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

F i r s t E d i t i o n J a n u a r y 2 0 1 1

winter’s whisper curls her hair in wisps of wilt-less wonder,circles surreal, and sweet, sincere, she knocks my soul asunder.

lost, and locked up safely in her lily-field-lazy-day locket--picking poppies in puddles of sun, wandering-ponder inside her pocket.

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.

What you are about to read is the story of my first journey into the center of the universe and experiencing expanded consciousness. It was the Friday of our April break during our senior year in high school. It was a beautiful sunny day, and my friend and I were in our favorite woods. This place is absolutely beautiful. My favorite place in the world. So we wandered into the woods and started to feel slightly light in our limbs and got that tingly feeling in our stomachs. We made it to the center of our woods and decided to sit on a big rock that overlooked the 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 this music came from. continued on page 2

EXPAND YOURHORIZONSUNSHINE SUPERMAN

SUNNY SIDE UP

WANDERING-PONDERMR. COSMIC CHARLIE

WHAT ISTHE HAPPY COLLECTIVE? - SUNNY SIDE UP

1

“Iceberg Sunrise” bySunny Side Up

“Whispers” by kef

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

Let's remind each other to celebrate it!

I understood why they played this music and why it sounded the way it

did. All the strange sounds and the flow moved me in a way I had never

experienced or understood before. Nothing made more sense. We

switched over to Dark Side of the Moon and listened to it all the way

through while watching the plants, flowers, and trees dance in front of

us. All the plants had their own energy... I never realized just how alive

everything in the woods was before. We talked about how we are never

alone and how there’s always life around us. You’ve just got to look for

it. At this point, a guy walking his dog came by, and his dog ran towards

us. We were stoked and ready to pet the sh*t out of it. But it just came

and knocked all our water bottles off the rock. The dog ran to where all

our stuff had fallen, and we thought it was going to bring it all back to

us. Instead, it took one of the water bottles and ran away with it. My

friend and I looked at each other with blank expressions and began

laughing uncontrollably. “DUDE, THAT DOG JUST TOOK OUR

WATER BOTTLE!!!!”

Eventually my friend mustered up the energy to jump down off the

rock and get the bottles back. But when he got down, he just stopped.

continued on page 4

EXPAND YOURHORIZON (continued from page 1)SUNSHINE SUPERMAN

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 Middle East 2/3

Jeff Bujak, Higher Organix, Viral Sound - Tammany Hall 2/3

John Mellencamp - Lowell Memorial Auditorium 2/3

Ozomatli - Royale Nightclub 2/5

The New Deal - Iron Horse 2/5

Rusted Root - Paradise Rock Club 2/10

Tea Leaf Green - Paradise Rock Club 2/11

Streetlight Manifesto - Iron Horse 2/11

B. Dolan - The Western Front 2/11

High Times Cannabis Cup Band - Showcase Live 2/12

Steve Aoki, LMFAO - Mullins Center 2/17

George Clinton - House of Blues 2/18

continued on page 3

UPCOMINGSHOWSCOMPILED BY KEF WITH THANKSTO MATA AND SUNNY SIDE UP

“Tired City” by kef

2

COMPILED BY KEF WITH THANKSTO MATA AND SUNNY SIDE UPDopapod, Wobblesauce, Asleep in a Box - Tammany Hall 2/18

Barefoot Truth, Iron Horse 2/19

Dr. Dog with Head and the HeartParadise Rock Club 2/19

Interpol and School of Seven BellsHouse of Blues 2/19

Bill CosbySymphony Hall 2/19

TAB: Trey Anastasio BandHouse of Blues 2/20

Big Gigantic and KraddyThe Middle East 2/20

Bobby McFerrinBerklee Performance Center 2/23

VibesquadWonder Bar 2/23

Trombone Short and Orleans Avenue, Glactic, Cyril Neville, Corey HenryParadise Rock Club 2/25

The Pink Floyd ExperienceLowell Memorial Auditorium 2/25

Girl TalkHouse of Blues 2/26

UPCOMINGSHOWS (continuedfrom page 2)

3

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.

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 the insane and the exceptionally gifted are so different from the 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.”

STREETPERFORMERREVEREND GODLESS

Love oozes out of my skin like

sweat, but it's the consistency

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.

ANEXPLANATIONKEF

EXCERPT FROM THEDOORS OFPERCEPTIONSUBMITTED BY KEF

“Colors 12” by Sunny Side Up

“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

EXPAND YOUR HORIZON(continued from page 2)

SUNSHINE SUPERMAN

A little riverlilac shimmerberry bush, for me.

A little lucid in the love-lightLove 'n' liquid's all I need.

By the waterheard they shot her--blew her pretty head away.

The lazy river, answer giver--gotta go to know, they say.

I think I hear her wingingwind-chime-singingringing 'round my waybut I never hear it clear enough to hear the thoughts she says.

So I lay out by the riversidewith open face, and wild eyesand when I feel I'm songbird highI'll fall into grace with a cheshire smile.

Like a fragile fallen leafI will flurry into flowingGoing 'round the bend againand basking in the knowing.

GOIN’ ‘ROUNDTHE BEND AGAINMR. COSMIC CHARLIE

4“Fallen Leaf” by kef

Artists and mass-murderers

have this in common:

They are cowards.

Normal people are content to

live

To work

To suffer

To love

And then to die

But not these

They must evade the last and

most important step of this

Living on forever on the backs

and minds of the survivors

Forever reminding them of

horrors and atrocities and

themselves

Reminding them of what every

person truly is

Whether by word or by deed

Not fearing the noose

Regardless of who is the

executioner

For they alone have dodged the

worms

They alone have spirits

Formed by the collective mind of

the animal masses

Don’t forget that they’re all

going to die

And you with them.

MODERNGILGAMESHREVEREND GODLESS

LETTER TO MYSELFDARIUS RAIDER

5

Dear Me,

Hi. This feels quite weird because I am writing a letter to myself, but I 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 a name which this human body responds to. I assume his body and carry out a very peculiar arrangement of daily activities, but I no longer feel like it is enough to be him anymore. Whoever is writing this letter is not me, and I am not what is easy to understand. I exist in many different forms and views. Every person that has met me has created 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 interaction. I exist in these many forms, but the one person who I do not exist to is myself.

Now from this point of view it seems as though “I” have identified “myself” as both “me” and my name in the previous paragraph. However, when someone refers to “me” by my name, am I responding as “me” or the version of “me” that they know. Do I conform my behavior to behave in a specific pattern recognizable as “me” and if so, is that really “me?” Though this could potentially appear very existential, the purpose is not to confuse but rather to specifically identify the identity of this one organism. Identity is the key to understanding purpose, and to understand purpose, questions must be answered. Why do I feel at all? Is there a purpose to anything I do if it all ends? If there is something beyond, am I doing wrong by trying to communicate with it? Am I too curious for my own good? Why is my name so different from me? I have all these thoughts but it seems like even though my name acknowledges them, he doesn’t like to share 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 different? Is my name only me when he interacts with other people’s names? Or is he me all the time and the two of us are the same? What am I? I am not a person or a name, I am not a culture or a religion. I am 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.

How can I accept this?

Sincerely,Yours truly

I looked down at the ground and saw an incredible sight. All the plants, flowers, bushes, and trees were bowing down to the sun and paying 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 walking away. On the trail back, we realized that we hadn’t drank any of our water. So I took a sip. The following sensation was quite possibly 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 just felt so incredible and flowed so freely. I tried again and managed to swallow it. Amazing. Water really is a gift from Mother Nature. We 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 time we returned. We trekked over to our friend’s house to enjoy a nice relaxing close to our Friday adventure.After that experience, I gained an incredibly deeper appreciation for EVERYTHING. I expanded my horizon and felt completely changed 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 certainly did.

EXPAND YOURHORIZON (continued from page 4)SUNSHINE SUPERMAN

NU SSDP

Students for Sensible Drug Policy is proud to bring three modern perspectives on psychedelic research to campus!

Tuesday, February 8th 7-9pm108 Snell EngineeringNortheastern

Our Speakers:

Rick Doblin- Founder of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies

Dr. Michael Mithoefer:Leading Researcher on MDMA-assisted therapy and PTSD

Dr. John HalpernResearcher on Psilocybin, LSD, and Bromo-LSD and the effects on Cluster headache

Hope to see you there!

MODERNPERSPECTIVES INPSYCHEDELICRESEARCH

“To the Sun Gods” by kef

“Fall Asleep (and Wake Up)”by kef

6

Ingredients:1 Box of brownie mix {pick one that requires oil}4 to 18g.of your favorite herb {the more the merrier}

The brownie mix should call for oil. After picking your favorite herbs from the hydroponic garden, add them to the oil in a saucepan. Cook on medium-low for 30 minutes, stirring occaisionally.

Optional: You can place this saucepan in a larger pot of boiling water, which would prevent the oil from boiling because the boiling point of oil is much higher than water. No burnt herbs!

Strain out the herbs and use the remaining oil for the recipe. Follow instructions on the box to make the brownies. NB: Too much herb in this fashion can be dangerous. “Everything in moderation”

HERBALBROWNIES

THE HAPPY HOUR

SUBMITTED BY KEF WITH THANKS TOSUNNY SIDE UP

CROSSWORD OF QUOTESSUNNY SIDE UP

- RUMI

GRILLED CHEESE.WITH BACON.

- KEF

7

Down1. "We don't have to look far for miracles because they're all around us. Everything is astonishing. The universe on it's surface is alive with mystery." -Terrence ...

2. “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” - G.B. ...

3. "You're only as young as the last time you changed your mind" -Timothy ...

5. "The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there" - Robert ...

6. "All gods are homemade, and it is we who pull their strings, and so, give them the power to pull ours." -Aldous ...

8. "We're fascinated by the words - but where we meet is in the silence behind them." - Ram ...

& MAIL SUBMISSIONS TOWRITEFORTHC@GMAIL.COM

Well? You know howto draw a stick figure.

I know you do.Make something funny!

- KEF

I have lived onthe lip of insanity,wanting to know

reasons, knockingon a door. It opens.I've been knocking

from the inside.

Across4. "The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same." - Carlos ...

7. "When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky."

9. “I acknowledge the privilege of being alive in a human body at this moment, endowed with senses, memories, emotions, thoughts, and the space of mind in its wisdom aspect.” - Alex ...

Crossword Answers:1. McKenna 2. Shaw 3. Leary 4. Castaneda 5. Pirsig 6. Huxley 7. Buddha 8. Dass 9. Grey

The psychospiritual, sociocultural phenomenon of indigenous shamanism is often misunderstood and rarely receives more than a cursory dismissal as some occult practice when, in fact, much of shamanism is more closely related to the study of psychology than it is to folk magic. The shaman represents a sort of healer or medicine man, analogous to what would be considered a “primitive” psychotherapist by the contemporary Western world, but the efficacy of their treatments has been attested to in countless anecdotal accounts. From chronic depression eradicated by a single ayahuasca session, to heroin and alcohol addictions promptly undone by ibogaine and LSD treatments, the psychosomatic illnesses that plague our culture seem to find their end at the hands of the psychedelic shaman.The shaman, by definition, uses altered states of consciousness induced through music, dance, chanting, psychedelic drugs, or any number of other methods in order to diagnose and remedy their patients’ afflictions. While many who have experienced psychedelics can vouch for continued on page 9.

REVEREND GODLESSIs it worth it to keep livingWhen even the rain can’t stay in this town?Lights flying upward from the streetsReddish haze the blood-wrought crown

We’re told that these things we doWill result in some greater goodBut when we each have to be destroyed for itI wonder if they really even could

And so bring me another round, boyI’ll leave this world to rotGo and fill up my bowl, girlI’ve got to keep my mind burning hot

And here’s another requiemFor the lost meaning of lifeAnd yet another angst-ridden decrying Of man’s infinite strife

Maybe soon things will changeThe world will awaken on a better, newer dayI feel as though I could pen the world’s soulBut no one would read it anyway

The scariest part of it allIs that they’re all perfectly carefreeI’m the only one who’s spending his sleeping hours strugglingBut I don’t see them writing about me

They seek to make the world seem beautifulWhile wallowing in the mireI won’t let the world get out unscathedWhile my life and love turn to fire

Is the truth so important to tell?Fiction is far easier to sellBut until my dying dayI refuse to see things their way

I wish God hadn’t gone awayWhy is it always his flesh that we flay?

POET’S LAMENTADACK

SHAMANIC CONSCIOUSNESS ANDTHE FUTURE OF PSYCHEDELIA

“Untitled” by Verenice

8

I get lost in deep day dreamof snow petal peppered skiesand sunny day rainbows in her hair

They are her favorite ones to wearand she wears them oftenalong with the wings on her back

And she leaves the ground with meand she's gone, too--it helps having someone to hold onto

But pulled back down by something beyond youto a world we feel we don't belong toI wonder, where else can we be?

Fighting the gravity; babylon chainsWe wish for flight, and wait in vainWhat is it we think we should see?

Weighted down in wild waterswading wild with wisdom's daughterWe swim in liquid air

Her mystic melts mehow she staresThe stars and mars know not such wonder.

Way out west I blew my brainnow I know no other lifeOn mountain time, out of my mind, my worries laid away.

LOST DEEP INDAY DREAMMR. COSMIC CHARLIE

ADACK

SHAMANIC CONSCIOUSNESS ANDTHE FUTURE OF PSYCHEDELIA

(continued from page 8)

“Untitled” by Verenice 9

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.

1 0

Precious gems dart aboutAbsorbing beautySun shining through a treeGolden light bathes allThese gems will soon be crackedAnd warped by the coldBetter that I had coalsThan these fragile stonesBut they shine so brightlyAnd I love the sightsMight as well enjoy themBefore they kill meBright blue shards will pierce meBut O! what a hue!

THERE AT THETURNSTILEREVEREND GODLESS

“Head in the Clouds” by kef

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 1/29continued on page 12

UPCOMINGNY SHOWSCOMPILED BY THE FRESH PRINCEAND BROMAN CHU

How do you strike a balance between living in the clouds and doing something practical and productive? People who arent us 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?

QUESTION OFTHE DAY(selected responses onpage 11)POSED BY DARIUS RAIDER

The rain falls gently on the townBut it pounds upon city streetsWe are spared not for our sinsPaying in full for them up frontThere are no pretended purities hereEveryone a greyscale shit-smeared mockery of manTruer than the original

Once forced to be communal, finally insularThe explorer becomes the islandThe city takes no prisonersAnd leaves only hollowed-out shellsWhich then can finally breathe freely the shit-smelling airSwim in the sexWorship their concrete and glass gods

It’s far preferred to remove the pretenseAnd to get hell out of the way nowAll will serve their timeWe simply choose to make the nothing that follows seem a bit more beautifulWhy make that hell when it can instead be bliss?Emulating LuciferReigning over oblivionMaking it something more

Somewhere, a hollow prayer is falling on dead earsMore time wastedThe Temple forsaken in exchange for hope

Hope is the worst thing that life can offerIt damns us all

SWEETENING THEHEMLOCKREVEREND GODLESS

1 1

This is usually the my main topic of thought when I'm well into theclouds. I think that many of us venture into the clouds partially becausewe realize "productive activity", or our version of it, isn't worthwhile orenjoyable. Kind of like how I dropped my obsession with running whenI started clouding again. So I feel like in many cases cloud-venturing isthe activity of those who are searching for their true calling in life, andwhat they want to do to give life meaning.

In my experience, that special type of cloud-venturing brings thesequestions to the surface and helps people answer them. By catapulting you through infinite settings, mindsets, emotions, and existences, it forces you to answer what constitutes"you", and what your purpose is. With these experiences I've been ableto lay out a concise and applicable "meaning of life", so to speak.

As conscious beings, we are all that really matters in the Universe, allbeauty and significance exists solely because of consciousness. Weshould all understand that the quality and quantity of our thought iswhat makes us important, and not try to make ourselves feel importantotherwise, which often leads to shortsighted, dangerous actions. Asanimals, we are of the Earth and should be true to this fact, embracingnature and our human instincts. Happiness and understanding, beingthe positive expressions of consciousness, is all that truly matters. Weshould therefore work towards propagating knowledge ( fromeducation and experience) and happiness (from art, love, thetranquility of nature, the satisfaction of sustainable self-sufficiency) inourselves and others. And that's the meaning of life. This means notliving in lavish excess striving towards artificial success, as this onlybrings about empty, artificial, short-lived happiness.

I think it all comes down to brain exercises, ya know?Like you can smoke a bowl and talk philosophy with a few friends, or you can smoke a blunt, sit on the couch, and watch people kick each other in the balls and laugh about it while you eat seven meals..use the [substance], don't let the [substance] use you.

SELECTED RESPONSES TO THE QUESTION OF THE DAY(on previous page)

TRICHOSERIOUS

MR. COSMIC CHARLIE

Recently I've been wondering a lot of the same things myself. I've decided that it's not that engaging in these activities suddenly creates a sense of creativity, inspiration, or activism, it's that these activities help awaken senses that were already there. In my opinion, these activities only cause a breaking down of a subconscious wall between the person and their inner self. The people who enact the brilliant ideas they have are the people who had the motivation or compassion before their experience.

ALEX DELARGEThe concept you shed light on, [Alex], of discovering passions and senses already within us reminds me of a quote by my favorite author who, of course, the US censored & banned:

"Every day we slaughter our finest impulses. That is why we get a heartache when we read those lines written by hand of a master and recognize them as our own, as the tender shoots which we stifled because we lacked the faith to believe in our own powers, our own criterion of truth and beauty. Every man, when he gets quiet, when he becomes desperately honest with himself, is capable of uttering profound truths, We all derive from the same source. There is no mystery about our origin of things. We are all part of creation, all kings, all poets, all musicians; we have only to open up, and only to discover what is already there." - Henry Miller

Psychedelic experience is only a glimpse of genuine mystical

insight, but a glimpse which can be matured and deepened by the various ways of meditation in which drugs are no longer necessary or useful. If you get

the message, hang up the phone. For psychedelic drugs

are simply instruments, like microscopes, telescopes, and telephones. The biologist does

not sit with eye permanently glued to the microscope, he

goes away and works on what he has seen. - Alan Watts

MATA

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

Chromeo w/ MNDR, The Suzan (Sold Out) – Terminal 5 2/4

Ms. Lauryn Hill – The Wellmont Theater 2/4

Girl Talk w/ Penguin Prison (Sold Out) – The Wellmont Theater 2/5

Chus & Ceballos – Pacha 2/5

Pendulum (Live) – Irving Plaza 2/5

Lotus w/ Tobacco, Daedalus – Terminal 5 2/5

Brothers Past – Music Hall at Williamsburg 2/5

Pendulum (DJ Set) w/ Zeds Dead, Hellfire Machina, Star Eyes – District 36 2/5continued on page 14

“Ocean Dreams” by Sunny Side Up

1 2

UPCOMINGNY SHOWS(continued from page 10)COMPILED BY THE FRESH PRINCEAND BROMAN CHU

While the benefits of psychedelics were widely recognized as promising

early on in the psychology scene (to the extent that there are still copies

of the Handbook for the Therapeutic Use of LSD-25 floating around

from 1959), the government’s backlash against the 60s’

counter-cultural lifestyle denied both hippie and scientist the ability to

chemically explore consciousness. These psychedelic,

“mind-manifesting” tools are for the study of consciousness what the

telescope is for astronomy or the microscope for biology. The old story

comes to mind of the Catholic church’s refusal to gaze through

Galileo’s telescope based on faith alone; based on the misinformation

that permeates our cultural collective consciousness, we choose to

deny ourselves these substances. But the times they are a-changin’ as

the realm of the scientist in the laboratory and that of the shaman with

a brain full of MAOIs and DMT in the jungles of Peru grow closer and

closer, and as we slowly admit that not every phenomenon in the vast

expanses of the universe can be measured by an electronic device (yet.)

ADACK

SHAMANIC CONSCIOUSNESS ANDTHE FUTURE OF PSYCHEDELIA(continued from page 9)

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

ONE, TWO, WHOOP WHOOP!TANNER MASON

Background by Verenice, compilation by kef

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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 lacking. He litters his set with hard electronic, splashes of rock, and many current hip hop and dance beats. This multi-genre mix of good music and good sounds combined with the energy Aoki puts into his sets makes for a one of a kind experience. Leaving an Aoki show, I always feel as if I have just been a part of an epic party. With ticket prices usually ranging between twenty and thirty dollars, there is no reason to not get out and see a live show. Upcoming shows include: February 17th at UMASS AMHERST, April 9th at the Roseland Ballroom (NYC), and April 14th at club Royale (Boston).

“Boston Thinks of the Big Apple”by kef

ONE, TWO,WHOOP WHOOP!(continued from page 13)TANNER MASON

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

Martin Solveig – Cielo 2/20

Trey Anastasio and the Trey Anastasio Band – Terminal 5 2/22

Girl Talk w/ Max Tundra, Junk Culture (Sold Out) – Terminal 5 2/24

Vibesquad w/ R/D – Tammany Hall 2/24

Bob Sinclar – Pacha 2/25

Skrillex w/ Tommy Lee & DJ Aero, Porter Robinson – Webster Hall 2/25

Galactic / Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue – Terminal 5 2/26

Lutzenkirchen – Cielo 2/27

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

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

Big Gigantic w/ Kraddy – The Bowery Ballroom 2/18

Goldie w/ Odi b2b Dara, Burner Brothers, Raw Q – Sullivan Room 2/18

UPCOMING NYSHOWS (continuedfrom page 12)COMPILED BY THE FRESH PRINCEAND BROMAN CHU

There is alwayseverything.

- SUNNY SIDE UP

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Using only the words in this poem, write yourown poem that conveys your own ideasor describes your reaction to this poem

-KEF

My weary bones know nowthe humble healing of the Heights;a place where clouds of liquid dew-dropripple in the freshest light.

Here the stars all look like fireworks--burst in colors most don’t know,and the sun is a big sunflowerwho needs some space to grow.

When we came here, with us camethe butterflies, and evergreens--the herbs, and honey bees--the berries, and the woodland fairies.A black bear, a white hareand a bird of each song.We, in magic painted buses,traveled ever on.

Took off, flew to infinity, and a little bit beyondbefore we careened through the Curiousand landed casually in the Heights.

Here the star-bells ring like wind chimes do,and much to our delight,they all do keep right on a-janglingtheir jingles through each night.

We blow bubbles at the void,and watch them freeze, and float awayinto a sky that’s like a color wheelno matter time of day.

And if you want to be here too,you only have to catch a sun-ray--plenty of ‘em scamper ‘roundany given sunny day--plenty of ‘em runnin‘ ‘roundabout the merry month of may.

Once you’ve caught it,hop up on it--ride it like you would a comet.

What's the feeling in your stomach?Feels like sick, or sick's close cousin.Make you feel like you could vomit,but it’s just your nerves who done it.

It felt wrong, but, love, it wasn’t.Feel like crazy, but who doesn’t?At the Heights-- can’t rise above it.

Love to learn,and learn to love it.

THE HEIGHTSMR. COSMIC CHARLIE

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“Flit” by kef

& MAIL SUBMISSIONS TOWRITEFORTHC@GMAIL.COM

Write afound poem!

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.

Sincerely,Jimmy Jazz and the rest of the staff of The Happy Collective

Note: Some of the original work has been edited for content and grammar.

Found Street Art, photographed and submitted by Adack

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- SUNNY SIDE UP

We’re all visionary artists.The palette is our thoughts

and the planet is our canvas.

We all become important when we realize our goalshould be to figure out our role within the context of the whole

and yeah, rock and roll is fun, but if you ever hear someonesay “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”.

T H A N K S F O R R E A D I N G !