| Author: |
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David L. Spess
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| Title: |
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Soma: The Divine Hallucinogen |
| Moochable copies: |
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No copies available |
| Amazon suggests: |
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| Topics: |
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| Published in: |
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English |
| Binding: |
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Hardcover |
| Pages: |
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208 |
| Date: |
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2000-06 |
| ISBN: |
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0892817313 |
| Publisher: |
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Park Street Press |
| Weight: |
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1.1 pounds |
| Size: |
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6.18 x 0.85 x 9.13 inches |
| Edition: |
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First Edition |
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| Description: |
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Product Description
ETHNOBOTANY
Soma has been shrouded in mystery for centuries. It is simultaneously a sacred hallucinogenic plant used in secret Hindu rituals, a personified god, and a vital cosmological principle. Yet despite its importance, scholars have been unable to positively identify soma or to pierce the mysteries surrounding its use. Summarizing previous research on the subject, David Spess goes far beyond his predecessors and shows that soma provides an important key to understanding the earliest systemized methods of medicine, psychology, magic, rejuvenation, longevity, and alchemy. Most significant is that Spess’s intensive research has at last produced a convincing--and surprising--identification of the plants used to create the soma drink: Nelumbo nucifera, the sacred lotus of India, as well as members of the Nymphaea (water lily) genus.
With the renewed interest in the ritual use of psychoactive substances, shamanism, and psychic phenomena, Soma provides a much-needed bridge between Eastern and Western esoteric traditions. Contained within the enigmatic verses about soma in the R. g Veda is a secret about ourselves and the nature of our relationship to the world and cosmos. Soma makes this knowledge available to us once again.
DAVID L. SPESS has a master’s degree in microbiology/mycology and studied Sanskrit at the Naropa Institute. David has traveled throughout India and the Middle East researching this book. He was formerly a research mycologist for the FDA and has taught at the University of Colorado. He lives in New Mexico.
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| URL: |
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http://bookmooch.com/0892817313 |
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