Psychedelic Prophets

Author : Cynthia Carson Bisbee,Paul Bisbee,Erika Dyck,Spisak Sexton James Spisak Spisak Patrick Farrell
Publisher : McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Page : 729 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2018-11-30
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9780773556034

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Psychedelic Prophets by Cynthia Carson Bisbee,Paul Bisbee,Erika Dyck,Spisak Sexton James Spisak Spisak Patrick Farrell Pdf

Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) was the author of nearly fifty books and numerous essays, best known for his dystopian novel Brave New World. Humphry Osmond (1917–2004) was a British-trained psychiatrist interested in the biological nature of mental illness and the potential for psychedelic drugs to treat psychoses, especially schizophrenia. In 1953, Huxley sent an appreciative note to Osmond about an article he and a colleague had published on their experiments with mescaline, which inspired an initial meeting and decade-long correspondence. This critical edition provides the complete Huxley-Osmond correspondence, chronicling an exchange between two brilliant thinkers who explored such subjects as psychedelics, the visionary experience, the nature of mind, human potentialities, schizophrenia, death and dying, Indigenous rituals and consciousness, socialism, capitalism, totalitarianism, power and authority, and human evolution. There are references to mutual friends, colleagues, and eminent figures of the day, as well as details about both men's personal lives. The letters bear witness to the development of mind-altering drugs aimed at discovering the mechanisms of mental illness and eventually its treatment. A detailed introduction situates the letters in their historical, social, and literary context, explores how Huxley and Osmond first coined the term "psychedelic," contextualizes their work in mid-century psychiatry, and reflects on their legacy as contributors to the science of mind-altering substances. Psychedelic Prophets is an extraordinary record of a full correspondence between two leading minds and a testament to friendship, intellectualism, empathy, and tolerance. The fact that these sentiments emerge so clearly from the letters, at a historical moment best known for polarizing ideological conflict, threats of nuclear war, and the rise of post-modernism, reveals much about the personalities of the authors and the persistence of these themes today.

Author : Aldous Huxley
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 1969
Category : Electronic
ISBN : OCLC:687199479

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Letters of Aldous Huxley by Aldous Huxley Pdf

Author : Mike Jay
Publisher : Yale University Press
Page : 319 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2019-06-18
Category : Health & Fitness
ISBN : 9780300231076

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Mescaline by Mike Jay Pdf

A definitive history of mescaline that explores its mind-altering effects across cultures, from ancient America to Western modernity Mescaline became a popular sensation in the mid-twentieth century through Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception, after which the word "psychedelic" was coined to describe it. Its story, however, extends deep into prehistory: the earliest Andean cultures depicted mescaline-containing cacti in their temples. Mescaline was isolated in 1897 from the peyote cactus, first encountered by Europeans during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. During the twentieth century it was used by psychologists investigating the secrets of consciousness, spiritual seekers from Aleister Crowley to the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, artists exploring the creative process, and psychiatrists looking to cure schizophrenia. Meanwhile peyote played a vital role in preserving and shaping Native American identity. Drawing on botany, pharmacology, ethnography, and the mind sciences and examining the mescaline experiences of figures from William James to Walter Benjamin to Hunter S. Thompson, this is an enthralling narrative of mescaline's many lives.

Author : Rick Strassman
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 318 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2014-09-18
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 9781620551684

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DMT and the Soul of Prophecy by Rick Strassman Pdf

Naturally occurring DMT may produce prophecy-like states of consciousness and thus represent a bridge between biology and religious experience • Reveals the striking similarities between the visions of the Hebrew prophets and the DMT state described by Strassman’s research volunteers • Explains how prophetic and psychedelic states may share biological mechanisms • Presents a new top-down “theoneurological” model of spiritual experience After completing his groundbreaking research chronicled in DMT: The Spirit Molecule, Rick Strassman was left with one fundamental question: What does it mean that DMT, a simple chemical naturally found in all of our bodies, instantaneously opens us to an interactive spirit world that feels more real than our own world? When his decades of clinical psychiatric research and Buddhist practice were unable to provide answers to this question, Strassman began searching for a more resonant spiritual model. He found that the visions of the Hebrew prophets--such as Ezekiel, Moses, Adam, and Daniel--were strikingly similar to those of the volunteers in his DMT studies. Carefully examining the concept of prophecy in the Hebrew Bible, he characterizes a “prophetic state of consciousness” and explains how it may share biological and metaphysical mechanisms with the DMT effect. Examining medieval commentaries on the Hebrew Bible, Strassman reveals how Jewish metaphysics provides a top-down model for both the prophetic and DMT states, a model he calls “theoneurology.” Theoneurology bridges biology and spirituality by proposing that the Divine communicates with us using the brain, and DMT--whether naturally produced or ingested--is a critical factor in such visionary experience. This model provides a counterpoint to “neurotheology,” which proposes that altered brain function simply generates the impression of a Divine-human encounter. Theoneurology addresses issues critical to the full flowering of the psychedelic drug experience. Perhaps even more important, it points the way to a renewal of classical prophetic consciousness, the soul of Hebrew Bible prophecy, as well as unexpected directions for the evolution of contemporary spiritual practice.

Author : Erika Dyck,Tehseen Noorani,Nicolas Langlitz,Alex Dymock, Anne Katrin Schlag ,Oliver Davis
Publisher : Frontiers Media SA
Page : 227 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2024-06-19
Category : Science
ISBN : 9782832550489

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Psychedelic Humanities by Erika Dyck,Tehseen Noorani,Nicolas Langlitz,Alex Dymock, Anne Katrin Schlag ,Oliver Davis Pdf

Psychedelics are part of a resurgence of interest in consciousness studies, especially as altered states of consciousness are being re-examined in the context of psychedelic-assisted therapies. To date, discussions about psychedelics in modern medicine have been dominated by studies in biomedicine. However, given that cultural factors play a significant role in the subjective effects of psychedelics, psychedelics can be considered a uniquely powerful point of convergence between the cultural and biomedical. Writers and artists, alongside psychiatrists and pharmacologists, have participated in shaping ‘the psychedelic experience’ by drawing on a rich set of approaches that blend narrative, arts, and humanities concepts to explain and interpret psychedelic experiences and explore consciousness for creative purposes. Psychedelic studies, past and present, emphasize the importance of ‘set and setting’ or the context of psychedelic consumption and its paramount importance in shaping psychedelic experiences. These non-pharmacological factors rely on a different set of methods and interpretations that necessarily rely on studies conducted outside of the biomedical sciences.

Author : Jerry B. Brown,Julie M. Brown
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 288 pages
File Size : 55,8 Mb
Release : 2016-09-15
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 9781620555033

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The Psychedelic Gospels by Jerry B. Brown,Julie M. Brown Pdf

Reveals evidence of visionary plants in Christianity and the life of Jesus found in medieval art and biblical scripture--hidden in plain sight for centuries • Follows the authors’ anthropological adventure discovering sacred mushroom images in European and Middle Eastern churches, including Roslyn Chapel and Chartres • Provides color photos showing how R. Gordon Wasson’s psychedelic theory of religion clearly extends to Christianity and reveals why Wasson suppressed this information due to his secret relationship with the Vatican • Examines the Bible and the Gnostic Gospels to show that visionary plants were the catalyst for Jesus’s awakening to his divinity and immortality Throughout medieval Christianity, religious works of art emerged to illustrate the teachings of the Bible for the largely illiterate population. What, then, is the significance of the psychoactive mushrooms hiding in plain sight in the artwork and icons of many European and Middle-Eastern churches? Does Christianity have a psychedelic history? Providing stunning visual evidence from their anthropological journey throughout Europe and the Middle East, including visits to Roslyn Chapel and Chartres Cathedral, authors Julie and Jerry Brown document the role of visionary plants in Christianity. They retrace the pioneering research of R. Gordon Wasson, the famous “sacred mushroom seeker,” on psychedelics in ancient Greece and India, and among the present-day reindeer herders of Siberia and the Mazatecs of Mexico. Challenging Wasson’s legacy, the authors reveal his secret relationship with the Vatican that led to Wasson’s refusal to pursue his hallucinogen theory into the hallowed halls of Christianity. Examining the Bible and the Gnostic Gospels, the authors provide scriptural support to show that sacred mushrooms were the inspiration for Jesus’ revelation of the Kingdom of Heaven and that he was initiated into these mystical practices in Egypt during the Missing Years. They contend that the Trees of Knowledge and of Immortality in Eden were sacred mushrooms. Uncovering the role played by visionary plants in the origins of Judeo-Christianity, the authors invite us to rethink what we know about the life of Jesus and to consider a controversial theory that challenges us to explore these sacred pathways to the divine.

Author : Mike Marinacci
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 549 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2023-07-04
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 9781644117088

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Psychedelic Cults and Outlaw Churches by Mike Marinacci Pdf

A comprehensive tour of North American spiritual groups that use psychoactive drugs in the search for higher consciousness • Explores prominent psychedelic churches and sects in depth, including the Native American Church and their peyote rituals, the cannabis-sex temple known as the Psychedelic Venus Church, and the Church of Naturalism, an LSD-therapy cult that came to a murderous end • Presents an encyclopedic survey of dozens of minor organizations—many of which have never before been documented in an authoritative source • Shares personal interviews and anecdotes about the strange, outrageous adventures of religious psychonauts, alongside rare photos and illustrations From LSD-powered guru Timothy Leary to cannabis sex cults to psychedelic outlaw churches, Mike Marinacci presents a comprehensive tour of North American religious sects and spiritual groups who use entheogens and psychoactive drugs in the search for higher consciousness, mystical insight, and spiritual enlightenment. Exploring prominent churches and cults in depth, he examines the lives of their colorful leaders, the origins of their unorthodox beliefs, the controversial practices of their congregants, and their many conflicts with both law enforcement and public opinion. He looks at the Native American Church and their legal battle over their peyote rituals, the cannabis sex temple known as the Psychedelic Venus Church, the murderous end of the LSD-therapy cult known as the Church of Naturalism, and several other major groups and temples of psychedelic spirituality. He then offers an encyclopedic survey of dozens of minor organizations, many of which have never before been documented in an authoritative source. Sharing personal interviews and anecdotes about the strange outrageous adventures of religious psychonauts alongside rare photos and illustrations, this extensively researched study of underground psychedelic religious sects in the United States reveals their spiritual and cultural influence from the 1960s to the present day.

Author : Erika Dyck
Publisher : JHU Press
Page : 217 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2008-09-15
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9781421400754

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Psychedelic Psychiatry by Erika Dyck Pdf

LSD's short but colorful history in North America carries with it the distinct cachet of counterculture and government experimentation. The truth about this mind-altering chemical cocktail is far more complex—and less controversial—than generally believed. Psychedelic Psychiatry is the tale of medical researchers working to understand LSD’s therapeutic properties just as escalating anxieties about drug abuse in modern society laid the groundwork for the end of experimentation at the edge of psychopharmacology. Historian Erika Dyck deftly recasts our understanding of LSD to show it as an experimental substance, a medical treatment, and a tool for exploring psychotic perspectives—as well as a recreational drug. She recounts the inside story of the early days of LSD research in small-town, prairie Canada, when Humphry Osmond and Abram Hoffer claimed incredible advances in treating alcoholism, understanding schizophrenia and other psychoses, and achieving empathy with their patients. In relating the drug’s short, strange trip, Dyck explains how concerns about countercultural trends led to the criminalization of LSD and other so-called psychedelic drugs—concordantly opening the way for an explosion in legal prescription pharmaceuticals—and points to the recent re-emergence of sanctioned psychotropic research among psychiatric practitioners. This challenge to the prevailing wisdom behind drug regulation and addiction therapy provides a historical corrective to our perception of LSD’s medical efficacy.

Author : Erika Dyck
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 226 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2024-04-16
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 9780262547666

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Psychedelics by Erika Dyck Pdf

A gorgeously illustrated journey through psychedelics and their global history that explores how psychedelic visions have inspired and given meaning to humans throughout time. Interest in psychedelics has grown considerably in recent years—one might even say psychedelics are experiencing a renaissance. But these mind-altering plants have always been with us. They have a rich and controversial history, in fact: plumbed from the depths of ancient Greek culture, infused with Christian symbols of sacrament, enriched by Buddhist philosophies, protected through Indigenous ceremonies, and, by the latter part of the twentieth century, catapulted into cultural consciousness through science, music, posters, blotter art, and fashion. In Psychedelics: A Visual Odyssey, Erika Dyck takes readers on an epic visual trip through some of the diverse ways that our fascination with psychedelics have been imagined throughout history. Blending academic rigor with rich imagery from around the globe, Psychedelics goes beyond the expected terrain of describing hallucinations. It reveals not only how psychedelic plants have been illustrated and understood, but also how these plants and chemical synthetics have inspired visual representations of health, fear, peace, colonial resistance, creativity, and more. A stunningly beautiful and comprehensive deep dive into the world of psychedelics, Psychedelics: A Visual Odyssey will inspire everyone from the curious general reader to the seasoned psychonaut.

Author : Kile M. Ortigo
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2021-06-29
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 0907791832

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Beyond the Narrow Life by Kile M. Ortigo Pdf

Beyond the Narrow Life: A Guide to Psychedelic Integration and Existential Exploration presents a framework for understanding and experiencing psychedelic-assisted therapy including foundational therapeutic approaches, the psychospiritual aspects of the psychedelic journey, and integration of the insights gained.

Author : Christine Hauskeller,Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 280 pages
File Size : 55,7 Mb
Release : 2022-06-16
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781350231627

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Philosophy and Psychedelics by Christine Hauskeller,Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes Pdf

What do psychedelics reveal about consciousness? What impact have psychedelics had on philosophy? In this rapidly growing area of study, this is the first volume to explore the philosophy of psychedelic experience, from a range of interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspectives. In doing so, Philosophy and Psychedelics reveals just why the place of psychedelics in our societies should not be left to medical sciences alone, as psychedelic experience opens up new perspectives on fundamental philosophical questions relating to human experience, ethics, and the metaphysics of mind. Mapping a range of philosophical responses to the surge in studies into psychedelic drugs in the cognitive sciences, this go-to volume examines topics including psychedelics and the role of governance; psychedelics and mysticism; what psychedelics can tell us about dyadic thankfulness; and psychedelics as ways to gain new knowledge. Written by leading international scholars, the essays cover Western and non-Western traditions, from analytic philosophy to Zen Buddhism, and discuss a variety of hallucinogens, such as LSD, MDMA, and Ayahuasca, in order to build a much-needed bridge between the rapidly growing scientific research and the philosophy behind psychedelic experience.

Author : Annmarie Adams
Publisher : McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
Page : 244 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Architecture
ISBN : 0773522395

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Architecture in the Family Way by Annmarie Adams Pdf

Architecture in the Family Way explores the relationship between domestic architecture, health reform, and feminism in late nineteenth-century England. Annmarie Adams examines the changing perceptions about the English middle-class house from 1870 to 1900, highlighting how attitudes toward health, women, home life, and even politics were played out in architecture.

Author : Leslie Stein,Lionel Corbett
Publisher : Chiron Publications
Page : 534 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2023-12-15
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9781685032036

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Psychedelics and Individuation by Leslie Stein,Lionel Corbett Pdf

Are we entering into a brave new world of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy that will radically affect the way we understand the unconscious, or are we chasing a will-o-the wisp, an illusory promise of rapid success without the painstaking work required of careful psychoanalysis? This book of essays by Jungian analysts entertains this question in detail. Based on extensive clinical and personal experience of the place of psychedelic agents in psychotherapy, the contributors debate the issues and try to clarify the correct use of these compounds, without either idealizing their use or dismissing them as artificial substitutes for the real thing. This book seeks to map this terra incognita, especially with reference to the practice of Jungian psychotherapy.

Author : Bernfried Nugel, Jerome Meckier
Publisher : LIT Verlag Münster
Page : 290 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2023
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 9783643916358

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Aldous Huxley Annual by Bernfried Nugel, Jerome Meckier Pdf

Author : Erika Dyck,Chris Elcock
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 533 pages
File Size : 40,8 Mb
Release : 2023-11-21
Category : Medical
ISBN : 9780262376907

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Expanding Mindscapes by Erika Dyck,Chris Elcock Pdf

The first collection of its kind to explore the diverse and global history of psychedelics as they appealed to several generations of researchers and thinkers. Expanding Mindscapes offers a fascinatingly fluid and diverse history of psychedelics that stretches around the globe. While much of the literature to date has focused on the history of these drugs in the United States and Canada, editors Erika Dyck and Chris Elcock deliberately move away from these places in this collection to reveal a longer and more global history of psychedelics, which chronicles their discovery, use, and cultural impact in the twentieth century. The authors in this collection explore everything from LSD psychotherapy in communist Czechoslovakia to the first applications of LSD-25 in South America to the intersection of modernism and ayahuasca in China. Along the way, they also consider how psychedelic experiments generated their own cultural expressions, where the specter of the United States may have loomed large and where colonial empires exerted influence on the local reception of psychedelics in botanical and pharmaceutical pursuits. Breaking new ground by adopting perspectives that are currently lacking in the historiography of psychedelics, this collection adds to the burgeoning field by offering important discussions on underexplored topics such as gender, agriculture, parapsychology, anarchism, and technological innovations.