the public domain

Life has been beyond incredible recently. Really, things could not be better. Bella Terra was mind-bending. Every interaction with people there was sublime. Conversations ranged from Monsanto destroying Indo-Chinese crop production to discussing the copious amount of drugs going around the festival.

I felt like something inside my head unlocked, at least a little bit. For four days, I felt free, at home. I danced. I sang. I built. I created. Or rather I should say “we”, because that’s what we were: a community.

There’s a clear dichotomy between the drugs and the arts, and festivals bring out the best (or worst) of both worlds. On one hand, there is an incredible creative atmosphere, with community murals to paint and all the landscaping projects we did. The community bonfire and drum circles do wonders to bring people together and to set aside our differences. On the other hand, there’s every drug known to man (I’ve seen drugs I didn’t believe actually existed: 2c-i, Mescaline, Ayahuasca, etc.). While the drugs are certainly fun, and an obvious component of the psychonautical journey that I’ve embarked on, it’s obvious some people only come for the drugs. The most concerning thing I heard the festival was some guy babbling on about how they should cut out the music entirely and just have a giant drug festival. Maaan, that ain’t right, and that doesn’t sit too well with me. I was a fan, however, of the amount of LSD floating around the campsite. I find acid lends itself to a great atmosphere, whereas all the ketamine being bumped doesn’t really do it for me. Everything in moderation, and people need to be aware of their limits.

The human mind is an incredibly powerful tool. We haven’t even started understanding its true potential. That’s where experimentation comes into play—to understand ourselves