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Greetings my friends, and welcome to my new page: Salvia Sound System.

You may be familiar with some of my other myspace pages: Shaman's Path, Orobai, Lucidium or Natural Roots.

This page here has somewhat newer music and is dedicated to the strange and wondrous herb, Salvia Divinorum. I first experienced the diviner's sage at Burning Man in 2001, and some of my most profound salvia experiences have been in Black Rock City, sitting in our purification dome by the Lair of the Mystic Toad with my fellow campmates and friends, the thumping sound of techno and ambient music floating through the camp as we settle into the interior worlds of the sage visions.

My personal relationship with sage is deeply wedded to sound -- throat singing, didjeridu, and rattle and drum. Recently, the sage has revolutioned the techniques I use for throat singing by showing me different ways of accessing and manipulating overtones and vibrations that I had previously not been fully aware of. The songs on this page with throat and overtone singing are all recorded using these new techniques, as opposed to the throat and overtone singing that I do at Shaman's Path and Orobai. I hope you enjoy the difference!

Of course, the music is different here too, as it is on all my pages. With an ample nod to Burning Man, there's a great deal more reliance on electronic instrumentation in these songs, making use of my new MIDI keyboard and the instruments in GarageBand.

Salvia Divinorum is a powerful entheogen, and I only recommend its use by those who are committed to approaching it with mindful intentions, respect, and humility, as is the case for any entheogen.

I'm happy to say that Daniel Siebert is offering my book, Mushroom Wisdom on his website, SageWisdom.org. He has this to say about the book:

"[Mushroom Wisdom] is an excellent guide to the ritual use of vision-inducing substances as tools for cultivating practical spirituality. Although it focuses on the use of mushrooms, most of the information is equally applicable to Salvia divinorum. In this book the author uses the term spiritual in a very broad sense, and he avoids getting bogged down in religious, theistic, ethnocentric, or New Age interpretations of what that might mean. We strongly recommend this book to all salvia users, especially those who wish to utilze this herb for spiritual purposes."

Mushroom Wisdom is available at bookstores, my website, MartinBall.net, and at Amazon.com

And NOW AVAILABLE is my newest book, Sage Spirit - Salvia Divinorum and the Entheogenic Experience, by Kyandara Publishing.

Sage Spirit - Salvia Divinorum and the Entheogenic Experience is a guide to the use of Salvia divinorum for those seeking to explore the realm of Sage Space for spiritual experience and creative insight. Delve deep into the mythic imagination and begin the shamanic journey into the heart of the Spirit of the Sage. It is now available at MartinBall.net and at Lulu.com

"This is a book that truly contains much “sage” wisdom. Dr. Ball regards Salvia divinorum as a sacred herb and treats it with tremendous respect. He describes many of his personal experiences, shares meaningful insights, and provides helpful advice on using this herb as a tool for cultivating practical spirituality. Sage Spirit should be read by all who seek to understand the nature of Salvia divinorum, especially as it relates to human consciousness, personal growth, and spiritual development." — Daniel Siebert