Coordinates: kitchen table in Oaxaca surrounded by the husks of my savory-sweet breakfast of fermented buckwheat pancakes with Amargo cacao nibs, banana, olive oil, and the traditional white cheese of the city
look
[music] Dolly Parton is a queen in my book. She’s one of the most unapologetically herself people I know of. In her early days, experts in the biz told her to turn it down, but she most definitely turned it UP. Her signature looks were certainly part of her magic recipe.
[music] This breathlessly beautiful landscape, piano composition, and dance will transport you to… well, wherever it is they are. It looks cold.
[sillies] It appears that the YouTube algorithm learned me from many clicks on Dusty Slay’s trailer park jokes. This week it gifted me Shayne Smith like a proud cat presenting a dead mouse on my doorstep. I appreciate it, though. I really did get a good laugh at his telling of how a skinny middle-aged man ended up playing linebacker in a semi-pro match despite having no knowledge of the basic rules of the game.
[moar sillies] In a follow-up to last week’s story of how Shane Mauss met his intercosmic purple girlfriend of thousands of lifetimes, this is his tale of the time she got jealous of his present reality girlfriend.
[altered] The self-described “most expensive rehab in the world” They have a 24-hour live-in therapist that’s sort of like a dad in addition to a private chef, and a piano in your suite in case the CEO of Paracelsus drops by to serenade you. To be clear… I’m not recommending this place. I find it a bit of a jewel box of curiosity into how the wealthiest citizen of our planet find themselves facing the same demons as those on the lowest end of the economic scale. Same same but different.
maiden voyages : dose
Back in our next installment of tidbits about psychedelics… There’s a lovely synchronicity that the word “dose” is also the acronym for the four happiness neurotransmitters. Each psychedelic flips these switches in various ways.
D-opamine is the great feeling that you will succeed at meeting your needs. Your ancestors felt the joy of dopamine when they found a new berry patch or fishing hole after hungry wandering. Dopamine connects neurons, so your brain turns on the dopamine the next time you see signs of a berry patch or a fishing hole.
O-xytocin is the feeling of trust. Oxytocin gives you a good feeling when you’re with someone you trust. Social trust feels good because social alliances promote survival. But misplaced trust does not promote survival. Solid trust bonds take time and effort to build.
S-erotonin flows when you feel important. This brain we’ve inherited seeks importance because that promotes survival in the state of nature. Sometimes people make bad choices to get that nice serotonin feeling. And sometimes people give up on feeling important. That feels bad too.
E-ndorphin is the brief euphoria that masks physical pain. Endorphin helped your ancestors get help when injured. Real physical distress triggers endorphin. Creating pain to enjoy the endorphin is a BAD survival strategy. Laughing and crying stimulate small bursts of endorphin!!!
Definitions courtesy Loretta G. Breuning, PhD, Meet Your Happy Chemicals.
Ciao for now,
Cris and Team Dragon
P.S. Billie’s new drop, Oxytocin