:37[br]over the course of the next hour or so[br]13:38[br]these curtains continued to part and[br]13:40[br]presented me with these astonishingly[br]13:43[br]vivid memories that I had forgotten[br]13:45[br]about since those times but that allowed[br]13:48[br]me to incorporate somewhat troubling[br]13:51[br]experiences from my past objectively[br]13:53[br]into my life story and to be able to[br]13:55[br]move forward without having the[br]13:58[br]emotional burden of those events[br]14:00[br]continue to nag at my conscience and my[br]14:03[br]subconscious throughout the rest of my[br]14:04[br]life so the point here folks is not a[br]14:07[br]story about recreational drug tourism[br]14:11[br]it's about illustrating the potential[br]14:14[br]for these chemicals to help us to help[br]14:17[br]us heal ourselves our health our[br]14:20[br]psychology and our societies and to[br]14:22[br]recognize that let me tell you straight[br]14:25[br]I had a pretty happy childhood I was not[br]14:27[br]burdened with a lot of emotional trauma[br]14:29[br]but even in my experience with ayahuasca[br]14:34[br]I came out with a profound understanding[br]14:37[br]of the events that led up to me behaving[br]14:39[br]the way I do nowadays and most[br]14:41[br]importantly the way I behaved when I[br]14:43[br]don't like the way I'm behaving and[br]14:45[br]usually that those behaviors come from[br]14:47[br]some kind of psychological nagging that[br]14:49[br]is recessed somewhere in the back of[br]14:51[br]your brain that we all carry with us[br]14:53[br]more so those people that have[br]14:55[br]experienced serious dramas and have much[br]14:58[br]more emotional burdens that they carry[br]15:01[br]and we've already heard from some people[br]15:02[br]here today that have Illustrated that[br]15:04[br]they have experienced those emotional[br]15:06[br]traumas and they continue to carry those[br]15:08[br]burdens[br]15:08[br]well ayahuasca is clearly a tool that[br]15:11[br]can be used to allow people to come to[br]15:13[br]grips with those nagging forgotten[br]15:15[br]memories to be able to incorporate them[br]15:18[br]into their life story and then to move[br]15:19[br]on more happy and healthier[br]15:22[br]psychologically speaking and therefore[br]15:25[br]these experiences as well as the[br]15:27[br]academic research indicate that there is[br]15:29[br]great potential in the psychedelic[br]15:31[br]medicine to allow people to deal with[br]15:34[br]drama that has led to behavioral[br]15:36[br]problems such as addictions or syndromes[br]15:39[br]such as post-traumatic stress disorder[br]15:41[br]where people are haunted by their[br]15:44[br]memories and can't let go and move on so[br]15:48[br]it's very interesting of course these[br]15:50[br]chemicals exist and have that effect and[br]15:52[br]as an evolutionary ecologist I don't[br]15:54[br]suggest that they were put here to help[br]15:56[br]us or to inform us they'd rather evolved[br]15:59[br]in order to deter the more pervasive[br]16:00[br]insect herbivores but insects have[br]16:03[br]essentially the similarly structured[br]16:05[br]nervous systems as we do and whereas[br]16:08[br]these neurotransmitter mimics may cause[br]16:11[br]convulsions and paralysis in the motor[br]16:13[br]system of a simplified animal like an[br]16:16[br]insect in a more higher evolved animal[br]16:19[br]whose neurotransmitters are clustered[br]16:21[br]into networks the effects can be[br]16:25[br]profound in terms of giving us insights[br]16:27[br]into our own psyche of course[br]16:29[br]accompanied with the greatest light show[br]16:30[br]on earth[br]16:31[br]so the message here is that the[br]16:35[br]potential for turning to nature for help[br]16:39[br]and cut-in finding solutions to our[br]16:41[br]problem is great this potential could be[br]16:43[br]related to working in harmony with[br]16:46[br]nature such as in the agricultural or[br]16:49[br]other industrial sectors it could be in[br]16:51[br]terms of turning to nature for[br]16:53[br]inspiration when we're looking to create[br]16:55[br]the next mind-blowing technology or it[br]16:58[br]could be turning to nature in order to[br]17:00[br]utilize some of the pre-existing[br]17:03[br]structures that have evolved in nature's[br]17:06[br]organisms over millions of years and[br]17:08[br]that can help us as a society but of[br]17:11[br]course nowadays the environment is in[br]17:14[br]peril ecosystems are under threat from[br]17:16[br]human advances in habitat destruction[br]17:19[br]and toxic pollution and as we lose these[br]17:22[br]ecosystem functions we don't just lose[br]17:25[br]integral fabrics of our nature we also[br]17:27[br]lose the potential for these discoveries[br]17:30[br]that can help human society in the[br]17:32[br]future and so that is why I say that[br]17:36[br]part of my vision for a prosperous and[br]17:39[br]sustainable future involve a deep[br]17:41[br]understanding and respect and[br]17:44[br]preservation of the natural world[br]17:47[br]hope that you would agree

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000