A lot of people panic at the end of semester when exams come round. The amount of effort put into study is a highly individual thing, and often doesn’t change much over time! What you can easily change is the stuff you put in your brain, easing the process somewhat, stepping up your focus and motivation.

The obvious nutritional basis is important. B vitamins and omega-3’s are both linked to improved cognition, and b vits are vital to a vast range of brain processes. DL-phenylanine, and l-tyrosine, the precursors to dopamine help with alertness and motivation - I would definitely include these in a study stack because of how crucial motivation and attention can be. Inositol, is a messanger subsystem, and is also a good choice for a nutritional clear thinking and alertness.  Vegetables, fruit (b vits), fish (omega’s and tyrosine) and nuts (inositol) are good sources for these. You also probably know about iron already.

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The UNKLE duo did some kick ass ninja-tune stuff back in the day along with DJ Shadow who was once in the band, as some of you may remember. And admittedly they have struggled to find a new sound direction since then. Here, we see a venture into the realm of slightly indie vocal stylings, mixed with a much more organic sound.

The electronic composition, is well, it's not exactly like the old ninja-tunes stuff. Its similarly heavy on organic sounds, but there aren't really any breaks here. The bit of guitar really adds to the organic sound also, and the drums, while programmed, are all the real sounding kind - A very rolling, upbeat, rocky, almost tribal rhythm. Very different from their older stuff.

Absinthe is a very strong, green colored distilled liquor, made from wormwood, anise, fennel and other herbs. It’s unique because the wormwood provides some “added” effects, via a chemical called Thujone, and very cool because of the ritual of drinking it, and its “bad boy” history with Bohemian artists, writers, poets and such (The likes of Hemmingway, Van Gogh, and Crowley). To drink it properly, there are two little rituals, the French method, and the Bohemian method.

The French Method is as follows: You put the Absinthe into a glass. You put a spoon, with holes or slots, on top of the glass, and put a sugar cube in it. Then you pour chilled water over the spoon (ordinary temperature still works) - until its fairly diluted with the water. With a true Absinthe, this will turn the drink cloudy, which is essentially some of the flavors precipitating out - making it nicer to drink. These are the other herbs, so if a liquor is made from wormwood only, or not made properly, this process doesn’t do anything at all, and it won’t turn cloudy.

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These are some of staple culturally important psychedelic plants, for Entheogen collectors (Although they are equally popular in regular gardens).

Morning Glory and one of its relatives are two of the core sacred Entheogens of the Aztecs, who used it in shamanic healing rituals, and as an anesthetic and for medicine. It was also used for a variety of magical ointments.

The Aztecs believed that these plants were a means of connecting the Sun Gods, some believing a highly evolved spirit lived within the plant. The seed preparation was crushed by a 10-15 year old virgin, to allow the seeds to “speak”. The shaman would then imbibe the potion, and “die as a person, to be reborn as a Shaman”, then able to speak with the Gods.

Read more HERE.