Cassadaga, Fla., is known as a home for many spiritualists and retired circus performers but it is also home to a spooky legend. The story of The Devil’s Chair has been passed down for decades. The “chair” is actually a brick graveside bench in Lake Helen-Cassadaga Cemetery. Many local legends surround the bench. One is that “an unopened can of beer left on the chair will be empty by morning,” according to MadGhosts.com. “In some accounts, the can is opened, and in others, the beer is simply gone, through the unopened top.” Another part of the legend says that visitors who dare to sit on the bench will be visited by the devil.
ATWA is the acronym for Air Trees Water Animals. It is a name for all life on Earth, and represents the human quest to live in balance with our planet’s life-support systems.
ATWA has its roots in the hills of Kentucky, USA, when people living on the land took a stand against industrial “progress” in the 1930’s. Today that struggle and thought is alive in passionate and committed people throughout the world.
There is a war being waged upon Life. ATWA is a unified movement to re-direct human efforts of war towards the problem. War on the problem, war on pollution – not war on life.
Everyone helping with ATWA is doing so on a volunteer basis.
ATWA is a California 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization, and we are increasing our efforts to redeem the planet through tree and seed-planting projects, public outreach and education, and networking with like-minded organizations.
Charles Manson founded the word ATWA. His vision of life on Earth has inspired many people worldwide to learn about living in balance with the planet. For over 43 years, Manson has tirelessly spoken out against the destructive actions of industrial society.
Lynette Fromme (Red) and Sandra Good (Blue), along with Charles Manson, have been warning society of the dangers of pollution and environmental destruction for decades. Red and Blue are the cornerstones of a real no-compromise ecological movement.
In 1975, Red was convicted of attempting to assassinate then President Gerald Ford. She was sentenced to life in prison. After serving 34 years, she was released in August of 2009.
In 1976, Blue was convicted of conspiracy to mail threatening letters and “issuing threatening communications through interstate commerce”. She served ten years.
“You can’t stop war, but you can redirect it. You can redirect it to the problem. The problem is pollution.”
~ Charles Manson
An interview with Charles Manson, Lynette Fromme, and Sandra Good from 2011.
Can you tell those who don’t otherwise know about ATWA it’s goals, outlooks and purposes.
CHARLES MANSON: Survival.
SANDRA GOOD: ATWA stands for Air, Trees. Water, Animals. It’s also for All The Way Alive. ATWA is your survival on earth. You are either working for ATWA – life – or you’re working for death. Fix it and live or run from it and die. As Manson woke up, he brought everyone at the ranch into the thought of one world, one mind, one peace on earth. He wrote, “I won’t sell my Soul 4 it’s for ATWA. That’s the only way life on earth can be alive. The will of God is life. Get in God’s will or die. Die can be done in the mind’s thought pattern and new life can be brought in focus.”
LYNETTE FROMME: ATWA means whatever is necessary to sustain the natural balance of air, trees, water, and animals for the whole planet (and therefore the people who can live within that balance). Most individuals have always thought themselves not big enough or significant enough to have an effect on the whole planet, a notion which conversely made them think they could afford big arrogance and big greed over its resources. Some people now know how seriously and negatively the mass of people already have affected the planet, and that in order to live and die with any respect for ourselves we’ll need to think simply enough to see the big picture, to order and accept the order of whatever is necessary for its survival. Each person must work literally for his or her own life. While this would not always be easy, it would always he meaningful, worthwhile, satisfying, spiritual, and leading to the peace of knowing LIFE before you die.
Are you familiar with, or in contact with the more radical environmental groups – Earth First!, Sea Shepherds, ALYNETTE FROMME, etc?
CHARLES MANSON: We started the root thoughts for most or a lot.
LYNETTE FROMME: We aren’t part of a group. We’re related to air, trees, water, and animals. Groups I’ve seen perpetuate the paperwork to sustain themselves. “Environmental groups” get a name, a following, and, if they’re not mean enough, a lot of politically, racially, and sexually motivated people take over their forums. The word “environment” itseLynette Fromme has a technical sound implying some place out there away from where we are. Point blank: you can live about seven to ten minutes without air, about seven to ten days without water, about seven to ten weeks without food. Trees and vegetation make air. Animals – the entire spectrum of creatures commonly called ‘animals ‘- fertilize, aerate, pollinate, clean, and give land and water its vitality and health.
How does ATWA perceive a change coming?
CHARLES MANSON: Do or die.
SANDRA GOOD: Get out of the Hollywood-media brainwash. Get back to the ground. Do what you can to get Manson his rights in a court of law. He was denied his constitutional right to defend himseLynette Fromme. As his rights were taken, so will your rights be taken. The truth has been covered up to the loss of earth and all who want to live. Rise above woman’s fear and confusion. Recognize your brother/soul seLynette Fromme.
LYNETTE FROMME: Through all its perceivers.
A mutual acquaintance who works for the military was commenting that ATWA felt great change would come via that avenue. Is this correct? If so, how?
CHARLES MANSON: Center of all law is life and must be survival. Law and all order starts from life – one life to live or all life will do its end on Earth. People get one new thought from us and run with it, distort, twist it and $. Computer read outs.
SANDRA GOOD: Yes, historically the military represents on some levels the highest development of the human mind. The US military comes from my ancestors’ mind. I am descended from John Paul Jones, the father of the US Navy. I grew up in a Navy town. Manson was born on Veteran’s Day, November l l, 1934. His grandfather served In World War One, his dad in World War Two. Manson has done more than 47 years in reformatories, jails, and prisons which were staffed mostly by ex-servicemen. CHARLES MANSON has said, “I live in the uniform. I’ve lived there all my life.” Another time he said. “I believe my brother is a veteran, that he fought for me, he gave me his life, and I think the graveyards are full of my brothers.”
There is a chain of command in the military that is based on motions and truth, honor and loyalty. Men in uniform understand the brotherhood whereas in civilian life today honor and loyalty seem to be extinct. The main reason for the killings in 1969 was for love of brother, to get a brother out of jail. Lynette Fromme has served 20 years because of her efforts to get Manson a trialwith rights and to call attention to the fact that the country is out of order and that ATWA is dying. I served ten years in federal prison for similar reasons. As a woman I can’t really answer this question adequately, but I do know first hand something of loyalty, honor, and sacrifice.
There is much wrong with the military today, starting with the chain of command all the way to the top. The bureaucrats and military are two different things. If you had a king the military could work better. You’re looking at a bad military because you’re looking at a bad bunch of sneaky politicians who are selling the military. They have been selling the country. But when you get a king you can’t sell the country because if you’re selling the country you’re selling the king. The king is the mind, the king is the life. If you beat the king you beat yourseLynette Fromme because you are the king. Each man is his own king. Put all your kings together in one symbolic king and then you have to do whatever that one says. If you don’t do what that one says you’re going to lose it all. Falling back to the bureaucratical system we have won’t get it. Democracy ain’t shit. Everyone says it’s working because the people who are rich are telling them to say that. It’s been falling down for years. They’ve been selling it, but that doesn’t change the military because the military is nothing but procedure. The military is NOW. It runs on now, on orders, and these orders should be in the will of god and not held in civilian courts which are a bunch of political B. S. You figure that the President of the United States stands the uniform up to attention, the King of England stands all the English soldiers up to attention – other leaders do the same. Then you imagine Manson is ten times that in real authority, in experience and truth and will for life. When people get to that their heads can’t deal with it and it’s too heavy. In short, we get Manson his rights, we allow him his authority,and we win the war on pollution or we will all perish. The US military has the potential to win any war as long as its chain of command is intact and in the truth.
LYNETTE FROMME: The change logically becomes military because military powers are meant to be used for the preservation and defense of a homeland. The homeland now is the whole planet. Individual groups — again political, racial and sexual — would argue forever and die without clean water and air, life and death would continue to become a tightening noose of seLynette Frommeish concerns choking off any comfort, peace, and quality that technology may have offered. Without quality of humanity, the rest is a scrap heap.
It seems as though many people are sympathetic with ATWA. Do you think our days are reflectivc of the late 60’s? Lots of interest, a small amount of real action, followed by an apathetic tranSandra Goodression into a blind form of acceptance?
CHARLES MANSON: FUCK people they are the problem.
SANDRA GOOD: The movements of the late 60’s/early 70’s were in a large part people selling “revolution”, “peace”, and “love”. The for real people were what the media tagged as “The Manson Family”. That’s why the people who fake for money have for 27 years been covering us up with lies and distortions. A lot of people sell anything they can, including concern for life on earth. Part of my 15 year sentence was for telling all the environmental groups “Quit faking!”. We gave our lives for brother and for ATWA and after all these years none of those groups saw or responded. They can’t see our real because they are fakes. They play all that, “It’s wrong to kill or go to war to save your own life on earth.” I’d say: This is a war on pollution, on the problems, a war for life.
Only the walking dead can be blindly accepting of what’s happening in the world today. Starving Third Worlders who move to First World countries aren’t apathetic of the fact that the quality of life where they came from has been rendered no good. The impact of immigration, added to the damage already ongoing, will mean a growing man-made hell. And the end of life on earth.
People can say that the “enemy” is all that is in the human psyche that sets it against itseLynette Fromme — seLynette Fromme destructiveness: that which moves one to defeat one’s seLynette Fromme, one’s life on earth, one’s peace, one’s love, one’s joy in the experience of living, one’s soul, one’s creativity, one’s children, family, kin, and kind. Millions of trees are cut to print more and more books analyzing the human condition and how to deal with the worldwide breakdown of order, health and sanity. More cups, posters and shirts are sold showing what has and is becoming extinct. You can name the human condition however you will — alienated, wrongly conditioned, inherently good or evil, in need of… etc. There are countless people to tell us what is wrong and to sell us their physical, metaphysical, or spiritual cures. You can attempt to stave off the creeping poisoning of one’s own body. Air and water are life. If your air and water are full of the emissions of millions of cars and factories, your life is poisoned. So you can try all kinds of things to stave off the nightmare that each knows in his soul is growing worse each day — a world with no order, no leadership, no trees, 100’s of millions of cars, brown, smelly skies, and frenzied two-legged creatures mindlessly ravaging the earth till there’s nothing left.
LYNETTE FROMME: Because people need reassurance from other people, people fail. Doubt and fear destroy the best instincts. Anything done with ATWA in mind needs no reassurance. But to keep from having everyone running helter skelter, there is natural leadership. Natural order is not up for debate. It exists independent of our thinking and is as physical a reality as gravity.
It seems as though CHARLES MANSON is reappearing in the public again quite a bit recently. Could this gain support for ATWA if put out where everyone can see it (or maybe they don’t want to see it)?
SANDRA GOOD: If people can’t see by now that their own lives on earth are dying each day in the air and water, in the trees and in the wildlife, then they are truly the walking dead and nothing will wake them up. Let the dead bury the dead. The mass of people are sheep and move whichever way the money or the biggest fear tells them to move. When air and water get bad enough people will do as they are told. It doesn’t matter what people think. It’s what is. Do you want to live? Then fix your air and water. Save your trees and wildlife. Those who war upon any part of nature are warring upon themselves and their children. ATWA is ATWAR with pollution. ATWA is a revolution against pollution. ATWA is a holy war.
LYNETTE FROMME: Manson is new thought, old soul, and still right.
What is ATWA’s view on the population explosion? What can be done to stop the weeds?
CHARLES MANSON: Survive at all cost. When it comes to the dead heads there is no game no slack, not an act: real or death will be a reality.
SANDRA GOOD: It is impossible for the natural resources of the planet to sustain the burgeoning human population. Even if lifestyles were to change worldwide to have minimal impact on ATWA the sheer numbers cannot be supported. What can be done to stop the weeds? Chemical spraying, widespread and intensive, has been going on for decades. I was in federal prison for ten years because I warned of the consequences of such pervasive poisoning. I warned that cancers and all kinds of social breakdown would be epidemic as a result of pollution. So you see, peoples’ own death wishes are taking care of some of the population problem. However, laws in accord with need for survival will have to be made and enforced. Such laws will not be forthcoming from the ball-less money minds that call themselves public servants. The destruction of ATWA and over- population are world problems and must he dealt with on a world level in a world court.
LYNETTE FROMME: Many animals, by God, reproduce and care for what the food and water supply will support. If they can do it we can do it.
When Simone de Beauvoir wrote The Second Sex, she did not define herself as a feminist. She was a socialist and believed a socialist revolution would liberate women, but in the late 1960s, as feminism blossomed, she changed her mind. She told an interviewer in 1972 that the situation of women in France had not really changed over the last 20 years and that people on the left should join the women’s movement while waiting for socialism to arrive.
Defining herself as a feminist, but reluctant to join traditional reformist groups, de Beauvoir joined the radical Mouvement de Libération des Femmes (MLF)—the French women’s liberation movement. In 1971, when abortion was still illegal in France, de Beauvoir was one of more than 300 women who signed a pro-abortion manifesto, later known as the Manifesto of the 343, stating that she had had an abortion and demanding this right for all women.
The runic alphabet that was used during the Viking Age is called Younger Futhark. These runes can be found on hundreds of runestones throughout Scandinavia. This alphabet does not consist of many runes, and that is because the Norse language evolved a lot during the Iron Age, which meant that the runic alphabet was reduced from 24 to 16 runes.
Each rune has its own name and sound. Some of the runes are used to spell the same letter, for instance, the Týr rune is used for the letters “t” and “d”, and kaun is used for “g” and “k”.
The names on this list of the Younger Futhark runes have been taken from the website of The National Museum in Copenhagen. The names of the runes may vary slightly depending on the language and on which runologist has conducted the research.
On September 17th of 1925 Frida Kahlo suffers near-fatal injuries in a bus accident in Mexico, causing her to abandon her medical studies and take up art.
Her taking up art was fortuitous, as she became one of the greatest artists of our time and a personal favorite. But she had a rough life, with her painful injuries and repeated (botched) surgeries combined with her husband’s (Diego Rivera) infidelities. She died at only 47. A Kahlo painting, “Self portrait with thorn necklace and hummingbird” [1940]
A bit surprising the U.S. government issued a stamp of her in 2001 even though she was an avowed communist and personal friend of Leon Trotsky.
Peanut butter 550 g (1 lb 4 oz/4 cups) peanuts ½ teaspoon Himalayan salt
Almond butter 650 g (1 lb 7 oz/4 cups) almonds ½ teaspoon Himalayan salt
Cashew butter 625 g (1 lb 6 oz/4 cups) cashews ½ teaspoon Himalayan salt
Pistachio & macadamia butter 350 g (12 oz/2½ cups) pistachio nut kernels 230 g (8 oz/1½ cups) macadamia nuts ½ teaspoon Himalayan salt
Preheat the oven to 150ºC (300ºF).
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Spread your chosen nuts on the baking tray, sprinkle with the salt and bake for 10–15 minutes, or until golden, shaking the tray occasionally to ensure they don’t burn.
Transfer the toasted nuts to a high-speed food processor and start blending. The blending time will depend on how smooth and creamy you like your nut butter, and how powerful your processor is. It can take up to 10–20 minutes to achieve a smooth nut butter, and you’ll need to stop and scrape down the sides of the processor bowl a few times, and to give the motor a rest. The nut butter is complete when it is smooth and creamy, with no nut pieces — unless you prefer a crunchy nut butter, in which case you can stop processing earlier.
Store your nut butter in a clean jar in the fridge. It will keep for up to 3 weeks.
In the aftermath of World War I there arose a group of young persons known as the “Lost Generation.” The term was coined from something Gertrude Stein witnessed the owner of a garage saying to his young employee, which Hemingway later used as an epigraph to his novel The Sun Also Rises (1926): “You are all a lost generation.” This accusation referred to the lack of purpose or drive resulting from the horrific disillusionment felt by those who grew up and lived through the war, and were then in their twenties and thirties. Having seen pointless death on such a huge scale, many lost faith in traditional values like courage, patriotism, and masculinity. Some in turn became aimless, reckless, and focused on material wealth, unable to believe in abstract ideals.
In literature, the “Lost Generation” refers to a group of writers and poets who were men and women of this period. All were American, but several members emigrated to Europe. The most famous members were Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and T. S. Eliot.
Common themes in works of literature by members of the Lost Generation include:
Decadence – Consider the lavish parties of James Gatsby in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby or those thrown by the characters in his Tales of the Jazz Age. Recall the aimless traveling, drinking, and parties of the circles of expatriates in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises and A Moveable Feast. With ideals shattered so thoroughly by the war, for many, hedonism was the result. Lost Generation writers revealed the sordid nature of the shallow, frivolous lives of the young and independently wealthy in the aftermath of the war.
Gender roles and Impotence – Faced with the destruction of the chivalric notions of warfare as a glamorous calling for a young man, a serious blow was dealt to traditional gender roles and images of masculinity. In The Sun Also Rises, the narrator, Jake, literally is impotent as a result of a war wound, and instead it is his female love Brett who acts the man, manipulating sexual partners and taking charge of their lives. Think also of T. S. Eliot’s poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, and Prufrock’s inability to declare his love to the unnamed recipient.
Idealised past – Rather than face the horrors of warfare, many worked to create an idealised but unattainable image of the past, a glossy image with no bearing in reality. The best example is in Gatsby’s idealisation of Daisy, his inability to see her as she truly is, and the closing lines to the novel after all its death and disappointment:
“Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eludes us then, but that’s no matter- to-morrow we will run faster, stretch our arms farther… And one fine morning — So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”
MDMA is the drug originally called ecstasy. It belongs to a family of drugs called entactogens, which means “touching within.” Other drugs in this category include MDA, MDE and MBDB.
MDMA was first synthesized in 1912 by Merck Pharmaceuticals in Germany, although it was never tested on humans. Recreational use of MDMA did not begin until the 1970s.
Before it was made illegal in 1985, MDMA was a therapeutic medicine. Studies are currently underway using MDMA to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and the drug is on track to be approved as a prescription medication by the FDA in 2021.
What are the Effects?
MDMA is a mood elevator that produces a relaxed, euphoric state. It does not cause hallucinations.
MDMA is almost always swallowed as a pill, tablet, or capsule. Effects are typically felt within 20 to 40 minutes, and peak effects within 60 to 90 minutes.
The come-up on MDMA is usually short but intense, feeling like a wave of tingling and warmth coming over the body.
Sensations are enhanced and the user experiences heightened feelings of empathy, emotional warmth, and self-acceptance.
The effects of MDMA subside after about 3-5 hours.
Most users say the experience is very pleasant and highly controllable. Even at the peak of the effect, people can usually deal with important matters.
What is a Normal Dose?
For most people, a normal dose of MDMA is between 70 and 125mg. However, some people require more to feel the same effect, while others require less.
Taking a single redose of 1/3 to 1/2 the original dose around the 1.5 to 2.5 hour mark can extend the experience by another hour or two, but might worsen the comedown/crash. Redosing any more than this usually will only increase side effects.
Is MDMA Addictive?
MDMA is not physically dependence-forming, and it is not considered to be significantly rewarding and reinforcing (addictive). However, it can often take on great importance in people’s lives, and some people become compulsive, every-weekend users.
Compulsive users may be unconsciously trying to self-medicate for depression or social anxiety. However, MDMA is not a good long-term antidepressant. Effective treatments for depression are available from a qualified physician.
If taken too frequently, MDMA can stop working. Users report that the “magic” goes away. This can last for many years or be permanent. Remember, less is more.
It’s hard to say exactly how often is too often. Some people lose the magic after rolling every few months for a couple of years, while others lose it in less than a year after rolling on a weekly or biweekly basis.
Be Careful
Because of prohibition, MDMA is unregulated. As a result, “Ecstasy” tablets and “Molly” powder can vary widely in strength and contents. Sometimes they contain no MDMA at all, but rather different, more dangerous drugs.
MDMA increases the risk of heatstroke. About 20 people per year in the US die of heat stroke after taking MDMA. Remember to take breaks from dancing, cool down, and stay hydrated. Some people have died from drinking too much water after taking MDMA. This is called “hyponatremia” and happens when the body’s electrolytes (salts) become diluted. Stay hydrated, but don’t drink too much water. About two to four cups per hour is all you need.
Studies have shown that high doses of MDMA can cause damage to serotonin axons (neurons) in laboratory animals. It is possible that similar damage can occur in human recreational users who take high doses too often, and/or who dose in a hot environment.
Although many users feel fine the next day, often describing an “afterglow,” some people experience depression the day after taking MDMA. This post-roll depression (“crash”) can last for up to a week, or more in some cases. People with a history of depressive episodes may be more prone to long and/or difficult “crashes.”
Taking more MDMA at this point won’t make you feel better. This is because MDMA works by releasing a natural chemical in your brain called serotonin, and you only have so much of it in storage. It takes about three weeks for your brain to replenish the serotonin released by MDMA.
Mixing MDMA with alcohol, stimulants or other drugs can increase the risk of adverse reactions, including dehydration, hyperthermia (overheating), and cardiac arrhythmia.
MDMA is illegal and a conviction for possession or sale can carry long prison sentences.
If you choose to use MDMA, knowing why is the best way to maximize the benefits and reduce the risks. Whether it’s for therapy, self-exploration or purely for recreation, understanding your intentions will help you assess whether or not they are being met.
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) is a hallucinogenic drug discovered in 1938. It was first ingested by the Swiss chemist, Albert Hofmann, on April 19th, 1943.
LSD is most often absorbed into small pieces of paper called “blotter,” but it can also be found in liquid form. It is almost always consumed orally.
LSD is extremely powerful. A typical dose is between 100 and 200 micrograms (mcg), which is such a small amount it makes it extremely difficult to measure. A single square of blotter or drop of liquid usually contains a typical dose, but may contain much more.
What are the Effects?
An LSD experience is often described as a “trip.” This experience may be broken up into four phases:
The Onset – After about 30 minutes, colors appear sharper, moving objects leave “trails” behind them and flat surfaces may appear to “breathe.”
The Plateau – Over the second hour, the effects become more intense. Open and closed eye visuals may begin to appear, from shapes in smoke to movement in the lines on the palms of the hand.
The Peak – Time is often slowed significantly. Users may feel like they are in a different world, or a movie. Familiar things seem strange or unusual. For some this is profound and mystical, but it can be very frightening for others.
The Comedown – 5 or 6 hours after taking the drug the effects begin to subside. After 8 to 12 hours, the trip is usually over, although residual effects may last much longer.
Caution
Because of prohibition, LSD is unregulated. Other, far more dangerous drugs, such as 25I-NBOMe (a synthetic hallucinogen that is used in biochemistry research for mapping the brain’s usage of the type 2A serotonin receptor) have been misrepresented as ‘LSD’ and sold in blotter or liquid form, leading to numerous deaths.
LSD trips can sometimes be frightening, inducing extreme anxiety and panic. Although rare, some people relive the experience days, weeks or even years later in episodes known as “flashbacks.” Flashbacks are not unique to hallucinogenic drugs; they can result from any intense psychological trauma.
LSD can induce very intense experiences that may exacerbate or bring out mental health conditions, especially mood or psychotic disorders. There is no hard and fast rule, but individuals with a personal or family history of mood or psychotic disorders have a higher baseline risk level when ingesting LSD and other psychedelics.
In a very small percentage of people, LSD and other hallucinogens have caused a long-lasting disorder known as Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder (HPPD) that affects the person’s visual perception.
LSD can impair judgment. Never drive while under the influence of LSD.
LSD is illegal and possession can result in long prison terms. Supplying LSD to someone else (whether or not money was exchanged) carries even longer sentences.
If you choose to use LSD, knowing why is the best way to maximize the benefits and reduce the risks. Whether it’s for insight, self exploration or simply for fun, your intentions will greatly impact the kind of experience you have.
Bad trip and what to do
As with all psychedelics, “set” and “setting” are important factors in determining whether someone has a positive or challenging experience. “Set” is the mental state a person brings to the experience— their thoughts, mood and expectations. “Setting” is the physical and social environment in which the drug is consumed. Being in a good mental state with trusted friends in a supportive environment before taking LSD reduces the risk of having a bad trip.
If someone is having a difficult or challenging psychological experience on LSD, take them to quiet surroundings where they feel comfortable. Find a friend who can reassure them. Clarify to them that their panic is caused by the drug, and will wear off soon.
If you are at a festival, find out if they have a safe space or cooldown area, especially one that is equipped with people who can offer support during difficult experiences.
Mark Bere Peterson’s Counterculture, Urban Legends, Paganism & Witchcraft 