...a sincerely confessed plastic-shamen
| Note: The following text was originally written in 1999. At that time I was not aware about the origins of rubberist psychedelic technology nor that the internet had changed its jargon and appearance. Also pictures of it were way less common than today in the age of YouTube, so some statements may appear a little square now. But I think that most of it is still valid. |
Actually this fascinating and effective form of modern drugfree psychedelics is still avant- garde and publically nearly unknown. But when we remember how small and publically despised another modern psychedelics scene, namely the tekkno music subculture began and how after minor changes only within few years it suddenly slipped into the mainstream, then the chances for our kinds of psychedelics are really anything but bad.
Especially when we remind how in this age all these loud audio- visual over- stimulations of mass medial consumer electronics otherwise appear in combination with deprivation of experiences for any other senses, it gets completely understandable that the man from today is in the crucial need for a special meditative compensation to free his mind from unwanted information rubbish again.
A man doesn't only consist of a single eye (needed to watch a 2D monitor screen) + 2 ears (to listen to loudspeakers) + an index finger tip (to click on some buttons). :> To stay psychologically healthy and capable to gain creativity and wisdom and to develop ourselves, it is therefore crucial to perceive and realize again that we are "whole" human beings. A form of modern psychedelics which directly works by the nature of wholenesses and which in opposition to the audio- visual channel of mass media particularly operates with gentle tactile signals by tenderly intensifying the perception of our own bodily vibrations is therefore something very valuable - and it perfectly fits into this mass medial age, like dedicated to serve the purpose of that urgently needed compensation.
You see, as a consciousness researcher with an expanded mind and a loudly beating heart :) I have a completely different view of this all than an average latex fetishists, and this mankind could benefit a lot from various variants of resonator based psychedelics when this fascination would just finally leave the secrecy of the "rubberist" scene (and of this monastery here at the other end of the world... ;-)).
To avoid this, it is important to comment such pictures and explain that with these objects it is primary more important how they feel like than how aesthetic or not they may look like, because it is a modern form of drugfree psychedelics (described here), dedicated to realize a very deep, secure feeling of harmony, and not of cruelty. Especially certain latex face mask/ hood stuff can looks a bit too executioner- or gangster- like for unknowing people and though it may shock them, therefore it is very important to straightway explain as soon as possible (e.g. in picture subtitles) that the mask of such an inflatable "shamen suit" has the psychedelic purpose of creating an altered state of mind, and that people wear it by free will because they enjoy the feelings produced by it (and not to hide their face for doing inhumane things like raping people or anything similar).
Especially the unnecessary use of traditional sado- maso terms from the torture topic etc. for anything else besides their genuine meaning is not appropriate, because such jargon scares unknowing people. Unwisely chosen terms like "pervy" or "kinky" are deterring for nearly the entire rest of this world and cause that nobody from outside will take the rubberist scene and its psychedelic technology seriously and therefore that reports in ordinary public press just result in ridiculous critics.
In my life I once had to do with a spiritual man who was very wise. Unfortunately he was used to describe spiritual principles in a terribly ancient way of speaking, and especially he continuously recited as a key- sentence something like "In all of your deeds, whatever you do, you must completely surrender yourself to God...". From my own spiritual practise I could imagine what he intended to say, namely that we should at every deed always be aware not to cause sufferance, because all being's consciousness is integral part of the cosmic consciousness and we must learn to realize this again. But simply by his use of the term "surrender" he deterred many people by reminding them of middle age's brutal, dogmatic papal laws, although he genuinely was an open- minded, peaceful, very intelligent, scientifically interested and really not dogmatic human being. Though miscomprehension by the use of misleading words are one of the major trouble sources in this world.
Perhaps the manufacturers of inflatable latex equipment in future will soon decide to change their marketing channels from the pure sex shop customers to that market segment of other modern psychedelic devices (like electronic mind machines etc.). Remember the once so terrible public image of tekkno music and what happened to it...
This site will hopefully be the 1st step.
I guess that PVC was simply cheaper to produce and though threw latex of the market. Certainly PVC is likely less prone than latex to get damaged by ozone and contact with oily substances or long exposure to humidity, but the toxic plasticizers of PVC unavoidably tend to dry out or get solved out over time too, and UV light is harmful for both materials. When we remember that most inflatable children toys are not used to swim around under bright sunlight in swimming pools for weeks, but spend typically most or even all of their lifetime indoors in children rooms, I can't see any serious problems here. Latex is not more allergy causing than PVC plasticizers (see here) and some decades ago all inflatable toys were made of latex, though I find no serious arguments against it.
Especially when we today remind that latex is a non- toxic, natural, re- growing raw material, which (as far I know) is produceable in a sustaining way without the need of clearcutting more and more rain forests, it appears really strange to me that no company yet has begun to produce such latex toys as an ecological alternative to all the cheap PVC stuff. Possibly today's companies assume that today's kids don't know how to treat latex well anymore and though fear to get lots of damage reclamations (due to over- inflation or contact with oil etc.). But for such an ecological alternative product I would anyway pack a some pages long user manual about latex rubber and its history, production, properties and correct treatment/ care with each toy, which stresses that latex is not just another chemical plastic but something very special (or "magical").
I hope that soon companies will understand that of this wonderful natural material other things can be made than just household gloves and though decide to make inflatable children toys etc. of latex again.
(By the way:
I believe to remember that somewhere around
1993 (??) on
a flea market I saw someone selling simple
inflatable
toy animals those looked like of
rubber. As far I remember right, there
were 3 of them. They were each (uninflated) in a clear plastic bag; 2 red
ones with yellow spots and a green one (each ca. 35cm long?, with an unusual
white valve plug?). The salesmen possibly looked polish (or russian?).
Due to I didn't care about inflatable rubber toys at that time, I neither
knew how uncommon things like this were, nor did I buy any, nor did I come
in mind to ask which company made them. It would be interesting to know
if (somewhere in a 3rd world country?) things like these are still made
of latex. Nowadays on the internet I found no such products offered yet
(not even on latex fetishist sites), though these toys on the flea market
apparently were something very unusual.)
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