M U S I C , L O V E , S T A R C R A F T , A N D G R I L L E D C H E E S E

First Edition January 2011

Not only will this foster our community development,
WHAT IS but it will promote universal awareness of how amazing life is.

THE HAPPY COLLECTIVE? SUNNY SIDE UP Let's remind each other to celebrate it!
- SUNNY SIDE UP
From the writer's perspective, The Happy Collective is a medium for
self-expression. Not only does it empower you to create art, but it also serves
as a vessel for you to experience and share beauty with the rest of the world.
Belonging to a community larger than yourself gives you a home where your
best friends are your family. Let's lift each other up so we can look at the
clouds from above as the sun warms our smiles.

From the reader's perspective, The Happy Collective is an environment for

awakening. It's an invitation to evolve your mind, an opportunity to explore
uncharted realms, and a chance to make new discoveries. Reward yourself for
being conscious. The Happy Collective is not a destination where we finally
meet each other, but it is rather a realization that we are in each other all
along.
“Iceberg Sunrise” by
Sunny Side Up
WANDERING- EXPAND YOUR
PONDER HORIZON
MR. COSMIC CHARLIE SUNSHINE SUPERMAN
winter’s whisper curls her hair What you are about to read is the story of my first journey into the
in wisps of wilt-less wonder, center of the universe and experiencing expanded consciousness. It
circles surreal, and sweet, was the Friday of our April break during our senior year in high school.
sincere, she knocks my soul
It was a beautiful sunny day, and my friend and I were in our favorite
asunder.
woods. This place is absolutely beautiful. My favorite place in the
world.
lost, and locked up safely in
her lily-field-lazy-day locket-- So we wandered into the woods and started to feel slightly light in our
picking poppies in puddles of limbs and got that tingly feeling in our stomachs. We made it to the
sun, wandering-ponder inside center of our woods and decided to sit on a big rock that overlooked the
her pocket. rest of the woods.
As soon as we sat down I felt a sudden rush to my head and we both
began laughing uncontrollably at the same time. It was pure euphoria.
We laid back on the rock, hooked up an iPod to the speakers we
brought, and put on some tunes. We decided to start with “I Want You
(She's So Heavy)” by The Beatles. I felt like I finally understood where
“Whispers” by kef this music came from. continued on page 2
1
EXPAND YOUR UPCOMING
HORIZON (continued from page 1) SHOWS
SUNSHINE SUPERMAN COMPILED BY KEF WITH THANKS
TO MATA AND SUNNY SIDE UP
Umphrey's McGee and Giant
Panda Guerilla Dub Squad -
House of Blues 1/27
Designer Drugs - Diva’s
Nightclub 1/28
Spiritual Rez - Iron Horse 1/28
Conspirator - Pearl Street 1/29
The McLovins - Iron Horse 1/29
Playin' Dead - The Middle East
1/29
Linkin Park's A Thousand Suns
Tour - TD Garden 2/1
The New Deal - Royale
Nightclub 2/3
Big Sam's Funky Nation - The
“Tired City” by kef Middle East 2/3
I understood why they played this music and why it sounded the way it Jeff Bujak, Higher Organix,
Viral Sound - Tammany Hall
did. All the strange sounds and the flow moved me in a way I had never 2/3
experienced or understood before. Nothing made more sense. We
John Mellencamp - Lowell
switched over to Dark Side of the Moon and listened to it all the way Memorial Auditorium 2/3
through while watching the plants, flowers, and trees dance in front of Ozomatli - Royale Nightclub 2/5
us. All the plants had their own energy... I never realized just how alive The New Deal - Iron Horse 2/5
everything in the woods was before. We talked about how we are never Rusted Root - Paradise Rock
alone and how there’s always life around us. You’ve just got to look for Club 2/10
it. At this point, a guy walking his dog came by, and his dog ran towards Tea Leaf Green - Paradise Rock
Club 2/11
us. We were stoked and ready to pet the sh*t out of it. But it just came
Streetlight Manifesto - Iron
and knocked all our water bottles off the rock. The dog ran to where all Horse 2/11
our stuff had fallen, and we thought it was going to bring it all back to B. Dolan - The Western Front
us. Instead, it took one of the water bottles and ran away with it. My 2/11
friend and I looked at each other with blank expressions and began High Times Cannabis Cup Band
- Showcase Live 2/12
laughing uncontrollably. “DUDE, THAT DOG JUST TOOK OUR
Steve Aoki, LMFAO - Mullins
WATER BOTTLE!!!!” Center 2/17
Eventually my friend mustered up the energy to jump down off the
George Clinton - House of Blues
rock and get the bottles back. But when he got down, he just stopped. 2/18
continued on page 4 continued on page 3
2
STREET
PERFORMER
REVEREND GODLESS
Cold wind stinging, cars
rushing by
We shuffled along in the
midday twilight
Abruptly, I stopped, and
looked around
I gazed upon their faces, our
faces
I wanted to fix them, to make
them see
Perhaps, unthinkably, to
make them smile
So, I cut out my heart,
holding it out for all to see
As they shuffled past
And upon falling, dead
They tripped over me
And then kicked me
For being in their way.
AN
EXPLANATION
KEF
Love oozes out of my skin like
sweat, but it's the consistency
EXCERPT FROM THE
DOORS OF
PERCEPTION
SUBMITTED BY KEF
Even though I didn’t get as much
out of Doors as I was hoping for, I
felt I could really relate to the
following excerpt; it sort of builds
on that thought you discuss on the
playground, “what if we all see a
different color for like green or
pink?”.
“From family to nation, every
human group is a society of island
universes. Most island universes
are sufficiently like one another to
Permit of inferential understanding
or even of mutual empathy or
"feeling into." Thus, remembering
our own bereavements and
humiliations, we can condole with
others in analogous circumstances,
can put ourselves (always, of
course, in a slightly Pickwickian
sense) in their places. But in certain
cases communication between
universes is incomplete or even
nonexistent. The mind is its own
place, and the Places inhabited by
UPCOMING
SHOWS (continued
from page 2)
COMPILED BY KEF WITH THANKS
TO MATA AND SUNNY SIDE UP
Dopapod, Wobblesauce, Asleep
in a Box - Tammany Hall 2/18
Barefoot Truth, Iron Horse 2/19
Dr. Dog with Head and the
Heart
Paradise Rock Club 2/19
Interpol and School of Seven
Bells
House of Blues 2/19
Bill Cosby
Symphony Hall 2/19
TAB: Trey Anastasio Band
House of Blues 2/20
Big Gigantic and Kraddy
The Middle East 2/20
Bobby McFerrin
Berklee Performance Center
2/23
Vibesquad
Wonder Bar 2/23
Trombone Short and Orleans
Avenue, Glactic, Cyril Neville,
Corey Henry
Paradise Rock Club 2/25
The Pink Floyd Experience
Lowell Memorial Auditorium
2/25

of maple syrup. And it's just as
sticky. You know how you
think you've gotten it all
cleaned up, and then you find
a big mess of it between your
phalanges, and now there's
sand and hair and
unidentifiable matter stuck to
it and you're nowhere near a
water source? It's like that.
the insane and the exceptionally Girl Talk
gifted are so different from the House of Blues 2/26
places where ordinary men and
women live, that there is little or no
common ground of memory to
serve as a basis for understanding
or fellow feeling. Words are
uttered, but fail to enlighten. The
things and events to which the
symbols refer belong to mutually
exclusive realms of experience.” “Colors 12” by Sunny Side Up
3
GOIN’ ‘ROUND
THE BEND AGAIN
MR. COSMIC CHARLIE
A little river
lilac shimmer
berry bush, for me.
A little lucid
in the love-light
Love 'n' liquid's all I need.
By the water
heard they shot her--
blew her pretty head away.
The lazy river, answer giver--
gotta go to know, they say.
I think I hear her winging
wind-chime-singing
ringing 'round my way
but I never hear it clear enough
to hear the thoughts she says.
So I lay out by the riverside
with open face, and wild eyes
and when I feel I'm songbird
high
I'll fall into grace with a cheshire
smile.
Like a fragile fallen leaf
I will flurry into flowing
Going 'round the bend again
and basking in the knowing.
“Fallen Leaf” by kef
EXPAND YOUR HORIZON
(continued from page 2)
SUNSHINE SUPERMAN
“Dude, come down here. You’ve got to see this.” I was pretty
comfortable where I was and didn’t feel like moving. I wanted to keep
watching the flowers dance to the music. After all, they were putting on
quite a show. But he finally convinced me to come down. At this point,
we were at the end of Dark Side of the Moon, and “Eclipse” was
playing. For those of you who are familiar with this song, you know
how there’s a really climactic tone to it right? So there was this sense
of... awesomeness... behind me as I was going around the rock to meet
my friend. It felt really cinematic: the music was playing, I was eagerly
rounding the bend, the wind was blowing, and everything was whirling
around. I found my friend facing the rock. In the rock was a crack. And
out of the crack, a single flower was sprouting. It was the most
beautiful thing that I had ever seen in my entire life. We just lost it at
that point and began laughing uncontrollably. Tears of joy came to our
eyes. At that moment, everything that there was to understand about
life hit me like a fucking brick wall. The entire world was spinning
around me, but all I could focus on was the flower. So humble. So
peaceful. So serene. It was beautiful. We stood there in awe of the
flower for a good ten minutes before climbing back up the rock to
watch the sunset.
The next thing that happened is a prime example of everyone's
connection to some deeper stream of consciousness. My friend turned
to me and said, “You know what I feel like doing? I feel like flying.” And
right before he said flying, I put on the Beatles song “Flying.” Once the
song started, we began to laugh at the amazing coincidence. We sat and
listened to music for a little longer, talking about life, love, friends,
family, music, trees, and everything else. Finally, the sun began to set
and the sky reached the perfect shade of orange. We were completely
drawn into it. It was as if as the sun was going down, it was taking all
the light and energy with it. Not in a bad way. It proved just how
powerful the sun is. The sun is an amazing thing. It’s the reason that we
are all able to live on this planet. I stood in awe until something caught
my attention. continued on page 6
4
LETTER TO MYSELF MODERN
DARIUS RAIDER
GILGAMESH
Dear Me, REVEREND GODLESS
Artists and mass-murderers
Hi. This feels quite weird because I am writing a letter to myself, but I
have this in common:
guess it makes sense because I have a feeling that this was an inevitable
conclusion. I am not really writing to myself, but rather, I am writing to They are cowards.
a name which this human body responds to. I assume his body and Normal people are content to
carry out a very peculiar arrangement of daily activities, but I no longer live
feel like it is enough to be him anymore. Whoever is writing this letter To work
is not me, and I am not what is easy to understand. I exist in many
To suffer
different forms and views. Every person that has met me has created
To love
me. Every way of looking at me produces a new me. Every interaction
one has with me leads to the creation of another me to reflect such And then to die
interaction. I exist in these many forms, but the one person who I do But not these
not exist to is myself. They must evade the last and
most important step of this
Now from this point of view it seems as though “I” have identified
Living on forever on the backs
“myself” as both “me” and my name in the previous paragraph.
However, when someone refers to “me” by my name, am I responding and minds of the survivors
as “me” or the version of “me” that they know. Do I conform my Forever reminding them of
behavior to behave in a specific pattern recognizable as “me” and if so, horrors and atrocities and
is that really “me?” Though this could potentially appear very themselves
existential, the purpose is not to confuse but rather to specifically
Reminding them of what every
identify the identity of this one organism. Identity is the key to
understanding purpose, and to understand purpose, questions must be person truly is
answered. Why do I feel at all? Is there a purpose to anything I do if it Whether by word or by deed
all ends? If there is something beyond, am I doing wrong by trying to Not fearing the noose
communicate with it? Am I too curious for my own good? Why is my Regardless of who is the
name so different from me? I have all these thoughts but it seems like
executioner
even though my name acknowledges them, he doesn’t like to share
For they alone have dodged the
them with anyone else. When I am me, I am free to feel anything and
everything. But when my name is with me, am I me, or is he someone worms
different? Is my name only me when he interacts with other people’s They alone have spirits
names? Or is he me all the time and the two of us are the same? What Formed by the collective mind of
am I? I am not a person or a name, I am not a culture or a religion. I am the animal masses
not an idea and I am not what your reality tells you I am. I am
something that I don’t even know or understand.
Don’t forget that they’re all
How can I accept this? going to die
And you with them.
Sincerely,
Yours truly
5
EXPAND YOUR MODERN
HORIZON (continued from page 4) PERSPECTIVES IN
SUNSHINE SUPERMAN PSYCHEDELIC
RESEARCH
NU SSDP
Students for Sensible Drug
Policy is proud to bring three
modern perspectives on
psychedelic research to campus!

Tuesday, February 8th 7-9pm

“To the Sun Gods” by kef 108 Snell Engineering
I looked down at the ground and saw an incredible sight. All the plants, Northeastern
flowers, bushes, and trees were bowing down to the sun and paying
Our Speakers:
tribute to it. We watched this amazing phenomenon a little longer and
decided that our time on the rock was over. So we got up and began Rick Doblin- Founder of the
walking away. On the trail back, we realized that we hadn’t drank any Multidisciplinary Association for
of our water. So I took a sip. The following sensation was quite possibly Psychedelic Studies
one of the most amazing that I have ever experienced. In fact, it was so
amazing that I just spit the water out as soon as I sipped it. The water Dr. Michael Mithoefer:
Leading Researcher on
just felt so incredible and flowed so freely. I tried again and managed to
MDMA-assisted therapy and
swallow it. Amazing. Water really is a gift from Mother Nature. We
PTSD
were making our way out and it seemed like all the trees were waving
goodbye to us, letting us know they would be waiting for us the next Dr. John Halpern
time we returned. We trekked over to our friend’s house to enjoy a nice Researcher on Psilocybin, LSD,
relaxing close to our Friday adventure. and Bromo-LSD and the effects
After that experience, I gained an incredibly deeper appreciation for on Cluster headache
EVERYTHING. I expanded my horizon and felt completely changed
Hope to see you there!
from the experience. I tapped into a different consciousness and felt
my connection with the universe more strongly than ever before. We
did nothing but exist in complete harmony with the universe, and I
have felt completely at peace with it from that point on. To this day,
that experience has been one of the most amazing, beautiful, happy,
spiritual, philosophical, and overall awesome experiences of my life. I
have had many more incredible journeys in my life since then, but this
first one beats them all by a long shot. I hope that you enjoyed this. I
“Fall Asleep (and Wake Up)”
certainly did.
by kef

6
 THE HAPPY HOUR
HERBAL CROSSWORD OF QUOTES
BROWNIES
SUBMITTED BY KEF WITH THANKS TO
SUNNY SIDE UP
Down
SUNNY SIDE UP 1. "We don't have to look
Ingredients: far for miracles because
1 Box of brownie mix they're all around us.
Everything is astonishing.
{pick one that requires oil} The universe on it's surface
4 to 18g.of your favorite herb is alive with mystery."
{the more the merrier} -Terrence ...

2. “If you have an apple

The brownie mix should call for and I have an apple and we
exchange these apples then
oil. After picking your favorite you and I will still each
herbs from the hydroponic garden, have one apple. But if you
have an idea and I have an
add them to the oil in a saucepan. idea and we exchange these
Cook on medium-low for 30 ideas, then each of us will
minutes, stirring occaisionally. have two ideas.” - G.B. ...
Across
3. "You're only as young as 4. "The trick is in what one
Optional: You can place this the last time you changed emphasizes. We either make
your mind" -Timothy ...
saucepan in a larger pot of boiling ourselves miserable, or we make
water, which would prevent the oil 5. "The only Zen you can ourselves happy. The amount of
find on the tops of work is the same." - Carlos ...
from boiling because the boiling
mountains is the Zen you
point of oil is much higher than bring up there" - Robert ...7. "When you realize how perfect
water. No burnt herbs! everything is you will tilt your
6. "All gods are homemade,
and it is we who pull their head back and laugh at the sky."
Strain out the herbs and use the strings, and so, give them
the power to pull ours." 9. “I acknowledge the privilege of
remaining oil for the recipe. -Aldous ... being alive in a human body at
Follow instructions on the box to this moment, endowed with
make the brownies. NB: Too much 8. "We're fascinated by the senses, memories, emotions,
words - but where we meet
herb in this fashion can be is in the silence behind thoughts, and the space of mind
dangerous. “Everything in them." - Ram ... in its wisdom aspect.” - Alex ...
moderation”

I have lived on
the lip of insanity, GRILLED CHEESE.
wanting to know
reasons, knocking WITH BACON.
on a door. It opens. - KEF Well? You know how
I've been knocking to draw a stick figure.
I know you do.
from the inside. Make something funny!
- KEF
- RUMI
1. McKenna 2. Shaw 3. Leary 4. Castaneda 5. Pirsig 6. Huxley 7. Buddha 8. Dass 9. Grey
Crossword Answers: & MAIL SUBMISSIONS TO
WRITEFORTHC@GMAIL.COM 7
SHAMANIC CONSCIOUSNESS AND POET’S LAMENT
THE
ADACK
FUTURE OF PSYCHEDELIA REVEREND GODLESS
Is it worth it to keep living
When even the rain can’t stay in
this town?
Lights flying upward from the
streets
Reddish haze the blood-wrought
crown
We’re told that these things we
do
Will result in some greater good
But when we each have to be
destroyed for it
I wonder if they really even
could
And so bring me another round,
boy
I’ll leave this world to rot
Go and fill up my bowl, girl
I’ve got to keep my mind
burning hot
And here’s another requiem
For the lost meaning of life
And yet another angst-ridden
decrying
Of man’s infinite strife
“Untitled” by Verenice Maybe soon things will change
The world will awaken on a
The psychospiritual, sociocultural phenomenon of indigenous better, newer day
shamanism is often misunderstood and rarely receives more than a I feel as though I could pen the
world’s soul
cursory dismissal as some occult practice when, in fact, much of But no one would read it anyway
shamanism is more closely related to the study of psychology than it is The scariest part of it all
to folk magic. The shaman represents a sort of healer or medicine man, Is that they’re all perfectly
carefree
analogous to what would be considered a “primitive” psychotherapist I’m the only one who’s spending
his sleeping hours struggling
by the contemporary Western world, but the efficacy of their But I don’t see them writing
treatments has been attested to in countless anecdotal accounts. From about me
chronic depression eradicated by a single ayahuasca session, to heroin They seek to make the world
seem beautiful
and alcohol addictions promptly undone by ibogaine and LSD While wallowing in the mire
treatments, the psychosomatic illnesses that plague our culture seem I won’t let the world get out
unscathed
to find their end at the hands of the psychedelic shaman. While my life and love turn to
fire
The shaman, by definition, uses altered states of consciousness
Is the truth so important to tell?
induced through music, dance, chanting, psychedelic drugs, or any Fiction is far easier to sell
number of other methods in order to diagnose and remedy their But until my dying day
I refuse to see things their way
patients’ afflictions. While many who have experienced psychedelics
I wish God hadn’t gone away
can vouch for continued on page 9. Why is it always his flesh that we
flay?
8
LOST DEEP IN
DAY DREAM
MR. COSMIC CHARLIE
I get lost in deep day dream
of snow petal peppered skies
and sunny day rainbows in her
hair
They are her favorite ones to
wear
and she wears them often
along with the wings on her back
And she leaves the ground with
me
and she's gone, too--
it helps having someone to hold
onto
But pulled back down by
something beyond you
to a world we feel we don't
belong to
I wonder, where else can we be?
Fighting the gravity; babylon
chains
We wish for flight, and wait in
vain
What is it we think we should
see?
SHAMANIC CONSCIOUSNESS AND
THE FUTURE OF PSYCHEDELIA
(continued from page 8)
ADACK
their positive impact on mental well-being, the knowledge of
indigenous shamans dates back thousands of years and represents a
boundless database of methodologies for best utilizing the psychedelic
headspace; quite literally, these shamanic practitioners are
psychedelic scientists with thousands of years of practice in the field.
While the romanticized “noble savage” view of shamanism as a highly
advanced form of consciousness science superior to our own is
exaggerative, there are, without question, many things that the young
institution of Western psychology stands to learn from these age-old
psychotherapists and social mediators. Though the shaman speaks in
terms of spiritual afflictions and demons and magic darts, these are
merely terms of diagnosis and classification: to call something
melancholia, depression, or spiritual impurity makes no difference
when the ailments behind the names are all the same. The mythologies
of these shamanic cultures mustn’t be read literally, but seen as a
codification system much like those with which we’re more familiar
(e.g.: the American Psychiatric Association’s well-known DSM-IV.)
So, why has this been ignored? We live in a culture that has thrown the
baby out with the bathwater when it comes to
consciousness-manifesting substances. continued on page 12.

Weighted down in wild waters

wading wild with wisdom's
daughter
We swim in liquid air

Her mystic melts me

how she stares
The stars and mars know not
such wonder.

Way out west I blew my brain

now I know no other life
On mountain time, out of my
mind, my worries laid away.
“Untitled” by Verenice
9
 THERE AT THE
TURNSTILE
REVEREND GODLESS
Precious gems dart about
Absorbing beauty
Sun shining through a tree
Golden light bathes all
These gems will soon be
cracked
And warped by the cold
Better that I had coals
Than these fragile stones
But they shine so brightly
And I love the sights
Might as well enjoy them
Before they kill me
Bright blue shards will pierce
me
But O! what a hue!
SWEETENING THE QUESTION OF
HEMLOCK THE DAY
REVEREND GODLESS
(selected responses on
The rain falls gently on the town
But it pounds upon city streets page 11)
POSED BY DARIUS RAIDER
We are spared not for our sins
Paying in full for them up front
There are no pretended purities
here
Everyone a greyscale shit-smeared
mockery of man
Truer than the original
Once forced to be communal,
finally insular
The explorer becomes the island
The city takes no prisoners
And leaves only hollowed-out
shells
Which then can finally breathe “Head in the Clouds” by kef
freely the shit-smelling air
Swim in the sex How do you strike a balance
Worship their concrete and glass between living in the clouds and
gods
doing something practical and

UPCOMING It’s far preferred to remove the

pretense
productive? People who arent us

NY SHOWS And to get hell out of the way now

COMPILED BY THE FRESH PRINCE
AND BROMAN CHU
Blockhead, Emancipator –
Music Hall at Williamsburg 1/28
Umphey’s McGee w/ Giant
Panda Guerilla Dub Squad -
Best Buy Theater 1/28
Bart B More w/ Dada Life, JDH
& Dave P, Alex English, RekLES
– Pacha 1/28
Classixx w/ James Friedman –
Brooklyn Bowl 1/29
Wolfgang Gartner – Pacha 1/29
Derrick Carter, Mark Farina –
District 36 1/29
continued on page 12
All will serve their time
We simply choose to make the
nothing that follows seem a bit
more beautiful
Why make that hell when it can
instead be bliss?
Emulating Lucifer
Reigning over oblivion
Making it something more
Somewhere, a hollow prayer is
falling on dead ears
More time wasted
The Temple forsaken in exchange
for hope
Hope is the worst thing that life
can offer
It damns us all
engage in certain activities that
have opened our minds to ideas,
concepts and POVs that most
people don't understand. With
this amazing new set of eyes,
there also seems to be a lot of
people living in the clouds:
continuously using substances,
thinking about life, feeling good,
feeling connected to one, but not
really doing anything more than
just experiencing those feelings.
What is the balance between
engaging in these activities, and
translating those things into
something tangible like activism
or even revolution?
10
 SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION OF THE DAY
(on previous page)
ALEX DELARGE MATA
Recently I've been wondering a lot of the same things myself. I've The concept you shed light on,
decided that it's not that engaging in these activities suddenly creates a [Alex], of discovering passions
sense of creativity, inspiration, or activism, it's that these activities and senses already within us
help awaken senses that were already there. In my opinion, these reminds me of a quote by my
activities only cause a breaking down of a subconscious wall between favorite author who, of course,
the person and their inner self. The people who enact the brilliant ideas the US censored & banned:
they have are the people who had the motivation or compassion before
their experience. "Every day we slaughter our
finest impulses. That is why we
MR. COSMIC CHARLIE get a heartache when we read
I think it all comes down to brain exercises, ya know? those lines written by hand of a
Like you can smoke a bowl and talk philosophy with a few friends, or master and recognize them as
you can smoke a blunt, sit on the couch, and watch people kick each our own, as the tender shoots
other in the balls and laugh about it while you eat seven meals..use the which we stifled because we
[substance], don't let the [substance] use you. lacked the faith to believe in our
own powers, our own criterion
TRICHOSERIOUS of truth and beauty. Every man,
This is usually the my main topic of thought when I'm well into the when he gets quiet, when he
clouds. I think that many of us venture into the clouds partially because becomes desperately honest
we realize "productive activity", or our version of it, isn't worthwhile or with himself, is capable of
enjoyable. Kind of like how I dropped my obsession with running when uttering profound truths, We all
I started clouding again. So I feel like in many cases cloud-venturing is derive from the same source.
the activity of those who are searching for their true calling in life, and There is no mystery about our
what they want to do to give life meaning. origin of things. We are all part
of creation, all kings, all poets,
In my experience, that special type of cloud-venturing brings these all musicians; we have only to
questions to the surface and helps people answer them. By catapulting open up, and only to discover
you through infinite settings, mindsets, emotions, and existences, it what is already there." - Henry
forces you to answer what constitutes Miller
"you", and what your purpose is. With these experiences I've been able
to lay out a concise and applicable "meaning of life", so to speak. Psychedelic experience is only
a glimpse of genuine mystical
insight, but a glimpse which can
As conscious beings, we are all that really matters in the Universe, all
be matured and deepened by
beauty and significance exists solely because of consciousness. We the various ways of meditation
should all understand that the quality and quantity of our thought is in which drugs are no longer
what makes us important, and not try to make ourselves feel important necessary or useful. If you get
otherwise, which often leads to shortsighted, dangerous actions. As the message, hang up the
animals, we are of the Earth and should be true to this fact, embracing phone. For psychedelic drugs
nature and our human instincts. Happiness and understanding, being are simply instruments, like
the positive expressions of consciousness, is all that truly matters. We microscopes, telescopes, and
should therefore work towards propagating knowledge ( from telephones. The biologist does
education and experience) and happiness (from art, love, the not sit with eye permanently
tranquility of nature, the satisfaction of sustainable self-sufficiency) in glued to the microscope, he
ourselves and others. And that's the meaning of life. This means not goes away and works on what
living in lavish excess striving towards artificial success, as this only he has seen.
brings about empty, artificial, short-lived happiness. - Alan Watts
11
 SHAMANIC CONSCIOUSNESS AND UPCOMING
THE FUTURE OF PSYCHEDELIA NY SHOWS
(continued from page 9) (continued from page 10)
ADACK COMPILED BY THE FRESH PRINCE
AND BROMAN CHU
Jakwob, Tittsworth, Ikonika,
Falty DL, Blaqstarr, Redfox –
Good Units – 1/29

Lotus w/ D.V.S. – The Mercury

Lounge 2/3

Ramon Tapia w/ Jose Velez,

Steve Cox– Cielo 2/3

Junior Sanchez – Pacha 2/4

Lotus w/ D.V.S. (Sold Out) –

The Mercury Lounge 2/4

Mr. Oizo – Webster Hall 2/4

Josh Wink – Public Assembly

2/4
“Ocean Dreams” by Sunny Side Up Chromeo w/ MNDR, The Suzan
While the benefits of psychedelics were widely recognized as promising (Sold Out) – Terminal 5 2/4
early on in the psychology scene (to the extent that there are still copies Ms. Lauryn Hill – The Wellmont
of the Handbook for the Therapeutic Use of LSD-25 floating around Theater 2/4
from 1959), the government’s backlash against the 60s’ Girl Talk w/ Penguin Prison
counter-cultural lifestyle denied both hippie and scientist the ability to (Sold Out) – The Wellmont
Theater 2/5
chemically explore consciousness. These psychedelic,
“mind-manifesting” tools are for the study of consciousness what the Chus & Ceballos – Pacha 2/5
telescope is for astronomy or the microscope for biology. The old story Pendulum (Live) – Irving Plaza
comes to mind of the Catholic church’s refusal to gaze through 2/5
Galileo’s telescope based on faith alone; based on the misinformation Lotus w/ Tobacco, Daedalus –
that permeates our cultural collective consciousness, we choose to Terminal 5 2/5
deny ourselves these substances. But the times they are a-changin’ as Brothers Past – Music Hall at
the realm of the scientist in the laboratory and that of the shaman with Williamsburg 2/5
a brain full of MAOIs and DMT in the jungles of Peru grow closer and
Pendulum (DJ Set) w/ Zeds
closer, and as we slowly admit that not every phenomenon in the vast Dead, Hellfire Machina, Star
Eyes – District 36 2/5
expanses of the universe can be measured by an electronic device (yet.)
continued on page 14
12
ONE, TWO, WHOOP WHOOP!
TANNER MASON

Background by Verenice, compilation by kef

When Steve Aoki performs, it is quite easy to forget that you are at an electronic event and not a rock show.
Aoki electrifies the crowd from the moment he takes the stage and does not quit until the last note of the last
song has rung. Steve Aoki brings an energy to his sets that is unmatched by most other DJs I have seen. While
some other DJs rely on heavy visuals or widely popular songs to impress the crowd, Aoki amps the crowd up
to an epic level by jumping around, stage diving, and generally “going crazy” on the stage. Few people seem
to enjoy performing for the crowd as much as Aioki. While watching Aoki on stage, you feel like you are
watching a rock band in the middle of a heavy breakdown. It is almost impossible to resist the urge to “rock
out” and jump around. When the crowd is hyped-up to the perfect level, Aoki senses that it is time to take
flight. Wasting no time he climbs onto his equipment table and prepares to dive into the crowd full of people
waiting eagerly below to catch him. His over the top performances are well supported by sets that are full of
solid songs that will the crowd to the dance floor. Aoki is quoted as saying, "My life isn't about making
money. My life is about finding great bands, finding great sounds." continued on page 14
13
UPCOMING NY
SHOWS (continued
from page 12)
COMPILED BY THE FRESH PRINCE
AND BROMAN CHU
Tom Middleton & Francois K –
Cielo 2/7
Cubic Zirconia w/ The Popo,
Machinedrum, Party Supplies –
The Mercury Lounge 2/9
Roger Sanchez – Cielo 2/10
Dr. Dog w/ Phantogram, The
Head and the Heart – Terminal
5 2/18
Alexis Taylor – Webster Hall
2/19
Two Fresh w/ Body Language,
Mux Mool – Music Hall of
Williamsburg 2/19
High Rankin – Public Assembly
2/19
Paul Van Dyk – Terminal 5 2/19
ONE, TWO,
WHOOP WHOOP!
(continued from page 13)
TANNER MASON
This is possibly one of the
reasons Aoki puts on such a great
performance. Or perhaps it is
because he takes the golden rule
of “treat others how you want to
be treated” to the stage. He plays
the music he would want to hear
with an intensity that is never

Morcheeba – Irving Plaza 2/11
Donald Glaude & Alex Gaudino
– Pacha 2/11
SOJA w/ Gentleman / Mambo
Sauce – The Bowery Ballroom
2/11
Joachim Garraud w/ Fareoh –
Wenster Hall 2/11
Sebastian Ingrosso – Webster
Hall 2/12
Excision w/ Downlink,
Antiserum, Hellfire Machina –
Best Buy Theater 2/12
Morcheeba – Irving Plaza 2/12
Tiesto – Webster Hall 2/12
Jimkata w/ UV Hippo, Pidgeons
Playing Ping Pong – Sullivan
Hall 2/17
Nero – Webster Hall 2/18
Martin Solveig – Cielo 2/20 lacking. He litters his set with
hard electronic, splashes of rock,
Trey Anastasio and the Trey
and many current hip hop and
Anastasio Band – Terminal 5
2/22 dance beats. This multi-genre
Girl Talk w/ Max Tundra, Junk mix of good music and good
Culture (Sold Out) – Terminal 5 sounds combined with the
2/24 energy Aoki puts into his sets
Vibesquad w/ R/D – Tammany makes for a one of a kind
Hall 2/24 experience. Leaving an Aoki
show, I always feel as if I have
Bob Sinclar – Pacha 2/25
just been a part of an epic party.
Skrillex w/ Tommy Lee & DJ With ticket prices usually
Aero, Porter Robinson –
Webster Hall 2/25 ranging between twenty and
thirty dollars, there is no reason
Galactic / Trombone Shorty &
to not get out and see a live show.
Orleans Avenue – Terminal 5
2/26 Upcoming shows include:
February 17th at UMASS
Lutzenkirchen – Cielo 2/27
AMHERST, April 9th at the
Roseland Ballroom (NYC), and
April 14th at club Royale
(Boston).

Big Gigantic w/ Kraddy – The

Bowery Ballroom 2/18
There is always
Goldie w/ Odi b2b Dara, Burner
Brothers, Raw Q – Sullivan “Boston Thinks of the Big Apple” everything.
Room 2/18 by kef - SUNNY SIDE UP

14
THE HEIGHTS
MR. COSMIC CHARLIE
My weary bones know now
the humble healing of the Heights;
a place where clouds of liquid dew-drop
ripple in the freshest light.

Here the stars all look like fireworks--

burst in colors most don’t know,
and the sun is a big sunflower
who needs some space to grow.

When we came here, with us came “Flit” by kef

the butterflies, and evergreens-- Once you’ve caught it,
the herbs, and honey bees-- hop up on it--
the berries, and the woodland fairies. ride it like you would a comet.
A black bear, a white hare
and a bird of each song. What's the feeling in your stomach?
We, in magic painted buses, Feels like sick, or sick's close cousin.
traveled ever on. Make you feel like you could vomit,
but it’s just your nerves who done it.
Took off, flew to infinity, and a little bit beyond
before we careened through the Curious It felt wrong,
and landed casually in the Heights. but, love, it wasn’t.
Feel like crazy,
Here the star-bells ring like wind chimes do, but who doesn’t?
and much to our delight, At the Heights--
they all do keep right on a-jangling can’t rise above it.
their jingles through each night.
Love to learn,
We blow bubbles at the void, and learn to love it.
and watch them freeze, and float away
into a sky that’s like a color wheel
no matter time of day. Write a
And if you want to be here too,
found poem!
you only have to catch a sun-ray-- & MAIL SUBMISSIONS TO
WRITEFORTHC@GMAIL.COM
plenty of ‘em scamper ‘round
Using only the words in this poem, write your
any given sunny day-- own poem that conveys your own ideas
plenty of ‘em runnin‘ ‘round or describes your reaction to this poem
about the merry month of may.
-KEF
15
THANKS FOR READING!

Found Street Art, photographed and submitted by Adack

Dear Reader,

Just by picking this up and reading it, you're one of the most awesome people we've never met. We'd love
to get to know you. Do you want to get involved or submit some of your work? E-mail us. We're all in this
world together and we want to help you make a difference.
We’re all visionary artists.
Sincerely, The palette is our thoughts
Jimmy Jazz and the rest of the staff of The Happy Collective and the planet is our canvas.
- SUNNY SIDE UP
Note: Some of the original work has been edited for content and grammar.

We all become important when we realize our goal

should be to figure out our role within the context of the whole
and yeah, rock and roll is fun, but if you ever hear someone
say “you are huge”, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky,
say “I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye”.
16